Into Their Woods (The Eerie, #1)(21)
It’s clear my warning misses its mark when Bucky just sighs longingly.
“I know. It’d be worth it though,” he dreamily admits, and I bark out a laugh. “Come on, Ellery, help a guy out,” he pleads.
“For your own safety, I can’t,” I deadpan. I try to fight the smile twitching at my lips, but I lose the battle all too quickly when he gives me a petulant glare. “Besides, there’s nothing to give you because I don’t know anything. The Hunt isn’t exactly the place to cuddle and chat. It’s all primal instincts and taking. She’s not awake yet, but when she is, I promise you’ll be the last person I call.”
Bucky huffs and gives me his disappointed dad look. Given the fact that he looks like he’s a teenager, the guy just can’t pull it off. I chuckle as he starts to stomp out of the room. Like the petty ass he is, he knocks over my pen holder as he goes, which just makes me laugh even harder.
“Stay away from Karen,” I call to his back. “Oh, and make copies of Louisa’s confession and email them to the covens, clans, and various alphas. Please and thank you.”
Bucky gives me a half-assed salute and, with a pout, shuts the door behind him.
I lean back in my chair and run my hands through my hair, simultaneously tired and wired all at the same time.
My thoughts automatically drift to her. To my mate.
Mate.
The word circles like buzzards in my brain, pecking at me in a way that feels foreign but good.
Funny how if someone had asked me yesterday my thoughts about mating, I’d have said, with a casual shrug, it’ll happen if it’s meant to be, while not really believing it.
Today, my attitude couldn’t be more different. There’s a taut sort of tension in my belly, a fierce need, along with a jumble of other emotions that are about as easy to read as a tarot card for a blind man.
“Damn,” I whisper aloud. And that word sums it all up. Damn—this is crazy. Damn—I can’t believe it. But damn—it feels amazing.
I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t know anything about the stunning woman who’s recovering back home. I don’t know her name, who she is, or where she comes from.
I haven’t gone to the lockers where the runners drop off their things before a Hunt. I could pick out her belongings by smell, but I don’t know if she’d like that. Maybe I should though. She might want to have her stuff or at least her phone charged and waiting for her when she wakes up so she can call her family.
Unbidden, her delicious scent floods my senses like she’s here.
Silky sandalwood, night blooming jasmine, and a splash of spiced musk. It played through my head like a melody the first time I pulled it into my lungs during the Hunt. I couldn’t get enough. She smelled like strength, determination, and...home. It was like drinking the elixir of life. My whole world shifted its axis in a moment, and I knew. We all did.
There were over a dozen beautiful, eager potential mates in red cloaks just waiting to be plucked like wildflowers in the forest. Yet there’d been no question about which one was ours.
My eyes had locked on the gorgeous brunette, whose delectable body and soft curves were obvious through the scarlet material draped around her. And that was it. Right then and there, she became the center of our den’s orbit.
Now we just need to be patient and wait the week or two it takes before she wakes up.
What the hell am I doing here?
My mate is home, fighting to transition, and I’m here doing paperwork?
Fuck the witches. They got their confession. They can wait for the rest.
I clear my throat and reach for my intercom. Fife and the other deputies can manage everything from here. I press the call button on my desk phone when a knock at my door interrupts me.
“Yes?” I ask, letting go of the button, already knowing exactly who’s there. Only one person knocks around here.
Perfect timing.
“Sir, um, I’m sorry.” Fife pushes the door open hesitantly, his expression almost confused, like he’s unsure exactly what to say. He moves to tuck hair behind his ears, a nervous gesture I’m guessing he’s had all of his life, since he’s bald and there’s no longer anything to tuck.
Why is he nervous?
“Don’t be sorry. I was about to call you and ask for help. I need to leave ASAP,” I tell him as I stand up.
“Oh. No. Um, please don’t leave right now, sir,” he stumbles over his words as he knots his fingers together. “Something strange is going on.”
I pause and cock my head as I walk around the desk to stand by him. Fife’s a good-hearted guy but he’s definitely not the yellow crayon in the box. He’s a…much duller color.
“Okay. Did the vampires do something else?”
“If only,” Fife awkwardly chuckles before clearing his throat. “I…um…have a Noah Lupescu here, and she’d like to report a kidnapping and assault. I…well…I thought it might be best if she…uh…spoke to you,” he tells me, his volume dropping with each syllable until he’s practically whispering.
What the fuck was in the air last night? Another crime?
Fife’s eyes dart nervously over his shoulder, and all my thoughts of leaving immediately evaporate. “I think you need to talk to her.”
Shit.
I nod and a professional mask slides into place as I follow Fife’s anxious eyes in search of the new eerie who’s been wronged on Pack Arcan territory. Because if there is one thing I pride myself on, it’s the ability to protect the supernaturals who call this place home. As sheriff and pack celestial, I have a dual responsibility to law and order. Howling Rapids is our haven inside the harsh human world. I don’t take anyone messing with our hard-earned sanctuary lightly.