Roman's Vow (Riley's Pride #4) - Sandra R Neeley Page 0,37
the property, the Tiger had allowed nature to take over. It seemed he used it as a barrier between himself and all those that surrounded his land, and that suited her just fine. It gave her the opportunity to remain separate herself — hidden away. She thought of her mate again, Lucas, she’d heard him called.
She was glad now that she’d remained hidden away from him. Had she allowed him to see her, to interact, it would have been so much harder when she learned that he already had a family. She hadn’t scented another female on him, but, when he’d been missing that first night, she’d followed his scent. She’d followed him right up to the highway, then across it to the big house behind the gates. She’d seen the lights coming from the windows and heard the laughter of the children inside. She ventured up to the window and peeked inside.
And then her heart had broken. The little bit of hope she’d allowed herself to have, was snuffed out in a split second when she’d seen him on the floor, on his hands and knees while he played with a young boy and two little girls. Then his female had entered the room and laughed when she saw him playing with the children. His female had spoken to him. ‘Lucas, there’s dessert left if you want it, hon.’
‘Thanks, Maia. I love your cooking. I’ll go get some in a bit’, he’d replied.
‘Come on, it’s bath time’, the female had said to the children.
‘Doddy!’ the baby boy said.
‘I’ll bathe him,’ Lucas said.
‘No, I got it. Come on, you little monster,’ the female said, lifting the baby boy into her arms and taking one little girl by the hand. ‘Come on, Darcie, you too. Bath time for all of you, then bedtime.’
The female had started up the stairs, then turned back to Lucas. ‘I won’t be long, then we can have a movie marathon,’ she’d promised.
‘Popcorn and M&M’s?’ Lucas asked.
‘You know it,’ the female responded.
‘I’ll be waiting,’ Lucas had answered with a happy grin on his face.
Lucas had seemed to sense he was being watched and turned to the window with a fierce scowl.
Anahla had run then. She’d hurried away, and hadn’t been back since.
There was no reason to go back. Her mate was already mated and happily so.
Anahla replayed the scene over and over again. There was no other way to read it. Lucas already had a family. The boy had called him Daddy, the female had told him to wait for her and they’d spend time together, and she’d also called him ‘hon’ — a term of endearment.
Her mate loved another. The only thing she couldn’t figure out was why he kept a second home that only he slept in across the way. And why he searched for her so diligently if he already had a female he was obviously fond of.
“Doesn’t matter,” she whispered to herself. She looked around the thickly wooded area she’d taken shelter in and thought about what she’d do next. She had nowhere else to go, and she had no home to consider any longer. She watched as the frost began to cover the ground around her and simply called on her own body heat to keep the frost at bay immediately beneath her. Her body gave off a soft glow as the warmth she generated warmed the grasses she sat on and the tree she leaned against. She wasn’t afraid of the cold. She had no problem keeping herself comfortable. What she was afraid of was being alone. She no longer had anyone. She’d always thought if she ever found her mate, she wouldn’t have to be alone anymore, but here she was, more alone than she’d been since she’d been turned out of the only place she’d ever felt safe.
She closed her eyes and let the tears come as her body shimmered in the cold light of day. She’d been here two days already and the Tiger didn’t seem to mind, if he even knew, that was. Maybe she’d just stay here for a while. At least until she could figure out what to do next.
~~~
Riley followed Lucas on foot through the underbrush, into the small clearing he’d woken up in this morning. “This is where I felt her most,” Lucas said.
He walked in a small circle, finally coming to a stop with his hands on his hips as he looked around.