Chapter 82

Harper’s POV

Waking up to find the warmest, softest body of furry muscle laying up against me was kind of nice. Not that I would ever admit it out loud, especially not now.

It doesn’t take a genius to know that he stayed up all night watching. Not with how his head popped up the moment I woke up.

In all honesty, I’m kind of glad he kept watch. Becky and the man who was working with her probably weren’t working alone. I know that. They probably have a team of criminal friends waiting for them to call and tell them that I know about their underground trafficking ring.

I’m not sure if they contacted anyone else, but the thought sneaks into my mind and burrows under my skin. If they did, then I could be in danger, and that is why I’m glad he stayed.

But now, I don’t know how to feel as he sits in the corner like a scolded toddler.

“Harper,” he tries to get my attention, but I don’t respond. I shove my clothes from last night in my bag and swing it over my shoulder.

“I’m leaving,” I mutter, walking toward the door.

Before I’m two steps away, Lucas is standing between me and the door. He doesn’t touch me, just stands there, studying my face.

“Where will you go?”

He doesn’t ask me not to go, and that kind of hurts.

“Where I go is none of your business. I’m leaving, and you should too,” I tell him. I reach around him and pull the door open before adding, “Go back to your pack.”

“I know I don’t deserve your consideration, but Harper, please wait.”

I let my teeth sink into my bottom lip as I stand in front of the open door. It’s open. I could leave and never see him again. It’s my choice, but I feel that ache creeping in again, and I hate it. I hate that I want to be with him. I hate that he still makes me feel something for him. I hate that I want to turn around and throw my arms around him.

Closing my eyes, I shake my head. The mark on my neck pulses as if it’s asking me to hear him out.

“I want to apologize even though I know I have no place to do so. I want to fix this and make it right,” Lucas says, his voice so close behind me. I bet I could lean back, and he’d be right there. He will catch me… or at least, I thought he would. I thought he would help me, believe me, and trust me.

I know better, now.

“You can’t,” I whisper.

“At least… at least, take this with you,” he says, touching my shoulder softly.

When I turn around, he’s not standing as close as I thought. His hand is outstretched, and in it, I find a stack of cash, and my busted phone. He nods at the items, only speaking once I’ve accepted them, “Use the money to fix your phone and find a better place to stay. I’ll be ready to listen, whenever you’re ready to talk.”

He doesn’t say anything else. He just watches as I turn and go to my car.

Unlike before, he doesn’t follow me. There are no glimpses of Lucas or his wolf in my mirrors as I drive. There is no sign at all that he followed, which is what I wanted. So, tell me why I have this pit in my gut that gets more painful with every mile that I drive.

I try to shake it off, but it never fades.

When I arrive at the Renan District, I find a safer hotel with the ridiculous amount of money Lucas gave me. I’m not sure why he had three thousand dollars in his pockets, but I can admit that I’m glad he offered it.

It may not make me forgive him, but it’s a step.

Now, I just need to find a computer. My clinic was used for illegal trafficking, and I want to know if there are any connections between my clinic and the Domain.

Lucas’s POV

Shifting back to my human form, I stretch and nod to Mason and Brandon as they jog over to me.

“Everything alright? You don’t usually leave the territory like that,” Mason says, glancing behind me.

“I went to find Harper. She was in danger, but once she was safe, she sent me away.”

They both hiss then apologize, but before either of them can say anything else, I hear my name shouted from off to the right. A sense of déjà vu hits me when I see Nora running toward me, and my body automatically tenses up like it’s ready to run in case of another Harper emergency.

“Is she okay?” Nora asks, grabbing my arms and shaking me.

Brandon pulls his younger sister off me with an apologetic look, but that doesn’t stop her from grabbing the front of my shirt.

“Is Harper alright?”

“Yes, Harper is fine. When I left her, she was driving off to Goddess knows where,” I mutter bitterly. I’d wanted to follow her, but I knew that would only make her angrier. “She wouldn’t tell me where she was going, but I gave her enough money to fix her phone and stay in a comfortable hotel for a while.”

Nora nods and relaxes in relief before dropping her back, sucking in a sharp breath, and bucking up, “Do you realize how much you hurt her?!”

Brandon snatches his sister back, wrapping his arms around Nora as she tries to jump at me. She thrashes and kicks in his arms like an angry kitten.

“She trusted you, and you treated her like a common criminal!” She hisses. “I don’t know why, in the Goddess’s name, she didn’t castrate you the moment she was safe, but you should count yourself lucky.”

I glance at Mason who holds his arms up like he wants to stay out of it.

“Nora, calm down.”

“I don’t want to calm down!” She shrieks at her brother. “He, our so-called Alpha, deserves to be beaten for treating her like that.” Nora kicks at Brandon’s thigh and nails him in the shin. He drops her, and she slaps him before looking to me again. “And you know what, she still cares enough about what you think to dig through the dark web and find evidence to prove she’s innocent. I told her to just run—”

I take Nora’s face between my fingers, stopping her.

“What evidence? What did she find?”

Nora sighs and jerks her face away to bend down and grab her bag. “It’s all in here. My laptop and the puzzle codes to get into the dark web.”

I take the bag from her and unzip it.

“She said there’s enough evidence to clear her name in the computer, and that she even found out where they’re hosting their next auction of wolf souls,” Nora tells me, and I pull out the notebook.

Words and phrases are scribbled on the pages, all detailing several difficult puzzles that Harper noted are the access portals to the dark web. I flip through, growing more amazed with my mate, until another pit forms in my stomach.

Harper did all of this to prove her innocence.

If I’d just listened, we could have worked on this together. Instead, my smart and sweet mate is out there alone.

I never should have put her in the position where she had to leave again.