Chapter Eleven

All through dinner, all Evan could think about was how he wasn’t able to spend the night with her. The park had rules that every shifter needed to follow, and one of the main ones—aside from keeping their secret from humans—was that no unmated male or female was allowed to stay away from the park overnight with a human. There was too much at risk, too great of a chance for something to go wrong and the secret of shifters to be made public.

When their dinner was over far too quickly, he tried to keep an upbeat attitude about things, but he simply couldn’t. He didn’t want to say goodbye, but he didn’t really have a choice. He wasn’t about to take her for a tumble in the sheets and not get to stay with her.

He glanced in the rearview and saw a park SUV behind him, following at a discreet distance. No one in the park went anywhere alone, and knowing that Alphonse’s people were watching the park—and him—meant that he needed to be doubly watchful to ensure no one followed him to his soulmate’s place. The SUV contained Benjamin, a wolf shifter, and Javan, one of the lions who was part of the security team. He knew they had his back. If there was a problem—if they thought they were being followed—they would have let him know. No news was good news.

When he reached her apartment building, he parked in one of the visitor spots and turned off the engine. He got out and tried not to look like he was depressed at her leaving him, but he totally was. He opened her door and then walked with her to her apartment.

She unlocked the door, then turned to face him. “Evan, I don’t want to say goodbye, but I also don’t want you to think that I’m being really casual about things between us. We just met today. I’m honestly not the sort of girl who would ask a guy to stay with me when I haven’t even known him for twenty-four hours.”

He cupped her face, and she let out a breathy sigh.

The truth was that he didn’t want her to think he took their budding relationship lightly either. His wolf wanted to mate and mark her immediately, but he wouldn’t do that without her knowing the truth, and that was not happening tonight.

“I really want to say yes to staying with you, but you’re right. We don’t know each other well, and there’s no rush, right? We had a great night, the best first date I’ve ever had.”

“Me too.”

“I have to work on the tours tomorrow afternoon, but I’d love to see you again. Are you free tomorrow night?”

She smiled. “Absolutely.”

“We can chat tomorrow and make plans.” He leaned in for a kiss, and she gave it willingly, sliding her arms around his neck and drawing him close. She leaned back against the door, her lower body connecting with his. He wanted to do a hundred things to her, give her pleasure in a dozen ways until they were both sated, but what he did instead was ease from the drugging kiss and say goodnight.

“Text me when you get home, okay?” she asked, chewing her bottom lip. “So I know you’re safe.”

He was touched by her thoughtfulness.

“I will. See you tomorrow.”

With one last lingering kiss, he walked away, which was among the hardest things he’d ever done in his life.

He had no idea that not being with his soulmate would be so difficult for his wolf, but the mournful howl in his head showed just how much his wolf wanted to be with her. Wolf shifters, more than other types of shifters, preferred to be near their soulmates. Most often, a mated couple would work together because the males found it difficult to concentrate when they weren’t with their mate.

Soon he hoped to be able to share the truth of his shift with Lark so they could be together. But the question was, how the hell was he supposed to do that? He couldn’t just tell her—it was too risky. If he showed her his shift, she’d be trapped at the park until the alphas were certain she wouldn’t tell anyone, and he wouldn’t want her to go through that.

Humans might have some curiosity about supernatural things, but by and large they didn’t believe in anyone being anything but human.

It was tough to get into the car. Harder still to back out of the parking spot and drive off.

That first mile away from her was terrible, but the miles that followed?

Hell on earth.

He’d never felt such a connection to anyone like he did to Lark, and the distance between them was nearly unbearable.

We’ll see her tomorrow.

A grumbling growl followed by a piercing howl that made his bones vibrate was the irritated response from his beast.

 

* * *

 

“I have a question,” Evan said as he sat across from his parents for Sunday morning breakfast.

“Ask away, honey,” his mom said.

“How the heck am I supposed to get Lark to know what I am? I mean, seriously! My wolf drove me batty all night. I feel like crap today because I didn’t sleep well. And I’ll have to do it all over again tonight when we go out on a date, and then I have to leave her again.”

He was frustrated to the core and having a hard time controlling his wolf.

His parents exchanged looks, then his dad said, “I know you feel that soulmate connection to her, but we have rules in place for a reason. You could take one of the apartments at the back of the property and invite her to spend the night. It’s not the same as mating and marking her properly, but it might help your wolf to feel more connected to her if you were able to be with her all night.”

“You’d have to clear it with Joss, of course,” his mom said. “But all the apartments are empty now, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“The question is, do you want to do this tonight? Knowing that you’ll have to meet up with Joss to confront Alphonse when he tries to get into the park with your help?” his dad asked.

“I don’t know.” Evan put his head in his hand and let out a deep sigh. His wolf wanted Lark with him no matter what, but if he brought her to the park, he was running the risk of Alphonse’s males seeing her and realizing she was someone special to him.

“Then tonight is not the night,” his dad said. “You can still move into one of the apartments, but don’t make plans to bring her back here tonight. Plan for Monday night if she’s interested.”

“I agree with your dad.”

“Fine.” Evan dropped his head to the table with a groan. “It would be so much easier if humans knew about us.”

“I doubt it,” his dad said. “Humans don’t like things that are different. They fear change, and what could be more of a change than shifters?”

Evan grumbled.

His mom got up from the table and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “You’ll have a great date tonight and get to know Lark even better. I don’t know how to get her to understand the truth of what you are, but I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

“Thanks, Ma,” he said, his voice muffled by the table. He lifted his head. “Any word about Tris?”

“I haven’t heard anything,” his dad said, shaking his head. “You can knock on Joss’s door and find out.”

“I think I will. Thanks.”

“You’ll figure things out, son, don’t worry. I have faith in you.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

He carried his dish to the sink and rinsed it off before putting it in the dishwasher, gave his mom a kiss on the cheek, and hustled from their home. The wolves’ private area looked like the woods. Rock-covered homes resembled dens on the exterior, the interiors either two or three-bedroom ranches. Every wolf lived in the private area except his brother Auden, because Jess’s owl didn’t like being underground. They lived in a treehouse that was attached to the barn and aviary.

He knocked on Joss and Jeanie’s front door, and a few moments later, Joss opened it. “I was going to call you. Come on in.”

“Thanks. Is everything okay?” He followed his alpha inside and shut the door.

“Hi Evan,” Jeanie said. She had a travel mug and was wearing a red park golf shirt. “I’m on my way to the market. See you later.” She gave Joss a kiss and patted Evan on the shoulder as she walked by.

“Have a good day,” Evan said to Jeanie.

When he was alone with the alpha, he sat on the couch after Joss motioned to it. Joss took a seat in an easy chair and cleared his throat.

“They haven’t been able to free Tris yet.”

Evan’s heart fell. “I’d really hoped for better news. What’s going on?”

“Trust me, we’re all hoping for a quick resolution to this. They can’t get to her. Alphonse hasn’t let her out of his sight since you left. But they’re not going to give up, and they will get her free, I’m sure of it. Is that why you came to see me?”

“Yeah. But also”—he let out a sigh and sank back into the comfortable couch—“I’m really frustrated with how to deal with Lark. I don’t know how to share the truth with her. My wolf is clamoring to be with her, but I know I can’t just tell her.”

Joss nodded in understanding. “It’s hard to be with a human and not be able to tell them the truth right away, but we do what we must to keep our people’s secret. I believe that the more time you spend with her, the more she’ll come to realize that you’re not like other males she’s known and she’ll start to ask questions.”

“My parents suggested I move into an apartment.”

“They’re all free, you absolutely can.”

“But they also said that I probably shouldn’t bring her here while Alphonse’s males are watching us.”

Joss grunted. “That’s a good point. I’d like to beat those males within an inch of their lives and send them back to Alphonse with their tails between their legs.”

“Why can’t we?”

“Because we need them to understand that we’re not to be messed with. If we go on the offense like that, he would most likely retaliate against us by sending more of his people. Then we’d end up with a real battle.” Joss shook his head. “You can go out with her tonight, but I agree with your dad. It’s probably best that she’s not here. Benjamin and Javan were certain you weren’t followed on your date last night, and we’ll have you covered tonight, but don’t bring her back here.”

“For how long?”

“Until Alphonse’s males are gone. We’re going to meet them tonight when they try to breach our walls. Our show of force will hopefully be enough for them to realize that we are not alone here in the park and that we have enough people on our side to stand against them. We’ll follow them out of town and make sure they head back to their home.”

“But you’ll still get Tris?”

“Absolutely. One way or another, our people will get her free and bring her here. The question is, does she know that you don’t want to mate her anymore?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t get a chance to tell her.”

“Well, you’ll have to cross that bridge when you come to it, and it will probably suck, but at least she’ll be safe.”

“Okay,” Evan said, rising to his feet. “I’ll take Lark out tonight and I won’t bring her back here.”

“When you hear from Alphonse’s people on their plans for tonight, keep me apprised.”

“I will. Thanks.”

His alpha followed him to the door and clapped him on the shoulder. “We’re safe in the park, and no pissant wannabe alpha is going to take our home from us. You found your soulmate, and we’ll get Tris to safety. Put everything aside today, go about your business in the park, and enjoy your time with your soulmate.”

Evan nodded, then headed back to his place to clean up and get ready for work. It was going to be a long day, but at least he’d get to see Lark. Even if the meetup with Alphonse’s males loomed at the back of his mind, at least there was a bright spot in his day to look forward to. And once the males were gone, he could bring his soulmate to the park to stay with him.

And somehow he’d figure out how to get her to realize the truth of shifters, and then they could be together.