Page 64 of Stealing Sloane

“Eli?” Her hands dropped to her sides and she spun around, facing him. She blinked several times, as if waiting for him to disappear like a mirage. “What are you doing here?” Her heart leapt into her throat as she threw herself against him, the solid body telling her that he wasn’t a figment of her imagination. “I thought … that you … they said you died.”

The hulking, stoic man stiffened in her arms, but said nothing.

“What the hell is going on here?” Jacob growled. “Get the hell away from my mate!”

“Jacob,” she admonished, but fearing for Eli’s safety, she stepped away from him anyway as her mate looked ready to explode and set the other man on fire. “Jacob, this is an old friend.”

“Friend?” Jacob sounded mollified and strode over to him. “You mean from your time as a Lone Wolf, right?”

She shook her head. “No, no. He’s?—”

At that moment, the door to the ladies’ room swung open. “Excuse me, I didn’t realize.” Olivia stopped short, and her eyes widened. “I …” Blood drained from her face.

“You …” Eli rasped. “It’s you.”

Jacob’s eyes darted from his cousin to Eli and back again. “What the hell is going on?”

Sloane wasn’t sure, but she had an inkling. “I think we should go.” She snapped her finger at Adrian. “You too. Scram!”

“Yes, ma’am.” He gave her a salute and scurried off.

“We’ll leave you two alone.” Sloane winked at Olivia, then hooked her arm into Jacob’s and dragged him off.

“What the hell … Sloane … wait a sec.”

But she ignored him, and instead pushed him into the nearest office. Once the door closed behind them, Jacob disentangled his arm from hers. “Sloane, what the heck is going on? How do you know Eli?”

She took a deep breath. It was hard to believe that Eli was alive. “He’s not a Lone Wolf.”

“Yes he is,” Jacob countered. “It’s the only way the Alpha allowed him to stay. He was one of the wolves the mages kidnapped, and once we defeated them, he decided to stay and work for the company.”

Her mouth twisted. “Maybe he is a Lone Wolf now, but he wasn’t always.”

“No?”

“Nuh-uh. He was a Boston Lycan. We grew up together, though he’s a year or two older than me. My contacts told me that he died in the battle at Lake Hope.” She’d been devastated, and carried the guilt with her this entire time because if she had known how dangerous the mages were, she would have said screw Ronan and would have gone to help anyway.

“So … Eli Blake was from Boston and then he turned Lone Wolf?”

“I guess? But his name isn’t Eli Blake.”

“No?”

She shook her head. “It’s Eli McCall. He’s Garret’s son.”

Realization passed over Jacob’s face. “No fucking way.” His expression changed to fury. “I have to talk to my dad. And my uncles. And I have to get to Olivia! If Eli harms one hair?—”

She clung to his arm, preventing him from running off. “Jacob, no.”

“I know he’s your friend, but he’s dangerous. I knew there was something off about him.”

“Jacob you don’t understand. Eli won’t harm Olivia.” Not if he was who she suspected.

“How do you know? What if he’s been working for Ronan and Garret?—”

“No, he would never. Eli hates his father.” She’d seen it with her own eyes, how Garret treated his only son. “He didn’t grow up in the clan like I did. I think … I think he came from a loving home, but then his mom died, and he was sent to live with the clan.” That first year had been brutal and she could only watch, helpless, as Garret McCall turned a sensitive young man into a soulless animal. “I don’t know what happened between the time I left and now, but trust me, please?”

He clucked his tongue. “My dad and my uncles still have to know the truth, especially if he’s been lying to us. And we need to do it before he makes a run for it.”

“All right.” But she knew he wasn’t going to run. Still, if he’d been lying to these people—her family—then he had to face them and tell them the truth. “Call your dad and uncles, and I’ll bring Eli here. I’m sure he’ll explain everything.”

“All right. Be careful with him. I’ve seen what he can do.”

“You have nothing to be worried about,” she assured him. “Besides, I’m your invincible True Mate, remember?”

He smirked at her. “Like you would ever let me forget, Sweet Stuff.”

She grinned back at him. “You bet your fucking ass I won’t, Hot Stuff.”