Eve blinked. “Oh, right.”
Oh, fuck.
The agent nodded to the handsome man, and as she turned to look at him again, it was as if Eve’s entire world had shifted on its axis. A plethora of conflicting feelings struck her all at once. Peace, elation, despair. The man was staring at her with a deer caught in headlights expression, his eyes round and wide, then his brow creased, and his mouth pulled down into a frown. Eve managed a curt nod and her lips twitched as if threatening to form into a smile, but not quite managing it, resulting in something resembling a grimace. She couldn’t have spoken if her life depended on it.
One of the agents took the grocery bags out of her arms and she was vaguely aware of them wheeling her suitcase away, too. A few moments later she was left with Hawk and her m— the Viper. He was a Viper. A bad guy. A predator.
The pull toward him was unmistakable, so strong it made her stomach lurch. How could this be? Eve hadn’t been in any hurry to meet her mate and could easily have waited another lifetime, or two, and right now even that didn’t seem like it would be enough.
Meeting their mate was supposed to be the happiest time of a shifter’s life. Discovering their soul mate, the part of them that had been missing. The person who would complete them.
But this? This was some sort of sick joke. It had to be. Or perhaps she was mistaken or confused. Perhaps her mate was one of the agents.
Hope started to swell in her chest, but when she lifted her gaze to the Viper again, she knew it was him with every fiber of her being.
Mine!her cat said again, louder and more insistent.
Eve had never thought it possible to be both elated and in complete despair at the same time. Her heart seemed to sink all the way to her boots, and at the same time threatened to burst from her chest, because this was the man some part of her had waited her entire life to meet.
What a damn waste.
Of all the people in the world that she could have been mated to, she was tied heart and soul to this man. He was undoubtedly as ruthless as he was beautiful. What sorts of things had he done? He was a criminal, undoubtedly, but how far had he gone? Assault, murder, rape? A thought occurred to her and her mouth went dry. What if this was the man she had hunted for all those months? What ifhewas responsible for raping Mia? Was this the sick bastard who had taken pleasure out of her pain? Who had taken his blade and laughed as he sliced open her face?
The retch was so violent Eve nearly threw up where she stood. She clamped a hand over her mouth and barged her way from the room.
“Bathroom?” she shouted to the agent out in the hallway.
“Second door on the left,” he replied.
She sprinted for the room and as soon as she entered, she dropped to her knees, leaned over the toilet bowl and lost the contents of her stomach. After she’d finished, she closed her eyes and sat back on her haunches for a few moments, taking stock. The bout of sickness had taken her completely by surprise. She hadn’t been ill in years. The last time had been right after she’d graduated college and she and her friends had done way too many shots of tequila.
Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
Why?
Why him?
Mate, her panther crooned.
There was a knock on the bathroom door.
“Eve?” Hawk called. “You okay?”
“Just a minute.”
She got to her feet, flushed the toilet, then washed her hands and face, and rinsed out her mouth. She glanced in the mirror, then pulled open the bathroom door. As a shifter, Eve usually had an endless supply of energy, but now, she braced against the doorframe for support, utterly drained.
Hawk stood outside in the hallway, leaning back against the wall, his arms folded across his chest.
He watched her silently for a few beats before speaking. “What’s going on? Are you ill? You’re not…pregnant, are you?”
She let out a laugh devoid of humor. Right at that moment pregnancy would have been the preferable option. Pretty muchanythingwould have been preferable.
“The Viper,” she whispered. “Liam. He’s my mate.”
Hawk blinked rapidly, his brow creasing and his eyes tightening in surprise, and—she wasn’t imagining it—horror.
“Are you sure?”
