I started for the door,forgetting my cousin in my all-consuming need to get to her.
It’s her!my wolf declared cheerily, eager to come face-to-face with our mate.
“Chael, wait.” Micah came up from behind me in the hallway. He tugged me by the arm, rounding in front of me.
I snatched my arm away, ready to listen to my wolf and barrel right through him to get to her.
“You’re going to scare her if you go out there charging like this,” he said.
I rocked back on my heels and pushed out a deep breath. Micah was right about Reese. She wasn’t a shifter. And I knew that at my full height, piercing copper eyes, and overall demeanor, I could come across as a bit intimidating, especially to humans.
“I’m not staying back here,” I told Micah despite my reservations. There was no way in hell that I could be this close to her and not make my presence known.
Micah straightened to his full height, which still gave me a three-inch advantage.
“Let me introduce you, at least.”
I swallowed, hating the idea of needing a fucking intermediary.
Ours!my wolf growled in my head.
I clamped down on his animal instincts and slowly nodded. “Let’s go,” I ordered.
Micah chuckled and turned, leaving me to follow him the rest of the way down the hall to the lobby of his firm.
“Reese,” Micah announced as we rounded the corner into the main entrance area. His wife, Jodi, sat at the long wooden and glass counter.
“Micah, look who came in for a visit,” Jodi said as she stood.
I ignored my cousin and his wife, peering over his shoulder to stare down the woman who stood opposite Jodi. My heart palpitated wildly as I stood there, watching her.
Reese stood about a foot shorter than me, with skin that reminded me of the smooth, rich coffee beans that a family from my pack grew and sold throughout the state of New Mexico.
I bet she tastes even better.
“It’s you.” The two words tumbled from my mouth, causing her to look up and finally see me.
When her eyes widened, I had to fight back a groan. Her light-brown eyes stood out against her darker skin tone. Her perfectly rounded face flushed.
I stepped around Micah, essentially moving him out of the way. Fuck taking his lead. I finally was in the same room, face to face with my mate.
My eyes traveled over her body, soaking in every detail. She wore a pair of dark-blue scrubs, likely courtesy of her day job as a medical receptionist. She worked with Savannah at an urgent care clinic. The scrubs didn’t hide the curve of her hips and the thickness of her thighs. Though she was shorter than me, her thickness would be just enough for my hands to hold on to while I drove into her from behind.
I allowed my gaze to travel over the white faux locs that hung over her shoulders. The white contrasted her darker hue and made her eyes stand out even more.
My wolf whimpered at the thought. I shook the thought loose, reminding myself that Reese still had no idea who or what I was.
“I’m Chael,” I greeted, sticking my hand out to her.
Her gaze shifted from me to Jodi and back to me. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, and I almost cursed the moon for taking so long to grant me the pleasure of finding my mate.
“Hello.” She slid her hand into mine to shake, and tension I never knew existed within my body started to slip away.
I reluctantly let her hand go when she pulled hers away.
“Reese was just telling me that she thinks something is going on at the nursing home where she volunteers,” Jodi informed us.
I kept my gaze trained on Reese. She skirted her eyes away from mine to peer over my shoulder, presumably at Micah. I didn’t like that she wasn’t looking at me. I hated even more that she stood there in need of the services of a private investigator.
