Chapter 4
FOUR
Luke
Anger bubbled up from my gut. My mate could have been hurt. I dreaded thinking about what would have happened if she hadn’t reached the tractor before the cattle. A scared herd was unpredictable.
A thread of guilt wrapped around the flow of anger. I shouldn’t have been so harsh with Eli. He was just a boy. And he didn’t have control over his wolf yet. He wouldn’t have meant to hurt anyone. His wolf was probably just playing, and things escalated.
I crested the hill, approaching the fence of the pasture where the cattle belonged. I expected to find a mangled mess where they broke through. Some injured cows. Instead, my brothers, Gabriel and Austin, were off their horses, inspecting an intact gate.
I nudged my horse faster, coming to a stop a few feet away, and slid to the ground. “How did the cattle get through?”
Gabriel’s face was hard. “Gate was open.”
“No way any of us would have forgotten to close a gate.” I strode over to stand beside him.
Austin crouched by the opening. “It wasn’t just open. It’s damaged. Someone hacked at the latch. Busted it completely.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” My thoughts flew to Eli. No way he did that in his wolf form. And he still couldn’t shift on his own.
“Unless it was Vince.” Gabriel leaned against a fence post. “Things have been too quiet lately.”
“But Katie saw—” I gritted my teeth, cutting off the sentence before completing it. If Katie saw a wolf, and it wasn’t me or Eli, could it have been my father? It wasn’t his usual style. He leaned more towards cons than sabotage.
But I couldn’t mention he was a possibility without telling my brothers everything, so I shook my head when Gabriel raised a brow. “It’s nothing. She wasn’t sure what she saw.”
Gabriel stared at me, searching my face as if looking for answers. But he soon turned his attention to Austin, who had retrieved a coil of rope from his saddle. Austin and Gabriel worked together to secure the gate until someone could come back to repair it.
I walked to my horse, mind racing. Was my father stepping up his game? Showing me the damage he was capable of if I didn’t give him the money he demanded? And if it was him, had he targeted Katie intentionally?
I swung up into the saddle and pointed my horse to where I had left Katie and Eli, but they were gone. I guided my horse along the path through the trees, keeping an eye out for them. Instead, I ran into Ethan outside the main barn.
“Hey, have you seen Katie and Eli?”
He nodded, squinting against the sun shining in his eyes. “They were headed to the cabins. The boy was talking a mile a minute. Sounds like he had a blast on his shift.”
The guilt that was a thread earlier widened to a river. I hated to think I might have ruined his first run with my accusations. And if my father was responsible, then not only was Eli innocent, the blame fell squarely on my shoulders.
“Can you take care of my horse?” I held out the reins, knowing my brother would help when asked. “I need to talk to them right away.”
“Of course.” His gaze was curious, but he didn’t ask, just took the reins. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
I nodded and strode toward the cabins, letting my long strides cover the ground quickly. I heard Katie and Eli before I saw them. They were in their cabin, but the window was open. The boy’s voice drifted out, his tone one of excitement.
“And I caught a rabbit! I chased it, and it almost got away, but then I pounced! And my wolf? He ate it!”
“Oh my. That’s… very cool.” Katie’s voice was faint, but she still encouraged Eli to continue. “Your wolf is a natural.”
“My wolf is great. He—”
I knocked, hating to interrupt and possibly ruin a rare moment of openness for the teen, but I was unwilling to delay this.
The door swung open, and Katie moved to block my view into the room. “This isn’t a good time.”
“I have something important to say to Eli.” When she didn’t soften her stance, I lowered my voice. “Please.”
She studied my expression. I wasn’t sure exactly what she saw, but it must have convinced her, because she stepped back, allowing me to enter the cabin.
Eli glared at me and slouched on the couch, arms crossed tightly.
“I owe you an apology.” I met the teen’s gaze head on.
His eyes flickered, and some of his bluster melted away, but he still fought it.
As if he didn’t know how to handle receiving an apology.
A thought that caused my heart to crack open.
“I shouldn’t have blamed you. I won’t make excuses for why I did, because the reasons don’t matter.
What matters is my accusation was uncalled for. I hope you can forgive me.”
The weight of Katie watching settled on me. I wanted her approval, but at the moment I was more concerned about Eli. I didn’t want to set him back.
Eli’s mouth twisted as he considered my words. Eventually he shrugged, as if it didn’t matter. “Whatever.”
I motioned to the chair. “May I sit?”
He nodded reluctantly.
“I heard you as I came onto the porch. Your wolf caught a rabbit? That’s impressive for your first run.”
His chest puffed up, and he tried to hide his smile but failed. “My wolf is fast.”
“Must be. There’s nothing like that first hunt.”
His eyes lit. “When my teeth sank into it—”
I raised a hand and tilted my head toward Katie, whose face had paled. I spoke in a loud whisper. “Humans don’t always appreciate the killing details.”
He grinned, a small laugh escaping him.
“Why don’t I let you two talk about the finer points of hunting?” Katie raised a brow as she crossed the room toward the front bedroom. “I have some paperwork to do.”
With Katie gone, Eli shut down a little again, but I prodded him for details, and his enthusiasm for his wolf overrode his reticence.
I promised him we would work on his shifting every day and suggested having Declan’s mate Chloe, who was a professional photographer, take pictures of his wolf for him to have.
Soon the excitement of the day caught up with him, and he yawned. He was resistant to sleeping this early, but I convinced him it was normal for a new shifter. He trudged to his room, yawning as he went.
After he closed the bedroom door, I walked over to Katie’s room and knocked.
I should probably put distance between us, but after having her in my arms earlier, there was no way I could let her walk away.
Plus, if my father had sent the cattle her way, I needed to keep her safe, and the best way to do that was to keep her close and claim her.
Katie
I closed Eli’s file as a knock sounded on my door. I’d updated my notes and started a list of options for after he learned to control his wolf. Nothing felt right, though.
“Come in.”
Luke stepped inside, his large frame filling the small room. “Eli’s gone to bed. He needs rest to recover from his adventure today.”
“Thank you for talking to him.” I twisted on the bed to face him. “I tried to be supportive, but the rabbit made me a little squeamish.”
The corner of his mouth raised in a half-grin. “It’s definitely not for everyone. Most of my brothers’ mates pretend we never hunt in our animal forms. Emily’s less bothered by it, but she grew up on a ranch.”
“Mates?” I remembered Emily calling Austin her mate when she showed up at my office, but we were a little busy then for me to question her word choice.
“Can I sit?” He motioned toward the bed. I nodded. “It’s a shifter thing. We have something called a fated mate. It’s like a soulmate on steroids.”
“That’s why you told Eli shifters believe in fate?” I drew the words out as I turned the idea over in my head. Even though Emily had mentioned it earlier, I hadn’t had a chance, or reason, to consider it further with everything that had happened.
“Yes.” He blew out a breath, his gaze trained on the bedspread. “It’s a big deal when a shifter finds their mate. It’s usually another shifter, though to look at my brothers you would never guess. Everyone but Mason has found their mate, and they’re all humans.”
A twinge of disappointment flashed through my gut. “So, you’ve found yours?”
His eyes lifted from the bed to meet mine. “Yes.”
“You’ll have to introduce me. I’m sure she’s lovely.
” I spoke quickly, covering the jealousy that coursed through me when I pictured another woman with Luke.
It was crazy. I barely knew the man. Sure, I had a little crush on him, but attraction was natural.
Now I knew for sure that I needed to ignore it.
“She wasn’t at the farmhouse yesterday.”
“Yes, she was.” He jammed his fingers in his hair. “I’m not doing a good job of this. I’ve never had to do it before.”
“Do what?” I ran through everyone I’d met when I took Eli to the farmhouse. Emily was with Austin. Ethan was with Hannah if the kiss he gave her was any indication, and Mae, an elderly woman who was clearly in charge of everyone, was too old to be Luke’s. Chloe was—
“You’re my mate.”
My brain stuttered and blanked. My mouth was slightly open, but I couldn’t seem to send the signal needed to close it. When my neurons began firing again, I replayed his words, analyzing them to determine if he meant what I thought he did.
“Katie?”
“Um, can you repeat that? I think I misheard you.”
“You’re my mate.” He covered my hand with his, stroking his thumb across my skin.
“Are you sure? This isn’t some joke?” I stared into his eyes, seeing nothing but sincerity.
“I would never joke about this.” He lifted my hand, lacing our fingers together.
There was a feeling of rightness to it I didn’t understand.
As if my hand was just waiting for his to complete it.
“The minute I caught your scent, I knew. You smell like lilac and honeysuckle, and it called to me like nothing else ever has.”
I frowned, considering the implications of what he was saying. He’d known from the start I was his mate. But he’d said nothing. “Why didn’t you tell me right away?”
He cleared his throat. “I wish I could say it was because you were human, and I wanted to give you time to get to know me first. But honestly, I wasn’t sure I was ever going to tell you.”
Hurt punched me in the gut. I tugged at my hand, trying to remove it from his, but he held tight. “Why not? Was there something wrong with me?”
Luke cursed. “I’m messing this up.” He slid closer to me on the bed, lifting his free hand to cup my cheek. His calloused palm against my smooth skin sent shivers radiating out. “You’re perfect. The problem is me. I’m not… I don’t deserve you.”
“Why would you say that?”
He scrubbed his face with his hands before leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I’m not like my brothers. They were adopted at a much younger age. I grew up differently.”
I drew my leg up, folding it on the bed between us. His eyes were hidden from me, but his profile was stark, as if he were laying himself bare. “You know what I do for a living. I’m not bothered by a difficult past. It doesn’t define who you are forever.”
He gave his head a small shake. “You don’t understand. My birth father was a con man who raised me to help with his cons. I share responsibility for so many people losing their life savings, and it’s something I can never make right.”
“You were a child.” I rubbed his back, my mind whirring with what he’d told me. “You only knew what you were taught. And now that you know better, you no longer con people.”
“I was Eli’s age when he dumped me on a pack.
He couldn’t move as easily through the human world with a teenager learning to shift.
It’s a volatile time for a shifter, and I would only get in his way.
” He clasped his hands together. “I caused nothing but problems for that pack. I didn’t know how to interact with people without lying and manipulating. ”
“You’ve obviously learned since then.” I wanted to banish the haunted expression he wore. Soothe him. “When did things change?”
His eyes remained locked on the floor, but he appeared to gaze through it, as if seeing a memory. A small smile played with his lips. “My mom.” He switched his gaze to me. “My adoptive mom, I mean.”
There was a warmth in his dark eyes that lit up his entire face. It transformed him, and my breath caught. I remembered him telling me I reminded him of her, and I wondered if I would ever put that same look on his face.
I shook off the desire, unsure about this mate thing. If I understood it correctly, he would move fast, and I didn’t want to give him false hope. Until I decided what I wanted, I needed to maintain a level head and not allow the romance of fated mates to sweep me away.