I’d built a wall around my heart, a wall so big that it had kept me safe from hurt, otherwise I’d have crumbled so long ago. I’d thought love made one weak. In fact, loving Rob had made me strong. I hadn’t had to rely on myself. I’d trusted.
I’d destroyed that, though, all by myself.
I turned off my car and stared at the Shefield house. I was becoming charmed by the old quirks of the place. The slanted porch floor, the old windows that took muscle to open. Every door in the house squeaked. It was… charming. Unique, as if it was a living thing. A home.
Up until I’d driven into Cooper Valley, my job as a DEA agent had been my life. Rob made me realize there was more to me than just my badge. In fact, he hadn’t even known I was law enforcement. He’d shown me all the dark and empty corners that had been waiting to be filled.
God, the picnic today had been incredible. And scary. Everyone there belonged. Not everyone was related by blood but a bond of being shifters. There was no question they were a family in their own special way. They took care of each other. Protected. Lifted up. Helped.
They’d welcomed Audrey and Marina, and they were human. They were quickly incorporating me into their group as Mr. Shefield’s relative. He’d belonged, so I belonged, too.
That welcoming spirit was uncomfortable to me. I wasn’t used to the idea of immediate acceptance. Even within the DEA, one had to earn respect and friendship. My job depended on the outcome of the Markle case. If I failed, I’d be moved to some crap work detail. There was no allegiance, no bond. My role would be filled by someone else. Immediately replaced and forgotten.
Vaughn was getting antsy with my lack of momentum on the case. I’d figured out the outgoing drugs, but the incoming… nothing had happened for a week. Had I been wrong or were they taking their time?
I climbed from the car and went up the steps to the front door.
The same would be said for the Wolf pack. My role as Rob’s female was to be replaced by someone else.
How timely.
The Canadian female wolf with long dark hair, olive complexion, high cheekbones, lush curves. Young. Probably a virgin who Rob could mold to his every desire. Who was probably ridiculously fertile and would give him a shifter baby on the first go.
I’d scratched an itch. Lots of itches, but nothing more. I wasn’t perfect. I had a past that was tainted and made me… defective. Rob was better off without me. As alpha, he had to be proud of his mate, and surely, he hated my guts.
My phone buzzed, and I saw a text from Vaughn. Natalie Shefield called to say Boyd Wolf called her about a BBQ.
Yeah, no shit. Could’ve used that info a few hours ago, thanks.
I picked up my gun from the kitchen counter, checked the magazine even though I knew it was loaded. It was time to finish my job, get Markle behind bars and get the fuck out of Montana. The place only brought me heartache after heartache.
ROB
What the fuck was I going to do? In the past eighteen years as alpha, I’d never come across such a fucking mess. I was used to working out problems for other people. Handling disputes. Leading mating ceremonies. Funerals. But this?
It was all about me.
I stood stiff and still as the she-wolf was brought to me for introductions. My pack wanted to match me to this alpha’s daughter. I’d balked at the idea because Natalie was to be mine.
But what in the fuck did it matter?
Natalie wasn’t Natalie. The whole thing had been a lie.
I didn’t have a mate.
And my pack needed me to take one.
Maybe they were right. Maybe I had no fucking sense of what a mate was. That had been proven, loud and clear, when Boyd had helped suss out the truth. How long would she have faked it with me?
Unlike Willow, this pack princess was a shifter. She would ease the minds of assholes like Nathan as well as elders who’d stood beside me all these years. Tom and Janet wouldn’t bring someone untrustworthy. They wouldn’t bring a liar, like Willow. I trusted their judgement just as they’d trusted mine all this time.
The sooner I forgot about the fake Natalie Shefield the better. My wolf was angry, but not with me this time. He’d been betrayed, too. He’d mark the pack princess because she was our last chance. There were no other options. That was all we’d ever get out of life.
Happiness wasn’t in the books for me, but if I mated her, at least I wouldn’t die of moon madness. Hopefully.
“Well,” I said. I couldn’t think of anything else to say. It seemed I’d turned to stone. Completely dead.