Chapter 1

Nathan

This was a terrible idea. The worst.

Whatever is driving my wolf crazy hasn’t been helped at all by the vigorous workout I enjoyed last night with the delightful Faye. A peppy little blonde with an eagerness to please and no expectations. She’s a fun bedtime companion when I want to blow off some steam. Normally.

Last night, though, my wolf didn’t want to be anywhere near her. Every time she touched me, he recoiled, refusing to take part because she wasn’t my mate. For years, we’ve had a mutual agreement that finding our mate wasn’t the be all and end all, and that we’d live our life to the fullest.

It appears he’s had a change of heart.

Try as I might, I couldn’t muster the enthusiasm for doing the deed itself, and so I resorted to doing what any self-respecting alpha wolf would do. I lied and said I wanted to make last night all about her.

Except now, that has backfired spectacularly because this little she-wolf that I lavished with attention now seems to think something has shifted and we’re more than just friends with benefits.

Fuck my life.

Maybe everyone is right, and I’m too old for this shit. I need to take a break from the ladies, get my head screwed back on straight, and take a holiday. The last six months have been awful, actually make that a year, and my three siblings all finding their mates has clearly made my wolf a die-hard romantic. I'll have to go for a run later and have a quiet word with him. In the meantime, I have to let Faye down gently and end our arrangement. This mess is my fault, after all.

Pulling on jeans and a t-shirt, I move barefoot to my apartment door, not so subtly glancing at my watch and waiting for Faye to put on her shoes. She’s moving at a snail’s pace, eyeing up her surroundings like she’s already trying to work out where her furniture will fit. My usually calm temperament is being tested as she stands slowly and sashays toward me seductively. She even took the time to put back on the red lipstick that looked sexy as hell in the bar last night but jars now in the cold light of day. She really is in no hurry to leave. Why did I bring her back here? Of course, she got the wrong idea.

“Look, I’m sorry to rush you, but I’ve got a meeting to go to and I need to be on the road…” I explain, pulling open the door and standing to the side to let her out past me. She pauses in front of me and leans in close, her perfume irritating my sensitive nose and her proximity making me squirm. I just want her out of my space.

“That’s ok. After last night, you don’t need to apol-…”

I don’t hear a word she says after that. My wolf howls in my head as he picks up the most amazing scent and every cell in my body stands to attention.

Where is that coming from?

All of my senses zero in on the source as my gaze lands squarely on the exquisite beauty standing on the landing across from me, separated by the banisters and open space of the staircase. My sister Leila chats away to her like they’re old friends, and I can’t believe what I’m seeing.

My fated mate is right here in my home.

Her sleek, glossy black hair shimmers as she laughs, and her beautiful smile takes my breath away. I take a step towards her without realising. The need to get close to her, to touch her, and smell her, is overwhelming. Now I understand what all the fuss is about. What do I do now? I want to go over and grab her, throw her over my shoulder and take her away from everyone else, but she still hasn’t acknowledged my presence. Her scent is so strong now that it’s making my head spin and my cock swell. She must know I’m here.

“Nathan? Nathan!” A sharp, whiny voice interrupts my thoughts, and I blink down at Faye, who is still standing in my doorway. Her red lips are twisted in a sulky pout. She frowns, growing annoyed as I continue to ignore her and focus back on the perfect creature across from me. Then the reality of the situation hits me like a sledgehammer.

Oh goddess, no. Not now.

“So, are we going to do this again?” Faye asks, raising her hand to place it in the middle of my chest, but I catch her wrist before she touches me and hold it away from my body. I can’t have another woman’s hands on me when I meet my mate.

“I don’t think so, Faye,” I whisper, trying to step back into my apartment, alone, and hide. Maybe if I can get inside, I can buy myself enough time to get showered and then engineer a better first meeting with my mate. This explains why my wolf was being such a pain. He must have sensed she was close by.

The sound of my voice seems to draw my little mate’s attention, and she turns, meeting my gaze instantly. Time stops as we both stare at each other across the open space. She ignores Leila while I tune out whatever Faye is trying to say to me. Her eyes twinkle and she smiles softly at me. The air feels electric as our connection sizzles across the space between us, and I grin back in awe.

I feel like a king, but only for a second.

Because her gaze now moves to the woman blowing me a kiss over her shoulder as she struts off down the hallway, dressed in the clothes that she clearly wore last night.

I think I might be sick.

Holding my breath, I wait to see what her reaction will be. Fury. Jealousy. I expect her to scream bloody murder at me in front of the entire pack. She’s entitled to be hurt and angry. We’ve only just crossed paths, but I already know I’d burn down the world if I saw another man sneaking out of her room right now.

My brothers weren’t messing. This mate bond is something else.

Instead, though, she does the opposite. Letting her gaze come back to rest on me, she gives me a quick once over before letting her attention drift past me as she continues to take in her surroundings. That one look, and her cool expression, are like a dagger to my heart as she dismisses me completely. My black-haired beauty turns back to Leila, smiling warmly at her and touching her on the arm as they share a joke. Her relaxed laughter fills the air as she follows Leila into her old apartment, closing the door behind them without giving me a second glance.

What the hell?

Slumping against the doorframe, I bury my face in my hands and curse. I want to go over there and burst in, hating the door for blocking my view of her perfect face, but what am I going to say or do? My skin crawls with the need to go to her, but I grit my teeth and force myself to think before I act for once. Begging your mate for forgiveness while covered in another woman’s scent isn’t a good look, and it’s certainly not going to help me win her over. She’s clearly pissed but is far too classy to ream me out of it in front of strangers.

FUCK.

I slam the door shut and thump the back of it in frustration before heading to the bathroom. Turning the shower up to scalding hot, I try to scrub myself clean of all the women who’ve gone before and the guilt that’s burned into my soul. How am I ever going to recover from this? When my brother Rex messed up with his mate, I told him to grovel like he’d never grovelled before.

I’m going to need to take my own advice.