Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 62314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
So was I. Once my approval for leave had gone through—my stint was almost up, and I had to decide if I wanted to re-up, but that was to figure out later—all I’d thought about was getting back here, dumping my shit, shifting, then running. Now, I’d roam, but it would be to search all over this part of Montana to find my fucking mate. And not in wolf form.
Dammit.
Before last night, I’d had no idea who she was or where she was. Now, I still didn’t know, but I knew she existed. That our connection was perfect. Sweet.
Wild.
The agony was so much worse now. My wolf and the moon madness pushed at me. Swearing, I stomped up the steps and through the front door. When I was a kid, the scent of pot roast would greet me along with our old dog, Charlie. My mom would be in the kitchen, Boyd often at the kitchen table forced to do homework or eating a snack. Rob would be off with my dad doing… alpha shit. Now, it wasn’t the scent of Crockpot meat that hit me but baked goods and something sweet. My wolf sat up and took notice. My dick picked up on it too and got instantly hard, which made no fucking sense.
As I adjusted myself, Boyd came down the hall. “You never could stop playing with your dick.”
The grin on his face accompanied his mocking tone.
He hugged me hard, slapping my back. For being my little brother, he had an inch on me. I could still take him on in a fist fight, but I’d rather face a hidden sniper than climb on the back of a bull, like he used to do every day.
“Hey, brother.” I slapped him right back. I couldn’t help but grin at him. Fuck, he looked good. That underlying rebellion and anger he always had simmering had faded, was replaced by an aura of contentedness. “And I heard you don’t have to tug on yours all alone anymore.”
He stepped back, winked. “Damn straight.”
“You turning into Betty Crocker now?” I asked, taking another sniff of the air. I could swear I smelled my mate. Her scent must’ve carried on my clothes. I remembered her taste on my tongue, but this was different. Visceral.
“Nah, the women are making the wedding cake. They’ve been in there for two hours, and it smells damned good.”
The moon madness was definitely fucking with me if I was confusing my mate with baked goods.
“Women? I thought you found one mate, not two.”
He tipped his hat back. Fuck, he looked happy. Potent jealousy shot through me, but I instantly pushed it down. He wasn’t the only Wolf brother to find his mate. He was the only one who knew where his fucking mate was, though. I might’ve been older and wiser, but who was the dumbass now?
Me.
“Marina’s making it,” he said, and I’d forgotten what he was talking about. Oh yeah, cake. “Audrey’s watching. She might have gone to medical school for four years, but she can barely boil water.”
“Who’s Marina?”
“Her little sister—half-sister, actually—from LA.”
He sniffed, then his eyes widened.
“What?” I asked.
A slow smile spread across his face. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
I was going to ask him what the fuck he was not telling me, but Rob’s voice cut me off. “Hey—I expected you to parachute in or something.”
I turned as he came up the porch steps. Behind him were two of our ranch hands and pack members, Levi and Clint.
The trio were fucking huge. They didn’t have to do morning calisthenics and ten mile runs with fully loaded packs to be sturdy fuckers. They also had all the room to shift and run.
Shit, I hadn’t realized how much I missed being home.
“The airlines don’t like me opening the emergency exit,” I countered as Rob stepped close. “Dude, is that gray hair?”
Rob touched the side of his head and rolled his eyes. “Fucker.”
“It’s good to see you.” It was. My fellow soldiers were brothers not of blood, but Rob and Boyd… the other shifters on the ranch, the connection went deep. They knew the truth, knew the real me. All of me.
“Expected you last night,” Rob said, slapping me on the shoulder, which was him showing affection. He wasn’t much of a hugger.
The screen door banged behind Levi. I shook his hand and Clint’s.
“The storm flooded a creek on county road ninety-three. Had to spend the night in Tremont.”
Boyd looked me over. This morning, I’d tossed on the same clothes as the day before in my rush to go after my mate. “What did you do, sleep in your truck? You look like you barely slept.”
My wolf preened at our prowess, then whined because we’d lost her. Her. What the fuck was her name? Why did I not make it my number one priority to know every detail about her? I’d gotten cocky, thinking I had her. Thinking I’d take it slow and not scare her off. And then she fucking left. Where the fuck was she?