Page 21 of Lost Fate

Ugh. “Yeah, well. I went for a hike. It was windy. The wind knocked down a tree, and Leander was almost squished underneath said tree.”

Terra gasps. “How did you get out?”

I shuffle. “Um. Well. I lifted the tree off of him.”

You could hear a pin drop, which is saying something, because the floor is covered in like four inches of rubberized flooring.

“How big of a tree was it?”

Awkwardly, I look away. “You know. Tree sized.”

“Ember…” Terra says, the worry evident in her voice.

“It’s not important. What is important is that I found him and got him out, and he’s healed, but he doesn’t have any memories of the last few months,” I rush. “So I was keeping him around to make sure that he didn’t, like… have his brain turn to mush or anything.”

“Mush,” Terra repeats slowly.

This whole time, Leander has slowly been inching backward until we’re standing side by side. I lean toward him. We aren’t exactly holding hands, but I can feel the heat radiating off of him, and it’s… nice. Heartening. It makes me feel less alone, which is something in itself.

“So then you had a confrontation with Evander. Then, instead of bringing him to Thorne, you decided to make out on my gym floor?” Rylan rumbles.

Oh. Shit.

Rylan’s position in the pack isn’t super solid. He was outcast for a while, and I know that he is back in after the whole thing with the fight club, but I also know that he’s not exactly looking for reasons to toe the line. He’s probably actually upset about this.

“Rylan. I’m sorry,” I say honestly. “I’m really not trying to pick a fight. The alpha’s office wasn’t open yet, and we just decided to come here and spar beforehand.”

“And then you got a little out of control,” Terra says, calmly running her hand up and down her mate’s arm.

Well. That’s one way to put it. “Yeah. Really, we’re on our way to the alpha. I didn’t mean any harm, and I swear I’m not trying to do anything to get in your way.”

Rylan looks Leander up and down. He squares his shoulders. “Where are you from?”

“Florida.”

“Why are you here?”

“Honestly, I have no idea,” Leander says. But it’s different than all the other times he’s said he doesn’t know why he’s here. For some reason, I detect the smallest little fissure of doubt in his voice.

Huh.

Rylan looks between the two of us. His eyes narrow. “Just get out of my gym,” he growls.

Terra punches him lightly in the arm, but that’s fine. I’d take a grumpy Rylan over one that’s trying to fight Leander. I’d hate to have to put my best friend’s mate into a sleeper hold or something.

“We’re gone. I’ll talk to you later, Terra,” I say to my friend. She gives me a little wave, then turns to admonish Rylan while I grab Leander’s hand and tug him out. Giggling, we rush into the road.

“Holy shit,” I breathe as I turn and look back. “I thought Rylan was going to start a fight.”

“He’d be stupid to do that,” Leander says with a little smile. “My guess is that you’re more than a match for him.”

I am. And, for the first time, I’m not afraid of that. I’m not ashamed. The hint of pride in Leander’s voice makes me feel proud. Of myself.

I throw my arms around him and land a huge, smacking kiss on his lips. Leander’s fingers tangle in my hair, and he deepens the kiss until we’re both gasping.

I break away first, fighting hard against the lust simmering through me. “We have to bring you to the alpha,” I murmur.

Leander, his gray eyes dark, nods. “Sure. Yeah. Whatever you want, Ember.”

---