by V. Vaughn
At the threshold, I hesitated, the urge to turn back and find him shooting through me. “Do you have a pen and scrap of paper that I could borrow?” I asked the girl at the front desk. Grabbing them off her, I jotted down my number, scrawling my name underneath. If tonight had meant anything to him, he’d call. But did I really want him to? What about a fresh start?
Telling the judgmental voice inside my head to shut up, I handed the paper to the girl. “Could you pass this to Zane for me, please?”
She didn’t even glance at it before sliding the note inside a large book. “Sure thing.”
There. If he didn’t call, I was fine with it. Totally. After all, a one-night stand is what I’d been after, right?
ZANE
I glared at the empty room as though through sheer willpower I could magic my mate back into it. “What the fuck do you mean she left?”
Andy peered around my shoulder. “She’s not here.”
“I can see that!” I growled, the urge to hit something—anything—flooding me. “Where is she?” I strode over to the window, scanning the crowd below. She wasn’t there. Fuck!
“I don’t know, do you want me to ask Stacey?” At my blank look he continued, “At the front desk? You know? The girl who—”
“I don’t care. Yes, go ask her.”
He turned to leave, then paused, his hand on the door. “Can I just ask, why?”
My fingers itched, frustration tearing at me. Why had she left? “Why, what?”
“She seemed like a nice woman, and don’t get me wrong, I had spotted her earlier, but—”
I was across the room, my hands around his neck in a matter of seconds. The door shook as I slammed him against it. “You don’t ever look at her in that way again! Do you hear me?” A distant part of me knew I was overreacting, but I couldn’t help it. The mating hadn’t been completed; I had pierced her skin but not said the words that would bind us. She wasn’t mine, but she was. It was screwing with my head. Not to mention the fact that my lion was going ballistic inside of me, threatening to tear out of my skin. He couldn’t understand any better than me why our mate would walk away.
He frowned at me, ceasing to struggle. “Shit! She’s your true mate, isn’t she?”
I took a deep breath, forcing my fingers to loosen around his neck. I couldn’t go around taking it out on the members of my pride. It wasn’t his fault. It had to be mine; somehow I had managed to screw this up. Everyone leaves you… I silenced the whisper. No, I was not a child anymore. I didn’t believe that rubbish. I had people who loved me—my ragtag family did. For some insane reason.
“Go, speak to the girl on the door. Find out if she saw Lara leave and who she was with.” Meanwhile, I was going to have a little chat with Gretchen. Lara didn’t seem like the kind of woman to come to a club like this on her own, looking for a hook up. The fact that she hadn’t taken part in the speed dating gave me some hope. “Send Gretchen in, will you?” I called after him, already resenting the look of pity he shot me before heading downstairs.
I didn’t need his pity—fuck that—I needed Lara. And I was going to find her.
I walked around my desk and sank into the chair, letting my head fall back as my fingers stroked across the leather arms. A couple of hours ago, I had been adamant I didn’t want a mate, but now? I couldn’t think of anything else. Closing my eyes, I played back the last hour, letting it dance across the front of my eyelids. I knew I didn’t love her, not yet, anyway. It was far too soon. But I felt something beyond the urge to fuck her—a yearning of some sort? I tried to sort through the tangle of emotions, peeling away the base needs and mating urges. Yeah, I yearned to get to know her, to talk to her and hear her laugh. To explore that hint of feisty attitude and get a feel for what kind of woman she was. What made her tick? What did she love? Hate? Was she grumpy in the mornings? Did she mainline coffee? What music did she like? Did she want to travel or was she a homebody? Did she want children?
“You’re thinking very serious thoughts, Zane. What’s up?”
“Gretchen—” I opened my eyes to find her sitting in the chair in front of me. I had been so lost in thought, so preoccupied, I hadn’t been aware of her arrival. Something that had never happened before—ever.
Eying me, she sucked in a breath, releasing it on a low hiss. “What happened? All Andy said was that you needed me, that it was urgent.”
“I found her.”
“Her?” Confusion creased her brow.
“My true mate.”
She leaned forward, her lips curving up into a wide grin. “Who is she? Why are you—”
“She left.”
Shocked silence grew between us, the only sound a soft hum of music from below.
She sat back in the chair, curling her legs up beneath her. “Why?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t fucking know!”
“Okay, easy there. We’ll find her. I take it you and her—?” Her hands floated in the air, coming together in the middle and bouncing off each other.
I growled, jabbing a pen at the desk. “We did…”
“And did you—?” This time two of her fingers curled into hooks, mimicking a biting action.
Like I was a motherfucking vampire. “I did…”
“Oh. Well, that’s okay then.”
“I didn’t say the words.”
Her mouth fell open. Snapping it shut, she muttered, “Why the hell not?”
“Because we were interrupted!” I snarled. I knew what she was getting at. If I’d said the words, binding us together and completing my half of the mating, I would be linked to her, would know her feelings and emotions. I would feel the tug of the bond and know where she was.
“Oh.”
Yeah, oh. That summed it up perfectly. “I need to find her.”
She snapped to attention, her spine straightening. “Of course you do. Tell me everything you know and we’ll go from there.”
“She—” A knock on the door interrupted me. “Yes?”
Andy walked in, leading a tall, blonde woman dressed in the club uniform of black. “This is Stacey. Go on, tell him what you told me. He won’t bite.”
Stacey took a step forward, her eyes flicking from me to Gretchen, then back again. “I think I saw the woman Andy described leaving. She was alone and looked in a hurry.”
“Did she talk to anyone?” The words came out in an eager tumble. I’d gone past the point of caring what anyone thought; all I could think about was Lara.
“No. Nobody. She just left.”
My lungs deflated and I slumped back in the chair. “Thanks. You can go back to work now.”
“Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Sarson? Get you a drink or something to eat?”
“Actually, a brandy would be good. Thanks, I really appreciate it.” How the hell am I going to find her? I didn’t even get her last name!
“Sure thing. I’ll be right back.”
I looked up just in time to catch Gretchen watching the door, a speculative look in her eye.
“What is it?” I asked, frowning.
She paused, looking like she was about to say something, then shrugged. “Nothing. Except, well…Stacey, she’s a good looking girl—”
“Who?” Why did it matter what a girl looked like? I’d stopped noticing women months, maybe years ago. When they did nothing but throw themselves at you, it got old. And boring. And when they weren’t your mate…it felt hollow. Now that I’d met Lara, I knew exactly how hollow those past encounters had been.
“Exactly, nothing important. Now, where shall we start? Most of the group that participated tonight are still downstairs. Shall we go talk to them?”
My hand slammed onto the desk, making the pen bounce and roll. That should have been the first thing that I did. Why the hell hadn’t I—?
“You’re not thinking straight. Not surprising, really. You’ve just found your mate, and lost her, and you didn’t complete the mating. Your lion must be going crazy i
nside of you—it’s a wonder you haven’t shifted yet!” she said, obviously reading my face.
“My lion doesn’t control me,” I growled, shoving the chair back and standing up.
“Not yet. But we need to find her before he gets a little too…unmanageable and we have a situation on our hands. There’s a lot of people who count on you, Zane, and a lot who care about you.”
“I won’t lose control.” I stalked to the door, opening and holding it for her.
“On the other hand, a massive lion running around the city? It might be worth it just to see the news!”
I followed her tinkling laugh down the stairs. If one of these humans knew where Lara was, they were going to tell me. Whether they wanted to or not.
5
Lara
Placing the last box in the car, I ran through the checklist in my head. Nope, I was pretty sure I had covered everything. Heading back up to the apartment, I mentally braced myself for what I knew was coming.
“I’m going to miss you!”
I’d barely got in the door before Tina had thrown herself at me, squashing me into a gigantic bear hug. “I don’t really live here, remember? It was only temporary while the divorce went through and everything got settled in court,” I said, my voice muffled against her chest, my breathing seriously compromised.
“But it feels like you do. You’ve been here ages! Who am I going to talk to in the middle of the night? Who’ll watch old DVDs with me and not laugh at me for crying at all the sappy parts? Who’ll—”
“A dog?” I quipped, finally managing to extract myself from her bosom.
“Or a boyfriend?” Kate added from where she lounged on the couch, munching her way through a carton of—
“What are those?” I demanded, snatching them out of her hand.
“Hey! Give ‘em back!”
“They smell—” I stuffed a cookie in my mouth, groaning as the taste hit my tongue. Salted caramel with chocolate chunks. “Wonderful,” I added around the mouthful.
Swallowing, I shoveled another one in.
“Lara…”
I glanced over at Kate, ready to defend the cookies if I had to.
Her mouth was hanging open, deep lines between her brows. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Wow, these taste good! Why haven’t I had these before?” I carried the packet to the other couch, cradling them in my arms.
“You have. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Kate replied, both concern and confusion lacing her voice.
I blinked at her. I was fine. Why wouldn’t I be?
“It’s just, the last couple of weeks you’ve been acting a little…strange?” she commented, her eyes darting to meet Tina’s.
“Yeah,” Tina added, “ever since that night at the club.”
My hand froze, cookie mid-way to my mouth. Though I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, that night had haunted my dreams, Zane’s face taunting me. What would have happened if I had stayed? I had to keep reminding myself that nothing would have changed. He hadn’t called or texted. He didn’t care to remember, so why should I? “Guys, I just wanted to forget about him.”
“Him?” they chorused.
Oh, yeah. I hadn’t told them. Stupid cookies, giving me a sugar high! “There’s nothing to tell…”
Kate crossed her arms, her lips set in a thin line. “Lara. Spill.”
And just like that, my resistance crumbled. It had half killed me not to tell them, anyway. It was just…if I was honest with myself, the rejection had been a bit too raw at first, and I had needed the time to pull myself together. To face them. “Okay! I met a guy at the club—”
“Was his name Zane by any chance?”
Kate’s words stopped me in my tracks. “Um, yeah. Why? How did you know?”
She grimaced and waved a hand in the air, not inspiring confidence. “Finish your story first.”
“Nothing much happened. I met a guy—”
“Zane,” Tina supplied.
“—and…well, we…” Heat rushed to my cheeks as I remembered being pinned against the wall by his powerful thrusts.
Kate shuffled forward in her seat, her eyes wide. “Oh, you did, didn’t you? Wow! Go, Lara!”
“And with Zane Sarson!” added Tina.
I didn’t get it. “How do you know that?”
Both of my friends avoided my gaze, matching looks of guilt on their face.
I put the cookies down beside me. “Tina. Kate. Tell me.”
“It didn’t seem relevant before, but now…”
“Just…tell…me,” I ground out, not liking the looks on their faces.
“Lara, we didn’t know… That night, at the club, Zane came downstairs and asked if anyone knew you—”
“We didn’t know he meant you, he just asked if anyone knew a Lara—”
“And we didn’t know why he was asking. And this was you we were talking about. I mean, it could have been any—”
I held up a hand, cutting off the back and forth. “He asked about me?”
Kate stared at the floor, but Tina met my eyes. “Yeah, he did. But we didn’t know what we know now. The way you stormed out of the place, we were worried you’d had an argument with him, or one of the staff.”
“We were protecting you!” Kate finally said, her face pleading with me to understand.
He’d asked about me, tried to find me. I struggled to process the new information. What it meant—whether it meant anything at all. I might have been mooning over the man in my dreams, but I’d already decided he wasn’t the kind of guy to stick around. And I didn’t have the time for a new relationship. I had a new job—a step in the right direction toward a career I really cared about.
“It doesn’t matter,” I eventually said. “It was a one-night kind of thing. That’s all.”
“But, why? I mean, I saw him, honey. He’s the kind you want to keep, at least for a while,” Kate said.
“Maybe. I don’t know.” And I truly didn’t. I couldn’t make sense of anything at the moment, my emotions zigzagging up and down. One minute I was still licking my wounds, unwilling to take a chance, the next…I yearned for him.
“Got it!” Tina squealed, bouncing up and down. “He’s a shifter, right?” Not waiting for an answer, she carried on, striding back and forth with agitation. “Which means he has a true mate, remember? Once they find their true mate, that’s it! No more playing around.” She grinned triumphantly, not knowing that she had just slashed through the hope I hadn’t even known I’d held.
“I’m not his true mate.”
“Wha—”
“Don’t you think he would have mentioned that little fact? Like, before we fucked like bunny rabbits?”
“Fucked…bunny rabbits…” Kate was staring at me like I’d grown a second head.
Okay, I’d admit it—that had come out a little snarly.
Tina winced, her hands dropping from where she was waving them in the air. “He…didn’t?”
“No. He didn’t.” Which meant I wasn’t his true mate, and that it had been a one-night stand. My gut wrenched at the confirmation, saliva pooling in my mouth. Leaping to my feet I sprinted through the apartment, slammed open the bathroom door, and proceeded to eject every single cookie crumb I had just eaten. Not again! Dragging myself back to my feet, I rinsed my mouth out. Whatever the hell this bug was, it’d better be gone by Monday—I was due to start my new job.
“Hi, Lara! Have you settled in okay?” Sarah, the school principal, made her way across the cafeteria toward me, a welcoming smile on her face. “Sorry I wasn’t around when you arrived on Saturday. I trust that you’ve found your way around the apartment?”
Pushing away the sandwich I had been picking at for the last half hour—cheese and tomato, usually my favorite, so what the hell was that about?—I smiled back at her. “It’s fine, honestly! I’ve spent most of yesterday finding my bearings and taking a look around the grounds. It’s a beautiful place, I think I might have gushed on about that at th
e interview?”
She dragged out a chair, collapsing into it with a sigh of relief. Taking off one shoe, she rubbed her toes, pleasure radiating from her. “Gush away. I still can’t believe it myself. We’re very lucky here at Pridewell Academy, and we know it.” She leaned forward, a conspiratorial gleam in her eye. “I couldn’t have done it without the help of a very generous financial supporter. They gave us the land and helped pay for the build. Even now, we receive monthly cash donations to help with the upkeep and running of the place.”
“Wow! Some sort of corporation looking for a tax break?”
“No. I can’t say too much, as confidentiality is one of the clauses to continue receiving donations. The only thing we were asked to do is to take every child that comes our way and never turn them away. Which is fine by me! It’s why I wanted to set the school up in the first place.” She took a deep breath, then started coughing, her eyes wide.
“Are you okay?” I shoved my glass of water at her.
She flapped a hand in the air. “I’m fine. How are you feeling?”
“Me?”
“With…you know?”
I stared at her. What was she—
“You don’t know, do you?” she said slowly, finally taking a sip of water.
“Know what?”
“You’re pregnant.”
6
Lara
“You didn’t know, did you?”
I could hear the words, but they seemed a million miles away, a strange buzzing masking them.
“Lara?”
I think I nodded. That was me.
“Do you need to lie down?”
“No!” I forced the word out past dry lips. I didn’t want to move. If I just sat here, I could try and process this. I was pregnant?
“You don’t seem happy about it.”
How did I feel? I was pregnant, after all this time. After all the failed attempts, the tests, the humiliation, then devastating news that it might never happen. And now? My hands drifted to my stomach. There was a baby in there…