He looked at her skeptically. “Not from Encantado, are you?” So, he hadn’t had time to find out much about her.
“No, so I’m really, completely, unsuitable.”
“Nice try. I like how you keep trying to fight this. Do you know what happens when prey runs from a predator?”
She stared up at him, trying to speak, but the words dried up in her throat.
When prey runs from a predator, the predator gives chase.
Suddenly, unexpectedly, he leaned in and kissed her. She definitely was going to slap the hell out of him for taking liberties – but then somehow she forgot to fight back.
His lips were soft as pillows, and her own lips parted in surprise. He tasted like mint as his tongue probed her mouth, swirling gently in an intimate dance. He cradled the back of her head gently and the kiss went on and on, and she melted like taffy under his heat.
And then he let go and stepped away.
She stood there, astonished.
That’s it? He wasn’t going to throw her over his shoulder and haul her off to his wolf-cave, or wherever he lived?
He winked at her, turned and walked off. She stared after him, reluctantly admiring the view and wondering why she didn’t feel more relieved. He’d let her go. Her map-sense told her that the obstacles between her and home had vanished, leaving a clear path.
Did “mate” mean something entirely different than she thought?
Whatever. She waited a couple of minutes to be sure he was gone, and then retrieved her bicycle from where it was chained up in front of Kalinda’s office. She raced through the streets as if the hounds of hell were on her heels. Which they well might be; she kept glancing behind her to check. Her butt still throbbed with every step. When would it stop?
As she pulled up in front of her building, the stink of sun-heated trash flooded her nostrils, and rats scampered across the street, unafraid. She was almost tempted to say yes to Dominic’s – er, proposal? demands? – just so she could ask him to have the Blood Oath pack do their damned job. But no, she wasn’t going to make a lifelong commitment just to get someone to take out the trash.
Also she was pretty sure that her future husband-slash-mate, ha ha, had just abandoned her anyway. He came on all strong, kissed her stupid – and then walked away. Maybe he didn’t like the way she kissed - which kind of stung, but also meant that she was free. So – that was good news, right?
But he’d mentioned something about her being his mate 30 days from now. So, what was going on? Was he going to try to claim her, or was he giving up on the whole idea completely? Nothing made sense.
She was afraid to go to her apartment, in case there was a Blood Oath squad there ready to ambush here. But after a night without sleep she was so tired that if she didn’t take a nap soon, she’d fall asleep on her feet. When she got home, she sank down onto her couch, bleary with exhaustion, and fell asleep with the memory of Dominic’s lips pressing on hers, so strong and firm it was as if he was there beside her.
Chapter Three
A few hours after his meeting with Zoey, Dominic was summoned to the Arena to meet up with Arturo. The Arena was owned by the Blood Oath pack, and it had a casino, magic shows, and musical acts.
It was best known, though, for its no holds barred cage fighting between shifters of all species. Dominic fought there sometimes, when his wolf was too restless and howled for release. Well, he fought there until he was banned because it took too many referees to haul him off his opponents, and it took the med-mages too long to heal them.
Also nobody wanted to fight with him these days. Pussies.
He and Romano walked through the casino floor, where slot machines ka-chinged, waiters glided by with trays of free drinks, and gorgeous half naked men and women in gilded cages shifted from animal form to human form for an audience of dazzled non-magics.
Romano trotted along at Dominic’s side, ever so slightly behind him. It was a pack hierarchy thing. The higher in rank walked in front.
Romano had worked directly with Dominic since shortly after Dominic had turned. He seemed to think he owed Dominic his life, which was technically true.
There had been a magic flare-up, which happened from time to time at random. Romano and Dominic had been doing their weekend of monthly guard duty service, required of all Warrior class wolf shifters, when trolls came swarming through. Trolls were a particularly scary lot, because they were both cunning and vicious, unlike ghouls or ogres, who were just mindless killing machines.
They’d overwhelmed the guards and managed to drag Romano halfway through when Dominic lunged in and dragged him back out. He still had flashbacks; so did Romano. The portal opened to the Chaos Realm. Being in the Chaos Realm scrambled people’s heads, to the point where being trapped in there too long meant incurable madness. Something had burned Romano’s face when he was in there, scarring him and leaving him a permanent reminder of how close he’d come to madness.
Ever since that day, Romano had stuck to Dominic like a burr on a wolf’s tail, and was far, far more loyal to him than Dominic deserved.
The two men strode past the guards who flanked Arturo’s office. The guards acknowledged them with a slight nod.
Arturo’s sprawling office was where he conducted most of his business. Gilt-framed oil paintings of wolves adorned the walls, and on the left side of the room of the room was Arturo’s hand-carved mahogany desk. Behind it were wall to ceiling bookcases with sliding ladders.
A door at the far end of the room led to Arturo’s bedroom, Dominic knew. Arturo often entertained female company there – strictly to satisfy his animal needs. Werewolves were a lustful bunch, and until they committed to a mate, they were quite free with their affections.
