Page 16 of One True Mate

There was a knock on the front door and my wolf let out a low growl.

"Her car's still here, Kyle. She has to be here." I heard Elise say.

"Just check the door. Is it unlocked?" Lily said.

I heard the door knob turn and several pairs of feet entered my house. I couldn't tell just how many.

"Ugh, how does she live like this? There's so much air freshener I can't even tell if she's really here or not," Lily complained.

I knew wolf noses were super sensitive. It had taken me a long time to build up an immunity to the harsh smells of the air fresheners, but it was also an extra security measure that I knew helped cover my scent so any wolves passing by wouldn't suspect I was there.

"She's not here," Elise said.

"She has to be," Lily stated. "Look, her bag's still here."

"Kelsey!" Kyle started yelling through the house. I could hear his heavy footsteps as he paced back and forth. "Kelsey, where are you?"

My wolf started to whimper.

No you do not!I silently threatened.

I could feel him pulling my wolf towards him, and I struggled to stay in hiding.

My heart began racing as the basement door creaked open and footsteps began to slowly descend.

Growl at him!I silently demanded but the wolf in me wouldn’t listen. Instead, I heard a light thumping and realized it was the wolf's tail happily wagging behind us.Traitor!

"Wow!" Kyle said aloud.

"What is it? What's down there?" Lily asked.

"Hold up, okay? She's down here. I can smell the fear rolling off her. Just give me a few minutes."

"Please tell her we're really worried about her and hurry it up."

"You hear that Kels? You got everyone concerned about you. I never meant to frighten you today, but I couldn't let Mike threaten you like that. I've made sure the others stay away. He broke a direct pack order and will be punished for it. I promise. I'd never let anyone hurt you."

He was quietly walking around my den. I should have felt violated. My den was a sacred place to me, but instead I felt... I'm not even sure how to put it into words. It was like for once in my life everything was righted, but that seemed all wrong. He was a monster, like the monsters that killed my parents and the one who changed me.

My wolf snorted and tried to move forward a little. It took a lot of willpower to keep us there.

"Kelsey, come here."

I felt this strange power wash over me that I didn't understand and my wolf whimpered as I fought to refuse the invisible leash trying to draw me out of hiding.

"Kelsey, come here," he said in a stronger voice.

The power emanating through the room became stronger, thicker, and harder to resist, but I stood my ground.

"Damn it, Kelsey, how are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

I heard Kyle jump and knock something over as Elise entered my den. My wolf didn't like another female being there and began to growl loudly. I could feel my hackles rising.

"Shit! Elise, back upstairs, she's in wolf form."

That stopped me in my tracks. Pushing back against my wolf urges I surged to take control and felt the familiar ripple as I transformed, waiting for the nausea and dizziness to subside.

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