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“Tasha.” Paxton barks out my name again. There’s something about the way he says my name, like he knows me, that heightens the sense of danger. I’m certain I’ve never met this man before in my life.
I suddenly remember what Mason said before Paxton showed up. “Squash!” And then, as if he somehow might not have heard me the first time, I shout, “Squash! Squash!”
Mason curses softly under his breath, but then true to his word, he hurries to lead me away. Away from the expectant stranger and back to the safety of the pack house.
4
Paxton
“Fuck.” I slink through the trees, putting as much distance between myself and my unwitting mate as I can. “Fuck!” My voice gets louder as I get further away from the Sovereign Pack and the risk that someone might hear me.
This isn’t how I expected things to go. Tasha was supposed to take one look at me and feel that familiar pull of a mate bond. As a wolf that’s had it once before, how could she look at me and not feel even the slightest spark of recognition?
She looked at me like a stranger. And worse, like I had Mason lure her out there to hurt her or something.
Why didn’t she feel it?
Go back and claim her.My wolf isn’t rational. He doesn’t care that we’ve just been snubbed. As far as he’s concerned, there’s one easy fix.She can’t run from us if we mark her.
It’s tempting. I’ve already waited so damn long to get to my mate, and now I’ve blown our first face-to-face meeting. I expected it to be easy. Effortless. Instant. I didn’t expect her to look at me like I’m some kind of monster. She’s not supposed to look at me the way shifters look at me when they’re gearing up for a fight.
I’ve heard the stories about what happens to wolves who never get to mark their mate. It weakens them. Keeps them from reaching their full potential.
“This is bullshit.”
“Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing.” Mason materializes behind me, giving me a hard shove. “Quinn would never have sent me to help you if she knew about this.”
“Knew about what?” As far as I’m concerned, this can’t be more than a minor setback. She’s my mate for fuck’s sake.
“That your whole story was bullshit. What do you really want with that poor woman?” The way Mason narrows his eyes at me is almost laughable. I’m tempted to return his shove and remind him I could easily kick his ass if I wanted to, but I’m not keen to piss off Cupid’s Pack.
He thinks we’re lying about our mate.“I didn’t lie about anything. Tasha Jarreau is my mate.”
“No. That was not the reaction of someone facing their mate. I would know.” He gets a smug look on his face. Mason has a reputation for being the kinder of Quinn’s guards, but it’s hard to see it right now. He’s adding insult to fucking injury.
“Tasha is my mate.” A low warning growl slips out to punctuate the words.
“Well apparently someone forgot to tell her.” Mason shakes his head. “What is this really? You got a crush and making it out to be something more than it is?” The muscles in his face twitch, his mouth sinking down. He knows as well as I do it doesn’t work that way.
A wolf knows their mate. If I know Tasha is mine, but she doesn’t know I’m hers… Something is very, very wrong. Fate doesn’t make mistakes.
I feel like someone threw a mean right hook into my gut.
“Take me back to Quinn. Maybe she’ll have an explanation.” Not likely. I’ve heard of wolves rejecting their mates, but never one outright denying the mate bond. Even a rejection would be more merciful than Tasha’s blank stare.
Mason shakes his head. “We have travel plans as soon as I return.”
“But—“
“No.” He cuts me off sharply. “Quinn rarely gets to go anywhere. If you show up, she’ll feel obligated to stay and fix it. You’re not taking this from her.”
It seems to me like there’s a lot more to the story, but I don’t care enough to ask for the details. I’m still tempted to insist. The whole reason Cupid’s Pack exists is to mediate issues between mates and the unmated.
But I’m not stupid. I could beat the shit out of any of Quinn’s mates one-on-one or maybe even two-on-one, but there’s no way I’m taking all of them alone.
Plus, I’m not exactly in a position to piss off Cupid’s Pack. If it’s this hard to get face time with my mate, I’m not looking forward to what it might look like trying to put my mark on her.
Which we need to do soon. The sooner the better. Now would be good, for instance.My wolf is fighting against all my instincts that tell me swooping into the Sovereign Pack and taking what’s mine isn’t the most well thought out plan.
