7. Groceries

Torin’s pov

“So… where is she?” I growled at the stupid fucking private investigator my beta had hired.

“We suspect, -“

I stopped the man from finishing his sentence by giving him a look that made him shut up. “I don’t care what you suspect. I need facts. You told me she went out almost daily for groceries around the same time, yet that husband of hers has been gone for three days! Three! And you haven’t seen her leave the apartment once. How is that possible?”

I was starting to panic. I had already considered going to Hawaii and throwing her husband off a mountain. Or in a volcano. Or just tie a few rocks to his feet and dump him in the ocean. Anything to get rid of him.

But I was trying to do the right thing. Trying to stick to Colton’s plan, but every day since Dylan left, I have been waiting at that fucking grocery store, just waiting for a chance to “run into” my mate. And every day she’s not there, I am losing a bit more of my mind.

After an alpha meets his mate, he’s drawn to her like a moth to a flame. It’s not something you can turn off. There is a pull that is undeniable.

The longer a werewolf is away from his mate, the greater the toll is on his mental health. We’re meant to be close. Her touch, her scent, just being around my mate will give me strength without her even realizing it.

I need Raelyn near, and I need her now.

But it’s more than that.

There’s this feeling in the pit of my stomach; my wolf is agitated, and my mind keeps going to worse-case scenarios.

What if there is something wrong with Raelyn?

What if she’s dead?

No… No, I'm not going to think like that.

“….but there are groceries being delivered.” The guy was speaking, but I hadn’t heard most of it.

“What?” I asked.

“Groceries. They were delivered two days ago. So, maybe that’s why she hasn’t gone out.” He explained.

I growled at the poor guy, “get out!”

He should have led with that. Idiot…

I sighed, thinking back about everything I had learned about my mate. It felt strange to learn these things from people scouring the internet and following her every move, but this wasn’t the usual way one meets his mate.

The PI had found her marriage license, and Colton asked around the office about Dylan and his wife.

Most people had never met her before; Dylan barely talked about Raelyn during work. They said he was a nice guy, really social. But the women spoke more poorly of him, saying he was a bit of a douche at times. He made strange comments and stared at their boobs.

They were all things that didn’t really interest me to learn. I didn’t want to learn more about Dylan; I wanted to get to know my mate!

What Colton and his PIs had found out was that Raelyn used to live with her grandmother until she passed away. He had found a few pictures of her as a kid from her yearbook and school website. It’s kind of scary how much you can find out online.

Exactly why I don’t do social media.

He learned she and Dylan met when she was a teenager, and they married as soon as she turned eighteen, which was really shady. Especially when I learned that he was twenty-five when they married.

Look, I don’t really care that much about age differences. Werewolves sometimes mate with people who are much older or younger than them.

But if they married when she was eighteen and he was twenty-five, that means when they started dating, he was already in college. Or maybe even working. And she was in high school. It’s kind of gross. Kind of predatory.

Maybe I’m prejudiced because I already hate the guy, but it all looks a lot like a grooming situation. And it makes me want to kill Dylan even more.

I got up from my chair.

You know what, fuck Colton’s plan. I’m done waiting for some stupid meet-cute situation. I’m done following his rules.

If I want to see my mate, I will see my mate.

I stormed out of my office and to my car, speeding off towards her apartment.

She is my mate! Mine!

I need to find out if she’s okay. Even if it's only for a brief moment, I need to see her.

It took me half an hour, since I drove way faster than I should have been driving, to reach the city.

It wasn’t until I parked my car in front of the building that I realized it would look crazy to ring the doorbell and start speaking to her without a valid excuse. It would not help my chances of Raelyn falling in love with me.

But the Goddess must have wanted to help me out, because while I waited in my parked car to figure out a plan, a delivery truck parked behind me. It had a sticker on the side from a very well-known brand.

When the driver stepped out and began unloading some groceries, I walked towards them.

“For 25a?” I asked.

He looked up at me, “yeah?”

“Let me.” I offered.

“I’m supposed to deliver them to the door, man.”

I reached into my wallet and pulled out two hundred dollars. “Like I said, let me.”

He nodded eagerly before stopping himself. “You’re not going to hurt the lady, right?”

“What? No, we’re friends.” I clarified.

“She’s a nice young lady, that’s all. You look trustworthy and all, but…”

I sighed. He was right. This looks really bad from an outsider's perspective. “Why don’t you walk up and you can see she knows me. You can still keep the money.”

He nodded, “thanks.”

We both carried the groceries, despite me offering to carry it all.

He rang the doorbell and announced himself while I stayed out of the frame. When we reached the door to her apartment, I knocked.

All my life I never had to work to get a girl. It sounds so arrogant, but being an alpha just comes with certain perks. It was actually pretty boring, never having to pursue someone. Never having to woo someone.

And since none of them were my mate, it didn’t feel like I had to make the effort.

But I always imagined that once I met my mate, I would go all out. Make her feel loved, seen… Make her feel important. Show her—tell her how much she matters.

But they were all thoughts. I never had any practice in actually doing any of it.

And now, I was here, standing in front of my mate's door, nervous as hell about what I would say or do.

I’m never nervous around a girl!

Around anyone for that matter.

Raelyn opened the door, smiling at the delivery driver, and then her eyes found mine.

“Torin?”

I smiled, “hey, Raelyn.”

“You’re here. Why, how?”

The guy nodded at me, “have a nice day.”

“Can I help carry the groceries inside?” I offered, wanting to get out of the hallway.

“It’s no problem. I can do it.”

I smirked at her, “I know you can do it. I’m sure there’s not much you can’t do. I just thought maybe it would be faster if I helped.”

She smiled shyly and nodded, “okay. Thank you.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I had one foot in the door.

This was a start.

It wasn’t until I brought everything inside the kitchen that I noticed the slight bruise on her face.

“What happened?”

She sighed, “I’m so clumsy. Just after Dylan left, I slipped in the shower. My face landed against the bathtub. That’s why Dylan has been ordering groceries for me.”

“Are you okay? Do I need to take you to see a doctor?” I asked, trying to look at the bruise on her face, but she looked down so I could barely see it.

She shook her head, “no, I’m fine. It’s almost healed; it looks worse than it feels.”

“It’s no problem, really. We can take my car and have someone take a look.”

She looked up at me, “I already spoke to my doctor; really, I’m okay.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t fully believe my mate, but there wasn’t really a reason to doubt her words. The bruise on her eye had already faded and looked more green and yellow than blue.

“Okay, good.” I said, putting the last of the groceries on the counter.

She began putting everything in the cupboard while I looked around the kitchen. It was a pretty big apartment, but nothing compared to my packhouse. The decor felt sterile and impersonal. It lacked personality, I guess.

“Um, thank you for helping me, but why… why are you here?” She carefully asked.

I chuckled, “it must seem really random, me showing up, doesn’t it? I swear I’m not stalking you.”

Well, that was kind of true.

She giggled nervously, “Yeah, a bit.”

Okay… a reason… Think fast!

“Well, I came here because…” I tried to say with as much confidence as I could muster, “Dylan forgot something, and I offered to come get it. I promised we’d see each other again, didn’t I?”

“What did he forget?” Raelyn asked, her cheeks blushing red.

Shit, shit, shit!

I grabbed my phone and pretended to look for something, “one second,”

‘Quickly, if by chance Dylan had forgotten something for his trip, what could it be?’

‘Why?’ Colton replied using our telepathic link.

‘Just answer me!’

Colton sighed, ‘you’re there, aren’t you?’

‘Yeah, so tell me before I make a giant fool out of myself!’

Colton chuckled, his laughter irritating me. He was taking too much joy out of my discomfort. ‘He won't really need it, but you could say he forgot his work laptop. Every employee gets one in case they need to work from home.’

I looked up from my phone, “sorry, had to send a quick text. But Dylan forgot his work laptop.”

She bit her lip nervously. “If it's here, it should be in his office. I can take a quick look.”

"Thanks, dimples."

Her eyes lit up for a second, and a sweet little smile formed on her lips. Goddess, if this was her reaction to me calling her dimples, I'd never use her name again.