Page 18 of I Don’t Believe In Fated Mates!

She sets down her tea and leaps to her feet. I stand up hastily, and we make our way out of the room, down the long hallway, and to the front door.

There are six police cars parked in front of the pack headquarters, and they're from Fayetteville, an hour west of us. So that means they're human police.

Shifters are hurrying towards the headquarters. There's that pack telepathy bond.

I spot Jesse and Cole coming out of the woods. "Dax!" Marion calls out. A virtual mountain of a man with a military looking cut is jogging towards us with a grim expression, followed by eight other men who bristle with muscles and look a lot like him. "He's our pack chief of security," Marion murmurs.

I also see Jeremiah, moving towards us from a couple of blocks away, accompanied by four other shifters- two men and two women. I recognize them from a photograph that's on the wall in pack headquarters; they're the shifter council.

All of the police officers climb out of their cars. I can see from the looks on their faces that they're terrified, which makes sense. Half a dozen humans aren't a match for even the weakest shifter.

One of them pulls out a bullhorn. "Lane Davenport!" he shouts. "We need to see the human woman Lane Davenport!"

My heart stutters in my chest.

I make a move to stride forward, but Jesse and Cole barrel over and stand in between me and them. Dax and his men move to stand with Jesse. More and more shifters are showing up now. There are close to a hundred of them already here. The humans are completely outnumbered.

"You're not taking her anywhere!" Jesse snarls.

The man with the bullhorn swallows but stands his ground. "We have received word that she's been kidnapped and is being held against her will."

What the…."Oh, hell. Alexis." I turned my phone off and she freaked out.

"Who is Alexis?" Marion looks at me in confusion. "Wait. She was one of your job references."

I quickly pull my phone from my pocket and turn it back on. "Yes, she's my best friend. I was really mad at Jesse the first day I met him and I was complaining about it and then I changed my mind and told her I actually wanted to stay here and…" I have twenty-seven missed calls and forty missed texts.

Oops.

I glance at the police officer who is trying to sidestep Jesse. "Sir, step aside! We have silver bullets and we don't want to have to use them! We have been notified that a human female is being held hostage here in violation of the Shifter-Human Accord of the 1960s! You are legally obligated to release her to us."

"She is my fated mate and if you lay a hand on her you're a dead man!" Jesse growls.

Fear swells up inside of me.

"You see?" Jeremiah yells at the crowd. "Humans don't belong here! They're going to re-start the war!" There are two men and two women gathered near him. The pack council. Frowns crease their foreheads. They're glancing at each other, nodding at each other without speaking.

My heart sinks. I could just climb in a car with the police and run away, leave behind Jesse and all the messy, complicated things that go with being in a relationship. I could find a job somewhere else.

I could break his heart, and mine.

It would be easier in a way. The pack is going to be suspicious of me after this. I'm going to have to work hard to win acceptance.

But I won't do it. Too many people gave up on me in the past. I will not give up on Jesse and I will not give up on this pack.

"Wait!" I cry out, pushing my way forward. I scowl at Jeremiah. "Human beings are reasonable. You're not giving any of us a chance."

I walk up to the police officer.

"I am Lane Davenport, and I am not being held against my will. This is all a huge misunderstanding. I got in an argument with this guy and complained to my friend Alexis about it. She's the one who called this in. When I told her today that I'd worked everything out and he's actually my mate, she argued so much I hung up on her and turned off my phone."

The police officer stares at me like I've taken leave of my senses.

"Look," I say, in my most reasonable, calming tone, "I am standing five feet away from you. If I wanted to leave, I'd jump in that squad car and shut the door, and you have silver bullets so you could stop anyone who tried to get in the way." Actually, they couldn't. There are now about fifty shifters gathered on the sidewalk, strong enough to tear doors off cars, and he and his fellow officers might be able to shoot a few of them before the shifters killed them all - but why bring that up?

I take a deep breath. "I came here to interview for a job, I got the job, and I'm staying. These are my people now." I wave at Marion and Jesse and Cole. "And this is my man." I point straight at Jesse.

The fierce red glow in his eyes dies down a little bit.