Chapter 2: Walker

After he introduced himself, there was a little beat of silence between us again.

This time, though, it felt more comfortable. And I knew that there was more going on here.

He was attractive, no doubt about it. But something more was going on here.

It calmed me to be in his presence. I could feel myself getting more and more comfortable around him, despite only minutes passing since our meeting. I felt more and more confused every second.

There was just no way that this could be normal.

“I’ll just, go and get that tea, then,” Adam said again, and then turned and left the room slowly, taking a few steps back while still keeping his eye on me.

It was almost like he didn’t want to leave me alone, and then even when he left, he was trying to keep his eyes on me the entire time.

I couldn’t really blame him, either. After all, which wolf thought that it was okay to go knocking on the door of the Alpha of the Walker Pack? From his perspective, I was either insane, or hiding something.

He didn’t take long, and after a few minutes, he was back in the room carrying a tray with an entire pot of tea on it. He set the tray down and poured a cup of tea, and then turned to me, his hand extended.

“Here you go,” he said. “It’s chamomile. It’ll help you calm down after the night you must have had so far.”

He didn’t know anything about the night that I’d had so far. But, then again, arriving at a stranger’s door, soaked through, and going in without a second thought had to mean that the night hadn’t exactly gone well before that.

I took the cup, but I reached a little too far, and I felt my fingers brush against his.

In a moment, I felt a shock of lightning course through me, and one glance at his face told me that he had felt the same. It wasn’t just static—it was a stark and powerful jolt that reached through each piece of me.

I knew immediately what it meant. But I almost couldn’t believe it.

I had read stories as a little girl about what it was like for some wolves when they found their mates. Wolves only mated once in their entire lives. Oh, they could take lovers, and so many wolves did. But a true mate was only once in their lifetime. And it was something else.

There was nothing that could compare to having a mate bond. Everything else lost meaning except being with the person that you loved.

I didn’t know too many wolves that had experienced a mate bond, though. It was a rare and sacred gift to find another part of your soul, and to find it in someone else.

His scent was intoxicating me. It was all I could smell in this room. It even overpowered the scent of the chamomile tea that I was holding, and that was right beneath my nose. He smelled of musk and forest, a deep richness that permeated everywhere.

I felt my heart speed up, and the world around me swayed slightly, with parts of my sight blacking out a little. I took a deep breath, but the air felt hot as it went into my lungs.

I knew that this was too much for me to process right now.

I had just run away from my father, my pack, and my fiancé. There was no way that I could handle finding my mate in the same night, and especially not if he was the Alpha of the Walker Pack.

I needed a moment away from him.

“Do you mind if I use the bathroom?” I asked, trying my best to make eye contact with him, doing whatever I could to seem less suspicious.

“Of course,” Adam said, tilting his head to the side just so, like nothing fazed him. “Come with me,” he added, his voice calm as he spoke.

He led me back into the hall, and then through to another room, where he pointed to a door at the far end of it. “That’s the bathroom through there.”

I started towards the door, but then he grabbed hold of my hand gently.

The touch was very light, barely skin on skin, but I felt that same electricity again. It was becoming harder and harder for me to ignore it, for me to pretend that it hadn’t happened, or that I didn’t know what it meant.

He must have felt it too, because he dropped my hand almost immediately.

I didn’t catch the expression that came over his face, and he recovered it before I could get a proper look, a blank detachment spreading over his face.

“I’ll er, I’ll just bring you some dry clothes, and a towel,” he said, stumbling a little over his words. “I’ll leave them out here for you.”

He then turned and left quickly, hurrying to get the things he promised.

I went inside the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I forced myself to take a deep breath, and then made my way over to the sink.

I washed my face and hands, and then heard a short knock on the door behind me. I opened it to find Adam had placed the dry clothes and the towel on the chair outside the bathroom just like he promised. I took the clothing and towel and went right back into the bathroom.

I could pick up his scent over every single thing that he had given me, and it was strong enough to tell me that he had given me his own clothing.

I noticed that there was a shower in there, and I considered the possibility. Adam had told me that I could use the bathroom, and the shower was part of the bathroom, after all. I decided that I would risk it. Even if he kicked me out for using his shower, which I very much doubted that he would do, at least I would be leaving clean.

I quickly stripped down out of all my wet clothes and ran the hot water, stepping into the spray. I felt nothing but relief as the water washed over me.

I lost track of time as I stood in the shower, but when I realized that I had definitely been in there for over fifteen minutes, I quickly shut the hot water off and stepped out. I quickly dried myself off and dressed, and then made my way out of the bathroom.

Before I had gotten too far, I heard a voice that made me stop dead in my tracks.

I was standing in the hallway, and I could see the entrance way from where I was. Adam was standing at the door.

I quickly hid ducked against the wall to stay out of sight. I knew that Adam could see me from where he stood, but whoever was at the door couldn’t, and that was all I cared about.

I knew the person that was standing at the door, where I had been maybe twenty minutes ago. He was an agent of my father; we just called him the investigator.

If Adam hadn’t known who I was before this, he would definitely know now. As part of his investigative work, this man was an official envoy of the Manhattan Pack—one of the few with the status and protection to visit other Alphas unannounced.

“I’m looking for Ella,” I heard the inspector say, and then there was a ruffling of some papers. “This is her. Have you seen her tonight?”