“We spent the night together,” Peter said, figuring that Merchant should know if he was going to talk to Chad.
“And byspent the night togetherI’m guessing that you mean you fucked him silly and made him call you Daddy.”
Merchant’s smarmy grin was a step too far. Peter’s attack was driven entirely by instinct. He kicked Merchant’s legs out from under him and put him in a chokehold before the other alpha even had a chance to cry out. With his opponent subdued, Peter managed to get his instincts under control by the skin of his teeth.
He felt wild.
Catching sight of himself in the mirror, Peter was shocked to see that his teeth were bared, sharp and deadly. Merchant was lucky he hadn’t torn his throat out.
He let go of Merchant’s neck and pushed him forward so that he fell to the floor. He still felt wild and pumped, and the reaction was as confusing as it was natural.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was like that,” Merchant choked, staying on his hands and knees. Looking around, Peter was unsurprised to see that the gym had completely cleared out.
“Like what?” Peter growled. The urge kick Merchant down and force him to show his belly was hard to get a handle on.
“I didn’t know he was your mate,” Merchant said.
Peter scoffed and said, “That’s ridiculous.” But the words felt false in his mouth. He’d never reacted to anyone like he had Chad. They couldn’t really be mates, could they?
Peter wasn’t stupid. He didn’t believe in that whole true mates nonsense that some people believed in, but hedidbelieve that some people were biologically more compatible than others. If you had someone you were extremely compatible with, it would manifest in much the same way as the true mate cliché.
“Just go talk to him and figure out what he’s thinking, and then come see me in my office,” Peter said, marching toward the locker room without a look back.
This whole thing was a mess.
***
Chapter 14
Chad didn’t bring anything more than he could carry in his backpack when he left his apartment, and he made his way down the stairs to get into the cab that would take him to the airport. Only when he exited his building the car was nowhere in sight, and the alpha that had interviewed him after he got back from his first mission was waiting for him.
“Mr. Merchant?” Chad asked, moving to stand on the opposite side of the sidewalk from the intimidating man. Merchant was leaning against a black SUV, his eyes hidden behind a pair of mirrored shades. He took the sunglasses off as Chad approached.
“Mr. Brand. I need to have a few words with you. I understand you’re heading to the airport?”
Chad nodded, wondering how the hell Merchant knew that.
“Great. I’ll give you a ride and we can talk on the way. Do you have more luggage?”
Chad shook his head. He couldn’t imagine why Merchant needed to talk to him. Was he in trouble?
“Then hop in.” Merchant walked around to the driver’s side of the car and got behind the wheel. Wondering what the hell was going on, Chad opened the passenger-side door and hopped in.
“How did you know I was going to the airport?” Chad asked as Merchant started the engine and pulled away from the curb.
“You used the company discount code,” Merchant said, like it was obvious. Chad bit his lower lip and frowned. Why would anyone be monitoring that?
“So what did you want to talk about?” Chad asked. Normally he would have been much more polite, but he was tired and worried about his dad and not in the mood for weird power games.
Merchant gave him a look out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t comment on Chad’s rude attitude. Chad shifted in his seat, uncomfortable. An alpha like Merchant wouldn’t normally let an alpha like Chad get away with any kind of disrespect. It was weird.
“Sorry, I’m having a bad day,” Chad said when the silence became uncomfortable.
“Anything to do with Tank Security?” Merchant asked. Chad frowned, wondering why he’d ask that.
“No?” he said, phrasing it like a question. “Why?”
“So you’re happy with the company?”
