Page 22 of The Wolf's Kidnapped Mate

Concern swirled in those verdant seas. Who called him? What did they say?

“We have to go,” he said pointedly. His gaze flickered over my shoulder, to the truck, to the road behind him where the tourist shops were located. When his gaze fell on me again, he sharply snapped, “Now.”

Chapter 7 - Fred

Kylie reluctantly climbed back into the truck that Blake had allowed me to borrow. While I wanted to spend more time talking to her about the sunset, I knew we had to drive back to Beaufort Creek pack land—slowly, diligently.

Like we weren’t setting a trap.

Silence fell over us in the cab. I kept my eyes peeled, my senses sharp. Everything came in striking contrast through the mildly scratched windshield. Sunlight bounced off the window, blinding part of my view of the street. We had to get back before the sun set completely.

Kylie cradled her boba cup and the half-eaten mochi waffle. “Thanks.”

I paused with my hand on the ignition. The key was in place, the dash was blinking to signal that the key was just sitting there. I was holding it there. I was waiting for something to happen.

My attention spanned left to right, up and down. I couldn’t lose sight of our surroundings with what I knew. Liam had called to tell me that Bernadetti was officiallyin town—that meant we had to make our presence known without getting caught in a trap.

Kylie reached out to touch the radio. I gently pushed her hand away. “No, we should ride back in silence.”

She snorted with disbelief. “This thing won’t allow it.”

“Don’t you call her athing,” I warned as I turned the key in the ignition. The engine fired up, sounding like a remarkable gem of the past. “She’s ashe. And she has feelings.”

“Well, sounds like you found your mate.”

I couldn’t for the life of me understand the ire in her voice. Sure, it should have been a playful jab, a joke. But it didn’t sound like that. She made it seem like I was really choosing the truck over her.

What was with her and the whole mate business? It wasn’t like we would ever actually get along. She was starting to get on my nerves about it.

My tone soured as I popped the truck into gear. “At least she doesn’t act like the sun is shining right out of her ass.”

Liam would have cracked the hell up if he were here. Perhaps he would have suffered Kylie’s irritation along with me. I felt her anger while I cautiously peeled away from the curb and drove up the main street. Sunlight winked off shop windows, car windows, signs. Nothing made me lose sight of our surroundings.

Nothing except for the way Kylie leaned over the center leather console and frowned with as much menace as she could muster. “You are such a grump. Do you know that?”

“I’m realistic.”

“You keep using that word.”

I nodded curtly, tapped the blinker to signal I was about to turn right, and stopped at the stop sign. After checking that the street was clear, I turned right, managing the gear shift as the truck picked up speed. Everything was muscle memory at this point. I didn’t need to pay much attention.

Until Kylie poked my arm. “Say you’re sorry.”

“For what?”

“For being rude!”

I chortled as I came upon another stop sign. Blinker. Right turn.

Kylie poked me again. “Liam would make you apologize.”

“Or he would join my team and gang up on you.”

“I’d have to punish him too if he did that.”

A nostalgic smile crossed my lips. Not many of those these days. Not much happiness inside me. Thinking of Liam definitely made me smile, though. It wasn’t so bad when I thought of the old days.

Well, until the old days turned into recent days. Those memories weren’t great.

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