Chapter 2
two
HUDSON
“You should’ve said no ,” I snarled at my father, raking a hand through my hair for the dozenth time. I’d been fighting the urge to shift and let my bear rampage since I left the diner.
I worked for the supernatural government’s security team, so I had access to a damn good demon lawyer. But by the time I got off the phone with him, Callie had already been on clan land and signed away her life.
“She had proof that the debt was inescapable.”
“I could’ve bailed her out,” I said through gritted teeth.
“We both know her well enough to be confident she would never have allowed that. This is how we bail her out. Now, tell me which of our males you’d prefer to breed her.” He spread pictures of our unmated clan members over his desk, a wicked gleam in his eyes.
I saw red. “Anyone who touches her loses their fucking head.”
“I could call in one of your friends from the security crew, if you’d prefer.”
I bit back a roar of outrage, clenching my fists as I fought the urge to shift.
My father leaned back in his chair, as if the conversation was relaxing . “Or you could admit that you’ve considered her yours since you were a kid.”
My fists clenched tighter. “You know I’ve never wanted to do that to her. Bear shifters don’t stay with their mates.”
“I know you’ve been in love with her and fighting the urge to claim her since you were fifteen. Now, you’ve got one day to decide whether you’ll mate her or let someone else have her.”
“This is bullshit,” I growled.
“It’s life, Hudson.”
I forced myself to leave before I could do something I might regret. As soon as I was free of the building, my fur tore through my skin, and I shifted. Barreling into the trees, I forced my mind to clear.
Bear shifters didn’t live with their mates, and there wasn’t a fucking chance I would let myself hurt Callie by leaving her.
So I couldn’t do it.
She wasn’t mine, despite the way I’d felt since I was a kid.
Even as I thought the words, my paws carried me down an overgrown path through the forest that I knew better than anything else in my hometown.
A path that led directly to her.