Page 60 of Fractured Mates

I move toward the bathroom and close the door behind me without turning back. Mates or not, I need to finish this. I let Kyler in, and he can stay there, but only if he doesn’t hold me back.

You’re making the right choice, my wolf finally chimes in, shocking the hell out of me.

Thank you, I tell her as I get dressed. Hopefully, he’ll see it that way as well.

He will, she says, and I start to brush my hair into a ponytail.

Once I’m as ready as I’m going to get with our limited supplies, I step back into the room. Kyler looks prepared to leave, but then I notice he’s holding a crumpled phone within his hand.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, my entire body tensing.

“I called my boss, Maciah,” Kyler answers gruffly. “I was going to tell him to warn Cane that we were coming, but he hasn’t talked to him in nearly twenty-four hours.”

“And? Is Cane dead?” I ask, not understanding what has Kyler furious enough to ruin his phone.

He shakes his head. “He’s taken Astor’s side, and they know where we are. Or they did until I destroyed my phone.”

Motherfucking hell.

I grab mine from the dresser, ready to throw it against the wall, but Kyler stops me. “Cane could track me because all protectors can find each other through a beacon on our phones. Yours is fine. I gave Maciah your number. We need it to communicate with him.”

My hands form into fists at my side. “So, what? Now we run?”

“Now, we regroup,” he corrects. “We will attack Astor, I promise, but we need to get our shit and go. There’s another man on the inside named River. He’s only just arrived, but I trust him with my life.”

“River, as in Dawsyn’s best friend River?” I ask, because while I was pretty sure I’ve never met the man, she’s spoken highly of him and I might be willing to beat down my desire for blood if it’s him.

“I don’t know, but we need to go, Sophie,” he pleads with me. “I promise to get you more answers by tonight. Just stay with me.”

The damn bond is flaring to life within my chest, encouraging me to fall into Kyler’s touch, to trust him to take care of me and let that be that. Yet that’s not at all who I am. I don’t let other people do things for me. I’ve mostly had my own back for over a decade now.

I realize that I took this trip to find closure and turn over a new leaf, but that’s easier said than done. While I want to tell him yes and respect his desire to protect me, I don’t think that I can.

Before I’m forced to say something that I might regret, my phone rings. I turn it over and the screen shows an unknown number. I glance at Kyler, not sure I should answer it, but he nods. “It’s okay. Maciah is just giving us another update.”

Well, that’s a hell of a lot faster than I expected, considering we hadn’t heard much over the last twenty-four hours. Maybe waiting with Kyler is the best choice.

“Yeah?” I answer curtly.

“Sophie, this is Maciah. May I speak with Kyler?” he asks with a formality I’m not sure I like.

“Sure, you’re on speaker. What do you have to say?” The grin on my face can’t be hidden. Not when Kyler’s shoulders sag and I hear Maciah’s sigh through the phone.

“Privately would be preferred,” the vampire boss man says.

I chuckle. “And I’d have preferred to be done with this trip already. Sometimes we don’t always get what we want.”

Kyler shakes his head at me. I’m sure people don’t often speak to the leader of the protectors as I have, but my jar of fucks is empty.

“She’s my mate, Maciah,” Kyler says, taking me by surprise. “You can trust her.”

“I have a lot of questions about that, but they’ll have to wait,” he replies in defeat. “Cane has been dealt with, but your location has been compromised. The two of you need to get the hell out of that motel. Astor’s men are closing in on you. They left before he even called you.”

“How do you know this?” I ask, because I’m not going to run for no reason. I want to be done with that bullshit.

“Because River got what he needed out of Cane before he killed him,” Maciah says sternly, likely not appreciating that not only is one of his men dead, but that he was a traitor as well.

“Though that doesn’t mean everything is going as we hope,” he adds. “River’s story about coming back because he didn’t appreciate the leadership before and is hoping he will now isn’t easily being believed. Without River getting into Astor’s inner circle, I don’t know what good he’ll be able to do.”