Page 27 of His True Mate

I snorted. “This definitely wasn’t in my plans. Yet here we are. We can leave tonight or in the morning. I don’t really care, but she comes with me.”

“Are you okay? Like what’s going on here, man? This isn’t like you,” Cruz said, sounding worried.

“What’s so important about this girl that you’d be willing to risk everything for her?” Brady demanded.

I smiled and shrugged. “She’s my true mate.”

“Oh shit! Are you serious right now? Brady, go pack your stuff. They’re still mostly scouring the fairgrounds. If we hurry, we can get out of here without causing an inter-Pack situation. Let’s just go.”

“Tonight?” Winnie asked.

“You can sleep in the car,” I assured her.

She sighed but nodded. “Okay.”

Within minutes we had the car loaded and were pulling out. Brady was driving and clearly on edge. Local radio had talk of setting up a roadblock for a missing girl, but we drove right through while they were still setting up.

My wolf was on high alert, and I suspected the only thing keeping me sane was the woman in my arms using my chest as a pillow while she slept.

Holding her like that was indescribable. I was filled with new emotions.

The anxiety and stress of our exit slowly subsided with each passing mile until we crossed the border into Wyoming.

Brady and Cruz took turns at the wheel, seeing us home safely. The sun was rising as they pulled up to my house. Winnie had slept through it all.

“I don’t even want to know how fast you guys drove to get us home so quickly, but thanks for everything tonight.”

Brady shrugged. “A true mate is worth it. Worth anything. I learned that from Peyton and my brother. Ollie was always a great guy, but he’s even better because of her. If I ever find my true mate, I’d walk through fire and face down a dozen Packs if I had to. You’re a lucky man, Clay.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I’m going to get her settled in and see if Thomas is up yet. I should probably warn him about this. You boys go get some sleep. You earned it.”

Cruz clapped his hand on my shoulder and nodded before turning to walk away.

I carefully lifted Winnie from the car and cradled her against my chest. I couldn’t believe she was still asleep. I was pretty certain she’d sleep straight through a tornado.

Walking into the house felt like a profound moment. I carried her all the way to the bedroom—my bedroom, no, our bedroom.

I pulled back the covers and laid her down as if she were the most precious thing in the world, because to me, she was.

“Welcome home, Winnie,” I whispered.

Not trusting myself to be completely alone with her feeling all the things I was feeling, I left her to make a pot of coffee and call Thomas.

“This better be important,” he grumbled half asleep.

“It is. We’re back and I need to talk to you. It doesn’t have to be right this second but soon.”

“I’m awake and you better have a damn good excuse for coming home at the butt-crack of dawn. Are you on your way over?”

“Nope. You should come here instead.”

“That big?”

“Yup.”

“Fine. I’m on my way.”

It didn’t take him long. By the time the coffee was brewed, he was walking through my door.