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Okay, then. I wasn’t expecting that.
Shaking my head, “Well, Gretchen and two of her goons wanted to drain me because I was a shifter, and if it wasn’t for Aleks coming along when he did, they might’ve. Don’t know if you notice, but shifters aren’t very popular in Muncie. So, yeah. Aleks gave me his fang to show everyone else that I was under his protection. Plus, it has a charm in it that covers my scent so no one else knows what I am. They think I’m human, and I’m okay with that.”
“You can’t mean that.”
“Why not? It’s no different than pretending to be an omega,” I toss back. “I had to do that for more than twenty-five years, Ryker. A year as a human? That’s nothing.”
“You’re an alpha,” he tells me. Like I forgot. “You should be proud of that.”
I am proud. But I’m also not going to let the truth of my ranking be a death sentence or, even worse, a jail sentence in a loveless mating.
I tap the bulge beneath my shirt. “This fang protects me so that I can hide in plain sight. For the first time in my life, I can live like an alpha. I know I’m a shifter. That’s all that counts. Let the other supes and humans think what they want. I don’t give a shit. I’m finally free.”
Ryker leans forward, clasping his hands, letting them swing in the gap left between his braced feet. Cocking his head slightly, his amber eyes shining on me like a pair of high breams, he says, “Because of that fang?”
“Yes.”
“I asked you if you knew that he loved you. Did you also know that he’s marked you?”
“Don’t start—”
“I’m not. If anything, I’m here to finish this. He marked you without telling you, sweetheart.”
An accusation like that is rich coming from him.
“What about you? Pissing in front of Charlie’s? Breaking into my apartment? Sleeping on my balcony? Claiming me in front of everyone I know in the city? What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m being an alpha,” he says simply. “You know that. Just like you know, whether you want to admit it to yourself or not, that I’ll never force you. I’ll never use my rank to overrule you. It’s your choice. I won’t make it for you. But by giving you that fang, making every vamp you encounter believe you belong to him, he has.”
No.
A mate gets to choose.
Fate has a say, sure, but in the end both mates have to choose. That’s where me and Ryker went wrong last time.
I chose him.
He chose Trish.
And here we are.
But Aleks...
“You don’t know that.”
“I don’t? I’m sure he’s told you that I met with Zakharov. He’s the Alpha of these parasites. I told him you were my mate, that I’m here to convince you. I could already sense that other bloodsucker using his fang to mark you. But the head parasite told me what it really means. Filan’s keeping you from me because he wants you for himself. And, by wearing that fang, you’re agreeing to it. You’re his fucking intended, Gemma, when you’re already mine.”
“No, I’m not.” It’s a knee-jerk reaction. “Not yours. Definitely not Aleks’s. It’s just a necklace, Ryker.”
“Yeah? And who told you that? You have a sit-down with Zakharov, too?”
Me and Roman? Of course not. I’ve actually never met the leader of the Cadre. It was always Aleks who stood between us—
“Aleks. Aleks told me.”
Ryker gives me another disbelieving look. “Oh. Right. I’m sorry. I forgot that the vamp who’s actively trying to steal you away from me might be a trustworthy source. Of course he wouldn’t lie to you.”
He doesn’t lie to me.
