Page 18 of Shifter's Dream

11 – Follow

Troy stared after the retreating female, his will and his wolf at war. That was his One True Mate, his wolf had told him so. Troy got a One True Mate and she was rejecting him, running from him. His wolf said,Follow. Troy held himself back from following because his mate was right to run from him. For the first time, he let himself fully explore what it would be like to be mated to a female as perfect as that, but stuck as a wolf.

Troy knew it was illogical. His brain very clearly told him that if he shifted to a wolf right now, he would be able to shift back to a human, but his heart disagreed. His heart was scared he would never.

His wolf was silent on the issue.

But the demand from inside about his mate came, clear and strong:Follow.

Troy shook away the thoughts about a future he did not want and did the only thing he could possibly do. He followed his mate.

A big male got in front of him.Conri.Conri pointed behind at the little inset in the wall where Troy had learned what his female sounded like when she came. “Did she just…?”

Troy didn’t let him finish. He grabbed Conri around the throat with one hand and stared into his soul, speaking slowly and clearly into his mind.Don’t you say it, don’t you even think it. Don’t look at her, don’t think about her, bear, unless you want to see me get serious, got it?

Conri didn’t want a fight. He nodded once then peeled Troy’s fingers off his neck, adding a stupid bear snarl Troy didn’t have time for.

Troy was already moving. He followed his female’s scent behind the bar and through the door, down the hallway, ignoring the looks of the employees in the kitchen, straight out the back door. A small sedan was rolling through the parking lot, windows down, and Troy saw a flash of his female inside. He tracked which way she went, and got moving. He couldn’t drive and he wouldn’t ask for a ride, so his only choice was to follow her on foot.

He set in, tracking her like prey.

***

Twenty minutes later, Troy was still jogging down the sidewalk, still following the scent of his female. He’d told his brother not to worry about him, he’d be late, then ‘turned off’ allruhiconversation coming his way. He had no plan beyondfind his mate.

The cool mint smell of her had weakened, but now it was strengthening again and Troy slowed slightly, knowing she’d stopped somewhere, hoping she’d stayed wherever it was. He was in a residential area, but along a main street. In front of him was a four-way stop with a Dairy Queen on one corner, a bus stop on another, and cheap motels on the other two. Troy prepared to circle the intersection to find the direction his female had gone.

He jogged past the large front window of the Dairy Queen, reaching the corner before he skidded to a stop, then turned and jogged back.

She was there, in a red-backed booth positioned against the window he was on the outside of, spoon poised over an oreo blizzard, mouth open, staring at him. He could not scent her emotion, so he tried to pull it from her expression. Surprised. Oh, that one was easy. Fear flickered across her features but was gone so quickly he knew he’d been wrong. It wasn’t fear, it was anger. Was she mad at him? Then her expression shut down completely, going cold like he’d seen it in the bar, with narrowed eyes and lifted chin. His mate was an ice princess to her core and he was in charge of the spring thaw. Troy grinned at the thought, thinking that shit right there belonged on a greeting card or something.

Troy put his hand on the glass, resisting the urge to lick it, one thought on repeat in his head.

Go get her.

He headed inside.

***

Troy pushed in the door with purpose, straight to the counter and ordered exactly what his female already had, feeling her eyes on him like ice cubes to his skin on a ninety-degrees-in-the-shade day. Soothed and cooled, he growled deep in his throat, as silently as he could, still earning himself a terrified look from the little mouse of a human behind the counter.

He got the ice cream and turned around, doing so slowly, giving her time to look away. He wanted to talk to her, not spook her, not chase her away. When he raised his eyes, she was looking out the window, her spine set, her chin high.Beautiful.He could not look away. He moved her way, stopping at the seat opposite her. WWMD? What would Magnum do? He would say something smooth, then she would kiss him.

Troy cleared his throat, sick at the desperation swirling in his gut. He’d never felt this before.Because nothing in his life had ever been this important before.

She turned her head to look at him, slowly, a coolly blank expression on her face. Her scent said both, “please stay,” and “go away,” equally. He didn’t know what to do, so he put the blizzard down in its cup in front of her. “For you,” he said quietly, slowly, carefully, noticing she was almost done with the one in her hand. “I’ll get you another. Peanut Butter cups?”

She spoke, her voice controlled, her expression still. “How many blizzards do you think I can eat?”

“Three,” he said decidedly, nodding his head. He’d halved the amount he could eat in one sitting. It seemed like a safe bet.

He stayed where he was because his female was looking him up and down. He let her get a good look, standing tall, turning his chin, scenting some of her cool turn warm as something new twisted through her scent, fondness, ofhimhe bet, and-desire. Desire… to see his body?

Just in case, Troy reached behind his head and grabbed his shirt at the upper back, yanking it off. He balled it up in his hand and turned so his female could see all his wolf muscles.

Her mouth dropped open and she looked and scented thoroughly charmed, before she closed herself off, going cold on him. “It really isn’t that hot in here,” she said coolly.

Troy put his shirt back on, sat down across from her, and tried to think of what to say.

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