Page 26 of Rejected Wolf Mate

I stepped outside to where Astrid leaned against the balcony railing, looking out at the mountains beyond, biting her thumb as if deep in thought.

“How were the girls?” I asked.

She started slightly, then turned toward me. “You scared me,” she said. “I figured you were asleep.”

“You didn’t hear the TV?”

“Guess I was in my own head a bit,” she admitted.

“Is everything all right?” I asked. “Did something happen with the girls?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine,” she said, giving a small smile. “It was nice. They were nice.”

I frowned, coming to stand next to her. The dipping sun painted her in streaks of red and gold.

“You don’t look like it was fine,” I commented. “You look like something bad happened or something bothered you.”

She let out a puff of air, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “Just thinking,” she muttered, looking back out over the balcony. “You know how you can be so certain of something one day, and then begin to wonder if it was a mistake the next?”

“I could make a joke here that I don’t because I’m always right about everything,” I said. “But I don’t think that would be helpful. So, sure. I’ve had doubts before.” I paused, considering whether what I was about to say was a landmine waiting to explode. I risked it. “Breaking up with you, for one.”

She frowned, folding her arms. “I thought you said you were right to break up with me,” she said.

“I was,” I said. “At least, I thought I was. But I had doubts. Especially when you showed up again.”

She tilted her head, her expression uneasy as if she didn’t believe me. “Then why on earth have you been so stubborn about the whole thing? Because you’ve been pretty adamant that you made the right decision. This is the first time I’ve ever heard you even hesitate.”

I licked my lips, trying to figure out the best way to explain. It wasn’t as black and white as she might have hoped. “I’ve learned that being decisive and deciding you made the right choice when there isn’t an easy answer makes things a lot simpler.”

She frowned. “So, what? I show up, and you suddenly start questioning what’s effectively your mantra?” she asked, the skepticism evident in her tone and body language.

“Yeah,” I answered. “I mean, look at it this way. I hadn’t seen or heard from you in years. Suddenly, you show up out of the blue, like it was fate.” I shrugged. “It’s hard to think you’re right when you realize how much you missed a person.”

That wasn’t all of it. The truth was that seeing Astrid again had brought back all the emotions I thought I had pushed away. In an instant, I remembered all the reasons I had liked her in the first place. Her fire, her intelligence… I had completely forgotten what it was like to be with her until she showed back up in my life. For the first time in years, I wondered what would have happened if I hadn’t broken up with her, and I wondered what life might be like now.

I considered telling her all this, but even thinking about it gave me pause. How the hell was I supposed to put all of that into words?

She stared back out at the woods. “It really is beautiful out here,” she said, her voice distant. “I can see why you settled down here.” She pushed herself away from the railing and gave me a small smile. “I’m pretty tired. I think I’m going to go to bed.”

I got the sense she wanted to avoid the conversation. Before I could ask one way or another, she had brushed past me and gone back inside.

***

The next day, I took the long way home from the meeting, wanting to clear my head a bit. The meeting hadn’t gone well. We’d been looking in the general area Astrid had come from, but so far, we hadn’t been able to find anything. I was beginning to wonder if maybe she had gotten it wrong. Depending on how long she’d been in captivity, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d gotten a bit turned around when trying to tell us where she’d gone.

I stepped into the foyer, ears pricked, trying to figure out whether Astrid was home. She’d mentioned something about going into town with a couple of the girls, so there was a chance she wouldn’t be home.

It was strange, just how used I was getting to her being here. In a way, it felt as though we had picked up where we’d left off all those years ago. The fact that, once this was all over, she would probably leave and go back to Thea wasn’t something I really wanted to think about. But the thought still lurked in the back of my mind. What would it be like when she left? Was there maybe a chance I could convince her to stick around? I hadn’t asked her yet. What would I do if she said no? What would I do if she said yes?

I froze as I heard a shuffling sound from my office. My head swiveled in that direction, ears pricking, thoughts about a future with Astrid washing away as I focused on the sounds. I didn’t see Astrid anywhere. Either she had gone on a run without telling me again, or something had happened to her.

Panic flared through me at the thought. If something had happened to her, whoever had broken into my office would have the answers. I hurried over to the closed doors, claws extending as I prepared to face one of the Gray Wolf’s men.

I paused, hand reaching to grab the handle when Astrid’s peppermint scent wafted through the door. My brow furrowed. What the hell was she doing in my office?

I pushed the door open slowly to see her hunched over the desk, her back toward me. Whatever she had found was absorbing all her attention, because she didn’t notice I was right behind her until I slammed the door closed.

She jumped, spinning around, eyes wide with alarm. But she relaxed when she saw me looking at her.

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