Page 19 of Elusive Mate

It would appear she had received his anonymous text and that his plan to oust her from her comfortable little hidey hole was working. He had a momentary pang when he wondered if he had done the right thing. Lucian shoved it away. It would be so much easier to swoop down, scoop her up and return her to Ice Storm if she wasn’t snuggled in her little nest. She needed to be home. She needed to be with him.

Zenya dropped her door keys and had to retrieve them before she opened the back door to let herself inside. She went to place her purse on the washing machine as she always did and missed it. It, too, hit the floor, spilling the contents and she stooped down to retrieve all of her items.

Walking through the living room instead of going into her bedroom to change as she normally did, she paced the floor. At one point she swiped at her eyes. Were those tears she was wiping away? Lucian growled. Who had made her cry? It occurred to him he was the most likely culprit. If it was anyone but him, they would pay for it dearly. His text appeared to have worked to flush her out, but he hated knowing he had made her cry.

If his plan to take her back home was to work, he could do nothing but watch as she prepared to leave. She walked into the bedroom, returning from her closet dressed in what appeared to be her favorite leggings and tank top, tossing her favorite slouchy cardigan on the bed beside the large tapestry carpet bag. Zenya began layering clothes and small personal items into it. Was she bolting or something less nefarious?

If she’d only packed clothes and makeup, he would assume she and her friend Liv were heading out for the girls weekend they’d been planning. Only it wasn’t the weekend, and if that was it, she wouldn’t be taking mementos from her home along with her.

Lucian was picking up the phone to call Zaiden, when it buzzed. It was Zaiden.

“Lucian? Is this a good time to talk or are you too busy drooling over my sister? I don’t know how funny I’m going to find that when you two are actually together.”

“I do not drool, just watch her longingly with growing lust.” If Zaiden could give him shit, Lucian could return the favor.

“You do know I can’t unhear that right?”

Lucian chuckled. “Before you start, do we have access to your sister’s text messages?”

“We should. Hang on, let me pull up her texts.” There was a slight pause. “Shit.”

“Tell me.”

“Zenya received a text message from a blocked number asking if she’d had any contact with you.”

“Yeah, that was me. I wanted to flush her out—get her away from her home and friends. I think it will make it easier to get her to the plane. Did she contact anyone after I sent the anonymous text?”

“Yes. It looks like she contacted the Shadow Sisters and they’re pulling the plug on her life out there. Sending that text was brilliant in an underhanded and sneaky kind of way.”

Lucian chuckled again. “I know she won’t think it was fair to her, but I figured it was the most expedient way to get her moving. I was growing tired of waiting.”

“As her brother I feel I should point out that she was happy there. Even though she hasn’t been there all that long, she was building something…”

“I know, but the plan was always to bring her back home regardless of whether she wanted to or not, and she can build what she likes at Ice Storm.”

“I doubt that she’ll agree with your point of view.”

“Probably not, but it is what it is. I am her fated mate,” said Lucian with a certain degree of finality. “We are destined to be together. I have been far more patient with her than most alphas would have been.”

“You know until you said that, I hadn’t really thought about it that way. You’re right. I know few men who would have given her that time in California, and I’ve been a little surprised at how indulgent you’ve been.”

Before Lucian could respond, something on the monitor caught his eye. “Hang on. She’s on the move. I need to go after her. I’ll call you once I’m able to follow her. Oh wait, was there anything you needed from me?”

“No, just my regular check-in. Things here are running smoothly, but then they always do. You have made sure our people know what is expected of them and then you leave them to do it. You’re always there if they need something, but for the most part our people have all the advantages of a clan and very few of the drawbacks.”

“What drawbacks?”

“Well, you can be a bit surly at times, and some of our people are more than just a little bit intimidated by you. But then, they don’t know your sunshiny personality as well as I do.”

Lucian snorted. “Smart ass.”

“Better than being a dumb ass.”

Lucian ignored him. “I’m heading out to the SUV. I’ll call you when I know anything.”

He headed out to the SUV, turned the tracking device he’d placed in the Jeep on and followed her discreetly. She pulled into the back of the clinic going inside, reappearing quickly with the bobcat in the crate she used to transport it. Once she had the crate secured, she glanced around the parking lot, got back in her Jeep and headed out of town. Lucian began to follow her again.

The phone rang. “Lucian? It’s Zaiden. You need to know law enforcement is crawling all over this part of the peninsula and Kodiak Island.”

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