Page 16 of Can't Be Love

“I don’t know, we didn’t exactly talk about it.”

“What? Between getting plastered at the bar last night and running away today, you didn’t stop to talk to him?”

I knew he was only trying to lighten my mood, but I punched him in the arm anyway. It was like hitting a brick wall, but still satisfying. “Shut up. And seriously? It’s not enough that there is no privacy in Westin Pack, must it filter over to everywhere I go?”

“When you act so out of character? Yup, it’s talked about. Not like gossip, beautiful, just but there’s a lot of people who worry and care about you.”

He was biting back a smirk and I hit him again.

“They told you I slept on him, didn’t they?”

He laughed a deep belly laugh. “And yet, no one suspected him.”

I groaned.

“Are you sure this is what you want? I can turn around and stick your pretty little butt back on a plane,” he offered.

“I know that’s the right thing to do. And I know I need to break the bond and not leave us both in limbo, but I don’t know if I can. Would you come with me?”

He gave me a haunted look. “Afraid not, gorgeous. Patrick’s already there, and one of us Betas stays home, always.”

“I know, but it didn’t hurt to ask anyway.”

“It’ll eat you alive if you don’t deal with this. Trust me on that, Lily.”

Thomas

Chapter 8

Talking to Sydney had been easier than I thought. At the end of the day, we were still friends and that meant a lot to me. After talking with her I knew I had my work cut out for me where Lily was concerned, but I also knew I had the bond on my side. Westin wolves followed their hearts. They had more true mates than any other pack because it was important to them. I had to hold on to the hope that it was important to my mate, too.

I grinned just thinking of Lily. She’d come around. I truly believed that. I’d just have to prove to her I wasn’t entirely the douchebag she seemed to think I was.

After dropping Syd back off at her store, I headed straight for my parents’ house. There was a flurry of activity going on.

“Hey, Mom, what’s up?” I asked, bypassing the commotion and heading for the kitchen. I had skipped lunch, anxious about the talk with Syd, and was suddenly starving.

“Hi, sweetie. Can I get you something to eat?” Mom asked.

“I’ll never turn down your cooking,” I said, kissing her cheek.

Liam and Madelyn walked into the room.

“I just can’t believe she took off like that,” Liam said.

“Oh, hey, Thomas.” Madelyn acknowledged me while ignoring him.

“Did she make it home safely?” Mom asked, but I didn’t know to who they were talking about.

“Yes. I got a call a few minutes ago that she had landed safely and one of our Betas picked her up at the airport,” Liam said.

“Who?” I asked.

“Lily. Something was up with her, but she wouldn’t talk about it. Said her wolf was agitated in Collier territory, so she went back to San Marco,” Madelyn told me, and I felt like my entire world was crashing in around me. “I’m just worried about her. She hadn’t been acting like herself since we arrived.”

I tried not to growl or show my anger. She’d left? I knew I wasn’t her idea of the perfect mate, but I was still her one true mate. How could she just leave? Just the thought of her gone caused a physical pain in my chest. I had to get out of there.

Without a word to the others I left, walking out the back door of the house. The second I was outside, I stripped and shifted. Sprinting, I ran for the woods on all fours. With the wind in my fur, I gave a little more control over to my wolf, until he immediately turned and tried to run back to the house in search of more information that would lead us to the woman who was haunting us both.

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