Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 134

Carter

I woke early Sunday morning and slipped from Briar’s porch before she emerged. I had overheard her tell Lana she wasn’t training today when she got home late last night. She had looked seriously troubled when she parked her bike and wandered in while on the phone with her. She didn’t come out on the porch tonight to think like she had been all week. I could tell she was more exhausted than I was, so I took my post, and when I woke, I went home, not thinking much of it. I showered and made coffee. When I stepped out on the back porch wanting to greet Sunday’s dawn in remembrance of Jake, and maybe ask his ghost for some guidance, I startled. She sat in her chair and acted as if she hadn’t noticed me come out.

I sat beside her, the blueberry muffins resting between us on the small table. I didn’t say a word. I just sat in companionable silence with her as we greeted the day in his memory. Once the majestic colors of the sunrise faded away, I looked to her. She looked as worn and tired as I was. However, instead of the coursing anger running through her that I expected, she simply seemed resigned.

Her eyes finally glanced at mine, then back at the landscape.

“I’m giving you one chance, Carter, no more secrets, no more lies. I need to know everything. You may not think I can handle it, but what I honestly can’t handle is the unknown. They are eating me up from the inside. I’m resting that power in your hands. You have one chance, don’t fuck it up.”

My mind whirled. She was giving me a chance. There was no doubt what was more important to me in this moment. This was it.

“I guess you talked to Martha last night?”

“Yes, she told me about my mother and father, but told me you had to tell me the rest,”  she let me know, taking a sip of her coffee and grabbing a muffin. She didn’t even try to open the wrapper; she just held it.

“Listen, there’s just so much to say. It’s going to be a lot, and I’m afraid you won't believe me, but I also know I can’t keep this from you any longer. 

Our eyes met, and she nodded for me to go on.

“Some days I feel like I'm going insane, so maybe I’ll believe you,” it was only a partial half hearted joke. 

I was quiet for a while before I asked. “Do you believe in soul mates?

She stilled before glancing up at me.

“I don’t know what I believe anymore. I just want to hear your truth,” she admitted.

“I’m not what you think I am, and you are not what you know yourself to be,” I said, taking a swallow of coffee. Her eyes tried to search mine for meaning, but I had her attention, so I went on.

“Clyde is my Alpha, and I am his Beta, his second in command, the job your uncle had before he died. “Clyde is a vindictive man; I couldn’t let him know what you are to me. I’ve known since the first day we met, but you had been through so much, I couldn’t put more on you. I should have told you before Clyde called for you, but in retrospect, it's probably better that I didn’t; he would use that against us if he found out.” I looked at her as her brows scrunched in confusion.

“You are my soulmate, I am your second chance at one. Creedon failed you, but his side of the bond still lingers. You rejected him, but he is still holding on to you. That's why it was hard for you to heal, along with the aversion to eating, among other things. Since you've been gone, I know it's happening again; it's happening to me, too. I know you won't believe me yet, until I show you, and I will, but I need to get the words out first,” I tried to explain. She nodded; she seemed content to listen, refraining from questions for now.

“Clyde was right that you needed to learn the secrets of this town, he was right that in the beginning I was sent to keep an eye on you; however, what he doesn’t know is that once I  met you I decided right then and there to do everything in my power to protect you, that has to remain a secret to him or he will use it to manipulate us both. What is between us was never a lie; there was just never the right time to let it all out before our time ran out. Your entire life, these secrets have sat in the shadows. Jake wanted you here to tell you all of it, that I am sure of; however, his life was taken before he could.” I said somberly. “My love for you was never a lie, and no matter how you take the truth, I will never stop loving you,” I told her truthfully. 

“The residents of this town are all like me, Clyde, Mazzie, Lana, Amber and her kids, the guys at the shop. You are like us, you just don’t know it yet, and you're so fucking strong. Jake would have been so proud of you.

“Divide is a town of wolves, not just a wolf sanctuary or the biker crews that call themselves such that you see out in force on the weekends. Come on, I need to show you something. I said, standing and holding my hand out to her, she looked at it tentatively before taking it. Goddess, I had missed the feel of her skin on mine. I led her down the deck steps as I spoke. 

“Remember the wolf the first day you stayed with me?”

“Yeah,”

“There is a reason I wasn’t worried about her, and I need you to try your best to trust me right now. I’m not going to hurt you.” I said as I stepped back and pulled off my shirt.”

“What are you doing, Carter? I didn’t come here to see you naked!” she hissed with her hands on her hips. “Remember the wolf that comes to visit you when you sit on the porch at night?” I asked as I kicked off my shoes.

“How…did you know about that?”

My response was to shift in front of her eyes as I dropped my pants to the floor.

Seeing was believing.