“Getting fixed. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me tonight.”
She glanced to the front doors of the precinct, and her eyes widened. She’d lost track of time, spending more time in the lab getting glass pulled from her than she’d thought.
“You need to take me back to my hotel. I have a date.”
“With the bear?”
“With my mate,” she clarified as she reached for her phone, realizing too late that she didn’t have Rhys’ number programmed in her phone. She glanced toward Colton’s office to find the light off. “Where’s Colton?”
“He shifted to hunt with the trackers.”
She let out a long deep sigh and started for the door. When he didn’t follow, she turned around. “Well, are you my ride, or am I calling a cab?”
He gritted his teeth as he stormed toward her. “Do you know how much it pains me to drive you to seehim?”
“Fine, I’ll call a cab,” she announced and picked up the phone on the nearest desk.
“Get your ass in gear. I’m not waiting all night,” he grumbled and gave a violent push out the door.
Lizzie climbed into the passenger side of the SUV and buckled her belt as Evan started the SUV and pulled out onto the main road. She was stuck with him for the next thirty minutes. “I appreciate the ride.”
He grunted.
“Maybe I can meet you tomorrow night for that glimpse of Jordanians you were going to give me. I’m kind of beat tonight and just want to enjoy a late dinner with Rhys.”
He glanced at her but didn’t say a word. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. Minutes went by before he spoke. “Elizabeth, you’re wasting your time with him.” He glanced over at her again. “You are too different.”
“Opposites attract.”
He shook his head and let out a long sigh. “If you won’t stop seeing him for yourself, at least think about what you’re depriving him of.”
“Yeah, what’s that? Because I haven’t heard him complain yet.”
“Children,” Evan answered without looking at her. “A full mate bond. You’ll kill him if he bites you.”
Elizabeth rested her head against the seat. “He’d love me without those things.”
“Your father will never accept him.”
She balled her fists, digging her nails into her palms. “You mean the same father who didn’t want to raise me and sent me to live with his brother among humans? I can’t say I honestly care about what he thinks.”
“You don’t, but what about Rhys? Your father is a powerful man and shifter. What if he turns on Rhys and his brothers? We have laws, Ab—Elizabeth. His laws and the laws of your bloodline have governed our people and kept us alive for centuries. What happens when the king decides that Rhys isn’t good enough for you? Will you condemn Rhys and his brothers to whatever punishment your dad sees fit?”
She shifted in her seat to get a better look at Evan. “Are you sure you aren’t saying this because you’re jealous, and you want me as a mate?”
“No.” His voice lowered. “I’m telling you this because I care about you. I always have. It killed me to wait for you until you turned twenty-five.” He glanced at her, and his brows dipped. “I know you, better than you know yourself. If something were to happen to him, you’d never be able to live with yourself. You’ll either get yourself killed trying to rescue him or get him killed. Mates or not, neither you nor I can let that happen.”
She turned back in her seat without another word and watched the darkness pass by as she let his words sink in. She’d lived most of her life alone, so it was possible she could walk away if it meant that it kept him alive, even if it destroyed her happiness, but there had to be another way for them to be together. For them to be happy.
“Someone once told me that a shifter’s number one priority is to protect and take care of his mate. That her happiness always came first.” She glanced sideways at him. “That’s how I know you and I aren’t mates. We might be connected by destiny and lives, but you’d never walk away if I begged you to, even if it meant that I’d be happy, truly happy, whereas Rhys would if it meant my happiness. As much as it would kill him, he’d let me go.”
She turned and rested her head against the window for the remainder of the quiet ride back to her hotel. The night grew darker as he turned into the hotel and parked. He got out and followed her upstairs no matter how much she protested that he get back in the car and leave.
The door swung open, and her bear’s gaze softened as it rested on her face. He pulled her into his arms and glared at Evan. “What is he doing here?”
“She was shot, and one of us had to take care of her,” Evan announced before turning to walk away.
“Asshole,” she called out after him.
He lifted up the car keys, keeping his back to her as he walked away. “Takes one to know one, Abigail.”
