Chapter 2
GARNER
Pre-dawn light filtered through the trees as I prowled the perimeter of the construction site, my senses alert. The world had been washed clean by last night’s storm. Rain clung to pine needles and soaked into the earth, making any lingering scents more noticeable.
This was my favorite time of day—when I could let my cougar free without worrying about being spotted. My muscles ate up the ground in long, silent strides. My paws sank into damp soil without a sound. Powerful and controlled. Exactly as I was meant to be.
This wasn’t a patrol I had to think about. My body knew the route as well as my mind did. Every rise and dip of the land, boundary marker, and place where trouble might try to creep in if I wasn’t watching.
The land had become my responsibility when my family’s construction company bought it, but I’d considered it mine long before then. It was only thirty minutes from the wilderness my pack called home, and my beast had always been drawn to this area.
I leaped over a fallen branch. The storm had left its mark. Mud churned where runoff had cut too fast through a slope. There were fresh tracks from a deer near the creek. I cataloged it all without slowing, my instincts sorting threat from harmless as easily as breathing.
Then I caught it.
Disturbed ground near the access road. Tire tracks where there shouldn’t have been any.
I slowed to a prowl, my senses sharpening as my cougar lifted his head and dragged the morning air deep into his lungs. Then a sound tore through my chest—an instinctive cry I’d never felt before.
Something had changed. And my cougar knew it before I did.
I took one more step forward, and my cougar froze mid-stride, muscles going rigid beneath my skin. Every instinct I had was locked tight.
My mind finally caught on to what the scent was.
Human.
Female.
Sweet in a way that made me greedy. Because she was mine.
The last word wasn’t just a possibility. It was a certainty.
My hackles lifted as instinct slammed into me so hard it stole my breath. My cougar surged forward, his focus narrowed to a single truth.
Mate.
My beast wanted to find her. To put my body between hers and the world. To circle and guard. Ensure nothing touched what belonged to us.
To claim the woman who was born to be mine.
I couldn’t let instinct take the reins, no matter how violently it demanded control.
She was human and likely unaware of the supernatural world that existed around her.
My mate needed safety, not fear. And the only way to give her that was to slow down and find her the right way.
I forced my cougar away from the scent before the urge to mate could drag me toward her.
It wasn’t easy. My inner animal didn’t understand hesitation or distance.
He wanted to get to our mate. Now.
My truck sat where I’d left it, tucked beneath the cover of trees near the access road.
I shifted back to human form in the shadow of the forest, the change rippling through me in a practiced blur.
Opening the passenger side door, I grabbed my clothes and quickly dressed.
My hands stayed steady despite the storm raging inside my chest.
Control wasn’t about killing instinct.
It was about choosing when to listen.
My cougar prowled inside me, restless and demanding, but the man held the reins. I grounded myself in routine—checking my phone, pulling on my jacket, and forcing my breathing to remain slow and even.
I didn’t rush. Didn’t tear through the trees like a feral beast chasing the scent that called to me like no other.
The first thing my mate needed from me wasn’t teeth or claws. She deserved a man who understood how terrifying it would be to wake up alone in the woods and find a stranger nearby.
I would find her, but I would do it the right way. Because being her mate meant protecting her from everything—including myself, if needed.
I shut the truck door quietly and followed her scent trail at a deliberate pace.
I spotted the car before I saw her. It was tucked too far off the access road to belong there. Mud splattered the sides, and the windows were fogged faintly from the inside.
My steps slowed without conscious thought as I approached, every instinct tightening.
She was curled up in the back seat—bundled in layers that didn’t hide how small she looked with her knees drawn toward her chest and a blanket pulled up to her chin. Her dark hair was mussed from sleep, and her face was pale and drawn with exhaustion.
My chest ached at the sight of her like that. Alone and unaware. It hit even harder than her scent had.
My cougar surged violently beneath my skin, a furious snarl tearing through my veins. Every part of him screamed that she should be warm and fed. That she should never have been left like this in the first place.
She should never have been alone.
I stopped only inches from the car and forced myself to breathe. There were no visible injuries, and I didn’t smell blood. The rise and fall of her chest were steady.
Then I stepped back a few feet—far enough to give her space but close enough that she’d see me when she woke.
As much as I wanted to, I didn’t loom. I kept my hands visible and posture calm, waiting for the moment when her eyes finally blinked open.
And I willed my hard-on down with every ounce of my being.
I was thrilled as fuck to experience desire for the first time, but I didn’t want my mate to think I was a pervert who got off on staring at her while she slept.
Her lashes fluttered slowly, confusion clouding her stormy-blue orbs for half a second before awareness snapped into place.
She jerked upright with a sharp inhale, her slim limbs tangling in the blanket as she scrambled back against the door. Her gaze darted wildly, taking in the fogged windows, the gray morning light, and me.
I took another step back and pitched my voice just loud enough for her to hear me through the window. “It’s okay. I’m not here to hurt you.”
Her chest rose and fell too fast as she dragged a hand through her hair. Color crept into her cheeks as she stared at me.
She was clearly wary, but she didn’t scream. Instead, she slowly opened the car door, remaining inside as she blurted, “Sorry, I didn’t realize anyone would be around. This was just for the night. I’ll leave now.”
Without the foggy windows between us, she looked younger than I’d expected. Too sweet to be sleeping in her car on the edge of a construction site after a storm.
Dark circles smudged the pale skin beneath her eyes, exhaustion etched into every line of her posture, but there was steel there too. A kind of quiet determination that impressed me.
My cougar surged at the sight of her like this, every instinct screaming to pull her against me, to wrap her up in my warmth and keep her there. Where she belonged.
“I’m Garner.” I kept my distance, my hands loose at my sides.
Her grip tightened on the blanket as she studied me. “I’m Elodie.”
“This is my construction site, so I can promise you that you’re not in trouble. You didn’t do anything wrong.” I kept my tone steady and my distance intact. “But this isn’t a safe place to stay.”
Her shoulders eased a fraction, though she stayed where she was, half sheltered by the open car door.
All I wanted was to prove she could trust me. “After last night’s storm, there’s damage I haven’t finished assessing yet. Fallen trees and unstable ground.”
Her fingers curled around the edge of the blanket. “I was going to leave as soon as it got light.”
“I believe you.” I took a breath, choosing my next words carefully. “But another storm is moving in this morning. Heavier than the last one. You’re welcome to come back to my cabin until the rain passes. It’s about a half-hour drive from here.”
Her eyes widened slightly. Still wary but not closed off.
“I have an extra room,” I added quickly. “And my neighbors’ women can vouch for me.”
Her brow furrowed. “Women?”
I couldn’t call them what they truly were—mates. She’d find out soon enough, but now wasn’t the time.
“Wives,” I corrected smoothly. “Their cabins are close enough that they could easily pop over to introduce themselves.”
She studied my face, searching for any sign of deceit. I gave her none.
“If you’d rather move on, I can point you toward safer places to park.”
It killed me to make the offer, but I’d continue to watch over her no matter where she went.
Elodie was mine.
She just didn’t know it yet.
And I’d follow her anywhere to make sure she was protected.