Cuffed By My Mate (Twisted Oak Pack: First Responders #2)

Chapter 9

NINE

Vera

I jump up from the couch when I hear the knock on the front door the next morning. My bear perks up inside of me, and I know that we’re both wishing for the same thing. We’re both hoping that it’s Crew coming back to give me a chance to explain, but deep down, I know that’s not likely. This is his house. He wouldn’t knock.

Still, I rush over and throw open the front door, hope building inside of me.

“Oh. It’s you,” I say when I see Nori standing there. “Shit! Sorry, that was rude. I just was hoping…”

“That it was Crew?” She guesses, and I nod.

“Yeah,” I choke out, and then it’s like a dam breaks inside of me, and I just break down.

I’m sobbing, and she rushes to wrap her arms around me. My bear whines inside of me and then curls up, tucking her head under her paws. I can feel her grief, and it kills me. I did this to her. To us.

“Oh, it will be okay,” she whispers, rubbing my back.

“No, it won’t! He hates me. I’ve ruined everything,” I cry, and she hugs me tighter.

“He’ll come around.”

I nod, but deep down, I don’t think he will. She didn’t see the look on his face as he was packing up and leaving. He’s done with me.

My bear roars inside of me. She’s been devastated since our mate left. She keeps cycling between emotions. One minute, she’s devastated and curled up inside of me. The next, she’s raging and wants to track him down and force him to listen to us.

Right now, it’s the rage state.

“Thanks for coming over,” I say as I pull back and dry my eyes.

“Yeah, I heard about what happened and wanted to check on you.”

“I’m okay…or I will be okay,” I tell her.

That’s a lie, though. I’m never going to get over Crew.

I stayed up all night, hoping that he would come home. By around three in the morning, I had to come to terms with the fact that he might not. That this might be the end of us. I started packing up my things after that. I can’t go back to the Red Fog Pack, not that I want to, so I’ll have to find somewhere else to settle. That sucks, because Twisted Oak is already starting to feel like home.

“He’ll come around. I’m sure he’ll be home soon,” she says, and I nod.

She steps inside, and I take a deep breath. If this is the last time that I see Nori, then maybe I should tell her about her uncle and the bullet that she dodged.

“I know your uncle,” I tell her, and she stiffens.

“Jim?”

“Yeah. He’s part of the Red Fog Pack. Well, kind of. He’s not a shifter, but he’s a business partner with my dad and brother and is always with the pack.”

“Is he…”

“An asshole?” I finish, and she nods, looking nervous.

“Yeah,” she says softly, and I nod.

“Yeah, a huge one. He’s a creep, and I don’t know too many details, but I know that he’s wrapped up in a bunch of illegal shit. Running drugs. Trafficking people. I think…I think that’s what he had planned for you,” I tell her quietly.

She swallows hard, looking dazed, and I panic.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you. You’re safe here. I know that Tucker will keep you safe.”

“No, it’s good that I know. I just—I can’t believe that I almost went there. That…” She trails off, and I nod, reaching over and squeezing her hand.

“Be careful. He’s still pissed that you slipped through his fingers. He must have had a buyer lined up for you. He’s obsessed with you. He wanted me to spy on you while I was here. I didn’t tell him anything about you!” I rush to assure her.

“Thanks. I guess I really lucked out when Tucker arrested me.”

“He what?” I ask in shock, and she giggles.

“He arrested me. When I first was passing through town, I was kind of speeding, and he pulled me over. Then he realized that I was his mate.”

“But you’re human and didn’t know,” I guess, and she nods.

“Yeah, so he arrested me to keep me here and try to convince me that we were meant to be.”

“How did that go over?” I ask with a giggle, and she laughs.

“Not great at first. Then, I don’t know. I got it. It was just so right being with him.”

“You’re fated to be together. You’re perfect for each other,” I agree, and she nods.

“He’s the love of my life.”

We share a smile, and I try to ignore the cracking in my chest as I realize that I’ve lost the love of my life.

Her phone goes off, and she sighs.

“It’s Tucker. I need to get home.”

“Thanks for coming by and checking on me. I’m glad that I got to tell you the truth.”

“Crew will be home soon, I’m sure, and you can tell him the truth then too.”

I nod, hoping that I look more confident than I feel, and walk her out. I scan the road, searching for Crew, but he’s nowhere in sight. I wait a few more minutes and then have to face the truth. He’s not coming home, and I need to leave.

I head back inside and grab my bag. I take one last look around the house before I trudge out to my car and toss my bag into the back.

It takes me three tries to get my old car to start, and I choke back tears as I pull out of the driveway and head down the road.

I make it a few miles before red and blue flashing lights appear in my rearview mirror. I frown as I pull to the side of the road. My car sputters and dies before I can shift into park, and I curse as I roll to a stop on the shoulder of the road.

I’m so busy dealing with my car that I don’t notice Crew coming up to the driver’s side door. Not until he rips my door open and drags me out. The next thing that I know, he’s slapped some cuffs on me and is pushing me back against my car.

“What are you doing?” I gasp.

“Where are you going? Back to Red Fog?” He asks angrily.

“What? No!” I shout, and he searches my face.

“Then where?”

“It’s obvious that you don’t want me. I was leaving. I’m going to go find a new town. A new pack.”

“You think that you can just replace me and this place?” He asks and I shake my head.

“No. I know that nothing will ever compare to you or Twisted Oak. This place was becoming my home, but I can’t be here with you and not be with you.”

He steps back from me, giving me a little space, and I tug on my wrists.

“Want to uncuff me?” I ask, and he shakes his head no.

“Why are you in Twisted Oak? Why did you come here?” He asks.

“It depends on who you ask.”

“I’m asking you,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest and staring down at me.

“I’m trying to escape. I hate my dad and brother. I hate the Red Fog Pack and everyone in it. It’s not safe there for me or anyone who isn’t an asshole. I was trapped there. Until my dad ordered me to come here and spy on this pack.”

His eyes harden and I shake my head before he can interrupt me.

“I never told them anything. I was never going to tell them anything. I already talked to them, and they know that I’m mated to you and that I’m never going back there. That’s all that they know about this place.”

“How can I trust that? You lied to me from the beginning.”

“I know, and I regret that so much. I tried to tell you a few times, but I was so scared. They told me that I was useless and you would toss me aside, and I was scared that you wouldn’t want me when you found out who I was or where I came from. I was scared that you would reject me. I was going to tell you, though. I swear. I tried to last night, before you left.”

He looks down for a minute, and I know that he must be mulling over my words.

“I swear, Crew. I would never do anything to hurt you or this pack. I was just scared.”

He looks up at me, and I hold my breath. My bear is still inside of me, and we both seem to be holding our breath as we wait to see what he’ll do or say now.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Vera. I can only imagine what it was like to grow up in that pack, with those people.”

“It was a nightmare. They acted like I was invisible most of the time, and I learned to prefer that. I just wanted to get out, but I didn’t know how. I don’t have anything,” I admit, tears spilling onto my cheeks.

He brushes them aside, and I sniffle.

“I’ll never keep anything from you again,” I promise him, and he smiles.

He kisses me softly, and I kiss him back, trying to pour all of my emotions into the embrace. It’s awkward with my hands still cuffed behind my back.

“I should have given you the chance to explain last night,” he says as he rests his forehead against mine.

“I should have told you the first night that I met you.”

“We were a little preoccupied then,” he says with a laugh, and I grin.

My hands tug against the cuffs, and he blinks.

“Shit, let me get those off of you.”

I turn and he unlocks the handcuffs and pulls them off.

“Were those really necessary?” I ask him with a smile, and he shrugs, looking sheepish.

“I panicked. I thought that you were leaving me.”

“I was, but only because I thought that you had left me.”

“We need to be better about communicating.”

I nod in agreement, and he smiles down at me.

“There’s more,” I tell him. “I need to talk to your Alphas.”

He looks grim, but he nods as he takes my hand.

“Let’s go.”