Chapter 5
Monte
I didn’t want a mate. Not now, maybe not ever. Yet here she was.
After watching her nearly die when she choked on that piece of steak, something inside of me had changed. A sense of duty had risen within me. I had to protect her and watching her struggle at that table put both my human side and my wolf on full alert.
I thought running with her would have calmed me down, but it didn’t. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, just that every snap of a twig, every falling leaf, the sound of a fish jumping in the water, just all of it was suddenly a danger to my mate, and my wolf demanded we protect her at all costs.
When Jax had gotten near us while she was indisposed, it had taken every ounce of willpower not to attack him.
He was one of my fraternity brothers. This was not good. I said a quick prayer that it was my wolf side that was going psychotic over her and that my human form could remain somewhat sane. I’d been around enough mating males to know that might be wishful thinking.
Dammit. What the hell was I going to do now?
The urge to run away was strong. I was overdue for a camping trip anyway. Maybe I should just head up into the mountains and clear my head.
She stopped by the lake, and I watched her greedily lap up water.
Was she okay?
Did I hurt her when I’d attempted the Heimlich?
What the hell had I been thinking? I didn’t know much about first aid.
I’d taken some basic CPR in high school, but it had been years ago, and I’d never had cause to use it.
I was just grateful I hadn’t killed her in the process.
There was just the desperate need to save her.
Denny was going to be pissed that I’d run out on the mandatory party, but hey, so did our host’s leader.
That had to account for something right?
I was pretty certain he would have figured it out by now anyway.
I mean, I’d growled at everyone in my haste to get to her while she was choking.
That wasn’t exactly normal behavior for me.
Her wolf was beautiful in the moonlight framed by the lake and trees. I momentarily lost all thoughts just watching her.
Oh man. I’m screwed.
It sucked having us both stuck in our fur, though, because I desperately wanted to talk to her. Or maybe I didn’t. Was I ready for that?
I huffed and it came out more like a snort via my wolf.
She startled and turned to stare at me. It was almost as if she had forgotten I was even there.
When she started to turn back to the water, my wolf was offended. Before I could stop him, he sat back and howled at the sky. He was calling to her.
I imagined her eyes were swirling pits of fire when she glared back at us.
That didn’t stop him though. He howled once more. And when she still didn’t acknowledge or return his howl, he growled at her.
Dammit wolf, knock it off. You’re going to scare her.
He wasn’t listening, though, and I was starting to struggle to maintain control. The last thing I wanted was to go fully feral on her.
The struggle was real as I battled my wolf for control.
Technically, we were one, but also not. My wolf side had natural instincts that guided him, while my human side was far more logical, at least most of the time.
I could make rational decisions while my wolf rarely did.
Yet we were two sides of the same coin. It often made it easier for me to think of him as a separate being.
Most people I’d talked to about this seemed to agree with that as well.
A nearby rabbit seemed to temporarily catch his attention just long enough for me to gain the upper hand. Without thinking, I shifted back to my human form.
In the commotion, my mate looked back at us and her jaw dropped. Even though she was still in wolf form, I knew she was checking me out.
There was no reason for me to hide from her.
She was my mate. I knew I was in excellent shape.
All the time I spent off campus hiking and rock climbing ensured I stayed that way.
It wasn’t something I flaunted around campus.
I typically wore baggier clothes and kept my head down, trying not to attract woman.
I didn’t need or want that distraction, yet I was standing in front of the biggest distraction anyway.
I sighed. How the hell had this happened?
It wasn’t like she was new to the ARC. Zoey had been at Archibald Reynolds for as long as I had. How had we never crossed paths? And if Denny hadn’t insisted that I attend that stupid dinner and dance, would we ever have met?
Now that we had, I wasn’t really sure what to do about it.
“You should probably get back. I’m sure people are starting to worry.”
She nodded but remained in her fur.
“I can track down your clothes so you can shift back if you’d like.”
Her nose sort of scrunched up in disgust.
She’d been hot as hell in that dress, but something told me she wasn’t much of a fan of it.
“Or the doghouse is nearby. I can take you there and you can borrow some of my clothes.”
Who the hell was I? I didn’t loan clothes out to the guys, let alone some girl—but she wasn’t just some girl.
Begrudgingly she seemed to agree because she started moving again, though she kept glancing my way as we walked.
I didn’t care that I was naked as the day I was born walking barefoot through the woods.
Honestly, it felt natural to me, but as we neared the edge with the house just ahead, she stopped and looked around.
Another female was off in the distance. I could just barely make her out, but it was enough to get Zoey growling.
I smirked, then shifted back to my wolf and nudged her to get moving.
Together we ran right to the door. She whimpered a bit, looking agitated as she kept guard.
I assumed she expected me to shift, but there was no need.
We had changed the doorknobs throughout the house to the lever type for just these occasions.
It wasn’t like any of us ever bothered to lock the doors, maybe the door to our rooms, but not the exterior ones.
I jumped up and pressed down on it with my paw. The door popped open, and I stepped aside to let her pass first. I could tell there was no one home. Everyone was probably still at the party wondering where the two of us took off to. So I didn’t hesitate to shift once more and lead her to my room.
She didn’t follow my lead though. Instead, she stayed in her wolf form as she sat down and stared at me. I imagined if she were in her skin just then that she would have had her arms crossed over her chest while glaring at me.
I rolled my eyes and huffed. “Fine. Just let me get dressed and then I’ll leave you to do the same.
Not caring what I wore at this point, I grabbed jeans and a T-shirt with a fresh pair of boxers and left her alone in my room.
If she had been anyone else I sure as hell would never have done that, but for some reason, I was okay with Zoey being in there even knowing she was rummaging through my things.
At first I hovered in the hallway, but then I thought maybe she knew I was still here and was feeling a bit awkward, so I moved out to the main living room.
It was the area my brothers and I hung out in the most. Comfortable couches, a big screen TV, and every possible gaming system imaginable adorned the large room.
Jax was already there waiting for me.
“Heard you both coming. Is she alright?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. We just went for a run around the lake. Not even sure how long we were gone.”
“A few hours.”
“Shit. Are people talking?”
“Not really. I told them you felt obligated to make sure she was okay and verify you hadn’t hurt her while trying to save her. They all bought it. The girls thought it quite chivalrous. And I assured them you would keep a close eye on her and make certain she got back safely. They bought it.”
“What do you mean?”
“None of them suspect anything odd between you.”
“What exactly is that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t bother denying it. I already know she’s your true mate. I heard you both obsessing about it just before she choked.”
A dark feeling brushed over me at the memory. I didn’t want a mate, but I knew I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her either.
“She’s fine. Just as stubborn as you are. It’s going to make for an entertaining mating.”
“Stop saying that,” I warned.
“I’ve been here before. Plus, I have the unfortunate circumstance of hearing it all.”
I tried to clear my mind. La-la-la, there’s nothing to hear. La-la-la
“That’s really annoying, Monte. I’m only trying to help.”
“I don’t want your help,” I snapped. “You can’t fix this.”
I didn’t even want to think about it. A mate? Dammit, this was a nightmare.
“Well, turns out she’s not so sure she wants you either,” Jax said.
“What? Stop listening in on her thoughts. Or at least have the decency to keep them to yourself.”
“So I shouldn’t tell you that she just left?”
“Left?”
It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about.
I ran back to my room and burst through the door. She was gone. One of my drawers was opened and her scent lingered everywhere. Not quite the scent of her wolf, but her. And my bedroom window was open.
“Seriously?”
I could only imagine she was having second thoughts about me too.
My instinct said to follow her, but she was literally running into a den of wolves, and I didn’t trust myself to handle seeing her surrounded by unmated males. Just thinking about it had my body shaking and hair sprouting up my arms.
This is bad. Real bad.
There was only one thing I could think of doing. I gathered my gear, loaded up my car, and got as far away from Zoey Rey as possible.
Denny could punish me later, but I knew what I had to do despite the repercussions. Luckily it was Friday night, so I had the whole weekend to pull it together, and the best way to do that was to get lost in the most remote place possible.
I knew just the place.