Through a gap in the crowd, I caught sight of Joel’s blond curls, his lupine friend walking beside him. Instead of catching up to him and rubbing myself all over him to cover my mate in my scent like the alpha in me really wanted to do, I found my gait changing, from a jog to a prowl.
He didn’t know I was here, had no clue the danger he was in as I stalked my prey… my mate. The allure of the hunt drew me in, the thrill of the chase teasing my jaguar to the surface as I lowered my head, focus pinned on the man Fate had promised me. My eyes would no doubt be glowing gold if anyone looked closely enough, but the humans around me were so blind, unaware of the shifters that lived among them.
Joel and his friend stopped to stand at a bus stop at the corner, and while I wasn’t close enough to hear their words, I narrowed my glare at the body language between them. The wolf touched him casually, as if he did it all the time. It wasn’t the intimate touch of a lover, but more similar to a packmate. Was Joel more aware of us than I first thought? Maybe being different species wouldn’t be a barrier at all.
The bus rumbled down the street in a cloud of exhaust, Joel leaned in to give his friend a quick hug, and my jaguar gave a low warning growl. As the bus pulled away from the curb, though, the wind shifted, whipping past me. I saw the moment the wolf picked up on my presence, spine stiffening, and I ducked behind a building before he could turn to catch me in the act. In the act of what, exactly, though? I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was just curious about my mate, that’s all. It was a public sidewalk, and I meant him no harm.
No matter how sound my reasoning, guilt followed me all the way back to Karma Katz. I felt like I’d done something wrong in following him without his knowledge. It was my beast’s influence, I was sure of it.
This is all your fault, I accused.You confused me with all your “mate, claim, mate, bite.” I should’ve just talked to him.
Inside my mind, his lip curled, showing me his teeth, half smirk, half threat.Claim first, explain later,he said. He ran entirely on instinct, not a single lick of human logic in his brain, but even he had to know that using force was a horrible way to go about convincing a human to let me bite him.
Slipping in the back door on soft feet, I bypassed the tattoo parlor, sneaking up the back stairs to my apartment above. I had no interest in having “the talk” with my older brother. Ever since I’d decided to leave our pride five years ago to move to the city and chase my dreams, he’d taken the role of nosy parental figure very seriously. I didn’t need a parent; at 26, I was a godsdamned adult, but try telling him that.
Mace was only two years older than me, so it wasn’t like he was all-knowing either, but I had to admit, he knew people better than I did. I might’ve been the artist behind Karma Katz, but I wouldn’t be where I was today without his charm and business sense. I would always be thankful he followed me here, but… I still didn’t want to talk to him about my mate or my sex life—non-existent though it was.
It wasn’t until I had stepped through the door, though, that I realized he was two steps ahead of me.
“Shit,” I muttered as his scent, as familiar as my own, met me inside the apartment. I turned to leave, but he pounced—almost literally.
Mace caught me with an arm around my neck and nudged the door closed behind me. “Ah-ah, where do you think you’re going?”
“Out?” I tried, knowing it was pointless to fight. He outweighed me by 40 pounds of muscle, easy, and no matter how many times we’d sparred, he always came out on top.
“Why go out when we can stay in, just the two of us?” he said casually, even as his arm tightened on my neck, as though expecting me to bolt—which, fair. He steered me into the living room and pressed me firmly down onto the couch. “We are going to sit down, and you are going to tell me what the hell happened to you today. Is it safe to assume it had something to do with Joel?”
Even the mention of his name made my breath catch, my heart stuttering in my chest. Mace, the asshole, noticed the reaction, his smirk widening. “Ahh, you thought he was cute.”
A feline snarl escaped before I could lock it down. “Cute?” I snapped, gnashing my teeth. It was practically aninsult to say he was merely cute. “No, Joel isn’tcute. He is beautiful. No, no, that’s not enough. He is… stunning, bewitching. Pulchritudinous!” Mace’s eyebrows jumped as he dropped down to sit on the coffee table in front of me. “He istranscendent, beyond the grasp of our tiny brains, and I should forever be on my knees to grovel in his presence. He is a work of art that the gods themselves could not hope to match. His eyes contain a galaxy of stars, his voice like angels singing. His scent is the purest thing I’ve had the privilege of holding in my lungs.” By the time I was finished, my chest was heaving trying to catch my breath. I wasn’t sure I’d ever said so many words at once before.
Mace leaned forward to prop his chin in one hand, elbow on his knee. “So, what you’re saying is… you’re into him.”
I sighed. “More than,” I said, staring down at my hands where my claws had pushed through my fingertips. “He’s my mate, and the tattoo I gave him was my first claim on him.” And when the time was right, I planned on sinking my teeth in right next to that pawprint, officially marking him as mine for all eternity.
Mace’s face split with a wide grin. “I figured it was something like that. But then why didn’t you do something about it? Why’d you let him walk out of here so easily?”
I winced, shoulders sagging. “I panicked. I’ve been waiting my whole life to find my mate, but I never once considered that he might be human. I’m not sure if he knows about shifters, about our world at all. It wasn’t like I could just… claim him.”
He shook his head with a sigh. “No, but you could’ve talked to him a little, shown some interest. I know you don’t like small talk, but you could’ve given him your number, at least. What if you never see him again?”
The mere suggestion that we’d missed our chance had my jaguar digging his claws in, hissing at me for what he deemed an unforgiveable screw-up.I will fix this, he insisted, nudging at me to let him take control.
You won’t fix anything. If he saw you coming, it would just scare him.
“Fate would never be so cruel,” I told both of them. “I will find him again. And when I do…” I paused, grappling to come up with some kind of plan. “How does flirting work?” I asked, my mouth going dry. I didn’t have any experience with this.
Mace snorted, shaking his head as if he’d failed me. “I told you, you should’ve practiced like the rest of us. I know how you feel about it, but your mate would’ve forgiven you for having a few partners in your past. It’s notconsidered cheating on him if you haven’t even met him yet… Just sayin’.”
My claws snagged on my pantlegs as I clenched my fists. “I know that, but I didn’t want to practice on random people who didn’t matter,” I gritted out through clenched teeth. “I wanted my mate. I only want Joel.”
He leaned forward and set his hands over my fists, squeezing lightly, and it helped calm my racing heart a little. “Congrats, man. Really. Finding your fated mate is amazing news, and he’s lucky to have someone as devoted and loyal as you—even if he doesn’t know it yet. Come on.” Mace nudged me then stood from the low table. “Let’s go get a drink at the club. This is a reason to celebrate.”
I wanted to believe that, but I felt no closer to my mate now than I was before I met him. But I wasn’t going to find him again while hiding in my apartment, so I nodded. “Okay. One drink.”
“Perfect! And we can talk about how you’re going to break the news to Mom and Dad without them immediately moving here and taking over.”
Chapter 4
