Seeing Eye Mate (2 page)

Tieran stared at the women, itching to blurt out, “They’re not worth it, girls.”

“Some are, my dear.”
Her grandmother’s semi-scold came through loud and clear.

Maybe, just maybe, there really was some man out there for her, but Tieran wasn’t inclined to test the theory ever again. Once burned and all that.

By the time she’d done her business, the area had cleared enough so she could safely wash her hands without rubbing shoulders with anyone. She could see it now—bumping into a woman who was wearing a too-short skirt and a barely there top. She’d probably envision said woman getting it on with some gross man she’d just met out at the bar.

Of course, the vision wouldn’t be the worst part. It would be the massive headache and nausea that followed. Occasionally a vision was so powerful she blacked out completely and woke up disoriented some time later.

She looked at her watch. A whopping five minutes had gone by. The towing company had said it would take them about thirty minutes to get to her. She snorted. If she was lucky, they might get here in an hour.

Maybe she’d get a drink since she’d worked through dinner. This place had to be better than sitting outside and waiting in her car. Alone. In the dark.

Along one wall was a row of seats, several of them unoccupied. She chose one, the middle of a group of five, hoping that anybody else who wanted to sit would wisely choose one that wasn’t on top of her. Kind of like those people who park their car way out in the parking lot so it doesn’t get touched. She smiled. She’d always been tempted to kick a tire to see what would happen.

The nape of her neck prickled. Someone was watching her. She gritted her teeth and pursed her lips when the feeling didn’t go away. Years of being laughed at and teased hadn’t developed the thick skin she needed to shield the pain the ridicule had caused. She felt like she was being mentally undressed. The man must have x-ray eyes or something, and was using them to strip her bare, skin and all. She would just take a quick peek. No, a glare. Yeah that’s it, a glare. She’d ensure that he’d never look in her direction again.

And pigs might fly. The way her senses were screaming, she doubted much of anything would make him stop looking at her.

“Be nice, Tullabelle.”

Tieran relaxed at her gramama’s use of her childhood nickname. It was the one thing that could make her smile in an instant, but if she let the woman get the upper hand…

“You be nice! I’m practically chafing here with all these bodies, as if you hadn’t noticed,”
she grouched.

“Temper, temper.”

Ooh, that ornery old woman. Even from her grave she still gave Tieran what for. Thank God she was the only dead person Tieran could speak with. Having visions was one thing, but she’d heard about mediums whose brains were constantly filled with buzz from the dead. Worse, she thought, would be the empaths whose entire lives were bombarded with other people’s emotions.

Tieran peeked toward the pool tables, where the stare originated. The only thing she picked up was eyestrain from peering out of the corners of her eyes. Darn it, she’d have to turn her head. On the pretense of popping her neck, she twisted sharply to the left, then back to the right.

Bingo! There he was.

Boy was he ever there. Dark hair, dark eyes, though she couldn’t tell what color in the dim light of the bar. He was sexy as sin and smirking like the devil. Except that she’d already been with the devil and he’d used her and left her with a broken heart. Asshole.

She glowered at the man, drawing her eyebrows together in hopes it added to her intensity.

Apparently he didn’t take the hint. Some guys really were as dumb as a box of rocks. Her skin tingled in exasperation and…something else. Heat pooled low in her belly. No. No way. Uh-uh. She would not let him make her feel this way.

It was hard to keep up the look when the man had such a scrumptious, I-could-lick-you-all-over body. She tried another tactic, turning on her scowl. This time she raised her eyebrows and sucked her cheeks in, making it clear she wanted no part of what he was offering.

Two sets of matching eyes peered back at her. One pair, the original ones, perused her body, while the other turned her scowl back at her.

Holy shit! Stunning, identical twins.

“Watch your language, Tieran.”

“Shh. Go away, I’ve got a situation. And stop laughing.”

Tieran bolted upright in her chair. Oh my God. Her car hadn’t simply broken down, her grandmother had played a hand. She didn’t know how and she didn’t care. Tieran just wanted to know why her gramama had manipulated things to put her here.
“Fate schmate. You did this. You set me up! Why you rotten…of all the low things to do.”

“Ah, ah, ah. That’s no way to talk to your grandmother. Listen to me, Tullabelle. They need your help. Let them come to you. I promise they won’t hurt you, not like that little maggot Peter did.”

Tieran snorted.
“Now who needs to watch their language?”

“Tieran, I sense evil here tonight. Be careful, please.”

“First you tell me to let two strangers come to me and then you tell me you sense evil? From who?”

“I don’t know, dear. I only see that you can help.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Help.”

With what? she wondered.

*

Caelan turned back from getting his first look at the woman predestined to be his mate. What he’d seen hadn’t been too encouraging. Her dark eyes had practically glittered in the dim light, shooting daggers at him. Then they’d widened as her gaze darted back and forth between him and Eli. He smiled at her obvious shock upon seeing the two of them side by side.

Her expression had turned obstinate as hell, making his already hard cock grow further with painful anticipation. Any more pressure against his zipper and he’d come in his pants. Either that or split the seams.

Caelan chuckled. Once he got a hold of her, it would be an absolute pleasure to tame his little spitfire mate. He wanted to take another look at her but forced himself not to. Having smelled her, he’d know if she moved by the direction of her scent. After they mated for the first time, their connection would be unbreakable.

His smile fell. What the hell was he thinking? There couldn’t be a more deplorable time to discover her. The thought grated. He’d have to be on her like white on rice to ensure her safety, yet somehow not come off like a stalker while he pursued her. Not to mention the fact he had to do this while still actively searching for the Mate Killer. Oh, then there was the small matter of his getting her to understand his ability to change forms.

“So you gonna get over there and claim her, or what?”

Caelan cleared his throat. “Somehow I don’t think it’ll be that simple.”

“She
is
giving you the evil eye.”

“Me? I believe she included both of us in that look.”

Eli shrugged. “Yeah, but she’s your mate.” He stood and smacked Caelan on the back. “Since it looks like my plans have changed and now I have to go in to work in the morning after all, I’m gonna hit the john and get going. Good luck.”

“Asshole.”

“Hey, just supporting my Prime.”

Caelan jabbed a quick left hook at his twin.

Eli laughed and ducked out of the way, then sobered. “She’s gorgeous, Cael, I’m envious.”

“Thanks, E, that means a lot.”

“Now, go get your bitch and try not to think of me while you’re fucking her tonight,” Eli mocked, batting his eyelashes at Caelan.

Caelan growled at the sharp teeth glinting behind his brother’s smiling lips. Eli left, chuckling loud enough that people turned to see what they were missing.

Caelan inhaled her scent again, instinctively picking hers out with ease over the entire crowd. Spicy-sweet and laced with a twinge of anxiety.

Anxiety? What was that all about? His fingers tightened around his beer. He hoped she was here alone. Too bad if she wasn’t because she would be leaving here with him.

Enough. He’d just go over and introduce himself. And then what? “Oh, and by the way, I can shape-shift into a wolf?” Yep, that’d go over really well. Damn. He’d always imagined his mate would be a shifter like him. Not a human. Things would be so much easier…

*

Motherfucker. He punched the stall door, ignoring the searing pain shooting up from his knuckles to his shoulder. They were supposed to come here tonight to relax. He expected they might find a nice piece of ass, but not this. How could that son of a bitch possibly have come across his mate tonight, of all nights?

To top it all off, the bitch would soon be ripe for conception. Caelan would have her full of his seed before mid-week.

His canine teeth exploded in his mouth, sharpening into points that pricked at his still-human mouth. The bones in his fingers popped and contorted, shortening to create a paw, the nails elongating into razor-sharp claws.

Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply and fought the shift, resisting the urge to transform and tear through the crowd outside the bathroom door. Common sense prevailed over his inner wolf. Detection at this stage of the game would be detrimental to his cause, to the entire pack.

His human DNA took over, reshaping what had already slipped into wolf form. The pain was negligible compared to the thumping anger in his head.

He thought again of the girl, memorizing her face for future reference. She’d have to go. Or maybe he’d keep her, if Caelan didn’t get the chance to claim her before he made his move. He’d have to act quickly, up his timetable now that the cunt had entered the picture. And he’d have to keep a close eye on her, to make sure she didn’t see something she wasn’t supposed to.

He curled his lip and snarled. He’d come here tonight to get a feel for how his plans were working and hadn’t been disappointed by what Caelan had revealed.

Every day he was one step nearer to the position that should have been his since birth.

*

Caelan turned in his chair and rested his arm along the back.

“What the hell?” he yelled, and winced when several people looked his way.

Two different people now occupied the set of seats where she’d been, but her scent still lingered as if she hadn’t left. He was losing it. He’d gotten so caught up in thinking about her he hadn’t even noticed her moving. Caelan scanned the bar, looking for the pale brown hair that had hung in a simple bob around her shoulders. He stood, his heart pounding now, the anxiety he’d smelled on her transferring to him.

He searched the crowd, his gaze flicking over everyone until he reached the door.

“Son of a bitch,” he snarled. She was following a behemoth of a man in a grubby jumpsuit. Caelan pushed his way through the gyrating mass of people, knocking into a couple two-stepping their way around the dance floor. It took precious seconds to untangle himself.

“Sorry.” He helped balance the woman and man, then sprinted for the door.

He slammed it open causing the heavy metal to bang against the wall outside. Cars jammed the parking lot, but he saw no sign of his mate amongst them.

“Damn it.” He dug a hand in his pocket and tore his keys out. While he stomped towards his truck, he cursed himself for letting her get away.

He was supposed to be able to sense his mate at all times, so how had she done this exactly? Why did his intended have to be as slippery as a wet bar of soap? He groaned as the imagery of wet soap and lust-filled longing took over common sense. What he wouldn’t give to be at home in the shower right now, using that soap on her slick, heated skin, instead of chasing after her.

His cock demanded to be let loose. He adjusted himself to relieve a minuscule amount of pressure.

He swung open the door to his F-150 and stepped up on the running board. Flashing lights to his left drew his attention. Yellow beams slashed the night from the panel atop a tow truck. In front of it sat a small, white four-door. The dim streetlight above them wasn’t much but it did allow Caelan to see a figure.

The same man he’d seen inside the bar now stood near the rear of the car and spoke through the open driver’s door to someone in the front seat.

Another car’s headlights lit up the scene and Caelan caught a quick glimpse of a cap of light brown hair.

“Un-fucking-believable.” He stepped back down to the ground and shoved the door shut.

At least now he knew what the anxiety had been about.

He shook his head. “You won’t get away from me this time, sweetheart.”

*

If this jerk hit on her one more time… And to think she’d been ecstatic that he’d gotten here early.

“Patience, Tullabelle, he’s coming.”

“Who’s coming?”
Tieran scanned the parking lot but didn’t see anyone.

“Hey, honey, I’m gonna have to give you a tow. Why don’t you hop on into my cab, I’ll give you a lift.”

Eew.

The slob tried to smile around a glob of tobacco, revealing more than one missing tooth. What kind of woman did he think she was?