We drive another five miles, still climbing the side of a mountain. In the distance, a citadel looms. There's no other word to describe it. Surrounded by smooth adobe walls, an enormous palace sits on a high hill, with balustrade-lined balconies and turrets overlooking the enclave of little thatch-roofed huts below. A medieval-style home to royalty and peasants-that's how it looked.
The road dead-ends at a giant portcullis-closed, of course.
The vans stop, and we start to pile out. A flash of movement coming from behind us makes me whirl and partially shift, but I pull up short.
"Sedona?"
My sister is running at us at top speed. She's wearing some kind of flowy, old-fashioned gown, and I scent her blood, mingled with that of a male's.
Amber was right-not that I doubted it. Sedona's been marked.
"Garrett!" She launches into the air and flies into my arms, wrapping arms and legs around me like a toddler.
I fall back with the impact and hug her. "Sedona. You're all right. We're here now."
When my dad joins us, I put her down, and she hugs him, too.
"How do we get in? I'm going to kill every last motherfucking-"
"No." Sedona shoots a look over her shoulder in the direction she came. A little boy, no more than nine years old, stands there, looking uncertain. "Take me out of here. I don't want a fight. I just want to go home. Let's go."
My dad shakes his head. "No one steals my daughter and lives."
"They didn't steal me, they bought me. You're welcome to kill the fuckers who stole me, but I just want to get out of here. No bloodshed. Let's just leave."
I see my father isn't going for it, so I grab his arm and jerk my head toward the van. "Dad, come here."
His mouth closes in a tight line, but he follows me around the back of the vehicle where we can talk in private. Well, the privacy is largely an illusion because wolves have incredible hearing, but at least the others understand we mean to speak privately.
"Dad, don't you think Sedona's been through enough? She's been mated. She might have conflicted feelings toward the guy. The last thing she needs is more trauma. If she says no bloodshed here, I think we have to honor her wishes."
My dad growls.
I hold my ground, refusing to lift my chin or cower to his animal. My wolf is alpha, now. He needs to hear me on this.
"We don't kill them and we send the message we're weak."
"So we come back later and slaughter the whole town," I say drily, although my dad is capable of such violence. "I say for right now, we get Sedona out of here, hear her story, and regroup. If we decide to come back, we come back. I'll gladly rip every last motherfucker limb from limb. You know I will."
The rumble in my father's throat peters out and dies. He gives a single nod and stalks around the van, giving the command to load back up. I blink, somewhat dumbfounded that my father actually let me make the call.
The guys move with military precision, and our caravan is on its way out in less than sixty seconds. I sit in a back seat with Sedona, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and waiting until she's ready to talk.
~.~
We're threading through the streets of Mexico City when Sedona finally speaks. "How did you find me?" Despite the ordeal she's been through, she looks vibrant, youth and vitality oozing from her, as if her wolf loved being mated.
"My mate found you." There's so much fucking pride in my voice when I speak, I'm sure Amber can feel my love back in our hotel suite.
I'm coming for you, baby. Almost there.
Sedona lifts weary green eyes. "Your mate?"
I touch the back of her neck where her bite marks are healing. "Looks like we both mated this moon."
Sedona's eyes fill with tears, and she looks away. I'm ready to kill the asshole who did this, and I'm dying to get her story, but I force myself to remain silent. If I get aggressive, she'll clam up.
"Tell me about her?" Her voice is choked with tears.
I drop a kiss on the top of her head. "Her name is Amber. She's a human psychic and an attorney. And my next door neighbor. When you went missing, I volun-told her we needed her help, and we brought her along to Mexico. She helped us follow your trail to Mexico City, where we found your captors-they're already dead, by the way-and then she helped get the information on this place."
"A human, huh? Never would've figured." I don't hear a trace of judgment in Sedona's voice, or I would've gone on the defensive. I'm still expecting more shit from my dad.
"Me, neither." I shrug. "My wolf picked her."
Sedona's face clouds, sadness penetrating her gaze. "Yeah. I guess that happens."
Fuck. She must've fallen for her mate, whoever he is. Could've been Stockholm syndrome.
"You sure you don't want me to go back there and kill the entire Montelobo pack? Because I won't hesitate if you give the word, little sis."
She shakes her head. "I'm sure. Don't let Dad go back, either. I think... they're just a really fucked-up pack." She turns her face up to mine. "So where's Amber, now? When can I meet her?"
I know she's pasting on a sunny face for me, and it kills me. We pull up in front of the hotel. "She's in our suite. Come on. You can meet her now."
We pile out of the van, and I get into the elevator with Sedona, Trey, and Jared. I notice Sedona is quick to join me, just like she was quick to get in my van. She doesn't want to deal with our dad. I don't blame her. I drape an arm over her shoulders, and she leans against me.
I've only been gone six hours, but I'm dying to see Amber. Fates, I hope her bite wound hasn't caused her trouble. She's probably been miserable.
I stick my keycard in the door and swing it open. The moment I do, I know something's wrong.
Amber's scent isn't there. Well, traces are, but she's not in the room. "Amber?" I call out, even so. There's a note on the table, and I snatch it up.
Garrett,
I don't want to bind you to something that happened while under the influence of stress and a full moon. I know that mating with a human will change your position with the pack and with your father, and I don't want to have that weight on my shoulders. Let's write this off as an interesting second date and be done with it.
I caught a plane back to Tucson. Please give me some time before you stop by my apartment-I'd like some distance to heal.
Love,
Amber
No.
My roar shakes the pictures on the walls. I crumple the note and throw it to the floor.
She can't be gone.
I won't fucking accept it.
I grab my phone and stab in her number before I remember her cell doesn't work here. I let it ring and go to voicemail anyway.
"Amber. I need to talk to you right away. Call me." I want to say a million other things, but I don't trust myself not to fuck it up and say something stupid. Trey, Jarod, and Sedona are all wide-eyed and cautious, staying out of lunging distance but pulling sympathetic faces. "Trey, get Kylie to find out what plane she's on."
"I'm on it, G."
I stalk a tight circle around the room and slam my fist through the wall.
"Garrett," Sedona says sharply.
I swivel to face her, fists clenching. My growls make it hard to hear anything.
"If you want your mate back, you'd better have a better plan than punching holes in plaster."
I blink at her. It takes a full minute for her words to sink in, but then I realize she's right.
"Fuck." I burrow all ten fingers through my hair and hold my head.
I don't have a clue how to win my mate back. Clearly, I had no clue how to court her in the first place, since she said our first two dates were epically bad.
Trey's phone beeps. "You're in luck. She was booked on an early flight out of Mexico City, but she never boarded. She is now rebooked for a flight leaving in"-he looks at his phone–"one hour. Let's go."
I'm relieved to let Trey lead for a moment while my brain tries to rein back my wolf's ferocious desire to reclaim his mate. We all follow him into the elevator and take it down. My dad and some of his pack members are still in the lobby, and they speak to us, but I can't hear for the buzzing in my ears. Somehow they end up joining, too, and we all stream back into one of the vans.
As the vehicle shoots through traffic, my mind plays the reel of every moment I've spent with Amber since the day I met her.
If I'd had any doubt as to why I picked her as a mate, it's clear as day now. A glow pervades every interaction we had. Amber Drake is a gift. To this world. To the kids she helps. To me. She has the heart of an angel and shifter courage. She's delicate but strong. Powerful in her own right. Her capacity to love, to forgive, to offer her time and heart to others knows no bounds.
I need her.
Not just for my wolf. For me.
And I'll do anything in this world to make myself worthy of Amber Drake.
~.~
Let the record reflect: Breaking up with a wolf causes severe headaches. I wake up on the floor of the bathroom and find out I missed my flight. I have no idea how long I lay there or if anyone tried to help me.
Women are walking a large circle to avoid going near me, as if whatever knocked me out might be contagious. Heaven forbid someone call 9-1-1. Of course, that number might not work in Mexico.
I drag myself to a ticket counter, rebook for the next flight to the United States, and plunk down to wait. The light from the windows slashes through my head like a physical object. Nausea makes me slightly dizzy.
I can do this. I just need to get home, get into my bed.
Of course that thought reminds me of the last headache I had, when Garrett carried me to my bed and put a cool washcloth on my head. How could I ever have thought of him as a ruffian? He may have a rough exterior, but he's a gentle giant. He never meant to hurt me.
But he has.
Not the bite-I know that will heal. I also know I asked for it.
It's my heart that may never mend.
I went my whole life without ever feeling safe. Or whole. Or loved. I never belonged, never fit in. With Garrett, all that receded. He embraced all of me-not just Lawyer Amber. He cared about me, about my safety.
But agreeing to mate him after a single weekend together was stupid. It was the equivalent of the drunk Las Vegas wedding at midnight. With or without the Elvis-impersonating preacher. The event you wake up from and realize was a huge mistake.
So I'd go home. Be Lawyer Amber again. Keep helping kids. And, sooner or later, the memories from this weekend would fade.
Right?
I rub my pounding temples and shrink lower in the uncomfortable plastic chair.
A commotion near the security gate forces me to crack one eye to peek, and I go still.
Garrett's marching toward me, flanked by a dozen huge, bad-ass looking men, including Trey, Jared, and his father. Oh, and one female, who must be his sister.
Dark determination scores his face as he eats up the space between us, eyes glued to mine. I brace myself for my headache to increase, for the possibility of passing out again, but it doesn't. Instead, my world goes quiet. All the noise in my head drops back.
I resist the temptation to lean into this. Into Garrett. I left for him. He's better off without me. So I can't let the way my heart flip-flops in my chest, the way my body vibrates with excitement to see him, sway my decision.
We're over.
Garrett comes up so fast and furious, I'm afraid he'll tip out the entire row of chairs I'm sitting in, but he pulls up short when he reaches me. Pulls up short and crouches in front of me.
"Garrett, don't."
"Baby."
Oh God. I didn't count on him speaking so softly, so tenderly. I expected him to throw his weight around with his usual dominant-wolf bullshit. I was prepared to defend my case. But this sweetness knocks me between the eyes, sends a rush of longing and pain to my chest and face that builds, like a pressure cooker.
Garrett clears his throat, as if he's unsure what to say. I'm not used to seeing the cocky wolf so off his game. "I made a lot of mistakes. If I had it to do over, I'd make sure our first and second dates were the best of your life."
Tears swim in my eyes. I blink furiously, not wanting to shed them.
Garrett's entourage has gathered behind him, not offering us any privacy, as if they, too, are a part of this discussion.
"I'd make sure you never doubted the way I feel about you. And I'd make sure you knew it wasn't the full moon or my wolf that picked you for my mate. I pick you, Amber Drake. Human. Gifted psychic. Big-hearted lawyer. I need you, baby. And I don't care what any of them think." He finally acknowledges our audience with a jerk of his head. "I don't care if I lose my position as alpha. Or if my family disowns me. All I care about is you. Being with you. Being for you.
"Because nothing in my life meant anything until I met you. Now I know my purpose."
So much for not crying. Tears stream down my face as I try not to launch myself into Garrett's arms. "What's that?" I whisper.
"Making myself worthy of you."
"Stop it," I choke.
"I'll shine my shoes and sell the motorcycle, if you want. I'll turn the nightclub over to the guys. I'll help your foster kids. Whatever you need from me, I'm going to be that for you, Amber. Because you're mine. I told you once I marked you, I'd never let you go. And I meant it. But I'm going to work hard for your happiness. I'm going to make you proud to call me your mate.
So much for not launching.
I fly at Garrett, and he catches me. My arms wrap so tight around his neck, I'm strangling him.
"Baby," he croaks. "Is that a yes?"
"Yes," I whisper.
The pack gathers around us, into a tight circle. Jared puts a hand on my back, Trey touches Garrett.
Garrett's father clears his throat. "Sounds like Amber's given you the inspiration I never could."
Garrett refuses to release me, whispering unintelligible words into my hair.
"Welcome to the family, Amber," Mr. Green rumbles. "I appreciate what you did to save both my children this weekend."
"Welcome to the pack," Trey and Jarod and many other voices murmur.
Garrett finally releases me, and his sister picks up both my hands and squeezes them. "Thank you for helping them find me," she says. "And welcome to the family."
I remove my hands from her to embrace the beautiful brunette. I sense her own heartbreak as a resonance of what I'd just let go and I want to fix it for her.
"If you'll excuse us." Garrett takes my hand and shoves through the circle. "I need to get my mate back to the hotel." He looks down at me, his eyes soft with affection. "We'll fly home tomorrow. Together. Okay?"
I nod, mutely. I'll have to call work and let them know I'm not coming, but it's fine. I don't have any court appointments.
Garrett sweeps me up in his arms and strides out of the airport, despite my protests.
"Don't worry, Amber. We'll get your luggage," Trey calls after us.
I tuck my face against Garrett's neck. "How did you get past security without a plane ticket?" I ask.
"I don't know. Trey handled it."
Right. He has a pack. My pack, now, too.
~.~