“His name is Jordan. He’ll be two years old next month.”
Ethan slammed on the brakes, pushed the gearshift into park and turned to stare at her. “A baby? You said your parents are dead, right?”
“Yes. By Greggoire’s hand.” She shoved her hands between her thighs and squeezed her legs shut. “Oh please, Ethan. I need to mate with you. I can’t go after that bastard without having my wolf.”
She sounded naïve and so very young. But her curves were not those of a young girl, and she-wolves matured slower than humans. She was more than old enough to know her own mind.
“How old are you?”
She closed her eyes. “T-twenty two. I’ve locked myself in the cabin the last two months. I didn’t know when my heat cycle would happen, but I could feel myself changing.” She opened her eyes and laid a hand on her lower stomach, right above her mound. “Here. Every day, it becomes more and more sensitive. I-I want to have sex. I was afraid I wouldn’t make it here in time…I don’t think I can wait any longer, but I need your answer first. I want you, because with your help, I can take down that bastard.”
“It doesn’t work that way with werewolves.” He stared out the front window. “Life mates come first. To mate with someone you don’t want will tie you to a miserable union .”
“B-but I do want you. I always have. Deep down, I knew you were my mate. I can’t explain…” She reached out and touched his leg.
“My fantasies growing up involved you. Don’t you feel it? There’s something between us?” He felt it in more ways than one. His grandfather had warned, prepared, and forecasted his life. Ethan had ignored it too long.
“Why would Greggoire take your brother?” He started the truck again and continued down the road. “You said he killed your parents, but why hasn’t the pack taken care of him for you?”
“The pack is scared. No one will help or tell me anything. Everything has changed around Drover in the last few years. It’s not the same.
Greggoire is not looking out for the others, but for himself.” She rubbed the length of her thighs.
“My father challenged him for the leader position last year, and instead of letting my father back down during the fight for the alpha role, Greggoire killed him in front of everyone. Later that day, I found my mother. She had a silver knife embedded into her heart and Greggoire’s scent all over her…and Jordan was gone.” She fisted her hands and hit the top of her legs.
Fuck. Greggoire had become an even worse excuse for a werewolf since Ethan had been banned. “Why do you think Greggoire has your brother? Do you have any solid proof that he has the boy?”
“No, but others have said they’ve heard a child crying inside Greggoire’s cabin. When I question them further, they clam up and tell me to forget what they said. I’ve tried gaining entry into his house, but he keeps two women with him. A she-wolf and a human. Someone is always there. I don’t stand a chance against them until I too can shift into my wolf. That’s why you must mate with me. I need all the strength I can get to fight Greggoire.” He stopped turning his head sideways to watch her and concentrated on the road. It went against a wolf’s natural instinct to mate with more than one she-wolf. As for her father, it didn’t surprise him that Greggoire would kill for his spot in the pack. If Ethan could have stayed, he would have done the same thing. He owed Greggoire for what he’d done.
Ethan rolled down his window. He had to think, and he couldn’t do that with her sweet scent urging him to agree with her. Having a mate wasn’t something he believed possible.
Without a pack to back him up, he led a dangerous life. A she-wolf wouldn’t be happy alone without others.
He was a rogue, an outcast, someone he never dreamed he would become until his life in the pack had fallen apart. Having this woman seek him brought new desire to change his life.
He sat up straighter. His grandfather had planned Ethan’s path, but when he’d left the pack, he'd doubted the prophecy.
How had he become so blind? She'd come for him, like the tale had told. Glancing at the woman, he believed he was needed again. That pleased his wolf. He'd have a reason to return to the pack. He’d right the wrongs done to him and to the others. This could be his chance to again rise as alpha and fulfill his responsibilities.
To gain entrance back into Drover, he'd need to mate with her.
It was time.
This woman, strong and fierce in her belief that he was her mate, was the blatant sign he’d wanted for the last six years. She was the seeker, just like his grandfather had predicted many years ago.