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“I hid my scent last night,” the mystery man continued. “But I’m not hiding it today. You can smell it on me, can’t you?”
He was right. My mind was jumping around with the word, my wolf’s side urging me to claim what was mine, but something held me back – a suspicion that there was more to all of this than simply finding my mate.
“Why were you in my room last night?” I demanded.
“You’re my mate.”
I rolled my eyes. He was dancing around the question just as he had last night when I asked who he was.
“That’s not an answer,” I argued.
“Isn’t it?” He smiled at me, the look in his eyes nearly melting my resolve. It wasn’t fair for someone to have this much of an effect on me. Was this how my parents felt with one another? I had never noticed them struggling the way I feel that I am now.
“Why was your scent hidden?” I changed my question.
“Would I have gotten very far into this territory if I hadn’t? Look now, I’m not even close to the packhouse yet and you’ve found me.”
“That’s a good point, Lib,” Brady said. I glared at him for the use of his pet name for me. He only ever used it to annoy me. What better way to annoy me than to take advantage of this awkward situation I was in?
“How do I know that any of this is real? You marked me with your scent hidden, making it impossible for me to know if youare my mate or not. Then you disappear before the sun is over the horizon and reappear with full scent and claiming that we’re mates.”
“What exactly are you accusing me of?” he asked, his smile still in place.
Brady looked between us; his arm still lazily draped over the man’s shoulder. “She seems to be accusing you of faking it.”
“How would I do that?” he asked me.
“How did you hide your scent?” I replied without missing a beat. My accusation was clear. Magic had to have been involved, and magic could easily trick a mate bond.
“Do you scent any magic on me?” he asked before turning to my brother. “You can sense magic. Can you sense any on me?”
“A well-trained witch can hide that,” I argued.
“Try and remove the mark,” Brady cut in.
We both looked at my brother, his arm finally removed from the man’s shoulders as he shrugged and crossed them over his chest. “Can’t fake that. It’s impossible to remove a true mate’s mark, even after death. Have him remove it, and I’ll know if hefakes the attempt. There is a very specific taste of magic to that process.”
Xander didn’t look happy with that suggestion, which only made me want to try it even more.
“Do it,” I demanded.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he argued, shaking his head.
“Or you don’t want to prove me right and reveal that you aren’t my true mate.” I crossed my arms over my chest, puffing it out as I felt pride in proving my suspicions correct.
“No, you are my mate. I’m not tricking you. If I even try to remove the mark, it’s going to feel like a rejection. You are going to feel pain beyond anything you could imagine. I’ve seen it done.”
“You’ve seen a pair of fated mates try to take back their marks? Doubtful.” I scoffed.
“They spent their entire childhood as sworn enemies. He bullied her mercilessly, and she wanted nothing to do with him. After the heat of the bond took control, she was pissed about the marking and forced him to remove it because she didn’t know it was impossible. It’s not a pretty sight.”
“I can help her manage any pains,” Brady jumped in. “She’s not going to believe you, dude. She’s stubborn. Comes with the whole alpha thing.”
I glared at my brother, who only shrugged in response to my look. The man claiming to be my mate let out a defeated sigh before he stepped up to me, placing his hand on my mark.
I felt nothing at first, only the warmth of his hands on my shoulder. The touch stirred memories of our night together. The way I couldn’t get enough of his touch. Even now, I could feel my desire for more of him stirring in my core.
Those memories and desires were stripped away as lightning struck my shoulder. I let out a cry of pain, looking up at the clear blue sky for the signs of the storm; but there was not even a single puffy white cloud in sight.
