Page 63 of The Finder

“I do. Can I take a shower first? I’m covered in filth from my fall,” Emma said.

Garrett nodded. “I’ll wait for you out here.”

“I’ll be quick,” she said. She didn’t wait for a reply but slipped into the bathroom. Soon, she was under the hot water. It felt so good to scrub all the mud from her and get clean. She made herself keep moving. Soon, she got out and dried off. She slipped on a purple tank top and a pair of sweat pants. She opened the door to the bathroom once she was dressed. Garrett sat on the bed, wearing a shirt now. He stood up and came towards her, his eyes locked on the dark bruises on her arms.

Emma crossed her arms over her chest, feeling exposed under his gaze. His eyes narrowed, and he reached out and ran gentle fingers over the bruises on her arms. “I’m okay,” Emma said softly.

His eyes met hers and some of the anger faded. “Let me help you brush your hair,” he said. Emma nodded because her arms were sore. She took the towel off her head and handed him the hairbrush. It was weird to see him standing behind her, brushing her hair. When he stopped, she looked at him in the mirror. “I’m so sorry, Emma,” he said. Emma turned towards him. He looked down at her with sorrow in his gaze. “I thought I was protecting you.”

“From what?” she asked quietly, hoping he would finally give her some answers.

He sighed. He put his hands around her waist and lifted her up to sit on the bathroom counter while he paced in front of her. Emma sat and watched him. “After your kidnapping, Paul figured out what you are. He came over that night to tell us.”

“What am I?” Emma whispered, afraid to hear the answer. Garrett came and stood in front of her with his arms on either side of her, gripping the countertop. “You’re a finder, Emma—a mate finder.” His eyes were filled with pain. “They’re extremely rare and incredibly sought after. I knew every alpha in the country would be after you to try to take you to their pack. I panicked. I took your phone away, so you couldn’t contact anybody and made you stay here where I could keep you safe. I thought that would keep you safe, but I was wrong. I only pushed you towards Kevin, the exact opposite of what I was trying to do.”

Emma had so many questions, but she started with the one that had been burning in her mind. “Why did you let me go with Kevin? When Liam tried to step forward, you told him to let me go,” Emma said, trying but failing to keep the hurt from her voice.

“He had a gun, Emma. I was terrified he was going to use it, and you would get caught in the crosshairs. That’s why I told him to stand down,” Garrett said angrily.

Emma wasn’t going to lie, she felt a lot better hearing his explanation. “Why were you beat up?” she asked next.

“I had just come from a challenge. I hadn’t meant for you to see me,” he said. At her look of confusion, he continued. “Somebody— well now we know it was Levi—let it out that we have a finder here,” he said in fierce anger. “Word spread about you, and the first alpha came to challenge me for you.”

“I don’t understand. Why?” she asked.

Garrett watched her carefully for a moment. “That’s a pretty loaded question. Are you sure you’re up to the answer?”

Emma nodded. “Please, don’t keep anything else from me. I just want the truth, always. I can handle it. I’m stronger than I look.”

“I know,” Garrett said. “You’re my mate, Emma. I knew it the minute I first saw you. The first moment your sweet scent of vanilla hit me, I knew you were mine. I almost lost control of my wolf when I caught your scent and saw you. I haven’t lost control of my wolf since I was ten,” he said. He shook his head. “Your vanilla scent reached me, and I was gone. That’s why I had to leave the store.” He turned away and started pacing again. “As wolves, we wait our entire lives for our mate. We mate once, and it's for life. There’s no messing around for us. When we meet our mate, we know it immediately. The scent, the sound of our mate’s voice, we just know. I’ve heard that all my life but was totally unprepared for it when it happened. I had just been existing before I met you. The moment I saw you, everything changed for me. My life, my pack, none of it mattered. Instantly, my new life’s mission was to keep you safe and make you happy.” He laughed a dry, humorless laugh. “The only problem was you didn’t know anything about me, about what I was, about our way of life. After hearing your story, how you were attacked by wolves and were terrified of them, I knew I couldn’t tell you what I was. I couldn’t risk losing you. I fought my wolf every day. He is much less emotional. He only sees his mate and doesn’t understand why weren’t already mated.”

Emma wasn’t going to ask what that entailed; she had a pretty good idea. “After I met you,” Garrett continued, “I made sure you were always protected by having some of my wolves at the shop. When I found out you were living in a homeless shelter, I almost lost my mind. I wanted so desperately to provide for you and take care of you, but I knew I had to tread lightly. When Kevin started hanging around the shop, I knew something was up. He was so fixated on you, even when I told him repeatedly that you were mine. I just didn’t think he would go as far as he did; and that’s on me. I’m sorry. It's my job to make sure you’re safe, and I failed you. I’m sorry, Emma.”

“You didn’t fail me, Garrett,” she said putting her hands on his shoulders. “You saved me. Garrett, you’ve only ever taken care of me. I’m so sorry I didn’t see it.” Emma swallowed back her emotion. “So, what is a challenge? Why did you have to fight?”

He put his hands on either side of her on the counter, boxing her in. “An female who hasn’t completed the bond with her mate can be fought for. Another male can challenge her mate in a fight to the death. If he wins, he gets the female,” Garrett said.

“That’s terrible,” Emma said.

Garrett nodded. “It usually doesn’t happen. As wolves, we value our mates and the mate bond over everything. But in this case, it’s different. Because of your unique power, you will be sought after by every alpha in the country. Wolves are a dying breed. Most don’t find their mates. For every ten wolves, there is only one female. Our birth rates in packs are even lower. You’ll see in our pack, we don’t have nearly as many females as we do males. You have the power to change that, Emma. And that makes you incredibly important, but also a huge target. That’s why I was trying to keep you hidden, but it backfired on me.”

Emma’s mind was reeling from all she was hearing. “So, let me get this straight. You think I’m your mate and—”

Garrett growled at her. “Youaremy mate.”

“Don’t growl at me. Okay, so I’m your mate, and you’re telling me other wolves are just going to keep coming to try to kill you and take me?” she said, her voice rising with each word.

Garret snarled at her. “Nobody will take you. I will kill everyone that tries to take you away from me.”

Emma put her hands on his shoulders. “I can’t let you do that.”

“You don’t have a choice, Emma. You’re mine and I will kill anybody that tries to take you away from me,” Garrett said fiercely.

“How do we stop it? I mean is this just going to just keep happening?” she asked. Garrett was quiet for a moment. “Garrett,” she prodded. “How do we stop it?”

“It starts with a partial bond. The male bites the female, marking her as his. The bite will forever mark the female as his; other males will know by the mark that she is taken. Then their scents mix, which is another sign to other wolves that both the female and male are mated. It's not fail-safe, but it would keep most males away,” he said. “The bond links their minds. They can talk to each other and hear each other in their minds. They will also be able to feel their mate’s emotions and can sense when they’re in danger.”

“Wow, that’s a lot.” Emma frowned. “What’s the full bond?”

---