just yet. I hate to say this, but I think he knows that you’d rather not leave that tavern behind. He knows you’re not going anywhere anytime soon,” he said.
Autumn knew it; it was the truth. She would do anything to protect her family name and keep the tavern, but things had gotten out of hand over the past couple weeks. She’d risk her life, but she couldn’t risk her sister’s life in the process.
“I won’t be used and I don’t want anything taken from me either,” she said, firmly. “The ownership of the tavern should have never been transferred completely to him. Before I knew he’d started the process, it was too late. He had the original agreement and the lawyers and courts did what was allowed by law.”
“Then my suggestion for you is to stay far away from him.”
“I’m trying to do that, hence why I tried to get out of this town,” she said. “It’s not that easy though. He’s taken something away from me. The tavern doesn’t belong to him. Do you know how many years it took us to build and grow that tavern?”
“I understand that you don’t want to let something like that go, but if you choose to stay here and fight for the tavern, Simon must be out of the picture.”
She swallowed and a shred of hope filled her heart. “Are you saying there’s a way to get Simon out of the picture?”
“You asked me for my story,” he replied. “I’m looking for Simon, the Cross City Beta. And when I see him again face to face, it won’t be good news for him.”
There was a knock at the door. The sound of it startled Autumn more than the treacherous thunderstorms outside.
Garrett turned toward the door and then looked down at his phone.
“Who’s that?”
“My partner. I’m gonna step out and have a word with him.”
“In the storm?” She glanced at the windows, which were covered with curtains. Rain pounded consistently at the glass panes.
“Won’t be my first. I’ll be right back. You think you can hang?”
Autumn looked around the room. “I’d rather stay here than risk getting struck by lightning. Question is, will you be okay out in that storm?”
“The wounds aren’t healing quick enough.” He pointed to his midsection. “Would you rather me shift inside?”
“Do what you’ve gotta do. I’ll be here. And when you get back, we can talk more about this plan of yours to take down Simon and how it can help me too,” she said.
He grinned. “Are you always this demanding?”
She smiled. “Only with strangers.”
He paused for a moment to study her, but didn’t say a word. In fact, he didn’t make any moves to leave until his partner knocked a second time. He then stuffed his cell phone down into his back pocket and slipped outside, leaving her alone to thank God that she was still alive and out of Simon's grasp.
Chapter Seven
“ W ho is she ?” Joshua asked.
Garrett had traveled in wolf form with Joshua to an abandoned bridge just under a mile from the motel. The rain had stopped, but the skies were still overcast which meant the storm was bigger than expected. The knife wound to his gut had partially healed, for the most part. What hadn’t gone away was his driving urge to hunt and kill.
“Her name’s Autumn. She was promised to the Cross City Beta by her father,” he said.
Joshua’s eyes widened. “Jeez man, do they still do that type of stuff around here?”
“Arranged pairings are becoming less frequent these days, now that our existence is out,” he said. “It’s still pretty common with higher ranking wolves though. It takes a lot more than just the title to run a Pack these days.”
Joshua nodded. “Kind of like what your brother Dane did with Trina to get his land back.”
“Yeah, kind of like that. The difference is my brother cared for Trina even before he found out that she was his true mate. This is a little different. I don’t suspect that any true mating will result from Simon and Autumn.”
“Have they…?”
“No.
Autumn knew it; it was the truth. She would do anything to protect her family name and keep the tavern, but things had gotten out of hand over the past couple weeks. She’d risk her life, but she couldn’t risk her sister’s life in the process.
“I won’t be used and I don’t want anything taken from me either,” she said, firmly. “The ownership of the tavern should have never been transferred completely to him. Before I knew he’d started the process, it was too late. He had the original agreement and the lawyers and courts did what was allowed by law.”
“Then my suggestion for you is to stay far away from him.”
“I’m trying to do that, hence why I tried to get out of this town,” she said. “It’s not that easy though. He’s taken something away from me. The tavern doesn’t belong to him. Do you know how many years it took us to build and grow that tavern?”
“I understand that you don’t want to let something like that go, but if you choose to stay here and fight for the tavern, Simon must be out of the picture.”
She swallowed and a shred of hope filled her heart. “Are you saying there’s a way to get Simon out of the picture?”
“You asked me for my story,” he replied. “I’m looking for Simon, the Cross City Beta. And when I see him again face to face, it won’t be good news for him.”
There was a knock at the door. The sound of it startled Autumn more than the treacherous thunderstorms outside.
Garrett turned toward the door and then looked down at his phone.
“Who’s that?”
“My partner. I’m gonna step out and have a word with him.”
“In the storm?” She glanced at the windows, which were covered with curtains. Rain pounded consistently at the glass panes.
“Won’t be my first. I’ll be right back. You think you can hang?”
Autumn looked around the room. “I’d rather stay here than risk getting struck by lightning. Question is, will you be okay out in that storm?”
“The wounds aren’t healing quick enough.” He pointed to his midsection. “Would you rather me shift inside?”
“Do what you’ve gotta do. I’ll be here. And when you get back, we can talk more about this plan of yours to take down Simon and how it can help me too,” she said.
He grinned. “Are you always this demanding?”
She smiled. “Only with strangers.”
He paused for a moment to study her, but didn’t say a word. In fact, he didn’t make any moves to leave until his partner knocked a second time. He then stuffed his cell phone down into his back pocket and slipped outside, leaving her alone to thank God that she was still alive and out of Simon's grasp.
Chapter Seven
“ W ho is she ?” Joshua asked.
Garrett had traveled in wolf form with Joshua to an abandoned bridge just under a mile from the motel. The rain had stopped, but the skies were still overcast which meant the storm was bigger than expected. The knife wound to his gut had partially healed, for the most part. What hadn’t gone away was his driving urge to hunt and kill.
“Her name’s Autumn. She was promised to the Cross City Beta by her father,” he said.
Joshua’s eyes widened. “Jeez man, do they still do that type of stuff around here?”
“Arranged pairings are becoming less frequent these days, now that our existence is out,” he said. “It’s still pretty common with higher ranking wolves though. It takes a lot more than just the title to run a Pack these days.”
Joshua nodded. “Kind of like what your brother Dane did with Trina to get his land back.”
“Yeah, kind of like that. The difference is my brother cared for Trina even before he found out that she was his true mate. This is a little different. I don’t suspect that any true mating will result from Simon and Autumn.”
“Have they…?”
“No.
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