Chapter 3 THE MATE WHO FEARED ME

Allen

Fuck.

This was not how I had imagined meeting my mate.

The moment I saw her frozen in the street, something inside me awakened with such force that thinking became difficult. The recognition was instant and absolute, a bell tolling through every cell in my body. After years of waiting, I had finally found her.

I stayed inside for a moment, watching through the cracked window as Micah helped her across the street. I should have remained in the car. That would have been the sensible thing to do. I had always preferred observing a situation before stepping into it, but my wolf was already restless, pressing against my skin and demanding that I get closer.

Then I heard her voice, soft, breathless, apologetic. She was explaining something to Micah with a nervousness that almost made me smile. She worked for Davenport Inc., my company. Fate had a strange sense of humor.

I opened the door and stepped out.

I had expected many things when I finally met my mate. Awkwardness, attraction and the overwhelming pull of the bond. I had heard enough stories from other wolves to know what happened when they found the person their wolf had been searching for.

But when she looked at me, that thought disappeared.

Her warm brown eyes met mine, and I watched the color drain from her face. Her pupils widened until her eyes looked almost black.

Fear.

It struck me harder than I expected.

She looked at me as though she had seen me before, but not in the way a woman looked at the man she had just discovered was her mate. There was something deeper in her expression. Something that made the back of my neck tighten.

Why was she afraid of me?

I took one step toward her, keeping my movements slow.

Her knees buckled.

“Emily!”

Micah's voice barely registered.

I crossed the distance in a slightly more than human speed, catching her before her head struck the pavement. She weighed almost nothing in my arms, and the relief that went through me was immediate and fierce.

I looked down at her pale face. Her pulse fluttered wildly beneath the skin of her throat.

This wasn't how the bond was supposed to work.

My wolf paced restlessly inside me, confused by the same thing I was.

“Boss?”

Micah came toward me, worry tightening his expression.

“She was fine a moment ago,” he said. “I don't understand.”

“Neither do I.”

My voice came out calmer than I felt.

I looked down at her again. The fear in her eyes before she lost consciousness stayed with me. She hadn't looked at me like a mate. She had looked at me like a monster and I didn't like that.

I didn't like not understanding something even more.

But there was no time to stand there searching for answers. She needed medical attention.

I bent and lifted her properly into my arms, supporting her head against my shoulder. Her scent reached me immediately - jasmine, clean shampoo, and something uniquely hers that made my wolf settle for the first time since I had seen her.

I allowed myself one brief breath of it before forcing my attention back to the situation.

“Open the door.”

Micah moved immediately.

I carried her to the back seat and laid her down carefully, making sure her head was supported before straightening.

“Take us to the hospital.”

The driver nodded and started the engine.

I climbed into the car and looked at Micah.

“You head to the office.”

“Boss…”

Whatever argument he had been preparing died before it reached his mouth.

“Understood.”

He stepped back, and the door closed.

The car pulled away.

I looked at the unconscious woman beside me.

I had spent years building a life around control. My company, my pack, my responsibilities - everything had a place and a purpose. Yet here I was, abandoning my schedule to take a woman I had known for less than five minutes to the hospital because my wolf refused to let me do anything else.

I wasn't sure whether to be irritated or impressed.

The hospital smelled of antiseptic and something colder beneath it, the familiar scent of illness and fear. I carried her through the emergency entrance and approached the registration desk.

“Her name?” the nurse asked.

I knew her name, I had heard her tell Micah.

Emily Calder.

I was about to answer when a young woman in scrubs hurried toward us, dark curls bouncing around her face.

“Emily?”

She stopped abruptly when she saw the woman in my arms.

“Oh my God.”

“You know her?”

The woman looked at me, and her expression changed immediately. Her concern turned into suspicion.

“Yes.” She stepped closer, “What happened? Wait… who are you, and what did you do to her?”

I felt my jaw tighten.

“It's not what you think,” I said evenly. “She fainted in the middle of the road. I’m just a good Samaritan.”

“Good Samaritan?”

Her eyes moved over my suit, then back to my face.

The corner of my mouth lifted, nobody was allowed to look at me like that, yet this woman obviously didn’t care for my polished look.

I shifted Emily slightly in my arms.

“Allen Davenport.”

I almost offered my hand before remembering that both of mine were occupied.

Her eyes widened.

“The Allen Davenport?”

I nodded.

She looked at Emily, then back at me.

There was still suspicion in her eyes, but curiosity had joined it.

“I'm Lily Harper,” she said. “I work here. You can leave her with me. I'll take care of her before her parents arrive.”

I hesitated, leaving Emily behind went against every instinct I had.

Lily noticed; she pulled out her phone and turned the screen toward me. A photograph showed her standing beside Emily, both of them smiling beneath the sunlight, their arms around each other's shoulders.

“She really is my best friend,” Lily said.

I studied the photograph for a moment.

“Fine.”

Lily nodded and began making the call to Emily’s parents.

A nurse led me toward an examination room. I followed, then carefully lowered Emily onto the small hospital bed. My fingers brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead before I could stop myself. She looked peaceful now, nothing like the frightened woman who had stared at me in the street.

I straightened, every instinct told me to stay and guard my mate. But I had already seen what my presence did to her. If she was afraid of me, staying beside her might only make things worse.

I needed answers first.

Why had the sight of me terrified my mate?

I turned and walked out of the hospital. The moment the doors closed behind me, my wolf began pacing again. I pulled out my phone as I headed toward the underground parking and called Micah.

He answered on the second ring.

“I need Emily's file from HR. Have it on my desk when I get there.”

There was a brief pause.

“Understood.”

I ended the call and immediately dialed Lucas, my Beta's number.

My mate was terrified of me and I intended to find out why.