Mr. Valentine's Heart

A Lead

A strangled noise sounds throughout the room, and it takes me a minute to realize that it’s me. Not attracted to her?! Is she fu.cking crazy?! I’ve been attracted to her since she appeared before me that day we first met. There’s never been a day that I haven’t wanted her body next to mine. Hell, I wanted her even after finding that note from her.

I shift on the couch, trying to figure out the best words to use to get my point across. This would probably be easier if she knew about the bond and who she was to me. Since that isn’t the case, I have to fix this a different way. “Why do you feel that way?” Cherish sighs and pulls her hands from mine. She stands and starts to pace.

“I may not remember much about my life, but the last few years are burned into my memory. I was supposed to be married to a man who made my skin crawl. No matter how I felt, he always wanted me. I had to come up with different ways to get him to leave me alone. Those few times I woke up next to him, I felt disgusted with myself. I wouldn’t even remember us being together or how we ended up going to bed together.” I’m fighting Eros as she speaks. The idea that she was with another man is causing my blood to boil. I hate that another man touched my mate. I hate it even more that it looks like he forced her into it. Maybe he drugged her or something. I have no idea, but that’s what it seems like. “That man wanted me no matter how I felt about him.” Cherish stops pacing and moves toward me. “You and I have, whatever we have together, yet you don’t want anything more with me than what we’ve done.”

I waste no time getting to my feet. I pull her close to me, staring into her eyes. “I want you to know that you are so very wrong.” I place her hand on my crotch and watch her eyes get big. “This is what you do to me every time I’m around you.”

“We haven’t even done anything,” I grind against her hand to drive my point home.

“Every. Time. I’m. Around. You.” I lean down and place my lips gently on her forehead. “I want you more than I can put into words. I just don’t want to rush it. Clearly, you’ve been through a lot and I don’t want to ever come close to being like you husband. I want us to get to know each other and be comfortable with each other. I hope that by Valentine’s Day, we can do everything I know we have both been dreaming of.” The smile on her face does something to me.

“Why Valentine’s Day?” I shrug my shoulders.

“It’s an important day to me. We can discuss why later.” Cherish sighs and puts her forehead on my body.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be comparing you to him.” I kiss the top of her head and hold her closer.

“I get it. You don’t know much, and what you do know is tainted. I just want you to realize that I’m a different person than who you know.” Cherish wraps her arms tightly around my body, and I do the same to her. “Can we go lay down? No funny business. I just want to hold you.” Cherish pulls back and looks at me. She grabs my hand and leads us out of the living room.

~Alexi~

The world has been that much dimmer since Cherise disappeared. No one in my pack has any knowledge of when she left or how she got away. I’ve probably questioned everyone more than two times, and I still get nothing. “Sir.” I look at my warrior through the rearview mirror. I look out the window and see we are parked in front of the bus depot. I decided to try to talk to all local businesses to see if they had seen her. It’s been a few already, and I’ve come up empty.

I sigh and open the car door, stepping out. I walk toward the building, looking around. I see there are cameras, but they look like they haven’t worked in forever. I walk inside and up to the counter. I don’t miss how the blue-eyed blonde looks me up and down in appreciation. I’m not interested in any woman who isn’t Cherise. “How may I help you?” I pull my phone out and put it on the picture I’ve been showing people.

“Have you seen her? It would have been a few weeks ago at night.” She takes the phone, letting her fingers brush against mine. I ignore the action and watch her face fall at that.

“I don’t work nights, but Sam has been for a few months.” She looks past me until she spots whatever she’s looking for. “Hey, Sam, come here for a second.” We wait for this Sam person to appear. It doesn’t take long for a red-headed man to stand next to the girl. “He’s wondering if she’s been here. I figure you may have seen her since you’ve been working nights.” He looks at me appraisingly before looking at my phone.

“Oh yeah, I’ve seen her. I remember thinking how beautiful she was.” Shock washes over me because I didn’t think I’d get anywhere. I swallow the lump in my throat.

“Do you know where she went? She’s my wife and she’s sickly. I’ve been searching for her for a while now.” This Sam person looks at me again, and I struggle to keep my temper in check. It doesn’t help that Dagon is feeling frustration and anger.

“I’m not sure.” I sigh and close my eyes. I want to rip his throat out, but he’s human, and I have to maintain the illusion that werewolves aren’t a thing.

“Can you look it up? Her name is Cherise Moras.” Before he can answer, another voice sounds behind me.

“He can’t look up anything because she paid in cash.” I turn to find a petite brunette standing there. She looks dirty with filthy, torn clothes.

“What are you talking about, Mia? Why are you in here again?” She sighs and starts to rock on her feet.

“I needed to take a piss! Is that a crime all of a sudden?” I don’t have time for this sh.it!

“Uh, my wife?!” Her eyes swing to me, and she nods.

“Yeah, I saw her paying with cash. I remember because i was debating on robbing her. The amount she has would have allowed me to eat for a while.”

“Mia!” She turns to the counter, but I hold my hand up to stop the extra chatter. She had to have gotten help if she had money because I never gave her access to any.

“Anyway, I remember that she got on a bus to Terrance. Few get on that bus from here, and it’s the route I use to keep time.” I nod and grab my phone from the girl behind the counter. I turn to walk out, looking down at my phone. The contacts app is open, and it’s on a new contact. That silly girl behind the counter dropped her number in my phone. I delete the number and dial another.

“I may have something. Find out who she knows in Terrance.”