Page 22 of Rugged Hearts: Part One

“He’s going to find me,” I say before falling back to the couch. Keelan is still standing, now looking angry. Jake’s voice has a hard edge to it. “Who?”

I’ll be leaving anyways so telling them won’t mean anything. I’m so tired. “My stalker.” A chorus of growls fill the room. I have no idea who they’re from besides Keelan since he’s right next to me. Hands are jostling me suddenly until I’m positioned in Keelan’s lap. I huff at the sudden movement before looking at him. He looks mad but I can tell he’s scared. This giant alpha isscared. I reach up, putting my hand on his cheek, my fingers running through his dirty blond beard. “Hey, it’ll be okay. I just need to start over somewhere new. I’ve done it before, don’t worry.”

That does not reassure him. He hugs me to him tightly, a low growl emitting from his chest. “Keelan, let her go. We need more information,” Jake says. Keelan remains still. Jake adds, “So we can fix it and she doesn’t have to leave.” That seems to crack whatever is going on in his head and he lets me go but not moving me from his lap. I’m now sitting sideways so I can see the rest of the room. Everyone is in front of the couch now. Jake is sitting next to us.

“There’s no fixing it. It’s just how it is. They couldn’t figure out who he was before. Nothing’s changed,” I mutter, resigned.

“With all due respect Thea that’s bullshit and I know you don’t know us well, but we will find this guy and make sure you’re safe,” Jake says, his hands clenching against the couch cushion.

“Will you tell us what happened?” Eli says. He’s moved to sit on the arm of the couch. His usual bright smile is nowhere to be seen.I really don’t want to talk about this. Keelan’s scent, compared to others’, is all I’m scenting. I feel protected. Why do their scents lower my guards like this? I shouldn’t be so relaxed with near-strangers. A tiny voice reminds me that when I met Connor it was the same feeling.

“Please. We just want to help,” Parker begs from the same spoton the floor. Sheesh this man and those puppy-like eyes. Speaking of puppies, I haven’t seen Duke in all this craziness. Because that’s the priority right now, Thea. I look over all of them again. They seem so worried. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if they knew. Making my decision, I take a deep breath before I begin with what happened starting fifteen months ago.

22

JAKE

Thea has a determined look on her face. She’s going to tell us. Good. It was a shock when Keelan had us rush home after telling us what happened, of how she had a mate who died. My poor omega.And now a stalker. I wish my gut hadn’t been right. I knew she was running. Trying the rein in my anger so I can hear what she has to say has never been harder.

“About fifteen months ago, I started getting flower deliveries to my work. At first, I thought it was delivered by mistake since Connor didn’t send them. They were irises, my favorite. I thought it was a coincidence. Then the second delivery came and the third and so on. I was getting them three times a week for a month before things came to a head at my work. I ended up quitting. They always came with notes that seemed to get increasingly creepy and unsettling. After I left the company, that’s when the letters started. This time four of them all delivered to our apartment each week. We were planning to move but?—”

She pauses, taking a shaky breath before continuing. “Connor died before we were able to. Sometimes gifts came with the letters. They always set Connor off and we went to stay with his parents for a week after a particularly bad one. Three months into the stalking, the police had nothing to go on to find this guy. ThenConnor died. It was a car accident. At least that’s what we thought. A couple weeks after the funeral I went back to the apartment for the first time; I had been staying with Connor’s parents, since they insisted. There was a letter waiting. It was the first one since he passed. The stalker admitted to getting rid of Connor so we can both start fresh together.” Tears are running down her face and I can’t help but reach out and swipe them away. Her eyes meet mine and I see the resolve enter her to finish the story. No one else has said anything, partly because we all know she needs to get this out, but I hear a few growls throughout and not just from Keelan. Micah definitely reacted when he heard about the gifts. She didn’t specify but I can imagine what they were, especially having seen a few stalking cases when I was still with the FBI.

“I felt like a sitting duck after that. I worried he would hurt Connor’s parents especially since I had been staying with them since his death. He clearly wanted me alone. I couldn’t let anything happen to them. They’re like my own parents at this point. I left in the middle of the night. I wrote them a letter explaining everything and went to mine and Connor’s apartment to pack my car with anything I’d need. Left my phone and computer there and bought a new one when I left the state. I drove for nearly twenty-four hours straight before finally stopping. I ended up settling into a small college town in North Carolina for a few months before he found me. He texted me this time. I ran that night, again. This time to Chicago. I was there for seven months before he found me again. I’m pretty sure he traced me through a login to my social media. It was a moment of weakness because it was Connor’s birthday. I logged into my account just to see his parents and if they posted anything. How they were doing. Two days later I got a letter and a text. The text came in minutes after the letter was delivered. Making it clear he was watching me. He was having fun chasing me but said his patience was running short.” She stops taking a few more deep breaths. Parker is holding her hand, and she squeezes it tightly.

“I left a couple days later. I figured he’d expect me to leave right away like I had before. I hoped after staying a couple days he might ease up any surveillance. Who knows if it worked, but I took ridiculous precautions when I left the city. I sold my car in one state, bought a new one in a different state just in case. The drive here had a lot of backtracking. That brings us to now. I started over here and today is the anniversary of Connor’s death. Since you guys looked him up I’m sure the stalker is tracing it back here and that is why I need to leave.”

Suddenly Parker is grabbing the laptop and typing furiously. My guess is he’s seeing if someone is able to trace anything from whatever site he found the obituary on. We all sit in silence, processing, the only sound Parker’s keyboard clicking.

“Got it,” he shouts, turning back to Thea. “No one is able to trace anything from the site I read the obituary from. You don’t have to worry or leave. He can’t find you,” he says with a big smile.

Thea looks at him, her mouth slightly open. Yeah, Parker has that effect on people. “How?” is all she says.

Parker blushes as he rubs the back of his neck. “I, uhm, work in IT. Remember, an ethical hacker. So, I know for a fact this creep hasn’t found you from what happened today.”

“Oh.” She stares at him. I need to reach out to Logan, my old partner in the FBI, to help with this case. We need to find this guy, especially if he really did kill her alpha.

“Thea, I know this is a lot, but trust us that we will keep you safe. I was in the FBI for many years and with Parker’s skills we’ll find this guy and make sure he’s never able to hurt you again,” I promise with every fiber in my being that I will accomplish this no matter what. This isn’t like all those cases that we were forced to shelve for the newest one.

“Why would you all do that? You don’t even know me, not really.”

We all look around at each other before most of us settle on Liam. Guess he’s our default person to explain this. He looksannoyed as he realizes this. He’s the doctor of the pack so who better to explain it?“We are your scent matches,” he says bluntly.

Well, any one of us could’ve done that. Then, she’s laughing, full-on laughing and I am not the only one surprised.

“That’s not a real thing. Seriously why?” she says. Liam’s shoulders stiffen like he’s bracing himself for the coming conversation.

“They are real. Incredibly rare, so rare we haven’t had any documented cases in twenty years. But they exist and all of us have recognized you as our scent match. Have you noticed anything special about our scents? Something different than most people you’ve interacted with?” he explains.

23

THEA

Scent matches. That can’t be right. Yeah, I’ve noticed their scents seem special, like Connor’s was special, but that could just be like super scent compatible, right?I look around the room, taking in how their expressions range from curious, expectant, worried, angry, and cautious. Suddenly their scents feel overwhelming, at least that’s what my head is saying. The rest of me is relaxed and wanting to sink further into them. Safe. Protected. Peace. Joy. Hope. Free. Is that part of the scent match?

Liam is looking at me expectantly—right, he asked me what I thought of their scents. Part of me doesn’t want to admit that there is something special to them. This can’t be real. I don’t want scent matches or a pack. That dream died with Connor.I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out. I don’t know what to say, and running at this moment would not be a good idea. Keelan would surely chase me if I did, if I can even get out of his lap.

“Are you feeling overwhelmed?” Parker asks, looking up at me from his spot on the floor. I nod.