Page 10 of Fated to the Alpha Warrior (The Wolf’s Forbidden Mate #1)

Near her is a motorcycle, slick and shiny with a high seat and large tires. It looks like the kind of bike that’s been outfitted for rough riding—including off-roading if necessary. There’s a storage rack with bags strapped to it, and a helmet hanging off one of the handlebars.

“I thought you said we were meeting before sunset, not after,” she says as she rises to her feet in one fluid motion, the remnants of sunlight gilding her hair in rosy hues of orange and gold, making the blonde strands look like firelight.

“At this rate, we’ll barely be on the road before we have to make camp. ”

The tension that’s radiating from her is so thick it’s palpable. In a way it’s a relief. I prefer this to the version of Aurora I’ve been terrified of for years.

Crying. Begging. Pleading. Weak and incapable of being my mate, her face streaked with tears, her fingers digging into my arm. I was so scared that she’d come to me and beg for me to change my mind that I spent countless nights tossing and turning, composing how I’d respond if she did.

It’s almost a relief that she’s irritated and on edge instead, looking at me like she’s deciding how to rip the flesh from my bones so she can use them as toothpicks. It doesn’t change the pangs in my chest, though.

“We can’t leave during the day because the direction we’re heading is full of human ranchers and hunters, and they’ll be on edge if they see a wolf going past. Better to go at night, when we only have to contend with the coyotes and livestock guardian dogs—they’ll submit to my wolf.”

“And in this fantasy version of our trip, am I riding on your shoulders?” She shoots me a baffled look. “We could’ve set out by now if you weren’t so attached to your wolf. Seriously, it’s like you forget cars even exist.”

I prickle under her words and the weight of this mission, not to mention the pain of the rejected bond. Before I can stop myself, I snap out, “Not like you could understand, since you don’t have a wolf.”

Immediately, I open my mouth to apologize.

But she doesn’t give me the chance. “You’re right, I don’t understand.

All these weird paths to shifter land so we’re as off the grid as possible.

And for what? So you weirdos can shift naked in the middle of the sidewalk and leave your clothes behind.

” She rolls her eyes. “If I had my wolf, you wouldn’t catch me just shifting anywhere. I’d have some decency about it.”

Something about her confidence eases my fears that I broke her forever.

Defensively, and more than a little embarrassed, I tell her, “We’ll travel during the day tomorrow, and for most of our trip.

It’s just this portion that’s better at night—the last time our warriors patrolled this path during the day, they were shot at, and I didn’t want to risk that happening to you. ”

“Oh. Well, that makes sense.” She sounds a little chagrined. “Thank you for… thinking of me.”

“It would be inconvenient if you bled out before we get to Pack Onyx lands.” Aurora rolls her eyes and smirks a little at this, much to my relief. “I’m glad you brought transportation.” I motion toward the bike. “I didn’t know you ride now.”

“You don’t know a lot of things about me anymore, Kieran,” she says softly.

The sound of my name in her mouth is a soft ache that spreads through my chest and settles behind my rib cage, just in front of my heart. My wolf howls mournfully, quietly, softly, as if he’s giving up.

I wish that he would.

There’s nothing more to say, so instead we head out. Aurora turns her back politely as I shift, then hops on her bike and starts the engine. I marvel at her moonlit silhouette as we silently start out together, heading down narrow roads and half-hidden pathways that only shifters know by heart.

The Aurora I knew wasn’t this mature, this self-assured and confident. She doesn’t even seem to mind that she can’t shift, much to my surprise. It’s as if she’s accepted it, and by doing so, accepted herself.

I wonder if she’s found someone to warm her bed while she’s been living on the outskirts of our territory. An outskirts shifter, one of the newcomers, or a rebel who spits my father’s name between bared teeth.

My wolf is jealous and territorial at the thought. Aurora cranks her bike ahead, and he howls, the two of us racing toward her with as much speed as possible, as if we could catch her heart as well as the rest of her.

By the time we make camp, I’m exhausted, which is a good thing. Aurora has a sleeping bag, and I have my fur, but I shift to human form to help her set up the perimeter. I need my hands for that—but not my mouth or tongue, apparently, since neither of us says a word.

Inhaling her scent is a special kind of torture.

“I’ll take first watch,” I tell her. “After this, we’ll mostly be staying on pack lands, in guest houses, but tonight…”

“You don’t want me to be eaten by a coyote,” she says, popping her neck as she settles into her sleeping bag. “Wake me up before dawn. I’ll take the rest.” Her eyes reflect the moonlight and starshine as she says, “I can do that much, at least.”

The words that come to my tongue die unspoken behind my teeth. Nothing I can say will change this bitter thing between us, blackened and aching. It’s all my fault, and I wouldn’t change a thing.

That’s what I tell myself as the scent of lilac and honey overwhelms me. As my wolf paces and howls. As her deep, even breathing invades my head, her vulnerable beauty in sleep the greatest temptation I’ve ever known.

All my instincts tell me to go to her, hold her close to me, sink my teeth into her flesh, and make her mine.

My cock is so hard and aching that I’m surprised she didn’t notice before she went to sleep. Maybe she did but didn’t say anything. Maybe it disgusted her—after all, I’m the one who made things like this.

It isn’t hard to stay up for my shift on watch. I doubt I could fall asleep anyway.

I’m not sure if I’m strong enough to resist the pull of this bond forever.

And that scares me more than the madness or the fae ever could.