Chapter 10

Tilly

Home at last.

"That trip was horrible," Kayla insisted.

I wanted to argue with her and tell her it wasn't that bad, but yeah, it had been. For some reason the guys I'd met and called themselves Westin Force were not on the team that arrived this afternoon. It was strange and made me a little leery.

Who had I been talking to?

I'd been so thrown off by meeting my true mate that I didn't stop to question the group of men that had talked to me and Kayla.

The good news was that we didn't even have to stay the night there. Everyone had been in such an uproar over the news of a possible attack coming from the real Westin Force team that I had been sent home immediately while they dealt with it.

That was fine by me.

"I'm just glad to be home. It's late and I'm exhausted."

"Me too, but look."

She nudged me until I looked up and noticed the men we'd spoken with back at Campbell were all there, talking to my parents.

"Another dingo missing from my territory?"

"I don't think it's like that, sir. Honestly, what we have is a mating male trying to get back to his mate."

"Poor bastard. That's got to be tough. But I do not like the thought of a mating male running loose in my territory, especially a desperate one."

"I understand, sir."

"Tilly, welcome home. I'm sorry your trip was cut short. It's all a mess." Mom hugged me.

"Tilly, it's nice to see you again," Michael said.

"Again?"

"Yes, we were in Campbell territory earlier today and met there."

"Aw, yes. She is to be their next she-Alpha."

There was a hardness to my father's voice as he said it, like just maybe this wasn't what he wanted either. I had to get the answers I needed, and soon. I had a true mate out there, and that changed everything. My biggest fear was that I'd lost him as quickly as I found him, and I wasn't even sure why. It made me feel like nothing but a pawn in some game that I didn't even understand.

"It's been a long day. I think I'm going to call it a night."

Mom hugged me, and I left them to talk with Delta. Too much weird had already happened and my dingo was mourning the loss of our true mate. It was a lot to process and had I stayed in Campbell territory much longer, I wasn't sure I could have stopped myself from seeking him out and doing something potentially stupid. Though if I found out there wasn't a very good reason why Dad was insisting I mate Aiden in Chelle's place, I might just lose it.

"Do you want me to stay over tonight?" Kayla asked.

"No. I just want to be alone."

"Okay. See you tomorrow then."

I still hadn't confided in her about my mate. The right time just hadn't come up and honestly, I didn't know how to talk about it. I knew what Kayla would say. "Live without regrets." She'd encourage me to go after my true mate despite any repercussions it could cause between the Kings and Campbells.

Now that we were in a place we could talk, I didn't know how to formulate the words or what to say to her.

"Hey, by the way, you may have noticed I was acting a little weird today. . ."

"Oh yeah, I met my true mate back in Campbell. . ."

"Kayla, funny story. . ."

"You aren't going to believe this. . ."

No. It was all wrong. So I said nothing but, "Good night."

Closing the door to my suite behind me made me instantly relax. It was like all the stress of the day had just melted away. I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a month. Maybe I could convince my parents I was hibernating despite it being spring and the fact that dingoes don't hibernate. It might still be worth a try.

I stripped out of my clothes and climbed into bed without even washing up for the night, and then I froze with the sudden realization that I was not alone.

When piercing blue eyes popped open and stared right at me, I started to scream. But when a strong arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer to him, only a small squeak escaped and my whole body relaxed for the first time since I left my mate's embrace.

Things were happening that my brain couldn't quite process.

"I know this is only a dream, but dammit, I'm going to show you exactly what should have happened today," his gruff voice responded seconds before his lips crushed against mine.

This wasn't the sweet, explorative kiss we'd shared earlier. This was a soul seeking, demanding kiss, begging to be returned.

I didn't understand how he'd gotten here so quickly.

Maybe I was the one dreaming.

But if this was a dream, I never wanted to wake up.

He kissed me like I was the air he needed to breathe, and I kissed him back with every ounce of frustration I felt.

I should have been furious to find him in my bed, of all places.

I should have cried out for help.

I knew this wasn't right, I knew I should have stopped it.

But I wasn't even sure if it was real or not.

Everything was so confusing, and his kiss was making my head spin.

I didn't want him to stop. I didn't want to wake up if it was all a dream. For once in my life, I just wanted to live in this moment and deal with the consequences later.

Maybe I was insane.

Maybe I'd cracked from the pressure of everything going on.

I simply didn't care.

My legs wrapped around him, and I kissed him back with wild abandonment as everything else around us just seemed to fade away.

Right here in this moment, all that existed was me and my mate.

His hand slid down my body, cupping my breast as he toyed with my nipple.

I moaned and sensations shot through me straight to my apex, making me crave more of his touch.

Is this what it would really have been like to give into him right there on the street?

As his hands explored my body and his tongue danced with mine, I felt like we were floating on a cloud far, far away from reality.

"Mine," he growled in my ear.

It wasn't until I felt the pressure of his canines against my neck that I realized this wasn't a dream at all.

With a gasp, I pushed him away and jumped out of bed.

"You're really here?"

"I thought that was obvious."

"What are you doing in my room? In my bed?"

"I honestly didn't know this was your room or your bed."

"So what? You just wandered in and made yourself at home?"

"I guess. It's been a shit day."

"You met me today," I reminded him. It was a knee jerk reaction. I hated the pain of rejection searing through me.

"And you've rejected me three times now."

I shook my head.

"None of this makes sense. I thought I was imagining you. Why are you here? Aren't you a Campbell dingo?"

He snorted. "Hell no."

"Then what were you doing there?" I demanded.

"How did you find me here? Are you a tracker?"

"What? No. I told you, this is my room. My home."

"Not Campbell?"

"No. At least not yet."

He seemed to contemplate that for a moment.

"You're the future she-Alpha?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?" he asked with a hint of hope in his voice.

"I am. It was supposed to be my sister, but she was taken and I suppose I'm the spare."

"That's messed up."

"It is."

"Do you want to be she-Alpha of Campbell?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. It's important to my Pack."

I wasn't entirely sure why, but I knew from my father's reaction and the things he'd said that it was true.

"I'm Lachlan," he finally said.

I was grateful for the subject change, but also feared the more I knew about him, the harder all of this would become.

"Tilly."

He looked confused and then nodded. "Matilda."

I usually hated my full name, but the way he said it gave me goosebumps in the best way possible.

"It makes sense now."

"What? Because none of this makes sense to me."

"Our commander issued an order to swap assignments with another team. I was actually tranq'd and physically removed from Campbell territory and brought here instead. They were worried I might cause harm to the mission and damage alliances. I guess fate intervened."

"Are you part of Delta then?"

He seemed surprised that I would know that.

"Yeah," he spat out in disgust.

"That doesn't make sense then. I mean, they know who I am. I met the team earlier, after, well, you know. You weren't there. I thought you were a Campbell dingo."

"Wait, you met my unit?"

"Yes."

"And they knew who you were?"

"Yes. I didn't hide it from them."

"Why the hell would they bring me into King territory if they knew you were a King?"

I shrugged. "Maybe they didn't expect me to return so quickly. Or maybe they didn't know I was your mate."

I blushed as I said it. I shouldn't be encouraging him.

"But if they did they had to have known your scent would drive me crazy here. I honestly hadn't even put it together yet, but that has to be it. It's your scent. It's everywhere. I realize that now. It's what called to me to come into this room and why my dingo relaxed enough that I nearly fell asleep in there."

"We can't keep encouraging this. What are we going to do?"

"I don't know. But I don't have the strength to stay away from you, Tilly."

He called me Tilly. My heart melted just a little.

With only that one little factor, if I dared to compare Lachlan and Aiden, I knew my true mate would come out on top.

"You're going to have to find the strength, Lachlan. We can't encourage this bond. My sister was taken right from under our noses. She was in territory."

"I know. We're here to investigate that. You also need to know that there is a threat to all dingoes right now. I need you to be safe. I don't think I can get through this and do what I need to do if you aren't safe."

"It's not your place to protect me." But damn, did it feel amazing knowing he wanted to.

He sighed. "I know. And I'll try to respect your boundaries, well, as long as you don't climb in bed naked with me again."

His eyes soaked in my body from head to toe. It should have mortified me, but it had the exact opposite effect. I couldn't even find the strength or desire to cover myself.

"Then you can't be climbing into my bed either," I reminded him.

It was so easy to talk to this man. I'd never felt so comfortable with anyone, aside from Kayla, who I couldn't even talk about this with.

"You know we have to stay apart, right? At this rate, we're only going to encourage a bond to form," I added.

He rolled on his side, looking sexy as hell.

"Pretty sure that's already happening."

"It can't."

"He's really that important to you?"

"What? No. He's an arsehole. But my Tribe is that important to me."

"So it's an alliance, then?"

I shrugged. "I guess. I'm still trying to wrap my head it all."

"What if Michelle comes back? Would that get you off the hook?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything right now and it scares the shit out of me."