Chapter 8

Tilly

"Tilly!" I heard Kayla yell.

I couldn't respond. I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.

Why now?

Why here?

My one true mate was here. I's always dreamed of him but never really allowed myself to believe I'd find him in this great big world when mine seemed so small at times. But here he is.

I reached up and touched my swollen lips.

God, that man could kiss.

I'd never been kissed like that before. And he'd been a mere second away from sinking his teeth into me and claiming me right there. We didn't even know each other. Hell, I didn't even know his name. It was crazy.

We'd just been caught up in the moment.

At least, that's what I needed to tell myself.

A true mating call was far more potent than I'd ever imagined possible.

Now what? After that kiss, I was just supposed to walk away and mate Aiden instead?

Just thinking his name left a bad taste in my mouth.

More than ever, I needed to know exactly why I was mating that idiot while giving up my chance at happiness with a true mate who was handsome and could make my toes curl from just a kiss.

I knew whether I went through with mating Aiden or not, my true mate's face would permanently be imprinted in my memory forever. Every time I closed my eyes, I would see his face, and I knew it.

"Matilda Rose King, where the hell are you?"

Kayla was getting closer, but I wasn't ready to talk to her yet. I needed time to process what the hell had just happened.

"Oh, hello," she said, close enough for me to hear.

"Hi. We're looking for a woman, about this tall, brown hair, brown eyes. Any chance you're her?"

"I'm not that tall. Tilly is, though. Did you run into her? I'm looking for her now."

I groaned. Were they looking for me?

Was he looking for me?

I knew from my reaction, or lack of one, that this was not my mate talking. Did he tell someone about us? I hoped not. This was already a disaster in the making. All I had to do was steer clear of him for a few days.

When I get back to King territory, Dad and I were going to have to have a serious talk about why I was agreeing to any of this. In the meantime, I planned to just lie low and wait it out. He found me once. I had to believe he'd do it again if we were truly meant to be together.

But if that happened, would I be able to turn my back on him again?

It had nearly killed me to stop him from marking me and walk away like that. I didn't even know his name. It was ridiculous that I should feel this way. He was nothing to me.

My dingo growled angrily in my head at that thought.

"Why would you be looking for Tilly?"

Kayla's voice shook me from my memories.

"We just have a few questions to ask her."

"About what? You aren't the normal goons Aiden uses to guard her."

"Aiden? The Alpha's son?"

"Of course. Who did you say you are?"

"I didn't."

"Then maybe you should, yeah?"

There was a pause, and I realized I was holding my breath, waiting for him to answer.

"I'm Michael, team leader of Westin Force Delta team. We're running a security check of Campbell territory."

"Westin Force? Oh. If you want to talk to her about Chelle, she really doesn't know anything, only what we were told."

"Chelle?"

"Michelle King."

"That's one of the missing dingoes," someone else said. "She's on the list."

"What does Tilly have to do with Michelle King?"

"If you don't know the answer to that already, I'm not saying another word. Who are you guys, really?"

"We really are Delta team. We're just here to help. We don't want to hear of anyone else being taken."

I jumped up and ran the short distance to them.

"What do you know about my sister?" I demanded.

One of the guys stood next to me and measured my height against him before shrugging. "Could be," he muttered.

Another snickered.

"Let's hope not," the leader said under his breath. "I'm Michael."

"Matilda King."

I shook his hand.

"Now, what do you know about my sister?"

"Isn't Bravo dealing with the Kings?" one of the other men said.

"Yes, they are. My question is, what is a King doing all the way out here in Campbell territory?"

"That's a long story and irrelevant to my sister." At least I was pretty sure of that, though I didn't say as much.

"We'd love to ask you some questions regarding your sister's disappearance."

I frowned. A deep sadness gutted me.

"I'm afraid I don't know anything. Chloe was with her at the time. Any information I have is second hand after the fact. I wasn't even notified right away."

"How long have you been here in Campbell?"

"We just arrived this morning."

"Is this your first time here?"

"It is."

I didn't know what he was getting at, but if there was any way it could help Chelle, I'd happily answer all of their questions.

"So I suppose you haven't noticed anything weird or out of the ordinary here?"

I scoffed before I could stop myself. "Excuse me. It's just that everything here is out of the ordinary for me." Especially my mysterious mate.

For a moment, I thought these men were with him, but now I wasn't so sure. Chances were better that he was just a Campbell dingo. But where was he? My dingo was struggling not to hunt him down and finish what we'd started. It was a serious internal battle going on because I knew I couldn't do that.

They seemed to talk to each other in hushed whispers that I didn't fully understand. Mostly, my brain wasn't processing anything at the moment as I struggled to keep my dingo at bay.

"Are you okay?" Kayla asked.

"I'm good, yeah."

I was definitely not, but I wasn't ready to share that with her.

The worried look she shot me told me she knew something was up and an interrogation was coming my way the second we were alone.

I couldn't keep this from her. I had to talk about it and there was no one I trusted more than Kayla, but I didn't trust this place. Anyone could be listening in, so I knew it would be best to wait until we returned home to talk.

It was going to kill me to keep all of this from her.

"Well, it was nice meeting you ladies. If you find anything suspicious or have any questions, please don't hesitate to call."

Michael handed me his card, and I shoved it into my back pocket.

As we were walking away, I heard one of them say, "Do you think that's her?"

It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

These were foreigners. Their accents told me they weren't from around here, and my nose was picking up unfamiliar scents. I didn't think they were even dingo. But my mate clearly was and he had an Aussie accent. It wasn't as strong as I was used to, but it was definitely there. Besides, he wouldn't really have told them, would he?

Honestly, I had no idea, because I knew absolutely nothing about him.

"It sorta feels like you're about to freak out."

"Yeah nah."

"Tilly?"

I sighed. "It's good."

"Did you know those fellas?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I've never seen them before."

It was the truth. And I didn't know for sure if my mate was with them or not, so I wasn't lying.

"I think they were the same guys that we saw come out of the Alpha house when we got here."

"I think you're right."

It felt like so much had happened since then. Probably because it had. My entire world had changed the second I met my mate. Walking away from him was hard. The worst part of all was that I didn't know why.

There had better be a damn good reason for it.

"Let's get back to the house and find out where we're staying tonight. This place gives me the creeps."

"Get used to it. It's going to be home, right?"

I frowned. "If you're not here with me, it will never feel like home."

"I know, but that's not likely to happen."

"Don't remind me."

That was the hardest part of all. I had to leave everyone and everything I loved behind. As a female and not the eldest, I'd always known I would likely mate outside of the Tribe. Being mated to an Alpha and elevated to she-Alpha was not uncommon for someone with my breeding. Still, I couldn't even imagine life without my daily dose of Kayla.

"We'll figure it out," she assured me.

I frowned and nodded. "Maybe your true mate will be here in Campbell."

Her nose crinkled. "Don't wish that on me."

I laughed. "But I'd be here."

"I hate this. It's bullshit."

"I know."

"I have to believe it's all going to work out."

"Look at you being optimistic."

"I'm always optimistic."

I gave her a look because we both knew that was bullshit. She always went to worst-case scenarios before readjusting with a positive outlook.

"Let's find a servo and grab drinks and snacks on our way back."

"Did you see one on the way?" I asked.

"Nope. But there has to be one somewhere."

"Maybe."

She linked her arm with mine, making me feel not quite so alone as we walked around Campbell territory. The layout wasn't so foreign now, or at least not as shocking. We knew what to expect. It made me wonder if this could ever be familiar enough for me to call home.

Mine , my dingo whined in my head the further away we walked.

I was pretty sure she wasn't referring to Campbell Tribe.