The second she’d realized that Ken was her mate, that here was someone who would stay with her forever, who would never leave—
The fear had roared up inside her. It had made her desperate to get away, because some ancient, wordless part of her brain was sure that if she stayed, Ken would leave.
Well, she wasn’t going to let that scared little part of her win.
No way.
***
Ken showed up at Oliver’s, the local diner, promptly at six.
He’d washed up and groomed as best he could out in a freezing mountain lake, and put on his least-wrinkled clothes—and then scoffed at himself. Did he think Lynn would care if he wore the plaid flannel button-down that was seventy percent wrinkles, as opposed to the plaid flannel button-down that was ninety percent wrinkles?
She wouldn’t, he knew. But the fact remained that he cared. He wanted to put in the effort for his mate.
Even if she was feeling ambivalent about him.
Ken was trying not to be tense about this. But it was surprisingly difficult.
Normally he was an easygoing guy. He went with the flow. If things didn’t go his way, well, there were always plenty of other ways they could go. He’d pick a different one and be happy with that. After all, any other way of living just meant you’d be constantly disappointed, frustrated all the time.
So when Lynn had wanted some space, had wanted to wait all day and then meet for dinner in public, at a diner, Ken had started to argue and then stopped himself. It was fine, right? Sure, he would’ve preferred to be with Lynn as much as possible today. But he understood that she had to think. And he would’ve preferred to meet somewhere private—back out in the woods, maybe. Or at her home. He had no idea where she lived, he realized, and he wanted to see that.
But he’d gone with the flow, like he usually did.
And as the day progressed, he’d started to realize that he wasn’t happy with it.
He wasn’t used to caring so much about what other people did. He really wasn’t used to feeling so on-edge, so desperately in need of certainty.
He got a table at Oliver’s and waited. It didn’t take long; Lynn appeared in the doorway a minute later, and her eyes lit on him. She came over and sat across from him.
Their feet touched, and it gave Ken a thrill. Even through two pairs of hiking boots. He still felt like he’d regressed to age thirteen.
“Hi,” Lynn said. Her clear topaz eyes locked on his. She sounded breathless.
“Hi.” He sounded breathless too. Yep, thirteen or so, that seemed about right.
Lynn was hesitating. “I’m sorry,” she said after a long minute. “For making you wait all day. I realize that must have been…difficult.”
I realize that must have been difficult. It sounded so detached. Like it hadn’t been difficult for her, too. Ken took a deep breath and tried to summon a rational adult to corral his inner infatuated teenager. “It was.” His voice came out quiet and even, and he applauded himself.
But Lynn still winced. “It’s nothing to do with you, I swear. Or the mate-bond. It’s just—me.” She rubbed her eyes. “It’s me, that’s all.”
She sounded exhausted, and whatever Ken had been upset about evaporated in a puff of smoke. “Is everything okay?”
She looked at him again, and this time he really studied her eyes. She seemed…
Afraid.
Lynn was afraid. Of what? Or who? Ken felt rage rise inside him at the idea that someone might have frightened her. He’d find whoever it was and show them what an alpha male lion could do—
Lynn looked away, and Ken let out a shuddering breath. Time to summon that inner adult again, maybe.
Because he doubted that some amorphous boogeyman had appeared from nowhere today to scare Lynn. Speaking of adulthood, there was plenty to be scared of right here between them.
His lion didn’t like that idea at all. Our mate can’t be scared of us, he insisted. We protect our mate. There’s nothing for her to be scared of when we’re here.
“Everything’s not okay,” Lynn answered finally. Ken gave his lion an imaginary thump on the nose and focused on his mate.