Mate of Her Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

didn’t know that, Grams.”
    “Of course you didn’t, honey, we’re humans.  Wolves keep to their own kind.  Vera said that it’s nearly impossible for a female to go through the heat on her own, but that Eveny’s father was going to let her try to tough it out this year.  Next year, though, if she hasn’t chosen a mate to go through the heat with, her brother is going to pick one for her.  And you know what that will mean.”
    He did know.  If Acksel chose a male for Eveny, then Luke would lose her forever.
    “She seems certain she can get through the heat, Grams.  She said she wants to talk when she gets back.”
    He could hear her smile in her voice.  “I’m glad, Luke.  You’re a good man and you’ve been waiting for that girl for a long time.”
    He wasn’t working at the bar that night, so he headed out to food shop, then picked up a sandwich from the deli and caught up on his favorite police drama.  Eveny texted him before she arrived at the cabin and told him that the cell reception was spotty and that he shouldn’t worry if he didn’t hear from her.  She signed off with an XOXO, and he grinned.  Something was definitely changing between them.
    He worked the following night and his mind drifted to Eveny again and again.  He hadn’t slept well the night before.  Every time he closed his eyes, he wondered what she was doing in the cabin by herself and he wished he was there with her.  He wondered why she had chosen to go alone instead of asking him to come with her.
    Someone snapped their fingers in front of his face and he snapped back from his thoughts to see Teddy leaning across the bar.  Just then the front door opened and Eveny’s brother, Acksel, strode in ahead of a group of pack members.
    “Hey, Teddy.  What can I do for you?”
    “You can head home for the night.”
    He glanced at his watch.  “I’ve still got three hours on my shift.”
    “Pack meeting,” Teddy said, jerking his head towards the back of the bar where the wolves were gathering.  A steady stream of men were now walking through the bar, and the sound of tables being moved around filled the room.  The pack that ran in Wilde Creek had about one hundred members, and all were accountable to Acksel as alpha.  It seemed like the alpha was a mixture of king and boss and father all rolled into one.
    “Sure,” Luke nodded.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    Teddy wasn’t pack either, but he had a long-standing relationship with them, and Acksel always did pack business in the bar. Except for what Eveny called council meetings , which he held at his own home.  When Luke took over the bar, he’d have to have a conversation with Acksel about the pack.  He would be a fool to say anything to make Acksel take his pack away from the bar, and he wanted to make sure that Acksel knew that the wolves were always welcome.
    And of course, in his perfect world, Eveny wouldn’t be doing office work part-time with the construction crew, but working with him at the bar.  In the back, of course, where he could keep her away from prying eyes.  If it really was his perfect world, she wouldn’t be working at all; she’d be too busy trying to catch up on sleep from their active sex life.
    He left the bar and went into the back office and clocked out, heading out the back door.  To the left of the back door was a set of metal steps that went up to the two-bedroom attic apartment that he’d lived in since he was twenty-one.  He opened the door and walked in, shutting and locking it behind him.  The ceiling fan swirled overhead.  He left it on constantly because it tended to get really warm in the attic during the daytime when the sun shone, even in the winter.
    He’d skipped dinner during the evening rush, and he rummaged in the refrigerator and made himself a sandwich.  Turning on the TV, he flipped stations long enough to realize that there wasn’t anything worthwhile to watch, and turned it off.  It was then that