Kate’s head clunked against the window and she started, sitting up straight in the big front seat. The seatbelt for sure had made a crease in her neck and there was probably drool on the side of her mouth. She wiped it really quickly with the back of her hand and turned to look at Ryan. Right. I’m running from my psychotic grandparents with a mate who wants me but won’t pick me and plans to dump me on some pal of his for five freaking years. Way to go, Kate.

“You okay?” Ryan’s voice was dark, but that darkness wasn’t aimed at her. No, for her there was only sweetness and caring. This whole I-can’t-have-you bullshit would have been easier if he were an asshole like Christian. What kind of guy agrees to marry a girl who obviously isn’t okay with the plan? An asshole. That’s what kind.

She’d thought Ryan was an asshole at first, but now… Now, she knew better. She knew that Ryan had worked his ass off to be the man his whole pack trusted. He’d earned their respect even after what his father had done. And his pack had voted him in as their next alpha. He had a plan to knit the pack back together—permanently, for the good of everyone—and she was sitting here feeling sorry for herself, wishing that he would drop them all like a bad habit and choose her instead. Selfish much?

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just forgot where I was for a second.”

“We’re in Durant, about ten miles out from the cabin. Thought you might be hungry.” He pointed to the diner they were parked beside. His gaze lingered on her bare thighs just long enough for Kate to notice. Then he looked away without a word.

She sucked up the sob forming in her chest. No, staying with him wasn’t an option. He needed her to be as far away as possible so he could do his thing and fix his pack. She knew in her heart he could do anything he set his mind to. A man who could deny the clawing, needy, overwhelming mate pull that threatened to undo her just about every time she looked at him—who could literally have his tongue inside her body and not claim her despite the crazy magick pulling at him—was capable of doing anything.

“Food sounds good, thanks,” she said, keeping her voice steady and even. She would not cry. She would not cry. She would not cry.

He was out of the truck and on her side before she could take another breath. Opening the door for her like a perfect gentleman. Dammit. He wasn’t making this easy.

“The cabin will be safe for the shift. Then I’ll bring you up to Manhattan or—”

“Can we not talk about me leaving right now?” she said, sliding down from the front seat to the ground. She smoothed the skirt of the yellow sundress and pasted a half smile onto her face. If he could be strong, then so could she.

His eyes scrunched and his mouth tightened at her request, but he nodded. “The food here is good. Blueberry muffins are the best.”

Food. Of course he’d be able to talk about food. What guy couldn’t? She nodded. “Sounds great. Who would ever turn down a blueberry muffin?”

He shut the car door behind her and gestured toward the front. The diner was old and metallic. It reminded her of a silver camper on the outside. No porch, just a single step leading to the door. Ryan still had yet to touch her even once. Not even a slip of his hand along her back.

It hurt from the inside. She needed…no craved…his touch. How was she ever going to make it through a shift with him without trying to get him to abandon his duty and pick her instead?

“You’re The One That I Want” was playing on the radio inside, taunting her and reminding her she would have to leave him. Have to give up on having a life with Ryan. She swung her gaze around the diner and gave a sad little halfway chuckle. The inside was retro and cute. Black and white floors. Silver trim everywhere. Bright red leather seats on the barstools and in the booths. Even the tables had stainless steel tops. It was like stepping onto the movie set for Grease.

She followed Ryan to an empty booth and sat on the bench opposite him. Their knees brushed just the slightest bit and she fought the urge to let her leg rest against his. It wasn’t fair to her or to him. He’d made his choice. The noble one. The unselfish one. And now she needed to do the same. No matter how hard it was. No matter how much her wolf hated her. She had to do the right thing. The noble thing.

“Hi, folks.” A pretty waitress popped by the table. She put down glasses of water and flashed them a wide smile. “Any tea or coffee?”

Kate shook her head. She’d do well to eat one of those damn muffins he’d mentioned. Her stomach was in the middle of World War III, rotating between the giddiness of being with Ryan and sickness at the thought of leaving him.

“Anything else for you, sir?” The waitress turned to Ryan expectantly.

“No, thank you. Could you bring out a couple of your blueberry muffins for us, please?”

“Of course. Be right back.”

“You’ll feel better after you eat,” Ryan said. He started to move his arm, like he was going to reach for her over the table, but he stopped himself. “It’s hard to run on an empty stomach. Unless you want to hunt.”

Kate made a face and shuddered. She loved her wolf and all, but she very much disliked hunting in animal form and waking up with blood on her face, in her mouth, and something questionable in her stomach. “I prefer not to hunt, so thanks for stopping here, but do we have enough time?”

Ryan nodded. “We have just about an hour. Plenty of time to eat a bit and then get out to my cousin’s place.”

“Can I borrow your phone? I want to let Gretchen know we made it.”

“You can’t tell her where you are. Not right now.” Ryan pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to her.

“I know. I just don’t want her to worry. I won’t tell her exactly where we are.” Kate took the phone and slid out of the booth. “Will you order me a club sandwich, please? I need some protein.”

“Sure.”

Kate walked out of the diner and into the mid-afternoon sunlight. The moon was already starting to pull on her wolf. She could feel it stretching and pacing inside her. It knew the run was coming. She walked over to Dee’s big white truck and leaned against the side. Took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She could feel Ryan’s presence inside the diner. The pull was that strong.

She could leave right now. Shift and run. Find herself another pack. She could do that before her grandfather caught up to her…she hoped. It would be easier this way. Easier than having him hide her away somewhere, knowing he would never come back for her, even if he said five years. Five years of torture, and she still didn’t know if it would even save her from her grandfather. He was hell-bent on making her a brood mare in a loveless marriage back in El Paso.

He didn’t give up when he wanted something.

Suddenly, an arm came around her waist and another clamped over her mouth and she looked up to see a familiar face. Christian.

“Nmmmrrrr!” She tried to yell and the phone slipped out of her fingers, clattering to the ground. She tried to pull at his arms, but he was in complete control. They’d made him a shifter, and he was male—easily stronger than her. She kicked at the truck, hoping to bust a taillight. Maybe Ryan would hear that, but Christian pulled her away before her foot could do any damage.

“You shouldn’t have run, Kate. I have to save my sister. I have to do this.”

Sister? Figures her no good grandfather would have leverage on Christian too. Maybe the guy wasn’t quite the jackass she’d first thought…however, he was abducting her like a damn serial killer and dragging her off like a prize to be slaughtered…or mated. Shit. Is Grandmother with him? They passed a green dumpster. Then a dilapidated old shed. He was going to get away with this, and Ryan wouldn’t know what had become of her.

“Mmmmrrrhhh,” she tried to yell again. She was not going to be mated to this guy. No matter what her grandfather had threatened. No. No. No. She kicked out again, trying to hit him in the shins, but he compensated for her movement and twisted to avoid the blow.

“Stop it. You’re making this worse than it has to be,” he growled. Then he started reciting something in a language she didn’t recognize.

“Nnnnnnnrrrr,” she screamed through his hand. How did he know the spell? Nobody in her pack knew it except her grandparents. Had they taught it to him just so he could hunt her down and steal her freedom? Rage rolled through her body like a Texas thunderstorm. She twisted against his iron grip and then bit into his hand with her teeth. The copper taste of blood pushed her wolf to the forefront.

“Fuck,” he shouted, pulling his hand away.

“Help! Ryan!” Kate screamed.

Christian grabbed her and started reciting the spell again. He got it out twice before she wrenched herself free. She stared at her wrists. Nothing. No tattoos. No burning sensation. It hadn’t worked. She took a step back from him and growled, letting her wolf rise even closer to the surface.

Christian pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “It should have worked. She said to say it twice.”

The spell. Kate darted forward, grabbing the paper from his hands. She ripped it in half. Then again. And again. Pieces fell to the ground. Some blew into the wind. “Well it didn’t, you jackass.”

“I’ll just have to try again. He lunged for her, but a huge body knocked him to the ground with a thud.

He came for me.