Chapter 7

Lachlan

She was here.

My one true mate was here.

I had barely gotten a glimpse of her before she took off. It certainly wasn't how I'd envisioned it, but if she wanted to play hard to get, I would give chase to the ends of the world. Now that I knew she was real, she was here, and she was mine, I would do anything to claim her.

"Wait up," I called out, but there was no response.

I stopped and listened. She had stopped as well but was nearby, close enough to hear her breathing.

I grinned, but didn't say a word as I stalked towards her, effectively cutting off her escape.

She ran right into me.

"Hello," I said.

Excitement welled up inside me as she gasped and fell into my arms.

"Hi," she squeaked.

"It's you," I said reverently.

With a growl, I leaned down and captured her mouth with mine.

My mate.

This was my mate.

I tested her response, savoring every second of our kiss.

When she made a soft purring sound, I took that as acceptance and deepened the kiss, swiping my tongue over her lips until they parted, giving me full access to explore my mate.

Our tongues danced in tune with one another.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me impossibly closer as we got lost in the moment.

This was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me, and I wanted to memorize every second of it, and every inch of her.

I'd always said I wouldn't fight this feeling when I found her and now that she was here in my arms all I wanted to do was claim her as mine and let the whole world know this is my mate.

I could feel myself growing hard and only briefly reconsidered my plans to take her right there in the open for anyone to walk by and see. Though, I knew once it was done, and we were bonded for life, that I would never regret it or care where it occurred.

Trailing kisses across her cheek, I nuzzled her ear. Loving the sound of her erratic breathing. I was doing that to her, and it made me feel powerful and heady. There was no doubt in my mind that she wanted this every bit as much as I did.

Breathing in her scent, I committed it to memory. It was the most delicious scent I'd ever encountered. And I knew I would never forget it for as long as I lived.

"Mine," I whispered in her ear as I felt my teeth elongate, kissing my way down the slender column of her neck until I found the perfect place to mark her as mine forever.

My teeth grazed her skin, causing her to shiver.

I pulled back and then leaned in to make my mark, but as soon as my teeth touched her neck, she screamed and jumped back, pushing me away.

"No! You can't."

"What?" I asked, stunned.

"You cannot mark me."

"But you're my mate."

"No. I can't be."

"But you are. I'm certain of it."

"I'm promised to another. You shouldn't have come after me. This can never happen."

I shook my head in denial.

"No. You are my mate. My true mate. Are you denying that?"

"No, but I can't do this. Didn't you hear me? I'm promised to another."

"But he didn't claim you."

"It's taking place on the next full moon."

"No."

"Yeah. I have to go."

She pulled away from me and took off running. I should have gone after her, but I just stood there in shock. I'd always said I wouldn't fight the bond when I found my true mate, but never in all my dreams did I consider she would.

"Lachlan? Are you okay?" Michael asked.

His words barely registered to my ears.

"Lachie?"

"What's wrong with him, boss?" Colin asked.

"I don't know. I heard a scream and headed in this direction to find him standing here like this. He's not responding."

"Lachlan, snap out of it. What's wrong, man?"

"She doesn't want me."

"What?"

"She doesn't want me."

"What is he talking about?" Michael asked.

"She doesn't want me," I muttered for the third time.

The others caught up to us.

"Anyone hear a girl scream?" Tucker asked.

"Yes, but when I got here, I found Lachlan instead," Michael explained.

"She doesn't want me," I said again, still trying to process what had just happened.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Linc asked.

"I met my mate. She doesn't want me."

"You met your true mate? Here?" Walker asked.

I nodded.

"Is that who screamed?" Tucker asked with a hint of humor in his voice.

I nodded again.

"Thought you weren't going to fight it," he reminded me.

"Claim her right there on the spot," Colin added.

"I tried," I confessed.

"Oh shit! That's why she screamed?"

"Yeah."

"Uh. . ." Tucker couldn't seem to find any words and just burst out laughing.

The others joined him.

Michael scowled. "Is this going to be a problem for us here?"

"Maybe. I don't know. She said she's promised to another."

"Shit. What have you gotten us into this time?"

"She's my true mate."

"How sure are you about that?"

"I'd stake my life on it. She is mine. You all know what that means and you know how I feel about my true mate."

"Did you catch her name?"

"No."

I didn't tell them I'd been too busy kissing her and trying to mark her as mine.

"Well, what can you tell us about her?"

"She's beautiful. The most gorgeous woman in the world."

"Dude, every male thinks that about his female," Colin explained.

"Give me something to go on here," Michael said.

"I don't know. She has brown hair and brown eyes. And she's about this tall," I said, holding my hand about shoulder height to me.

"That's it? You were just going to claim her without even exchanging names or phone numbers?" Colin asked.

"Yeah," I admitted. That had been my plan. I figured the rest would work itself out as we went.

I growled. Were they trying to keep me from her?

No one could come between us. Whoever this other guy was, I'd challenge him like the wolves did and I'd battle to the death for her.

He could never beat me. And he couldn't have my mate.

"Oh shit. We need to get him out of here right now," Michael said. "Get him back to the plane."

I growled again.

"My mate is here, and I'm not going anywhere without her."

"I think he's serious, boss," Linc said.

"This is definitely going to be a problem."

"Maybe it's all those repressed feelings," Tucker teased.

"Do you need to talk about it, Lachie?" Colin joined in.

"Stop antagonizing him. Help me restrain him."

"Michael, he's starting to shift."

I could hear the rush of blood pumping through my veins. The edges of my vision were starting to cloud. I'd never felt so out of control. I knew my dingo was trying to take over. Even in the early days of transformation, he'd never battled me like this before. I felt lost and confused. We were in agreement that we just needed our mate to come back. Now that I had her scent and knew she was out there, nothing would stop me from getting to her.

"I've got it. Sorry about this, man," Walker said as I felt a sting against my arm.

"Did you just tranq him?" Tucker asked.

"He wasn't exactly leaving us any other choice. You saw him, he was partially shifted and unresponsive. Let him sleep it off while we finish up here and get him the hell away from Campbell Tribe."

"He's never going to forgive us for this."

"We'll find the girl for him, but him running off half-cocked is just going to get us all killed."

"You're right. It was quick thinking, Walker. Good job. Let's get him back to the plane."

No.

I wanted to protest, but no words would form as the world around me slowly faded to black.