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.

often enough that she’s basically a member of the family,

happened to her Little Mermaid obsession?" she queries as

of a hand,

bound down the rest of the stairs, stepping over to the front

"I’m heading out!"

her voice carrying from the back of the

knows I'll be responsible and come home at a decent hour, because

sure you don’t want to head to

way toward her car at the

giving her a playful

trying to get

open and drop into the seat, rattling with a hollow, tinny

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

worked her 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 in

and we pull away from the curb, heading out of town

of Riverton,

again when my phone lights up with an incoming text

You still coming?

just don’t get

her

Cal? Out of all

a casual shrug of my shoulders.I resist the urge to pick up my phone and text him back, knowing

don’t even know the

So why are you suddenly texting him like it’s a

not a thing.You’re the only one making it into a

burning a hole in the thigh of my black jeans, my fingers itching to reach for it.Vienna shoots

out here tonight so you can

bonfire sounded fun,"

either this or watching Frozen with Mia for the hundredth time."She’s quiet for a moment, but I can practically hear

laugh, swatting at Vee’s arm

know him either, Vee.You can’t judge a book by

if the cover gives you the heebie

urge to pick up my phone and reply to Callum’s

Vienna is suspiciously quiet for the rest of the drive, but I think part of that is her own anxiety about

a palpable tension between her and Chase, and I think she’s nervous about seeing him again after the way

Vee practically dragged me out of the packhouse like it was on fire

that’s not jealousy, I

side of a forest road deep in Norbury’s territory, climbing out and trudging through the trees while allowing

up ahead, and I can feel the tension rolling off Vienna in waves, making me second guess whether it was the

she’s been

back ina big wooden chair, his long legs spread and his dark hoodie slung up

hood, giving his grin this eerie, ominous

my back, a shiver

"Ladies,"

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

curling my fingers around the cold neck of the

I snap my gaze back to him as he nods to the empty bench

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,

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

"You made it,"

finally utters, the deep timbre of his voice seeping inside me and unraveling the tightness in the pit of

his eyes

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

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

it down and notice that he’s

Callum shrugs.

I narrow my eyes on him

last night. Straight

his gaze sliding from me and lingering on

of the time, I like to keep

says that Chase passes him a

were saying about keeping a clear head?" I tease, eyeing

he coughs out

explains, holding

the cushion of

eyes dip to my mouth, then travel back up to Meet my

girl, aren’t you?" he asks in that deep, rumbling voice of his, and my heart beats a little faster, my thighs squeezing together

my eyes trained on his,

what if

laughs softly to himself and takes another hit of

He exhales the smoke

into a smirk as I watch him,

me guess, you’re a

back to meet mine and he grins menacingly, running his

"The worst, babe."

I don’t hate the way it sounds rolling

stare, like he’s