Page 26 of Run Free

I flinched. “Is that what you want?”

“No,” she said quickly. “I never wanted that. I was just terrified you were going to leave me. I could feel the bond growing,” she confessed, blushing as she talked about it. She worried her bottom lip like she was contemplating telling me something. Then she spoke again. “Elizabeth was very young when she met her true mate. She gave her virginity to him, and then sent him away. I mean, there was a lot more to the story than that, but the point is, their bond had grown, and she spent over a decade in pain and misery, just a shell of herself, while they were apart.”

I let out a quick breath, understanding why she was so worried I’d leave her. “You thought I would disappear and leave our bond unresolved, too?”

She nodded sadly. “I saw how awful that was for her. I didn’t want to live that way.”

I walked over and pulled her into my arms. “Well, I guess now you never will.”

Despite the situation, we both laughed. My stomach rumbled again. She shook her head and smiled, picking up her phone and punching in a number.

“Did we miss dinner?” she asked.

“Yes,” I heard a man’s voice say.

“Can I borrow a vehicle?” she asked.

“Not if you’re driving. I’ve seen how you drive.”

“Shut up. Can I borrow it or not?”

“Is Gage going with you?”

“Yes,” she said without even asking.

There was a knock at the door, and then it opened. I had noticed there was never any true privacy around the place. I quickly moved to cover Clara.

Dave walked in, glanced around, and shook his head. “Clothes aren’t optional in the human world, Clara.”

“Shut up, Dave, and wait to be invited in next time, maybe.”

He laughed and handed me the keys. “Same one we took earlier,” he told me before turning to leave again.

“He likes you,” she said, sounding a little surprised.

Clara

Chapter 16

I had joked with Dave in the past that his territorial and protective instincts were extremely wolf like. He had always watched over me and made sure I was safe and cared for. He was a good guy, and I liked knowing that he was rooting for Gage.

I got dressed and we headed outside. There was a coolness to the evening air. The sun was already setting low in the sky and I briefly wondered where the day had gone. I had been running on empty and barely sleeping since I’d arrived in Oklahoma. Bonding with Gage had refueled me in many ways and I finally got some restful sleep in his arms.

Gage kept the keys and helped me into the passenger side, and then we made the short ride into town. We were quiet, each lost in our own thoughts. There was so much I wanted to know about my mate, but I didn’t want to make things anymore awkward than they already were.

We chose a local diner. I hadn’t been in it before, but Dave had picked up food for me from there once, so I knew it was good. Gage helped me into my seat before taking his own. Small gestures like that meant a lot to me.

We ordered our food, and then sat looking at each other. I’d been on first dates before. I’d even been on a few blind dates. None of them had ever been as strange as this one. On the one hand, I felt entirely at ease with Gage, but on the other, I was nervous and jittery and had no idea what to talk about.

“Well, I guess we should probably try to get to know each other,” he finally suggested, and I could sense he was as out of his league with everything going on between us as I was.

“Sure,” I said. “What do you want to know?”

He studied me for a minute, and then shook off whatever he was thinking. “What pack are you from?”

I laughed. That seemed like a pretty obvious one. “Collier,” I said. “Clara Collier.” At first I had thought he was joking, but the shocked look on his face told me he hadn’t put that together.

“You’re one of Zach Collier’s daughters?” I nodded. “Shit,” he mumbled under his breath.

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