Page 2

CHAPTER TWO

STONE

“M-m-mate?” she squeaked. With coily brown hair that she had pinned back with some gold hair clips, dark brown eyes, and the sexiest body that I had ever laid my eyes upon, she cowered back in fear and stared up at me through trembling eyes. “I’m your mate?”

“You speak as if you don’t want the title,” I growled.

She shook her head. “I-I can’t be your m-mate.”

Her words cut like an alpha’s claws in my side. I had been searching my entire life for her, for the woman who would be by my side for the rest of my life. I had destroyed entire packs, burned their lands to the ground in a damn attempt to find her.

“Why not?” I snarled between my canines.

I didn’t care what answer she had for me. She’d be?—

“Because … I’m not good enough for you.”

For a moment, my words completely escaped me. I had expected some sob story about how she would never mate someone like me, a monster, as many people had called me over the years. That she was somehow better than some brute.

But she … didn’t think she was good enough? For me?

“Don’t say that,” I roared.

“It’s true,” she said.

And some fucking women to my right had the audacity to nod with her. Fucking nod.

I contained myself before I ripped their heads off too.

My mate might’ve had the worst self-esteem in this town, but once I was finished with her, those words would never come out of her mouth again. She wouldn’t walk around, stumbling over her words and her own two feet.

She’d be the confident mate promised to me.

The woman I’d burn down the entire world for.

Mine.

When I snatched her chin in my rough hand, she flinched. I ignored it and forced her to stare up into my eyes. I wanted her to know that she would be mine, no matter what it took, no matter who I had to fight, no matter who I had to kill.

“You’re mine,” I growled.

“ She’s your mate?!” a woman shrieked from behind me.

I had never laid my hands on a woman, but my fingers twitched at the mere sound of her voice, the disgusted tone of it. I tugged my mate behind me, my canines lengthening as I turned around to face my waitress from earlier.

“Mine,” I growled through my canines at her face, riddled with horror and disgust.

She bared her canines at the woman behind me, eyes blazing black, the way wolves’ eyes were right before a battle during war.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“I-I didn’t know, Eshe,” my mate cried behind me. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” I growled back at her.

“For being y-your mate,” she whispered. She didn’t say it out of disgust, but out of pure fear.

Her gaze was locked on to Eshe’s, her eyes trembling. My mate wrapped her arms around her curvy body, which I couldn’t wait to feast on tonight, lips quivering.

“You’d better be,” Eshe snarled, hurling her foot forward.

I caught it before she touched my mate and tossed her back with ease. She smacked hard against a table, the wood breaking into two pieces and all the glasses shattering all over her, as she deserved.

“Don’t fucking touch her,” I growled.

Eshe stood and glared at me. “Do you see her?”

“Yes. And?”

“Do you think someone like her could ever be luna to your pack?!”

Teeth gritting together, I stepped forward. “Would you like to clarify?”

“Look at her!” Eshe said.

Suddenly, the room erupted into whispers of disgust that she was mine. A woman who they all claimed was ugly—with a crooked nose, oily skin, who was too tall, too clumsy, too curvy—was somehow not enough for me.

Though … these fuckers knew nothing about me.

Moments before I lunged forward to end them all, a hollow sob escaped my mate’s mouth. She slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her cries, but tears wavered in her eyes. Whatever they were saying through their mind link was hurting her.

Intentionally.

A roar of fury escaped through my canines. Blind rage.

I wanted to murder every last one of them, but I needed to get her out of here before I did. I wanted her to watch me do it, to show her that I was devoted to her, but whatever they said to her through the mind link was hurting her more.

“Find me everything you can about this pack, about my mate, and about this restaurant,” I growled through my mind link to my beta, James.

Then, I grabbed my mate’s hand. “You’re coming with me.”

“With you?” she repeated, sniffling. “B-but I have to?—”

“You’re not going to give me any excuses,” I said, snatching her jaw and brushing my thumb across her lower lip. “You’re mine whether you like it or not, darling. And I’m going to fucking devour every inch of your body tonight.”

She held her hands over her stomach. “N-no.”

After stepping toward her, I narrowed my dark gaze. “No?”

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. What I mean?—”

Before she could get another word out, I picked her up and tossed her over my shoulder with ease, my hand coming down on her ass. “I’ll be back to take care of this … fucking train wreck of a town, but you’re mine tonight.”