Broken Bond

Chapter 4

VANESSA

Here’s the thing- I don’t give out my phone number to guys.

Ever.So imagine my surprise when I was stocking the coolers at work this morning and my phone vibrated against the bar top with an incoming text message from Callum Conway.

His number wasn’t saved in my phone, but I immediately knew the message was from him, and it didn’t take long for me to figure out how he got ahold of my digits.

The sneaky devil must’ve sent himself a text from my phone when he was checking out my music last night.

If it were anybody else, I’d probably be annoyed with the underhanded way he went about getting my number, but instead I found myself smiling down at my phone, heart pounding as I considered how to respond.

Exchanging messages is harmless, right? At least that’s what I kept telling myself as we texted back and forth all morning while I smiled down at my phone like a fool.

I might’ve gotten away with it, too, if I wasn’t working the same shift as my best friend.

Vienna knows I don’t give my number out, so she was baffled by the fact that I was so caught up in texting with Callum, and honestly, same.

All of this is so foreign to me, but there’s just something about Cal.

He’s bold without being sleazy.

Clever without being cliché.

And for the first time, I'm...curious.

A lot of girls my age date around, Vienna included, but I never have.

She thinks I’m crazy, and she’s said as much when I’ve turned down dates or refuted advances from good-looking, smooth -talking guys that other girls would jump at the chance to go out with.

Call me a hopeless romantic, but I’ve never seen the point of dating or getting close to someone when I have a fated mate out there somewhere waiting for me.

Humans talk about soulmates, but in shifter culture, finding that person is a very real possibility.

Once we turn eighteen, every full moon presents a chance for us to find them.

Our packs shift and run together under the light of the moon, and if you’re lucky enough to be in the proximity of your fated mate on one of those nights, you’ll feel it- the pull.

My parents say it’s like an irresistible force that draws you to your mate, and once you lay eyes on one another, BAM! The bond snaps into place.

Even though all of us have a fated mate out there, not everyone is lucky enough to find theirs.

Statistically, less than half of us will actually find them and get to experience that magical fated mate bond, but I’m an optimist.

My parents are fated mates, and I’ve seen how deep that connection goes.

They really are two halves of a whole.

I want that for myself, and I’ll hold out as long as I have to in order to find my other half.

Which is why it’s so out of character for me to be acting the way I am right now, carefully applying my makeup and straightening my hair, changing my clothes five times before settling on an outfit that screams casual, yet sexy.

I’m nervous.I don’t get nervous around guys.

What the hell has gotten into me?

"It’s not too late to back out, you know,"

Vienna sighs from the doorway of my bedroom, and I’m not sure if it’s due to her own apprehension or if she’s sensing mine.

I know she’s just as anxious about seeing Chase tonight, but she’s gone the opposite way of me, putting minimal effort into her hair, makeup, and attire.

She's trying to send the message that she doesn’t care enough to dress up for him, but I think she looks even more beautiful when she goes casual and lets her natural beauty shine through.

If the Alpha has designs on playing it aloof with her again tonight, he doesn’t stand a chance.I shake my head as I cross the room to Vienna.

"Nice try,"

I laugh, snatching her by the arm and threading mine through the crook of her elbow.

"We’re doing this."

"But it's like ten degrees outside," she grumbles as I pull her toward the staircase.

"Let it go, Vee.The cold never bothered me anyway."

She stops in her tracks, hitting me with a dubious stare and raising a brow at my Disney reference.

"Frozen? Really, Ness?" I giggle, starting down the stairs and yanking her with me.

"It’s Mia’s favorite right now."

Her lips pull into a smile at the mention of my four-year-old sister.

basically a member of the

her Little Mermaid obsession?" she queries as she follows me

wave of a hand, glancing back

the stairs, stepping

"I’m heading out!"

back instantly, her voice

as parenting goes- I’ve never given her a reason not to trust me, so she doesn’t give me the third degree or question where I’m going.She knows I'll be responsible and come home at a decent hour, because that’s what I’ve always done.Plus, I’m

don’t want to head to the

we make our way toward her car at the

I laugh, giving

to get

creaks on its hinges as I pull it open and drop into the seat, rattling with a hollow,

but I'l] never say that out loud because I know how

butt off to buy it with her own money, so even if it feels like a rolling death trap, I’ll act like we’re riding

with a groan and we pull away from

our own territory of Riverton,

Callum once again when my phone lights

still coming?

just don’t

her

Out of

reply with a casual shrug of my shoulders.I resist the urge to pick

don’t even know the

him like it’s a thing?" Troll my

only one making

is practically burning a hole in the thigh of my black jeans, my fingers itching to reach for

me out here tonight

sounded fun," I

or watching Frozen with Mia for the hundredth time."She’s quiet for a moment, but I can practically hear the gears turning in her head before she finally

out a laugh, swatting at Vee’s arm with

ridiculous! You don’t know him either, Vee.You can’t judge a

cover gives you the

to pick

the drive, but I think

she won’t admit it, there's a palpable tension between her and Chase, and I

out of the packhouse like it was on fire immediately after, like she couldn’t bear to

that’s not jealousy, I don’t

among a bunch of other cars at the side of a forest road deep in Norbury’s territory, climbing out and trudging through the trees while allowing the sound

Vienna in waves, making me second guess whether

this was for her, to bust her out of the funk she’s been in lately, but were my reasons more Callum, smiling shyly when

legs spread and his dark

handsome features are partially shadowed by his hood, giving his grin this eerie, ominous quality

is hot at my

"Ladies,"

shaking me out of my temporary trance when he reappears with a bottle of beer in each hand, offering

take it, curling my

snap my gaze back to him as he nods

at, but I find myself blindly following his command, reaching for Vee’s hand to drag her with me over to the bench.I sink down onto it, Vienna taking the spot next to

gut.It’s silly that I’m nervous- he invited me tonight, after all.He clearly wanted me to come,

"You made it,"

seeping inside me and unraveling the tightness in the pit

at him and his eyes are already on me, focused and

darker tonight, his pupils blown out so wide behind the shadow of his hood that only a sliver of his blue-green irises are visible.I part my lips to respond, but my breath gets caught somewhere in my throat when he suddenly reaches out to take the bottle of beer from my hand, his fingers brushing mine and sending a zip of electricity running through my body.I barely conceal my flinch,

taking a slow sip from the bottle.I’m not much of a beer drinker, but right now, I’d benefit from

yours?" I ask once I swallow it down and notice

Callum shrugs.

I narrow my eyes on

me last night.

me and lingering on the fire, the

I needed it.Most of the time, I

he says that Chase passes him a joint.He takes it between his fingers, raising it to his

clear head?" I tease,

he coughs

off," he explains, holding it out to me in

into the cushion of my lower lip,

my mouth, then travel back up to Meet my own,

that deep, rumbling voice of his, and

eyes trained on his, arching

what if I

another hit of the joint

that.Just trying to get a read on you." He exhales the smoke toward the fire, sinking back

smirk as I watch him, the picture of a

guess, you’re a bad

grins menacingly, running his tongue

"The worst, babe."

one for pet names, but surprisingly, I don’t hate the

pinning me with his stare, like he’s daring me to be