Page 16 of Crossed Fates

My wolf practically rolled around inside me, belly up, begging him to take me right here in the bucket seat of his sporty little car.

I grabbed the stick shift between us and curled my fingers around it as I inhaled deeply through my mouth.

Didn’t help.

That just made me salivate.

Damn wolf pheromones.

I’d met some potent alpha types in my day, but Alaric certainly took the attraction to a new level. It probably had something to do with the whole “fated mate” theory.

First of all, no.

Second of all, I couldn’t be a fated mate to him because I wasn’t from this world.

Third of all,no.

I’d consider bedding him—especially after seeing what he had to offer. Because damn,yes, please. But mating? Yeah, no, that was a hard pass and never going to happen.

One comment regarding my chosen path would put that whole notion to rest. He’d realize I was incapable of such a connection and move on. Best to just set the record straight now by rejecting the whole concept of us being created for each other.

My purpose was to help those who couldn’t help themselves. Anyone who wanted more from me would be strongly disappointed in the outcome.

Packs had their enforcers.

Humans had me.

Hell, thisrealmhad me now. Because they weren’t strong enough to care for themselves. Hence my reason for being here.

And no man—hot alpha or not—would ever change that.

I glanced at my mirrors again and noticed Alaric watching me. “Yes?” I prompted, not particularly enjoying the sensation of being studied so intently. We hadn’t said much to each other since entering the car. He’d just handed me the keys, then I’d followed the signs to exit the garage beneath his condo complex and started the journey north.

“Well, I’m trying to figure out how you know where we’re going,” he said slowly. “Either you’re a mind reader or you’re psychic. Which is it?”

I rolled my eyes. “Neither. You mentioned Silver Lake earlier, remember?” It was around the time I offered to drive him. Or maybe right after that. I couldn’t recollect the exact sequence but definitely recalled that he’d mentioned Silver Lake. It wasn’t the sort of detail I’d soon forget, considering I was from the same pack, but inmyworld, not his.

“And you just happen to know where that is?”

My lips twitched. “As a matter of fact, I do.” But I really didn’t want to explainhowI actually knew that, so I added, “I’m a wolf, Alaric. I know all the packs in this region.” A half-truth—I knew all the packs inmyworld. I’d also learned the names of a few in this reality during my first mission in this universe. That’d been an eye-opening experience.

Marc had hand-selected me to help him on the assignment because of my background in human trafficking. Only, I hadn’t realized we’d be headed to a new world when he’d recruited me for the case.

I’d been shocked upon our arrival, not only to learn about a brand-new reality but also to meet so many inadequate supernaturals. Such as the vampires in this world and the fact that they could be slayed by a simple stake to the chest. How pathetic could one get?

But then the real adventure had begun as we’d searched through the underworld of crime, desperate to locate Sapphire. We had finally found her in a seedy situation surrounded by vampires and wolves.

Which had been my introduction to the shifters in this reality.

To say I’d been unimpressed would be an understatement.

My jaw ticked as I considered the events of that mission and the reason I’d returned to this realm just a few weeks ago. Sapphire had sent me on another assignment, saying some women needed my help. She had a penchant for fortune-telling, something I’d learned after rescuing her, and I tended to take her premonitions seriously.

However, now I wondered if there’d be an ulterior motive to her plans. It would be just like her to meddle in my affairs. And she would have foreseen the news articles about the Bloodsucker Serial Killer, just like she would have predicted the link to the wolf beside me.

Oh, you crazy bitch,I thought as the puzzle pieces came together in my mind.She’d told me the ruby ring was a payment in its own way. I’d thought she meant because it allowed me to travel realms at random.

Now I understood.