One True Mate_Shifter's Haven

by Erin Lafayette

  Rose felt like she was falling, like she was splintering into a million pieces. Her mind refused to accept what was happening to her. Her mother was completely crazy. And had always been crazy. There was no other explanation. Why had she come back?

  The room disappeared as her vision collapsed down to a narrow tunnel. All she could see was her mother’s face, smiling strangely, lost again in her dream world. Content but no longer present. No longer lucid. Shock crashed down on Rose and she went numb. Somehow she dragged herself up from the couch, away from her mother.

  “Mom. What? I don’t even know what to say. Of all the things. You promised me the truth about my father, but then you tell me a story that is beyond crazy. Rose stumbled from the couch, tunnel vision still locked on her mother’s face. Her mother seemed so vacant to her now, so detached from the real world. “I thought things would be different. I really did. But I can’t right now. I can’t. I have to go.”

  She staggered to the door. Pausing on her way out she looked back at her mother, who was completely lost to her now. “I just can’t.”

  Time slowed and her vision blurred as tears rolled down her face. “I should never have come back,” she muttered to herself as she ran down the steps and through the unkempt yard. She frantically dug her keys out of her pocket. She threw herself on the motorcycle and gunned it, tearing down the small street and away from the house, not caring where she was going. Just needing to run.

  Chapter Six

  Hours later, Rose was still moving. Her first thought was to get as far away from Serenity and her mother as she could, but for some reason she was still circling through the town. She had reached the wolf statue three times now, and each time she had turned back, unable to bring herself to leave.

  Her thoughts churned. How could this be? When did her mother go so crazy? Was she always this bad? Did she really think Rose’s father was an angel? It would explain a lot.

  Night had come and darkness had fallen hours ago. Rose was exhausted and her body ached. She knew she needed to stop, to get off the road. But she didn’t know what to do, or where to go. So she just kept riding, racing her thoughts through the darkness.

  Flashing blue lights and the blare of a siren interrupted her thoughts. Glancing in her mirror she swore to herself. “Shit!” Just what she needed right now. And God only knew how fast she had been going with her mind wandering. Maybe she should run for it. Her bike was probably faster than the cop. She wished she knew how long he had been behind her. Dammit! He probably already had her plates. There was nothing she could do. She pulled over to the side of the road, cursing herself, this day and this town.

  As she coasted to a stop she looked around. She was back on the outskirts of town again. There were no businesses and no streetlights this far out and it was almost pitch black. Fallen leaves littered the side of the road. Bare trees with thin branches loomed overhead, tight to the road. Heavy clouds filled the sky, the pale light of the crescent moon barely filtering through. With the light of the police headlights illuminating her she felt like she was penned in, trapped. Why was she still here? Why hadn’t she left when she had the chance? An owl hooted from the trees and she shivered. Then an ominous silence settled in as she sat on her bike and waited.

  Her heart thumped in her chest as the cop got out of his patrol car. Pangs of fear gripped her stomach. She couldn’t make out anything but his silhouette as he walked towards her bike. His face was shadowed even as he stopped beside her, looming over her. She had forgotten how big and scary the cops in this town were.

  He stood silently for a long minute. She felt his eyes roaming over her. Taking her in, analyzing her and assessing her as a threat. He leaned forward and his stern face came into focus under the lights of his car. She shivered as his cold grey eyes pinned her into place. She pulled back, trying to get as far away from him as she could, fear sending icy waves down her spine.

  “License and regis…” His command cut off short and she saw his eyes trail away from hers and lock on her chest. What was he doing? Why had he stopped? What was he looking at? The pendant! She still had it on. She could tell the running wolf was just visible as her jacket gaped open. She could almost feel the golden eyes flashing in the moonlight as the cop fixated on them. She could barely breathe. She counted the seconds as he stared at the wolf, tension slowly building in the silence. After what felt like an eternity, he dragged his eyes up from the pendant. She froze at the look on his face.

  Very slowly and deliberately he reached out and wrapped one hand around her upper arm. His fingers felt like a vice as they squeezed her arm through her jacket. His voice grated harshly as he pulled her towards him by her arm. “You need to come with me.” She stammered “What the hell?”

  But the cop ignored her, slowly and steadily pulling her off her bike until she dangled in his grip. Her toes barely scraped the ground as he held her in front of him. Her heart raced and she started to hyperventilate. How was he so strong? What was going on? What was he going to do to her? Sheer panic exploded inside her as he half dragged half marched her back towards the flashing blue lights of the patrol car. Thrashing and screaming wildly, she tried to hit him, tried to rip herself out of his grip, flailing and fighting like a trapped animal. But nothing worked. He ignored everything she did and just kept moving.

  When they reached his car he jerked open the back door and shoved her roughly inside. She groaned inside her head as the door slammed shut behind her. “Shit.”

  ____________________

  Rose paced the tiny interrogation room, then stopped to pound on the locked door in fury. “Where the fuck is everyone?!” Her panic had long since come and gone. First she had felt relief to be alone, but over time rage had grown in its place. Six hours since the cop had basically kidnapped her. Six hours! Six hours they had kept her here. With no explanation, no visit, no questioning and definitely no phone call.

  Leaving the door, she continued back and forth across the room for the thousandth time, measuring out the space between the door and the mirror, working her way around the plain table with two chairs, one on each side. Not that either was comfortable. There was hard flat bench on the far wall as well, although it was no more comfortable than the chairs. She settled back down on the bench for what felt like the hundredth time. Every time she sat it didn’t last long, nervous energy and fury driving her back to her feet right away. But pacing wasn’t doing any good. Maybe she could at least try and relax, try and get some sleep. She was exhausted. If they didn’t let her out soon she was going to go crazy.

  Chapter Seven

  Squinting his eyes against the rising sun, Alex squared his shoulders and threw open the door to the police station. Time to get his head on straight. No fucking way was he going back to LA. Or even worse, to Chicago to give tickets to humans for running red lights. Today was a new day and a fresh start. Time to get squared away.

  He nodded to the desk sergeant as he moved through the lobby and past the front desk, then through the security checkpoint into the station itself. As he walked through the main floor past the beat cops and detectives, the controlled chaos calmed him and sealed his determination. This he knew. This was home. He was definitely not leaving. Still, he was grateful that no one called him out or made an issue of the team’s performance yesterday. In LA, getting dressed down in front of another cop would have set the rumor mill on fire, but maybe the males here were less into gossip.

  He headed for the stairs leading down to the KSRT meeting rooms. He was almost to the door when the most tantalizing scent he had ever encountered stopped him dead in his tracks. He felt like he had slammed into a wall. His mind went blank, all of his senses on autopilot. He sucked in a huge breath of air, filling his lungs completely. The initial hint of the scent grew until it filled his thoughts completely, overwhelming him. What was that amazing scent? What could it possibly be? He drew in another deep breath. He smelled fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate and hazelnut. Sweet, but deep and complex a
nd with a hint of spice.

  He spun around, searching for the source of the luscious scent. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, the other males going about their business in the main room. He called out, voice low and ragged. “What is that scent?” The closest other males glanced at him, puzzled, but simply shrugged in confusion and went back to their business. He heard a rumbling growl and distantly wondered where it was coming from, before realizing the growl was emanating from his chest.

  He closed his eyes and breathed deep, the scent tingling all around him, but he still couldn’t pinpoint the location. Frustrated, he ripped open the door to the stairs. The scent flowed over and around him, infinitely stronger in the stairwell. He leaped down the stairs three at a time, racing forward as the tantalizing scent pulled at him, and burst through the doors into the KSRT tunnels.

  As soon as he hit the tunnels the scent overwhelmed him. It filled his brain until he couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but follow along to the source of that beauty. He felt a stirring in his cock and it stiffened as he moved closer to the source. Good thing no one was around.

  He felt his body stop in front of a closed door. He frowned. It was an interrogation room. What could possibly be in there? Still, he was absolutely certain this was the source of the scent. It moved all around him, drawing him in, until his vision narrowed and his entire being focused on the door in front of him.

  He tried to push open the door but the handle would not move. Locked. Dammit! He was going to have to find someone to open it. Then the scent overwhelmed his rational thought, and he knew he couldn’t wait another second. Nothing was stopping him from getting through that door right now. He tucked his shoulder and smashed forward with all his strength, shattering the lock and breaking through the door.

  He stared wildly around the small room, searching desperately. Here inside the room the scent of fresh strawberries overwhelmed him, intoxicating his brain and entwining itself into his very being. His chest heaved like he had just run a marathon. But he had found the source. There, curled up sleeping on the hard bench on the far wall was a goddess, a vision of beauty like he had never seen before.

  He sucked in his breath and the growling in his chest intensified. He couldn’t stop staring. She was long and lean, but soft in all the right places. Long slim legs and curved hips were wrapped in tight jeans. A tight tee shirt showed off her flat stomach, the muscles of her arms and the swell of her chest. Long golden hair spread in waves around her face as she slept. And that face, delicate and fine featured, so beautiful it could make an angel cry. “Mine” flashed in his head and he knew he couldn’t live without her.

  Her eyes flashed open and she sat up with a start. Their eyes locked and he couldn’t look away, mesmerized by the depths of green, lost in the emerald shine. He started moving towards her, drawn irresistibly forward.

  Chapter Eight

  Rose sat up abruptly, ripped out of her exhausted sleep. She heard the crack of a breaking door, the splintering of wood, and thought “what the hell?” Words started forming on her lips “What the f…” Then, “it’s about ti…” But words failed her as she locked eyes with the beautiful fierce giant standing in the doorway and her mind went completely blank.

  He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. He looked like a dark and dangerous dream come to life. Smoldering blue eyes locked on hers, holding her completely captive. She drank him in, close cut blonde hair, deep California tan, and slabs of gorgeous chiseled muscle. He wasn’t wearing a uniform, and his tight white tee shirt left nothing to her imagination. God, she could make out every single one of his ripped muscles, his thick biceps, bulging pecs and chiseled abs trailing down to… oh. She flushed. Below the taper of his tight waist his pants bulged out and his massive cock was pointing right at her.

  She gasped, and without thinking or even noticing she was on her feet, moving towards him. In the background she noticed a rumbling growl reverberating off the walls, and a deep musk, the intoxicating scent rich and spicy, filled the air. More than anything she had ever felt, she wanted this man. Desire burned in her, making her knees weak. She wanted him. Wanted him to take her. Here, now, on the floor of the interrogation room. To make her his, to feel his body moving on hers.

  Before she even knew it her hands were trailing down his chest, feeling the slabs of muscle as he crushed her against him and his arms wrapped around her body, pulling her into him. He leaned down and as she tilted her head their lips met. She moaned as a jolt of electricity ran down her body. She felt her core tighten and go warm with desire. He opened his mouth and she slid her tongue inside, wanting to taste every bit of him, losing herself in the feeling of his tongue swirling over hers.

  Her world narrowed to the two of them, and their perfect first kiss. She could kiss him forever, lost in his kiss, even if the world ended around them. She pulled back, gently feathering small kisses over his perfect lips. She traced her fingers over his cheekbones and down his chiseled jaw. As she traced his features he rested his forehead against hers and smiled at her, blue eyes sparkling. It was like the sun breaking through clouds, lighting up her soul. She couldn’t help but smile back at him, dreamily lost in wonder. She closed her eyes, leaning into his embrace. Feeling complete in his arms, as if she had been lost her entire life and was only now discovering love. “What is happening?” she whispered.

  He ran his fingers gently through her hair, slowly stroking it. His hands were strong but gentle, and she wondered what they would feel like on the rest of her body. She leaned into his touch, desperate to find out. He opened his mouth to answer her question, when they heard the sound of a throat clearing loudlybehind them.Herrrhem.

  Chapter Nine

  Alex could not believe the feelings that were pulsing through his body. Nothing he had ever experienced had felt as good as this kiss, his tongue moving over hers, his body pressed tight against hers and his arms wrapped around her. She tasted like strawberries topped with cream and hazelnut, and most of all, like home. He felt like he had died and gone to heaven.

  He heard the sound of a throat clearing, and he ignored it. Nothing could force his attention away from this female and her deep green eyes, her soft lips and the heat of her body.

  Herrrhem. Hmm. The throat clearing got more insistent. And closer to them. He finally pulled back, slowly realizing where he was. And how he had gotten here. Light, but this female made him lose himself. He glanced back over his shoulder to see Wade standing in the doorway, staring at them, a strange expression on his face.

  “Wright. I don’t know how you do things in Los Angeles, but we don’t condone this sort of thing here.”

  Alex couldn’t even think of what to say. “What? No. I mean…” He turned to face Wade as he took in the situation, the shattered door and wreckage of the doorway. And him standing inside the interrogation room making out like a teenager with a female who could be a criminal for all he knew. He added it to the lecture Wade had given him yesterday, and he couldn’t even come close to an adequate response. Well, if he had to get kicked out, this was the way to go. He would be happy even in Chicago if he had this female with him. He squeezed her hand tightly in his though, not willing to let it drop, or to let go of her completely. Pulling himself together, he stood tall. “I’m sorry sir.”

  Wade’s stern face broke out in a big smile, and he laughed out loud. “Just messing with you son. Don’t worry about anything. I actually think congratulations are in order.” Alex’s jaw dropped, and he stared in stunned silence as Wade continued.

  “Now, Rose, I’m sorry you spent so long in here. I’ve been meaning to speak to you for hours but it’s been a long night here for everyone.” He gestured to Alex. “This is Alex. You’ve met, obviously, but I doubt he’s formally introduced himself. I don’t want to keep you here at the station any longer than we have already had to, so Alex, why don’t you take Rose to Trevor’s. You can have some private time and Alex can explain some things to you. And, there are a nu
mber of people there that will really want to meet you.”

  Alex could only stare. Light! All he could think of was getting time alone with this gorgeous female, and now the Deputy Chief was ordering him to do just that. “Yes, sir. I’m on it.” He wrapped Rose’s hand in his and gently guided her out the door. “Rose.” He savored the name. It was perfect. He knew he was babbling, but he couldn’t stop himself. “Like Chief said, I’m Alex. Come with me and I will explain everything.”

  She looked a little shell shocked as first Wade then Alex finished talking. He couldn’t blame her. This was surreal even for him. Light, what must she be thinking? Sitting in an interrogation room all night was hard enough, but to get woken up by him busting down the door with a raging hard on, then going right into the most intense kiss imaginable? His mind was scrambled enough, so she must be feeling completely lost.