Fated for Her Wolves - Tara West Page 0,23

was almost as bad as the guilt for causing their mother’s death.

And now Tatiana’s obsessive guilt might have cost her all future happiness. Was she truly willing to let her fated mates go forever?

Throwing off her blankets, she hurriedly dressed and went downstairs. She had no idea what time it was, but it was late. Her parents were staying with her mates’ fathers and Eilea next door, and older people usually went to bed early, which meant there was a good chance of sneaking out unseen.

Much to her chagrin, Bunic Klaus, her mates’ alpha grandfather, and Bunic Novak, their beta grandfather, were sitting at the dining table, giving her looks that made her think they’d expected her to come downstairs. The smell of warm butter and cinnamon made her mouth water, and she eyed a pastry sitting on the table. Not that she felt like eating. She was too worried over Dimitri.

“What’s the matter, pui de lup?” Klaus asked, shuffling a deck of cards.

She wrapped her arms around herself, self-conscious under the weight of their appraisals. “I can’t sleep.”

Novak said, “Why not?”

Instinct told her he already knew the answer, so why was he asking? “Dimitri hates me,” she blurted.

Novak had the nerve to chuckle. “He doesn’t hate you.”

“He does.” Emotion threatened to close her throat. “I’ve made him wait too long, and now he hates me.”

The two grandfathers shared glances that made her feel smaller than a speck of dirt.

“Your mates will be here tomorrow morning and then you can clear the air,” Klaus said, giving her a long, hard look.

She recognized it. Her father looked at her that way when he wanted her to back down, but she wasn’t going to do that. She’d be climbing the walls if she was forced to wait all night to make things right with Dimitri.

Ignoring his death glare, she grabbed her coat and shoes and sat on a bench beside the front door to put on her boots. “I’m going now.”

“You’ve waited five years,” Klaus pointed out peevishly.

She flinched and wondered if her mates’ bunics despised her, too. But none of that mattered at the moment. She had to make peace with Dimitri.

“Exactly,” she said, lacing her boots.

Klaus heaved himself out of his chair with a groan. “You’re not leaving at this hour.”

She stood, pulling her cap down over her ears and praying they didn’t try to stop her. “It’s not far.” She made for the door. Best to apologize later than be stuck in that house staring at a clock.

Klaus was upon her in a few long strides. “You know it’s not safe for you to go out alone.”

She backed away from him when he reached for her. “I have to see them now.”

He reached for his coat. “We’ll drive you.”

“Thanks!” Tatiana smiled. Amaroki men were possessive of their women. It was a wonder she was allowed to wipe her own ass. But with a possible demon on the loose, she didn’t object to their company.

After warming up their old truck, they hit the road, turning toward town instead of her mates’ farm. She cast a surreptitious glance over her shoulder. “Their house is that way.”

“But the bar is this way,” Klaus grumbled.

The bar? What made him think they were there? It would be dawn soon. Was this their normal behavior or had her rejection driven her mates to drink? The realization struck her like a blow to the chest.

HER HEART SANK WHEN they pulled into the parking lot, and she saw their old truck was the only vehicle there. After they helped her out and walked her to the door, she said, “Do you mind if I speak to them alone?”

“Go ahead,” Klaus said, much to her surprise. “We’ll be waiting outside.” Opening the door, he pointed to a lone figure slumped over a table in back.

Was that Dejan? She wondered if she’d driven her mates to drink. After they bonded, would they continue to frequent the bar? A pack from her tribe had become such heavy drinkers, they were eventually banished to Romania, where all but the gamma and his mate were killed by hunters. She couldn’t let them go down that path, which made her even more determined to make amends with Dimitri.

Expelling a shaky breath, she surged forward and easily adjusted to the dim light with her wolf-touched vision. It was Dejan at the table, and he was snoring, his face buried in her scarf. Did that mean he still loved her?

Several empty shot glasses were in