Locke Down

Chapter 3

Laurel's POV

"What did you just say?" My father asks in complete shock.

I glance at him briefly before turning back to watch my mate drive off and out of sight.

"Laurel." He grabs my hand gently.

I look up to him with slightly teary eyes. It was only a heartbeat in time that he was here, but I already want him to come back.

"Are you sure?" He asks.

Am I sure? Of course I'm sure! I've never been more sure about anything in my life. There's no mistaking your mate once you've found them and I've never felt so attached to someone as I already do him. He's mine.

"Yes." I nod.

He takes a deep breath before pulling me into a hug. We don't say anything for a while and approaching footsteps cause me to pull back from his embrace.

"You okay?" Kline asks, face full of concern.

Thankfully there's no more tears in my eyes, but my cheeks are slightly red from my face being buried into my dad's chest.

"I just needed a hug." I say, which causes him to raise an eyebrow in question.

It quickly fades and is replaced with his mischievous smirk as he spreads his arms wide and walks towards me.

"Ew gross! No you stink!" I say as I push him away from me but it doesn't deter him.

I scramble to get away from his sweaty body as he proceeds to chase me into the house. I'm inches from my office, where I can lock myself inside, but he's much faster than me.

Giant arms wrap around my body and I can already feel my shirt begin to dampen and stick to me.

"Nooo!" I cry out over his laughter.

Seriously. At what age do they grow up?

"Don't be such a baby L! We're going to be out in the field scouting for the next week and you know you'll be way grosser by the end of that than from the hug I just gave you."

"Yeah but that's unavoidable." I groan. "This is." I gesture between us.

I frown as I pick at my shirt that now smells like boy. And not the good kind either.

"Hey."

I look up to see the playful expression is now gone.

"What was going on outside with dad?" He asks.

"Nothing." I sigh but I can tell he's not convinced.

"You know you can tell me anything, right L?"

"Maybe later Kline." I wave him off. "We gotta get ready to leave tomorrow."

I know he doesn't want to accept my response but he nods anyway. We'll be up each other's asses for the next week so there will be plenty of time to tell him what happened.

——

In less than 12 hours we're hiking through the woods towards the cave that I had marked on the map. Kline is on my right and the beta's son, Frazier, is on my left; while behind us are two younger warriors that have also tagged along for training.

Kline hasn't stopped talking since we've started which is honestly not surprising. I swear he just likes to hear his own voice sometimes and I already feel bad for his future mate. She'll never get a word in.

The forest is thick and thriving in this area and I take in the beauty of the flowers that have started to bloom as I tune Kline out. There are a few large trees ahead, covered in purple flowers, and I immediately think about the color of his eyes.