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His wolf was tired of waiting. Earlier, when he’d found his attention drifting curiously toward her, he didn’t give in to the wolf’s demands to immediately seek her out. He staked a position and watched. It was always best to approach prey when they found themselves alone.
Now that he’d waited for her personal pack to whittle down to just her, he hesitated to even introduce himself. The wolf’s urgency remained. It pushed against his iron control. An alpha didn’t stay an alpha if he let his wolf run wild. He’d always kept his beast on a leash. She, whoever and whatever she was, threatened that control.
“Sorry, where are my manners?” the woman said, clicking her tongue before extending her hand. “I’m Fiona.”
“Fiona,” Callum repeated, testing the name.
His fingers twitched to shake her extended hand, but he forced his arm to remain at his side. There were too many unknowns, too many oddities. Some saw weakness in caution, but in business and life, one should learn all they can before committing to a course of action. Callum put a name to the mystery woman’s face … the parts not covered by her mask, at least … but too many questions remained.
What was she, for one?
Even with the scent blocker showered upon each guest in the booth before they entered the mansion, a strong alpha could smell what species a shifter was. But she didn’t give off a hint of her animal nature. It took a powerful shifter to hide from his nose.
For all she hid her nature, the hunter’s block couldn’t keep the rest of her scent from the air. He was aware that her desire grew by the moment. Her eyes fluttered, half hidden by her mask. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.
Their hands met. Callum hadn’t even realized he moved. Fiona sucked in a breath. His wolf rumbled with a barked laugh at the physical sensation of holding his mate. The world sharpened around Callum as he held onto Fiona’s hand.
Only a fool denied reality, and he’d been doing it all night. With that first instinct drawing his attention toward the mystery woman, he should have accepted what it was … to a point. Mating bonds were urges, not commandments. He’d have rejected even the perfect mate if doing so benefited his pack.
Those were only words, though. Standing so close to the woman, his wolf all but howled for him to take her. This was dangerous. She was dangerous. Yet his feet remained planted on the spot. His hand enveloped hers with no inclination of giving ground.
“I’m far from Miss Manners, but I think it is generally accepted to return an introduction,” Fiona said, then gave a lopsided grin. “Though it isn’t like I don’t already know your name, Mr. Powers.”
“Please, call me Callum,” he replied.
“Callum, then.”
Fiona’s eyes darted to their clasped hands but then back to meet his without comment or any attempt to free herself from his grasp. He had every intention to let go then, but his fingers failed to release.
“Is this some sort of cheap alpha-male intimidation technique? The endless handshake?” Fiona giggled.
Callum blinked and pulled his hand away from hers. His skin tingled where they had touched. The inner wolf demanded he take her now. The full moon heat had never hit him this hard before. Was that the power of the mate bond? It terrified and excited him in equal measure.
He scented her desire, sensed it beyond his nose. How had it not overwhelmed her as much as it had him? She must have been powerful. No wonder her very presence delighted his wolf.
“Sorry.” Callum flashed his disarming grin. “No intimidation intended. Just curiosity. I couldn’t place you from any of my previous parties.”
“I’m not the biggest party person,” she replied with a shrug, then glanced down the hallway toward the ballroom. “Kind of a homebody. Don’t get out that much.”
“If you’d like to get away from the party, we could head to my private suite. Nobody would disturb us there.”
“I don’t know,” she said, extending the last syllable as she, again, glanced past him toward the ballroom.
Everything about her confused Callum. Her desire hung heavy in the air. This close to the full moon, sex was on everyone’s mind. That was why he put on the masquerade in thefirst place. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, yet she held back.
“Are you waiting for someone else?”
He hardly kept the growl out of his voice at the thought of it. There could be no one else. If there were, his wolf demanded to rip them to shreds, destroy them completely, and take her. The urge came so suddenly and strongly that he had to brace himself against the beast’s desires.
“Someone else? Hardly.” She shook her head. “I came here with a few girlfriends, that’s all, but we all ended up going our separate ways. I was thinking about them.”
That lethal jealousy faded. Of course, there was nobody else. Who could there have been?
“What did you expect coming to the Full Moon Masquerade?” Callum stepped closer, his body inches from hers. “Tonight is all about pleasure. So, why do you hesitate?”
His fingers brushed up her bare arm, ghosting against her skin. She shivered and sucked in a breath.
The wolf demanded action.Claim her. Make her ours. Take her. She wants us. Needs us.Callum leaned over her. She inched away until her back pressed against the wall. He shook the wolf’s thoughts away.
