Protected Promise by Julie Trettel

Kaitlyn

Chapter 9

 

 

 

Landon seemed sweet. I knew that from the night before but seeing his protective nature and finding out he was an Alpha made me wonder if I’d imagined it. I hadn’t though. His words and actions proved that.

The most unsettling thing for me still was the sense of safety I felt every time he was near.

Just holding his hand made me feel stronger, like I could take on the world, and face the demons of my past. It was crazy, and I was sure someone was going to have me committed before this was over, probably Sawyer.

I knew he was just worried about me. He wasn’t the only one either. They all worried about me and went out of their way to protect me, but they didn’t make me feel any safer. All it did was buffer the things I pushed down and didn’t want to deal with.

I was going to have to talk to Sawyer before he left. He’d all but insisted on it, and my instincts told me it was just to check on me.

Maybe he had wanted to call me back to the Pack. Landon changed that though. He was my true mate and if I accepted him, I’d be leaving Longhorn forever. He was an Alpha so there would be no choice or concessions about that.

I tried to think about that and how I felt about it. The truth was, I felt relief.

What if my true mate had been a Longhorn and I’d have been stuck there the rest of my life having to constantly worry if I’d run into him.

I shuddered to think of it.

Despite Landon’s Pack status or anything else, I knew he wouldn’t force me to do anything I didn’t want to do. He’d been pretty clear on his intentions where I was concerned and I had no doubt he would take me for a mate, but as he said, he was leaving that ball in my court.

I didn’t know what to do with that, but my heart was overflowing with gratitude. There was no way he could possibly understand just how much that meant to me.

I was still terrified of the whole mating thing. It was new and unknown. It stirred up emotions inside me that I never would have expected. I was already feeling a connection to this man who was still a stranger to me.

But he didn’t feel like a stranger.

It felt like I’d known Landon my whole life. It was more like a reunion of souls than a complete stranger. I was struggling to process it all, but something told me I wasn’t alone in this. He was in new territory with this mating stuff too.

I was contemplative on so many things as we drove in comfortable silence.

When we arrived at the restaurant, I turned to really look at him. He was so handsome it made my heart flutter.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be near, but I know this is your time with your friends. Enjoy it. Graduating from college is a big deal, Kaitlyn. It’s going to sound strange, but I’m proud of you.”

It didn’t sound strange at all. It felt just right and I beamed with pride from his praise.

“Did you go to college?”

He gave me a sad look and shook his head. “No. That wasn’t in the cards for me. My parents died when I was seventeen.”

I gasped. “You took over as Alpha at seventeen?”

He grinned. “I did. I guess you could say my priorities lie elsewhere. I would have liked to have gone to college though, and experience life outside of the Pack. I rarely get an opportunity like this to leave. It kind of makes meeting you feel like a true miracle.”

I turned at the sound of knocking on the window next to me. Tobi was standing there. I really tried not to growl.

Landon rolled down the window.

“What?” he barked.

“I’m not trying to interrupt. I was sent to come and get you. Everyone’s waiting.”

“Everyone?” I asked. “I thought it was just you guys.”

“Yeah, about that.”

“This is Damon’s doing, isn’t it?”

“Don’t be mad. It’s just the doghouse… and their dates… and families… but it’s not just for you either,” she insisted.

I sighed. “I should have known he wouldn’t listen.”

“We’re all just excited and proud of you,” she said. I noticed immediately that her praise didn’t carry half the punch as the same words coming from Landon.

“Come on, we’ll talk later,” Landon promised.

As he got out of the car, I took a second to examine my hair and makeup. I really didn’t care much for being the center of attention, but if I was going to be, then I wanted to look my best for it.

My door opened and there he stood like a knight in shining armor offering me his hand.

No one had ever opened a car door like that for me before. I swooned just a little more.

“Come on, gorgeous. You look beautiful just the way you are.”

Tobi rolled her eyes. “I think you’re a little biased, mister.”

“What? Are you saying I look like crap?”

“No! Oh shirtballs, I really screwed that one up. Would you just come on. You look great. You always look great.”

I giggled. I had known what she meant. I just wanted to mess with her.

Landon and I followed her to the door and he held it open for me as I walked in ahead of him.

“Surprise!”

“Congratulations, Kaitlyn!”

And various other messages were yelled throughout my favorite Italian restaurant.

I looked around and only saw my friends there as I was passed from one set of arms to the next. I could sense Landon’s irritation, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

Damon wrapped me up in a tight hug and I smacked him to let go.

“Did you rent out the restaurant? On a Saturday? This has got to be one of the busiest days here of the entire year.”

He shrugged. “Don’t look at me. Jackson and Chase are footing the bill for this one, but apparently their offer was good enough for my boss to not only agree but smile when he accepted.”

“Whoa. He never cracks a smile.”

“I know! Just relax and enjoy it, okay? You deserve this.”

“I’ll try,” I promised.

“I see Landon’s still here. I’m guessing that means you didn’t talk to him yet.”

“Drop it, D. That’s my business, and seriously, if he runs because of something that happened in my past that I had absolutely no control over, then he’s definitely not the mate for me.”

“That’s my girl.”

Apparently, I’d overstayed my time with Damon, because I was ripped from his arms and onto the next person. Large arms enveloped me and my body shook as all the tension and stress released. I nuzzled my face into his chest and breathed in his delicious scent.

I realized the entire room went silent.

I peeked out to see them all staring between me and Damon like they were just waiting for the fireworks to go off.

There was definitely fireworks, but they had absolutely nothing to do with Damon Rossi.

“What?” Damon asked. “If you haven’t met him already, this is Landon, Tobi’s Alpha and Kaitlyn’s mate.”

I gasped then closed my eyes and buried my head back against Landon’s chest. He squeezed me a little tighter.

I chanced a look up just as he shrugged and grinned.

“Sounds like we have much to celebrate today. The food is ready, so lets eat,” Chase said taking the spotlight off of me.

“Are you okay?” Landon asked me as I stood there clinging to him for dear life.

I nodded and then shrugged.

“I would have liked to maybe get to know you some before everyone I care about found out. It doesn’t bother you any?”

He chuckled and I felt it rumble through his chest.

“Tobi and Jackson already know, and I don’t know or care about anyone else here except you, so no, it doesn’t bother me in the least.”

I shook my head, grabbed his hand and led him to a table with two empty seats next to each other. There was really no point in trying to hide it now.

The meal was delicious and the conversation flowed. No one gawked or made any more comments about Landon and me. I was actually enjoying myself.

When I got up to go to the bathroom, Lachlan caught up with me.

“Hey. So, a mate, huh?”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

“I’m really happy for you, Kaitlyn,” he said sadly.

“Don’t worry, Lachlan. Yours is out there somewhere.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. Not exactly a lot of dingoes in the US.”

“Does that mean you’re staying here?”

“Looks like it.”

“That’s great news. Did you get a job already?”

He grinned. “No, but I applied to Westin Force.”

“Why are you whispering that?”

“I don’t want Chase to find out. I want to do this one on my own. It’s important to me.”

“They’d be idiots not to hire you.”

“You’ve met Chase, right?”

We both laughed.

“Good luck, Lachlan, and keep me posted on how things turn out.”

“I will. You do the same. I guess you’re headed for Canada then?”

I groaned. “I have no idea what I’m doing. I applied to a bunch of positions in Florida but that was before Landon. I think I’m still a little in shock.”

“Well, then, shock looks good on you. And you’ll figure it out. You always do.”

He leaned in and kissed my cheek before walking back into the main dining room. I started to follow him and then remembered I hadn’t actually peed yet. I turned and found the bathroom so I could take care of business.

When I exited the stall to go and wash my hands, Tobi was waiting for me.

I knew it was inevitable we would have to talk about it, I just didn’t expect her to blindside me in the middle of my party.

“I really don’t know what I’m going to do,” I blurted out.

“Huh?”

“About Landon. He seems really sweet, but he’s a total stranger to me. I don’t want this to affect our friendship either.”

Tobi snorted. “Girl, Landon’s a big boy, sure he has a soft heart, but I also believe true love will prevail.”

“True mates do not always equal true love.”

“If you say so. Look, I actually just came to check and make sure you were okay. He’s getting antsy so I volunteered. It’s pretty normal for a mating male, especially an Alpha.”

I sighed. “Alpha, right.”

“What’s wrong with that? Most girls would kill to be Pack Mother…. Literally.”

I shrugged. “I’m not exactly Pack Mother kind of material. I mean really, would you want me as your Pack Mother?” I wasn’t really thinking about who I was talking about when I spoke those words aloud.

She grinned. “Actually, I do want you as my Pack Mother and I know you can do this, Kaitlyn. Look, have a drink, two, three even and just relax. Mating is hard enough without overthinking it to death. Now get out there and just enjoy your day.”

“Thanks. I think I will.”

And I did. I ordered a drink as soon as I returned, and then another, and then another. On my third I convinced Landon to join me.

By the end of the celebration party, Tobi had to drive us back to campus because neither of us were in any shape for it.

“Wait, I need to change. My clothes are at the hotel. Take us to the hotel,” Landon insisted. “We can walk to campus from there. It’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, we got this,” I added.

“Fine,” Tobi said exasperated, as she rerouted and dropped us both off at the hotel as we stumbled up to Landon’s room.