Why did no one want her? Shaking her head, she lay down. She wanted to cry and let it all out. Then she wouldn’t talk about it again. It was over. She felt her body shift. Lying next to the water in her human form, Raven cried.
Rocking back and forth, she had let herself be taken into this fantasy world that Caz was her mate. But he wasn’t. When he didn’t get what he wanted, he let her go. Just like everyone else in her life.
“You are too beautiful to be crying.”
Raven’s head flew up and watched as Wyatt Benjamin stood beside her. She never even heard him approach. She sat there in total fear. What had she done? Did he see her shift? “You are safe here. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
He started to pull his shirt over his head and Raven tried to move away. “Here, this is for you to cover up with.” She stopped and stared at the man. He looked like he was ten feet tall and she was a big girl and a bear. She eyed the shirt he held out to her.
“What are you doing here?”
She watched as Wyatt kneeled then sat in front of her. “I live here. This is my land. I was taking my walk and heard you. And look who I found. Can’t say I’m sorry because anytime a man finds a beautiful woman on his land, well, he needs to get to know her better. Much better.”
“I’m sorry. I was running and—”
Smiling, he said, “You run in the nude? Now that’s my kind of woman.”
Raven knew her face lit up. She could feel the heat creeping up her neck and face. “I know it looks kinda stupid, but I-I like to be free when I run. I hide my clothes and run then come back and put them on.” It sounded stupid even to her as she made up the most ridiculous lie.
“Hmm…” was all he said but she watched as he continued to stare down at her chest.
“I’ll take your shirt now if you don’t mind,” Raven asked, pushing her hand out.
He smiled but never turned his eyes as she slipped the shirt over her head. The look of hunger on his face made her feel funny.
“What has you so upset?”
Raven got up slowly and the shirt came down past her butt cheeks. “Nothing. Just had a lot on my mind and I ran too far, I guess.”
“Been doing that a lot lately.”
Narrowing her eyes, she wondered what that meant and didn’t like where this was going. “But anytime you want to run on my land, you go right ahead. I’ve got lunch made and I’d like for you to join me. Everyone needs food after a good run and cry. It makes it all better.”
Wyatt grabbed her hand and walked down a small path she hadn’t seen before. Taking a deep breath, she followed him. In her mind, she knew this was a chance to get answers, and no matter what, she had to take it. She was a hunter and sometimes that required going beyond the rules. She may not live but it was a chance she was going to take. As the forest started to thin out, the castle came into view.
This time nobody was wandering in the yard. As they got closer, she could smell the food and see the steam coming off the dishes on the back porch. Still nobody was around.
“Where is your family?” she muttered, looking around the yard.
“Here, there, everywhere. Nobody will bother us. Just you and me.”
With that being said, Raven knew she shouldn’t be here. None of this made sense. “Why?”
As they reached the table, Wyatt stopped and stared at her. “Why what, sweetheart?”
“Why me?”
Wyatt pulled a chair out for her to sit. As soon as she did, he sat beside her. “Because you remind me of someone. I miss her so much.”
“Your wife?”
His smile faded as quickly as it came. “Yes. But I won’t hurt you, Raven. I just miss talking to her. We would walk for hours and just talk.”
“What do you want to talk about?” Raven felt the sorrow as he spoke.
“Why were you crying?”
Raven looked off into the trees. “I let myself believe something and it wasn’t true. I should have known better, but I allowed myself to hope.”
“He broke your heart.”
Staring at the man, she couldn’t lie to him. Well, she could, but again she had to tell him something that he would believe in order for him to open up more. She continued to tell him things she should have kept to herself. “Yes.” She nodded.
“Here, let’s eat. A full stomach always gives me a different perspective.” Wyatt held a plate out to her, and like he said, she filled her plate. “I remember when I met my wife and we would argue like most couples do. She would think that I couldn’t possibly love her. I already had millions and she didn’t think I could possibly care for her when she had nothing to bring to the table.”
“Money, you mean?”
“Yes, but it was never about the money. She was scared that she wouldn’t be able to be my wife. That people would only think she was after my money. It took me a while, but I proved to her that our love was much more than money.
“Like you and Caz Milton. Whatever it is, you can work it out. And just like me and my mate, you will be happy again.” Raven’s head jerked up. Nobody but shifters would use the word mate.
“Mate?” Raven tried to act nonchalantly. “That’s a funny word.”
Wyatt put his fork down and turned in his seat and faced her. “I don’t know why, but I’m going to take a chance on you, Raven. Trust isn’t just a word I use lightly. It’s everything to my people. It’s all we have to keep us safe. I’m going to tell you a story that I’m going to trust you with.”
Raven picked up her glass and listened.
Chapter Eighteen
Okay, she could do this. If Caz Milton didn’t want her, well then, she would let him know that someone else did. Walking back through the woods, she passed Dave Regan. He narrowed his eyes as she just smiled and walked past him in Wyatt’s T-shirt.
She watched as he sniffed the air, then shook his head as she continued on the path to her home. As she passed each guard, they all just shook their head. She could see her alpha, Leo, and Caz. Of course, Caz paced until he smelled the air and his pacing stopped and focused on her. They all turned toward her and watched as she got closer.
At first, she didn’t get close enough. “Did Caz tell you he did not want to work with me?”
Lennox stared at her then nodded.
“The more I think about it, that’s a great idea.” She walked up on the back porch. When she heard the growl, instead of stopping, she continued toward the door and almost made it when she was spun around and held closely to Caz’s chest. He sniffed her body and couldn’t stop. The growling became more scarier and scarier.
“He’s touched you.”
Raven used all her strength and pushed him away from her. “Like you said, Caz, this isn’t going to work out. Your words.”
Lennox and Leo were holding Caz back as he tried to get to her. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. But for some reason, he sure didn’t like Wyatt Benjamin’s scent on her. She continued into the house and went into her bedroom and closed the door.
Before she could get to her bathroom. Her bedroom door crashed against the wall. Her brother stood there glaring at her. “What did you do, Raven?”