The Alpha's Cursed Mate

Chapter 3

Kelly

Kelly slumped further down into the passenger seat as the Chevy roared down the dirt road leading away from her cabin. Her stomach turned in knots as she watched her cabin grow smaller in the side-view mirror. She cursed herself for letting her anxiety over seeing a strange wolf outside take control. She thought she had gotten a grip on that, but this morning was proof enough that she hadn’t.

Kelly glanced briefly at Tate. His amber-colored eyes were fixed on the road, thankfully. She wasn’t sure how she would handle herself if she caught him looking at her, especially after seeing him half-naked on her sofa bed that morning.

She had been tempted to touch his abs to see if they were as hard as they looked while he had been lying there asleep. She was glad that she hadn’t. It was already uncomfortable. She didn’t want to know how awkward it would get if he had caught her touching him or how awkward it would get when she'd have to explain why she was touching him.

If she had known how crazy last night and this morning would get, she would have kept her ass at home last night. Maybe she should have bought some earplugs instead. They wouldn’t have drowned out the howling completely, but it would have been enough to sleep.

She glanced briefly back at Tate again.

“You keep looking at me like I’m going to bite you,” Tate said after she had already looked away. “I won’t hurt you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Kelly shifted uncomfortably. Why’d he have to drive such an old truck? There didn’t seem to be enough room between them. If she scooted anymore, she’d have to scoot out the door.

“It would have been nice to know that you were bringing your posse with you last night,” she griped as Tate watched her out of the corner of his eye. “Scared me half to death this morning.”

“I noticed,” Tate said repentantly. “And I’m sorry for that. I forgot to check in with Greg last night before passing out on the couch. He was worried that something had gone wrong, so he brought the patrol with him to check things out. And for what it’s worth, you scared me half to death yourself. Before I realized they were part of my patrol, I thought you had gone out there and gotten yourself killed when I couldn’t find you.”

“So,” Kelly scowled, ignoring half of what Tate said, “what you’re saying is that if you hadn’t driven out here to check on me, I would have had a peaceful night without any wolves this morning. Is that correct?”

“You don’t know that,” Tate muttered darkly, his hands gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter. “Blackfur could have been outside this morning.”

“I doubt it,” she retorted. “I have done nothing to get their attention. To them, I’m just the lonely girl that goes to the cabin by the lake for some peace and quiet. I don’t bother them, they don’t bother me.”

“How do you know they see you like that?” Tate demanded, his fingers going white from clenching the steering wheel even harder.

Kelly rolled her eyes at the rage in his voice.

“I go to the grocery store up the road,” she said. “Where else do you think I get the food to stock the cabin when I’m up here for more than a few days? A girl's gotta eat, you know.”

“You go into their town and buy food?” Tate choked. “And they haven’t stopped you? They haven’t questioned you?”

Kelly shifted in her seat to look at Tate better and leaned her back against the door. She had already noticed the white-knuckled driving, but now she noticed the tension in his broad shoulders. She saw a muscle in his jaw working as he ground his teeth. Pursing her lips, she thought about telling him that he was overreacting. No one had ever stopped her. No one had ever cared. When she had been in town, she had noticed people and wolves from all over. If Blackfur had a problem, it wasn’t with her.

“Look,” she said with a sigh, deciding that if he had to be told, it might as well be her since he supposedly wouldn’t hurt her. “I will say this once more. They. Do. Not. Care. I am the least of their concerns. I don’t even pose a threat as an unchanged wolf. Besides, have you seen me? I’m tiny. But that’s beside the point. If you even bothered to get to know your neighbors, you might realize that they aren’t the problem. Maybe you are.”

Tate slammed on the brakes, stopping in the middle of the deserted road. Kelly had to grab the dash to stop herself from flying into it.

“Excuse me,” he hissed, turning towards her, his eyes gleaming. “I’m the problem?”

“I’m just sayin’,” Kelly shrugged, trying to keep her demeanor calm. “Have you even bothered to formally introduce yourself to the other packs? Have you ever stopped to visit and get to know them? As of right now, they don’t know you. For all they know, you might be just as bad as your father, greedy for power and willing to fight for a sliver of land.”

Kelly could feel the anger radiating off Tate as she watched him seethe. She debated hopping out of the truck and walking up the road to the nearest gas station. Hell, she could even head back to the cabin. It would probably be about the same distance. She didn’t care much as long as she wasn’t in the truck when Tate exploded. She shifted slightly so she wasn’t sitting on the buckle, debating on whether to get out or not.

“I am not my father,” Tate growled.

“Never said you were,” Kelly shot back.

“You just said I was,” Tate snapped.

“No,” Kelly said quickly, finally making up her mind. “I said they, as in the other packs, might think that you are.”

Tate narrowed his eyes at her as she reached down and undid the seatbelt, popped the door open, and slid out.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded, quickly placing the truck in park so he could get out and follow her.

“Well,” Kelly said simply as she started walking in the direction they had just come from. “I’m hungry, and if we’re just going to sit in the middle of the road, then I’m walking back to the cabin to get my things. I’ll drive myself home and maybe swing by Starbucks for a coffee and a sandwich.”

“Greg has your things,” Tate called after her as he leaned against the back of his truck. “He’s taking them back to your place.”

Kelly froze.

“He what?” she said icily.

“Greg has your things,” Tate repeated.

“Why does he have my things?” she asked, breathing heavily.

“I asked him to take it back,” Tate said easily. “I thought you heard me ask him to drive your car back.”

“I guess I missed that,” she said faintly.

Kelly sank down onto her knees in the middle of the road, still facing the direction they had come from. She really, really wished that she had stayed home. She didn’t want to deal with this, not today. She already had to figure out a way to leave the pack sooner than intended because of this stupid mate bond. She had no intention of letting Tate win her over. She had only said it to shut him up last night.

“Kelly,” Tate said softly from right behind her.

Goddess, how she hated him. Hated his whole family. And now, here he was, trying to be sweet and caring. He hadn’t been sweet and caring when she had needed him to be all those years ago. He had let his father punish her when she hadn’t known how to clean a toilet. He had let his mother punish her when she dropped a dish. He had punished her when he had caught her doing nothing after her chores had been finished. Mate or not, she couldn’t stand him. But for right now, she would need to. She needed to get home. Taking a deep breath, she stood up to face him.

“Let’s get back in the truck,” he said, extending a hand to her. “Let’s go get some food. I didn’t mean to get all pissy like that. I promise to be on my best behavior from now on.”

She eyed his hand as she listened to his pathetic apology. She could tell him to go to hell and then walk away. It would be satisfying, but not worth it. Even if she ran, he’d catch her. He was faster and stronger than she was. Always would be, even when she finally made the change. Ignoring his hand, she brushed past him and walked back to the truck. Tate followed, scowling.

The rest of the drive back to safer territory, as Tate called it, was silent. Kelly kept her eyes focused out the passenger side window and refused to look at Tate. She wasn’t sure what he was doing other than steaming about her ignoring him, but as long as he got her home and didn’t talk to or touch her, she didn’t care.

“What do you want to eat?” Tate finally asked, breaking the silence. “You mentioned Starbucks…”

“Just take me home,” Kelly said blandly, still looking out the window. “I’m not hungry at the moment.”

“You need to eat,” he pressed.

“I can eat when I get home,” she retorted. “I have plenty of food there.”

“Fine,” Tate sighed.

Tate

“Can I stop by tomorrow?” Tate asked as he pulled up to Kelly’s house an hour later, still slightly irritated by their conversation from earlier.

“Why?” Kelly asked, raising an eyebrow as she turned to look at him.

“I’d like to see you,” he replied. “You said you’d give me a chance before you leave. I’m not going to waste this second chance like I did the first one.”

He reached out a hand and brushed a lock of Kelly’s hair behind her ear. He felt her stiffen at his touch and quickly withdrew his hand. Why did she have to be so difficult? Most of the mated couples he had seen couldn’t keep their hands off each other. He’d even seen it in the few couples that were a bit lopsided like theirs was, one changed while the other had yet to change. He wondered if she felt the bond at all after years of hating him.

“Your stuff should be in the passenger seat of your car,” he said, nodding towards Kelly’s car in the driveway.

He watched Kelly turn to look at her car, surprise flitting across her face.

“Thank you for bringing me home,” she said quietly, surprising him, as he hadn’t expected any sort of gratitude from her. “And thank you for making sure my things made it back, too.”

She reached for the door handle and then stopped.

“Yes?” he asked as he watched her hesitate.

“To answer your question about tomorrow,” she said, still not looking at him, “I won’t be home. Not until late. I have work.”

“When do you get off?”

“Just… late,” she replied. “I’ll probably go to bed as soon as I get home.”

Tate frowned. She was trying to avoid him.

“I’ll let you know when I’m free,” she mumbled, opening the door. “Thank you again.”

Tate watched her head to her car to get her things before dashing inside and then let out a sigh. He slumped forward in his seat and rested his head on the top of the steering wheel. Winning her over wasn’t going to be an easy feat. At the moment, it seemed pretty damn impossible. She was so stubborn. So guarded. And his family was the reason for it. Hell, he was the reason for it. Grumbling to himself, he straightened and drove back to the packhouse.

Greg met him at the front door.

“So,” Greg asked enthusiastically. “How’d the first date go? Did she fall for her dashing knight in armor, or should I say fur?”

Tate sighed as he walked down the hall to the study, where he collapsed in his high-backed office chair.

“That bad, huh?” Greg asked, watching him closely.

“You have no idea,” Tate groaned. “First she got angry at me for being concerned about her safety. Then she accused me of making Blackfur uneasy, said that I’m the reason they don’t trust us. After that, she tried walking back to the cabin because I may or may not have gotten a bit angry. Once I got her back in the truck, she wouldn’t talk to me. She didn’t even want to stop and get food, just asked that I take her home. When I asked her when I could come see her, she wouldn’t give me a straight answer. It almost seemed like she was trying to tell me no without actually telling me no.”

“So, when are you going to see her then?” Greg grinned as he sat down in an overstuffed armchair by the door.

“She doesn’t want to see me,” Tate said, straightening up. “I don’t want to push her.”

“Dude,” Greg said seriously. “She’s never going to tell you yes, but she’s never going to tell you no, either. She’s letting you call the shots. Go over there tomorrow. Be there when she gets home. Have dinner waiting for her or something.”

“So, you’re telling me to make her dinner and have it ready for her when she gets home?” Tate asked incredulously. “How am I supposed to do that? I don’t know how to cook. The last time I tried to make grilled cheese, I started a fire in the kitchen.”

“You can order takeout and set it up nicely,” Greg rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t appreciate it if you set her house on fire.”

“What about her parents?” Tate mused.

“What about them?” Greg asked. “Get them on your side if they aren’t already. Let them know your plans. I’m sure they’ll make themselves scarce if you ask them to.”

“And this is why you’re already married,” Tate grumbled. “Why’d you have to be paired with a girl who was already head over heels for you? And why’d you get the gift of talking to women?”

“Have you eaten?” Greg laughed as he stood up and stretched. “Someone sounds mighty hangry. Go make yourself a sandwich and then we can talk business later. I’m gonna go home and surprise my mate for lunch.”

Greg winked as he walked out the door, leaving Tate alone with his thoughts. Right after Kelly had been adopted, asking Colleen and Mark for help would have been easy, but now… He was sure that they had heard from Kelly what had been done to her at the packhouse. After treating her like their own for 8 years, they would hate him just as much as she did. Greg was right, though. He needed to do something. He might as well see if they were willing to work with him. He had to at least try.

Tate glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was just after eleven. Mark should still be in his office down the hall. He swallowed nervously as he rapped on the office door and waited.

“Come in,” a weary voice sounded.

“Mark,” Tate greeted the graying man seated behind a large oak desk. “How're you doing? Did you get any sleep before coming in today?”

“No,” Mark shook his head. “Colleen and I were rather worried about what you were up to with our daughter. Mate or not, I don’t quite trust you with her. She’s not ready for such a large commitment.”

“I see,” Tate said slowly. “I’m sorry I worried you. I only went out there to make sure she was safe. You’ve seen the reports on Blackfur.”

“I have,” Mark said gravely. “Frankly, I was worried about her heading out last night, too. Normally, she leaves that afternoon so she doesn’t catch anyone's attention. I don’t know why she decided to leave so late yesterday. But, I’m sure you didn’t come in here to talk about Kelly, what with all the paperwork we’ve been drowning in since your father died, so what can I help you with?”

“Actually,” Tate said, choosing his words carefully. “I did come to talk to you about Kelly. When she and I talked last night, she said she would give me a second chance to prove that I do actually care about her and that she does belong in the pack. I don’t want to waste it, so I thought I could start by bringing dinner over tomorrow if that’s alright.”

“Bringing dinner over?” Marks repeated, c*****g an eyebrow as he leaned back in his chair. “And am I, or Colleen, invited to this dinner?”

“That’s up to you,” Tate said. “I can bring enough for all four of us, or I can bring enough for just Kelly and me.”

Tate shifted uncomfortably when Mark didn’t answer right away. Instead, Mark studied him with guarded eyes, as if he were trying to figure out if Tate had any ulterior motives.

“She likes Italian food,” Mark finally said. “There’s been a movie that Colleen and I have been wanting to catch in theaters for a while now, so tomorrow seems like a good time to do that.”

“Thank you,” Tate said, sagging slightly in relief. “Anything else I should know?”

“Well,” Mark said gruffly. “She gets off work tomorrow at 10. And she likes donuts, so if you’re gonna bring a sweet treat for after, make sure it's the jelly-filled kind.”

“Of course.”

“And one more thing,” Mark said with a dangerous edge to his voice. “If I find you in my house in the morning, Alpha or not, I won’t hesitate to kick your ass. That’s my little girl, you hear me? If you touch her in the wrong way, Goddess, help you.”

Tate gulped and nodded before silently exiting the lawyer's office. At least he had a plan of sorts to follow now. He’d ask Greg for help with the rest of the details later.