It wasn’t exactly enthusiastic, but I’d take it. I straightened up again in time to see Morgan walking away. My stomach flipped. Everything in me was screaming at me not to let him leave, so I followed a healthy distance behind.
“Morgan, what happened earlier?” I asked. “Those bucks chased you out of the herd, didn’t they?”
My words were blunt, but they always were. I didn’t see the good in sugar-coating things, so I spoke the truth.
Morgan stiffened and kept walking. His long legs gave him a powerful stride and I glanced down to see the smooth curve of his calves. “That’s not any of your business.”
“I know. But I was there. And the fact that they tried to drive you in my direction makes it my business.”
Now Morgan stopped and whirled around, glaring down at me. It took me off-guard but I didn’t back down. I was used to being the biggest and strongest in the pack, the tallest alpha in our whole family. Even in our old pack we’d left behind, I was considered a large alpha. But Morgan had no trouble putting his face directly in mine and snorting his discontentment.
With the sharp movement came a ribbon of Morgan’s scent in the air. I already knew in the back of my mind that if he was my fated mate, he must have been an omega, but I didn’t reallyknowit until his rich scent floated into my senses. Morgan’s aroma exploded like fireworks in the forefront of my mind, all but screamingfated mate.
I gasped at the sudden, intense experience.
Morgan, who looked ready to chew me out a moment ago, suddenly paused. “What?”
How could I explain to this man that I thought he was my fated mate? If I brought it up now, I’d only scare him off. I kept a lid on my feelings for now. I needed to win over his trust first.
“Sorry,” I said. “I was only thinking that I could help you.”
“And what makes you think I need a wolf’s help?”
Morgan’s quick wit and confidence sent a pleasurable shudder down my spine. I wasn’t used to being spoken to this way by anyone, especially not an omega. It excited me.
I collected my thoughts. Morgan was no pathetic, crying omega in need. To gain his trust, I needed to appeal to logic.
“We’re both social species, wolves and deer,” I began. “We both need a support system. It’s difficult to live on our own.”
He seemed surprised by my comment but didn’t let it show for too long on his face. “My herd will accept me if I go back.”
He was bluffing. I knew it, and Morgan knew it too. He was gauging how much investment I had in this conversation.
He’s a clever one,I thought in amusement.
“They won’t, though, will they?” I asked gently. “I saw those bucks. They didn’t just want you out of the herd, they wanted you gone.Dead. They chased you directly at a hungry wolf knowing what would happen.”
Morgan’s face was unreadable. “So what exactly are you suggesting?”
I hesitated. WhatwasI suggesting? The idea was half-formed in my mind, more a fantasy than anything, and I knew when I spoke it out loud it would sound utterly ridiculous. But if I let Morgan go now, I’d never stop regretting it.
I forced some confidence into my voice and said, “Come to my pack.”
A beat of silence passed before Morgan broke out into laughter. My heart sank when I knew it wasn’t a laugh of joy, but disbelief. When he finally stopped laughing and saw the serious expression on my face, he realized it was no joke.
“Oh. You’re not kidding,” he said.
“I’m not.”
He shrugged. “Sorry, but I’m not going anywhere with a wolf I don’t even know.”
My heart sank even deeper, dropping like a boulder. The urge to blurt out that he was my fated mate tickled my tongue, but I swallowed it down. That was a conversation for another time.
“Morgan, I know it sounds ridiculous,” I said, raising my hands in a peace gesture, “but my pack is safe. It’s not just a wolf pack. There are prey animals in it, too.”
That got his attention. He raised a thick, handsome brow at me. “Prey? As in, you intend to eat them?”
“No. He identifies that way. He’s a hare, and he’s my brother’s mate. Besides, we don’t eat shifters, period, and we gave up eating hare and rabbit since he joined our family.”
