Page 30 of Fractured Mates

Before I can say anything about appreciating her waiting, she nods toward the outside. “Let’s go.”

As much as I hope she will start to trust me, I have a feeling that things are going to get much worse before they can even attempt to be civil. Regardless, I have no intention of backing down.

Not from this wolf or even her unwillingness to admit her feelings with words. I’ll break her down eventually, and something tells me that she’ll secretly enjoy every torturous second of fighting me, which makes whatever shit we’re undoubtedly about to get mixed up in worth dealing with.

Chapter Twelve

Sophie

Getting my clothes doesn’t quite go as I think it will. One minute, I feel like I can take control of this situation and get my shit together, and the next…Kyler is buying me cake.

And not just any cake. A heavenly, death by chocolate kind of delicacy. Three layers of the moistest cake that melt in my mouth, separated by a chocolate mousse, and covered in ganache frosting, then topped with sprinkles.

Honestly, I can’t care about anything else at the moment. And between Kyler ordering me pizza and now surprising me with cake, I can’t deny I want to get naked all over again.

Instead, I’m sitting in the passenger’s seat of my car, eating my treat with a plastic fork and waiting for Kyler to come back from the store, where he’s getting some “much needed supplies,” according to him.

He might have even said what those are, but I stopped hearing him the moment he pulled into the bakery and said he’d be back with something for me.

Should I give a shit that he’s manipulating me with this dessert after I teasingly told him I was basically dating food? Probably, but I don’t. Not even in the slightest.

By the time I get to the last quarter of the cake, I pause and think maybe I should save Kyler a slice, but that thought doesn’t linger long. If he wanted some, he should have gotten his own.

As I dig into the final piece, he returns with an overflowing cart of stuff. When he opens the back door of the car and starts tossing bags in, I just shake my head. I don’t even want to know.

Well, unless there’s more cake, but I actually think I’ve hit my limit for the night. Maybe.

Kyler peeks over my shoulder. “How nice of you to save me a crumb.”

“You can even lick the plate,” I reply wittily, making him laugh.

The sound makes my chest tighten. No. I’m supposed to be in a committed relationship with food. Not this man.

Who said anything about committing? my wolf says accusingly. It could just be sex.

Except I see the way Kyler looks at me. He might have owned my mouth like a savage, but I have a feeling this man isn’t just looking to get laid. If he were, why in the world would he pick a murdering, stubborn wolf shifter who’s also supposed to be the woman he’s protecting?

He wouldn’t.

Under any other circumstances, I’d be running for the hills, but this isn’t just about whatever is going on with Kyler and me. It’s about my family.

I can’t run now. Even if they weren’t there for me when I needed them most, I won’t abandon them now. Not when I have a feeling they’re possibly in trouble because of me.

Nightmares used to plague me that Astor would hunt me down and take my life just as I’d taken his son’s. Yet as the years passed, I’d never even felt an attempt was taken at my life outside of the stupid situations I put myself into. I thought maybe I was in the clear.

That might have been my biggest mistake. I knew Thane’s family was twisted.

You couldn’t have known he’d be playing the long game, my wolf says, and you still don’t. This might not have anything to do with you.

But what if it does? I counter. What if my choosing to come back has put them all in danger?

You can’t control the actions of others. I’m not saying we need to leave, but you need to stop making this about yourself.

Her words almost feel like a slap to the face. That hasn’t been… I mean maybe a little, but not without just cause. Right?

They were waiting at my parents’ house. The first shifter tried to kill me, and the others gave chase, but still, as I recount their actions, it’s what any guard would have done if assigned to watch over a house.

I’m not part of their pack. I don’t share a connection with them. I’m nobody. An intruder to be dealt with.

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