First & Forever (The Crescent Chronicles Book 4) (16 page)

“Good-bye, Levi.” She let out a sigh. My guess was she’d be thinking about the same thing.

“Bye love, don’t miss me too much.”

She shook her head and closed the door.

“What the hell has gotten into you man?” Owen tossed the basketball to the side. He’d finally realized I was way too distracted to play.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jared opened a bottle of water. “He finally fucked her.”

“It wasn’t fucking.” I grinned. I’d never had an experience I felt like kissing and telling about. This one I was ready to shout from the rooftops.

“Yeah?” Owen asked with suddenly more interest. “How was it?”

“Perfect. She’s absolutely perfect.”

“She does have a great body.” Jared downed the rest of his water.

“A body that isn’t yours to look at.”

“I’m not interested in touching the girl, but you can’t stop me from looking.”

“She’s mine. I can stop you from doing anything.”

“Yours? Staking a claim are you?” Jared loved pushing my buttons. If he was looking for a fight though, he wasn’t going to get it. I was in way too good of a mood.

“She’s been mine since the moment I laid eyes on her.” Now that she was wearing my ring on her finger I could be as confident as I wanted. She was mine, and no one could take her from me.

My phone rang from where I’d left it with my stuff. I grabbed it, hoping it was Allie telling me she couldn’t wait to see me. It was Hailey. Almost as important. I picked up. “Hey.”

“You fucking asshole!”

I held the phone away from my ear. Hailey was loud even when she wasn’t yelling. “Uh, Allie wasn’t that late, was she?” I smiled to myself knowing why she wasn’t on time.

“Are you guys still at the gym?”

“Yes.”

“I’m on my way.”

“Is Allie coming too?” I hoped she was. I couldn’t wait to taste those lips again.

“No. She’s not.” Hailey hung up.

“What was that about?” Owen asked worriedly. Very few people could get away with cursing me out without severe consequences. Being Allie’s friend had bought Hailey some slack.

Five minutes later Hailey stormed into the gym. She walked right over and slapped me across the face. “I knew you were stupid, but this stupid?”

I touched my cheek. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb.” She glared at me. Did Hailey know? Had she noticed the ring?

“What did you just do, Hailey?” Owen pulled her away from me. “You hit Levi?”

“He deserves it. After what he did to her. After what he did to all of us.” She seethed.

“What is she talking about?” Owen dropped his sister’s arm and looked at me. “You look upset. Which means something she’s saying is true.”

“You didn’t.” Jared strode over. “Please tell me last night was just a fuck.”

“I did.”

“What are you talking about?” Owen stared blankly. Either he hadn’t pieced it together or he was afraid to accept it.

“I gave her the ring. I had to. She was going to leave in a few weeks, and we’d waited so long already. I figured I might as well give her the ring the first time to make it more special.”

Understanding crossed Owen’s face. “You gave her the ring and slept with her? You consummated it? She’s your mate?”

“Yes, and I don’t regret it.” I wasn’t going to listen to their lectures. “She’s the one.”

“You didn’t tell her anything. How? How could you?” I’d never heard Hailey at a loss for words before.

“Wait? You didn’t tell her what the ring meant?” Jared asked. “You just gave the girl a royal ring and took her to bed?” Jared’s mouth fell open. “That’s the kind of asshole move I’d pull. Not you.”

“I’m going to tell her tonight. She’s happy with me. It’s all going to work out.”

“I wouldn’t wait until tonight.” Hailey glanced at me guiltily. “I’d probably go to her hotel. She isn’t answering her phone.”

“Why wouldn’t she be? Oh no.” Complete and utter panic filled me. “You didn’t. You didn’t tell her, did you?”

“What was I supposed to do?”

“Fuck.” I grabbed my wallet and keys. “I’m going to see her.”

Her hotel room was empty. Her stuff was still there, which put me slightly at ease, but her car wasn’t in the garage or parked nearby, and from what I could tell she hadn’t come back after her brunch with Hailey.

I turned to Jared. “Track down her car. She’s probably near it.” Having the son of the head of security around came in handy sometimes.

“You put a tracker on it? You put a tracker on her car?” Hailey got up in my face.

I stepped around her. “Yes, after the attempted carjacking. We had to make sure Allie stayed safe.”

I paced her room, trying to handle the overwhelming fear that Allie hated me and that something could have happened to her. When we got her back, and it was when and not if, I was never letting her out of my sight. She’d have to forgive me. She had no choice. She was wearing my ring.

Jared pocketed his phone. “Found the car. I’m going in.”

“Just give me the coordinates. I’m going.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Owen swallowed hard. “She’s angry with you. What if she runs away and does something stupid?”

“I hate to agree with Owen, but I do.” Hailey smiled for the first time since I’d seen her that morning. “Jared’s good. He’ll get to her and bring her back. Then we figure out what happens next.”

“Where is the car?” I didn’t have to listen to any of them, and I wouldn’t. I needed to get Allie back.

“Levi…” Hailey said softly.

“Before I leave I want intel. Where is she? What locals do we have there?”

“It’s Tennessee. Kind of the middle of nowhere. You want to call someone in?”

Tennessee? Had she been driving back to New York? “Yes, but we need to be quiet.” I didn’t need to tell my friends why. If my dad found out she’d left, we’d have an even more serious problem on our hands.

Jared had an update moments later. They’d found the car and her purse in a Dairy Queen parking lot, but no Allie.

“What do you mean her purse was just in the parking lot?” My body tensed.

Jared ran a hand through his hair nervously. “Her car is in the lot and her purse is sitting there.”

“Let’s go.” I’d start at the parking lot and work from there.

“No.” Jared put a hand on my arm. “I will.”

“But she hates you.”

“Not as much as she probably hates you. Trust me on this.” His eyes bore into mine.

I stepped toward him. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

“No, but I can tell you to use reason.”

A light knock on the door had us all turning. I pulled it open, half hoping and expecting Allie to suddenly be back.

“What did you do, Levi?” Mom walked into the room.

“What are you doing here?”

“Hailey suggested I show up. Something to do with you messing something major up.”

Jared shook his head. “We don’t have time for this. I’m going up.” I’d never seen Jared so single-minded on something that wasn’t about him. I assumed he wanted to prove his worth.

I exhaled sharply. “I picked my mate, and she’s missing.”

“She’s missing?” Mom glanced at me, completely skimming over the picking a mate part.

“Levi didn’t tell her what the ring meant. I let it slip and she ran.” Hailey looked down at the ground.

“And Jared knows where she is?”

“Dad and I had a tracker put on her car.”

“Your father knew about her before me?” The hurt in my mom’s eyes was undeniable, but I couldn’t fix that yet.

“He didn’t find out from me, and you can meet her first.” Maybe that would smooth things over. “I’m going to get her.”

Mom shook her head. “No.”

“Why not?” Was my own mother turning against me?

“Do you want everyone to find out what happened? If word gets out that we’ve lost your mate… you know what that would mean.”

“I don’t care. I need to be the one to get her.” I yanked Jared’s phone from his hand and read the coordinates. I’m going.

Owen and Jared each grabbed one of my arms. “No.” they said in unison.

Jared tightened his hold. “Think about it, man. Don’t make things worse. You can trust me to bring her back to you.”

“Levi, hon.” Mom looked me in the eyes. “We’re going to get her back. Then you’re going to introduce us, and we’re going to fix everything.”

But what if we couldn’t? What if she was really gone? They were arguing what I already knew was the truth. Losing my mate meant losing the crown, and if anyone found out it could set off serious panic.

“The longer you keep me here the longer until she’s back with you. Calm down so I can take care of this.” Jared knew how my mind worked.

“Okay.” I pushed off my friends. “I’ll stay back, but not for long. I want constant updates.”

“I’ll have her back here soon.” Jared walked to the door. “I’ll find a discrete place to fly from.” He was only saying that for the benefit of my mother. Jared and discrete didn’t usually go together. Hopefully he wouldn’t cause more trouble.

I didn’t leave the hotel for hours. I could have waited for news anywhere, but somehow being in the same building she’d been staying in made her feel closer. Besides, my mother, Owen, and Hailey wouldn’t have let me leave even if I’d tried. They were afraid I’d fly up and cause an even bigger problem.

Waiting around for news was torture. I felt helpless and useless. All I wanted to do was get her back. There had to be something I could do.

The call came from an associate in the mountains. Jared was on his way back. Hailey leaned in close. “Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.”

“I need to see her. I need to make sure she’s okay.”

“I don’t know if she even wants to see me…” Hailey had bit her lip so hard she was bleeding. If I hadn’t been so worried about Allie I might have been concerned about the toll on Hailey. But Allie’s safety came first. I needed to know she was okay.

“I can’t do this. You can’t make me stay away.”

Mom patted my arm. “It’s not forever. Just let the dust settle.”

“The dust had better settle fast.”

“Believe it or not I agree with you.” Hailey sighed and stalked out of the room.

I waited for her in front of the corner coffee shop. After a while, I stopped watching for her to show up. I was only messing with myself more. Owen and Hailey were going to take care of getting her to me. The rest was in my hands. I was lucky I was even getting this chance. It sounded like Hailey had had to twist her arm. I’d use my opportunity well. I needed to fix this.

The Blackwells’ hadn’t gotten her, but she’d still spent time at the hands of cougar shifters who had no business looking at her, let alone hurting her. Just thinking about the situation made me angry, and I couldn’t afford that. I needed to stay calm if I was going to change her mind about staying with me. Staying wasn’t just about being with me and keeping the crown, it was also about her safety. I’d never let anything happen to Allie again.

“Hey man,” Owen called out. He was walking right next to Allie. Hailey was on her other side. A territorial side in me wanted to pull her away from him, but I knew he was only helping me.

Allie and I locked eyes. The emotion in hers was clear as day. Deep down she still wanted me, still cared, but the rest of her face was all anger.

I stepped toward her, reaching out a hand. She slunk back, so I dropped my arm. We stood there watching each other for a moment before I couldn’t wait any longer. I pulled her into my arms. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

She whimpered quietly and pulled away. Had I made her this sad? Had something more happened?

“Okay, so we’re going to get going…” Hailey said trailing off. “Come on, Owen.”

“Oh yeah. Bye,” Owen said.

The brother and sister duo disappeared down the street.

“You want to go inside?” I asked, needing to make sure she didn’t bolt.

“Sure.” She’d said yes, but there wasn’t much enthusiasm in her voice. She wasn’t thrilled to see me.

I held open the door, and she headed straight for the counter. “One large coffee.”

“Make that two.” I handed a credit card to the barista. She could order on her own to make a point, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to make my point by paying.

She added her own sweetener to her coffee and took a seat at a table. I wished she’d let me do it for her. I wanted to do everything for her. I would have done anything to make things up to her.

I sat down at the table across from her. I wanted to sit next to her, but I needed to give her space.

She kept her eyes fixed on her coffee.

“If it changes anything, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Her head snapped up. “What?”

“I didn’t want to hurt you.” I reached my hand across the table, desperate to touch her, but she jerked her hand away.

“Then what did you want exactly?” Her voice was cold, and that hurt nearly as much as her refusal to touch me.

“You.” I looked right into her eyes. She needed to know I did everything for us. I needed her by my side, and it was where she belonged.

“Clever, very clever.”

“It’s the truth. You asked why I did it and that’s the honest answer. I did it because I wanted you.”

“What part of wanting me required you to trick me into entering into some weird relationship?”

“Weird relationship? Is that what you think this is?” I still didn’t know how much Hailey had told her.

“What am I supposed to think it is?”

“There is nothing weird about it, most girls would be happy to find out they’ve become a princess.” At least I thought they would. I was giving her everything. She’d never want for anything in her life. She was from some money, but her dad’s company was nothing compared to what being a Laurent meant for her.

“I guess I’m not like most girls. And what is with all this princess talk? When were you going to tell me you were the future king or whatever it is they call you exactly?”

“It didn’t seem important before… and I didn’t want to scare you off.” Obviously my decision to hold back that information back fired.

She laughed dryly. “Well, you did a pretty good job with that.”