by L. P. Dover
“Good morning, love.”
She turned to me and smiled. “Good morning to you too. What are you doing?”
I held up my phone. “Looking for buildings like the one we saw in Amelie’s mind. It has to be somewhere near here. Maybe we can finally find this Jaret.”
Groaning, she covered her face with a pillow. “God, I hope he’s not dead. I don’t want to find her only to tell her that her mate is gone.”
“He very well could be. He hasn’t even shown up at her house to check on her. If this was you, I’d be doing everything I could to find you. What’s strange though, is I think I’ve met the guy before. He looks familiar.”
“Really? That’s weird. Maybe he just looks like someone you know.”
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Do you think he’s not her true mate?” she asked.
“I don’t know, but we’ll see.” I tapped on another apartment link and grinned from ear to ear. “Got it.”
Tyla jumped out of bed and I showed it to her. Her eyes lit up. “You’re right, that’s it. Where’s it at?”
I clicked on the directions and a map appeared. “Thirty minutes away.” She rushed to get dressed and I couldn’t help but watch her bounce around. After months of nothing but torture, she was finally mine. Shaking her head, she burst out laughing. “What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Torture? Really?” She zipped up her jeans and waltzed over, grabbing my shoulders as she straddled my lap.
I cupped her ass and squeezed. “It was torture, just like you’re doing to me now.” My cock ached from her rubbing against it. I wanted nothing more than to tear into her, but we couldn’t, and she knew it. “We have to go,” I told her.
She nodded. “I know. I’m just ready to figure all this shit out so we can go home.”
“You’re not the only one.” I smacked her ass and she got up to finish getting dressed. Once she was ready, we were on our way out the door.
“What do you think we’ll find when we get there?” she asked.
My first thought was Jaret’s dead body, but I had to stay positive. “Don’t know. I guess we’ll find out.”
The drive didn’t take long and when we pulled in, I didn’t sense any other wolves around. But with the magic they were using, who knew anymore. They could be there and we wouldn’t know it. I parked the car and we both got out.
“Our best bet is to walk around and see if we can catch Amelie’s scent,” I suggested.
Tyla slung her purse over her shoulder and grabbed my hand. “Let’s go.”
The building wasn’t tall, but it was three levels and spanned five acres. I couldn’t find Amelie’s scent on the first or second levels. However, when we got to the top, I picked it up.
“We’re close. Her scent is faint, but it’s there. Two doors down.” Tyla took off for the door and looked in the apartment window. There were no curtains barring us from seeing inside, but it was empty—a dead end.
“I got his scent too, but it’s faint, just like Amelie’s.”
Tyla’s eyes went wide. “I can barely scent her. Must be nice to be a royal.”
“You’ll be one soon,” I thought.
A small smile splayed across her lips. “How long do you think the place has been empty?”
“Two weeks, maybe?”
“I don’t get it. It’s like everything is being erased just to fuck with us,” she griped. I could feel her frustration and the desperation to get her cousin back.
Putting my arm around her, I pulled her into my side. “It’s standard procedure to clean the carpets and paint the walls before another tenant moves in, love. We just didn’t know in time.”
“Why do you think Jaret moved?”
“There are an infinite possibilities of reasons why he left.” An idea sparked in my mind. Grabbing her hand, I pulled her down the hallway.
“What are you doing?”
“I have an idea.”
“You are absolutely brilliant,” Tyla gushed.
Smiling, I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I’m willing to try anything.”
We’d grabbed a bite to eat while we waited on the apartment manager to give us a tour of the place. The snow had started to fall again, but we sat outside by the pond. There were others who pulled in and looked at us like we were crazy, sitting outside with no jackets on, but the cold didn’t bother us. I could lie down in a bed of snow and never get frostbite. It was one of the many joys of being an Arctic wolf. I missed being in the icy regions of Canada where I was born. One day, I’d take Tyla there so she could see where I came from.
“Why didn’t you tell me you missed home?” she asked.
I chuckled. “Prying in my mind again?”
She nudged me in the side. “Just looking out for you. But I’d love to go to Canada some day. I’ve never been up that way.”
“You’d love it. I still own a bunch of property up there. My parents left it all to me and my brothers.”
“Wow. I guess all your money came from them then? You haven’t had a job since you moved to Wyoming.”
“How do you know?” I asked, watching her blush. “Were you watching me?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’ll admit I was curious, and may have asked around.”
“Why didn’t you ask me? We were friends.”
She shrugged. “I guess I didn’t want you to know I was interested. Didn’t think you’d care.”
“That’s what you get for assuming. Now what do you want to know? You can ask me anything.”
She giggled. “You probably shouldn’t have said that. I might take you up on it. But in all seriousness, where does your money come from? If I’m going to be your mate, I need to know this stuff.”
“You do, huh? You’re not going to take it all and run are you?”
“Depends on how much you got.” She laughed. Her gray eyes twinkled, making me smile.
“I’ve lived a long time, Tyla. And so had my parents. I’m not going to lie, they did leave me with a fortune, but that’s because they were around for over three hundred years. However, I do have my own money as well.”
“What did you do?”
Grinning, I thought back to when I was a boy. “My first job was ice fishing. I went out there with my dad every morning. Since the cold didn’t bother us, we were able to withstand the freezing temperatures all day long. We kept some of the fish we caught, but sold the rest to the local markets. There wasn’t a lot of money in it, but my father and I enjoyed doing it. Years later, I jumped on the gold mining craze. There’s a mine up in Alaska I worked in, but it’s abandoned now. Made some good money doing that.”
She gazed at me in awe. “That sounds like so much fun. I’ve always wanted to pan for gold. I can’t imagine what it was like to live during that time.”
“It had its perks, but I also endured great losses as well. Due to lack of medicine, the majority of my friends died young. It’s something I had to get used to.”
Tyla grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I know how you feel.”
It was hard not to get attached to humans. Most of them were my good friends, especially when it came to my most profitable investment. “But a large chunk of my money comes from an investment I made many years ago. A friend of mine had owned an oil company but didn’t have the money to buy the right equipment. I gave him the money and became his partner. When he passed on, I bought it outright and have owned the whole company ever since. It’s one of the main suppliers of oil to both Canada and the United States.”
“Wow.” Her mouth gaped and she shook her head. “I don’t think I can say any more than that.”
“Good. Because it’s show time. I think our guy just arrived.” We both got up and the short, balding man who approached us held out his hand. He reeked of too much cologne and his beady gaze lingered on Tyla’s chest.
She squeezed my hand. “No hurting him,” she warned. “He probably doesn’t see perky breasts at hom
e.”
“I don’t give a shit if he’s never touched a boob. If he stares at either one of my girls again, I’ll rip his goddamn eyes out.”
“You must be the Michaelson’s. My name’s Jeff Roberts. I believe you spoke with me on the phone,” he announced. Tyla shook his hand and he beamed, but when it came to my turn, I made sure to squeeze it extra hard. He winced and pulled away. “Got a strong hold there, don’t you, son?”
I clenched my jaw and showed my teeth in a forced smile. “We’d like to see the apartment you have available.”
Pulling out a set of keys, he nodded toward the stairs. “Follow me, please.” We got up to the apartment and he opened the door, walking in first. “The carpets have all been cleaned and the walls freshly painted. Our last tenant moved out about two weeks ago.”
Here we go. “Why did they move? There’s nothing wrong with the apartment is there?” I asked.
“No, not at all. He’d finally found a house and decided to move when the one year lease was up.”
Tyla cleared her throat and he turned to her. “So everything’s ready for us to move in?”
He nodded. “I can draw up the papers whenever you’re ready.”
“Sounds good,” I said, grabbing Tyla’s hand. “Just give us a day to think on it and we’ll get back to you.”
Jeff smiled. “As you wish. I look forward to speaking with you again.”
I pulled Tyla in front of me so he couldn’t watch her ass as we walked out the door. Fucking cocksucker. When we got to the car, Tyla reached for her phone. “You calling Blake?” I asked.
“Yep. I’m going to see if he can get a list of people who rented an apartment at this place over the past year.”
It was a good move. Blake had access to all sorts of government programs, so finding the list of renters should be easy. Or at least I hoped. Time was running out.
Tyla
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Blake asked. “You’ve never asked me to do this kind of stuff before.”
“I know. Just please trust me when I say I can’t really explain it right now. Maybe one day I will.”
He sighed. “I don’t mind helping you, Tyla. When do you think you’ll be coming back?”
“Hopefully soon. Call me when you find out something.”
“Will do. Stay safe out there.”
We hung up and I prayed he found something soon. Our options were running low.
“He’s starting to ask a lot of questions,” Sebastian said.
I slid my phone in my purse. “He’s a cop, of course he’s going to ask. The thing is, I know he’d keep our secret if I told him what we are.”
“But you can’t. Humans don’t have the capability of understanding what we truly are. They see werewolves in the movies and in books, and would jump to conclusions. It’s best we keep our secrets.”
The reason I wanted to tell him was so I could stay at the ranch and work. I didn’t want to have to move on somewhere else.
Taking my hand, Sebastian lifted it to his lips and kissed it. “I know you don’t want to leave the ranch, but now that we’re together, I can take you anywhere you want to go, give you anything you want. If you want your own ranch with your own horses, I can give you that. Just say the word.”
“You’d do that for me?” I asked.
We’d just arrived back at the cabin. He shut the car off and faced me. “I’d do anything for you, love. All you have to do is ask.”
“And I will,” I said, getting out of the car. I looked up at the sky and could feel the moon drawing near. The power of it was stronger than it had ever been, pulling me toward Sebastian like a moth to a flame. At that very moment, the decision was made. I wanted to complete the bond, to be a royal.
Sebastian froze in his tracks and turned to me, his heated gaze fixed on mine. “You sure that’s what you want?”
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I squeezed him tight. “With all my heart. Are you sure it’s what you want?”
He chuckled. “You have no idea.”
Once inside, he gave me my space so I could mentally prepare for the night to come. I sat by the window and attempted to read, but even my favorite pastime could do nothing to quell my nervousness.
The sky grew dark and the clouds gave way to the moon. It was the perfect night and almost time. Bonding with someone wasn’t meant to be taken lightly. Thinking back to my time with Finn, I had been naive to even consider mating with him when I knew he wasn’t my true mate. We would’ve been miserable.
Sebastian retreated outside while I went to the bedroom to take a shower. Before getting in the steamy, hot shower, my phone buzzed with an incoming text.
Bailey: Good luck tonight!
Me: What are you talking about?
Bailey: I just got off the phone with Sebastian. He sounds like a different man. Looks like there’s a lot you need to tell me when you get back.
Me: What did he say?
Bailey: Only that I better not call back tonight. Have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Love you! Be safe out there!
Chuckling, I sat my phone on the counter and hopped in the shower. Everyone back home had probably bet on the likelihood of me and Sebastian mating before we returned—if we returned. I had to believe we would.
The water felt amazing as it cascaded down my skin. I heard footsteps in the bedroom and half expected Sebastian to join me in the shower for a little foreplay before we sealed the deal. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The bathroom door opened slightly and I felt the cool breeze of the night air sift inside. I could smell the trees and the incoming snow that would arrive by morning.
“Sebastian?” There was no answer. What was he doing? I finished rinsing out my hair and turned off the water, grabbing the towel I had draped over the rack. The lights were off in the bedroom. “Sebastian?”
Wrapping the towel around my waist, I slowly tiptoed to the door, heart racing. Why wasn’t he answering me? I turned off the bathroom light and peeked through the slit in the door. Sebastian wasn’t there, but the whole room was lit up with candles. The window was wide open, letting the moon shine its magic inside. It looked even more magical with the silky curtains blowing in the breeze.
Light footsteps sounded on the wooden stairs and I froze. When Sebastian walked through the door wearing only a pair of pants and carrying another candle, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m not an intruder, you can come out,” he said, setting the candle on the dresser. He stalked over to me and I trembled when he pulled me into his arms.
“You didn’t answer me when I called your name. I was worried.”
He brushed a hand down the side of my face, his blue gaze turning dark with need. “Anyone coming near this house would regret it if they tried. In fact, anyone who tries to stop us will meet a very slow and painful death.”
“When you say it like that, it kind of turns me on.” I chuckled.
His attention turned to the window and his eyes glowed. “It’s time, love.” Gripping the edge of my towel, he slowly pulled it away, letting it fall to the floor. A deep growl rumbled in his chest when his gaze raked over my body. “Are you ready for this?”
“More than ready.” I stepped toward the bed and sat down, sliding across the silky sheets. Sebastian stood at the edge of the bed and unbuttoned his pants, letting them slide down to the floor. His thick length hung heavy between his legs and I had the overwhelming urge to taste him. My whole body trembled with need.
Keeping his gaze on mine, he crawled onto the bed and kissed his way up my body. Spreading my legs apart, he flicked his tongue over my clit, making me jerk. His warm breath blew across it as he spoke, making the yearning worse. “I feel like I’ve waited an eternity for this,” he breathed.
I grabbed a handful of his hair and squeezed as he plunged his tongue deep inside. “Sebastian,” I called out, close to losing control. But he stopped and smirked at me before licking a trail up to my breasts. “You are so evil
. Luckily, two can play at this game.”
I reached between his legs and wrapped my hand around his arousal, stroking his length. He sucked in a breath and pushed himself up and down inside my hand. The tip of his cock grew wet and I wiped the moisture away with my thumb. Licking my lips, I brought it to my mouth and closed my eyes, moaning as I tasted him.
Watching me suck on my fingers, he lowered his mouth to my breast and nibbled on its peak. “You’ll be the death of me, love.” He grazed my skin with his teeth, but didn’t draw blood. I was glad he didn’t. Whatever our next vision would be, I didn’t want to see it on this night.
Reaching between my legs, he spread me wide and aligned himself at my opening. The moon glowed inside the bedroom, its magic swirling, like invisible threads all around us. I couldn’t see them, but I could feel them. As soon as we completed the bond, those threads would be inside us, tethering us together. His magic would be mine, and mine his. I’d become a royal.
Pushing until he was as deep as he could go, I gasped and squeezed my legs tighter around his waist, pushing him farther in. We moved together as one, our bodies and minds fully connected. The bond we’d already opened up, floated to a whole new level. Our power merged and as each second passed, I felt stronger than I ever had before.
My insides tightened and I felt my release threatening to break free. Fisting his hands in my hair, Sebastian grunted with his hard thrusts, his cock pulsating inside me. I cried out as I finally reached the edge and trembled from the best orgasm of my life. Sebastian pounded his hips into mine as he chased his release, arms clutching me tight.
When he reached completion, I gasped as those magical threads bound us together. His soul was inside me and mine in his, unbreakable. I prayed if anything ever happened to him, death would take me as well. There was no way I could live without him from this day forward.
Leaning on his elbows, Sebastian bent down and kissed me, our bodies still connected. “I wouldn’t be able to live without you either,” he murmured against my lips. “I love you, Tyla.”
Heart racing, I looked up at him and let the tears fall. “I love you too, Sebastian. I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize it.”