Grace put her hands up in surrender. “Hey, I didn’t say it was a bad thing. I just said it was getting old. I wanted to change things up.”
Dane nodded his eyebrows furrowed. “Does this have something to do with moving to a cabin in the woods?”
“Maybe.”
He leaned back in his chair. “And does this have anything to do with the angry contractor that followed us into the parking lot last night? You don’t have to answer,” Dane added quickly, “I might be reading this situation wrong.” Dane set down his fork and looked into Grace’s eyes. “But I don’t think I am.”
Grace laughed weakly. Setting aside her food she took a deep breath. “Jack is my fated mate.” Dane’s eyebrows rose into his hairline. Grace held her hand up. “Before you say anything, he has formally rejected the bond. This isn’t a rough pat. I’m not messing around on him.”
“I don’t think you would,” was all he said.
Silence filled the dining room. Dane stared at Grace. She couldn’t handle his piercing eyes after that admission. She looked down at the table. The silence went on, weighing heavily. It made Grace anxious.
She knew this was going to happen. This was what the rest of her life was going to be like. Any time she met someone she liked they would immediately make assumptions when they heard her fated mate rejected her. Even a nice guy like Dane.
Dane stood from his chair the sound of it scraping against the floor causing Grace to lift her head. He took two steps towards Grace and pulled her to him.
“Shh,” he cooed, “relax. You’re fine, everything's okay.” He pet her hair. Grace’s breath hitched at the soft touch. “You’ve got to calm down, Gracie. My wolf is getting worked up smelling your anxiety. I don’t want to shift in the middle of your dining room.”
He continues humming and rocking her back and forth. Grace closed her eyes feeling the vibrations of his voice through his chest. When her breathing calmed Dane let her go. Without words they left their food and sat on opposite couches.
Dane ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t expect that but it does explain things. That guy is way too interested in your life to be some guy you didn’t hire.” He looked at Grace a question in his eyes. “Want to talk about it?”
“Oh God, no,” Grace wheezed. “You are probably the only person in the state who hasn’t heard about this.” And that was about the only thing saving the last of Grace’s pride. “It’s humiliating.”
Dane’s shoulders tensed. Suddenly, he was alert. “He humiliated you?” Yellow exploded through his irises. Guess his wolf wasn’t as calm as Dane was pretending.
“No, no,” Grace quickly added wanting to prevent him from losing his control. “I humiliated myself. Jack made it very clear from the beginning that he didn’t want a mate. I didn’t catch the drift until recently.”
“That is not the impression that I got yesterday.”
“Yeah,” she admitted, “I don’t know what that was about. Over the last year he couldn’t be far enough away from me but in the last few days he’s talked to me more than he ever has.” Grace snorted. “Well, he’s been yelling, not so much talking.”
“Do you want him?” Dane reclined against the couch. He was back to being the laid-back, sexy man she met that first day. There was something about him that relaxed Grace. It made this conversation feel less threatening than she imagined. If Anne had asked that question Grace would have jumped on the defense. With Dane she honestly reflected the answer.
“You know, tough questions are usually off limits on first dates.” Grace smiled attempting to lighten the mood.
“Yeah, they usually are.” He agreed. “They aren’t with us though are they? This is exactly what we are supposed to be talking about.” Grace oddly agreed with him. He propped his elbows on his knees getting closer to her. “There’s something between us. We’re connected somehow.” He sighed leaning back. “Just not romantically.”
Grace’s heart dropped. She knew the mate thing would be a deal breaker.
“It’s a serious let down too,” Dane rubbed his chin. “I am wildly attracted to you. I just think that there’s something unfinished you between you and Jack.”
“The bond has been rejected. There’s nothing there,” Grace argued.
“Do you want him?” Dane asked again.
“I don’t know if I want him. My wolf does.” She answered honestly. “I’m conflicted.”
“You should think about what you want and if Jack is someone you want in your life.” Dane shrugged. “If it makes any difference, I think Jack is feeling conflicted too. I know you think that the bond has been rejected but from where I’m standing it looks like you’re both experiencing the same conflict. I think there’s a connection between you and him.” He laughed. “I don’t think we would work out if you and I tried to be together.”
“You don’t know that,” Grace contended.
Dane rose from his seat and stalked over to her. He placed his hands on either side of her head. Her breath froze in her lungs. He bent over her until they were at eye level. Gently, Dane pressed his lips to her. The kiss was soft, polite. Grace leaned into his body trying to be enthusiastic.
Dane broke the kiss and lifted an eyebrow. The kiss had been nice but it was nothing like the kiss she had shared with Jack behind the diner. That had nearly burned her. It made her pant just thinking about it.
“See? No spark.” He went back to his seat, “Which is so disappointing because when two extremely attractive people kiss it should never be bland.”
“You didn’t feel anything either?” She asked to be sure.
“Like kissing my grandma.”
“Gross,” Grace shuddered, “don’t tell me you kiss your grandma on the lips.
And just like that the awkwardness disappeared.
“Only when she asks very nicely.” Grace threw a pillow at him. “Now, I’m pretty sure that since you made dinner I get to do the dishes.”
Grace grinned at Dane’s retreating back.
Chapter Seven
Jack just wanted to get his lumber and get back to his shop. Today had been a fucking nightmare. Somehow he woke up more exhausted than the day before. It was a level of exhaustion that caffeine had no effect on.
And it was all Grace Copeland’s fault. The woman would not leave his head. He spent half the night angry about the idiot sleeping outside her house. The rest of the night he was worried.
The other enforcers agreed with Jack that the increased activity from violent rogue wolves was something to be concerned with. They did not agree with the fact that Jack thought it was suspicious that a random wolf from another territory was willing to guard one of their women. Hell, Derek vouched for the guy. Apparently they knew each other and “That’s just the kind of guy Dane is.”
“You want me to have the boys load this wood up into your truck?” Elliott Johnson asked sending Jack back to the real world. The man was nearing his eighties but still ran his lumber mill with an iron fist. It wasn’t a large mill. It couldn’t compete with the corporate mills on the other side of the mountain but they bought local and kept their practices ethical. That made all the difference to Jack.
“Yes, sir. I’ll bring the truck around and help them.” Jack went outside and froze in his tracks. There, on the wind, was Grace’s scent. For a second he wondered how it had ever filled him with dread. It was one of the most appealing smells he had ever experiences. “Actually, Mr. Johnson, could the boys load this one? I’ve got to run an errand.”
Elliott snorted. “Pups and their ridiculous ideas about mating. Back in my day you met your mate and that…”
His voice faded as Jack rushed towards Main Street. Not once did it cross Jack’s mind that he was behaving like a maniac. He didn’t stop to think about the fact that he was the one to reject Grace. The only thing Jack was thinking was that Grace smelled good and that he had to see her.
Her trail picked up at the fabric store. She wasn’t there at the moment. Next
, she’d gone to the hardware store. Jack caught her coming out of the bakery.
“Hello Jack, are you here to yell at me some more?” Her hands went to her hips.
Tiny wisps of blonde hair curled around her round face. The cold air turned her cheeks pink, drawing Jack’s eyes there only to have them dip to her plump lips. She wasn’t wearing any makeup leaving her lips a delicate, flirtatious pink.
“Jack,” Grace said impatiently, “what do you want?”
“You.” The word left his mouth before he could think, startling him. By Grace’s gasp it shocked her too. But that shock quickly morphed into anger. “I want you to forgive me.” Jack quickly added. It was a bullshit save.
“Yeah well, after that stunt you pulled last night it might take more than just a half assed apology in the street.” Grace shook her head.
Jack didn’t feel sorry for hounding Grace at Miller’s. He did feel sorry that Grace was wary around him now. He felt sorry that she had stopped smiling at him. He missed her smile. “I just want things to go back to the way they were. Forgive me.”
The fight went out of Grace. Her shoulder slumped as she sighed. “There’s nothing to forgive. You didn’t want a mate. You made that obvious from the start I just ignored it. It hurt,” she admitted, “but I’m actually really glad it happened.
“The last year had been one of the most humiliating experiences of my life. Having the whole town take your side really opened my eyes to who my friends are.” A sad, sweet smile curved her lips. “Give me a few weeks to get over it and I’ll probably thank you.”
Grace put her hand on Jack's shoulder before sliding past him. Jack watched her get into her car completely confused. What the hell did she mean by the whole town siding with him?
Walking back to his truck he dialed Paul’s number. That man was the most sociable person in town. People opened up to him when he smiled at them. He knew all of the town gossip. Paul would know what Grace had meant.
“What?” Paul barked.
Jack pulled the phone away from his ear and stared down at it. Paul never bit at people. “Who pissed in your cereal?”
Paul snarled through the phone. “Do you actually need something or are you just calling to be cute?”
Wow. Jack was not going to tempt fate by asking what Paul’s problem was. “Woah, yeah I wanted to know if the town got involved in this thing between me and Grace.”
Paul snorted. “You’re kidding me right? The ever so helpful citizens of Black Bird are the reason you’ve only run into Grace half a dozen times in over a year.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Come one,” Paul’s disbelief was obvious, “how did you not notice? You didn’t think that it was strange that you never saw a woman who was actively stalking you?”
“I was always one step ahead of Grace.” That’s what Jack figured.
“Please, that woman was meticulous. If not for the nosey neighbors of this town she would have caught you at every turn. Hell, they went out there to keep you two apart. When that huge storm blew through Grace had a few windows break. You were free but Robert Martin told her you were booked. Of course everyone else really was too busy so there was no one available to replace her windows. We only realized what had happened when Derek saw her trying to install new windows by herself two weeks later.”
Jack could not believe it. He had gone to Robert and specifically told him to let people know that Jack would help repair storm damages free of charge. He would have helped Grace no matter the personal shit between them.
“Then there’s Pearl Pierce,” Paul snarled. “She has been praying for an opportunity like this to come around for three decades.”
“What opportunity?” Jack knew what the guys said about Pearl. He could see the conniving side of her but she was sweet to Jack.
“An opportunity to screw over a Copeland. Grace’s mom was Pearl’s son’s fated mate but she threw him over for a human. And oh,” Paul sang, “that threw a wrench in Pearl’s plans for her son and the town. Getting the chance to deny Grace her mate was some kind of cosmic justice for Pearl.”
A pit formed in Jack’s stomach. He hated to but he had to ask. “What did she do?”
Paul chuckled softly, “The bitch got crafty. I’ll give her that. She planted misinformation that had Grace running around town. She got her minions to crow it from the town square when you took someone home from the bar.” Jack blushed at that as the horrible feeling in his gut grew. “And the general consensuses that she put dye in a laundromat dryer Grace was using. But no one can prove that one.”
“Where do you hear this shit?” He really hoped no one was telling tales about the few women he’d taken out since moving to town.
“Man, you would not believe the stuff you hear sitting in a kitchen. Those dishwashers gossip.”
“Why didn’t anyone say anything?” It infuriated Jack that the whole town had been trying to influence his personal life. He could not believe that none of the enforcers had given him a heads up.
“We figured you wouldn’t care. They were messing with Grace, not you and she’s used to the whole town fucking around with her.”
“Of course I care,” Jack yelled, “if someone is messing with Grace I want to know.” Just thinking about Peal deliberately making Grace’s life more difficult was getting him riled. He wanted to shift and chase that old bitch through the woods. He smiled at the thought.
“Ah,” Paul said in a tone that got in Jack’s last nerve, “I see how it is.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You want Grace. You’ve wanted her this whole time I bet but you’re scared.”
Jack felt the corner of his lip raise. “Stop it with the psychoanalyst bullshit. I do not want Grace.” But he did want her near. And he wanted her to go back to smiling at him.
Fuck, what the hell is wrong with me?
Saying no to Grace flipped a switch in him. He’s gone from actively avoiding her to obsessively thinking about her.
“Hey man, I know what you’re going through. Mates make you crazy.” Paul made a noise that sounded depressing. He’d never said it out loud before but all of their friends suspected that Betsy was his mate. No one knew why he was keeping it a secret but based on that noise there was a pretty good reason. “They unsettle you. It’s like for the first time in your life you and your animal aren’t in synch and that just adds to the problem.”
“I’ve never wanted a mate.” Jack admitted. I don’t want to become something I hate, but I can’t stop myself.” He didn’t want to become his parents. Grace didn’t deserve to live through the hell of his childhood. He couldn’t help himself though. Jack found himself chasing Grace, to hell with his good intentions.
“You don’t know jack shit about Grace Copeland if you think being with her could do anything but make you a better man. Just,” Paul hesitated, “just give it some thought.”
“Yeah,” Jack agreed quietly before hanging up.
He felt uncertain after talking to Paul. The man obviously knew more than Jack gave him credit for and that made Jack feel guilty. Paul was right. He didn’t know anything about Grace. Jack had been plowing forward stubbornly determined that there was only one road to choose. He’d been so determined to not have a mate that he’d made up his mind about Grace the instant their hands touched. God, he was such an ass.
Getting an idea Jack started the truck and drove home.
Grace felt drained and it was barely noon. Dane was back in South Creek for the day finishing another job. She had gotten up early to get a start on her list of things to do. She was planning on painting the front room today but after that baffling conversation with Jack outside of the bakery, she wasn’t sure if she had the energy.
Luckily, Grace had the foresight to tape off everything the night before. All she needed to do was pop the top on the paint and get to work.
Before too long, Grace was forced to open all of the windows and doors to air out the sme
ll. With her super sensitive nose the paint fumes were almost unbearable.
That’s why Grace didn’t smell them when they crept into her cabin. One second she was running a brush along the wall and the next teeth clamped down on her ankle, jerking her back. Grace’s head slammed against the wall before hitting the floor. The impact blackened her vision. The searing pain from her ankle kept Grace from going under.
Blinking rapidly, Grace saw a huge wolf dragging her across the floor by her ankle. She twisted and fought to get free, shredding her muscle under the wolf’s teeth. Her other foot shot out connecting with something hard. The teeth clamped down harder. Grace growled at the pain. She swung her leg and slammed her heel into the wolf’s nose. His mouth popped open.
Scrambling, Grace dragged herself up. Five wolves stood around the cabin. They were dirty with ragged fur. They smelled feral. Rogues.
Careful to not make a sudden move, Grace eased onto her hands. A quick glance at her foot told her she wasn’t running out of here. The wolves waited for her to make her move their bodies quivering in anticipation.
Grace felt time slow down as her heart pounded. She couldn’t fight this many wolves. She would get torn apart. She’d have to run but with her ankle torn apart her only hope was shifting and then somehow sprinting past them.
A black wolf standing right in front of her took a step forward. Thick, foamy ropes of spit dripped out of his open mouth hitting the wood floor. He took another step forward. Sensing their advantage, the other four wolves took a step towards Grace, shrinking the distance between them.
Grace pleaded with her wolf and pulled her animal forward with all of her strength. She felt her bones snap and fur burst through her skin faster than ever before. The change left Grace dizzy. Her body ached from the shift and her ankle was screaming at her.
The entire thing took two seconds. Swaying on her feet, the fur on the back of Grace’s neck stood up. She sensed the wolves tense, about to strike. Looking up, she saw the black wolf midair, launching at her. Ducking to the left, she felt his body pass by her, hitting the wall.
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