Broken Bond by C.J. Primer

4

VANESSA 

Here‘s the thing. I don‘t give out my phone number to guys. Ever. So imagine my surprise when I was stocking the coolers at work this morning and my phone vibrated against the bar top with an incoming text message from Callum Conway. 

His number wasn‘t saved in my phone, but I immediately knew the message was from him, and it didn‘t take long for me to figure out how he got ahold of my digits. The sneaky devil must‘ve sent himself a text from my phone when he was checking out my music last night. If it were anybody else, I‘d probably be annoyed with the underhanded way he went about getting my number, but instead I found myself smiling down at my phone, heart pounding as I considered how to respond. Exchanging messages is harmless, right? At least that‘s what I kept telling myself as we texted back and forth all morning while I smiled down at my phone like a fool. I might‘ve gotten away with it, too, if I wasn‘t working the same shift as my best friend. Vienna knows I don‘t give my number out, so she was baffled by the fact that I was so caught up in texting with Callum, and honestly, same. All of this is so foreign to me, but there‘s just something about Cal. He‘s bold without being sleazy. Clever without being cliché. And for the first time, I’m... curious. 

A lot of girls my age date around, Vienna included, but I never have. She thinks I‘m crazy, and she‘s said as much when I’ve turned down dates or refuted advances from good–looking, smooth–talking guys that other girls would jump at the chance to go out with. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I‘ve never seen the point of dating or getting close to someone when I have a fated mate out there somewhere waiting for me. s 

Humans talk about soulmates, but in shifter culture, finding that person is a very real possibility. Once we turn eighteen, every full moon presents a chance for us to find them. Our packs shift and run together under the light of the moon, and if you‘re lucky enough to be in the proximity of your fated mate on one of those nights, you‘ll feel it– the pull. My parents say it‘s like an irresistible force that draws you to your mate, and once you lay eyes on one another, BAM! The bond snaps into place. 

Even though all of us have a fated mate out there, not everyone is lucky enough to find theirs. Statistically, less than half of us will actually find them and get to experience that magical fated mate bond, but I‘m an optimist. My parents are fated mates, and I‘ve seen how deep that connection goes. They really are two halves of a whole. I want that for myself, and I‘ll hold out as long as I have to in 

order to find my other half. Which is why it‘s so out of character for me to be acting the way I am right now, carefully applying my makeup and straightening my hair, changing my clothes five times before settling on an outfit that screams casual, yet sexy. I‘m nervous. I don‘t get nervous around guys. What the hell has gotten into me? 

“It‘s not too late to back out, you know,” Vienna sighs from the doorway of my bedroom, and I‘m not sure if it‘s due to her own apprehension or if she‘s sensing mine. I know she‘s just as anxious about seeing Chase tonight, but she‘s gone the opposite way of me, putting minimal effort into her hair, makeup, and attire. She‘s trying to send the message that she doesn‘t care enough to dress up for him, but I think she looks even more beautiful when she goes casual and lets her natural beauty shine through. If the Alpha has designs on playing it aloof with her again tonight, he doesn‘t stand a chance. I shake my head as I cross the room to Vienna. “Nice try,” I laugh, snatching her by the arm and threading mine through the crook of her elbow. “We‘re doing this.” 

“But it‘s like ten degrees outside,” she grumbles as I pull her toward the staircase. 

“Let it go, Vee. The cold never bothered me anyway.” 3 

She stops in her tracks, hitting me with a dubious stare and raising a brow at my Disney reference. “Frozen? Really, Ness?“, I giggle, starting down the stairs and yanking her with me. “It‘s Mia‘s favorite right now.” 

Her lips pull into a smile at the mention of my four–year–old sister. Vee‘s an only child, while I‘m the oldest of seven. She‘s over here often enough that she‘s basically a member of the family, and my littlest sister Mia has Vee wrapped around her finger. “What happened to her Little Mermaid obsession?” she queries as she follows me down the staircase. 

“That was last week,” I say with the wave of a hand, glancing back at her over my shoulder. “Next week it‘ll be something else. You know how she is.” I bound down the rest of the stairs, stepping over to the front door and calling out to my mom as I slide my feet into my boots. “I‘m heading out!” 

“Have fun!” my mom calls back instantly, her voice carrying from the back of the house. She‘s pretty laid-back as far as parenting goes – I‘ve never given her a reason not to trust me, so she doesn‘t give me the third degree or question where I‘m going. She knows I‘ll be responsible and come home at a decent hour, because that‘s what I‘ve always done. Plus, I‘m nineteen, so I‘m technically an 

adult now. I just haven‘t moved out because I like living here with my big, crazy family. “You sure you don‘t want to head to the bar or something instead?” Vienna asks as we make our way toward her car at the curb, snow crunching underneath our boots. 

“Positive,” I laugh, giving her a playful shove. “Stop trying to get out of this!” The passenger door creaks on its hinges as I pull it open and drop into the seat, rattling with a hollow, tinny sound as I close it behind me. Vienna‘s car is a hunk of junk, but I‘ll never say that out loud because I know how proud she is of it. She worked her butt off to buy it with her own money, so even if it feels like a rolling death trap, I‘ll act like we‘re riding in luxury every time. 1 The engine starts with a groan and we pull away from the curb, heading out of town and toward Norbury‘s territory. It‘s right next to our own territory of Riverton, so the drive isn‘t a long one. Still, it‘s enough time for Vienna to give me the third degree about Callum once again when my phone lights up with an incoming text message that I can‘t help but smile at. Callum: You still coming? “I just don‘t get it,” Vienna grumbles, shaking her head in disapproval. “I mean, Cal? Out of all people?” 

reading into it so much,” I reply with a casual shrug of my shoulders. I resist the urge to pick up my phone and text him back, knowing that Vee will see it as me being too eager. “I don‘t

texting him like

thing. You‘re the only one making it into a thing.” My phone is practically burning a hole in the thigh of my black jeans, my fingers itching to reach for it. Vienna shoots me a dubious side–eyed

was either this or watching Frozen with Mia

hear the gears turning in her head

the back of a hand. “You‘re ridiculous! You don‘t know him either, Vee. You can‘t

the cover gives you the heebie jeebies.” 3

message. Vanessa: On our way! Vienna is suspiciously quiet for the rest of the drive, but I think part of that is her own anxiety about tonight. Even if she won‘t admit it, there‘s a palpable tension between her and Chase, and I think she‘s nervous about seeing him again after the way last night ended. He went upstairs with some girl, and Vee practically dragged me out of the packhouse like it was on fire immediately after, like she couldn‘t bear to be under the same roof while he was hooking up with someone else. If that‘s not jealousy, I don‘t know what is. We park among a bunch of other cars

time to dwell on that question, because the next thing I know, we reach a break in the trees and the bonfire pit comes fully into view. There are more people here than I expected, lounging on old chairs and overturned logs, dancing to music or casually sipping

backlit by the fire behind him. “I didn‘t know you were coming tonight!” He reaches out for Vienna, pulling

firelight, I can see the blush form on her cheeks. “Me either,” she breathes, throwing a thumb in

seated and while he disappears to fetch drinks, Chase and Vienna engage in a truly epic staring contest, exchanging snide greetings with one another. Those two just need to admit they‘re into each other and put the rest of us out

it as cool as I can thus far, but I finally look over at Callum, smiling shyly when our eyes meet. He‘s reclined back in a big wooden chair, his long legs spread and his dark hoodie slung up over his head. His handsome features are partially shadowed by his hood, giving his grin this eerie, ominous quality as it forms on his lips. Even though the fire is hot at

of being whistled at, but I find myself blindly following his command, reaching for Vee‘s hand to drag her with me over to the bench. I sink down onto it, Vienna taking the spot next to me. For a long moment, he doesn‘t say anything, the tension of his silence causing a knot of anxiety to form in my gut. It‘s silly that I‘m nervous– he invited me tonight, after all. He clearly wanted me to come, but it‘s the question of

deep timbre of his voice seeping inside me and unraveling the tightness in the pit of my stomach. I turn to look at him and his eyes are already on me, focused and unblinking. They look darker tonight, his pupils blown out so wide behind the shadow

lips to respond, but my breath gets caught somewhere in my throat when he suddenly reaches out to take the bottle of beer from my hand, his fingers brushing mine and sending a zip of electricity running

taking a slow sip from the bottle. I‘m not much of a beer drinker, but right now, I‘d benefit from loosening up a little bit. “Where‘s

shrugs. “I’m not a

on him skeptically. “Coulda fooled

reflection of the flames dancing in his dark eyes.

it between his fingers, raising it to his lips. “What was that you were saying about keeping a clear head?” I tease, eyeing the joint and watching the cherry glowing red

dip to my mouth, then travel back up to meet my own, narrowing.” You‘re a good girl, aren‘t you?” he asks in that deep, rumbling voice of his, and my heart beats a little faster, my thighs squeezing together tighter. I keep

to Chase. “Nothing wrong with that. Just trying to get a read on you.” He exhales the smoke

let me guess, you‘re a bad boy type, huh?” Callum‘s gaze flickers back to meet mine and he grins menacingly, running his tongue over

surprisingly, I don‘t hate the way it sounds rolling off his lips. He‘s still pinning me with his stare, like he‘s daring me to be the first to look away. “Is this the part where you warn me to stay away from you?” I ask, tilting my

in a little closer. “If

a blush and I turn away to conceal it, taking a swig of beer from the bottle and staring absently into the fire. “Maybe. Though I prefer to make my own judgments

“Hm.” 

head back around to face Callum, arching

swiping a hand over his