Page 2 of Mated to Fenrir (Fated Mates Collection #5)

DELIA

Even though I was with my friends and I was only coming to a Jinx event to have a good time, there was a part of me that was nervous about it. I might have decided I was going to take a break from trying to find my mate, but that didn't mean that other people in the room would understand that.

Or that the wolf within me would play along. Considering all the trouble she'd gotten me into over the years, it was fairly safe to assume that she wouldn't listen at all.

Adelaide and Chelsea chattered away as they approached the entrance to the hotel ballroom, while I trailed behind with Anise.

"Are you sure you're okay not entering with Kuk?" I asked her.

"Of course. I'm going to spend some time with you, and then I'm going to try to find him."

"Seems like a risky game when everyone is wearing a mask," I murmured.

"That's part of the fun." She grinned in a way that made me think that she was telling the truth.

"I'll take your word on it," I responded.

The bouncer at the door talked to Adelaide, and the barrier was lifted for us.

I had to admit that there was a part of me that thought we'd be turned away.

Jinx's clientele was mostly powerful gods and paranormals who were someone .

And while I thought my friends were pretty great, there was no doubt that the four of us could be considered somewhat ordinary in comparison to the rest of the guest list. The only thing that made us interesting was the fact that the other three were dating gods.

Music filled the room, upbeat and modern, while maintaining a classiness I'd come to associate with the Jinx Dating Agency. It wasn't precisely what I thought of when I considered what a masquerade would be, but this was nice.

Everywhere I looked, people were dressed in their best, with masks hiding their faces. Some of them were simple, and some were more extravagant. I touched my own mask, making sure that it was in place. It wasn't as fancy as some of the others I could see around me, but I didn't think that mattered.

I checked around me, only to find that my friends had managed to get further ahead than I'd expected them to, and were almost at the bar already. I hurried after them, not paying enough attention as I did and walking straight into someone.

He reached out to steady me, his hand touching the bare skin of my arm. The world around me faded, and I was only able to think of the feel of the hand on my arm, and the scent that reached my nose. I wasn't entirely sure if it was his aftershave, or if it was something more than that.

My wolf stirred within me, her interest piqued by something she was sensing.

I froze on the spot, unable to look away from troubled blue eyes that felt like they were staring into my soul from behind a dark grey mask.

The man's expression barely changed as he looked at me, save for a brief flicker of surprise. I wasn't sure how I knew that was what it was, but there was something deep within me that was sure of it.

"Excuse me," he said in a slightly accented voice, though he didn't say enough for me to recognise where it might be from.

He was already walking away when I realised that I was still staring at him, and I didn't exactly know why.

My wolf whispered the word mate within me. I closed my eyes and groaned. No doubt she was going to be unsufferable until I managed to get the man out of my mind. Which was going to be easier said than done when I could feel the urge coming from her to follow him, but I resisted.

Finding my mate wasn't as simple as that. It would take more than just running into someone to be sure that I'd found the person who was supposed to match me. Someone might be my mate, but that didn't mean that I had to accept them. I could say no.

I shook my head and counted to ten, hoping that it would give me a chance to collect my thoughts and ignore the wolf within me. Hopefully, I wouldn't run into him again, which would mean that it wasn't a problem.

Anise appeared in front of me, a worried expression on what I could see of her face. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Just got distracted," I murmured, though she probably couldn't hear me over the music.

"Okay. Well, Chelsea got us a bottle of champagne, so you should come and join us," she said, gesturing to a section of the ball that seemed to have tables.

I followed her over, almost feeling like I was in some kind of trance.

No doubt it was my stupid wolf. She was all in a tizzy thanks to the man we'd run into, and there was no convincing her that she needed to relax.

Hopefully, a couple of drinks would do that for her.

It hadn't worked before, but there was always a chance that it could work for the first time ever.

A wolf shifter could dream.

"Delia!" Chelsea called as I reached them. "I wondered where you got to."

"I got a bit turned around," I said as I took a glass of champagne from Adelaide.

I smiled at the other blonde. I didn't know her as well as I knew Anise and Chelsea, mostly because she only moved here for her job at the Horus Sanctuary, and she still spent most of her time there.

It was even mostly to do with the animals and not the fact she was dating Horus.

Though I was sure the Egyptian god had something to do with the amount of time she spent at work.

"It's all the masks," Anise said. "They make it hard to tell who is who."

"Starting to rethink your game with Kuk?" I teased.

She laughed. "Not at all."

I smiled and drank some of my champagne, feeling the bubbles bound around in my stomach. As expected, it did very little to quell the feelings coming from my wolf, and I found myself searching the crowd around us for the mysterious man who had made her respond like that.

I wasn't even sure what I was going to do if I found him. My wolf certainly had a few ideas, but I wanted to make sure I steered clear. After the disaster that had been my relationship with Todd, it was better if I didn't have to deal with another potential mate bond.

I was going to stay single.

I was another two glasses of champagne in when Chelsea dragged me onto the dance floor. She threw her hands up, making me smile and realise that the best way to forget my current train of thought was to give in to the music and dance.

The beat flowed through me along with the happy fuzziness that came from the champagne. I knew I was at my drinking limit, but that didn't stop the feeling of freedom that came with having it in my blood.

The song changed, and my wolf became alert. Or more alert than she already had been. I turned to find myself looking into the same dark blue eyes as earlier.

Without meaning to, I stepped closer. It was hard to think straight when my inner wolf wanted to be the one in control. She seemed to be convinced that the man opposite me was someone important.

That he was my mate.

And a part of me believed her, but there was also doubt in my mind. I'd spent so long actively searching for my mate and now he'd just shown up without any prompting? It made no sense.

Neither of us said anything as he closed the gap between us, making it clear that we were dancing together. He placed a hand on my hip, sending a thrill through me that had nothing to do with anything I'd been drinking.

Within me, my wolf was doing some kind of happy dance, no doubt feeling like she was winning in her determination to find my fated mate.

Perhaps she was right. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing to see where this kind of connection could go. After all, fate knew what it was doing most of the time.

I carried on dancing with him despite my reservations, enjoying the way his hand felt on my hip.

"Who are you?" he asked, his low voice rumbling through me in the most delightful way, even over the music.

"Nobody," I responded, already a little breathless. It was partly the dancing, partly the fight against what my wolf was howling at me, and partly because his presence seemed to have an effect on me that no one else ever had.

"Nobody wouldn't make my wolf respond like this," he murmured.

My heart pounded in response, and I tried not to let myself get lost in what he was saying. It meant nothing. This was just the kind of thing countless people had said to me when they heard that wolf shifters had fated mates and they wanted something from me.

He leaned closer, making the scent of him impossible to ignore. But I had to.

I needed to if I was going to avoid getting my heart broken all over again.

But then his lips were hovering over mine, and the urge to reciprocate was too much to ignore.

His breath fanned against my skin, only adding to the anticipation of the kiss to come.

There was something intoxicating about this moment.

It came with a thrill and desire to discover whether a connection with someone could prove to be something, or if it was just a passing attraction and nothing more than that.

He pulled me closer, and despite my reservations, I allowed it, causing my wolf to respond with glee. She liked this. She wanted this. It was just a matter of deciding if I did.

His lips brushed against mine, the connection almost immediate. My mind went black, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss and giving in to the temptation that was right in front of me.

I was barely able to think straight as his hand landed on my lower back, pulling me even closer. Something stirred within me, a sense of belonging that I wasn't even entirely sure I'd felt before.

If he asked me to give him my entire world, then I would hand it over in this instant.

The thought was like pouring a bucket of ice-cold water over me, and I broke the kiss, pushing him away.

"I have to go," I murmured, ignoring the protest of my wolf in my chest. She didn't get a say in this. She'd gotten me hurt far too many times before, and I wasn't about to let it happen again.

Which meant leaving the club and going home to take a cold shower.