13. Chapter 13

Chapter thirteen

Connor

M ine.

The word rumbles somewhere deep and primal inside me.

Don’t let our mate get away.

Mate. The impossible word resonates in my head, and I realize I’ve been a bigger fool than I thought. How did I not see all the signs?

“Netti, wait.” I run to her side and grab her hand as they reach Rosemary’s car. She stops, turning around to face me, her emotions playing like an open book over her face. “I’m sorry.”

“You left.” The words are a punch to my gut as she pulls out of my grasp and stares up at me.

“I—” My throat tightens, and suddenly I feel at a loss for words. How could I express my feelings when I can’t even admit it to myself? I want her. I want the pack.

Pull yourself together. Tell her.

“I knew it wasn’t going to work, Connor.” She pastes a smile on her face that doesn’t meet her eyes.

“Netti, that’s not it.”

“Our lives are too different, Connor. You have your path, and I need to make mine.”

“Netti,” I plead, my chest constricting painfully.

Tell her the truth.

“I panicked, okay? When I got up, I saw all the bills on your dresser and your computer open to tabs about me and my business. I thought you had lied to me about your involvement in the spelled scones. I thought maybe because of your financial situation, you were given an opportunity by a rival trying to ruin this deal for me,” I explain, my voice filled with regret.

She steps back, hurt and anger evident on her face. Behind us, I hear my brother approaching and notice Rosemary standing rigidly near the driver’s side of the car.

“You went through my things?” she asks, her voice filled with disbelief and betrayal. I quickly shake my head, trying to explain myself.

“No, I didn’t go through them. I was reaching for my wallet and noticed the open mail and I knocked the mouse, which turned on the screen. But with everything that has happened, the failed deal, and the issues with the scones, I let my fear get the best of me.”

Her expression softens slightly, but there is still a hint of anger in her eyes. “For the last time, Connor Abernathy. I did not curse your scones or give you a love potion. I’m sorry that your deal didn’t work out, but it had nothing to do with me.” Her voice is firm, and her cheeks flush with frustration.

Connor.

“I didn’t—“ I try to interject, but she cuts me off, her voice filled with exasperation.

“You didn’t? You didn’t storm into my job demanding I remove the curse I supposedly placed on you? You didn’t keep coming to find me even after I explained the truth?” I feel a pang of guilt and frustration as I realize the extent of my actions.

Realizing my mistake, I curse under my breath, my hands involuntarily clenching at my sides. “I was wrong,” I admit, my voice filled with regret. “I shouldn’t have resorted to magic in the first place. I let my fears and insecurities get the best of me.”

Her anger seems to dissipate, replaced by a cold and hardened expression. Her shoulders slump, and she speaks with a hint of resignation. “Just go back to your business and your life,” she says, her voice laced with sadness. I watch helplessly as she turns away, her disappointment palpable.

“Netti, I don’t want to go back to that life, alone. As soon as I left you, I felt deep down that I was being an ass and should go back.” I run a hand frustrated through my hair.

“Then why didn’t you?” Her voice cracks, tears rimming her green eyes.

“I couldn’t.” I rub my chest where a deep ache resonates. “I was on the phone with Carter, about to turn around, when the car broke down. Since the day I met you, anytime I’ve left your side, bad things happen.”

“So, you’re implying I’ve put a hex on you—that you’ll suffer if you try to leave me?” She lets out a short, choked laugh, a sound more like a hiccup than genuine amusement as she shakes her head in disbelief. “You’re ridiculous.”

“No, I don’t think you put a hex on me. I don’t know what is going on, but I do know one thing for certain. If you’ll have me, I want you in my life.” I grab her face between my hands, pressing our foreheads together and inhaling her sweet vanilla chai scent. “I want to see where this goes—where we go.”

She’s silent, her shoulders rising and falling with each breath until she opens her eyes and looks at me.

“You can be such a grumpy ass sometimes,” she says, her voice barely a whisper.

“I know.” I go to drop my hands, but she wraps her hands around my wrists, stilling me. She breaks my gaze to glance at the sky. I follow her gaze, seeing the full moon in the bright afternoon sun.

“And bossy,” she adds, returning to meet my gaze.

“I know.” I hang my head.

“But... I do want to try this thing between us out.” The corners of her lips curl up into a small smile.

“You do?” My heart leaps in my chest, and if I had been in my wolven form, my tail would have been wagging like a pup.

“Yes, Connor. But with a couple of requirements. We’re going to be a team. No more jumping to conclusions.”

Kiss her and grovel, you dick.

“Deal.” I lean in, my breath catching in my throat, and capture her lips in a kiss that is both demanding and tender.

She pulls back, her lips swollen and cheeks flushed. The urge to scoop her up and carry her somewhere where we can be alone is overwhelming, but I fight it, knowing it’s not the most civilized approach.

“What about your company and the deal with Summit?” she asks breathlessly.

“Forget the deal with Summit. I’ve been working my entire life, always searching for something.I put that energy into growing Abernathy Inc. and helping the pack from afar.”

A gruff, masculine voice pierces through my thoughts, snapping me back to reality as I remember my brother and Netti’s best friend standing there, watching and waiting.

Jealousy flares, hot and sharp, and I spin to face him, my body instinctively positioning itself between Carterand Netti.

“Unless you want to take me up on my proposal.” He pushes off the car, heading toward us as he rolls up his shirt sleeves. “Or we could let fate decide what should have happened decades ago.”

“Leave Netti out of this.” I hold my stance.

“Why? Jealous, Connor? Afraid if she spends too much time with the pack, she will find a mate before you claim her?”

His body morphs, teeth sharpening and claws extending from his hands. It’s all the warning I get before he transforms into a giant dark brown wolf and lunges for us. Red hot fury momentarily blinds me, and my body morphs on its own accord, meeting Carter mid-air and tackling him to the ground. I twist as his jaw snaps at my neck, narrowly missing. We back up, teeth bared and growling as we circle each other.

We are nearly identical in our wolf forms, except he is leaner than I last recall. My eyes scan his body when I notice a slight limp in his left paw, and I seize the opportunity. I pounce, knocking him to the ground and forcing the left forepaw to buckle beneath him. Growling, I snap at his neck, my sharp teeth barely biting into his flesh and fur.

Suddenly, I am filled with a rush of power that leaves me feeling dizzy. I stumble back, fur turning into flesh, and I fall to my knees. Carter’s body morphs back into his human form, and he lays on the ground naked, laughing. He lifts a hand to his neck and stares at the small smear of blood on his palm.

As I catch my breath, the realization of what transpired settles in. Carter, my once-trusted friend and brother, attacked me and my mate. But why? What was going on?

I quickly gather my wits and stand, keeping a cautious distance from him. The air is heavy with tension, and the silence is broken only by our heavy breaths as we stare at each other.

I can’t help but feel a pang of guilt as I look at the blood on his hand. It’s my blood, drawn by my teeth. The taste of victory is bittersweet, knowing I have wounded someone I once cared deeply for.

“Why did you do that?”

“I knew you had it in you, Alpha,” Carter says as he stands, pulls on his pants, and offers me a hand.

Alpha.

The rush of power I am feeling suddenly makes sense. By beating him in outright combat over pack and mate, his wolf had bowed in submission, and the Alpha magic transferred to me.

“You tricked me,” I say, stunned and looking at his offered hand.

“No, you bested me. Now, you have the pack and the girl,” Carter says as he helps me to my feet and inclines his head respectfully.

“What is going on here?” Netti steps to my side, my clothes bundled up in her arms. Rose stands smugly beside her, staring at my brother.

“What did he mean by claim me?”

Her green eyes turned to meet mine, and I feel the insistent pull to protect her, claim her.

“He—“

“Connor is your mate. Your life partner. When a shifter finds their mate and accepts the bond, they give them a mating mark so any shifters you come across know that you’re taken.”

“That sounds painful.” Netti touches her neck.

“It’s more of a magical mark, not a physical one. Although traditionally, it was both. Most packs no longer uphold the physical marring of flesh.” Carter shrugs, and Netti wraps her arms around her middle. “It explains his obsessive attraction to you when you first met that he blankly ignored and blamed on your scones instead.” Carter points between the two of us. “I could smell him on you the moment I met you, and I knew by the way your scents had entwined that he had unintentionally marked you as his, but I saw no mating mark.”

“That’s because I don’t want Netti to be forced into a relationship determined by fate,” I say, my voice tight with anger as I yank my shirt over my head and shove it into my pants.

“It’s because you were in denial that she is your mate,” Carter retorts. His words feel like a punch in my gut.

If you would have just listened to me...

“What I want to know is how both of you managed to change forms without ripping a single piece of fabric,” Rose says, her touch lingering on the crisp cotton of Carter’s shirt. The warmth of her touch seems to radiate through him, and I watch as he nearly melts under her touch, his whole body relaxing.

“Magic. Especially as children learning to control the shift, if our clothes weren’t enchanted, we’d have nothing left to wear,” I explain.

“What do you mean Connor now has the pack? Aren’t you the pack leader?” Netti’s brows furrow together and she nibbles on her bottom lip. “What does that mean about your offer?”

“The clan still needs a healer,” Carter says as he shrugs.

“I cannot be the Alpha. That is—” My phone vibrates in Netti’s hands where she still holds my belt and wallet, cutting off my words.

“I’m sorry I didn’t want them trampled.” She shoves my things toward me.

“It’s not important,” I mutter, reaching for the phone, but my hand stops as I glance at the caller ID.

Summit Contracting Group.

“Answer it,” Netti gently encourages.

“Connor? This is Rogers. I’ve stumbled upon some intriguing news, and I’m eager to share it with you while we discuss your proposal in more detail.”