Chapter Six

Roan If he lingered she would smell him. It was easier to mask your scent in the city with so many people to blend in with rather than the wide open of the pack house. Roan was thankful since he needed to hunt her for a while before he cornered her. He needed her to pin the glimpses of his scent to paranoia before he approached her because she’d already proved what she would do, which was run. What Sullen didn’t realize was that Roan would always chase her. No matter where she ran to, Roan believed in the mate bond and believed Sullen was exactly what he needed. Her scent led to a small apartment building that she shared with a male. Her mother said she was seeing someone, and it made Roan’s wolf pissed. Not that Roan enjoyed knowing his fated mate was sleeping with some human. Knowing his scent was important, he did his best to tolerate and familiarize himself with it. Sullen left for work that morning around 7:45. She’d stopped on the doorsteps and glanced around as if she thought she smelled him but wasn’t sure. He’d kept his distance after that, using her scent as a guide rather than her body. It stopped in front of an accounting firm where he guessed she worked. He longed to walk inside, find her, and drag her to a deserted corner. The things he would do to her … “Get it together,” he mumbled to himself. Turning around, he caught a glimpse of a small condominium across the street from the firm. A smile curled up his jaw. He only needed a place for a couple of nights, and what was better than posting camp across the road from her job? *** The day was agonizingly slow. Roan was used to staying busy. Having something to handle being Alpha. The list of alpha duties was endless, and handing them over to Jacob hadn’t been easy. Standing at the window of his condo, a perfect view of her job, he pulled out his cell phone. Jacob answered on the second ring. “Let me guess, she saw you and attacked you? You’re in the hospital and need someone to come get you.” “Cute. Did you find out anything about the rogue?” Roan asked, tugging on a new t-shirt. “Nope,” Jacob said. “The dude isn’t talking, well, he’s talking, just nothing we want to hear. He’s a real dick. He keeps telling us what he’s going to do to our shewolves, and that we don’t know what’s coming.” Roan’s wolf stirred. His mate would vanish when he needed to be at the pack house taking care of his pack. “Keep on him. Toss some wolf’s bane into his food if you need to, but not enough to put him down. Just enough to make him sick.” Roan heard his chair recline on the other end. “Are you in my chair?” “Of course not—” “Get out,” he demanded. “The firm where she works closes soon, so I need to be on watch.” “You’re legit stalking her?” Jacob asked. “What. A. Creep.” Roan couldn’t stop smiling. “Screw you. I’ll call when I have something to report. You do the same.” “Alright, Captain.” Roan hung up the phone and slipped it into his jean pocket. Bracing his palms against the windowsill, he watched as several people walked out of the firm. It was closing time. Sullen left the building at 5:15. Her skirt rode up her thighs as she walked down the stairs, making his wolf growl in possessiveness. Roan’s fingers tightened around the windowsill. She was so close, yet so far away. She glanced down at her watch, used the railing of the stairs as a back brace, and changed out of her shoes. She put on a pair way too high for work, put the others in her purse, tossed her head between her legs, and fluffed her hair. She was meeting a man. He knew it. He grabbed his keys and jetted down the stairwell, out into the humid southern air. Following behind her, he watched as her head of ebony hair danced in and out of his sight. The more they walked, Roan realized she was heading toward the food strip down town. She stopped in front of a fancy Italian restaurant and glanced inside at the hostess stand. Several seconds went by, and she glanced down the sidewalk, looking for him. Sighing, she folded her arms over her chest and waited. Whoever she was meeting was late. The restaurant door opened, and a waiter walked outside holding a cordless phone. Sullen looked confused but took it. Roan blocked out the traffic and the miscellaneous chitchat around him. “Where are you?” she asked. “What? A week? You just got back?” She kicked at the sidewalk and wiped at her eye. “Okay, Duke. I’m starving. I need to grab myself something to eat. See you in a week.” Roan’s wolf loved the hostility in her voice. She was pissed at this guy, and it only put Roan in a better position. Roan would have ample chances of getting to her if her little boyfriend was gone for an entire week. Sullen stormed down the sidewalk, stopping at a food vendor. She grabbed a hot dog and a bag of chips. Roan grabbed one after her and lazily walked her home. It still counted if he was half a football field behind her. He wanted to make sure she made it home okay, not that she couldn’t kick a human’s ass. Why does she like it here? his wolf asked. “I dunno,” he mumbled. He finished his hot dog and stopped a few blocks away from her apartment, tucking himself into a small alcove. Sullen dug through her purse for her keys and stopped. Glancing over her shoulder, she searched the crowd, her gaze settling on the alcove where Roan hid in the shadows. She sensed him, and he sensed her heart rate pick up in speed. Keeping her eyes on the darkness across the road, she hurried her keys into the door and nearly tripped on her way inside. Roan grinned, waiting several seconds before walking back to his rented condo. Getting under her skin was going to be fun. Tomorrow he planned to make a visit to her bedroom. Maybe his scent on her pillow would drive her wolf crazy. He prayed for it.