Rebel Wolf (Wilde Brothers Ranch #5) - Scarlett Grove Page 0,24

the mate.com app, so all he could do was text her. He opened the app and tapped on the Text Now button, bringing up the text application. He stared at his phone, not sure what to say.

Cassidy. I was confronted by Charlie and Bobby McCoy today. They told me that you are their sister. It doesn't change how I feel about you. I am and always will be your fated mate. But I need to know what you want and how you feel. What do you think we should do?

The bubbles appeared almost immediately, and her response was just as quick.

I'm sorry, Gunner. I just found out. Everyone's been screaming at me ever since I got home. Charlie and Bobby are calling me all kinds of names. My dad sent me to my room. Can you believe that? Mother is frantic, trying to calm everyone down. I tried to talk to my dad, but he won't even speak to me.

I'm so sorry.

It's not your fault.

What do you want to do?

I need to see you, she said.

You can come here. I have my own house. We can talk. We can be alone. My brothers said they will defend us no matter what. You'll be safe here.

I'll be there as soon as I can.

8

There was no hiding anymore. They knew. It was time to make a choice. She sat in her bedroom clutching her purse, her mind racing. She could run away from Fate Rock forever, disappear and never look back. Then she could avoid all that she knew was to come. Or she could denounce Gunner, obey her father, and be miserable for the rest of her life. And there was a third option. Go to Gunner. Be his mate. Stand up for herself and her own happiness.

She took a deep breath, stood from her bed and went to her bedroom door. She slowly turned the doorknob and peeked out into the hall. No one was there. She heard voices coming from the kitchen, her mother desperately trying to calm her father.

She crept down the stairs, avoiding the creaky one. When she reached the bottom, she sprinted to the front door on tiptoe and crept outside, turning the knob back into the latch so it didn't make a sound. She ran to her car, hopped into the driver's seat, pulled out of her parking spot, and slammed on the gas. She glanced in her rearview mirror as she drove down the gravel road. Her brothers were looking at her from the entrance of the garage.

They'd seen her. They would surely tell her father, but what could she do? Her inner lioness wouldn't stop screaming for her mate, and after getting to know Gunner, there was no doubt in her mind that they were meant for each other. No matter what happened next, at least she would know she had stood up for her life and her happiness.

She knew the way to Wilde Ranch by heart. Every time her father or brother had passed the gates to their property, they'd cursed their names. But now, as Cassidy passed under the sign that said Welcome to Wilde Ranch, she felt as if she was coming home, as if this was where she had belonged all of that time. It was such a crazy thought since her family had hated the Wildes for over a hundred years. But she never had. She realized that she had known Gunner in elementary school. They'd never been in the same class, but he'd been a sweet, energetic, creative boy, always nice to the other kids on the playground.

She followed the directions he'd sent her to the ranch, through the sprawling pastures filled with cows and sheep, until she turned and pulled into his driveway. She stopped the car and cut the engine.

It was as if time stood still, and she was at the doorway of a vastly new life. She knew nothing would be the same the minute she stepped out the door onto Wilde land. But this was what she wanted. She wanted to belong. She wanted to feel safe and protected, and that was what Gunner gave her. That was what she would give herself.

She stepped out of her Honda onto the gravel driveway as Gunner emerged from his house. It was late afternoon, and the crickets were chirping in the meadow. The hum of the late-summer heat filled the air. Their eyes met, and it was as if something flashed between them, a recognition