Deliciously Mated(15)

Picking up the empty cookie trays, he pushed past Gash and headed for the lodge. He had a meal to prepare.

After considering his options all day, he’d realized he couldn’t just hunt his female down like he wanted. For one, it would probably scare her and send her farther into the woods. For two, it would get his animal amped up and wanting to mate. And that was unacceptable.

He had to think of the pact, of his clan, but he also had to think of her. He’d agreed to the pact because he desperately didn’t want to end up like so many males of their kind. He didn’t want to be a cheating asshole. Sure, many of them considered it their right. Mate was important. The most important. If she had needs, it was the male’s duty to fulfill them, to keep her safe and protected, along with any young he gave her. And in return, he was free to bed as many as he wanted.

Many of Eagan’s generation saw the pain this way of living caused, and wanted something different for their future. But Magic was living proof that wanting things to be different doesn’t necessarily override a werecat’s given instinct to prowl. And because of his past and what happened when he’d tried to mate, he watched Bethany even more closely than Renner did. If she ever showed any hint of distress, he’d skin Renner and hang him by his toes from the nearest tree.

Eagan shoved the dirty trays into the wash sink, and gathered the ingredients for his mate’s meal. Dinner for his clan and their guests had been grilled chicken and salmon, which didn’t make for a good reheat, so he was going to make her something fresh. He was practically famous for his pasta concoctions. He’d keep it simple tonight. Alfredo with sun-dried tomatoes and chicken.

He bit his lip.

Did she like white sauce? In his experience, most people liked pasta. And most preferred a cheesy sauce. Maybe his female was the exception though.

Damn it. He knew so little about her.

He shook his head and got to work filling a pasta pot with water and chopping the leftover chicken into thin strips. He functioned like a well-oiled machine. The kitchen was really just an extension of his soul as he poured himself into preparing food that would fill his female’s belly.

When he was plating the dish, his phone rang. He juggled the hot pan and pasta fork back to the counter and then fished his cell phone out of his pocket.

Magic’s number flashed on the screen.

“Yeah,” Eagan answered.

“You busy?”

“Almost done. Why, what’s up?”

Magic’s tone was some weird cross between jovial and furious. “Come to my office. I have something to show you.”

His words set Eagan’s scruff to tingling.

“Give me a minute.”

“Yeah, hurry.” The line went dead.

There was no reason to believe Magic’s call had anything to do with his mate, but without knowing her whereabouts—or anything at all about her—he couldn’t shed the feeling of dread.

He finished packaging her food and then filled a cup with their special harvest sweet tea and a chunk of lemon.

Eagan sighed. It wasn’t enough, but it would have to do.

Pulling her notebook from his back pocket, he jotted her a new note.

I can’t return your book. If I do, you’ll steal from someone else, and I can’t be part of that. I will get you anything you need. Make a list.

Quickly, he shoved the dirty dishes in the washer and started it up. Then he turned off the main lights and hurried to Magic’s office.

He found his leader and Gash huddled over his computer monitor.

“I think we caught her this time,” Magic murmured, his squinting eyes never leaving the screen.

Eagan’s steps faltered.

Gash nodded his head, grinning. “Run it back again.”

Eagan rushed forward to see the video they were reviewing. A woman wearing jeans and a dark shirt shown through the grainy footage as she walked quickly away from the lodge and disappeared into the line of trees that bordered the parking lot. Her hair was down and flowing freely this time, but there was no doubt this was the female he’d caught in the kitchen.

“When was this?” Eagan asked, his eyes taking in every blurry feature. There wasn’t much of her face. Just a brief glimpse of her profile. Magic and Gash would never be able to pick her out of a line-up.

“Last night,” Gash said.

“Anything go missing?” Please say no.

Magic frowned, finally pulling his gaze away from the screen. “No, actually. Nothing.”

Eagan sighed in relief. “Then maybe this isn’t our thief after all. I mean, obviously if this is her, and she was here last night, she would’ve taken something. Don’t you think?”

“Whatever, man,” Gash scoffed. “This is the Woman of the Woods. Layna doesn’t recognize her as a guest, and you know she never forgets a face.”