Page 16 of Holiday Surprise

“Okay, but I’m going to keep badgering you about it until you concede.” Then she hesitated and turned big brown eyes up to me. “Will you come back and see me again?”

I didn’t have time to answer that before a door opened on the large trailer I was parked next to, and Luke walked out. I saw him sniff the air around him and when his eyes locked onto mine there was a burning passion there. I couldn’t look away.

Nettie sighed. “Guess you should have stopped by Luke’s first after all.”

I shook my head and smiled at her reassuringly. “He’ll be fine. I’m glad I didn’t, because I might have missed you, cousin.”

She grinned from ear to ear and surprised me with a big hug. “I live just over there,” she said pointing to her trailer. “Please don’t be a stranger. You’re welcome anytime. We may be from rivaling packs, but we’re still family.”

Luke

Chapter 9

Sydney’s scent had been assaulting me all night. I had refused to shower which only made it worse. Maybe I was being sadistic, but I couldn’t help it.

As I woke up after sleeping half the day away and fixed a cup of coffee, I wandered out to my deck to clear my head. Somehow her scent was impossibly stronger outside. I quickly noticed a strange vehicle parked next to mine and my wolf went on full alert as I searched the area for anything suspicious.

My eyes landed on hers. I wiped them once to make sure I wasn’t imagining it and then I glared at her as the fire of desire heated me from within. My mate was here, and she was talking to Nettie and little Tom like they were old friends.

My heart raced when the two women hugged, and Sydney turned to start walking towards me. My instinct was to run to her, but I held my ground and let her come to me.

As she got closer, I could see her tear streaked cheeks and a low growl rumbled through me as my eyes darted to Nettie’s retreating back.

Sydney stopped short. “What’s wrong?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing. You’re crying.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m fine,” she told me.

“Sydney, what happened,” I asked.

She stared up at me with a strange look on her face. “Nettie and I were just catching up. She’s my cousin.”

To say I was shocked was putting it mildly. “Oh. I didn’t know.”

“Me either,” she admitted.

“Are you okay?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know yet. It was a bit shocking. I’m still processing it.”

“Are you still processing me, too?” I asked her candidly just to see how she reacted. She had obviously come to me, so it wasn’t like she was denying our bond.

Her breath caught. “I’m not talking about that out in the open for everyone to hear. Do you have a dampener inside?”

Was she really inviting herself into my house? After what Lily had said, I was expecting Sydney to fight our mating, deny it even, but here she was seeking me out.

“I do have a dampener inside,” I finally found my words and told her. “Come on in.”

I opened the door and waited for her to pass. She hesitated and took in a small gasp as she realized what I was doing. As Alpha I was expected to enter a room first, lead the way. There were only certain situations involving other Alphas that would change. Or, when showing respect to my mate.

She walked in first and didn’t even hide her interest as she looked around the place. I stood back and just watched her.

“It’s nicer than I expected. Clean, but pretty sparse,” she observed.

“It’s just me here. I don’t require much.” I walked over to my desk in what would normally be the dining room and verified the dampener was on. “We’re free to talk openly,” I confirmed. “I must admit, I’m surprised to see you here, Sydney.”

“Why? I know who you are Luke Larken, and I’m not some coward who just runs and hides from things that I’m not happy about.”

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