Two Wrong Turns (Love Sync Mates Season Two #9)

Chapter 4

Nolan

Fucking Fate would send me the most deliciously scented HUMAN mate right when I least expect it. Earlier this morning, I’d been getting dressed for work and feeling down at the idea I might never share a space with someone else. This town was so secluded, it would take a miracle to get my mate to find us.

And yet he has.

I’m sitting across from him right now wondering how the fuck to make this all work. He has no clue shifters exist. I could tell that much from the confusion in his scent when he talked about the bear drawing. Plus, he didn’t pick up Lindsea’s very obvious hints that there were shifters around and he didn't need to worry about being mauled by a wild bear.

If anything, he should have been worried about my bear and what the beast wanted to do to him. My whole life, I’d been in this sort of stasis with that other part of me. I allowed him out when needed, but otherwise, he was a silent sentry in my mind.

Today though, he was angry and pounding at the walls in my head to break free. I couldn’t allow that to happen yet.

Mate.

Bond.

Mine.

The words roared through my mind on repeat. He was snarling, desperate to claim the man Fate had sent to him. It was a wonder the rest of the pack hadn’t flipped the fuck out through the links yet.

I took my gaze away from the erotic way Barrett was eating his pie to focus on my own food. Maybe if I fed the animal, he’d calm down some. It wasn’t likely, yet I had to try.

My jaw ached from the force I had to use to keep myself in line. Each bite was torture, as was the ensuing silence after.

Barrett finished long before I did. He seemed shy about what to do next, and Fates bless Lindsea, she avoided our table like we had some serious cooties. Not that it would matter. She was a wolf shifter who wouldn’t catch anything — cooties or otherwise. A blessed gift from Fate that kept us alive and well long past the average human lifespan.

I frowned at the thought. Would I have to watch my mate wither and die? There was no precedent for this type of mate connection. I knew of no other bear — or any other shifter, really — who’d mated with a human.

Maybe it was a secret. Maybe it had happened, but they were worried for fear of judgment and kept it to themselves.

I could only hope that was the case. Hopefully I could research the info fairly quickly. I didn’t think my beast would wait longer than necessary.

“Do you want me to leave you alone now?” Barrett asked in a gentle voice.

My head whipped up to look at him. He was frowning, his expression probably a direct mirror of my own.

“Why would you leave? Where would you go?”

He shrugged. “To the hotel, I guess. Or is it a B&B? I know it’s different in small towns.”

Panic flared to life in my chest at the thought of him leaving me. I couldn’t allow it. I wouldn’t.

“The hotel is under construction. You won’t be able to stay there.”

Several heads turned my way, as if to glare at me for lying to my mate. While it was technically a lie at the moment, I intended to see to the hotel actually closing. They could do some repairs, which would make me an honest man, along with being a prophet.

The only people who stayed were guests or other shifters who drifted through. To be fair, it was amazing the place managed to stay afloat with so little business.

“Crap. That sucks. Guess I’ll have to find somewhere — ”

“Not necessary. I have a spare room. Why don’t you stay there?”

Barrett’s body shivered at my suggestion. I didn’t know if it was revulsion or excitement. Hopefully it was the latter.

Since he was a human, I had no way of truly knowing if he felt the pull of the bond. Sure, he might have smelled aroused the more I spoke to him. But arousal did not mean he wanted to mate me for all of eternity. He could just want to be fucked.

My cock throbbed at the mention of sex with my mate. I grunted, then shoved a bite of food in my mouth to prevent me from suggesting that very thing.

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. I know you’re the sheriff and all, so you should be safe. It’s just… what if you’re not? I can’t risk my safety.”

The beast inside me whined at the thought of hurting Barrett. He had no idea how safe he would be with me.

Lindsea dropped by our table. “He’s a good guy. You couldn’t be in better hands.”

“I second that notion,” someone shouted from across the room. I couldn’t tell who because several more voices rang out.

“Thirded.”

“Fourthed.”

“No, I wanted to be fourthed. That’s my lucky number, jackass.”

An argument broke out, though it was more a spirited debate than an actual fight. I shoved food in my mouth quickly while Barrett was distracted. I didn’t need him deciding to leave before I had a chance to properly show him the space he belonged in.

My den.

It wasn’t much, but it was home. I knew if he gave it a chance, he’d fall in love with it too.

He didn’t look back until my last bite. When Barrett saw the state of my empty plate, his eyes went wide.

“You must have been starving,” he said, his brows dipping. “Do you not eat while you work? Is there some kind of rule against it? There shouldn’t be since you’re the boss.”

He muttered more questions to himself. It was endearing to see him upset on my behalf, even if it was misguided.

I slipped my hand over his to get his attention. Well, mostly for that reason. I also wanted him to stop beating himself up over something that wasn’t true.

“I’ve had a few other meals today. I’m a big guy. Always have been. Food is fuel, and I need lots of it.”

His gaze wandered over me like a soft caress. I knew what he saw. Big shoulders. A stomach that wasn’t flat but wasn’t a beer belly either. I had more than enough room to store all the fuel I put in my tank.

A slight blush came over his cheeks. My beast growled at the tempting sight. I had to force a cough to cover the noise, though a few others in the diner heard well enough that they chuckled at my expense.

Done with having an audience, I tilted my head to the door. “Why don’t I show you the place, then you can decide if you want to stay or not?”

Wrong. He was going to stay no matter what.

Though he did need to believe he had some kind of say in the matter.

Barrett hesitated for only a minute more before nodding. We stood together and left the diner after I dropped enough to cover both our meals.

In no universe would I let my mate pay for our first meal together. He’d be lucky if he’d win the argument to pay for any future meals. My bear wanted to provide for him in all ways. That meant food, shelter, and fucking. In that particular order too.

Outside, I stopped by the truck I now realized had to belong to him. “You’ll follow me,” I demanded.

He rolled his eyes, then climbed into his vehicle without saying another word. My hands itched to yank him back to me, grip his jaw, and make sure he understood I was his Alpha. He needed to respect me and know that I only wanted what was best for him.

Fighting my bear led to more growling and stomping than was necessary to get back in my vehicle. I pulled out, then waited a few spots down to make sure he would follow. I got more than a couple of knowing glances from shifters roaming the streets. I was sure someone had spread the gossip about my mate showing up at the diner. They’d be placing bets all night too.

Nothing like a potential mating to bring out the gambler in all of them.

Ignoring the looks, I focused on the beat-up vehicle behind me. We drove through town slowly, partially because I wanted to keep him in my sights, but also because I knew how intimidating this place could be for anyone new to town.

I wasn’t born here, and it wasn’t my original pack.

When I was a young cub, I was brought here and dropped off. At least, that’s what everyone in town told me. The shifters in the area recognized me for what I was and took it upon themselves to raise me as if I was part of their pack.

It took me far too long to realize I was different. And even longer to get answers as to what happened leading up to my arrival.

My mother died during childbirth, and my father was not a good man. He worried keeping me around would only put me in danger. I’d been given to another set of shifters who couldn’t conceive. They were my parents in all sense of the word despite not being biologically related to me.

I contacted my birth father shortly after becoming an adult. He told me, “I had no other choice. It was fight for you to get a chance or let you fall into the same patterns I had. I couldn’t risk it.”

Three months after I found him and got the answers I needed in life, he died as well. He’d been blessed with a second mate, one who died from a car accident. As Fate deemed it, he went too. Shifters rarely survived a broken mate bond. The pain was far too great. My father managed to escape death once, but he couldn’t manage it the second time.

Thinking of broken bonds made the notion of a shifter human pairing come back to the forefront of my mind. What in the world did it mean for me that I’d be tied to his life force? Surely our bond would extend his years, rather than shortening mine.

We’d have to find an elder and ask them once I convinced him to mate with me. I wasn’t so convinced it would be an easy task. He was wary — as he had every right to be.

I wasn’t the friendliest person on a good day. I was even worse when fighting my instincts to claim my mate while in a very public setting.

Sure, it’s not like they hadn’t all seen me naked at some point in my lifetime. Shifters and nudity weren’t a big deal.

But add to the mix me fucking my mate for the first time and biting him? Yeah, it wasn’t ideal.

When we finally reached my property, I pulled forward and parked to the side of the house. Barrett slowed behind me, then rolled down his window and leaned his head out.

“If you were going for ‘not creepy,’ then you failed. I feel like I’m about to be murdered in the woods,” he shouted angrily.

I wanted to smile at his frustration. He was so fucking cute all mad like that.

Rather than upsetting him any more, I approached his door and yanked it open. He fell forward a bit, though I moved quickly enough to catch him.

With his body this close, I caught more of his intoxicating scent. I wanted to bury my face in his neck and take a big gulping breath.

Later, I promised myself.

I’d get to do all the filthy, needy things I wanted to him later. First, he needed to be convinced it was safe to stay with me. Then, I’d prove to him just how much he could rely on me.

My mate was going to love me, dammit.