The Alpha's Temporary Mate (Fated Match) (19 page)

He’s with me now.
He doesn’t want her. Disaster followed that relationship.

And love. A love powerful enough to make Kieran think it couldn’t be replaced.

“What are you doing here?” Kieran asked, the words floating back to where she stood.

“I should think that was obvious.” Her gaze shifted over his shoulder to lock on Chloe’s. “Sorry, dear. I forgot your coat.”

Accusing eyes turned toward her, including Kieran’s.

“I didn’t know it was her,” Chloe tried, stepping back with raised hands. Because she hadn’t asked. She’d just assumed no one in the pack would purposefully manipulate her, but Lisette was doing just that—making it look like she’d had forewarning and not bothered to share it with the pack. Or worse, with her lover.

“You are not welcome here,” Kieran said, shifting so he was between Lisette and her.

“It’s my pack, too.” She stepped forward, moving within touching distance. “I missed you, Kieran. Did you miss me?”

“This isn’t fair, Lisette.”

“No,” she agreed. “But it isn’t just you I need to apologize to. I hurt the whole pack with my behavior. They deserve to hear my regret.”

“We’ve been fine,” he said. “Go back to whatever corner of the world you ran to.”

“That’s the point, my darling. I ran as far and as fast as I could and still I couldn’t erase you from my mind. From what I hear of your exploits, I know it was the same for you.”

“Those days are over.”

“Do you know what I’ve spent decades doing, Kieran?” she asked, taking another step closer. “I’ve meditated in monasteries. Gone on vision quests and participated in every journey toward self-discovery I could find. I know I wasn’t what you needed all those years ago, but things are different now. I’m different. I found a way to be both true to my wolf and strong for you.”

She raised a hand to his face. “I lived in exile for lifetimes to prove I can be what you need. I can put the pack first. Are you really telling me I’m too late?”

Yes,
Chloe fists clenched.
Tell her she’d far too late. Tell her you’ve found someone better. Tell her you love me.

Kieran didn’t move. Not when Lisette’s triumphant gaze flicked to her. Not when the woman closed the distance to her former lover, and certainly not when she rose on tiptoe and pressed her mouth to Kieran’s.

No.
Pain tore through her. All around wolves alternated between watching the couple on the field and looking at her—the outsider witch whose position had just become superfluous.

Humiliation raged through her. She’d signed up to be a fake lover. It was Kieran who had pushed her to cross boundaries that should never have been crossed. He’d promised her she was more than a body, more than a replacement, and obviously hadn’t meant a word of it. She’d wondered who Kieran would pick if he had the chance. Looks like she’d found out.

If hearts really could break, she was sure hers was in pieces.

Chloe took a step back, then another. Turning, she ran from the field as fast as she could. She didn’t want to be there when Kieran wrapped his arms around another woman, didn’t want to see him kiss her back. And she sure as hell didn’t want to be there when he looked around to tell her they were over. The last thing she needed was to see the gloating in his advisors eyes as she was faced with incontrovertible proof that there was no place for her in this pack. She should have learned her lesson. Lifetimes of disappointment made it very clear she would never find a family of her own.

A mate of her own.

The camp was empty as she raced toward her cabin. Slamming through the door, she grabbed every piece of clothing she’d come with and threw it into her duffle. She needed to be anywhere but here.

Bag packed, she ran outside and stopped. They’d taken Kieran’s car here. She had no way of getting back to New York. At least, not until the pack showed up with car keys, ready to take her to the nearest bus stop.

Collapsing on the steps she tunneled her fingers through her hair. There were no choices to be made. She couldn’t strike out over miles of Clearwater territory. She’d have to wait. Which meant she’d have to face Kieran and listen while he described all the reasons why he was going back to Lisette. After all, the gorgeous wolf was all the things Chloe would never be. She fit into this pack, knew the people and the customs. And worse, she was the damned embodiment of any man’s fantasy. Whereas Chloe was always the girl who was just a bit too short, a touch too plump. She couldn’t compete with this woman from Kieran’s past. Lisette was dazzling while she was…average. Boring. The perpetual Plan B.

But the fact she didn’t measure up didn’t mean she had no pride. She wouldn’t absolve Kieran and wish him well as he went back to his former flame. He’d made her a promise that apparently only held out as long as she was the only show in town.

That’s not true.
He didn’t look at anyone else while you were together.

So maybe she had been special. Just not special enough.

The sound of a car flittered past her morose thoughts, and she raised her head to see a gray sedan park in front of her. The door opened, and the last person she expected stepped out.

Darrel stared up at her, arms crossed.

“Come to gloat?” Chloe demanded, raising her chin.

“No,” he replied and held out his hand. Car keys rested in his palm. “I thought you might like an escape.”

She dragged a hand over her eyes before pushing to her feet. “Why would you help me?”

“I’m not. I’m helping the pack. This situation will be hard enough to navigate without having the witch our alpha wronged floating around camp like a heartbroken ghost.” He looked away. “For what it’s worth, you have my sympathy. I may not have wanted you for Kieran, but I don’t approve of the way Lisette is handling things.”

“You mean lip-locking another girl’s man in front of the entire pack?”

“It was not well done.” He pressed the keys forward. “Take them and find your way home. You can leave the car parked at Kieran’s building, and I’ll fetch it when I’m back in town.”

Gingerly she accepted the offering.

“Thank you,” she said.

“I’m sure at some point you will hear them in person, but on behalf of the Clearwater pack you have my apologies.”

She didn’t want them. Didn’t want anything from this pack.

Moving around Darrel, she tossed her duffle into the car and climbed in. She didn’t glance in the rearview as she drove away. There was no use in looking back. Not when the cabin she left behind represented a future she’d so desperately wanted.

L
ips pressed against his. Lips that weren’t Chloe’s. There was no scent of lavender and magic, no contented sighs from his inner wolf. If anything, the damn creature was throwing fits that Lisette was daring to touch him.

His initial shock receded long enough for his hands to wrap about Lisette’s arms and push her off.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, holding her back when she moved to press against him once more.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she murmured. “I’m proving to you we can be what we once were. I swear to you, Kieran, I will never again make the mistakes I once did. The pack comes first.”

“Does it?” he demanded. “You came here to ignite a brand new drama.”

“No. I came for you.”

He shook his head. In all the years that had passed, her antics remained the same. “You could have spoken to me privately. We could have discussed this like civilized people. Instead you ambush me in front of a field of our people.”

Sorrow filled her eyes. “Maybe my actions were wrong,” she said. “But my motives weren’t. Think of it. We could be a true ruling pair. Alpha mates.” She shook her head, reaching for him. “Why do you think I picked now of all times to come home? I’m ready, Kieran. I can be what you need.”

Years ago he’d have given anything to have Lisette standing before him, saying these words. He’d mourned the loss of her like a death of a loved one. She’d turned him into a ghost of the man he’d wanted to be.

And she hadn’t been the one to put him back together.

“Chloe,” he breathed. How could he have forgotten his pack had not been the only ones watching Lisette’s display?

Spinning around he scanned the section of the field she’d been standing in.

The space was empty.

He’d taken a single step when Lisette’s hands were on him once more. “Let the witch go,” she urged. “She’s not one of us.”

He looked back at his former lover and whatever she saw on his face had her taking a step back.

“Chloe is more of a leader than you will ever be, Lisette.” He realized the truth of his words the moment he said them. “You aren’t what this pack needs, but she damn well might be.”

Glancing around at the frozen faces watching him he shook his head. “You’re a member of the Clearwater pack and it’s your right to be here. But I don’t have to stay and listen to you wax poetic about a life we will never live.”

Leaving her behind, he stalked toward Chloe’s last location.

“Where is she?” he demanded.

The wolves before him cast out their arms, signaling their lack of an answer. Pushing past them, he strode toward the cabin. If Chloe was going to run, she’d pick a place she felt safe. He’d bet every cent he had that was were she’d be.

But when he got there all he saw was Darrel.

“She’s gone,” the other man said. “Back to the city.”

“How?”

“I lent her my car.”

His hand was around Darrel’s throat before he could think twice. “Damn you,” he growled.

The older wolf gripped his hand but didn’t struggle, as he stood pinned to the side of the cabin.

“She wanted to leave,” he wheezed. “Why would she stay?”

Kieran dropped his hand, his teeth grinding together. “All I needed to do was talk to her. Explain.”

“That you wanted another?” Darrel scoffed. “You obviously don’t know much about women.”

“No,” he growled. “I needed to explain I only want her.”

Darrel blinked. “She’s a witch.”

“Like I give a damn. I’m going after her, Darrel, and if you are wise, you will ensure that, should I be lucky enough to bring her back with me, her return will be celebrated. Lisette is not, and will never be, my future.”

But his maddening witch just might be.

That is, if he could repair what a ghost from his past had just shattered.

Chapter Nineteen

“C
ome in.”

Chloe pushed into the Fated Match office, shutting the door behind her. This was one meeting she was dreading, but it was like ripping off a Band-Aid. Better to get it over with quickly.

Vivian sat at her desk, surprise on her face as Chloe dropped into the armchair across from her.

“Hello, Viv.”

The siren dropped her pen and leaned back in her chair. “How bad?”

“Bad.”

“Lose the check, bad?”

“Possibly.” She’d run away, after all. Kieran might call that a breach of contract. On the other hand, her presence had become redundant. She’d held up her end of the bargain as long as she was needed. Surely he couldn’t blame her for wanting to avoid more humiliation by being publicly cast aside.

“Hell.”

Chloe braced herself, ready for whatever her boss tossed at her. At the end of the day it was her fault, her decision to leave. If they lost the money they needed to expand Fated Match it was because Chloe had dropped the ball.

But instead of yelling, Vivian pushed to her feet and walked to the silver cabinet in the corner. Opening the paneling, she reached for a decanter of dark liquid and poured a finger full into two glass tumblers. Returning to the desk, she held one out to Chloe.

Still expecting the axe to drop, Chloe accepted the drink and stared into the amber depths.

“Are you going to poison me?”

Vivian snorted, taking her seat. “We just lost thousands of dollars. We deserve a drink.”

“I expected you to fire me.”

White lashes shaded the siren’s eyes for a moment before she turned her attention back to Chloe.

“You had your reservations going into this and I talked you out of them by offering what you most wanted. That doesn’t mean I was one hundred percent sure we were doing the right thing.”

“Did you come to any conclusions?”

“I’d say your presence here now is a pretty good indication that we bet on the wrong horse.”

She swallowed hard, trying to keep herself together. No matter what she did, she was letting people down—left, right, and center. “You mean I shouldn’t have let my emotions cloud my judgment.”

“No,” Vivian replied. “You should never have been in the situation in the first place.”

Chloe blinked. “What have you done with my boss?”

Vivian lifted the drink to her lips. “Contrary to popular belief, I do have a heart.”

She’d always just assumed there was a cash register in the siren’s chest, but sure, if Vivian was feeling forgiving she wasn’t going to rock the boat.

“Tell me what happened,” Vivian said.

A huff of self-derision escaped her. “Exactly what you warned me about. Turns out I’m not one in a million.”

Her boss held out her drink for a toast. “Me neither.”

Touching the glasses for an obligatory clink, she tried to process the startling confession. “You’re dating someone?”

“Almost always,” Vivian replied. “But that’s not what I meant. I had my heart broken once when I was young. You have a choice ahead of you, Chloe.”

“Which is?”

“One, you could let this crush you and become the sad lady with a dozen immortal cats in her house.”

“Not an attractive option. What’s door number two?”

“Let the heartache make you stronger. Grieve, and then come back wiser with the knowledge that you will never make the same mistake twice.”

Like Vivian had, Chloe realized. Her icy boss hadn’t been born without a heart. It had merely been shattered.

Just like hers.

“Did you love him?” Vivian asked.

Chloe tossed back the remainder of her drink, enjoying the fiery burn as it slid down her throat. “Yes.”

“Damn.”

“Yep.”

“Well, take some time off. Do whatever you need to put yourself back together.”

Somehow she didn’t think a week of vacation time would cut it.

“When Abbey got dumped by Lucian you weren’t nearly this nice.”

Vivian shrugged. “Her romance endangered the survival of this agency. Besides, I hadn’t known Abbey for fifty years. I hadn’t built this business from the ground up with her.”

“My, my, Vivian. Does this mean I’m your friend?”

“Probably my one and only,” she agreed, lifting her drink in a salute. “I mean it, though. Take the time you need.”

“I’m not sure how to put the pieces back together,” she said, staring down into her empty tumbler.

Vivian was quiet for a long moment. “It happens gradually,” she said at last. “One day you decide to get up, to go back to your life, and a little piece comes back. After a little more time passes, you smile and another shard returns. There is no magic recipe, Chloe. You can’t cast a spell to numb the pain. Not even a witch as powerful as you.”

“Do you think…”Her voice trailed off.

Vivian waited with uncharacteristic patience.

“Is it possible to have a mate who belongs to someone else?” It was the only explanation that made sense. How else could she explain Kieran meeting her every need without the reverse holding true for him?

The siren sighed. “We tell our members there is one perfect match out there, but in truth, you know as well as I that connections can be missed. Relationships broken. Promises betrayed. I want to believe mates always find a way back to each other.”

“But you don’t really.”

“No,” she said, her face expressionless. “I don’t believe it.”

Chloe set her tumbler onto the desk. “Thanks for the drink. I’ll think about taking time off, but right now I need to be busy. I need…”

“To think about anything else,” Vivian said with a nod. “I’ll send you some easy cases to work on. If Kieran contacts the office, I’ll handle it.”

She inclined her head in thanks, knowing that seeing her wolf would snap the last thread of her dignity.

“I’ll get to work then.” Pushing from her chair, she navigated to the door on autopilot. All she wanted to do was go home to the privacy of her apartment but if she did, she’d fall apart. She needed to keep moving forward. One foot in front of the other. That was the extent of her capability at the moment.

Anything else, and she’d break into a thousand pieces.

S
he spent the day staring at a single file. Though she’d told Vivian the truth when she’d said she didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts, it seemed that thinking was all she was able to do.

As if on repeat, her brain kept playing the scene of Lisette and Kieran meeting once more.

On the one hand, logically, it was hard to blame him. He’d been very upfront about his intentions when she’d signed their agreement. Hell, he’d even been open about Lisette, eventually. Just because her heart had become involved was no guarantee his would have. He had the right to love whomever he wanted.

But on a far less rational side, she wanted to scream—to break things and make him hurt the way she did. She had thought…

She had thought he was her mate. As illogical and silly as it sounded, she’d thought they were the fairytale. The couple destined to be together. And he had thrown that all away for a woman who had already betrayed him once.

“His loss,” she whispered, trying to focus again on the document before her. It was of a single witch looking for love in the big city. Shouldn’t be too hard to match up.

The idea of finding love for someone else cut like a knife. Kieran hadn’t just broken her heart. He’d ruined a job she had loved.

Tossing the file back onto her desk, she leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. Maybe she really did need that vacation Vivian had offered. She had some money saved up. She could travel. A fling in Rome might push Kieran from her mind.

Except while he apparently had no problem replacing her, she couldn’t imagine letting another man touch her.

The ring of her telephone forced her back to the present. Reaching for it, she tried her best to channel her former sunny self. “Fated Match,” she greeted. “Chloe speaking.”

“Hello, Chloe,” said a female voice—one she’d only heard twice, yet would never forget.

“Lisette.”

“You returned to the city.”

Her instincts demanded she slam the phone into the cradle. Her curiosity, though, insisted she see why her rival was calling.

“It seemed best for everyone,” she said.

“In theory, perhaps. In reality, it’s caused a few problems.”

“Oh?”

“Kieran is on his way to see you.”

Chloe sat up straight. Her heart kicked into overdrive as the spark of hope she’d thought was dead flared back to life.

“He is?”

A soft sigh sounded through the phone. “You know how Kieran is. He might take a few wrong turns, but at his core he’s an honorable man. He could never be with me until he’d broken things off with you. Officially.”

He was coming to dump her. The battered flicker of hope was snuffed out once more.

“I don’t want to see him,” she said. “Tell him to turn around.”

“Won’t do any good. He’s already on the road. I just thought a heads up was the least I could do, considering.”

“Considering you came back into his life at the very worst time?”

There was a beat of silence. “Worst for you,” she said, her voice not unkind. “Best for us. We’re meant to be together. Surely you can see that. I’m sorry you were caught up in this, Chloe, truly I am. That’s why I wanted to meet you by the lake. I needed to see what sort of woman you were. See if you were better for him than I was.”

“As if you would have walked away.”

Chloe could envision the other woman shrugging. “I don’t know,” she answered. “I was serious when I said I will put the pack first.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Chloe said. “He picked you, right? Case closed.”

She was silent for a heartbeat. “I realize I have no right to ask anything of you, but I’d like you to remember that when you see him. He might waver, knowing how he’s wronged you. He might claim we’re not going to try again. Please remember that he belongs here with us. Send him back.”

“You are asking me to give my lover my blessings to be with another woman?” Surely her disbelief sounded in her voice.

“You called yourself kind. I’m asking you to be that for him, one last time. Do the right thing and let us all get on with our lives.”

“Good-bye, Lisette.”

The satisfaction she got hanging up on the perfect wolf was short lived. Seeing Kieran again was a bad idea. Who knew if she’d be strong enough to send him on his way as Lisette wanted, or whether she’d give in to the urge to turn him into a frog.

“I’ve got to get out of here,” she said aloud. The confrontation coming her way was not one she wanted to have in an office with thin walls.

Nor was it particularly one she wanted to have in her apartment where she’d forever remember what would surely be an ugly scene.

So where? She couldn’t stop Kieran’s arrival but she could take charge of how the meeting went down.

Opening her purse, she stared down at the penthouse keys she’d yet to return. As good a place as any to stomp on a little more on her heart. It seemed fitting somehow that their relationship would end in the place where it had first begun.

H
e’d driven like a madman. Speed limits had been meaningless in his quest to get back to the city. Still, he hadn’t managed to beat the night, which meant he’d have to wait before he could go after Chloe. No good would come from showing up on her doorstep at midnight.

Stepping into the elevator of his building he punched the button for the top floor. The time would be useful in other ways as well. For one thing, he could figure out what the hell to say to her.

Hours on the road and he still didn’t know.

Seeing Lisette again had been a blow he hadn’t been prepared for. Turning around and finding out Chloe had disappeared, though, was even worse. He didn’t know what he could say. What excuse he could offer. All he knew was it couldn’t end like this.

He stepped into the hall, rubbing the back of his neck. A week that had started so promisingly had crashed and burned, and it was all his fault.

Turning the key in the lock, he pushed into his apartment. The hall light was on. Odd. Had he forgotten it when they’d left days ago?

His keen hearing picked up the sound of someone shifting. He wasn’t alone.

Moving on silent feet, he slid around the doorway to the living room and looked out over the dark space.

A figure stood by the full-length windows, staring out at the glittering city.

The scent of lavender and magic hit him. Chloe.

“Lisette called,” she said, not turning around. “She made it clear you wouldn’t leave without talking to me, and I didn’t think this particular meeting deserved an audience.”

Kieran stepped farther into the room, conscious that he was in a very precarious position. His wolf leaped with excitement to see his lover again. The man, however, knew the dangers of a woman scorned.

“She shouldn’t have contacted you.”

Chloe shrugged, still not turning. “I might loathe her, but at least she had the decency to give me a heads up.”

He rounded the sofa, prowling closer. “You left.”

“I did. Breach of contract, right? Want your money back?”

“I don’t give a damn about that.” And he didn’t. He’d double the agency’s fee if she asked him to.

“Vivian will be relieved.”

“Chloe, we need to talk.”

She turned then to face him. Even with only the glow from the cityscape behind her he could see the steely look in her eyes. Gone was his fun-loving witch who saw the good in everyone. He’d done that. His need for her had erased the joy in her eyes. Regret stabbed him like a knife. Did he even have the right to fight for her if all he brought her was hurt?

“Leaving without a word? That was me not wanting to talk. You seemed to have missed that memo.”

“I wanted to explain.”

“Explain that you used me until a better offer came along? Got it. Thanks. Have a safe drive back to the camp.”

“It wasn’t like that at all.”

She arched an aristocratic brow. “Seemed pretty clear when you kissed her.”

“I didn’t kiss her.” He denied the accusation. “She kissed me.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Really? That’s the best excuse you can come up with. The two of you just sort of tripped and accidentally fell into a make-out session.”