“Go back to the rental,” I called down. “I’ll be fine.”
“You’ll be arrested!”
“I’ll be discreet.”
“You’re a six-foot-seven man climbing a fire escape! That’s the opposite of discreet!”
But I was already at the top, and I wasn’t coming down. Thessa muttered a string of curses in the old tongue, declared she was going to start researching human bail procedures, and stomped off down the street.
The rooftop was cold. I didn’t care. From here, I could see directly into Riley’s apartment.
It was small. Tiny, really. Mismatched furniture and books stacked on every available surface, towers of paperbacks threatening to topple at the slightest breeze. There was a stain on her ceiling that looked vaguely like a face. Her kitchen was barely bigger than a closet. The couch looked like it had seen better decades.
And there she was.
Riley was lying face-down on that ancient couch, her phone in her hand, occasionally typing something that made her smile. Her hair was still up in that messy bun, the pen still holding it together, and she’d kicked off her shoes. Every few minutes, she’d shift positions, punch a pillow, or groan at something on her screen.
She was magnificent.
My wolf rumbled with displeasure at the modest accommodations. She deserved better. She deserved palaces and luxury and anything her heart desired. She deserved silk sheets, servants, a kingdom at her feet, libraries filled with books and windows that overlooked gardens instead of a tattoo parlor. Which was the exact view I had at my room back at Duskmere.
But I couldn’t exactly knock on her door and announce that, could I? “Hello, I’m a werewolf prince from another realm and you’re my fated mate. Would you like to come live in my castle?” Humans didn’t respond well to that sort of thing. I’d been in this world long enough to know that much. They required courtship, time, andtrust.
I also couldn’t leave. I couldn’t make myself climb back down and walk away. So I watched, waited and planned.
My wolf finally settled for the first time since I’d scented her, satisfied just to be close, to know she was safe. Just to breathe air that carried traces of her scent.
For now, that would have to be enough.
***
Riley left her apartment an hour later, and my entire body went on alert.
Where was she going? It was getting dark. The streets were emptying out. She shouldn’t be walking alone, not when that man, Damien, might be out there somewhere. I needed to learn more about him. Hell, I needed to learneverything,starting with his home address and ending with the most efficient way to dispose of a body in the human world.
So I followed her.
She walked with purpose, clearly familiar with the route. I trailed her through the streets, keeping to the shadows, moving with the silence of a predator. My wolf was pleased, enjoying thehunt even as my human mind insisted this wasn’t a hunt. It was protection, what mates did for each other.
The fact that she didn’t know she was my mate yet was a minor detail.
She entered a grocery store and I watched through the window as she wandered the aisles. I imagined going in there with her, pushing the cart while she selected items, learning what foods she liked, what she ate for breakfast, whether she preferred coffee or tea. I wanted to know everything about her, every tiny detail. Her favorite color, her favorite song, whether she slept on her back or her side. What made her laugh, what made her cry. What she dreamed about in the quiet hours before dawn.
My wolf whined impatiently, but I forced myself to stay hidden. Not yet. I couldn’t just walk up to her in a grocery store. That would be inappropriate. That would be-
“Excuse me, young man?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
An elderly woman was standing beside me, barely reaching my chest, peering up at me with watery blue eyes. She was carrying two grocery bags that looked far too heavy for her frail frame. I had no idea how she’d managed to sneak up on me. Years of combat training, defeated by a human grandmother. My instructors back in Duskmere would be mortified.
“Could you help me cross the street?” she asked. “My hip isn’t what it used to be, and the light changes so fast these days.”
I glanced at the grocery store. Riley was still inside, visible through the window, examining a pint of ice cream with far too much deliberation. She kept picking up different flavors, reading the labels, putting them back. Was this a decision that required serious consideration? Did humans have complex relationships with frozen desserts?
“I...” I should’ve said no. I should’ve stayed focused on my surveillance.
But the old woman’s face fell slightly. “Oh, it’s all right, dear. I’m sure I can manage. I just thought...”
