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“Claim her!” he barks at me.

“She isn’t interested in being our mate. I won’t force her to be with us.”

“And whose fault is that?” Wraith seethes.

Ignoring him, I storm into the den of the mountain lions. I'm not even sure what I am doing at this point, but there is no going back now. People lift their heads as I storm into the main area. No one bothers to approach me or even tell me that I’m not supposed to be here. While it’s not really a law, per se, it’s one of those unspoken rules that each of us respects the other's areas.

My fists are bunched at my sides as my arms swing. Glancing around, I know he has to be here somewhere. Aspen isn’t the type to bring a guy home, especially not another type of shifter. At least, I don’tthinkshe would do it. In all this time, even after I fucked it up, I have never seen another man coming or going from her place.

The mountain lions have similar houses to ours, but they chose round tree houses versus the log cabins that we have. It’s fitting though. Spotting a fire burning not far off, I head in that direction, figuring I can at least see if someone has seen Chase. The glow of the fire illuminates everyone as I come closer. Then I see him sitting with a group of friends laughing without a care in the world. As if he isn’t taking the only thing that is mine away from me. Why does he get to have her when I can’t even get her to look at me?

“Chase!” I yell as a growl rips from my throat.

He whips his head around to look at me as his eyebrows climb his forehead. The guy beside him lurches to stand up, but Chase puts his hand on his shoulder. “I got this,” he says before standing up. “What can I do for you, Warrick?”

I don’t think before I rush him, gripping him by his shirt and lifting him off the ground. “Stay away from my mate,” I seethe.

“Your mate? You mean the one that you repeatedly hurt by running around with every woman but her?” He lifts his eyebrow in question.

“What I do and don’t do is none of your concern. That is my mate, and you know we aren’t allowed to crossbreed.” I pull him in closer. “Stay…away…from…my…mate.”

“I don’t think I will, Warrick. You know you can’t attack me, not really. You know that the reason you are mad is that you can’t have the one person you are destined to have.”

Pulling him in closer until we are almost nose to nose, I growl, “Leave my mate alone! You are to never see her again.”

Wraith is pushing to take over, but I can’t let him. Chase is right. We can’t outright attack each other.

The reason our town can have so many different shifters is because we have rules to keep everyone safe and protected. One of those rules is that we aren’t allowed to attack one another without being provoked. Him dating my mate doesn’t fall into that category. So, no matter how much it pisses me off, I can’t actually beat the shit out of him for this.

“Aspen deserves someone who puts her first. Surely even you could agree with that. Now, why don’t you put me down and take yourself back to your side of town, hmm?” He looks down at the hand gripping his shirt, then back up to me, with his eyes twinkling in mirth. As much as I want to punch his face, I can’t. I let him fall to the ground, and he smooths his shirt down. “Go on, Warrick. I’m going to get back to drinking with my friends and you should do the same.”

Without another word, he turns back to his group of friends, turning his friend back to the fire. Sighing, I turn around to find Silas standing there with his brows furrowed with concern.

“You good, man?”

Shrugging my shoulders, I push past him. “No, but it’s whatever. Let’s get drunk.”

“Do you want to talk…” he starts before I cut him off. “No, I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s go.”

“You might not like it, but Chase is right. You have treated Aspen like shit for a while now. Between cheating on her, always throwing women in her face, and ignoring your fate, I don’t blame her for seeking attention from someone. You can hate it all you want, but until you pull your head out of your ass, you can’t expect her to wait around,” Silas says as he follows behind me as we walk away from the mountain lion area.

No, I don’t fucking like it; I think to myself. I won’t give him the satisfaction of telling him he is right. His damn ego is fluffed enough. He might be the most down to Earth guy, but he’s cocky enough to know he is right.

Shaking my head, my steps quicken. After that minor altercation and the revelation of what Aspen has been up to, there are only two things on my mind: alcohol and women. Yeah, I know. What a fucking idiot, but fuck it.

Walking down the sidewalk, my mind runs through the last few months. I can’t pinpoint when it really changed for me. Maybe it was watching my best friend find his mate and the way his whole life has already changed. Maybe it was watching Aspen laugh with Chase and the happiness he brings her. I can’t say for sure, but I know I want my mate. One day, she will be mine. I will just have to show her how perfect I am for her.

Chapter 2

Aspen

“Hey, can you and the girls meet up with me at Flick the Bean? You will not believe what happened yesterday,” I say to Hazel over the phone.

“Uh, yeah. Let me send out a group message asking for them to meet us there in 20? You okay?” she asks with a note of concern.

“I’ll tell you all about it when we get there. I don’t want to repeat this multiple times! See you in 20 minutes.”

“Alright, I’ll be there,” she says before hanging up.