Page 23 of His True Mate
The man sat in a chair and watched me closely.
“Are you in some kind of trouble?” he finally asked.
“Not exactly.”
“But you’re running away from all of that back there?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes.”
“Why?”
I didn’t have to tell him anything, but there was something so comfortable about this stranger that I found myself spilling everything, well, almost everything.
“I’m done with it. Done with it all. I’m gonna find myself a small town and a little house. Make a real life for myself. No more living show-to-show.”
“How long have you been with the rodeo?”
“My whole life. I was born into it.”
I still had my back pressed against the door and I was holding my backpack as if it were some sort of safety shield between us.
I clearly hadn’t thought this through any better than my first plan. I was alone in a hotel room with a complete stranger.
My wolf growled in protest in my head.
Mate!she said. This time I knew without a doubt it was coming from her.
“Mate?” I repeated, feeling like I just might be going into shock or something.
The man smiled. “Trust me, I wasn’t any more prepared for it than you. I’m afraid I didn’t exactly handle things well.”
“That’s why you knocked Rendall out cold like that?” I blurted out.
“Is that the asshole who laid a hand on you?”
I nodded.
“Then, yes,” he said calmly. “Is he why you’re running away?”
“Sorta. Dane, um, my Al.. uh.. leader…” I wasn’t sure how much I should say. Was this guy even a shifter?
He smiled warmly making my body feel all tingly.
“Your Alpha?”
“Yup, him.”
“I’m a wolf shifter. Winnie, right?”
“Yup that’s me. Winnie.”
“And you are…?”
“Wolf. I’m a wolf.”
He furrowed his brow. “Are you always surrounded by so many humans?”
“Always,” I explained. “Forty-two cities a year.”
