Lone Wolf (Wilde Brothers Ranch #6)- Scarlett Grove Page 0,14
His brothers had been in jail recently for getting into a fairly violent brawl with the McCoys. He hadn't been involved. But the incident had quickly led to the resolution of their past and the completion of his brother’s bond with his mate. But Dylan's run-in with the law would have no similar outcome. All he would get was a speeding ticket.
“I'm going to have to write you a citation, Dylan. Not even a Wilde can drive like this on these roads.”
The sheriff took his license and registration back to the cruiser and returned a few moments later, handing him his documents and a speeding ticket that would come with a fairly hefty fine.
“Whatever is going on with you, I hope you figure it out. I'd hate to see anyone hurt because a shifter got a bug up his butt. There are a lot of human tourists around here this time of year. And you flattening one of them on the side of the road is not the kind of publicity this town needs.”
Sheriff Brown walked away and pulled the cruiser out onto the road a few minutes later. Dylan just sat there, his head against the steering wheel of his Jeep. He knew the gossip would be all around town in no time. He would have to face his brothers and explain what was happening. He still hadn't told anyone but Austin about meeting Annie or that she had ditched him without a second thought. He didn't know what was worse—everyone knowing he was driving recklessly or everyone knowing his mate didn't want him.
He went into town to buy a twelve-pack of beer. When he returned home, Austin was sitting on his front porch, waiting for him to arrive. When Dylan saw his brother, he almost drove right past his own house. But he couldn't avoid the inevitable.
“Do you want to explain what's going on with you?”
“What do you mean?” Dylan asked, slipping past his oldest brother into the house. He let the screen door slam behind him. Austin caught the door and stepped through, following Dylan into the kitchen. Dylan threw the twelve-pack into the fridge then popped the cap on a bottle. Austin stood in the kitchen doorway, sizing him up.
Dylan raised an eyebrow and swigged down half the bottle.
“You yelled at the interns and didn't explain to them how to do their job. Then you left without a word to anyone. And got a speeding ticket on Highway 45.”
“I don't think that’s your business.”
“What's not my business? My actual business? Or the fact that you're endangering the lives of our community?”
“Any of it. Maybe I should quit the business. I work my ass off. I don't have any real help in the warehouse. Ninety percent of our income comes from what I do. And I have to retrain new interns every six weeks.”
“I told you we would look into getting permanent help in the warehouse.”
“I don't care anymore.”
“What's going on, Dylan? You are not yourself right now. You’ve always been reliable. This is completely unlike you.”
“I told you to mind your own business.”
“What happened with your mate, Dylan?” Austin said in a low voice, staring his brother in the eye.
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean ‘nothing’?”
“What I mean is that I met her. I made love to her. I thought it was the beginning of our lives together. And then she disappeared.”
“She still hasn’t contacted you?”
“Not a word, for two weeks. She disappeared off of mate.com.”
“Dylan, I'm so sorry.” Austin crossed the room, reaching out to his brother. He gripped his shoulder and gave him a sympathetic expression. But Dylan shrugged him off, emptying the rest of his beer bottle down his throat.
“I'm sure everything will turn out in the end,” Austin offered behind him.
Dylan shrugged and bent down to pull another bottle from the fridge. “I don't think it will. But it doesn't matter anymore. Nothing matters.”
“Don't say that, Dylan. You can't lose hope.”
“Without her, there is no hope,” he said, turning to face his brother, hot rage building in his chest.
Austin had Cheyenne. He had a preschool-age boy and another on the way. All of his brothers had their mates—all of them, except him. He had nothing, just the weight of the responsibility of the ranch on his shoulders. The endless spreadsheets and emails. And the empty hole in his heart that Annie had left when she walked away.
“Dylan, she’s still out there. You just have to keep hope alive. Fate always works out in the