Everything had changed yesterday. Or was it today? Time blurred together when your world imploded. I’d been at my usual table, reading the same page for the fourth time becauseLina was wearing a dress that made her legs look incredible, when Mrs. Callahan had started her matchmaking routine.
The old woman’s shrill voice carrying across the shop. Talking about her son. About how Lina was too pretty to be single. Too pretty to be wasting away behind a counter.
My wolf had snarled at that. She wasn’t wasting anything. She was exactly where she belonged, running her business, surrounded by books and the community she’d built. The fact that some middle manager with a leased BMW thought he deserved her made me want to tear his throat out.
I’d stood before I realized I was moving. Walked to the counter with my empty cup while my wolf pushed against my skin, ready to make it clear that Lina was NOT available. Not for Mrs. Callahan’s son. Not for anyone.
Except she’d asked for a refill, reached for the cup at the same time I did, and our fingers had brushed.
The world had exploded.
The mate bond had slammed into place with the force of a freight train. Recognition. Connection. The absolute certainty that she was MINE. My wolf had gone wild, howling its triumph while foreign emotions flooded through me. Her emotions. Attraction and confusion and underneath it all, a pull toward me that matched my pull toward her.
MATE. MINE. CLAIM HER.
The cup had shattered between us, and I’d felt her shock echo through the bond. She’d felt it too, even if she didn’t understand what it was. The connection. The electricity. The rightness of it.
A human. My mate was a fucking human.
I’d fled to the bathroom and had what could generously be called a panic attack. More accurately, I’d stood there shaking while my wolf demanded I go back out and claim what was ours. The bond pulsed between us, new and raw and impossible to ignore.
It was almost unheard of. Wolves mated with wolves. The few cases I knew about where a wolf bonded with a human had ended badly. Either the human couldn’t handle the bond and died during the claiming, or they survived only to be thrust into a world of violence and pack politics they never asked for.
I couldn’t do that to her. Wouldn’t.
So I’d done the only thing I could. I’d run. Thrown money on the counter and told her to stay away for her own good, then fled before my wolf could override my common sense.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. I’d told her to stay away when I was the one who couldn’t keep my distance. When I was the one who’d been stalking her shop for weeks.
Then the rogues had finally made their move, and the only thing I could think about was HER.
They’d attacked at night, just as we’d predicted. What we hadn’t predicted was that they’d split up. While my team handled the main group, one had broken off. I’d tracked it through thestreets, my wolf in full hunt mode, when I’d realized where it was heading.
Her shop. The bastard was heading straight for her shop.
My scent was all over that place. The mate bond, new and barely controlled, would have been screaming my presence to any wolf with half a nose. I’d led them right to her.
My fault. Always my fucking fault.
I’d gotten there just in time to see her on the ground, the rogue looming over her. The terror in her eyes had made my wolf see red. The fight had been vicious but quick. Rogues were strong but undisciplined. When it was over, I’d dragged the body into the woods while she was distracted, then circled back to make sure no others were heading her way.
By the time I’d finished cleanup and made it back to the hotel, I was coming apart at the seams. The bond pulled at me, demanding I check on her. Make sure she was safe. Hold her until the fear faded from her scent.
“Just a peek,” I’d told myself, sneaking out while my team dealt with the aftermath. “Just make sure she’s safe.”
I’d meant to look through her window. Maybe do a perimeter check. Instead, I’d found myself picking her lock and climbing the stairs to her apartment, drawn by a need that went beyond rational thought.
And now here I was, bleeding on her rug while she knelt between my legs and I fought not to show her exactly how ‘safe’ she made me feel.
“I should move,” she said suddenly, finished with the bandages but not pulling away.
The position, her so close I could feel her breath on my skin, was killing me. The mate bond humming between us, pushing me to close the distance. My wolf pacing restlessly, demanding I claim what was ours before someone else tried to take her.
Because someone would. A woman this perfect wouldn’t stay single. Some human man would see what I saw, want what I wanted, and I’d have to stand back and watch because the alternative was dragging her into my world of blood and violence and loss.
The thought made me grip the ruined couch again.
“Probably,” I agreed, making no effort to give her space. If anything, I spread my thighs wider, keeping her there.
