Page 2 of The Alpha’s Runaway Mate (Evermore Hollow #1)

TWO

NOLAN DOYLE

I check my phone, hoping to see a message from Xander or Kolt, but neither have messaged or called me in a couple of days.

Fuckers. I toss my phone on the table. They went off, searching for our cousin Declan who’s been missing for a little over a month.

Why does everyone in my family keep disappearing?

First Declan, and now my dick head brothers. Where the hell are they?

Whatever is going on, they need to figure it out quickly and get back.

I didn’t think I’d be left alone to run our bar for over a month.

They were only supposed to be gone for a day or two.

Now I’m up to my ears in liquor orders, payroll, and trying to do the jobs of three men.

It hasn’t been easy. What I need is help. What’s worse is everyone knows it.

I gave up on the notion of finding my mate years ago, just like Kolt and Xander have. It’s a big reason why we opened up Snarl together. We needed something to do with our time.

Snarl is the bar that every supe in Evermore Holler goes to. The humans in town usually stay away giving us a wide berth. It’s not that we’d harm them, not on purpose anyway, but we’re stronger, faster, and well, magical. They tend to stay out of our way when we party because a lot could go wrong.

I take a sip from my glass of scotch when the door opens. Her scent hits me hard as soon as she enters. Who the hell is this human, and why is she coming into my bar? I don’t recognize her, but she could be new. It’s been a few months since I’ve been to town.

I usually don’t mind human women, but something about her has me going haywire. “Get out,” I growl as she comes closer.

She’s sassy as fuck and stands her ground, calling me on my shit. Being an ass isn’t new for me. It’s my entire personality, but I love the way her face scrunches up every time I say something to piss her off. When she’s had enough of it, she turns around to leave.

I watch her struggle with the door, trying to pull it open, even though she needs to push through.

It’s hilarious and adorable to watch her scramble.

Deciding I’ve been enough of a dick to the curvy human, I help her out.

But the moment my skin presses against hers and I inhale her scent, I realize exactly who she is to me.

She turns in my arms and looks up at me.

Her hazel eyes sparkle as they search mine.

Does she feel the connection? Can this little human really be my mate?

My cock goes rock hard in an instant and my canines begin to descend. I need to get her out of here before I go and do something stupid like mark her before I’ve had the chance to explain things. “What’s your name?” I ask gruffly.

“Jessica.”

She came in here looking for a job and got a hell of a lot more than that. “Be back at eight, Jessica.”

Her eyes go wide in shock, realizing I’m giving her what she was asking for only minutes ago. “What?” She asks.

“Is that too late?”

She chews the side of her cheek before tossing out her caveat. “Cash only.”

“Cash only,” I tell her. Hell, I’ll tell her anything she needs to hear to make sure she comes back.

I watch her walk back to a beat-up old truck and drive off.

My protective instincts are going crazy.

If it were up to me she’d be in an armored vehicle covered in cotton and silk or whatever material needed to keep her unharmed.

The farther away she gets from me the more I want to track her down and keep her with me for always.

I can’t do that, not yet. I’ll have to wait.

She’s human and I don’t know how much she knows about our kind.

Right about now, she’s beginning to feel the effects of the mating bond. By the time she comes back tonight, it’s going to be hard for her to stay away.

I pull out my phone and call my mom. She’s human or used to be, anyway. She should know what to do.

“Nolan, I don’t normally hear from you in the middle of the week. Everything okay, baby?”

“Baby? Who in the hell are you calling baby?” My dad growls in the background.

“Don’t you sass me, you big bear. If you wouldn’t have come in mid-sentence demanding who I’m talking to you would have figured out it’s my favorite oldest son. He’s called to talk to his momma, now hush.”

“Nolan, how is everything?” He booms across the line like he didn’t just piss off his mate.

I can’t help but smile. He’s just as jealous and protective over my mom as he was when my brothers and I were younger. They’ve been mates for over seventy years, but you’d think they were newlyweds by how they treat each other.

“I have news.”

“We know. We already heard from Kolt,” Dad says.

“You heard from Kolt? That asshole isn’t answering my calls or texts. What news do you have?”

“What news do you have?” Dad counters.

“Will you two quit it?” Mom grumbles. “Nolan, what is your news, baby?”

I want to know what’s going on with Kolt, but that will have to wait. I have more important things to talk to her about. “I met my mate today.”

My mom squeals from across the line. “You did? What is her name? What is she like? Can I talk to her?”

I clear my throat. “She’s not here right now.”

My parents are silent for a few seconds. “Why not?”

“That’s why I called. She’s a human and I don’t know how much she knows about shifters and mates. I don’t want to scare her off by coming on too strong.”

“Makes sense,” Dad muses. I imagine him scratching his thick beard like he used to do when we were kids.

“Just because she’s human doesn’t mean she isn’t feeling the mating bond.

When your father and I met, I felt it instantly.

It’s a little scary if you don’t know what’s going on, but on a deeper level, she’ll know that you're her mate. That you two belong together. The hard part is getting her human side to reconcile with the bond.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I grumble.

“How did you meet her?” Mom asks.

“She walked into Snarl about fifteen minutes ago.”

Dad laughs and Mom ‘aaawwwww’s. “So where is she now?”

“She came in looking for a job. I knew she was human as soon as she walked in, so I… uh… kind of told her to leave.”

“Nolan! You didn’t! Were you mean to my future daughter-in-law?”

“I didn’t know who she was at first. Anyway she was trying to go outside and couldn’t figure out the door, we touched and that was it.”

“And you let her get away from you? Why didn’t you make her stay?” Mom asks.

“Because I didn’t want her to freak the hell out. I was trying to give her time for the bond to set in.”

“Annnnd??” She gasps.

“And she’s coming back tonight. I gave her a job.”

“Are you fucking crazy? You’re putting your human mate to work in a supe bar?” Dad growls.

I rub my hand up and down the back of my neck, feeling like a chastised child. “She’s the one who asked for the job. It’s the only thing I could think of to make sure she came back to me.”

“You better watch her like a fucking hawk. They’ll eat her alive in there if you’re not careful,” He tells me.

“She’ll be fine.” As I say it, I’m not sure I believe it myself. The vamps will think she’s a willing snack, and God only knows what the shifters will do. They’d never do anything without her consent, but they’re likely to scare her off.

“Do you want us to come down?”

“No!” Dad and I both say at the same time.

“Fine! But you better not scare her off, Nolan. I want grandcubs! You’re not going to take this away from me.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Nolan?”

“Yeah, Mom?”

“Go easy on her. If she has no idea about shifter life, this is all going to be a shock. It’s your job to help her understand. If you don’t, the start of your mating won’t be as fun and exciting as it should be. Tell her she can call me if she has any questions.”

“Thanks, Mom. I will. Bye, Dad.”

“Bye.”

I end the call and toss my phone onto the bar. Scrubbing my hands down my face, I look around Snarl wondering how I’m going to make this work.