Chapter 8
EIGHT
Camden
This is not how I imagined my first date with my mate would go.
I’ve had to stop Holly from bolting from my car three times, and we’ve only been parked here for an hour.
My wolf is amused and happy to have our mate close by.
Me, not so much.
“Do you want another slice?” I ask, passing her the pizza box.
“No.” She leans her head against the window.
I stare at her, wondering how to get her to give me another chance.
I stopped to grab us a pizza before we drove here. We’re staking out the trail we think the cult has been using to get onto our land. It’s been pretty boring so far with no movement.
Talk to her, my wolf says. Bite her.
She would hate that.
Talking to her or biting her?
Both.
“What brought you to Night Grove Falls?” I ask.
“Adeline.”
“You two are close.”
“She’s my family,” she says simply.
“What about your other family?”
“They’re dead.”
“I’m sorry,” I say softly.
Holly shrugs. “We were never really close.”
“Yeah, my family was like that, too.”
She glances at me out of the corner of her eye. “Sorry. It sucks, huh?”
“Yeah, it did. Then I made my own family.”
“The Pack.”
I nod.
“Was your dad the Alpha before you?”
“Yeah, for a bit. He was in the Marines, and we moved here when he retired. He challenged the previous Alpha and won. He was the Alpha for about four years before he passed.”
“And you took over?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that what you wanted? To lead?”
“Yeah. I mean, it was drilled into me. I never went to boot camp, but I kind of did. My dad would wake me up early, and we’d work out for an hour. Then we sparred.”
“Sounds fun.”
“It wasn’t. Every day, it was a battle.”
“What about your mom?”
I look out at the trail. “She was more fun. Tried to get my dad to lighten up, but he was like a steamroller. He ran over everyone.”
She frowns, looking sad.
I clear my throat. “What about you?”
“My parents were workaholics who never wanted to be parents. I spent most of my time with Adeline at her place.”
“I’m glad that you had her.”
“Me too.”
We’re silent for a beat as we stare at the forest. The sun is setting, and it’s getting harder to see anything through the trees and shadows.
Holly’s phone rings, and she answers it. I listen in, trying to figure out who’s calling her so late.
Is it a guy? my wolf snarls.
“Hello?” she answers. “Oh, yes, I remember…Okay. Right. That sounds great. Okay, I’ll look out for that email. Thanks, I’ll be in touch soon.”
I raise an eyebrow at her as she hangs up. “Who was that?”
“The manager of the diner. They offered me a job as a waitress.”
“That’s great.”
“Uh-huh.” She sounds bored.
“It’s not what you want?”
“I don’t know. It’s something, I guess.”
“You can move in with me. I’ll take care of you.”
“Right,” she says with the same bored tone.
Fix this! my wolf orders.
I know I need to. Holly and I have so much in common. I’m relaxed around her, and I’m realizing that I like her. Really like her. She’s strong and feisty. She’s gorgeous and challenges me. She’s mine.
I messed up, I think.
My wolf nods in agreement.
Holly deserves to have someone who loves her fully. She deserves to be the center of her mate’s world, and that person is me.
Holly shifts in her seat, her eyes growing heavy. I pull off my jacket and lay it over her.
“Thanks,” she mumbles.
I nod, my eyes trained on the trail. It doesn’t take her long before she falls asleep in the passenger seat. I watch over her, switching my gaze from the trail to my mate and back again until the sun rises and Cyrus comes to take over the next shift.
His eyebrows arch, and he grins when he sees Holly asleep next to me.
I give him a warning glare.
“Any movement?” he asks.
“No, nothing last night. Maybe it’s a different trail or road?”
He sighs. “We’ll see. Get some rest. I’ve got it from here.”
Holly wakes up as I start the car and drive toward town.
“Morning,” I say, steering the car down the back road.
“Morning,” she mumbles.
I smile at how cute she is. “Are you hungry? I thought we could grab breakfast.”
“No, I just want to go home.”
I turn the car and drive us toward my house.
Holly rolls her eyes as I pull up out front. “Home,” she stresses. “I want to go back to Adeline’s house.”
I frown. “We still need to talk.”
She shakes her head. “No, we don’t.”
“Holly—”
Her phone rings, cutting me off.
“Hello?” she answers, glaring at me. “Oh, hey. Yeah. I’m not in that state, but I could interview remotely if that’s okay?”
What? my wolf asks. She’s leaving the state?
My wolf and I are on high alert as she finishes her phone call and hangs up.
“Who was that?” My question sounds harsher than I intended.
“I applied to work for a cruise line. They called to set up the interview.”
“You can’t leave town.”
She sighs. “We’ll see.”
“The full moon is coming up soon.”
“Okay.”
“We won’t be able to resist each other.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Sure, we will. You just continue to avoid me like you’ve been doing since I came to town, and I’ll do the same. We’ll be fine.”
Before I can reply, she throws open the truck door and bolts.
I curse and jump out, chasing after her. She’s faster than I expected. I round the corner and skid to a stop.
“Let her go,” Rhodes says.
My wolf howls inside me, snarling at me to get our mate.
“Move, Rhodes,” I bark.
He shakes his head. “You need to give her some time and space. You can’t force her to be with you.”
“She wants me.”
“Maybe physically, but she’s running from you right now. You need to give her time.”
I know he’s right, but I don’t like it. My wolf paces inside me as I turn and head home.
If Holly wants some space, she can have it, but I’m not giving up.
Holly’s mine, and I’m going to prove it to her.
Soon.