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His flat stare wordlessly reprimanded me for being a brat, but I decided my inner brat had a lot to feel pissed off about, and I refused to feel guilt.
“I’ll ask again, how many mates have you met?” He saw my frown and clarified. “Not partners but mates.”
“I don’t understand.” Turning to face him properly, I considered the question. “I mean, there’s Bale and the twin’s mother, Claire. Um…there’s Doug and his wife, and?—”
“Not wife. Not husbands. Not partners. I told you that. How many are mated? Actual mates.” He saw me struggling, and he sat forward. “Mates are rare. Anyone, any pack member can be married and call each other mate, but to be mated, true mates are said to be selected by Luna herself.” I hadn’t realized I’d leaned forward until he reached out and pushed my hair behind my ear. “True mates are a gift from Luna for her alphas. Her pack leaders.”
“That’s not true.” Jerking my head back, I got up and moved away from him. Kris knew Cass was his. “That’s some superior alpha bullshit or something.”
Cannon laughed at me as he leaned back. “Really? And you know this how?”
“Kris.” I started to pace, my fingers rubbing my temples. “My brother, Kris.” Looking up at him, Cannon still looked unconcerned, and I opted not to share about my brother. The less this alpha knew of my pack or my brother, the better I would feel. “He never mentioned this.”
Cannon drew up his knee, resting his arm across it, his chin dropping onto it as he watched me pace frantically while he remained the epitome of calm and collected. “Mm-hmm?” His tone was lazy, and his upper lip was curled in the semblance of a smile. “You’re right…your brother never having mentioned it is why I’m wrong. You convinced me,” he deadpanned.
“Don’t be an insufferable dick,” I grouched at him, making him smile fully, and I turned my head so he wouldn’t see me fighting my smile. “Does Luna also tell alphas to shoot their mates with silver?” When I looked back, he’d lost his smile. “Thought not.” I sat back on the cot.
“Mates, true mates”—he had turned serious again, but his posture was still relaxed—“they cannot fight the pull to one another. Luna picks her alphas. You at least agree with that, right?” I nodded without making eye contact. “Alphas are selected for their strength and ability to lead, provide, and protect the pack.” He must have seen my eye roll because he was grinning again. “An alpha also needs a strong female who will balance them,” he added. “A mate who will compliment her alpha’s strengths as much as she nurtures and cares for their young and the pack.”
I was frowning, and he reached out, his fingers grazing my arm. “What is it?”
“You keep saying alpha, like only an alpha can have a true mate.”
“They can,” he said easily. “Not everyone gets their mate, but from what we know, and I’ve searched for the last few months, it’s more likely to happen to an alpha. We can find no record of it happening to a beta or any other pack member. An alpha has a mate.”
Chewing my bottom lip as I looked down at my hands, I thought of what Kris said to me when he let me go. Cass is my mate. I thought he meant fireworks and destiny and all that shit, but had he just meant that Cass was the one he wanted to be with? He let me go alone because he had a crush?
“Kezia?”
I jerked my head up to look at him. “You’ve been searching about true mates?” I asked instead of admitting the hurt I had at my brother’s deception. “You’ve been trying to find out if you can break it?”
Cannon lost his casualness, leaning back, his face once more a mask. “Yes.”
I nodded, surprised that his admission hurt too. “I understand.”
“It wasn’t personal.”
“Feels very fucking personal,” I snapped angrily, frustrated with myself for showing him any emotion. “So how does it work? Let me guess, a silver bullet?” I was on my feet again, putting distance between us. Well, as much distance as I could in my cell.
“How many times do we need to talk about that?” he asked, getting to his feet, his irritation showing.
“Hmm?” I pretended to think about it. “Until you say sorry and mean it?”
“I said sorry, and I meant it.”
I looked him up and down as he stood a few feet away. “And yet I don’t believe you. Shocking.” Turning away from him, I faced the sheet that separated my cell from the toilet. “I don’t believe anything you say. This shit included.”
I felt him step up behind me, his warmth surrounded me, and his touch caused me to jump as his hands skimmed down my arms. I felt goose bumps erupt wherever he touched me, and my throat was suddenly dry. I stood frozen as he pushed my hair aside and gathered it over one shoulder, leaving my neck and throat exposed.
I swallowed hard when his fingers traced over the scar I had at the base of my skull, his lips pressed against my shoulder.
“Do you feel that?” he whispered against my skin.
I could feel him, every inch of him, behind me, pressing into me. Cannon’s tongue flicked out, and he licked right under my ear. My legs turned to jelly.
“Do you feel it?” he spoke to me, desire tightening his voice with need. His nose skimmed my jawline. “Your body is burning, your nerves are strung too tight, and you feel like you’re going to snap.” Soft kisses were peppered down my throat, along my collarbone. I heard my moan, and so did Cannon, his arm wrapping around my waist and pulling me into him tightly. “Do you feel how fucking hard I am for you?”
My ass ground against him, and it was his turn to groan.
