Page 37 of Wolf Revealed

Khaki shook her head. “No. But the reason for that is obvious, isn’t it? Mike is your soul mate. It only makes sense that he smells special to you.”

Lark could feel Violet’s gaze on her, but refused to even glance in her direction. Was that why she’d felt drawn to Dallas a decade ago? Because her inner wolf had been drawn to her soul mate?

“Even if you’re right, and Mike is my soul mate, how do I know he feels the same way?” she said softly, absently playing with the engagement ring on her finger. “What if I messed it all up by leaving?”

Her inner wolf whined at the notion, even as she prayed that wasn’t true.

“Mike is your soul mate, Lark,” Khaki said. “The moment you came back, he welcomed you into his life, and will do anything to protect you and Kal. What other man would act like that in this situation, other than the guy who’s fated to be with you forever?”

Lark couldn’t argue with that. Most men would have lost their minds when they discovered their fiancée had faked her death, not to mention their child’s. The fact that Mike still wanted her in his life might be as much proof as she’d ever need that they were soul mates.

“Okay, assuming Mike and I really are soul mates, what do we do about it?” Lark asked, her mind racing. “I mean, do we have to do something official, like a commitment ceremony?”

That question earned her a laugh from Khaki.

“No, you don’t have to do any kind of ceremony,” Khaki said. “You just have to be open to letting the relationship happen. Because, while you two might be fated to be together, that doesn’t mean you can’t screw it up. Werewolves can be extremely talented at messing up a good thing. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen more than once. Not that I think you have to worry about that with Mike. He isn’t going to do anything stupid. But you still need to do your part. Because right now, it seems like both of you are standing back and waiting for something to happen. Someone is going to have to take the first step.”

The idea that she could ruin the bond between her and Mike, simply by pretending it didn’t exist, was scary. But Lark decided not to think about that. Instead, she focused on how to rebuild her relationship with him and trust that everything would work out somehow.

Of course, that was assuming they could figure out a way to deal with Roman and his supernatural crew of goons.

Khaki was suggesting ways Violet might find her soul mate, too, when Kal, Connor, and Jasper came over to join them, Tuffie at their side.

“Did you see what I did?” Kal asked excitedly, hyped up like he’d eaten a five-pound bag of sugar. “I caught the football on a deep pass from Jasper, right in between Carter and Connor!”

“I did see that,” Lark said with a laugh, standing up to sweep her son into a hug. “You were amazing!”

A huge smile spread across his small face. “Do you think Dad’ll be back in time for us to throw the ball around before dinner?”

“I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” Carter promised. “He and the other guys are just looking for a guy who might know where to find Roman.”

Kal’s brow creased, his excitement quickly replaced with worry. “He isn’t doing anything dangerous, right? He’s just looking for someone?”

“Definitely nothing dangerous,” Connor promised. “They’re just looking for an accountant. Nothing safer than that.”

Lark hoped so.

Chapter sixteen

“There are four of them covering the back, probably more in the front,” Trey shouted, pulling back as several bullets slammed into the door frame near where his head had been seconds before. “Dark tactical gear, heavily armed, and they don’t smell like Roman and his crew.”

Staying low, Trey moved across the floor of the living room to the corner where Mike and everyone else were all huddled around Xander, staring at the twelve-inch-long blade sticking out of his chest.

“Backup is on the way,” Hale told them as he shoved his cell phone back in a cargo pocket. “But we probably need to assume we’re on our own for the next ten to fifteen minutes.”

Mike nodded as Trey—who was one of the team’s medics—checked out the knife in Xander’s chest. Werewolves could handle a lot of damage, but a knife through the heart would have been enough to end it all.

“The blade isn’t near anything vital, so I can pull it out,” Trey announced.

Normally, they never would have revealed pack secrets, but at a moment like this, secrets took a backseat to survival.

“Shouldn’t we leave it where it is until we can get him to a hospital?” Roy asked in alarm as Trey leaned forward. “Pulling it out could kill him.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Trey said, wrapping his hand around the leather-wrapped hilt. “Those guys out there aren’t letting us leave anytime soon and we’re not getting out of here without Xander’s help.”

“But...” Roy’s words trailed off as Trey yanked the blade out of Xander’s chest.

Xander grunted and pushed himself into a sitting position, rotating his right arm in small circles as Roy sat there on the floor gaping in shock.