The Scared Mate

"This can't be right," Eric said.

"I ran it through myself a second and third time," Dr. Knolls replied.

"And you're certain the blood sample was from the girl?"

"I took it myself."

"But this isn't possible," Eric said.

"It wasn't until now."

Eric dropped the file on the desk and leaned back in his chair. Suddenly Wyatt's new little mate was a whole lot more interesting.

"Thank you Doctor," Eric said. "You can go, and please, keep this to yourself."

"Of course," Dr. Knolls smiled at Eric. Eric nodded his head at the man, knowing he appreciated the acknowledgment of his Alpha.

Once Eric was alone he pulled out his cellphone, scrolled to the contact and hit send. He wasn't surprised it went straight to voicemail.

"Alpha Baxt...Wyatt. This is Eric, I'm sure that you've been getting enough phone calls from my mate, but I wanted to personally contact you and see how things were going. I would also like to extend an open invitation for you and your mate to return to my lands whenever you like. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know."

Eric ended the call and sat up at his desk. He hoped that the voicemail sounded sincere enough. The puzzle surrounding the other Alpha's mate was getting more interesting by the second and Eric wanted to be there when the pieces came together.

Charlotte

A small pop sounded in Charlie's ears as she opened her eyes. Out of habit she clenched her stomach, but then realized it didn't hurt for the first time in recent memory. She looked down and saw a tube coming out of her hand, her eyes traced the source to an IV pump next to the bed she was laying in. Charlie wasted no time grabbing ahold of the IV and pulling it out of her. She winced as the needle slid out only to realize she wasn't able to close her mouth all the way. Horror creeped its way in when she realized another tube was in her mouth. Wasting no time she grabbed hold and pulled the tube out, gagging as it worked its way up her throat.

After a quick pat down Charlie realized all the tubes were gone. She sat up in the bed and got a look at her surroundings. It didn't look like a hospital room, the bed she was in was a king with a modern metal frame. Contemporary art decorated the walls and she spotted three closed doors, no doubt leading to a bathroom, closet, and hall. On the other side were a set of glass double doors. This was not a room Charlie had ever seen before and certainly wasn't in her pack house.

Before her confusion could set in memories of recent events came crashing down. The last thing she could remember was her so-called Mate bringing her to his house, everything after that was fuzzy, but this had to be it. Charlie swung her legs over the bed and stood up. She went to the glass doors and pushed them open, she expected to walk out onto a balcony but the room must have been on the ground floor. She stepped out onto a brick patio.

A raindrop landed on her head and thunder crashed in the background. For once the universe seemed to be on her side. Goosebumps formed on her arms and Charlie realized someone had put her in a cotton nightgown. She didn't want to waste any time looking for other clothing and continued walking. She stuck close to the house as she rounded the side.

There was a hill and Charlie slipped in the wet grass. The room she woke up in must have been in a basement. She stayed on the ground and crawled up the steep incline, digging her hands into the grass and pulling herself upward. Once she was on level ground again lightning lit up the sky and Charlie caught a glimpse of the driveway, parked right in front was the same car she'd come in on.

Knowing the wrong choice could cost her everything Charlie decided it was worth a shot checking the vehicle for keys. She let the rain pelt her, hoping it washed away some of the mud, ignoring how cold she was growing. When she pulled on the driver's door it opened with ease. As the interior light came on she got a clear view of the key sticking out of the ignition. Charlie climbed in and closed the door behind her.

The sound of the rain hitting the roof echoed through the car, but Charlie waited until she heard thunder again to turn the engine over, as the vehicle came to life Charlie let out a laugh. She backed the car down the driveway without turning the lights on yet. When she reached the gravel road she continued slowly, remembering the turns she took to get here. She arrived at the main road without attracting the attention of any other vehicles. As Charlie turned off the property of the Eights her foot slammed on the gas. She didn't care about the poor weather conditions, she had to get as far away as possible.

There was a pain growing in her heart, and a small voice in the back of her head told her not to run away, that her mate would help her and keep her safe. Charlie shook it off. She knew the only person who could protect her was herself. She pushed her foot down again, knowing she would have to dump the car soon or else risk being traced. Wherever she ended up the one thing she wanted was to remain alone.

Eric

"Do you remember that one time we decided to sneak out and play in the rain?" Bridget was glowing when she looked at Wyatt.

"Oh man, we got in so much trouble," Wyatt replied.

The two of them droned on about yet another remember when story, Eric was trying his hardest not to groan. He needed to play nice, at least until he figured out what was going on with Wyatt's mate. He needed to steer the conversation back to her.

"We are getting a little loud," Eric said. "Aren't you scared we will wake up Charlotte?"

About the only thing Wyatt had said about her was her name, and not even a last name at that. Bridget gave Eric a scowl as Wyatt stopped laughing.

"She's still in recovery," Wyatt said. "Sleeps through almost everything."

"You two must be having fun getting to know each other," Eric said. "What have you discovered? Was she a rouge?"

Wyatt grimaced and readjusted himself in his seat.

"I'm not comfortable speaking for her," the other Alpha responded.

"If she joined us I would ask her myself," Eric said.

Bridget gave his leg a slap and Eric looked at her with confusion.

"Can't you see Wyatt doesn't want to talk about her," Bridget said. "We are having a light easy going night, no need to get heavy."

Eric's eyes darted to the other Alpha, he looked down at the ground and then stood up from his chair. The man seriously had no backbone, Eric would never allow someone else to speak for him like that. Wyatt had no pride. Before Eric accidentally spoke his mind he remembered he needed to stay on the guy's good side for the time being.

"I need another drink," Bridget said.

"It's getting a little late," Wyatt replied. "Do you guys want a guest room? The storm is still going."

"It's barely midnight," Bridget whined. "At least one more drink, we've barely made a dent in the bottle."

"I'll get them," Eric said. "I'm sure you two have more you want to catch up on."

"Please?" Bridget looked at Wyatt with puppy dog eyes.

Eric would have put a stop to this behavior a week ago, but he had bigger interests than getting jealous over his mate. It was almost like Bridget was trying to antagonize him.

He walked into Wyatt's kitchen, not surprised to hear the conversation continue as soon as he left the room. He debated on trying to find Charlotte, but he was sure she was upstairs in Wyatt's room. There was no way to get upstairs without being noticed. Eric decided the best way to accomplish that was with a distraction.

Taking two of the glasses Eric poured a healthy amount of booze followed by a splash of mixer. He took the third glass and put only juice. It took a lot for a shifter to get drunk, but Eric was confident he could pull it off. This way when Wyatt's mate woke up in the morning Eric could be wide awake and waiting, without worrying about questions from Wyatt or Bridget.