Chapter 12
Isaac
I forced myself to go back inside and shut the door as I began pacing the room.
She’d come back. I’d told her not to, but she had. Why?
Couldn’t she see I had nothing to offer her?
It took everything in my power not to go after her.
Who was she?
She’d refused to take off that damn mask. I didn’t even know what she looked like, but I knew those eyes, and I knew her scent. It would be engrained into my memory for the rest of my life.
My mate.
I couldn’t believe I’d actually said the word out loud. I’d been taunting her, we both knew it. She was easy to rile up. The passion I saw in her was enticing as hell. If I hadn’t sworn off women a long time ago, I might have been tempted more.
That was a lie. I was plenty tempted as evidenced by the stiff erection I was now sporting after my tussle with her.
But I was too stubborn to jump in my truck and go after her.
Walking back inside, I went straight to the kitchen and baked some chocolate chip cookies, whipped up some banana pudding, and made fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast the next morning.
All that baking should have settled me enough to sleep, but it didn’t stop me from lying in bed tossing and turning the entire night thinking about her. I hadn’t experienced that sort of night since I was a stupid teenager, before my entire world had fallen apart.
At some point I must have fallen asleep, because I awoke suddenly to the rooster’s crow signifying morning already.
In many ways, I felt like I had a massive hangover. I hadn’t slept well and my mind was still reeling over what had happened.
The worst part of it all was that I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
But the more I did think about her, the more curious I became.
The more curious I became, the more agitated my wolf became.
It was very clear that he thought I was a fool for letting her slip away. All he wanted to do was take control and hunt her down.
Instead, I did what I always did, stuck to my routine, and got started on my morning chores trying desperately not to think about her.
I tried so hard in fact that all I did was think about not thinking about her.
It was enough to drive a sane man mad, and no one would accuse me of being sane.
I shouldn’t have been surprised when a car pulled up to my house. My once peaceful existence under the radar seemed long gone lately. It was like Grand Central Station around this place lately.
This time it was Kyle again.
I sighed. “What now?” I asked when he walked over to me.
“Heard you had an incident out here last night.”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
He eyed me suspiciously.
“I told you I had a squatter out here. It’s not those damn boys.”
“A woman?”
“Exactly.”
But I wasn’t so sure anymore. Some of the things she said just didn’t make sense. Had she actually been staying out there when she clearly had a perfectly good car, and I’d noticed when she stopped by that it was not a cheap one either.
Why wouldn’t she just have been sleeping in it instead of being out in the elements?
Maybe she was feral?
I almost laughed out loud at the thought.
My mate was definitely not feral. The way she stumbled around here when she’d set off my camera system and alerted Westin Pack and the whole goddamn world to her presence meant she wasn’t stealthy either.
“Dammit,” I swore.
“What?” Kyle demanded.
“It’s nothing.”
“Tell me.”
“The woman that was here couldn’t be my squatter. I thought she was, but it’s just not feasible.”
“Why’s that?”
He didn’t seem at all surprised that I’d said a woman had been here. That meant Tarron had already briefed him of the evening’s event.
“The person that’s been stealing stuff from me has been sly and stealthy. She was anything but. Though you already knew that or you wouldn’t be here right now.”
“I have my suspicions on who that was. I’ll handle her. She won’t bother you again, or at least I’ll try to get her to see reason.”
“Who is she?” I asked, hoping it sounded more casual than it felt.
I needed to know. I wanted her name, a face, anything that would tell me who the hell my mate was.
When his phone rang, he sighed.
“Sorry. I have to take this. She’ll never stop calling if I don’t.”
“Kelsey?” I guessed.
He cringed. “My mother.”
I chuckled as he accepted the call.
“Hey Mom, what’s up?”
It couldn’t have been that big of a deal because he didn’t bother walking away or even trying to seek privacy. I could hear everything.
“Vanessa mentioned there was a sighting of the boys out near Isaac’s last night. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Vanessa said?”
“Yes, she said she heard it from . . .”
“She didn’t hear it from anyone, Mom. Did you happen to mention to her that we were looking in this area?”
“Yes, but . . .” there was a long pause. “Vanessa Relic, tell me you did not go out there looking for those boys after I specifically told you not to.”
“Okay, I won’t,” a woman said.
I knew that voice. It had been on replay in my mind all night long. It was her.
Vanessa.
My mate.
I had a name and as soon as Kyle left, I would get started learning absolutely everything I could about her.
Mate, my wolf confirmed, not for the first time.
“Sorry about that,” Kyle said. “I’m certain your squatter isn’t actually a squatter.
Looks like it was most likely just a well-meaning woman concerned about the boys.
That means the squatter could actually be those boys.
I’m having two teams, all Westin Force, not civilians, combing the woods around here. ”
“Trespassing on my property?” I mumbled.
“Let’s not even go there. I’ve been more than accommodating with you. If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t pull rank and do this. You know that.”
It was true. Although technically everything was Westin Pack territory, and therefore his as Alpha, he had at least allowed me the illusion of having my own territory.
“I know.”
“So, we won’t have any issues, will we?” he asked, but as he said it, I could feel the warm sensation of Alpha power biting into me.
“I got it. I’m not going to be a problem.”
Lord knew I had a lot bigger things to think about right now than a couple of trained teams traipsing through my woods. Like my mate. Vanessa.
Her name kept playing over and over in my mind like it was stuck on repeat. I never wanted a mate. But now that I’d met her, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Hell, I didn’t even know what she looked like, but I knew she was beautiful. Maybe it was those eyes, so expressive.
“Isaac? You okay, man?”
I scowled. “Fine.”
He seemed satisfied by my response and didn’t press it.
“They shouldn’t take long. A few hours at most. I’ll step out and help speed things along.”
“Great,” I muttered, happy to have him leave my house.
It wasn’t that I had anything against the Alpha, I just didn’t particularly like anyone up in my space.
With him gone for the time being, I headed back into the house. Those cinnamon rolls I’d baked last night were calling my name. I hadn’t had breakfast before my chores and I was starving as it was damn near lunchtime already.
But when I went to get some, they were nowhere to be found.
“What the hell?” I cried out.
A quick inventory of my kitchen and I had the startling realization that the cookies I’d baked were gone too, along with a package of ham, some cheese, a whole loaf of bread, peanut butter, honey, two boxes of cereal, and my leftovers I’d planned to have for lunch today.
I roared in anger.
Kyle came running into the house.
“Isaac what’s wrong?”
“I’ve been raided. Someone was here and they stole my food.”
A vein in my temple was throbbing and threatening to explode. I had never been so mad or felt so violated before.
“That thief came into my house, Kyle.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
I explained some of the items that had been taken.
“Wait, you baked last night?”
“That’s not the point. The point is, it should have been right here and now it’s gone. All of it’s gone.”
“Okay. They’ve got to be close. My men will find them, Isaac, and we will handle this.”
He left and I could hear him barking orders outside.
If it was those kids, I was going to string them up by their toes or something. I couldn’t actually hit a kid, but maybe if they thought they were about to become my personal pinatas it would scare some sense into them.
I still couldn’t believe that three small boys could do all of this. It didn’t make sense. It had to be a squatter, a grown ass man.
Realizing everything was quiet and the teams had clearly moved deeper into the woods on their witch hunt, I breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in my recliner for a few moments. I was still hungry, but mostly I needed to just calm down.
The whole place felt off.
This was my home, my place of solitude, and it had been violated. That wasn’t something I was going to easily get over.
Trying to find some sense of peace, I leaned back and closed my eyes.
That’s when I heard it.
The sound was faint, but it was there. It was almost like a mouse scurrying about but there was a distinct sound like concrete blocks scrapping together.
At first, I couldn’t place it, but then it dawned on me.
I had blocks in the basement to close a section off as a root cellar before I began to finish the remainder of my basement.
“Shit!”
I jumped up and ran to the basement door.
The chattering was undeniable.
“Who’s down there?” I barked.
Everything went quiet.
I turned on the light and walked down the stairs.
The first thing that hit me was the unmistakable smell of my fresh cinnamon rolls. As I reached the basement floor, I saw a plate of them sitting on the floor next to a stack of blocks forming a small wall that hadn’t been there before.
A small hand reached out and pulled the plate behind the wall.
“Show yourselves.”
Slowly, three little heads peaked out around the wall. The missing boys.
I growled and then turned to stomp up on the stairs.
“He didn’t destroy this one,” one of them said.
“Not yet. But now you’re stuck here until I decide what to do with you.”
To ensure that, when I reached the top, I used the pulley system connected to the ladder and pulled it up.
“No!” one of them yelled as he ran out then jumped to try to grab the ladder and pull it back down.
“Stay put,” I growled. Then I slammed the door shut behind me.
I briefly looked outside but Kyle and the others were nowhere to be seen.
Instead of trying to track them down, I went to my computer and typed in Vanessa Relic into the Pack database. It didn’t take long for her file to pop up which included her phone number.
I dialed the number and waited.
“Hello?”
I knew instantly that it was her—my mate.
“I found your three little pigs. I have them locked in my basement.”
She didn’t question who was calling or what I meant. And I certainly wasn’t prepared for her response.
“Don’t eat them. I’m on my way.”
She hung up and I stared down at the phone in confusion.
Don’t eat them?
Who the hell did she think I was?