He closed his eyes and replayed his memories of them together. The first time he saw her, scented her. The smile on her face as they kissed for the first time. The way she shivered every time he touched her. The way it felt when he was buried balls deep inside her. How much he loved her. He would not let anyone take that away from them. He would fight for her.
With his mind made up, he sprinted the last few yards to her house and banged on the ornate door. Even through the brick of the house and the heavy wooden barrier, he could smell his mate. She was still there.
Seconds passed, and no one answered. He pounded his fist against the door again, ready to kick the fucking thing in if no one answered soon. He didn’t give a shit if it was the mayor’s house or not.
The deadbolt released, and the door creaked open. He was greeted by none other than the mayor himself. The sly grin on his face told Marc all he needed to know. The mayor had been expecting him, and he was too late. He wanted nothing more than to wipe that fucking grin off his damn face.
“Where is she? Where’s my mate?” Marc shouted the second the front door opened. He knew she was inside; he could smell her scent everywhere. Gerri and his mom flanked him on either side.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about or who you are. I suggest you leave before I have you removed,” the man said.
“Where is she?” Fury pounded through Marc. “I’m not leaving without my mate.” His fangs punched through his gums. It took every ounce of his willpower to stay in human form and not rip this fucker’s head right off his shoulders.
The man’s eyes flashed. A clear warning to him. “I suggest you back the fuck up, son. As I said, you have no business here. Now, leave.”
“I can smell her … everywhere. Allie! Allie! Where are you?” Marc shouted, pushing his way past her dad and into the foyer.
Alonzo grabbed him by the shoulder, trying to push him back toward the door. “Get the hell out before I call the police.”
“You can try to hide behind the law all you want, Mayor, but we both know this isn’t something that will be handled by the police. Allie!” Marc shouted again, his mom and Gerri barging in behind him.
“Let go of me! Who’s there? Who is that?” Allie shouted, pushing her way past Clinton.
“It’s no one, love. Let your dad handle it,” Clinton said, trying to pull her back toward the dining room.
“Allie!” Marc shouted. “Get your hands off of my mate!” Marc was seconds away from snapping and releasing his tiger. He’d let his beast figure this shit out.
“Mate? Who are you?” Allie asked.
It broke his heart even more to see the look of confusion on her face. She truly had no idea who the hell he was.
“I will kill you for this. And the witch you used to erase her memories of me. Do you understand me?” Marc charged Alonzo. He didn’t care if Allie was standing right there. He would end her father for what he had done to break their mating. In the shifter world, that was grounds for death. Packs had fought all-out wars over such infractions. Everyone knew that you simply did not fuck with one’s mate.
Period.
“Easy, Marc,” Gerri said. “I’m sure we can figure this out with the mayor.”
“And you are?” Alonzo asked.
“Gerri Wilder.”
“And what do you have to do with this, Ms. Wilder?” he sneered at her. The look on his face was one generally reserved for when you stepped in dog shit.
“Gerri, what are you doing here?” Allie asked, looking even more confused.
“You know her?” her mother asked, glancing toward Helena, who held up her hands and offered a slight shrug.
“You didn’t say anything about her,” Helena said.
“What do you mean by that?” Allie asked Helena.
The witch walked away and went to stand by Maria.
“Allie, can we please just talk?” Marc asked. If he could just talk to her, he could explain everything. He didn’t know how to prove to her that he was, indeed, her mate, but he had to try.
SEVENTEEN
ALLIE