I held my breath at his words till I almost passed out. There was something oddly dangerous about Tyler Lockhart and while I knew somehow that he wouldn’t hurt me, it didn’t mean the possibility of me getting hurt was non-existent.
My body called out to him. I couldn’t deny it; there was a bond between us. A kind of familiarity I knew could not be explained by a mere twist of fate. No. This ran deeper than the physical, than what we could both see. I felt it all the way to my bones and knew there was no point in fighting it.
Marking? I had no idea what the intricacies of the mating process between a man and a woman entailed. I didn’t have a mother to ask such questions and my father had been none too happy talking to me about anything except it couldn’t be avoided. I’d read books on werewolves mating but all I knew was that the male would put his thing into the female and that was it.
Hell, Tyler had just given me my first kiss. Though if marking me felt anything close to what kissing him felt like, I had a feeling I was going to enjoy it.
“You can stay here for the meantime.” Tyler’s voice pulled me out of my daydreaming. “I’ll have my housekeepers set up a room for you. Since you don’t strike me as a woman who likes to put her feet up all the time, I assume you’d like something to do? A job, perhaps?”
Everything was moving too fast. “Wait,” I said. “What makes you think I want anything from you?”
He stared down at me in amusement. “Would you rather be homeless? How long do you think the money you have is going to last you here? Rogue City is expensive, Little One. I give you one week before the dry phase starts.”
I eyed him disbelieving. Where I came from, no one offered help just for the heck of it. There was always something attached to it. And in my experience, whatever it was usually involved mockery. “Are you trying to make fun of me? Because I swear, I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” he took a step forward, amusement swirling in his gray eyes.
We both knew I posed no physical threat and he could take me down without even trying. Tyler was big. Bigger than most men. Definitely bigger than Ethan. Knowledge glimmered in his eyes and a smile played at his lips. I couldn’t tell if he really was mocking me or not.
“Listen, Arya. I like you and I know we’ve only just met but something tells me you’re not one to take help just like that.”
“I’m not. I don’t trust people. Werewolves, mostly. They are usually fickle and mean. The worst kinds of creatures.”
His eyes were sad as he stared back at me. “You’ve lived a tough life. I’m sorry they hurt you.”
I felt a prickle at the back of my eyes. No. I would not cry! Not in front of anyone and certainly not in front of Tyler. “I’ll live.”
He went silent. A myriad of emotions went through me. I was mostly grateful that the Crest pack was now my past. Even though I would not see my family again, it occurred to me just then that it didn’t matter. For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel like a burden, like a disgrace. I felt… free. My father and Alison had spent the entirety of my life calling me names, letting me know that they hated me. Hell, my own father told me he wished I’d died along with my mother. If that wasn’t hatred, I didn’t know what was.
I also felt gratitude to the moon goddess. Somehow, she’d engineered this whole thing by bringing me here and giving me a second chance mate. Tyler created all sorts of turbulent emotions inside me but at least he wasn’t mean like Ethan and so far, had not screamed to the world that I was trying to bewitch him into marrying me.
Not like Tyler was scrambling to the altar in pursuit of my hand. Not that I wanted to marry him. I didn’t know him that well.
“I really appreciate your help, Tyler, but I couldn’t be such an imposition,” I said.
“If you appreciate my help, then take it.”
I shook my head. “You want something in return and I have nothing to give you.”
“I’m not asking you to sign your soul over to me.”
“Might as well.”
“Arya, stop being stubborn. I’m a very rich man. There’s nothing you could possibly give me that I cannot buy.”
True, but still. “I’ll find somewhere to stay for now. Maybe get a job as a waitress or something.”
Tyler sighed. “Do you know what wolves here do to other defenseless wolves like yourself? You said it yourself that you can’t even transform.”
Swallowing, I held his gaze. I’d heard rumors of how brutal and barbaric rogue wolves were. And if their Alpha was giving me such a warning, was it really wise to throw it back in his face?
He crouched down so we were at eye level. “Listen, you can move out as soon as you make enough income. For now, stay here and work as my secretary. I could use some help at the office.”
I watched him in silence, searching his face for any signs of insincerity. There were none. I didn’t understand it. This man didn’t know me. Everything I just said to him could’ve been one big lie. How was he so trusting? Offering me a room under his roof and a job? It was almost inconceivable that anyone could be so welcoming. The Crests certainly were not. If anything, we were encouraged to distrust one another.
“I want you, Arya,” he whispered, covering my hand in his large one. “And that means from now on, you are my responsibility. I’ll take care of you from now on and no one will ever be able to hurt you again. Not even your family.”
No one had ever said that to me. A tear slid down my cheek. “Oh, Tyler…” I whispered, closing my eyes. For so long, I’d had no one to lean on. Time and time again, when I was low and exhausted from everything, I’d had to clean my tears, sniff in, chin up and walk through the fire. I was only twenty-two but sometimes it felt like I had been here for half a century.
And here was Tyler, a man I’d just met less than three hours ago, asking me to lean on him. And it was so damn hard.
When I opened my eyes, Tyler was staring right at me. “What do you say? Stay with me?”
What other choice did I have? It wasn’t like I could go back home. And I knew no one else here. Everything was strange to me. I’d come here to start a new life and Tyler was offering me just that. So why was I hesitating?
Sucking in a breath, I nodded. “Alright. I’ll stay.”
Tyler grinned. “That’s my girl.”
And truly, I did feel like his girl. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.