Chapter 6
“What does it mean that I’m your mate?”
For one heartbeat, Luke forgot how to speak. Valley, cheeks pink, brow furrowed, had just blindsided him with a question.
He cleared his throat. “It means that you and I are meant to be together. Shifters call it a truemate, the one person on the planet meant for them.”
“And I’m yours.” It was a statement, but it sounded a bit like a question.
“Yes. I felt you when I walked into the tavern Friday night. It’s why I walked outside and looked for you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You only said it once, though.” She folded her arms across her chest.
“I did say it,” he said. “But then a little bit later, you said you were leaving town. And I wasn’t sure if you understood our connection.
It’s not one-sided. It’s not supposed to be.
I’m wildly attracted to you, but it’s more than that.
I feel drawn to you. I like being with you.
You make me laugh, I think you’re so sweet.
And hell, Valley, have you looked in a mirror? You’re gorgeous.”
Her cheeks darkened further and she rolled her lips but didn’t say anything.
Not even that she thought he was cute.
His bear was a little disgruntled at that.
“I know it’s probably the weirdest thing for you to hear. You’re human, so you don’t have a bear in your head giving you extra senses like a homing signal to your mate.”
“No, I don’t,” she said.
“You did feel something, though?”
She looked away, then back to him. “Yes.” The word hung in the air for a long moment, and then she said, “I don’t really understand it, but I do feel drawn to you.
I like spending time with you, and I can’t really get you out of my head.
Then today I talked to Juliette in the bookstore, and she told me how excited she was that you’d found your mate.
So, I came over here to talk to you about it, and all I really want to do is just ask you one question. ”
“Anything.”
She threw up her hands. “What the hell?”
He blinked. “What?”
“I mean, what the actual hell, Luke! Why didn’t you tell me that you think of me in a forever way before you rocked my world Friday? Maybe you could have mentioned it somewhere between the burger on the deck and when you were kissing me senseless.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I got caught up in the physical side of things, and then I backed off because I didn’t want you to think I was trying to make you feel guilty about leaving.”
“Does everyone know?” she asked. “Am I the only one left out?”
“Trick, the bouncer at the door, knew I’d found you. And my friends that were there. So, I guess two of the three shifter groups in town know.”
She rubbed the space between her brows with her finger. “So, the dragons don’t know?”
“I wouldn’t think so,” he said with a chuckle.
She moved closer and he picked up her sweet scent.
“I like you,” she said.
“I like you too.” More than like, but she was balking at the word like so he wasn’t going to add any other words to his feelings at the moment.
“I mean, I guess like isn’t quite the right word because it does feel deeper to me.
I can’t stop thinking about you or wanting to be with you.
And hearing Juliette talk about mates put a word to what I was feeling.
But I have plans, Luke. I have a job waiting for me and a boss who gave me money to relocate that I already spent.
My apartment is full of boxes and everyone knows I’m leaving Friday. ”
He hated that word with a passion. Friday.
The last two days had been the best of his life. Saturday morning had been rocky, but he really thought they’d turned a corner last night.
But now she was here. Asking about mates but reminding him that she had one foot out the door.
Part of him had hoped that last night had changed things for her. That he would be enough to make her want to stay. He was a bear. He understood loyalty to the bone. His bear had chosen her the moment he laid eyes on her, and there were no second guesses to be had.
Valley didn’t have that instinct, she had plans and obligations, and a life she’d set in motion before he found her Friday night.
“I know you have plans, sweetheart.”
“You say that like it doesn’t bother you.”
“It bothers the hell out of me.”
Her eyes went wide.
He stepped close so their bodies grazed. “I don’t want you two hours away. I don’t want you starting a life without me in it.”
“Luke,” she said, sucking in a breath.
Then he said what he’d decided when he woke up that morning.
Putting his hand on her shoulder, he brushed her neck with his thumb, envisioning his marks there.
“But your plans matter, your dreams matter. All of that matters because it means something to you, and you mean something to me. You’re mine, Valley, and I’m yours.
And if you still want to leave on Friday, then – if you’ll let me – I’ll go with you. ”
She went completely still.
“What?”
“I said I’ll go with you.”
“You can’t. You have a house, your friends, your den, your job here.”
“I wouldn’t have you here. I’d walk away from King Lake to be with you.”
She made a frustrated sound. “Luke! I’m wrestling with my feelings for you and going through with the relocation and you’re saying you’d walk away from all of this – for me – after two days, like it’s so easy.”
“It’s not easy, but it’s pretty damn simple.”
She stared at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears, and then she hugged him. “It’s only been two days, but it feels like forever.”
He held her close, burying his face in her neck and inhaling her sweet scent. “Because that’s what being a mate is like.”
After a very long hug where neither of them said anything about anyone moving, Luke asked if she’d like to hang out with him and she agreed.
The rest of Sunday passed quickly. She helped him finish a planter box for Maggie and they delivered it to her. He liked that she had a chance to get to meet the only female bear in the den. Then he made dinner for Valley by grilling brats on his patio while they talked about everything but Friday.
As the sky turned from sunshine to moonlight, they sat on lounge chairs on the patio and stared at the sky, and then he asked her to stay the night. All the way until morning, so he could wake up with her beautiful face. And she said yes.
When they tumbled into bed, he kissed her like there were no Friday plans and he had all the time in the world. When she fell apart crying out his name, he followed her into bliss, his bear bellowing in his head that he’d follow her anywhere.
And he meant it.
By late Tuesday morning, Luke had learned that Valley could avoid the word Friday like it was a secret she’d sworn to keep.
He’d had to take her home on Monday so he could get to the gazebo in Mill Creek, but today, she’d asked to come with him and he’d been happy to have her company.
He’d take any chance he could to spend time with her.
As he was packing his tools into his truck, his phone rang.
He checked the screen. “Hey, Sigh.”
“Tell me you know someone who can make burger buns.”
“What?” he asked.
“Our delivery got screwed up and I’ve got no buns for tonight. I’m not serving the burger of the week on grocery store buns. I called Maggie and she didn’t answer, so maybe your girl knows someone? Or you do?”
Luke looked at Valley where she sat on his porch step with a cup of coffee and was watching him with a sweet smile. “I know someone. Hold on.”
He walked over to her and said, “It’s Sigh. He has a bun emergency?”
She took the phone with a curious look. “Hi, this is Valley. You’re Juliette’s… mate?”
Luke couldn’t hear everything Sigh said, but he saw her expression shift from amused to focused. “Well, I’d need to see your kitchen first, and how many you need, plus your opening time.”
There was a pause.
“A hundred? Shit. Okay, that’s a lot of emergency buns for a business that opens in six hours.”
Luke grinned at her and she beamed at him. “I can do it. I mean I have a quick rise recipe that makes a good burger bun, but it’s not the kind you use. It’s not a slow rise brioche or a pretzel bun or anything fancy.”
There was another pause. She rose to her feet. “I’ll need ingredients. And an extra pair of hands. Okay, see you in a few minutes.”
She handed the phone to Luke.
“All right, sexy, what do you need?” he asked.
“I need to see The Howl’s kitchen, and then I need to run to a warehouse store.”
“I’ve got your back.”
He closed the back of the truck and texted Colt that he was going to call off for the day, promising to explain later, and then he drove Valley to the tavern.
After a perusal of the kitchen, and learning that Sigh had purchased a commercial mixer but never used it so it was sitting in the storage room, they took The Howl’s credit card and headed to the store.
Exactly one hour and twenty-two minutes later, he and Sigh were carrying flour, yeast, butter, eggs, milk, sugar, and baking trays into The Howl’s kitchen.
For the next few hours, Valley was a machine. She clipped her hair up, slid on a hair net, washed her hands and tied on an apron. Then she directed Luke, Juliette, and Audrey to help as she measured, mixed, and gave orders without apology.
Luke did whatever she asked.
When the first trays came out of the ovens, the kitchen filled with the smell of fresh baked bread. Valley’s cheeks were flushed from the heat, flour dusted one side of her shirt, and a loose curl had escaped the hair net. She looked like an angel. And Luke was even more smitten with her.
Sigh cooked a burger, and cut open a bun, sliding the burger onto it.
He sliced the burger in half and took a bite out of one side, then handed it to Juliette, who tore off a section and gave it to Audrey. Luke took the other half and split it with Valley.
Luke took a bite and said, “Holy shit.”
Valley took a bite. “The burger is good, Sigh.”
The burger of the week was for Trick’s mate Cassidy, named the Burger Next Door. Luke thought the burger, topped with cheese, bacon, and a burger sauce that Cassidy made, was awesome.
“Thanks, but the bun is excellent. This is even better than what I was getting from the baker out of town,” Sigh said.
Luke put his arm around Valley and kissed the top of her head. “You did good, baby.”
She looked at him with a broad smile. “Thank you for helping me.”
Sigh brushed his hands together. “We’re not done yet, people. We’ve got ninety minutes to open.”
“Next trays are going in,” Valley said. She went onto her toes and kissed Luke, then hurried to the sink to wash her hands.
Sigh clapped him on the shoulder. “She’s amazing. Thanks for bringing her here.”
“You’re welcome.”
Luke finished the burger in his hand and then washed his hands, joining Valley to finish loading up the dough onto the trays and putting them in the ovens.
By the time The Howl opened, the buns were cooled on racks and ready to be filled with burgers. He and Valley said goodbye to the wolves and walked out into the parking lot.
“Wow, that was an intense day,” he said.
“Yeah, but so fun. Thank you for letting me boss you around today.”
“You can do that anytime.”
Her phone rang as they walked to the truck. She paused and stared at the screen, then answered, “Hi, Margie.”
Everything in him went quiet.
“Uh, tomorrow? Yeah. I can drive up. Is ten okay? Sure thing. See you tomorrow.”
She ended the call and stared at the phone. “Margie needs me to help her get some things in the store set up so I have to drive up there tomorrow.”
Just a little while ago, they’d been in the kitchen and he’d seen her thrive, seen the joy on her face as she worked. And it had been so good that he’d almost forgotten about Friday.
Now he’d just had cold water poured over him.
“Yeah, sure,” he said.
“I have to go.”
“I’ll be here when you get back,” he said.
She smiled, but it was half-hearted. She walked to the truck and got in the passenger seat. He got behind the wheel and said, “Did you want to stay here tonight again? I have to leave early tomorrow to get to the gazebo, but I could take you home before that.”
She cleared her throat. “I… need to get back home. But I’ll call you when I get back tomorrow, although it might be late.”
“I promise I’ll answer, no matter the time.”
“And then we can talk,” she said. “About the future.”
“You’re my future, Valley.”
She leaned against his arm and sighed softly. “You’re a really wonderful guy, Luke. I’m so glad I met you.”
He kissed the top of her head and pulled out of the parking lot. “I’m glad I met you too.”