Authors: Jennifer Salaiz
“You’re something else. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Trevor walked over, kissed her cheek, and left. Nicole locked the door behind him. The tears were long gone with the anger that now took over. If she focused on anything but Ayden or her new pull for Trevor, she would be okay, she hoped.
Deciding to go back to bed, Nicole walked to her room and set the alarm for eight. Once this horrible night was over, she could start off tomorrow by keeping herself busy.
* * * *
A cloud of dust kicked up from behind Ayden’s truck as he headed down the dirt road to the ranch. The land had been in his family now for generations. Sandia, Texas was a small town. The one hundred and fifty acres gave him plenty of space to think. Plus, it wasn’t too far from Corpus Christi, so he could get back to town rather quickly if he needed to.
Just last year, Ayden contracted people to come in and build a house to replace the small one that was starting to fall apart. The pack met up here once a month during the full moon and bi-weekly for meetings. It was a safe way for him to watch over everyone. Now he escaped here to watch over himself.
Nicole would be better off without him. Trevor would take care of her. He knew more than anything his best friend could make her happy.
Why then did his gut twist every time he thought of them as a couple? The sex wasn’t that much of a big deal, but them together as a pair meant something completely different. They’d be paired, equivalent to marriage, in his opinion.
Trevor was irresistible to the ladies. The fact they weren’t already
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being intimate surprised him. He’d feel it if they were, but he didn’t feel anything but extreme happiness, which made him even more sick.
Was something wrong? Did something happen?
Ayden parked his truck in front of the ranch-style house and got out. He pulled out his phone, dialing while he walked to unlock the door. At the sight of a black kitten sitting on his front door step, aching rushed through his chest. Flashes of Nicole nuzzling her face into his stomach while her black hair fanned across his legs crushed his heart. He wanted to see her, smell her. Just knowing he couldn’t look out of the window and see her car suddenly made him feel their distance. This obsession with her had gone too far. He needed to break it right now. He hung up the phone after the second ring.
Picking up the kitten, he walked in and cradled it tenderly.
Throwing the keys on the bar, Ayden tried processing his thoughts.
He cursed when Trevor immediately called him back.
“Hello,” Ayden said, irritated. He placed the kitten down while he paced the floor.
“Nicole is something else, let me tell you. Quite a temper inside there, feisty. I love it. You sure you want to hand her over? You know how I like a challenge, and she’s definitely going to be a challenge.”
Ayden growled. “Trevor, this isn’t a game. Nicole won’t be treated like one. If you’re not going to take her seriously, then I don’t want you around her. She deserves better than that.”
“Yes, well I agree. You see, the thing is, something happened.
Ayden, something passed between her and I that changes everything I’ve been taught about what we are. We’re meant to be mated. She and I both felt the pull.”
The knots returned in Ayden’s stomach. The twisting held him immobile.
“But how? It’s impossible. What did she say?”
“About everything in general? Well, she doesn’t understand the process. I’m going to explain it to her in the morning over coffee. She did want me to give you a message though. She says she doesn’t need
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a fucking keeper, and that if you want that, you can do it yourself.
And she needs to find herself, and she can’t do that with a bodyguard, so basically she doesn’t want me.”
Ayden ran his fingers through his hair.
“Well you
have
to watch over her. I can’t do it. Look what I’ve done already. She’s not safe if you’re not there, and I don’t trust anyone else to protect her.”
Trevor sighed into the phone.
“You know I can’t leave her now that we’ve felt the pull. Just the thought is inconceivable. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be with her, but like I already said, you ruined my chances. I’m not sure what to do myself. The only thing I can think of is if you let her go. Isn’t there a way for you to remove your mark from her so I can place my own?”
“No! I will not!” Ayden growled. “She’s mine. I marked her. I can’t just let her go. I…”
He collapsed to the couch. What in the hell was he going to do?
He couldn’t let her go. He wouldn’t.
“Listen, Ayden. I think you should come back. She wants you, not anyone else. The way she talks, this ‘finding herself,’ do you really want her out there fucking lord knows who? Just come back. We’ll all three try to work through this.”
“No, you’re going to watch over her. That is an order. Whether she falls in love with you or not is up to you. If you want her, then win her. She’s worth it.”
Ayden hung up the phone and threw it against the wall so hard it shattered into pieces, spraying the floor with broken plastic. He wouldn’t go back. He couldn’t. Nicole deserved better than him.
Trevor would make sure she found it.
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Nicole swung wildly at the sound of the alarm clock. Something nagged at the back of her mind that she needed to get up, but she didn’t want to. What could be so important? Something…
“You know, you should really learn to lock your window. Anyone could get in.”
She bolted up to a sitting position and pushed the hair out of her face. Trevor sat at the bottom of her bed looking gorgeous in a tight, fitted blue T-shirt.
“Ugh, don’t any of you werewolves know how to use a door?
There are certain creep factors some people can’t get over. Waking up to a stranger who broke into my apartment is one that I might not ever recover from. I’ll never sleep soundly again, thank you,” she said, falling back to her pillow.
“Aren’t you a ray of sunshine this morning,” he said, squeezing her ankle through the covers. “Come on, we’ll go get breakfast before we head to the hospital. Of course,” he moved his hand farther up her leg, “we could just snuggle in bed for a few hours instead.”
“Oh, God, all right, I’m getting up,” Nicole said, throwing the blankets off of her. Thank God she had put pajamas on last night.
“Am I that repulsive?”
She stopped and looked at him, feeling bad for the way she acted.
“No, of course not, quite the opposite, really. It’s just that I won’t give Ayden the satisfaction. Sorry, I thought I already explained this last night.”
“So I get punished for his faults. Great.” Trevor rose and walked out of the bedroom. Nicole stood staring at the empty doorway. He
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couldn’t seriously want to be with her after his best friend was, could he? She figured he was ordered. Were they really meant to be together as much as she and Ayden were?
Walking to the closet, she pushed away the thoughts. It was too soon to think about anything like that. She would keep her plans and get out of the house when she got the chance. Until then, anything linking her to Ayden would have to be put on hold.
Nicole grabbed a pair of jeans and a red turtleneck. The days were getting cooler, and hospitals were always cold. Without shutting her door and offending Trevor even more, Nicole went to the restroom to get dressed.
Brushing her teeth, she took her time getting ready. A knock sounded at the door after a few minutes.
“Just a moment.” She pulled her long black hair in a ponytail and took a deep breath.
Tara pushed herself inside and stood gaping. Silence hung in the air while her friend gestured wildly at the door and then to Nicole.
“What?” she whispered, not having a clue what Tara was referring to.
“
Who
in the blue blazes is that hot-ass guy in your living room, and
why
haven’t I met him before? If he’s already staying the night, I should know who he is!” she whispered loudly.
Nicole rolled her eyes.
“Trevor did not spend the night. He merely came over to accompany me to the hospital to see Michael. He’s a firefighter and was on scene at the accident. He happens to live in the building across from mine.”
“Oh, my God, can you tell me why you’re obviously not interested? You’ve told me about Ayden, yes, he’s gorgeous, but so is he,” Tara said, pointing to the door again.
“Tara, don’t…mention Ayden’s name, please.” Nicole turned back to the mirror to fix her hair, trying not to let Tara see how his name affected her.
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“What happened with Ayden? I thought after what you told me last night, I’d find
him
here instead of Mr. Gorgeous.”
Desperately, she forced the tears to stay put. There’s nothing like rejection to make a girl bawl her eyes out first thing in the morning.
“He left town, something about not being right for me or something.” Nicole waved her hand as if it didn’t matter.
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.” Tara grabbed Nicole and pulled her into an embrace. At the comfort of the one person she used to tell everything to, the damn tears came pouring out.
“What is wrong with me, Tara? Everyone always leaves. What am I doing wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong with you, sweetie. It’s the men. You need to find you a nice man who’s ready to settle down, if that’s what you want. If not, then try not to get attached. I know that’s hard. You’ve done nothing but go from one relationship to another. Have fun for a little while.”
Nicole pulled back, sniffling.
“You’re right. I need to have fun.” Even though she knew it, she also knew it probably would already be too late. The way they mentioned the pull gave her the impression it stayed for life. Just the thought of being bound to one man who didn’t want to be with her and another that gave her passion away through a blood tie made her want to cry even worse. There wasn’t any winning in her situation.
Another knock came, and Nicole looked up from the toilet paper she used to wipe the tears from her swollen eyes. Tara opened the door to Trevor who stood there looking downright helpless.
“Listen, I’m not deaf. I can hear what’s going on in here. Are you okay, Nicole? Is there anything I can get you?”
Nicole laughed, which sounded more like a sob.
“Yeah, can we go get some coffee now? I think I’m done with the waterworks.”
“I’ll see you after work. Call me if you need anything,” Tara said, hugging Nicole goodbye.
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“I’ll see you.” Nicole turned on the water to wash her face. The last thing she wanted was for Trevor to see her crying. Now that the tears were gone, she quickly gained composure.
“Trevor, please don’t say anything. I don’t think I could bear it if you did.”
He looked down angrily. “I won’t say anything, but he knows what I’m feeling even if he can’t see what’s going on. He’s going to know something is wrong. I turned off my phone in case he tries to call.”
“I doubt he’ll worry about it.”
Trevor remained quiet until they got into her car and headed to a local Denny’s. Nicole was surprised she didn’t feel awkward around him. He didn’t feel like a stranger at all. Whether the ease came from her connection to Ayden or him, she wasn’t sure. Whatever it might be, it comforted her.
They sat at a booth in the back of the restaurant. Nicole sipped her coffee quietly while he stared at her. With the raise of her eyebrow, he started laughing.
“What? I can’t be that interesting to look at. What’s on your mind, Trevor?”
He just shook his head back and forth until Nicole raised her eyebrow again.
“All right, all right. I was just thinking how odd it is that I hadn’t seen you before last night. We’ve lived close now for, what, months?
How long have you been at the complex?”
“Two years,” she said, smiling at him.
“Wow, really. Well, Ay—I,” he corrected himself. Nicole knew he was going to say “Ayden and I,” but she let it pass. He continued,
“I’ve lived there for about eight months and not once have I seen you.
I would have remembered. Of course, I do stay at the firehouse quite a bit.”
Nicole rested her chin against her fisted palm and stared at Trevor while he launched into fire stories. His chivalrous rescues were
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fascinating. Before she knew it, her plate sat empty, and she hadn’t said one word. She was consumed with his mouth as she stared at his moving lips.
“And sure enough, Jeffrey lost the bet. But I knew he would,”
Trevor echoed in Nicole’s ears. She shook her head trying to recall what bet he was talking about.
“I’m sorry, what?” Nicole felt herself blush.
Trevor smiled at her. “Nothing…I would ask what was so fascinating about my lips, but I’d rather show you what they’re capable of instead.”
The heat filled her cheeks even more. She quickly grabbed her purse.
“No, thank you. I don’t think that would be a very good idea. We should really get going.”
Trevor laughed and stood, grabbing the ticket. “I’ll show you someday, Nicole. If I don’t make it past the kissing stage, then I don’t deserve to. But until then…”
“Until then, what?” She followed him to the counter. Watching him pay, she studied his face, trying to come up with what kind of answer he’d give her. Finally, he turned toward her.
“Until I fail, that means I’m still in the game. You’re a challenge that I intend to win over. Before everything’s said and done, I’m going to make you fall in love with me.”
Nicole’s eyes felt like they were as wide as saucers. “But…
Ayden,” she whispered.
Here was a man who was giving himself to her on a silver platter, and here she was thinking about a man who up and ran off on her.
“Ayden will be whatever you want Ayden to be. If you want him in our lives, then he will be. If not, that’s completely up to you. He’s the one who marked you. But you’re meant to be my mate, too. It might take you a while to accept the fact, but I’m not going anywhere.