The One Who Walks With Wolves

Chapter 6. The Life Mate Of A Wolf

Kane's intense emotions hit Kendrick suddenly in the midst of his lunch date. He winced and let out a painful, deep breath.

"Are you okay?" The pretty blonde across from him asked noticing his skin growing pale.

"Excuse me," Kendrick told her. "It must have been something I ate." He got up and walked to the men's room.

"Kane, what happened?" Kendrick asked as he stood staring into the bathroom mirror. Kane didn't answer. Instead, an image of his brother in his wolf form running through the woods at an impossible speed reflected in the mirror. He searched his brother's mind, which was not guarded due to his emotional state, and saw what happened.

Kendrick shook his head and covered his eyes with his hands in frustration. Letting out a loud sigh, he decided it was time for some major interference. At the rate Kane was going, he'd never get Tara to accept him. His brother knew very little when it came to humans. It was time to step in and take matters in his own hands. First, he would have to cut his lunch date short, secondly, cover for all of them at work and last, pay Tara a little visit.

Tara lay in bed with her hands covering her eyes. She couldn't believe what she'd just gone through. She was in shock from the realization that Kane and Kendrick were werewolves. The most she'd been involved with the supernatural was an occasional ghost here and there. She had sensed other creatures in the world disguised as human beings, Kane and Kendrick were not the first; however, as long as they left her alone, she didn't care to dig deeper.

When she first met Kendrick, she knew he wasn't human, but he played the role so well that she had gotten comfortable around him. Kendrick knew she could sense he wasn't human, but he had pretty much left her alone and in return she did the same. There was an unspoken mutual respect to not confront each other, which was why she had chosen to ignore what he was.

But Kane, he was so different. She had felt that strange connection between them the moment she shook his hand. She had tried to ignore it, but Kane would not be ignored. Unlike his brother, he was very aggressive and confrontational. He was always watching her or just happened to be around whenever she went somewhere. He had saved her more than once.

If he had wanted to hurt her, he would have by now or was he playing a cat and mouse game with her, waiting for the right moment to kill her once he grew bored. She shivered. She didn't know anything about wolf people. What was his motive and why did he want to mate with her? And what the heck was a life mate? She didn't want to find out. She had finally decided to listen to the alarms going off in her head; although she had a feeling it was too late. Still...

She sat up and got out of bed suddenly filled with determination to get the hell out of San Francisco. It only took her a half hour to pack; she didn't need much, just two suitcases of clothes and personal items. She was sure with the money she'd been given, she could stay in a hotel until she was able to find another job. She ran down the stairs dragging the suitcases loudly behind her. The need to get away was urgent. Somehow, she had a strange feeling if she didn't leave right now, she'd never be able to leave again.

Tara opened the front door and ran straight into a hard body blocking her path. Caught off guard, she fell backwards; a pair of strong arms caught her before she hit the floor. A sense of deja vu wrapped around her and she immediately thought the person who caught her was Kane, instead she was shocked to see Kendrick. He slowly brought her up until she was standing on her feet then turned to the suitcases she had been holding. He sighed and picked them up. Tara watched in disbelief as he walked into her house and sat them down in the living room.

"Please close the door, Tara. It's about to rain," Kendrick told her politely as if they were friends.

Tara continued to stare at him too shocked to say anything else. Kendrick walked to the door and looked out. There was a gentle rumble of thunder followed by the first few drops of rain. He turned to her.