Page 67 of Fake It ’Til You Mate It

Some of them are in their skin. Some in their fur. From what I can see, they’re all mature shifters in the prime of their life; no gammas, no pups.

I don’t know who they seem more surprised to see: an opossum shifter standing between the Alpha and the Beta, or the unconscious fair-haired wolf at Max’s feet. I’d say it’s pretty evenly split, but before I could really get a gauge of what’s going on here, Riordan looked at Max, a question in his expression.

Max nodded.

Riordan raised his voice. “The wolves of the Moonshadow Pack have gathered. They’ve answered their Alpha’s call. But we have another who believes he should rule.”

Showing off how strong he is, Riordan squats down, careful not to muss his shiny shoes or wrinkle his pants. I can only imagine how much Leo must weigh, unconscious as he is, but Riordan lifts him up easily. He carries him about ten feet away from Max, dropping him back to the dirt before rejoining his brother and me.

“Now… show respect to your Alpha.”

It’s a command. Just like when Riordan told me to ‘play dead’, he’s used his curse to his advantage. I’ve experienced the weight of his order. There is no way to refuse.

As one, every single shifter—in their fur, in their skin if they shifted back, or in the clothes they were wearing when they got called out—goes down on one knee.

A majority of the wolves genuflect in the clear direction of Max. But there are some… nine, maybe ten… who turn toward Leo’s body as they lower themselves to the dirt.

I gasp.

Max nods at Riordan again.

“If you pledged loyalty to the traitor… if you would have followed Leo Holloway to the ends of his insanity… stay where you are. Everyone else, rise.”

I wince this time. At least three others wolves stay down. It’s still a small number. Maybe twelve out of a hundred, but even one betrayal is like a dagger to Max’s chest.

Not that you could tell from his flat expression.

“Honey.” His voice is gentle, but strong as he addresses me. The sudden wariness trickling down our bond clues me in to how Max is really feeling. “You don’t have to be here for this if you don’t want to. Riordan can bring you back to the cabin.”

“I’d be honored to, Alpha,” Riordan calls out, making it absolutely clear where his loyalty lies.

He might have been born to be an Alpha. The curse might have taken it from him. Unlike Leo, he didn’t grow feral and twisted with hate. He didn’t try to overthrow the Alpha of the Moonshadow Pack without even giving Max the decency of trying to challenge him first.

No. Leo turned to murder while—and maybe I’m biased now—Riordan has become the best damn Beta ever.

He moves near me, keeping his distance because, well, the big male isn’t my mate.

Max doesn’t shift an inch, though I can sense how badly he wants to wrap me up in his arms and hold me close, shielding me from the realities of our supernatural world.

He’s a predator. I knew that going into this. As the sheriff, he needed proof that he caught the supe who killed Declan Rowe and Abigail Cloverfield. As Alpha, he needed to make an example of them so that the pack could have justice.

And he’s terrified that I’ll see this side of him and suddenly change my mind about being his mate.

Never gonna happen.

I scamper over to him. Going up on my tiptoes, resting my hand possessively on his shoulder, I grab his jaw with the other one. I tug Max toward me and, with all of the packmates gathered acting as witness, I kiss him.

You could hear a pin drop.

I grin against his lips, squeezing his trap as I pull back, dropping to my feet.

“I love you, Max,” I tell him, and though the kiss was for the pack’s benefit, the words belong to my Alpha. “I’ll be waiting for you at the cabin when you’re done.”

He’s a predator, but he’s mine, and that’s all that matters now.

EPILOGUE

Does this mean a sibling for Gus?