Page 22 of Undesired Mate

A growl stirs in my throat as the truth of the situation settles in my bones. What is it going to take? How much more do I need to sacrifice for her?

No. I am not going to question myself now, when there are more important things to do. For instance, finding her and making her sorry for thinking this is still a fucking game. Like she has the right to walk away whenever she pleases. There is still too much she doesn’t understand.

That is what gets me moving before I have a chance to think. What’s the use of thinking, anyway? Instinct is what matters now, and my instincts—along with my wolf—demand I track her down. The air is still this morning, and I’m glad for it as I follow the path she took.

One thing is soon obvious: I’m going to cover more ground as my wolf than I can on two legs. It’ll be easier for me to follow her scent, too.

A sense of relief flows through me once the shift takes hold and I’m looking at the world through my wolf’s eyes again. My mate’s scent grows stronger, flooding my awareness, and soon I’m moving again. Faster now, with the growing sounds from theinterstate giving me a clue why she went in this direction and what she has in mind.

Things are simple for my wolf. Clear, black and white. She ran from us, which means there’s a price she needs to pay. Things must be set right. Fate isn’t something we walk away from, especially not in the dead of night, like some guilty thief.

It’s once I reach the gravel along the shoulder of the road that I have a decision to make. Countless cars pass by in both directions—they’re either going too fast to see me, or they don’t notice the hulking shape trotting just in front of the tree line.

At first, I head east, turning to my left, sniffing the air for any hint of Clara. A growl stirs in my throat—there are so many other scents now, so much fighting for my awareness. The stench of the cars, the aroma of the foods and drinks inside them. It’s a cacophony banging around in my head, trying to steal my awareness. I can’t let it. I have to stay focused.

Before long, it’s clear she headed west. Her scent has faded. Turning around, I travel at a full-on run, passing the spot where I first reached the road, then continuing on. My paws slap the ground, all of my awareness focused on her. Reaching her. Finding her and bringing her back. Nobody runs away from me. Not ever.

Especially not the one living creature put on this planet for me. It doesn’t matter what challenges exist. Fate doesn’t care about those things. It only demands that we find a way. Maybe it’s unfair, but then no one ever said life would be fair. Of all people, Clara should understand that.

Her scent is stronger, giving me hope; not to mention the energy to double my speed as one mile marker after another announceshow far I’ve gone, but it’s not far enough. Why would she do this? Why now? I don’t know if it’s the question that makes me run faster, or the burning demand for an answer. Do I want to hold her accountable, or do I only need to know why it isn’t enough for me to risk my life for her? To put everything I’ve ever known aside for her sake. She can’t possibly grasp that, or else I wouldn’t be chasing her down, running alongside speeding cars and trucks. It’s her face I see in front of me. Her voice I hear when a horn blares. I feel her again. I can almost hear her in my head, and I sense how troubled she is. She has no idea what trouble means.

I’m going to show her. She is never going to pull any shit like this again—not with me, not for any reason.

The signs on the road point to a rest stop five miles away. It’s the first rest stop that’s come up since I set out, and probably where she would stop before solidifying a plan. My lungs are on fire, but I push through it, focused on nothing but my goal of finding her and making her wish she never considered running from me. That’s not how it works; if it was, why the fuck would I put myself through all of this?

I have to be careful once I reach the clearing leading down to the massive rest stop. There is a sea of trucks parked out there. Already the strong stench of diesel and exhaust threatens to choke me, but I push through, moving slowly, watching everything around me. Rather than run straight through the lot, I stay close to the perimeter with my gaze trained on the sprawling building positioned across from a long row of gas pumps. There aren’t many people walking to and from most of the trucks. They probably parked here overnight. It’s still early enough that their inhabitants are sleeping.

But where is Clara? Her scent is stronger than ever, but I can’t find her, can’t pinpoint any sign of her. If she left herself vulnerable and got hurt somehow, I’ll never forgive myself. Even when I know I didn’t force her to do anything.

The door to the restrooms opens, and I can almost taste my relief when I see her emerge. She looks around, obviously unsure of herself, wrapping her arms around her slim body. The wolf wants me to go, to run straight across the lot, to snarl all along the way so she knows what she’s in for.

I wait. I watch. She doesn’t know what to do now. Is she wondering whether she made a mistake? Wishing she had never left? Something close to bitter resolve settles on her face like she’s made up her mind, and my heart sinks when she starts eyeing the trucks parked in front of her. She’s looking for another ride.

She’s out of her fucking mind if she thinks I’m going to let that happen.

She feels me before she sees me. I can tell by the way her head snaps around, her eyes searching the area. When they land on me, loping her way, indecision freezes her in place.

And then she makes another in a long line of mistakes she’s made today. She runs for the woods behind the rest stop.

Why? Why? Why?The question rings out with every running step I take. Why would she do that? Why is she running from me? Doesn’t she know by now there’s no running from fate? Can’t she understand how her absence would torment me and tear me apart just like it would to her?

No, she doesn’t know anything. She left before I could explain it. And she’s still running, disappearing into the trees, the darkness absorbing her as I close the distance between us.

“Stop! Please!” Something like rage explodes in my head at the sound of her pleas. Someone is going to hear and think she’s in danger. I have to catch her before that happens, before someone gets the wrong idea. For one brief, furious moment, I almost hate her for this, for putting us both in danger with her stupidity.

A soft cry rings out up ahead, one tinged with pain. I close the distance between us and find her on her hands and knees, stumbling to her feet. But it’s too late. I’ve caught her, and the change comes over me, and I’m a man again by the time I take her by her shoulders and shove her against the nearest tree.

In the darkness provided by so much thick growth overhead, I can still make out her wide, pleading eyes. “Levi, I swear?—”

“Shut up,” I grunt, because I don’t need to hear her excuses. I don’t want to hear them, either. Nature is demanding something else, something more. To claim, to own, to make her understand there is no leaving me. Not now, not ever.

She only whimpers weakly when I yank hard on her pants. “Please don’t hurt me,” she whispers in my ear once the pants are gone and our bodies are flush, and my cock slips between her hot, swollen lips.So wet. Even now, she feels it, a force even stronger than her stupid fear. “I did it for you. I love you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

I barely hear her over the wolf’s commands.Claim her.

The growling presence quiets the instant I’m inside her, like closing a door on a loud party. There’s nothing but this. I am exactly where I need to be.

She comes alive all around me, her body wrapping around mine—arms, legs, her mouth close to my ear so she can moan into it while I fuck her hard and fast. I can’t tell if I’m hurting her, and I can’t tell if I care. I only know this is what is meant to be. It’s fucking torture. There is no escape.

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