Page 2 of The Last Ultimatum: Part 1

“Nothing that can’t wait. I promise.”

“Okay.”

Normally, I would have pushed him to open up, but honestly, I didn’t give a shit at that moment. I just wanted to ride out my last five minutes and get out of here.

“Let’s call it a day. I think we can spare five minutes of your time.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yup. Get out of here.”

“I’m not waiting for you to tell me twice.”

I quickly started packing up my things and clearing my desk as Michael excused himself. Excitement rolled through me. This was really happening. I was going home.

It wasn’t like I wanted to go home for good. In many ways San Marco was now my true home. I’d even given my allegiance to Kyle Westin. I wasn’t a wolf, but I was a valued member of Westin Pack now, which happened to be the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. As a dingo, Pack life came naturally to me, though Pack for my kind was different than the wolves. When we referred to a Pack it meant a family unit. Many Packs allied together to form a Tribe. So really our Tribes were more like the wolf Packs. It also wasn’t uncommon for males of to venture out when we reached maturity and form their own Packs.

I’d done that—sort of.

Going away to college in America was supposed to be that for me. Instead, I’d simply gravitated to a new Pack, my fraternity. My brothers of Delta Omega Gamma were as much my family as the one I was born into.

After graduating with a degree in psychology, I got an offer to work in Westin Force. Some of the men and women had been struggling after some horrific events and with the heavy burden that just comes with the job.

Westin Force is an elite special ops unit that monitors and protects shifters world-wide. The initial creation of the program was for additional security of Westin Pack, but that soon evolved the more global our reach hit.

I loved being a part of Delta team. They were absolutely my family now. Each of them had spent time on my couch sharing their most intimate secrets. It created a unique bond between me and them, making my career choice far more rewarding than I could have ever dreamed.

I didn’t just work with Delta, though. While they were my assigned unit and I was personally closest to them, professionally I was available to all of Westin Force, those in Westin Pack that needed therapy or just someone to talk to, and the victims and survivors that the teams brought back here for safety.

Much of my life, people saw me as a pretty face. With my blond hair and deep blue eyes, the assumption often was that I was nice to look at but short in the head. It was bullshit, though I had to admit I had used it to my advantage on more than one occasion. Especially with women.

If I were being honest with myself the way I always push my patients to be, I was getting sick of playing games.

It had been months since I’d last been on a date and even longer since I’d been with a woman. Work was fulfilling, and I loved my life here in San Marco, but I also longed for a true mate. I didn’t want to settle for just any mate. I desperately wanted my one true mate.

She was out there somewhere. And I knew that the moment I found her, I was going to mark her as mine and never let her go. I couldn’t wait for that to happen.

I didn’t mind being alone for now. At least it didn’t bother me most of the time. But I saw the difference a true mate made in my friends and that closeness between them that came fromthe bond. And I knew that was going to be me one day. It was a big world, but she was out there somewhere just waiting for me too. I knew it.

For now, I would settle for just a laid-back vacation. Lord knew I was overdue for one.

As I packed up the last of my things, satisfied I hadn’t forgotten anything, I took one last look around, locked up my cabinet and felt a weight lift from my shoulders.

Looking down at my watch, I grinned. I was officially on vacation.

With a bit of a hop in my step, I left.

Out in the hallway there was a buzz of excitement in the air, but it didn’t take long to realize it was not just me.

“What’s going on?” I asked Linc as he passed by me.

“Silas just called Delta team in for an emergency meeting. Sounds like something big. Didn’t you get the text?”

I frowned and looked down at my phone, shaking my head.

“Oh right. You’re on vacation starting tomorrow, right?”

“Starting now, actually.”

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