Page 19 of Romeo

Pushing thoughts of the wolf out of her mind, she took another drink, her gaze sweeping across the street to the field beyond.

An hour passed before she decided she needed to get on the way to see Brent. She’d agreed to be at the headquarters by dawn and it was past that now. He’d called her, but she ignored it, sending a text that she was running late.

You better have a plan.

Don’t worry, she’d lied.

It wasn’t just that she didn’t have a plan, she couldn’t stop thinking about Sexy. The damn panty-melting god was going to drive her insane.

She showered and dressed in jeans and a thick sweater. She put on her coat and grabbed her backpack and keys. The morning was brisk with a light snowfall covering the ground. Living in California meant she didn’t see snow unless she drove north, which she hadn’t done in ages. She didn’t mind living where it was warm all the time, but cold weather was a nice change of pace.

Even if coming to Cleveland was seriously messing with her mind.

She left the house and started off toward headquarters, but then she overshot the road to turn toward it and instead headed in a different direction. She knew exactly where she was going, even though she hadn’t made the conscientious choice to go there: Whisper Creek.

She pulled over to the side of the road with an exasperated groan and lifted her phone. Opening the browser, she typedWhy can’t I stop thinking about a shifterinto the search bar. The results populated quickly. She pressed the link to open the first source and found herself on a dating website for humans who wanted to be with shifters, and a FAQ page.

What does it mean if I can’t stop thinking about the shifter I went on a date with?

It’s wonderful news! It means that you were on a date with your truemate! Shifters value their truemate above all others, even their own people. A truemate connection is like love at first sight—a shifter will simply know that he or she is in the presence of their truemate. Humans often recognize the truemate connection by simply being unable to stop thinking about them.

Holy crap.

She backed out of the page and clicked on another result, reading nearly an identical explanation. She read three more articles before she put her phone on the seat next to her and closed her eyes.

Humans and shifters didn’t mix. It’s what she’d always believed.

Her sister’s death was proof that shifters were dangerous and they should stick to their own kind, just like humans should.

But the sexy tiger hadn’t hurt her. He’d even protected her from the other guy who grabbed her.

She’d never had a problem with shifters before her sister was killed, then in her grief, she’d fallen in with Humans Against Shifters and Brent because they preached the same thing that she had believed after Kerry’s death: shifters were bad news. Plus, Brent was instrumental in helping her get revenge for her sister when no one—not the police, not her parents, not the wolf’s alpha—had been able or willing to help.

Just what the hell was she thinking? That she should find her tiger and see what happened? That she should just ignore Brent and his intention to take out the tigers and see what was making her body yearn to be with a shifter? But not justanyshifter, this particular one?

Guilt shot through her again. She couldn’t even tell Sexy that she was part of Brent’s group, that would definitely be a deal breaker with a shifter. So she’d be living a lie if she went to him. But there was no denying that it was all she could think about.

Letting out a short curse, she put the car into gear, looked both ways and then U-turned in the road and headed for Whisper Creek.

* * *

It took onlya handful of minutes to get to Whisper Creek. From her previous scouting, she knew where Midas’s home was and figured the best way to find Sexy was to talk to his leader.

The driveway was empty, and it didn’t look like anyone was home, but that wasn’t going to stop her from knocking on the door anyway.

Her heart kicked up a notch as she turned off the engine. She stared at the house, imagining what it would be like to see Sexy in the daylight. No shadows covering his face or body from her gaze.

She didn’t move.

There would be no going back from this. If she got out of the car now, she’d be taking a step away from Brent and toward the tigers. She wasn’t even sure if she understood what it meant to be truemates or that she was a spy on behalf of a group that hated his people. She’d worried that Brent would come after her if she left Cleveland, but what the hell would he do to her if she had a boyfriend who was a tiger?

Truemate, not boyfriend.

She waited only a second longer, determining in her heart to at least see what happened when she came face to face with her tiger. Assuming the tiger king didn’t throw her ass out of town immediately since she’d come by without an appointment or approval.

Opening the door, she inhaled the cold air and stepped out of the car, shutting the door. She was shaking now, her body singing with nerves. Probably smelling like fear and anxiety was a good way to get clawed up by a shifter, but she couldn’t control it. She was literally walking into a lion’s den—or tiger, as it were—with no backup.

What would she tell her tiger when she saw him?

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