Mate Set (Mating Heat Book 1) Read online

  The woman turned, walking over to the bathroom counter, and stared at herself in the mirror. “Sorry you caught me in the shower, but I wanted to be nice and clean for my Grady when he gets here. I was on duty and had to break up some fights. I didn’t think he’d like to smell a bunch of males on me.” She glanced at Mika over her shoulder as she opened the drawer under the counter, grabbing a brush to run through her wet hair. “You know how males hate the scent of others when they’re fucking us. How does my nose look? I broke it in a fight. I can’t smell anything but I don’t think he’ll notice it, do you?”

  Mika spun and moved toward the door. She had to get the hell out of there before Grady returned.

  He’d called a werewolf female to fuck him. That’s why he hadn’t returned to her. He was going to try to be with that redhead instead of coming home.

  Pain burned through her at his betrayal.

  “Where are you going?” Megan called out.

  Mika rushed out of the apartment and down the stairs, leaving the apartment door open behind her. She walked quickly toward the back door and had almost reached it when another door opened down the hall. The loud sounds of the bar were instant, making her turn her head just in time to see Grady step into the hall with his head turned away.

  “I don’t know how she’s going to take it, and I really don’t give a damn, either. It wasn’t anything serious between us.” Grady said the words loudly, obviously talking to someone in the bar, as he took another step. “If she makes any problems over it and won’t leave me alone, then she’ll have to realize I’m willing to kill her if she tries to lay claim to me.”

  He turned at that moment and his gaze locked on Mika. Shock made his eyes widen.

  “Mika?”

  She fought tears. “I came looking for you, thinking you might need me.”

  He just stared at her, twenty feet away, and didn’t say a word.

  “But I saw that you don’t. Your girlfriend is naked and waiting for you upstairs. You’re going to have a great life because you’ll never see me again, so you don’t have to kill me.” She spun then, shoved open the back door and ran.

  “Mika!” Grady roared.

  She was shaking when she reached the Jeep. A loud boom sounded and she turned her head, staring in shock as Grady barged out the back door. He’d hit the door so hard that it literally came off the hinges. Pure rage was on his features and her terror was instant. She shoved the key in the ignition.

  “Mika!” He roared out her name again, and stormed toward her, looking like a big, mean, enraged male.

  She turned the key in the ignition, the engine roared to life, and she threw it in drive as she slammed her foot down on the gas. Tires squealed as the Jeep jumped forward and threw her back against her seat. She had to swerve the wheel hard to avoid plowing into the wall, barely missed it, and she heard a snarl. She glanced at the rearview mirror as she straightened the wheel and pressed down harder on the gas.

  To her shock, she saw a large form running after her.

  Grady.

  She was stunned as her gaze fixed on him in the tiny mirror. He was gaining on her, running down the street, and he looked scary as hell since she could see that he’d partially changed, with his extended nose and sharp teeth.

  The Jeep gained speed though and she jerked her attention from the mirror to the road ahead of her so she didn’t crash. In seconds she glanced back but Grady was gone.

  She twisted her head, looking over her shoulder, and saw a shape running into a side street, moving fast.

  Her mind worked frantically, realizing he was going to try to cut her off from going to her house. She knew even on two legs, he could run fast and for miles. She didn’t slow, taking a turn in the opposite direction of her house and where he was heading. She had her purse with her. Hot tears nearly blinded her so she had to quickly wipe them away before she wrecked.

  Grady had said he’d kill her.

  She parked Grady’s Jeep at the airport and sat there shaking and wiping away tears. He’d called his girlfriend, the one she’d overheard him speaking with on the phone, to try to get him through his mating heat. She’d heard him say he’d kill her if she tried to lay claim to him.

  She nearly screamed with fright when her cell phone rang, startling her, and she twisted in the driver’s seat, staring at her purse on the passenger side.

  It rang five times before it stopped, going to voice mail.

  She had to get out of town, had to make sure he couldn’t find her. She was in grave danger if he was willing to kill her if the mating had taken. She removed his keys from the ignition, shoved them under the driver’s seat, and grabbed her purse. One look in the rearview mirror showed that her eyes were red and puffy, obviously from crying, but she couldn’t do anything about that as she climbed out of his Jeep and carefully locked it.

  Some people stared at her as she entered the small airport but she ignored them, going to the ticket line. Her phone made her jump as it started to ring again. She reached down, removed it from the side pocket, and glanced at the number. She hesitated and then flipped it open.

  “Hello?”

  “I’m too worried to sleep,” Minnie said softly. “What happened when he came home?”

  Mika moved in line when the person in front of her did. “He didn’t come home,” she admitted.

  “Damn it, he’s stubborn, but I’m sure he’ll be home soon. Why didn’t you answer your house phone? I tried calling it first.”

  “I’m not home. I’m at the airport.”

  “What?” Minnie nearly yelled. “Why?”

  “I’m leaving.”

  “We went over this, damn it! You can’t do that, Mika. I told you what would happen. He’ll come home and he’ll accept you.”

  She glanced around her, seeing just two people in front of her, but she still lowered her voice. “He wants me dead, Minnie. I went to the bar looking for him and I heard him telling someone that. I have to run.”

  “You come here now.”

  “I’m taking the first flight they have open, I don’t care to where, but I’m out of here.” The guy in front of her moved, the line going fast. “It’s my turn to buy a ticket. I left Grady’s Jeep in the parking lot and the keys are under the seat. Let him know where it is tomorrow. I love you and I’ll call you soon. I’m turning my phone off now.”

  She hung it up and turned it off, returning it to her purse.

  * * * * *

  Mika glanced at her watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. The first flight out was to New York and she couldn’t board for another twenty minutes. She glanced around the nearly empty terminal, relaxing when she still didn’t see Grady. She really didn’t expect him to come after her now that she was leaving. He had no reason to kill her if she was no longer a part of his life.

  Hot tears threatened to spill again but she blinked them back. She hugged herself and winced, forgetting the bite that throbbed as her wrist rubbed across her tender breast.

  She glanced at her watch and realized only a minute had passed. Time was crawling by. Movement made her lift her head and she stared at a tall, long-haired man wearing a black leather jacket and jeans, walking straight toward her. He looked very similar to Grady but the walk was different. He stared right at her, moving quickly, and she sat frozen just staring back until he stopped a few feet away.

  “Mika?”

  “No,” she lied, staring into eyes that resembled Grady’s enough that she knew this had to be one of his half-brothers.

  The man’s mouth was similar to Grady’s as well, especially when he frowned at her. He purposely sniffed and shook his head. “You can’t lie to me when you scent of Grady that damn strongly. Get up and come with me now.”

  Her fingers gripped her purse, nearly clawing the material. “No.”

  His frown deepened. “I need you to come with me.”

  “I need to leave.”

  They stared at each other. The man shifted his weight. “Grady n