Filed to story: The Wolf Prince’s Fated Love
“Who is she?”
“Shay.”
“No, this isn’t Shay. This? This is the hussy who wants to steal your man.”
I froze, anger shooting up my spine like a lick of flame.
“Ahh, I see we struck a nerve. You want to just hand her Kane on a silver platter? She’s coming for you. This bitch wants to knock you on your ass in front of half the wolves in the damn world and humiliate you and then take your mate. Is that what you want?”
“No,” I snarled, surprised at the heat in my words.
“She thinks you’re a weakling. An easy win. Can you believe that? She’s never even met you, but she thinks designation rules all. What do you think, Shay? Does designation mean our Bri-Bri is going to get her pelt shaved in front of everybody that the werecat dragged in?”
Shay shook her head, but didn’t answer. She was intensely focused on me, weight balanced on the balls of her feet and her brows drawn down in concentration.
“See, I disagree. You know what I heard? I heard she wants a public claiming. Can you believe that? It’s not enough she wants to steal him, she wants everybody under the moon to watch him bite her, then, while his fangs are still in her neck, he’ll take her. Right there, with all those witnesses. Because-“
I didn’t hear the reason. Somewhere between the image of Kane’s fangs in someone else’s neck and the idea of her fucking him under the moonlight before my body was even cold, a haze of red descended over my vision.
I charged Shay, running faster than I ever had before. She moved as if to sidestep my frontal assault, but my wolf was riding me hard, her predator’s instincts spotting the evasive maneuver a mile off, and I adjusted just before dropping my shoulder and ramming it straight into Shay’s gut.
She fell like she’d been hit by a Mack truck, not by a slightly chubby she-wolf with chipped nail polish. But I didn’t stop there. I jumped on top of her, grappling with her until I got control of her arms, pinning them overhead. My fangs were bared, the haze urging me to bite, rip, when two arms like steel bands connected around my rib cage, lifting me off her as if I were no bigger than a pup.
“Let me go!” The words weren’t recognizable as mine, there was so much gravel in my tone. “Nobody takes what’s mine! I’ll tear her to shreds!”
“Nobody is going to touch me, mate. Just you. If you’ll ever forgive me for being pigheaded and deign to touch me again, that is. A man can dream.”
My heart hammered in my temples, my throat. My pulse was erratic, violence urging me to ignore him, ignore that honeyed tongue, and finish what I’d started. Nobody threatened my mate, my bond, and lived to try again.
Until he rumbled. The sound was like flipping a light switch, the soothing calm of cool water dousing me, sucking away the red, hazy heat, and leaving me limp. He turned me in his arms, cradling me to his chest. “There she is, my sweet mate. Are you all right? Did Leigh push you too far?”
I shook my head, too busy sucking in deep lungfuls of his scent-Goddess, how I’d missed his particular bouquet of oranges, cinnamon, and male musk. I wanted to bathe in it.
No, I wanted to roll around in the sheets with him until that scent was so far embedded in my skin, it was oozing from my pores. Somewhere around the fourth lungful, realization that I was rubbing up against him like a wolf in heat clicked into place, and I froze. I was still mad at him.
More than mad.
Hurt.
“What are you doing here, Kane? You made it very clear how you feel about all this. And I was very clear in asking you to trust me, which you clearly don’t.”
“I sensed through the pack bond that things were getting… interesting.”
I curled my lip at the vague answer and pinned Gael with an accusatory glare.
“Don’t blame Gael. He can’t keep his thoughts from me when his emotions are high, and his distress at the idea of you killing your friend instead of the true opponent burst through the bond.”
I turned back toward Kane, awareness of our less-than-PG embrace sinking in alongside his words. There was a thick, hot erection pulsing against my inner thigh, my breasts were smashed into his chest, and I was practically high on his scent. If I didn’t put some space between us immediately, I was going to do something I regretted in the morning.
Namely, ride him down to the ground, tear his clothes off with my teeth, and have my way with him right here, regardless of who was standing around watching.
“Put me down, Kane.”
“Baby, you needed me. Shay was in real danger, and I knew you’d never forgive yourself if you actually hurt her.”
“All I need right now is to be standing on my own two feet and to have a mate who doesn’t believe I’m a lost cause and too weak to stand by his side.”
He jerked back as if I’d physically hit him and loosened his grip enough for me to slide down his tantalizing body to the ground.
“Shay, are you okay?” I asked, never letting my eyes leave Kane’s. There was turmoil there, and I sensed we weren’t done with this conversation.
“I’m fine, Bri. But Leigh’s not allowed to talk any more while we spar. I think you cracked a couple of my ribs.”
Leigh snickered from somewhere behind me, not the least bit concerned about taking things too far.
“I could never think you’re a lost cause, Brielle. How could you think that?”
“How could I think that? Are you kidding me? You flat-out said that alphas are supposed to mate with alphas. That I didn’t have a chance at beating her. That doesn’t sound like a lost cause to you?”
He stepped forward, reaching for me again, but I stepped out of reach, jerking my chin up as I stared him down. Awkward when he was so much taller than me.
“I was angry and afraid, and I said things I didn’t mean.” His tone was so even. A small part of me thought I should give in, accept his apology. But the other part of me? The wild part deep down? She wanted to stomp out that train of thought completely. Make him see that we weren’t weak. We were his perfect mates, and that meant we were strong enough for whatever his position, his title, his designation threw at us.
“That’s not how it works, Kane. Deep down, you believed every word you said. When emotions are high, that’s when the truth comes out. You might think you’re okay with me being psi-or even omega-but when the rubber meets the road, you’re not.” He tried to interject, but I held up a hand, and he bit his bottom lip. “You’re not. But you’re wrong about something. My designation isn’t a flaw, it isn’t a problem. It’s who I am, but it’s not all that I am. I can be strong and omega. I can be fierce and protective and fight at your side-and still not be alpha. Because I have so much more deep down than you’ve taken the time to see, Kane. And if this challenge is what it takes to prove that to you, then I’m glad it happened. Because I can’t mate with someone who sees me as weak.”
The muscles in his jaw flexed, and his next words were slow, measured. “Are you rejecting our bond?”
“No. I’m proving that I’m your equal first.”
He stepped forward again, a half step, as if I were a terrified elk calf and he the big bad wolf. “You’re wrong about that, Brielle. You’re not my equal. You’re so much more. You’re kind and intelligent. You treat everyone as if they’re worthwhile. You’re stunningly beautiful. And you… you’re my other half. The one my wolf has chosen. And I’m so sorry that I made you feel less than. It was never my intention. I wanted to protect you, keep you safe at my side. I never meant to put you into danger.”
His eyes were anguished as he continued. “I’m the one who’s supposed to take all the danger, be the protector, your safe space. The fact that this she-wolf is challenging you simply because you’re my mate…”