Seven

Fitz couldn’t focus for the rest of the day. The only image that played over and over in his mind was his sweet, petite wife standing in his office telling him that his mate was also hers. How was that even possible?

By the time he surrendered to his nonproductive day, he had worked himself up into a lather over Mandy’s announcement. She just stood there, telling him she knew where Kinsey ran away to and why, and she needed to go after her. Her panther scented Kinsey as her mate and was not permitting her to sit idly by while Kinsey escaped to Bull Creek.

“But Kinsey’s panther scented me as her destined mate,” Fitz said as he stood by his window, just staring at his wife. “Why would your panther scent her as her mate? You never told me you were even interested in women in that way. None of this makes sense.”

“I know it doesn’t make sense,” Mandy snapped, and he saw the regret of her tone on her face immediately. She took a deep breath. “Since when does the mystical aspects of shifters have to make sense. The unpredictable nature of our animals is part of our curse. I don’t know how to explain it. I just know I need to go to Bull Creek.” She took a couple of steps toward him. “I hoped you would join me. We need to figure this out.”

“Did she seem like she felt the same way toward you?” he asked, still not ready to commit to a trip to Florida without more knowledge. “How could her panther scent two mates? Mandy do you even know what you’re suggesting?”

“I’m not suggesting anything,” she said, and he could hear the struggle in her voice. “I’m telling you what my panther is telling me. This isn’t something I sought out, Fitz. Trust me, being mated to the woman my husband has panted for since high school wasn’t on the top of my bucket list, but it’s not actually my choice, is it?”

“But why now?” Fitz pressed. “Why hasn’t your panther scented Kinsey as her mate before?”

Mandy shrugged. “We haven’t exactly been around each other. I took the man she loved. She hasn’t been to many family parties, you know? The other day in her driveway was the first time we’ve actually been close enough to each other for something like this to happen.” Mandy moved closer to him, her arms still crossed over her chest as she stared into his eyes. “It’s not like something like this hasn’t happened before. What about Drey, Gavin, and Caitlin?”

“There was magic involved in that union, remember?” he asked. “It doesn’t exactly fit this situation.” Almost two decades ago, four teenage witches cast a love spell. One of them, Caitlin Carver, decided to cast a wider net than the others and cast her spell on both, Drey Hawkins and Gavin Covington, and the spell actually worked. The three now lived in Draven Falls as a triad.

“But they still work as a family,” Mandy pressed. “Look, I’m not claiming I understand it, but it’s happened. I think we need to talk to Kinsey and see if she felt the same thing I did. I can’t imagine my panther choosing a mate that doesn’t want her back.”

Fitz barked a short laugh. “It’s been known to happen before, animals choosing mates when their human counterparts hated each other. Made for some volatile relationships.”

“Kinsey doesn’t hate me,” Mandy said. “At least, she didn’t seem to hate me. Fitz, we need to find out where this goes. It may be the answer you’ve been looking for.”

He didn’t know what to say to that, so he just leaned down and kissed Mandy softly on the lips. Still, he couldn’t deny the hope that filled him at her words. Could this be the way to have everything he wanted and not piss off his father? Was it fair to even consider it? But if everything Mandy told him was true, he needed to consider it. He knew what it felt like to be denied your destined mate, knew that Mandy would be experiencing the same anguish without Kinsey in her life. For both of their sakes, he needed to take his wife to Florida to face his mate and see what happened.

Decision made, Fitz packed his briefcase with files and reports he could work on while on the road and headed to the confrontation he would not be able to avoid—his father. He greeted his father’s secretary at her desk as he moved to the office door, steeling himself for a moment before he knocked once and then entered.

Daniel Everest sat behind his desk thumbing through a stack of papers, not even glancing up when Fitz entered, his short-cropped gray hair perfectly combed, his brows pinched in concentration. Fitz stared at his father for a moment, the square set of his jaw, the firm shoulders and powerful chest and arms. His father was not a weak man, determination punctuating his life and movements, his goals and purpose. Fitz wanted to be just like his father at one time, ambition filling him as he strove to take his family further into a prosperous future. That was the reason Fitz even agreed to marry Mandy over a year ago, to keep with the tradition of their family tribe. However, over the last year, Fitz began to see the foulness of a life lived purely for the next deal, instead of the family that drive was supposed to provide for. Now, he needed to make some serious life decisions, and he knew his father would not approve.

“Are you just going to stand there staring at me or tell me why you’re here with your briefcase in hand so early in the day?” his father asked, still not looking up.

Fitz took a deep breath. “Mandy and I are taking a trip to Florida,” he said, gripping his briefcase tightly. “There’s something we need to look into.”

Daniel glanced up over the papers in his hand, staring at his son with a curious expression. “What’s in Florida that has you scurrying off so suddenly?”

Fitz shifted, spreading his legs as if bracing for a physical fight, instead of a verbal one. “We’re going to Bull Creek.”

Daniel cocked an eyebrow. “Why? You never said you wanted to visit your brother and sister.”

Fitz gave a short shake of his head. “I’m not going to visit them.” He wished his father would just let the matter go and wish him safe travels, but Fitz knew better. His father was not that easily appeased.

“Then why are you going to Bull Creek?” Daniel set the papers on his desk and turned slightly to face his son, his eyes narrowing.

“We’re going to talk to Kinsey.” He took a deep breath, waiting.

His father groaned. “Why the hell are you chasing her down? She left. It’s over. She’s made up her mind, and you need to get over it.”

“I’m not going for me,” Fitz said. “I’m going because of Mandy.”

“That makes even less sense,” his father said in a huff with a shake of his head. “Why would your wife want to go see your ex-girlfriend? What game are you playing now?”

“I’m not playing any game. Mandy came to me this morning asking if we could go, and I said yes. I don’t expect you to understand, and I’m not asking your permission. I’m telling you we’re going. I’ll have those contracts with me, so I can keep up with things here.”

“And just how long do you expect to be gone?” his father asked, shifting in his seat, and then he shifted again, his foot tapping in his agitation. “We have meetings Monday with Sutherlin Timber to discuss the new contract, and your wife’s father needs our help to land another contract for his trucking company, which will further cement our partnership.” Daniel shook his head. “Now is not the time to go gallivanting about.”

Fitz blew out a breath, wishing he had just left his father a note telling him they were leaving. “I’m not gallivanting about, Dad. I’m taking my wife to Bull Creek, and I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. You’ll just have to get along without me until I get back.”

“It’s not a matter of getting along without you. You’re needed here to seal the deal. Your presence is required; you’ll just have to make the trip another time.” His father turned in his chair as if dismissing Fitz, thinking the matter settled, Fitz knew, but this time, Daniel Everest’s word would not be the last on the issue.

“No,” Fitz said, breathing in deeply through his nose as he squared his shoulders against his father. “We’re leaving in the morning. I’ll text when I have an idea when I’ll be back.” His father looked up at him, his eyes narrowed in angry slits. “I’m sorry, but this time, I’m doing what’s best for the woman in my life and saying no to you. Good luck with the meetings.” He didn’t give his father a chance to respond, but instead, he turned and walked back out, leaving his father staring after him.

As soon as Fitz slid behind his steering wheel, he pulled his phone out of his briefcase and dialed Mandy’s number. Once he heard her say hello, he told her, “Start packing; we’re heading to Bull Creek.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, and he could hear the hope in her voice. “What about our fathers?”

He started his car. “They’ll have to learn to get along on their own. They no longer control us. You need to go to Bull Creek, and I’m going with you.” Fitz wasn’t sure what the consequences of his decision would be, but he knew whatever it was, it would be worth it. He vowed to put Mandy first, and this was the first step in doing just that, weird though it was that it involved Kinsey.

“I’ll start packing,” she said, her smile evident in her voice.

Fitz hung up, tossing the phone in the seat beside him. He still didn’t know if this was a good or bad idea, but he knew he had to do it. Perhaps this was the way to correct his mistakes of the past. Even if it wasn’t, it was at least a step toward reclaiming his life from his father, and that was something he needed to regain his self-respect. His mother warned him.

“Amanda is a sweet girl,” Fitz’s mother said as she straightened her son’s tie. “Beautiful, too.”

Fitz suffered his mother’s fussing as he always did. “She is,” he said. “I’m lucky to be marrying her.” They were preparing for Fitz and Mandy’s rehearsal dinner, his mother, Jenny Everest, doing as she always did before a major event in her children’s lives, spending just a few quiet moments with whichever child was having the big night.

His mother gave a soft laugh. “You don’t sound very lucky.”

“I am,” he said a little too quickly. “I mean, Dad picked a great wife for me. It could have been a lot worse of a match. Mandy and I have been friends since high school.”

His mother nodded, smiling as she straightened his tie and backed away. “And she’s had a crush on you ever since I can remember.”

Fitz gave his mother a puzzled look. “What? We barely talked. There’s no way she even knew I existed like that until a few weeks ago.”

“Well, you probably weren’t really paying attention. You were kind of preoccupied with Kinsey Pickford to even look at other girls.” She patted his chest. “A mother notices these things, though.”

He said nothing as he thought of Kinsey and the way she looked when he left her apartment a few weeks ago. Mandy Taylor was a beautiful woman, sweet, caring, open. Mandy and he had several things in common: the types of music they enjoyed, their love for action movies, long walks at night. However, she wasn’t Kinsey, wasn’t his destined mate.

“You know, my father arranged for me to marry your father,” Jenny said. “I was young. So was your father. We did what our parents wanted—for the sake of the family, of course. It wasn’t what either of us really wanted, however. I was actually dating a young man at the local college.”

Fitz watched his mother smile as she looked away, probably seeing something—or someone—in her past.

“He wanted to be a forest ranger, which I thought was funny considering…well, you know. We had only been dating a couple of months when my father ordered me to break it off because he had plans for me that didn’t include some college boy.” She turned her gaze back to Fitz, a weak smile on her face. “I argued, of course. Pitched one hell of a fit, but in the end, I succumbed to my father’s wishes.”

“So, I’m doing the right thing,” Fitz said, believing his mother was there to offer him encouragement.

She smiled at him. “I love your father,” she said. “Now, that is. But I spent years wondering what happened to Michael and where my life would be if I followed my heart and not my father’s will.” She took a deep breath. “Don’t look back on your life with regrets. Don’t allow anyone, not even your father, make your life decisions for you. They don’t have to live with those choices; you do. Mandy is a great lady, but I don’t think she’s the one you love.”

Fitz just stared at his mother, saying nothing. His mother was right, but it was too late. Tonight was the rehearsal dinner. He couldn’t call it off without completely embarrassing Mandy and her family or royally pissing off his father. No, he had to go through with it, no matter what his mother said. Tomorrow, he would be married, and any chance he had to be with his mate would be lost.

Now, however, he had another chance. Mandy handed him another chance. They were heading to Bull Creek.

He thought about calling his brother and telling Dimitri of his plans, but then remembered it was Friday night, and Dimitri would be busy with his weekly bonfire. No sense bothering him now, and Lainie was probably working. They would just have to be surprised when their older brother showed up.

Fitz wondered how Kinsey was managing in Bull Creek, knowing the town was nothing like Draven Falls. While Draven Falls wasn’t a big city by any stretch of the imagination, Bull Creek was more a hole in the middle of nowhere in Florida. Nothing like what she was used to, and she was there without anyone she knew, no friends, no family, no connections of any kind. She had to be going stir crazy.

Pulling away from the paper mill, Fitz took a deep breath. I’m on my way, Kinsey. You won’t be alone for long.