Coffee, vanilla, cinnamon and beneath it the faint but unmistakable scent of Brice.
Sweet. Woman. Mine.
“No,” she snapped.
Mate, her animal whispered.
“I said no.”
Her animal was stubborn as hell and wasn’t listening to her. It didn't care what she said. It paced inside of her. It was frantic; wild and straining to getout so she could go back to the bookstore.Back to her.
Brice Andrews.
Keena closed her eyes, but that only made everything worse.
She saw Brice standing at the counter, saw her loose strands of hair escaping her bun, the warmth in her brown eyes and her smile. The way she looked at Keena as if she weren’t broken.
She was absolutely beautiful.
And Keena had stared at her like a damn fool. A curse hissed from her. Had she truly scared her? The thought caused a panic to invade her chest. She opened her eyes and replayed the conversation in jagged pieces.
Do all enforcers look intimidating or did Rue send me the scariest one on purpose?
“Fuck…” Keena groaned. She pulled her hands from the wheel, ran one over her face and blew out a deep breath. That was all she needed. The new bookstore owner complaining to Rue that the pack enforcer who had come into her shop was rude and scared the shit out of her. Rue would never let her hear the end of it.
Worse, Brice probably thought Keena was an asshole or something.
Keena pressed the heel of her hand against her sternum to try to ease the pressure that was building behind it.
She hadn’t meant to be rude or scary. She hadn’t meant to pull away so suddenly when they had shaken hands.
What was the Moon Goddess doing? Keena had claimed a mate already. This couldn’t be happening. Being blessed with a second fated mate was almost never heard of.
Keena started the SUV with a rough twist of the key. The engine rumbled to life and she backed out of the parking spot too fast as the tires crunched over packed snow. She slammed the vehicle into gear and drove.
She should have continued her patrol and finished her shift. She was supposed to check on the south edge of the town, stop by the market stalls, and ensure all was well in town, then go home to her cabin where it was quiet and safe.
Instead, she drove away from the square.
Away from Hearth and Story.
Away from Brice.
Her animal snarled. Keena ignored it. Evergreen Hollow slipped past the windows in a blur of white. The last time she had walked through the town andlet herself enjoy Christmas, Lizzie had been beside her. Keena’s throat tightened. Lizzie would have adored Hearth and Story.
The thought hit with such a force that Keena nearly missed the turn toward the old cemetery road. She jerked the wheel and the SUV fishtailed slightly before catching traction again.
“Shit!”
Her pulse hammered in her ears as she slowed down.
The cemetery sat on the north side of Evergreen Hollow. It was located near the last stretch of old houses where the town thinned into forest. The farther she drove, the quieter the world became. Her wolf quieted too. She knew where they were headed. She paced still, but slowed down. She retreated enough to allow grief to take up space.
Keena hated that most of all.
The cemetery came into view through the trees. It was enclosed by an old black iron fence with stone pillars on either side of the entrance. Someone had hung wreaths decorated with pinecones and berries on the gate. Beyond it, headstones rose from the white ground in uneven rows. Keena parked near the gate and cut the engine. For a moment she didn’t move. Her breath sounded too loud in thesilence of the vehicle. Her hands rested on the steering wheel and her fingers were stiff. She stared through the windshield at the cemetery she had visited so often that she could walk to Lizzie’s grave blindfolded.
The first year, she came every day. Sometimes twice a day. She would sit beside the headstone until her body went numb from the cold or Rue would come and get her. The second year, she came every week. The third, every couple of weeks.
