Chapter 2
TWO
Tucker
Tourists , I think as I head up to the old hatchback.
It’s been a slow morning. Normally, I wouldn’t bother pulling over a car going a few miles over the speed limit, but I’m bored. I needed to do something, so I turned on the lights. I’m sure that I’ll let them off with a warning, but it will break up the monotony of my day.
I scan the car, taking note of the license plate as I make my way up to the driver’s side door. The car is packed to the brim, and I wonder where they’re headed.
I knock on the window and the woman turns, a fake smile curving her lips as she starts to roll down the window.
She’s pretty, my wolf says, and I nod.
She is pretty, beautiful even. Her pale blonde hair is pulled up into a messy bun, soft-looking tendrils hanging by her neck and face. She looks tired and…sad. There’s something in her blue eyes that has me pausing as she rolls down the window.
“Officer,” she says softly.
“Do you know how fast you were…” I trail off as I take a deep breath and tense all over.
My wolf snaps at me, lunging to try to break free, and I grit my teeth as I hold him back and try to make sense of what’s happening right now.
Bite her! My wolf yells at me, and I blink.
What? Why?
Mate! She’s our mate!
Mate? Wait, really?
Yes, idiot! Breathe. Can’t you smell her?
“Was I speeding?” She asks, breaking me out of my argument with my wolf.
I take a deep breath, and now that I know what it is, I can make sense of what I’m smelling. Lilacs. She smells like lilacs and something so damn good that I can’t quite explain.
“Yeah,” I grunt.
I’m trying to hide the fact that my canines have elongated as I hold my wolf back and fight to keep from shifting.
“I’m sorry, I-I… I was distracted,” she finishes, looking upset, and I instantly want to fix whatever has put that look on her face.
“By what?” I bark, and she jumps, clearly startled by my tone.
“I was just… thinking.”
“About what?” I press, and she frowns slightly at me.
Win her over, my wolf orders.
I’m trying. It would be easier to be charming if I wasn’t holding a freaking animal back, I snap back, and he growls in return.
“I’m sorry, I’ve never been pulled over before. Is this how that usually goes?” She asks, and I shake my head.
“What’s your name, ma-er, ma’am,” I finish lamely.
She looks at me oddly, and I wonder if she can see me starting to shift slowly in front of her.
Knock it off! I yell at my wolf.
He flashes his teeth at me in return.
“Nori,” she says, and I blink.
“What?”
“My name is Nori.”
I don’t bother asking for her last name. It will be Blake like mine soon enough.
“Are you moving to town?” I ask her hopefully, but she shakes her head.
“No, the next town over. Red Fog.”
“Oh.”
She cocks her head at my tone, and I clear my throat.
“So, if that’s all…” she says, trailing off.
She’s clearly anxious to get to where she’s going, and that’s a problem for me, because I need her to stay here. I need her to realize that she’s mine.
How do I get her to stay, though?
None of my training or life experiences are helping me now. I spent six years in the Army with my best friend Crew before we both got out and moved to Twisted Oak.
The military taught me discipline, and it helped me see more of the world, but when I realized that it was holding me back from finding my fated mate, I decided to get out, and since Crew also wanted his mate, he got out too. We moved to Twisted Oak and got jobs at the police station. We quickly rose up the ranks there, and I became Sheriff, with Crew becoming my deputy just a few months ago.
We’ve been in this small town for close to two years now and so far, neither of us has had any luck. Now that I’ve found my fated mate, though, I’m never going to let her go.
Bite her and take her to the ground right here and now, my wolf orders, and I snort.
She wouldn’t find that romantic.
We can explain that we’re meant to be after. Just make her ours now.
I ignore him and try to come up with a plan to convince her to stay and give me a chance. Red Fog isn’t that far. Maybe I could just ask her out and then drive up to see her.
No, my wolf snarls.
I don’t love that idea either, but I can’t come up with anything else in the moment.
“Want to have dinner with me?” I blurt out, and she blinks, her blue eyes widening in surprise.
“Um, I can’t.”
Panic fills me, all of those emotions amplified by my wolf also feeling them, and before I can think it through, I’m reaching for my handcuffs.
“Step out of the car.”
“What?” She asks in shock.
“Step out of the car,” I repeat, and she slowly does it.
I can tell that she’s in shock, and truthfully, so am I.
This is a terrible idea.
Do it! My wolf urges.
You’re a terrible influence.
She steps to the side, closing the driver’s side door, and I slide the first handcuff around her wrist.
“What the hell are you doing?!” She screams as I put the other handcuff on her wrist.
I can’t answer her. I’m too busy gritting my teeth. She’s closer to me like this, and her sweet scent is enveloping me.
“You can’t do this!” She argues, and I clear my throat.
“I have to.”
“Why?” She demands, but I can’t answer her.
I’m having a hard enough time keeping my wolf in check and holding myself back, too. Without a word, I turn and march her over to my patrol car and into the backseat.
This is bad.
We have our mate. This is a good thing, my wolf argues, and I groan as I tilt my head up and stare up at the darkening sky.
What the hell am I doing?
And what the hell do I do now?