“I’m very familiar with shifter compliance regulations,” he said, the tapping of his pointer finger on the desk the only indication of his impatience. “But I haven’t violated any regulations. I was clear about my identity to the airline when I booked this ticket.”
Shifter compliance regulations—holy shit! He was a real-life shifter. I’d never met one before, only seen bits and pieces of them on the news.
The air around him felt pressurized, like a storm was coming on, and I understood why the other gate agent was cowering. Whatever animal he could shift into, it was strong.
“Sir, you’re holding up an entire plane full of people. I’m afraid you’ll have to rebook. There’s a shifter-friendly flight leaving tomorrow at one in the afternoon—”
“I can’t leave tomorrow!” There was a subtle shift in his voice, a ruggedness that sounded suspiciously like a growl. He cleared his throat, pointer finger rapping faster. “I can’t miss this flight. It’s my mother’s birthday this week.”
“Without a human mate, I can’t let you on this plane.”
Something in my chest hardened. What kind of sweet, innocent soul was this man that he was flying hours out of Seattle for his mother’s birthday?
Thrill zipped up my spine, settling on my chest in a fluttery breath. Suddenly I had a solution for both of us.
“Babe? Oh my gosh, I thought they let you on the plane without me.” I stumbled over to him, duffel bag making me sway. The muscles in his arm visibly tensed when my hand landed on them.
It was a brazen move. Shifters were a mystery to me, and I had no idea if the rumors about them being aggressive assholes was true.
“Babe?” He inclined his chin toward me, his brown eyes lighting up when they met mine. Dang, it was like a scene straight out of Teen Wolf with those glowing eyes. I could almost hear the creature inside him and I was devilishly curious about it.
“Yes, I’m here. Just in time, too.” I turned my brightest smile on the confused gate agents, gesturing to myself and explaining, “I’m his mate, and I’m very much human.” I held my boarding pass and ID up to prove my point. “Now, if you don’t mind, we have a birthday party to get to.”
Teen Wolf looked like he was caught between annoyance and surprised relief.
The gate agent looked like she was about to call bullshit.
“Do you have the proper paperwork?” she asked me impatiently. Her gaze found my neck and she frowned. “We need to see proper paperwork and evidence of a mate mark.”
A mate mark? Shit, I didn’t even know what that was.
“We don’t have them—yet!” I curled my hand around Teen Wolf’s bicep a little tighter. He wasn’t exactly selling us as mates right now. “You see, his mom is old-fashioned. We can’t just—um—mate without telling anyone. There has to be a ceremony,and all of his family is in Alaska waiting for us to make it official.” I adjusted my duffel bag so I could pet my new mate’s arm with my free hand.
The muscles in his arms finally relaxed, and he stunned me by wrapping one around my waist. The pounding of my heart increased tenfold. He was hot—not just visually. Heat waves may as well have been rising from his skin, and when he returned my touch, it was as if sparks leaped from him onto me, lighting me up inside.
“It’s true. My mother would be horrified if I marked my mate without a ceremony.” He leaned over me, pressing his nose to my scalp and inhaling a little too long before letting out a disappointed sigh. “It looks like we won’t make it in time for the party,babe. I just hope Mom’s health holds up long enough for us to reschedule our flight and share the good news.”
The gate agent sucked air between her teeth, gaze flicking between us and the plane. Finally, she sighed and said, “You two better be for real. I can get into so much trouble for this.”
A flight attendant was glaring at us from the front of the plane as we rushed through the door. Her gray hair was tightly wrapped in a neat updo. The lines around her mouth deepened as Teen Wolf stepped up behind me.
She took his ticket from his hand without asking, shocking me with her blatant rudeness. “You’ll have to change seats. 14A and B are open.”
Teen Wolf thanked her politely. Without a word, he lifted the heavy duffle from my shoulder, urging me down the aisle. Just about every passenger we passed was giving us the stink eye.
I didn’t see what the big deal was. The plane was still leaving on time.
Teen Wolf stifled a grumbling noise behind me. Maybe the looks had nothing to do with me.
Our row of seats was empty. I watched Teen Wolf let out an inaudible sigh as he hefted our bags into the overhead compartment.
I fiddled with the seatbelt in the window seat, surprised when he abandoned the empty aisle seat and settled next to me. He smelled manly and clean, his arm radiating heat as he rested it on the armrest between us. My throat worked.
I’d been so consumed with anxiety about missing my flight that I hadn’t taken a proper look at him. I’d heard shifters were bigger than humans. The rumors appeared to be true.
The headrest on the seat was a solid two inches too short for him. His knees were pressed into the back of the seat, and his legs widened in an attempt to gain more space. I couldn’t really blame him for manspreading.
He twisted in an awkward maneuver, slipping off his black leather jacket to reveal a tight white T-shirt. Every defined muscle strained against that shirt. I had the wildest urge to demand he put his jacket back on. This was indecent.
