Page 36 of Flare
But no. It was his mother.
“Andrew? Are you coming for dinner on Friday or not? You never answered my texts.”
His stomach clenched. The weekly Brunborn family dinner. How could he have forgotten?
“I… can’t make it, Mother. Something’s, uh, come up at work.” The lie slipped easily from his lips.
There was a pause at the other end of the line.
“You canceled out last Friday, too. Mama wasn’t happy.”
Of course she wasn’t. As the Brunborn clan matriarch, Grandma Katherine kept tabs on all the Brunborns… and all the money. As the oldest grandson, Andrew had always been her favorite, the one she was grooming to lead all the family’s business interests.
How could he face them and admit that his human mate had abandoned him? The humiliation would be unbearable. Especially since Grandma and Mother had both warned him that this might happen with a human mate.
“I’ll come next week,” he promised.“Just… dealing with a difficult client right now.”
“And what’s going on with that fiancée of yours? I’ve been trying to get hold of her about the bridal shower, but she hasn’t replied to any of my messages.”
Andrew gripped his phone so tightly the case cracked.“Emily’s, uh, not feeling well. Food poisoning or something. I’ll have her call you when she’s feeling better.”
“Oh, good Lord,” Mother said in an exasperated tone.“Don’t tell me you’ve gotten her pregnant already? Couldn’t you at least wait untilafterthe wedding?”
“She’s not pregnant, Mother. And I have to go.”
After ending the call, Andrew stalked to his home office and unlocked the bottom drawer of his desk. Inside was a slim laptop, one that Emily didn’t know about. He powered it up and logged into the tracking application.
When Andrew had realized his bear had chosen Emily as his mate, he’d taken precautions. He’d installed trackers on her phone and laptop, as well as in her car.
As her mate and protector, he had the right to know where she was and what she was doing. It was for her own safety, after all. The Brunborn clan had enemies.
The application loaded, showing a map. Red locator markers for Emily’s phone and car both pulsed steadily over a small town in northeastern Idaho, the same as they had since last Thursday night.
She was still in Bearpaw Ridge.
Andrew’s jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. Of all the places she could have run to, she’d chosen Swanson territory.
It couldn’t be a coincidence. He remembered the text message from that fucking cocktease bitch Maggie Swanson.
Had there been other messages, messages he didn’t know about?
Andrew’s lips pulled back in a snarl. The Swansons had always thought themselves better than the Brunborns, with their precious ranch and their holier-than-thou attitude about shifter customs. And to think his mother thought that mating Maggie Swanson would be a good idea!
And now, that bitch had stolen his mate.
His bear clawed frantically inside him, desperate to reclaim what was rightfully theirs. Andrew sympathized with its pain. He felt it too, the burning ache of separation, the humiliation of abandonment.
Emily belonged with him. She’d taken vows, accepted his ring, shared his bed. That she’d run off at the first sign of trouble only proved she needed his guidance and a firm hand to show her the proper way to behave.
Andrew poured himself another whisky, his third of the evening, and downed it in one burning gulp. He needed to go to Bearpaw Ridge and find Emily. He had to bring her home before Mother found out… or Emily damaged their mate bond.
But Bearpaw Ridge was Swanson territory. He couldn’t set foot on the ranch without Elle Swanson’s permission. And there was no way in hell she would grant it, especially if Maggie had been telling lies about what had happened between them on their one and only date.
Andrew paced the length of his office, his bear growing increasingly agitated. There had to be a way. Some loophole he could use to retrieve his mate.
He searched for“Bearpaw Ridge hotels,” and found notices about the first annual Lavender & Lilacs Festival this coming weekend.
Perfect. A stupid festival would bring in tourists from all over the region. He could slip in among the crowds, find Emily, and convince her to come home where she belonged.
