Completely oblivious to those around them, Leah and the mystery man stepped closer to each other, drawn to one another like magnets. Never breaking eye contact, Leah stood inches away from the man, looking up at him as she was a full foot shorter than him. As if they were mirror images of each other, they both lifted their hands at the same time, reaching for the other for the first time. The physical contact made them gasp again before the man finally broke his gaze and wrapped Leah in an embrace, taking in her scent and rubbing his own against her neck. Still lost in their own world, Leah did the same before the man backed away so that he could once again watch her face.
The first man, Mark, called out to his brother, breaking the magic of the moment and calling them back out of their world, “Brother! What was that? Do you know this girl? She’s the loner that’s trespassing.”
Still looking her in the eye, Leah could feel his shock rather than see it pass across his face, but neither made a move to separate themselves. Finally, he replied, “No, Mark, I don’t know her. Not yet.” After a glance at his brother, he turned his attention back to Leah and said, “But I will. She’s welcome to stay on our land as long as she likes. I’ll talk to Father in the morning. I’ll deal with the rest of this, you can all go.” Dismissing his brother and the other wolves that had been with him, the mystery man finally noticed Alex.
Showing emotion on his face for the first time, the man looked confused, knowing he had never seen the boy before. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
Once the others left, Leah was the one to answer as the man guided her to sit back down at the table. “This is my little brother, Alexander. He goes by Alex. When the other wolves came to get me, I didn’t want to leave him at the house by himself.”
Putting his hand out to Alex, the man finally introduced himself, “Nice to meet you, Alex. I’m Matthew.” Glancing between the siblings, he continued, “I’m sorry for what my brother put you through. He was trying to impress our father, wanting to prove himself. He’s always serious but usually more logical and he typically thinks things through more than this scheme of his.”
Both Leah and Alex were quiet for a moment before nodding to Matthew, acknowledging his apology on behalf of his brother. Hearing a ding Leah saw her brother with his phone out. Seeing her look, Alex said, “Mom finally arrived. She’s freaking out. You left your phone at the house and I wasn’t answering when his brother,” Alex nodded his head toward Matthew, “was attempting to interrogate us. She found the note but isn’t sure if it was real or not.” Giving Leah a look, he finished with, “You know how Mom gets.”
Cursing, Leah grabbed the phone out of her brother’s hand and called their mom. “Hey, Mom. We’re fine. We’ll be home in about an hour. This is just like Clarkston so there’s nothing to worry about.” Leah was referring to another time she had disappeared when an Alpha demanded her presence rather than waiting. He was shocked when his wolves had captured a ten-year-old child rather than an adult. He was so horrified by what had happened that he swore to protect her until his death and rushed her home as soon as possible.
Hearing her mom’s reply, Leah snapped out of the past and refocused on the phone in her hand, “Are you sure? I don’t want this to be another Rock River.” That was the time an Alpha decided that he’d pretend to protect her but in actuality, he was trying to kill off all loners. Leah didn’t want that either but knew that the connection between her and Matthew would never allow that to happen.
Her mother’s response was frantic. “Mom. Rock River will never happen again. This is like the Clarkston incident. I swear on the woods.” Knowing that there was nothing more important or sacred to her daughter than the woods her twin disappeared in, she finally calmed enough to tell her children to hurry up.
Looking at the weariness in both Leah and Alex, Matthew once again apologized, “I’m sorry again for my brother. He shouldn’t have sent those guys for you. Our father is the Alpha and he’s training us to follow in his footsteps but hasn’t chosen which of us will be his heir yet. My brother sees it as a competition but I don’t agree.”
Gesturing for the siblings to follow him, Matthew continued, “I’ll drive you both home but you may have to come back tomorrow to speak to my father. I can pick you up if you want.”
Leah was hoping to spend more time with the wolf who intrigued her. “I was planning on making my way here tomorrow morning. I figured showing up late at night wasn’t the best way to ask permission from the Alpha to stay on his territory.”
Once more staring into each other’s eyes, Matthew said, “My father is more accepting than my brother. He’s strict but fair. Besides, I won’t let him send you away. I’ll talk to him later tonight when he gets back, after the party.” Matthew raised his hand to caress her face and Leah felt their connection strengthen some more.
Seeing that his sister was lost in the moment with Matthew, Alex grabbed her arm saying, “Come on! We can’t make Mom wait any longer!”
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