He flicked me a sidelong look but didn’t respond for a good minute. When he did, his voice was rough. “Still working on it most days.”
“Sounds like I’m not the only stubborn one. Or the only one with hope.”
His eyes slid to me, surprise filling them. As if that had never occurred to him before. His expression turned pensive as his gaze found the road again.
I let the silence linger for a few more minutes before changing the topic. “If you turn right up here, my apartment will be on the left. I can grab a bag quickly. My office is just around the corner, so it won’t take me long to run over there to check in with my boss and get Eli’s things.”
He nodded, following my directions. “I need to run to the hardware store. I should be back in less than half an hour. Meet me back here?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
I darted into my apartment building, waving to Luke, who waited for me to get inside before driving away. There, I tossed some clothes and toiletries into a large suitcase. Without knowing how long we’d stay at Shifter Ranch, I wanted to be prepared. Then I headed to my office.
After filling in my boss and getting the okay for the plan, I started walking back to wait for Luke at my apartment building,juggling my suitcase and a large, worn backpack filled with Eli’s belongings. I passed a middle-aged man just as he put out his cigarette and called to me, his voice gruff like a longtime smoker. “Hey, do you want some help carrying those bags?”
The man’s dark hair streaked with gray was slicked back, and he wore slacks with a button-down shirt. Nothing about his appearance screamed danger, but the hair on my arms lifted. I gave him a polite smile as he fell into step beside me. “Thank you, but I’ve got it.”
“Independent woman, huh?” He chuckled, but it didn’t reach his dark eyes, which were fixed on me. “Like to take care of things on your own?”
“Something like that.” I turned the corner but didn’t see Luke’s truck.
The man kept pace with me. “I think I saw you earlier. With one of those shifters. Don’t they make you nervous?”
My stomach clenched as alarm bells rang in my head. Had he been watching me? Waiting for me to exit the office? My smile tightened. “Not at all.”
Luke’s truck pulled onto the street and parked in front of the apartment building. I watched him scan the street until his gaze landed on me. His eyes widened, and he rushed from the truck, slamming the door behind him.
The man walked backwards, hands in his pockets. “You should be careful about who you get close to.” He flicked his eyes toward Luke, and his smile twisted. “People aren’t always what they seem.”
He disappeared around the corner just as Luke reached me. Luke’s hands fisted, the knuckles whitening. He looked fierce when he turned to me. “What did he say?”
“Nothing important.” I rested my hand on his arm, feeling his strength but forcing myself to ignore the fluttering in my stomach. “Are you okay?”
His dark gaze remained trained over my shoulder, in the direction the man went. His words when he spoke came out clipped. “Fine. We need to get back to the ranch.”
I followed him to the truck. The drive here had held openness and vulnerability, but now a chasm separated us. Luke stayed lost in his thoughts, but about what, I couldn’t guess.
THREE
Luke
I slammed the door of my cabin behind me. I’d just left Katie next door, where she and Eli were staying. Her curiosity had been obvious, but she hadn’t pushed me for answers, something I appreciated.
When I saw my birth father standing next to Katie, the violence that surged through me was almost overwhelming. He didn’t look surprised to see me, suggesting he had been tracking me somehow. He might even be watching the ranch. The man was a master manipulator, and I wouldn’t put it past him to do something to Katie. Especially if he realized she was my mate.
He’d always told me mates were a weakness. He’d rejected his own and fled after scamming her out of her life savings. It was a story he’d told me more than once.
“Take advantage of that mate bond, boy. It makes a woman weak and a target.”
It wasn’t until I’d come to Shifter Ranch and seen my adoptive parents together that I’d learned what a mating bond should be. But I worried it was too late for me. I didn’t doubt I was a better person now than what my early life had conditioned me to be, but there was still a darkness in my past I’d never fullyescape. And Katie was sunshine and light. Nothing should cast a shadow over her.
I splashed cold water on my face and rested my hands on the counter, head hanging down. Repeating it over and over, drilling it into myself that the darkness would never touch Katie. I wouldn’t let it. It would be easier if I kept my distance from her, but with Eli on the ranch, it was impossible. My brothers would expect me to be the one to teach him, since we were both wolves, and I had no way to explain to them why it was a bad idea without bringing up my father.
I grabbed my hat, shoving it on my head. I tugged the brim down to shade my eyes as I walked over to their cabin. My mate was too perceptive, and I didn’t want to give her anything to read. I knocked on the door.
The door swung open, revealing a surly Eli. “What do you want?”
I raised a brow. “I was going to teach you how to shift on purpose, not just by accident, but if you aren’t interested, I can go away.”
