Page 8 of Fractured Mates

This is why I’ve been one of the protectors for as long as I have. Yes, we work long hours and put ourselves at risk every time we go out, but the people behind us care. Maciah isn’t my alpha—he’s not even a wolf shifter—but he’s possibly as close as I’ll ever get to one again.

“It’s okay,” I say. “What do you need?”

“We have a situation with a pack in South Carolina,” he replies sharply. “The alpha is missing, and the beta has been found murdered. The family trying to take over is one we’ve had our eye on for a while now and, well, it’s complicated to the point I can’t fully explain, but we need more help.”

“So, you need me and some others to go in and neutralize the situation?” I ask. He isn’t really saying what he needs, which has my curiosity piqued even more.

“Not exactly.” He’s quiet again before continuing. “We need you to go in by yourself, extract one particular wolf shifter, get her to safety, and then return with a group of other protectors, depending on what we learn between now and then.”

My fingers tap over the back of the phone. I want to ask who this wolf shifter is and why she’s special enough to be pulled out alone, but I know it’s not my job to ask questions. I trust Maciah with my life and do what he asks, simple as that. Yet, I can’t help but think I’m missing something crucial.

“What do I need to know about the shifter?” I ask, hoping that’s the best way to get him to elaborate without me being intrusive.

“Her name is Sophie,” he begins. “She doesn’t belong in South Carolina any longer, but it’s where she’s from. She was warned to stay away, but we have reason to believe she didn’t listen and is nearly to the pack now. You’re the closest protector we have in the area, and we need you to intercept her before she blows everything up.”

“How can one girl do that?” I can’t help myself. I need to know more.

He chuckles, and the sound doesn’t bode well for me. “She’s not just ‘one girl.’ Sophie has been fighting for her life since she was sixteen. Don’t underestimate her. The family taking over the pack would like to see her dead, and Dawsyn from East Texas will start a war if that happens.”

“Am I safe to assume Sophie is one of their wolves?” Though if that’s the case, I’m not sure why Roman didn’t just force her to stay. I know that pack well and they’re not to be messed with, even on their worst days.

“Technically,” he says, then adds, “It’s complicated. How soon can you get to the pack down there and stop her from showing her face?”

I glance at Cara’s headstone and frown. Normally, I’m here for hours, but oddly enough, I’m ready to go and hate myself for admitting that.

Considering the growl I get from my wolf, so does he.

“I can be there within a few hours,” I answer, my decision made. “Send me her information and I’ll update you as soon as I find her.”

“Thanks, Kyler,” he says. “I knew I could trust you with this. I promise not to make a habit out of disrupting your time off in the future.”

He hangs up and I stand, pressing my fingers to my lips before resting them on the headstone. “I’ll see you, Mate.”

It’s never been goodbye with us. I know I’ll eventually find her again. In the next lifetime or three after that. Her death didn’t mark the end of our story.

More than that, as I’ve begun to allow myself to heal instead of living in her memory, I know this isn’t the end of mine, either. I wasn’t left behind to spend my life grieving and protecting others. Even if that’s all I’ve allowed myself to do for over a decade.

That’s something my wolf will need to eventually figure out as well. We can still love Cara and respect her memory while moving forward with our lives. I won’t ever forget her, but I don’t need to live in grief to honor her.

I hope for something from my wolf. A rumble or even rising anger, but unsurprisingly, I get nothing from him as I turn away from the grave and head back to my truck.

It’s time to pack up my shit and get to work. I’ll have to sort out these new thoughts another day.

Chapter Four

Sophie

New Orleans was a bust. Much to my wolf’s dismay, Matt wasn’t around the couple of places we looked, and he didn’t answer his phone. Since I have no patience, I refused to wait around for a hookup. Though, I did take a detour to stock up on snacks and grab myself some jambalaya and beignets for the road.

Now, we’re arriving in South Carolina within two days rather than the three or four it would have taken if we’d been otherwise…occupied.

We could have found someone else, she quips.

And that would have taken time we don’t have.

She knows I’m right. She won’t admit it, but she also didn’t fight me on wanting to get back to our old pack as quickly as possible.

Between my gut feeling of needing to return and the weird vibes we were getting from Dawsyn, I know we need to be here. I don’t know why and I don’t know what we’re going to find, but I’m not backing down or running away.

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