Page 7 of Crossed Fates

I frowned. “How do you know that?”

“Hybrid called you out when he caught you on the security cameras.” She nodded to a set of monitors, then tossed the creature’s phone onto the table. “Well, this was a bust. All blocked numbers and no contacts.” She started muttering to herself again, something about having to find anotherin.

“Who are you?” I asked, my amusement starting to take a back seat in the face of suspicion. She ignored me again, causing my wolf to pace in irritation. Neither of us took lightly to being disregarded or pushed to the side. I might have been born a human, but I’d very much grown into my alpha soul over the last decade. And I didn’t appreciate this woman acting like I lacked authority in this situation.

“I asked you a question,mate.” I enunciated that last word with a force I felt to my very core, my wolf snarling in agreement.Heel, he wanted to say.Roll over. Beg.

It was a new desire, one I’d hoped never to experience.

Alas, fate had played her hand.

And now I was staring at my destiny.

Assuming I chose to accept it. Most wolves in my position wouldn’t be able to choose, but I’d never wanted a mate. Of course, it was going to play hell with my ability to fuck. So we might have to come up with some sort of arrangement.

“Mate?” she repeated with a snort. “Not even close to my real name.”

“It’s what you are.” The growl in my voice reverberated in my chest as I narrowed my gaze at her. “Don’t tell me you can’t sense it.”

She finally paused to look at me.Reallylook at me. A glimmer of approval flashed in her gaze, her wolf peeking out to admire what she likely already considered hers.

Our animals recognized our fate.

They connected on a soul-level, their need to rut a sharp instinct that proved difficult to ignore. At least for lesser wolves. But the female before me certainly wasn’t that.

Alpha, my animal recognized.Ideal alpha mate.

I disagreed.

An ideal mate would be on her knees already, begging me to take her.

This woman obviously missed that memo. Maybe I’d hand it to her later.AfterI figured out who she was, and her heritage.

“You’re a Bitten wolf,” she said after a beat.

“I am.”

“I’m not,” she returned.

“Clearly.” I leaned against the wall near the hybrid’s corpse, both blocking her exit and waiting for my team to arrive. I also intended to handle any issues that might come flying down the stairs in the interim.

I’d learned my lesson last night—the hybrid bastard had friends.A lot of them. Which was how I’d ended up in a chair, wrapped up in silver chains, in the late evening hours. Fortunately, my slayer partner, Violet, had an obsessive vamp admirer who’d helped free us.

Then she’d run off and left me to clean up the mess.

Fine by me, I thought. I’d always preferred to work alone. Just wasn’t expecting to find a pretty shifter waiting for me in a cage. Maybe I’d craft one for her later and make it a playpen she couldn’t break out of.

“We’re not mates.” The redhead uttered the words slowly and precisely, her tone grating.

“We are mates,” I corrected. “But if it’s any consolation, I’m not thrilled about it either. Yet, here we are.”

“No, I don’t accept.”

“There’s nothing to accept.” Our connection snapped into place the moment I caught her scent—a flowery aroma that seemed to wrap a vise around my neck and balls. Had I known I would be castrated tonight, I would have gone out for a good fuck before chasing down the hybrid.

Damn, I’ll never desire another female again. A definite downside to the whole fate process. I’d honestly never expected to run into my other half, because I tended to avoid shifters. The alpha in me had a penchant for taking charge, which caused boundary issues when near a pack.

Hence my lone-wolf status.