Page 3 of Connected

“This is about you and Kat—about youfuckin’Kat.”

“Me doing what?” Darius gasps and all his breath leaves his body, Digby’s revelation comes as a surprise. “Whoa… Diggs you, you don’t understand. There’s not any—”

“Darius don’t fuckin’ insult me by sayin’ there’s not anythin’ goin’ on because we both know that’s bullshit. I know you’ve been all over her—I could smell you on her. So, show me some damn respect and at least have the decency to admit it.”

Darius takes a deep breath as he nods slowly. “Okay… okay, you’re right, I do owe you that—honesty. And yeah, yeah, I did—we did—fuck. But Diggs, it’s not what you think, it’s not…What I mean is, I never planned it. And for your information, she came on to me.”

“Oh… oh my God, stop it! Really… it was her? Are you fuckin’ serious? So what, you never encouraged her? No, I’ll bet you didn’t. Oh, I see… it’s her wants you, but you don’t want her? Is that what you’re sayin’—you don’t want her, right?”

“Yeah—No. Oh hell, I don’t know. Yeah, she wanted me, but not how you think. Not as a whole. She just wanted—Kat wanted sex and when I say that, I mean Kat the woman—not the wolf.”

“Huh?” Digby frowns. He’s confused. “But I give her sex—plenty ofsex—hell, plenty ofgreatsex. So, what you’re sayin’ that’s not enough, that I’m not enough? Oh… so I’m not as good in bed as you? I don’t satisfy her, is that what you’re sayin’?”

“No. No, that’s not what I’m saying. It’s different—a different kind of sex. Hell, you know that. You know our tastes are different. With me she wants to lose control—or gain it—I don’t know which? But what happened between us, that was about her being a woman.”

“But that’s the point, she’s not a woman, she’s a wolf. She’s a wolf and you… you’re a goddamn…” he pauses and takes a breath as he and Darius stare at each other. “You know what I want? I want you to stay the hell away from her. You’re confusin’ her, and you need to let her be what she is—a wolf.”

“Maybe she is being what she is? But did you consider she might need to be both… be with us both?”

“No. No, she’s mine. I’m bonded with her; she belongs to me.”

“Digby, I get what you’re saying, and trust me, if I’d had any idea you were going to bond with her—that it was going to happen so soon. I’d have—”

“You’d have what? You wouldn’t have gone near her if you’d have known? But you did know and yet you still went with her. Oh, I know exactly what happened. You pursued her, stalked her—came for the vulnerable woman inside, then you did that hoodoo shit of yours on her and made her think she wanted you, right?”

“Hey, Kat’s not vulnerable—not in any way. Believe me, she knows exactly what she’s doing. If you don’t think she’s making a choice when she’s with me, then you really don’t know her. Please it doesn’t have to be like this. Hell, I’ve known packs, in the past, to share alpha mates. Maybe she doesn’t have to choose?”

“Oh no, she doesn’t have to choose because I’m choosin’ for her. When we get her back, and you better goddamn hope we do or I won’t be responsible for what I do to you, then you’re gonna stop seein’ her. Darius, I want you to stay away. I need you to tell me you won’t be with her again. You owe me and this is me callin’ in the debt. If there’s anythin’ of a wolf about you, then you’ll honor the bond between us.”

“Diggs…” he sighs, “All right, all right if that’s what you want? But I think you’re making a mistake. It’s not going to stop her from wanting me just because you say so.”

“No, see I can fix that too. At least stop her from wanting you. You’re gonna tell her—everything that happened. Isabella—all of it.”

“And what good will that do?”

“Apart from making me feel better? Well, it might just make her hate you—hate the kind of man you are. She’s not gonna want to be with you, not after she knows, and then she’ll be all mine.”

“Kat will never be just yours. Can’t you see that? She belongs to this pack and we’re all bonded to her. This pack belongs to her now.”

“Well, if that’s how you see it, then we need to get her back. We need to get them both back.”

Digby takes a deep breath and stands up, still slightly dazed, his eyes glaze over, and he stares at Darius. A vacant look crystallizes on his face and he becomes momentarily lost in his thoughts.

“Hey, you okay there?” Darius frowns with obvious concern as he watches Digby—the way he looks, it’s like he’s stuck in a trance. “Hey Digby, I asked if you’re all right?”

“Yeah, yeah… Sorry, what? Oh yeah, I’m okay—I think?” He looks up, his blue eyes stare with a lost vacant haze. “Oh my God,” he gasps. “I could see her. Kat… what I mean is, not see her but sense her. Darius, I can feel her. She’s alive. Whoa…” He takes a breath and swallows as a surreal feeling overwhelms him. Closing his eyes, he takes a deep long sniff and smiles. “I-I never felt anythin’ like it before. Hell… I guess this bonded shit really works.”

“Yeah,” Darius nods. “Yeah, it does. And for what it’s worth, I can feel her too. I couldn’t, not earlier. I could feel Zak, but now I can feel her too, and you’re right, that means she’s alive. But I can also feel a pain—she’s hurting.”

“Then we need to find them—bring them home. ASAP.” Digby inhales a deep breath filling his lungs as he becomes accustomed to the new sensation. Rubbing his hand over his face, he thinks back to all the old tales from the past; the stories he was told about bonded pairs—that they could sense and feel each other’s emotions hundreds, hell even thousands of miles apart—he never believed any of it, not until now.

He sighs and quickly decides what he needs to do. Unfastening his body armor, he drops it to the floor, then quickly undresses. Stripping his shirt and tee-shirt, he then unzips his pants.

“Whoa… whoa! Digby, wait! What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Darius frowns. “Digby no. No, you can’t go after them, not like this—not alone.”

“It’ll be quicker if I go on my own. As a wolf—I’ll be quicker.”

He strips his pants and Darius holds his arm stopping him, “Digg’s, I said you can’t go out there alone. In that rain, you’ll never find a scent. Hell, they had a vehicle and nearly forty minutes head start. They could be miles away by now and you’ll never pick up a trail.”

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