Desired Mate

Chapter 1

It can’t be. He can’t be here.

If there was one thing that l knew without a shadow of doubt l had done extremely well was to cover my tracks.  But that did not explain what he was doing here. How did he find me? Was this coincidence?  I stood transfixed as Ryder sauntered into the restaurant. He still looked good. Infact he looked way better than that. He was drop dead gorgeous. It’s been four years since l last saw him and he had not aged a bit.  My wolf stirred up and whimpered a little.  “Mate” she whispered sadly.  Yeah right l thought sarcastically, fancy you saying that.  My sarcasm did not mask the sharp bursts of  pain that were coursing through my heart though.  I was still heart broken, even after all this time.

I shook myself back to earth as the source of my pain made it to his table and sat down. It dawned on me that he was not alone. He had a group of four other people with him. It’s amazing how l had zoned on only on him to such a point that l did not notice such detail.  That had always been the case when it came to Ryder and I.  We had always been that intense when it came to our relationship, to the exclusion of all else. We had loved deeply and madly.

I took a closer look at the group and nearly let out a gasp. There were two females and another man.  The two members of the group were new to me and they were clearly mates because of the way there were lovey dovey and staring into each other’s eyes with soft smiles on their faces.  It was the blonde that was sitting right next to Ryder that made my wolf stir up some more.  This time in fury. I could not believe Kelly was still hanging around Ryder. But then l was being naïve to think  she would have moved on, especially after the lengths she had gone to ensure that she destroyed things between Ryder and I. What made me even angrier was that he kept her around.  He had chosen her over me, despite what she had done.  I watched as l saw him lift her hand to his lips and kiss her palm. Cleary things had moved up between them. He had moved on.

I could feel the adrenaline starting to surge through my body and l knew that l had to get out of there before I started changing.  And changing in public was not something pack will allow as werewolves were still a secret in the community and they were quite a sizeable number of humans in the restaurant.  I took deep breaths to calm myself simultaneously taking a step back making sure that l kept Ryder on my line of vision. I needed to get out of there. Now!

The restaurant kitchen had a back door that led to the alley l could use. I was almost at the kitchen door when l felt a sharp tug and a crush. I had bumped into one of the waiters who had been carrying a  tray with drinks and the crashing sound as they hit the floor was like a gun shot.

The buzz in the restaurant dipped a bit as people turned to the direction of the sound. I watched in horror as Ryder turned his head and locked eyes with me. Recognition and another emotion that l could not identify sharpened his features as he slowly stood up. I stood like a deer in headlights as he coursed his way through the tables. Sanity kicked in when he was half way near me and l did the most stupid thing every werewolf knew not to do when being confronted by and alpha, especially a mate. I turned and ran and Ryder reacted as expected. He gave chase.