All Chapters of The Wolf Prince's Fated Mate : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

"Long enough."Emma stared at me from across the corner booth, her hazel eyes searching my face. Her fingers drummed against the tabletop."That's not an answer.""It's the only one you're getting."She leaned forward, arms folded on the table. The movement pulled her shirt tight across her shoulders, and I had to force my gaze elsewhere. "Try again."I exhaled slowly. The café was empty now, the manager having left us alone after Emma's shift ended. The warm amber light from the pendant lamps made her hair look softer, almost golden at the edges, and I had to force myself not to reach across the table and touch her. The bond hummed beneath my skin, a constant low thrum that had become as familiar as my own heartbeat."Since the first day," I said. "You walked in and I felt the bond before I even knew your name."Her breath caught. Just barely. But I heard it. Saw the way her pupils dilated slightly, the way her fingers stilled against the table."You knew?""I felt it." I wrapped my

The overdue mail spread across the coffee table like an exposition. There was so much of them, that I had to pause for a second.I sat cross-legged on the floor, sorting through envelopes by urgency. Red warnings first. Past due notices second. The ones that looked like they might contain threats third. Behind me, my father snored softly in his armchair, the television still flickering silent images across his sleeping face. The remote had slipped from his hand and dangled by its cord, swinging gently with each breath he took.He'd fallen asleep hours ago. I hadn't woken him. I never did anymore.I'd been doing this for two years now. Sorting the mess he couldn't face. Paying what I could with my café tips, the small amounts that felt like drops in an ocean. Hiding the worst ones before he could see them, tucking them into the bottom drawer of my dresser where no one looked.The pile never got smaller. It just changed with time. I was tired of this life, but there was nothing I could

The bank statement hit the counter like a slap.I heard the paper smack against the laminate before I even turned around. Marcus had found it in the pile I'd tucked behind the toaster, the one I thought I'd hidden well enough. Apparently not. He was waving it around the kitchen like it was evidence in a trial, his face flushed an ugly red, his voice too loud for this hour of the morning."Two thousand dollars, Emma? Two thousand?" He shook the paper at me. "What are we supposed to do with that?"I stood at the stove, spatula in hand, eggs burning in the pan. The smell of scorched butter filled the kitchen, mixing with the tension that was already thick enough to choke on. "I don't know, Marcus. I don't control the bank.""Then who does? Because clearly it's not you." He threw the statement down on the counter. "You're supposed to be handling this. That's what you said. That's what you promised."Dad sat silently at the table, staring at his coffee like it held answers he'd been searc

I told myself this was practical.Olivia had left her notebook behind in the library, and I'd grabbed it without thinking. She'd need it for class tomorrow, and I didn't have her number. I did have the address of the shop, though. The one Lucas had mentioned once, in passing. Just a casual comment that I'd filed away without meaning to.I told myself I was just returning the notebook. Since I was going home anyway, and the shop was on the way. A minor detour. Barely out of my way.The lie tasted thin in my mouth.The mechanic shop sat at the end of a quiet street, set back from the road behind a chain-link fence with peeling paint. The sign above the door was faded, the letters worn by weather and time until they were barely legible. I could hear the faint hum of machinery from inside, punctuated by the occasional clang of metal on metal.I pushed through the gate and walked toward the open bay door.The smell hit me first. Grease and metal and something sharp I couldn't name. Oil,

I'd been sitting in my car for eight minutes.Eight minutes of watching the café window, of telling myself this was a coincidence. I'd driven past and seen Lucas come out the back with Emma, seen him walk away with his hands in his pockets and that look on his face. The one I hadn't seen in years. The one that meant something had shifted inside him. The face of a satisfied man. And it worried me more than I cared to admit. The last time he had that look, he ended up heartbroken.I'd pulled over. Told myself I was just checking.Eight minutes later, I was still here. The engine was off, the windows down, the night air cool against my skin. I told myself I was just taking a break. That I'd been driving for too long and needed to rest.I told myself a lot of things.Emma moved through the café window like she owned the place. She was clearing tables, her movements efficient but not rushed, her hands steady as she balanced plates and cups. She smiled at a customer, said something that m