But her worried expression didn’t abate. Whether that was because her theatrics were drawing attention to her or because she was genuinely fearful for me, I didn’t know.

Oh wait . . . I could know. I inhaled her fragrance, and a sour scent tingled my nose.

She was actually scared for me.

I hugged her again. “I’ll be okay.”

She squeezed me just as hard. Probably because she’d seen the horrors of Jakub’s captivity. She knew what was in store for me if Kaillen and I didn’t catch him and ended up being caught instead.

Harsh breaths reached my ears as the private whom Commander Klebus had sent to collect my things returned. He dumped all of my bags at my feet, then saluted the commander.

“Thank you, Private,” she said, still fuming at my mate.

Kaillen ignored her and stepped forward before I could. He picked up all of my bags, no doubt that whole must-take-care-of-my-mate-at-all-times instinct kicking in.

I gave a final departing squeeze to my sister before following the hunter back through the wards’ opening.

My sister and the remaining squad members all watched us leave. I waved a farewell to Tessa one last time before the hunter and I stepped into his portal and disappeared.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 14

We arrived in Portland, just outside of his base. Kaillen didn’t say a word before throwing my bags through his man cave’s ward, threading his fingers through mine, and then tugging me through the perimeter.

It was only after we were safely encased inside his studio apartment, that I sputtered, “Why are we here and not in Montana?”

“Klebus may try to track me. I don’t want her to know where I live.” His brow furrowed as he stepped closer to me. “What’s going on?”

“I know where Jakub is.”

His eyes widened for the briefest second before his mouth set into a hard line. “Where?”

“The fae lands. As of thirty minutes ago, he was on his way to Culasberee. The Supernatural Forces can’t pursue him because of fae lands and earthly politics. That may change, but if it doesn’t, he’s going to get away. The SF is worried that if he gets to the sea, they won’t be able to effectively track him. But you could still find him, couldn’t you? Since you know his scent?”

“I could,” he replied, the groove between his eyes deepening.

“There’s more.” I explained in a rush that Klebus now knew the extent of my powers. That she’d seen it when I’d broken the cuffs. “She now knows that I’m as powerful and as rare as you. She wants to recruit me to the SF.” I showed him the business card she gave me.

His nostrils flared. “Fuck, she’s clever.”

“No shit. The only good thing that came out of it, is that I’m now immune to those cuffs.” I crossed my arms as I peered up at him, some of my ire returning despite my excitement at seeing him again. “She had a pair of Jakub’s blue cuffs, courtesy of you apparently.”

A veiled look descended over his face.

Even though my wolf was begging me to touch the hunter, to join with and be with him, the human side of me pulled back. “Why didn’t you tell me you had them?”

He broke eye contact. “I don’t know. It slipped my mind, I guess.”

“Slipped your mind?” I repeated, my voice rising.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” He tore a hand through his hair. “A lot’s been going on the past few days.”

“But you gave those cuffs to Klebus. When?”

“After I retrieved them. I went to Philadelphia first because I knew Jakub had dropped them. I got them before I retrieved the ax and came back to you in Montana. I knew we needed those cuffs if we were ever going to learn what they were and how to break them. That’s the one thing the SF is good for, so I gave them to Klebus.”

I scoffed. “Well, you certainly got a lot done in a short amount of time.”

He gave me a cocky smile. “I’m efficient.”

Despite his teasing comment, I saw the worry in his eyes, even more so when he inhaled and no doubt caught the hurt in my scent.

My brow furrowed. “Why do you hide so much from me? Why don’t you let me in?”

He studied me for a moment, that pineapple and sunshine fragrance beginning to waft up from him. “Do you want me to let you in? All you do is fight me.”

“But that’s because—” I let out a frustrated sigh. “Ugh. Why is nothing normal between us?”

“Because it’s not, and it never will be, but if you want me to let you in, I’m willing to do that. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“But you haven’t so far,” I countered. “If you had, you would have told me about the cuffs and how you suspected that I could be a werewolf.” That icy hurt slid through me again.

An aggrieved expression overtook his face.

And in his scent, I knew that he was sorry. He was truly remorseful. I stared up at him as my tone turned pleading. “Why aren’t you more honest with me? More open?”

He shook his head, then frowned, as though really considering my words. After a moment, he said, “I think it’s because I’ve spent my entire life on my own. Until you, I—” He let out a harsh sigh. “This is new to me, okay? I’m not used to sharing information with people. I work alone. I function alone. I’ve always been alone. Until you, I didn’t want it any other way.”

My heart tripped. Until me. And I knew that he meant that, because his entire childhood and working career, Kaillen had functioned solo. He’d learned from an early age to be self-reliant. He’d had to or he wouldn’t have survived.

I brushed my hands next to his. “But I’m your mate.” A lump formed in my throat, because as much as this werewolf crap was messed up, I was his mate, and Tessa’s comment back in her bungalow had hit a nerve in me. She’d been right. A lot of mated werewolf couples were very happy. Who was I to judge those relationships and say they weren’t real? They were very real for all of those supernaturals. Even though they were different to anything I’d ever experienced, it didn’t mean they weren’t genuine, which meant it didn’t mean that Kaillen and I weren’t genuine.

Kaillen stilled, as though he’d sensed the shift in me just as I was coming to grips with it myself. “Yes. You are my mate. Mine.”

A tingle ran through my belly at that possessive claim, but I shoved it down, so I wouldn’t get distracted. “Which means that you shouldn’t hide things from me. Nothing should be hidden between us.” And with a hard swallow, I realized that I meant that and wanted that. I couldn’t fight this bond any more than he could. Now, more than ever, I realized that. So if we were going to jump into this head first, then I needed to know that I could trust him. Because true trust meant no secrets. “Knowing you’re not going to hide things from me anymore is the only way this will ever work for me.”

His hand drifted to my waist, as a low possessive rumble came from his chest.

My wolf yelped excitedly.

A predatory smile lifted his lips. “You’re willing to be my mate now?”

“If you promise to work on that.”

His face transformed into an all-out grin. “I’ll work on it. But this whole sharing thing? It’s new to me. Can you forgive me if I fuck up a few more times?”

I gave a small smile as the glow in his eyes grew. “Maybe. It depends how many times.”

A chuckle escaped him at my teasing tone, then his chest rose when he took a deep breath. A musky fragrance wove into his scent as he drank me in. “You just admitted to being my mate.”

“I did.”

“And that we’re going to be together.”

“Yes, that too.”

His nostrils flared as heat smoldered in his eyes and the musk in his scent grew so potent I was swimming in it.