Once outside, she and Sawyer strolled toward the hops fields behind the brewery, their hands finding each other’s as they walked. The sun had already gone down, but the moon provided more than enough light. Not that she needed the extra glow. Her night vision—which usually wasn’t any better than a regular person’s—had suddenly decided to work for her, so she could see as perfectly as if it were daytime. Surrounded by all the trellises, the earthy scent of hops swirled around them, reminding her a little of a pine forest.
They walked in comfortable silence for a little while before Harley finally gathered her courage enough to say what had been on her mind since long before they’d even slept together.
“After tonight, our respective teams will go their separate ways,” she said softly. “You’ll be back in London, or wherever MI6 sends you, and I’ll be back in DC, or wherever STAT sends me.”
When Sawyer didn’t say anything, she wondered if he’d heard her. Or perhaps he had heard but didn’t know what to say. Maybe the reason he was taking so long to reply was because he was trying to figure out how to let her down gently. Maybe bringing up whatever this was between them had been a bad idea. But if they didn’t talk about it now, there might not be time later and she couldn’t imagine walking away from him after the mission and never seeing him again. The mere thought made her heart shrivel up.
“While that’s true,” he finally said, his voice equally soft in the darkness, “it doesn’t mean we can’t keep seeing each other.”
Harley felt like the sun had just risen somewhere in her chest, and her heart basked in its warmth. She smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Did you ever doubt it? I mean, I don’t know how we’re going to make it work with our schedules, but we’ll figure it out.” He gave her a sidelong glance, his mouth edging up. “This is probably going to sound crazy, especially since we just met, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone else.”
“Me, either,” she admitted.
Should she tell him why they were falling for each other so fast? What if it scared him off? Then again, maybe he already knew about the legend of The One. And if he didn’t know about the legend, it was better he learn about it from her rather than someone else in her pack. She didn’t want him thinking she’d kept something so important from him.
Taking a deep breath, she gave his hand a tug, pulling him to a stop.
“There’s a reason we’re both feeling this way,” she said when he turned to face her.
Sawyer studied her in the moonlight, blue eyes curious. Like he thought she was going to suddenly profess her love for him. Crap, was she in love with him? Or was it the soul-mate thing making it seem that way?
“What’s wrong?” he asked when she didn’t say anything.
“There’s nothing wrong.” The night breeze played with her hair, brushing it against her face, and she reached up with her free hand to tuck it behind her ear. “It’s just that there’s this werewolf thing you should probably know about. It’s not really a thing, I guess. It’s more of a legend or a folktale. I wasn’t sure I believed it the first time I heard about it, but it kind of makes sense.”
Harley knew she was babbling, but she couldn’t seem to stop. Hell, she was on the verge of hyperventilating.
Sawyer took her other hand in his, holding on to them both. “Harley, what are you trying to say?”
She swallowed hard. “I’m saying there’s a connection that’s supposed to exist between a werewolf and the person they’re meant to be with. They call it finding The One. As in The One you’re supposed to spend your life with. Like soul mates.”
Sawyer gazed at her for a long time, and for the life of her, she couldn’t read his expression.
“Soul mates?” he echoed. “Like we’re destined to be together?”
She cringed, not sure she liked the way he said it. “I don’t know about the whole destiny thing. I just know that some werewolves are lucky enough to find the person who’s perfect for them. Like Jake and Jes. Caleb told me he’s seen it happen with other werewolves back in Dallas.”
Sawyer didn’t say anything. Crap, she’d screwed up. This was exactly what she’d feared. He might be her soul mate, but she wasn’t his. Maybe he didn’t care for her at all. Maybe his idea of seeing each other was getting together for sex every so often.
“Is it that you don’t like the idea of soul mates or that you don’t think I’m yours?” Harley asked softly, barely able to get the words out.
Sawyer stared at her for a second, then his eyes widened. “No, it’s nothing like that! It’s just that until five seconds ago, I thought soul mates were make-believe. Like something in books and movies. It’s a lot to take in. As far as you and me being soul mates? How the bloody hell am I supposed to know?”
Her heart sank even deeper. Sawyer must have seen it reflected in her eyes because he sighed.
“I’m making a mess of this,” he muttered. “Look, I don’t know anything about soul mates or being The One. But I do know that I don’t want to lose what we have. I’ve never felt like this with anyone before and I don’t even want to think about it ending.”
“So, you think maybe we could be…?” She trailed off, desperately wanting to finish with soul mates but terrified of scaring him off.
“I don’t think either of us knows yet what we can be.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “But we’ll only find out if we stay together long enough to figure it out. And I promise I’m not going anywhere until we know.”
Harley went up on her toes to kiss him. He weaved his hands in her hair and kissed her back, the touching of their lips becoming more urgent with every passing second.
“Before we get around to figuring out what comes next, we have to get through this mission,” Sawyer said, cupping her face in his hand. “I want you to promise you’ll be careful. No crazy stuff. After we save the world, we’ll have that serious conversation on exactly what we are to each other and how we’ll make this work, okay?”
Harley smiled and nodded. “Promise.”
She pulled him down for another kiss, about to ask what he thought of making out in a field of hops, when she heard Caleb calling them from the loading dock.
“Stop making out and get back in here. Yegor made his move on the Gravelines plant.”
Chapter 18
Sawyer picked up the scent of blood long before he led the way around the corner and saw the three bodies lying twisted in the hallway of the Gravelines Nuclear Power Station. The large pools of blood near each told him everything he needed to know, even if his ears hadn’t picked up any heartbeats. Rory must have realized the same thing because he didn’t bother to check for a pulse. Misty couldn’t stop herself from at least making an effort. Then again, she hadn’t been doing this job long enough to recognize when it was too late for someone. If she was lucky, she’d never get to that point.