“Call me with updates. Or I’ll stop by.” Emm broke the silence and took a card off the desk with Hammer’s number. “I’m going to need to bring my truck in for some maintenance, too.”
“Yes, Lu— Emm. Anything you need. On the house. For the wait and all.” She eyed him and went to step out the door. “And, uh, do you want us to tow your RV? Keep it here in the shop? Where it’s safe?”
Emm paused and I kept the growl from settling in my chest.Do not take up on that offer.I bored my eyes into her, trying to reach some sort of invisible connection. She rubbed the back of her neck, looking nervously around the room.
It would not bode well for my men if she allowed them to retrieve her RV. I would protect her home, I would maim—even kill to keep her in the forest until I had claimed her as mine.
The old ways would allow me to do so.
Emm kept quiet for a time until she tilted her chin up. “No. I’ll leave it where it is.”
Good girl.
Or, she’s worried about the blood that has soaked into her campsite. People would see her as guilty. Anyone could see and smell the blood bath left behind.
As my mate exited the shop, the bell above the door chimed, filling the air with a tinkling sound. The sight of her enticing, round behind, set my desire aflame and caused my mouth to water. I let out a deep, longing groan and rose on all fours, emerging from the shadows cast by the spare tires at the back of the shop.
A wrench fell, making a clang and the mechanic room went eerily silent.
As I emerged from the shadows, my presence froze everyone into place. I could feel my aura overwhelming Hammer as his eyes widened in fear, unable to move. The scent of my mate lingered, driving my wolf's instincts wild with desire and possessiveness.
Without breaking eye contact with Hammer, I let out a low growl that reverberated through the room, causing tools to rattleon their shelves. The other men in the shop exchanged wary glances, sensing the primal energy that surrounded me.
I took a step forward, my muscles coiled with tension as I approached Hammer. He stumbled backward, knocking into a workbench and sending more tools clattering to the ground. Fear radiated off him in waves as he realized the danger he was in.
“Locke...Pres,—” he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
I bared my teeth in a silent warning, that his pleas would not sway me. My focus remained solely on him, my primal instincts driving me to assert dominance in this territory, where my mate had set foot.
As Hammer cowered before me, I could see the realization dawn in his eyes. He knew the significance of my physical presence, the message it conveyed to him and the others in the room.
I held his gaze for a moment longer, imprinting the memory of this encounter on his mind before finally shifting my attention away.
With a flick of my tail, I turned and made my way towards the entrance, the bell above the door jingling softly as I passed through. The men in the shop remained frozen in place, their gazes following me until I no longer felt them, as I disappeared from view.
Instead of just the witness of my scent, the entire shop knew I was there. Along with Hammer’s testimony that Emm held my scent, it would soon spread like wildfire that she was their luna.
If some of the club believed it or not, that remained to be seen. The mechanics were… a different breed.
Would the club treat her differently? Most likely, yes, but I believed they had already begun to do so long before they had seen my weary body. She’d smelled like the Iron Fang whenshe returned home last night, mostly like Journey. I guessed Journey already had a plan in her head, and I was sure she’d spoken to Tajah to make sure the club didn’t run her out of town.
Tajah could be one scary fucker when she senses someone new has evil intentions.
I smiled to myself as these puzzle pieces came into place. I had more things working for me than I cared to admit. I thought I was over and done for, that there would be no redemption, but here we were, a mere month and a half later, and my mate came striding into my life when I’d hit rock bottom.
Oh, that Goddess could be a heartless bitch, just as Grim always said. She was toying with me, pushing me down to my lowest, so I could pay for my sins of my past. Hell, the things I did were the way things were always done long ago. I followed Ares’ law, and I should not be responsible.
Or, perhaps I was being punished for putting my fellow rogues out of their misery too soon.
My heart ached for those that my brothers and I had to put down, who had already gone rabid too early, but there was no way I could know. I still stood by my orders and I would not falter when brought up amongst our club. But, deep down, I thought I’d always resent myself.
I stayed among the shadows as I followed my mate-no, stalked her-through the streets of the town. She was memorizing, not the street names or the shops, but rather the alleyways and the obscure. She dipped inside the dark corners, and her hands trailed up the bricks and walls. Her hands tugged at fire escape ladders, feeling their ability to move up and down on the platforms.
I ducked lower into the shadows as more humans walked by. She acted oblivious to the fact that someone was watching her, but every so often she would nonchalantly observe her surroundings.
She was good, I’ll give her that. Hunting her would be a challenge in the town. In the forest? Mmm, I could find her scent easily. The sweet tang of her scent was a tantalizing lure, The delicate blend of coconut and citrus swirled around her, only adding to her mysterious appeal.
Who was this exotic woman and how did she come to the upper northwest of the country, where the sun hid in the clouds, and her sun-kissed skin now must hide on cold, rainy days?
