“Thessa likes wolves.”
“I love wolves,” Thessa agreed, beaming. “Totally obsessed. It’s a whole thing. When I saw the poster, I just had to come in. And then I made Ky follow me because he’s my ride and also he has the money.”
“He looks like he’d rather be anywhere else.”
“That’s just his face,” Thessa said. “Resting murder face. Very off-putting. We’ve tried to fix it. There’s no cure for it yet but doctors are hopeful.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my face.” I grunted.
“You’re glaring at her right now.”
I wasn’t glaring. I was gazing. There was a difference, a significant one.
Riley laughed, and the sound made my wolf want to roll over and show its belly. “I like you,” she said to Thessa. “Your brother’s a little intense, but you’re fun.”
“He’s very intense,” Thessa agreed. “It’s exhausting. I keep telling him to lighten up but he’s physically incapable.”
“I am not-”
“Ky, you once threatened to duel someone because they mispronounced your…Pet’s name.”
They had mispronounced my title, not my pet’s name. But I guessed saying in the human world you were heir to the Duskmere Crown would raise a lot of eyebrows. “They called it ‘prints.’ Not prince. Prints.”
“And violence was the appropriate response?”
“It was a formal dinner. There are protocols.”
Riley was watching our exchange with obvious entertainment, her green eyes bouncing between us. “So you’re intense, you’re from some mystery region of Australia that I’ve never heard of, and you threaten people over pronunciation. Anything else I should know?”
Yes. We’re fated mates, my wolf recognized you the moment I walked through that door, I would burn down this entire realm if you asked me to, and I’m going to spend the rest of my very long life devoted to your happiness whether you want me to or not.
“I also read,” I said instead. “Occasionally.”
“High praise from Outback.” She slid a book toward me. “This is my newest one. It’s about werewolves and fated mates. Very spicy. You probably won’t like it.”
Fated mates? What were the odds?
I picked up the book like it was made of gold. My mate wrote this. She poured herself into these pages, created worlds and characters and love stories. I was going to read every single word, multiple times, and memorize my favorite passages.
“I’ll try to keep an open mind,” I said, then I noticed her cheek.
Inflamed, and the kind of red that came from being hit. Every warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest turned to ice.
“Who hurt you?”The words came out as a growl. I was reaching for her face before I could stop myself, wanting to see the damage to catalog it, wanting a name so I knew exactly whose throat to rip out.
Riley leaned back, the amusement flickering into something more guarded. “Okay, that’s a weird question to ask someone you just met.”
“Answer it.”
“Or what? You’ll glare at me harder?”
“Riley-” I started, her name falling off my lips as if we’d known each other forever.
“Ky.” Thessa’s hand closed around my wrist, her grip bruising. A warning. “Your manners are beastly. That was incredibly rude. Apologize. Now. “
I didn’t want to apologize. I wanted blood. I wanted to find whoever marked her face and make them regret every choice that led them to touch what was mine.
But Riley was looking at me with an expression that said she thought I was completely unhinged, which was fair. Iwasunhinged. I was so far past hinged I couldn’t even see hinged from where I was standing.
