The Quiet One

7

Regal drove his mate back to the bookshop, mentally kicking himself for asking her home with him on the first date. He had promised himself he wouldn't push her into anything; he thought their kiss might have meant she wanted more. Damn panther, pushing him to claim his mate. He parked the car and watched as she readjusted her scarf and put her white gloves back onto her hands.

"Thank you for a wonderful night." Harper looked up at him and he had to grip the steering wheel tightly, to keep from grabbing her and kissing her senseless.

"I want to do this again, say Saturday?" he asked, he planned on taking her to a Christmas market his community was hosting. Many members of his pack were craftsmen and enjoyed showcasing their wares. Christmas time was when they made most of their money.

"Sure, you can pick me up from my apartment. I'll text you the address." She put her hand on the handle and he stopped her with a touch of his hand.

"I don't have your personal phone number,"

"Oh, right. Tell me yours and I'll send you a message now." Harper pulled out her phone, it wasn't the latest model, but it was a smartphone.

"five, five, five, two, eight, three, nine." He told her, she smiled and his phone dinged with a text. He opened it and saw

Unknown number: It's Harper, thank you for a wonderful night!

"Got it." He quickly changed her name in his phone to My Mate and tucked his phone away. Harper opened the car door and on impulse he got out and helped her down to the curb. She looked up at him in surprise, when he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and walked her into the parking lot next to her store. She stopped short, making Regal take his eyes off of her and look at the lone car in the lot. It had bright red writing on the windshield.

Stay away human!

Regal immediately hurried her back to his car, he tucked her into the passenger side and locked the car.

"Stay put, let me check it out," he ordered and walked away not giving her a chance to argue. He took a deep breath but smelled generic wolf, his guess was they used hunter's block to mask any specific wolf's scent left behind. He could see the bucket of paint and paint brush used left by her car and noticed the scratch marks on the driver side handle. He tested the handle, and the car opened without resistance.

"I locked it, I know I did," came her quiet voice. Regal turned to see his mate standing a few feet away, arms wrapped around her waist as she watched him.

"Easy to disable a car alarm these days and your car it is an older model which makes it even easier. Stay put," he warned. He didn't like she had gotten out of the car, but she was keeping her distance. He opened the door wide and groaned at the amount of red paint splashed all over the seats and steering wheel. The vandalism hadn't happened long after they had left for their date. His guess was they waited until everyone had left the lot and then attacked her car.

"You won't be able to drive this until it is thoroughly cleaned. They threw red paint all over the inside of your car. I'm not even sure a professional detail place can fix all of this." He motioned her over, now he knew there was no danger still around. He heard her gasp and then began to cry, he wrapped her in his arms and held her while she cried. Someone wanted her to stay away, from what he was unsure, but no one threatened his mate and got away with it. He would call his friends and see if they could piece together why his mate was receiving threats.

"Can you drive me home?" she asked, once her tears subsided, he nodded, and they walked back to his car. She pulled her car keys out and locked the car again before letting him help her back into the seat.

He pulled up in front of an older apartment building in town and parked.

"Do you want me to walk you up?" he asked, she shook her head no and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Text me as soon as you get inside," he urged.

"Sure, thank you for everything Regal. I will see you Saturday, just let me know the time." Her eyes were sad as she stepped out of the car. He waited until she was inside the building before pulling away from the curb and heading for his luxury apartment on the other side of town. He dialed his father,

"Regal? Kind of late for a phone call," his father joked. Regal knew he could always call his father or mother any time of day and they would answer.

"Hi Dad, I was on a date with my mate and when I dropped her back off at her car someone had painted stay away human in red paint. They broke into her car and destroyed the interior with red paint. Have you heard anything about rogue shifters causing a stir?"

"Hmm, no but I heard about a wolf shifter who passed away and named a human in his will. Could be his pack is unhappy with someone not in their pack getting a piece of his estate."

"You mean George Hartford?"

"Yes, his will reading is tomorrow, as a former alpha they have invited me to help keep the peace."

"Do you know what time? I think my mate may be the human named in the will, she mentioned a friendship with George."

"Wait did I hear mate?" came his mother's voice from the background,

"Yes Mama, I found her. Her name is Harper Talbot, and she owns Hidden Treasures the bookstore in town." Regal knew he wouldn't get off the phone without giving her some information.

"When do we get to meet her? I know bring her for the family dinner tomorrow!" His mother's voice got more excited as she spoke.

"Mother, she is very shy. I took her to Arthur's restaurant and reserved the whole place, she still froze when Arthur spoke to her," Regal sighed. He wanted badly to introduce her to his family, but he knew they needed more one-on-one time for her to be around his parents.

"I know, her mother and I are in the same painting class. Helen is a lovely woman and has set up her three other daughters with many of the sons of our classmates. She mentioned Harper had crippling shyness and didn't speak to anyone who wasn't family until high school. Even then she won't speak unless necessary. I want you to bring her over tomorrow. I don't care about her shyness your father and I can work around it." He sighed.

"I will ask her, but if she says no then you need to respect her answer. We've been on one date, I'm not even sure she understands what being mates means," Regal replied, pulling into the underground garage of his high rise apartment.

"That is all we ask, she has a standing invitation to any family dinner. As for the red paint, I heard Bella talk about some of the young wolves in her pack being restless. Not the teens, but the ones who should be in college and didn't go because of money issues. The wolf pack is suffering from lack of jobs to support their large pack."

"Do you think Jace would talk to me?"

"You can give it a shot, Jace isn't the nicest alpha in their pack history," his father explained.

"I'll give him a call if I notice anything at the reading of the will tomorrow. Can you text me the time and address?"

"Yes, see you tomorrow son."

"Thanks dad, see you tomorrow." Regal hung up and made his way up to his apartment, thinking about Harper the entire time.

Harper's car! I personally love Regal's mom, let me know what you like about the story. I love seeing all your comments! Don't forget to vote!