He Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 1)

If Wishes Were Horses

Matt

I sit in my van for awhile after my call with Aly’s mom is over, just thinking and staring out the window at this bird gathering that seems to be going on a few yards from me. I don’t know a lot about birds, and I couldn’t even tell you what type of birds they are, but it seems odd. I thought birds all went South by now.

I’m still staring at them when I hear another vehicle pull in behind me. I turn to look only to discover that it’s Aly in her car. That makes me smile. Leave it to Aly to see right through me and figure out where I went. I only brought her here the once, and yet she knows to look for me here. I’ve brought Jess here a few times over the years, but I’d be shocked if she figured out where it is that I go when I disappear.

Aly gets out of her car and I notice that she is only wearing shorts and a loose tank top over a sports bra. Gym clothes. It’s too cold out here for that. Are all women insane? I debate whether I should get out and offer her my coat.

She looks really good, though, and I can’t help but admire her as she power walks her way across the lot to me. Then I realize that maybe she isn’t even here for me. She’s not heading this way; she’s heading for the path ahead of me. I lower my window down anyway. Her head snaps my direction and our eyes lock. She looks angry. Her nostrils flare and I hear her let out a forceful breath through her nose. I guess she doesn’t like that I lied about where I was going to be this afternoon.

She keeps going right on past me, starting to run pretty much as soon as her feet hit the grass. I’m struck again by what a force of nature she is when she runs. She reminds me of a wild stallion running freely across the open prairie, so much beauty and grace and wild energy. I’ve never seen someone run the way she does, so fast and powerful. Her hair was tied back when she started, but I watch in amazement as it breaks free of its restraint and streams behind her, just like when I first saw her. That only adds to the imagery of her as a wild stallion.

Before long, she is out of my sight. I know I should head out and go to the library for real to get caught up on my homework, but now I have the urge to get out and walk around some. Maybe I’ll even run into her again and see what’s up with her. I know better than to try to track her down and attempt to run with her, though. I haven’t run in years, and even back when I did it more regularly, I never would have been able to keep up with her.

-

-

Aly

I came here hoping it would be deserted and I could let Mari out finally, but of course, Matt is here. I know I shouldn’t be mad about that, but I can’t help it. Not today. First off, he is supposed to be at the library. And secondly, I’m pretty sure he is the reason that Tyler pushed me away. No, strike that. I know I’m the reason, but I still want to be mad at Matt about it. Matt only ever causes me pain.

Stop being such a child, Mari scolds me.

I’m not. I’ve given Matt plenty of reasons why I’m the better choice, but he still clings to Jessica. I’m just calling it like it is, I shoot back at her.

You knew this would be hard. You have only gone and made it harder on yourself by getting so close to Tyler. You knew better than that, but you did it anyway. I keep telling you to stay away from him. He is just a distraction.

What if he is the better choice, though? What if Matt never leaves Jessica? Tyler loves me. He said so. He’s fine with me being a werewolf. He won’t reject me.

He already has.

No, he hasn’t. He even said as much. He just doesn’t like that Matt and I are mates. And really, can you blame him? No matter how much Matt hurts me, I’m still waiting around for him.

He wouldn’t hurt you if he knew about any of it. You have to tell him, too.

He would. He doesn’t know about the mate bond, but he knows how I feel. He knows it hurts me. He does it anyway.

If he knew about the mate bond, maybe he would reject Jessica. He wants a forever relationship, Aly. He said as much. You can give him that, but he doesn’t know that yet.

“AAAAAAAGH!” I let out a frustrated yell and take off running again.

I’m heading for a cluster of trees where I can hopefully let Mari run, too. We’re both feeling pent-up and frustrated. I’ve run far enough that Matt shouldn’t be able to see us. I know it’s a risk, but if I can’t do it this way, then eventually I’m going to lose control. An emotional werewolf is never a good situation. I wish I had a mate I could count on to help me get through this.

I don’t like that these trees aren’t very dense. If anyone were nearby, they’d spot us. I don’t smell anyone nearby, except for Matt. He’s some distance away, though, I can tell. I start removing my clothes and making a bundle out of them to tie to one of the trees. Then I crouch down and focus on Mari, her jet-black fur, and the way her paws look.

I feel her consciousness pulling forward and my own being pushed back. I feel the familiar popping and breaking of bones and the burning sensation that lets me know my skin is being shredded to allow her body space to take form. I like to close my eyes, or else I tend to get dizzy.

I open them again once I feel that it’s over. My senses are far superior to a human’s even in my human form, but in this form, it’s on a whole other level. I can smell a variety of small game near my position, but I’m not here for that. They’re safe, for now. I can hear the chittering conversation between two squirrels not far from here. They seem to be arguing. I can see their tracks, too, plus a few other types of tracks. I could tell you how recently they came through here. I smell the fresh scent of the earth now blanketed with the crisp scent of the fall leaves. I take an extra deep whiff of that, and it calms me.

I can smell exactly where Matt is, and he’s closer than I thought. I’m still not worried, though. Unless he’s become an Olympic-level sprinter in the time I’ve known him, we have time. I relax and let Mari fully take over. After a few moments of sniffing and digging around, she takes off running. Considering the sparseness of the coverage here, and the loss of leaves making visibility even greater, she can’t go far. I can tell she is still grateful to be let out, though. Maybe after this we’ll start working together a little better. We’ve been at odds with each other almost the entire time I’ve been at school.

She lets herself get a little too distracted, and I force myself back in control once I smell Matt’s scent getting closer. I decide it’s less risky to let him catch me nude than to let him see my wolf, so I force a shift even though we’re still some distance from my clothes.

You realize that was intentional, don’t you? I’m not stupid. I wanted him to see me, and maybe touch me, she tells me.

I’m sorry, but that is stupid. He’s not ready.

I make my way back to where I left my clothes, stepping carefully over all the twigs and leaves. I get a little nervous when I see that not only has he figured out where I went, but he has found my clothes. This is going to be awkward no matter how I play it. There’s no way for me to sneak up on him and covertly dress myself. He’s holding my clothes. I do consider hiding for a moment, but decide against it because I have a feeling he knows whose clothes those are and isn’t going anywhere until he finds me.

“Thief!” I accuse him playfully as I step to where he can see me.

He looks up and blushes once his eyes land on me, and then immediately shifts his gaze to the ground.

“I wasn’t stealing them. I was just trying to make sense of it. Why are you naked?” he asks.

“I’ve had a frustrating, emotional day, and I needed a minute to get back in touch with nature,” I tell him, hoping it’s vague enough that he assumes it’s just a weird religious thing.

“I see,” he says, sounding confused, and then seems to realize he is still holding my clothes and hands them to me.

“Have you never seen a naked woman before?” I can’t help but tease as I take my clothes from him.

He flushes even brighter red if that is possible. He is too adorable. And then I realize I have already forgiven him, despite being so angry earlier. I would love to give all the credit to my run, but I’m pretty sure it’s that pesky mate bond. That, and I can smell how he really feels about seeing me naked, and it thrills me.

“Of course I have,” he insists. “Just not you. And not … here.”

I am tempted to try seducing him. I’m pretty sure I could succeed, judging by his reaction to me that he is trying to be discreet about. I just don’t feel right about it. Mari wants me to, but Mari is a wolf hungry for her mate. Not that I’m not, but I have more to consider.

There’s Tyler, who I left looking broken not long ago. There’s Matt’s relationship, and even though I wish it weren’t a thing, it is. I know he has feelings about that, and I care about his feelings. I’m not sure what sort of a person it would make me to just ignore all that.

So, I put my clothes on as quickly as I can while he waits, his body turned away from me.

“I’m decent. You can look now,” I announce.

He turns to look at me, an amused smile stretching across his features.

“I almost expected you to prank me and still be naked,” he admits with a chuckle. “Aren’t you cold, though?”

“I don’t get cold easily.” It’s true, I don’t. Perk of being a werewolf. “Don’t worry, you can keep your coat. I’m not Jessica. If I needed a coat, I would bring one.”

He winces at my low blow. I knew it was one but couldn’t help myself. Okay, maybe I’m not completely over it all like I thought.

“Sorry,” I add, feeling guilty about ragging on him about her all the time.

“It’s okay, you’re right as usual. I don’t know why she does stuff like that,” he says.

We start walking together back the way we came. He can’t seem to fight the urge to keep me warm and puts an arm around me. I’m not complaining.

“Maybe because people always take care of her and don’t force her to suffer the consequences of her own bad choices,” I point out.

He winces again, and sighs. “Yeah,” is all he says.

I feel him unconsciously pull away from me a little, and I make the choice to drop it all for now and just enjoy this walk with my mate. I was just wishing he could somehow comfort me and make me feel better, and now here he is with his arm around me, soothing me with his nearness. Maybe I should just be content with that and consider this as my wish granted. Like my mom said, it could be my own stubbornness keeping me from getting close to him.

I cuddle my body in closer to him, putting my arm around him too. He looks pleased at that. I’m pleased that for a little while, all the thoughts racing around in my head die down, and the angst and restlessness coursing through my body are lessened somewhat. And miraculously, even Mari is content for once.