Page 42 of My Mate

“It’s going to be okay,” she said, hoping to give him something to hold onto.

“You don’t know if it is going to be okay, but thank you.” He pressed a kiss to her temple and she smiled.

“I wasn’t just saying it. I believe it. Lucinda is not going to die.”

“I hope not. She was getting warmer and Mom was making her chicken soup, which is always good.”

Casey nodded. “See, she is in good hands.”

They were silent for several minutes and then Casey frowned. “Where did you say you found her?”

“A spot near the lake.”

“A perfect spot?”

“Only to hide who actually did it,” Dex said. “Dad wouldn’t be able to detect any one scent, and with how cold she was, I’d say she had been out there a few days.”

“But, why would Lucinda have been at the lake?” Casey asked.

She felt Dex tense. “What do you mean?”

“Well, Lucinda rarely leaves her home. How did she end up at the lake?” She turned to look at Dex. “It makes no sense. The only time she comes into town is when she is accompanied by you, your mom, or your dad.”

Dex frowned. “So someone would have had to attack her at her house?” he asked.

“It makes sense.” Casey looked at him and waited.

“You’re not coming,” Dex said.

“What the hell, Dex, are you kidding me?”

“You’re pregnant!”

“And, whoever attacked Lucinda could be responsible for your death. I know there is a risk this may play out like it did in your premonition, but you’re not keeping me out of this, so don’t even try. There is no way I am letting you leave without me.” Shegrabbed his arm. “We’re in this together. We’re a team.”

She saw that he wanted to argue, but even if he did attempt to leave her behind, he’d only get so far and she’d follow him. There was no way she was leaving him to find a possible suspect on his own.

“Fine. Fine, but any sign of danger, and I’m warning you, you come home right away, do you understand me?” he asked.

“Yes, yes, yes.”

It didn’t take them long to get dressed, and they were out of their new home within a matter of minutes. Dex took her hand, and they walked stealthily toward the forest, and from there, they ran. She had a feeling she was slowing Dex down, but she was not going to let him do this on his own. They were a team.

It didn’t take them long to make it to Lucinda’s house.

“Doesn’t look like anything bad happened,” Dex said as they arrived.

“What do you mean?” Casey asked, inhaling deeply and finding it strange to get so many different smells.

She had never smelled the pack before, and it was woodsy and floral at the same time. There were a lot of smells—vanilla, cinnamon, even a hint of chocolate—and for some reason, she could also smell metal, which was odd. The fact she could smell anything was incredible to her.

“Are you okay?” Dex asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay.”

She hadn’t told Dex that she’d been hearing her wolf more often, or the fact that she was starting to feel more like herself, which was an odd sensation for her. Now, she developed a stronger sense of smell. None of this made sense.

At no point did she make any request from Lucinda. She had started to accept that her wolf was not going to be here. She was … dead. Her wolf was never meant to be. She hated to acceptit, but she had no choice.

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