Chapter 4

Astrid

It takesme almost twenty-four hours to realize that I never actually grabbed groceries when I went to the market yesterday. Work is pretty slow this week so I lace up my shoes and head off towards downtown. I can't help but think about Caden as I start to walk down the street.

I wonder if I'll see him again today.

Wait. Do I want to?

I thought I didn't, but I can't deny that a certain thrill goes through me when I think of the handsome biker. Normally, I wouldn't be attracted to someone in a motorcycle club, until I met Caden.

What is it about him?

I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe if I had dated when I was younger or if Nara and I were like other teenage girls and went ga-ga over boy bands or movie stars, if we had crushes on other guys our age, maybe then I would have more experience with these new emotions.

I turn the corner, and the Broken Bow Market comes into view. I'm almost to the parking lot when the now familiar sound of Caden's motorcycle comes up behind me.

I sigh, stopping and turning to face him as he parks and climbs off.

"We meet again," he says with a wide smile.

"Unfortunately," I grumble.

"How about we go get the cup of coffee now?" He asks me, and I shake my head.

"I need to get some groceries and get home," I tell him.

I don't know why I'm still standing here. I doubt that I want to hear anything he has to say. I'm attracted to Caden, but he's a biker and I don't want to date one, so I steel myself as I look up at his handsome face.

"You have two minutes," I tell him, and he shakes his head.

"It's going to take longer than that. You're going to have questions, and I'm sure that I'm going to need to prove it to you," he says, and my curiosity is piqued.

"Prove what to me?" I ask, and he pauses.

For a split second, he looks worried. Now I'm even more curious about what could be going on.

"Just… come with me. Please."

I hesitate, and he shifts closer to me.

"I just need a few minutes of your time, Astrid."

"Listen, I would, but I don't really want to head anywhere in town with you. The Midnight Rebels seem to have some kind of tracker on you or something, and I really don't want to have to run home and then come back downtown tomorrow to grab groceries. Again."

"So, let me take you out of town somewhere. I know a place that's quiet."

"Okay, first off, creepy," I say, and he laughs.

"It's a public place, but the Midnight Rebels won't be there. I promise."

I chew on my bottom lip and weigh my options. Part of me thinks that I should just get this over with. I can talk to him for a few minutes and then maybe he'll leave me alone, or maybe I'll finally be able to figure out what it is about Caden that fascinates me so much.

"Fine, let's go," I finally say, and he lets out a big breath before holding his hand out to me.

I cross my arms over my chest and step past him towards his bike.

"Do you trust me?" Caden asks, and I snort.

"Nope."

"Give me a chance and let me change that then."

I sigh, grabbing his helmet from his hands and slipping it onto my head. I pull the strap tight and then climb onto the back of his bike.

"Hold on," Caden instructs, and a secret thrill races through me as I wrap my arms around his waist.

He pulls out of the market parking lot and we take off. I expect him to head east since that's the nearest town, but he surprises me by going north, towards the forests that border our small little town.

We ride for a few minutes, and then he turns off of the main road, and I cling to him tighter as we wind our way down the backroads and towards some popular hiking trails on the outskirts of town. I used to go hiking here with Nara whenever we both wanted to get out of our houses and away from our families, but I haven't been in years.

He pulls into a gravel parking lot and parks. I hurry to climb off the back of the bike and take the helmet off.

"Okay, this is your public site?" I ask him as he climbs off his bike.

"It's public," he argues.

"Barely," I grouch.

"It's perfect. Besides, I'll need space to show you."

He starts to hike down a less popular trail and I follow behind him. The trail isn't long and it dead ends at a field. Caden looks around and then turns to face me.

"Are you going to kill me now?" I ask, and he lets out a rusty-sounding laugh.

"Yeah, I realize now how creepy this must look," he admits, and I bite back a smile.

"Uh-huh," I agree.

"I guess you must trust me a little bit because you haven't run away screaming yet."

I don't answer that, and he clears his throat.

"So, I wanted to tell you about myself."

I wave for him to go on, and he takes a deep breath.

"Astrid, we're meant to be together. Literally. We're literally fated to be together."

I roll my eyes and he steps forward, looking ready to stop me in case I turn and make a run for it. There's a certain desperation in him now, like this conversation and getting me to understand is the most important thing he's ever done.

"I'm a shifter, a wolf shifter, and shifters have fated mates. They have one person who is the only one that they'll ever love. You're mine."

My head is spinning, and I blink, holding up my hand before he can go on.

"You're a what?"

"A wolf shifter. I can change between human to wolf form at will. I knew you were my fated mate the second I smelled you."

"Smelled?!?" I stress, and he nods.

"That's how shifters know they've found their fated mate."

Oh my god, he's crazy.

That has to be it, right? What other possible reason could there be for a grown man to think that he can be a wolf and that he knows I'm the one because of the way that I smell?

"Ohh, okay," I say, backing up a step.

"You don't believe me."

"No, of course not. You sound insane."

"I knew that you wouldn't believe me."

"Uh-huh," I say, backing up another step.

"That's why I brought you here. I knew I would need to show you to prove it to you."

I nod, trying to play along with the crazy man as I come up with a plan for how to get out of here. If I make a run for it, I could maybe find a hiker on one of the other trails. Or maybe I could make it to the parking lot, hide, and then call Nara to come and get me.

I'm so busy looking over my shoulder at the trail that I don't notice Caden stripping a few feet away. I glance back at Caden, and my eyes almost pop out of my head when I see him standing there naked.

"Ready?"

"For what?" I shout, backing up another step. "Why are you naked?"

I slap my hands over my eyes, and he chuckles.

"I don't want to rip my clothes," he explains.

"Why would that even be a possibility?!"

"When I shift," he says, and I groan.

"Okay, let's get this over with," I say, dropping my hands and keeping my eyes locked on his face.

"Ready?"

"Yep."

He nods and then, right before my eyes, he does change. It happens fast, but I still see it. The way that his nails and hair grow, the shifting of his bones and the way that he lands on his paws a moment later.

"Holy. Shit."

I stare in shock at the giant wolf in front of me. He's so much bigger than I thought he would be. I guess I've only ever seen a wolf at the zoo and they seemed smaller then.

The wolf steps towards me and I tense. He pauses and we eye each other for a moment.

That wolf could kill me, but I don't think that he will. I mean, this would be a pretty elaborate way for him to convince me to come out here so he could kill me.

The wolf steps forward again, and this time, I raise my hand, and he pushes his head into my palm.

"Oh my gosh," I whisper.

He moves his head, and I start to run my fingers through his fur. It's soft and longer than it looks. I pet his wolf for a few minutes, growing more comfortable around him.

He steps back, and I watch as he shifts back to his human form and starts to pull on his clothes.

My head is spinning as I watch him and try to sort through my thoughts.

"Do you believe me now?" He asks as he slips his shirt over his head.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I want to ride off into the sunset with you or whatever."

"Of course not. We're meant to be together, but I know you won't trust that just yet."

I shift on my feet, wondering what to do now, and he smiles easily.

"We'll start with a date first," he says, and my mouth drops open.

He's so presumptuous, but I can't deny that I'm interested. If he wasn't lying about being a wolf shifter, then could he really be telling the truth about being fated to be together?

"What do you say, Astrid? Will you go out with me? Tomorrow?" He asks, and before I can think it through, I nod.

"Alright. Tomorrow."

He grins at me, and I turn and head back to his bike before I can say or do something stupid, like throw myself at him.

I feel so turned around. I don't know if I should be running towards him or away from him. I need to figure that out, and I have a feeling I'll need to figure it out fast.