A much bigger reason for not moving onto pack lands was, of course, Tris. Banished by his brother for joining the SEALs. And not because Samson had an issue with the military but because their father didn’t want one of his sons moving out from under his thumb—or at least that was my conclusion after hearing about the incident from many pack members recently.
Tris was my mate. Established. Samson was still holding out in so many ways. I believed if I approached him and said Tris was not in my life, he’d welcome me into the alpha house, but I could never make that move.
And, it would never work. Destiny spoke. My wolf, interpreter of destiny she was, was confident.
As I walked into Samson’s home and up the stairs to his office, I entertained the hope perhaps he’d changed his mind. How long could a man keep away from not only his mate, but also his twin. Mirror twins, they had some opposite qualities, like the way their hair curled and flecks of gold in the opposite eyes. Didn’t identical twins almost share a soul? Some thought so, especially where shifters were involved.
I rapped on the office door and waited for him to call, “Come in,” before entering. My hoped fizzled as I saw him standing, facing the window, tension in every fiber of his body. If he’d decided to make nice, he’d have looked more relaxed.
“Hi, Samson.” What else to say? I stood just inside the door, not really wanting to go in and sit down. I just wanted to go home. To go to Tris, where it didn’t hurt so much just to be in a room with him. My wolf ached.
“Christie. I’m so glad to see you.” He turned from the window, and my heart twisted at the pain on his face. I wanted to run to him, embrace him, tell him everything would be all right. But then, as usual…he opened his mouth and said more words. “What has Tris been telling you?”
“Excuse me?”
He paced toward me, arms outstretched, so I thought he might have the same thought I had. Was he going to hug me? He’d tolerated his brother a little when I was hurt, when I broke my leg and seemed unable to heal, but since then, they no longer saw each other so far as I knew. And any affection he’d shown me, outside of a word here or there, was gone.
And this time was no different. Instead of hugging me, he let his hands drop to his sides and stopped a couple of feet away. “Are you two mated?”
“Do you really want to know?” I closed the distance, going right up on my toes to glare into his eyes. “Why? Writing a book? Or are you finally willing to accept you are also my mate?”
I wobbled on tiptoe, and he grasped my shoulders and steadied me. “I need to know what is going on in my pack.”
“Really? Is that what you’re telling yourself? What next? Will you be going door-to-door, asking all the pack members who they’re sleeping with? Maybe just follow them on social media.” Although I was very angry at what he’d said, I was madder when my voice broke mid-sentence. “Samson, you can’t do this. Not to me, not to us.”
“Which us do you mean?” he growled, but before I could answer, he jerked me against his chest and his lips crashed down on mine. His tongue sought entrance, and he was in total command of the kiss. My feet dangled inches from the floor. At least, I thought it was inches. For sure, dangling. And my brain buzzed with hormones and emotions I couldn’t have named if I tried.
Then, as suddenly as it started, the kiss was over, and he turned me toward the door. “This is going nowhere,” he bit out. “Just go.”
I spun back. “You couldn’t be more right, but next time you want to summon me here, remember that.”
I cried all the way home.
Chapter Four
I would have been better served if I hadn’t gone to lunch and then to meet with Samson. Not only had it taken time I needed for my studies, like listening to class, reading the chapters assigned, and writing a twenty-five page paper due in two days, but my visit to the pack lands had resulted in my being so emotionally wrung out, I wasn’t fit to do any of it.
Something had to change. And it had to change before I lost my scholarship. I didn’t have the money to get through the rest of my degree without it. The thought was enough to help me get a grip on my runaway emotions. I dug in my purse and found a travel pack of tissues to wipe away the remains of my crying jag. I had to get my butt inside and get started on the heaps of homework. There was nothing I couldn’t accomplish if I put my mind to it. Or so I told myself. Climbing out of the car, I snagged
