Chapter 2

RYAN

After an absolutely awful night—one where, thankfully, there were no fires or tragedies to deal with, but the paperwork was a nightmare. I am so exhausted that all I want to do is get home and sleep after a twenty-seven-hour shift spent doing nothing but filing and checking inventory.

My phone starts ringing somewhere in the car, and as I fumble around for it without taking my eyes off the road, a little white cotton ball darts into my path. I am barely conscious of slamming on the brakes and gripping the steering wheel tight, bracing myself for the impact.

When I look up, I see a petite brunette looking at me with incredibly sad eyes, leaning against the hood of my car. Her face is covered in smudged makeup and her hair is a mess, but she is still absolutely beautiful.

"Oh my God!" I hear her say, breathing heavily. Her hands hit my car, shooting me a look of pure hatred. Does she know me? I don't think so; I wouldn't forget someone like her. She is simply captivating.

Without taking her eyes off me, she raises both hands and flips me off with both middle fingers. I start laughing at how bold this girl is.

I get out of the car, ready to ask her why she is so angry. But when I do, I am hit by a sweet strawberry scent. You have got to be kidding me! I am in shock, looking her up and down; she is in a wedding dress. My mate is in a wedding dress.

As I stand there, with a dry mouth and a racing pulse, in front of the cutest, most vulnerable, and furious little thing I have ever seen in my life, everything stopped. I couldn't see anyone else, and I couldn't understand who could have hurt her to the point of leaving her in this state.

My hands itched to touch her; my eyes could only watch her with hunger, desire, and love. The fire in her eyes shifted between anger and desperation. I want to help her, but judging by her demeanor, if I got too close, I would get hurt.

"April!" the shouting man runs toward her. April? Pretty name. "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" she starts laughing, pulling away from his touch. "No, David, I am clearly not okay, and it's your fault." I didn't like this. What did this idiot do to her?

"Maybe we should talk about this in private, no one wants to hear about our problems." Is he scared? She simply bends down, picks up her shoes, and starts walking away from this David guy. "We need to go back, there is still time to fix everything." At that moment, I saw her spin around, completely shocked.

"Fix everything? Are you kidding me?" She throws a shoe at him, making him duck to avoid getting hit. People are starting to gather to watch the show. "You cheated on me on our wedding day. Actually, sorry, you have been cheating on me for a long time. Did it feel good to play me for a fool?" It seems my mate has caught her breath, proving to me that her lungs work perfectly fine.

"April, there is an explanation for everything, sweetheart, if we could just talk—" but at that moment, the other shoe goes flying, hitting him right in the stomach. A smile starts to form on my face, but it quickly fades when I see her walk over to a guy on a motorcycle.

"Get me out of here," she says, hopping on. The moment she does, the motorcycle roars to life and speeds away with her.

"David, are you okay?" another man in a suit approaches him. "April sure has good aim despite just being a vet. Who would have thought she had that kind of temper?" I watch them as they stand up, their eyes fixed on the road where that little runaway bunny disappeared.

Coming back to my senses, I get back into my car. I had spent that whole moment completely frozen. I must have looked like a fool. But on the bright side, I have discovered a few things today.

First, my mate was about to get married, but she didn't.

Second, her name is April and she is a veterinarian. Now I just have to figure out where she works before I go crazy.

Third, she has a hell of a temper and a great throwing arm. And lastly, she is the most perfect little thing I have ever seen in my life.

Everything in me wants to go after her, but it is obvious I need to give her a few days to heal from this heartbreak.

Letting out one last sigh, I start the engine and go back to my original plan.

( - - - )

Barely awake, my door is assaulted by knocking. I curse, walk over, and open it extremely reluctantly.

"Are you ready?" I look at him, confused. "We are all getting together today, come on Ryan, it is our night off, don't be a buzzkill."

"Nathan, I am tired, I don't feel like going out." I just want to think about my mate. Although thinking about it also makes me impatient. I need to know, where the hell did she go?

"Come on, Ryan, I am not moving from here until you are ready." He makes himself comfortable, putting his feet up on my table. Grunting, I go get changed, knowing that keeping him here would be worse.

"I am not staying long, I need to rest," I warn him, considering what I really need is to figure out how to find her.

"I have a feeling this is going to be a good night, man." If it goes anything like my day, I doubt it.

Once we get to the bar, I see the guys gathered at a table in the back, completely oblivious to everything around them. I take a glance at the bar counter and see a flash of white. Could it be?

Ignoring my friends who are calling out to me, I walk over to see if it is her.

When I realize that it is, I sit down next to her; I won't let anyone else get close to her.

It seems Nathan was right to insist on coming to this place.