Though rare, it was possible and not unheard of that she could be my mate, whereas I wasn’t hers. On the other hand, these things sometimes took a few days to align and show up. My neck tightened at the impossible thought that she might do the unthinkable and reject me. No. She wouldn't do that.
The key was not to freak out about it… right?
Sipping my bourbon, I watched her light up the room with chaos and fire, letting those thoughts and fears bleed into the back of my mind, put away for later. I wanted to enjoy that little pixie wrapped in heels, jewels, and pure danger. Perfectly mine.
Watching her put the troll in his place just now wasdeeplysatisfying. It made me want to snatch her up, check behind herear again, and trace the blood-red diamond that marked her as mine.
The first time I saw it, I panicked, but I masked my reaction because I knew she wasn’t ready. On day one, she tried to dominate me by fucking another man in front of me. Day two near her? She upped the ante, fucking someone else on stage. In public. Both times, I felt equal parts possessive rage and feral arousal. It was maddening. I’d felt more in the last seven days than I had in my entire ninety-eight years of living.
Needless to say, declaring her as mine for life might be… a bit much. So, I played it cool. Strategic.
The truth? As much as the other men in her orbit vexed me, I hadn’t yet felt the need to rip their heads off. That had to mean something. Growth, maybe?
Right now, she was flanked by the mage, Van, and that wolf she’d used on stage. Both were demanding answers, though neither deserved them.
I took another sip.
Van had the eyes of a friend who’d spent too long suppressing his love, waiting for the perfect moment that would never come. The wolf? He looked at her like he was seeing a ghost, then followed her lead like a puppy. And the troll pacing the room… his constant glances and tense body nearly made me laugh.
All of them were lacking, but Aniyah kept them close. Which meant, for now, I couldn’t do anything about them.
A whisper of logic crept in.What if they’re her mates, too?Knowing who her family was, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
I’d spent the last week in London, combing through every bit of information Kara could dig up on her. Known as mob royalty, the Desmonds were ruthless in business and fiercely loyal to blood. Her mother, Rayla, had five mates, and together, they’d built an American kingdom.
Sure, the family dabbled in the unsavory, but her sister Ezra? She was legit, building a clean empire and expanding their brand. I hadn’t paid attention before since most of my markets were in Europe, but that was changing now.
Because ofher.
Her grandfathers had descended from the first supernaturals—a hell of a pedigree.Good.That should silence my snobby family when they found out I’d mated with the queen of a crime family and owner of a sex club.
They’d never wanted to branch into the American market. Too “unstable,” they said. Not enough time had passed for them to make something out of it. I spent the past week convincing them to let me scout for investment opportunities, telling them that if we didn’t diversify, we couldn’t maintain our lifestyle indefinitely. A cover, of course. In truth, I just wanted to be near her.
Ezra Desmond had done her family proud and got in on some key investments early on, and maybe, just maybe, if she could help out her new mate in-law, I could pitch a full expansion to the family. I would take over the American division and move to New York, entangling myself in her world. I could make it work for my mate.
My mate. That word was still new. Still strange, but it felt right.
Now, I just needed to win her over. Wine. Dine. Spoil. And when the time was right, drop the mate bomb. She’d fall into my arms, and all would be well. I just knew it.
At least, that was the plan… until a scattered-looking demon burst into the office, yelling her name just as the building shook from a loud, echoingBOOM.
I held onto the credenza behind me, making sure not to spill my drink, and took another sip as the walls groaned.
“What the fuck was that?!” Aniyah screeched. She bolted behind her desk, pulled out her laptop, and slammed a finger onto the keyboard. As her fingers flew over the keys with practice, a wall of security feeds bloomed to life.
“Rasmus, what are you doing here?” Alic asked, calm but coiled. “I thought IT was coming next week.”
The demon stuttered, still catching his breath.
Aniyah snapped, “Fucking limp-dick pricks think they can take me down? They haveno ideawho they’re fucking with.” She stormed out before any of us could stop her.
The demon bolted after her, calling out for her to wait for him. Something was off about him. The twinkle in his eyes when he looked at her… I didn't like it. I was going to need to keep a firm eye on him and his interactions with her.
Van stepped up to her desk and spun the screen around. Alic turned and leaned in, eyes widening as his face drained of color.
“Shit! She’s going to get herself killed,” he muttered, then sped off faster than I thought possible given his massive size. Van and the wolf immediately chased after him.
I set my glass down and zoomed over to the computer.
