Chapter 4. Bond

Nate

“I have a presentation to start,” she says impatiently. “You should go and sign that contract. It was nice seeing you.” She moves to walk back. 

“Sarah, please wait….” I finally say desperation etched in my voice. 

I try to stop her from walking away by stepping beside her and catching her hand. Our fingers intertwine, and our eyes lock, maybe just for a moment, but I feel the world stop around us. She stops with me, unable to move until she shakes her head and tears her angry eyes from me to look at our hands, so I let her go quickly. The feeling of letting her go leaves my hand and heart with such emptiness that I have never felt before. 

“Can I see you later?” I ask urgently, putting every hope I have in that and adding a tiny smile as reassurance that I have good intentions. 

“Why?” that’s all she replies. 

“To talk, … catch up, I don’t know,” I say, pleading. My palms are sweating as I shove them into my pockets. I already regret every word I said, but she softens up a bit. She is staring into my eyes, waiting for more. I have never felt this awkward. Speechless? Shy? I can’t even put a word to it. She makes me nervous and excited at the same time. I don’t know what to say, what to expect. “I haven’t seen you in years, and I don’t know... I just want to ask how you’ve been.” 

I’m trying to put the brightest smile on my face, but my voice is shaking. She can’t say no. The anger disappears from her face, and curiosity takes over. This is so weird. I only barely remember her growing up on the edge of the pack. We didn’t hang out, study, or train together because she was younger than me, and I left for college before she was old enough to train. 

Her reaction makes my smile brighter, but she is still waiting, thinking it through. “I only stay in town for a few days.” I lie because I intend to stay as long as it takes, but maybe if she knows I’m going home soon, she won’t be that threatened. “Just a coffee,” I add pleadingly. 

“Ok,” she nods, and I restrain my arm from shooting up, pumping the air. 

“I work until 5 pm. Meet me outside after that?” 

“Yes, I’ll be here.” I jump waaay too quickly at that answer, but I can’t hide how excited I am. At least it makes her smile too. She shakes her head and walks away but with a smile on her face. 

I catch up to her, walking side-by-side as I watch her smiling face unashamedly. She shakes her hands out and squares her shoulders before we reach the conference room. A quick look at me again when she opens the door to their conference room and whispers, “Bye." 

“See you later,” I confirm with a dreamy smile and erratic heart rate. Dante is doing backflips in my head, praising me for sealing the deal. 

The door closes, but I can see her walk back to her computer to continue what she was doing before I interrupted her. I’d stand here all day watching her with a crazy grin if I could. Gabriel realizes that and nudges me back to reality. 

“Shall we?” the receptionist asks when I finally direct my attention to them. I follow them, still looking at my date (Yessss) as she stands in front of a room full of people to start her presentation. She doesn’t look at us, but I can see her smile reciprocating mine. 

I can’t help it as my mind returns to my childhood memories. I remember seeing her at holiday events, but no other time. Her mums never found their mates, so they moved in together and raised the two girls they adopted. I have no memories of how she became an orphan, though. 

I’m deep in my thoughts when Lissa asks me. “So, are you staying for a few days? I thought we would travel home together.” 

“You can stay until Monday.” I hear Gabriel answering for me. 

It seems like they haven’t even recognized Sarah. My Sarah. Dante is purring when I think about that. I didn’t even know he could do that. 

“Who was she anyway? She acted as if we know her.” I look at her but don’t say anything, and luckily, we arrive back at the front desk, where the lawyers are waiting for us. 

“Good morning Messrs. Blackwood, Ms. Shay.” 

*** 

The meeting went well. Everything played out as planned, and although I'm excited to move forward with the plan, I can't seem to focus. We wait at the elevator; I stare at the corridor where I last saw Sarah. I want to see her again. 

“Be patient.” My brother links me. 

I look at him and then back in Sarah’s direction. He knows. I don't need to explain. 

I remember when Gabriel found Lucy. He just stood there for a few moments, staring at her, and then they started moving toward each other. Everyone around them stayed silent. I held my breath till they reached each other. 

They immediately reached out to hold each other’s hands while smiling like kids and walked out of the room. I knew instantly that they were mates. I think that is what I expected for myself. 

I look back at Gabriel. “Let's get out of here, and we can talk,” he says, and I nod my head. That is all the answer I'm capable of. 

“So, who was she?” I hear Lissa. 

“None of your business,” Gabriel answers with an Alpha tone in his voice. “You'll go straight to the airport, and I'll meet you there later.” 

“Yes, Alpha,” she bares her neck. We reach the park in front of the building, and Lissa leaves to get a cab for herself. 

“Let's go get a drink,” Gabriel offers. 

“I need that for sure.” I wipe my face with my palms thinking about the craziness of this situation. 

“I guess she is your mate.” 

“Yes, but I’m not sure. Dante says she is. But I didn't feel what I should feel with the mate bond. And she certainly didn’t feel anything at all.” 

“Humans usually don't feel it,” he says nonchalantly, but I growl at my brother. 

“She is not a human.” 

He laughs at my protectiveness, then stops in front of me with his legs wide apart and arms folded—typical Gabriel. “All right, so who is she?” 

“She grew up with Isabella and Amy. She is Avery's sister.” 

His eyes widen in surprise. “I didn't recognize her. But now I understand why she was scared and even mad.” 

“Yes. I think she was still in grade school when I left for college. But then, one summer, she was gone. I don't know what has happened. Do you know anything?” I ask him, knowing he was in college at that time. 

“I think she left to study somewhere else. Dad was still Alpha back then, so I only heard about it after. She never had her first shift. I don't know if she has a wolf. What is Dante telling you?” 

“Dante says she is our mate. But he didn't feel her wolf. Maybe she really is a human.” I don’t understand how Dante feels it, but I don’t. I’ve never heard anything like this. 

“Everyone thought that she was. I guess that is why she left to study among humans.” Gabriel thinks further. 

“That makes sense. Humans don’t feel the bond. Also, when I touched her, I didn’t feel the tingles I should feel with my mate.” 

“That is weird. You should've felt everything just the same." 

People go on about their lives around us, and we just stand here, thinking through everything we know about the mate bond. “When I let her hand go, emptiness washed over me. Which is like the mate bond, right?” 

“Yes, definitely. I assumed she was your mate when you turned towards her and started walking like you were in a trance. That is how wolves usually behave when sensing their mate for the first time.” 

“I just followed Dante's instincts. What is going on? I need answers.” 

“I head home, and I ask her mums and the doctors about her childhood, and I ask father about how and why she left,” Gabriel says. 

“Don't ask father. I have a bad feeling about it.” I reply quickly. I have no idea if she was forced to leave, but her reaction suggests something has happened. I want to figure this out before father puts me down with his opinion. 

“I’ll look into it and let you know. What are you going to do?” he asks me with a frown. 

“Well, she agreed to meet me here, so I hope we can talk, and I’ll have some answers about her wolf. I need to learn more about the pull I feel toward her.” 

“Are you going to tell her about the bond?” he raises one of his eyebrows. 

Am I going to tell her? Should I tell her? She was reluctant to agree to a chat and coffee. How would she react if I just dumped this bomb on her? “I have no idea. Maybe that would scare her away even more.” I need to know first about her wolf and why she is angry at us. 

“Yes, that’s possible. She was not happy to see us.” He chuckles. 

“No, she wasn’t.” I sigh in defeat.