His Forgotten Mate

by Giovanna Reaves

  Maverick stopped talking and looked at his brothers, each wore a confused look on their faces.

  "Let me get this straight," Misha said. "You went from being in a bar to waking up in a hotel alone and mated?"

  "Yeah," Maverick answered.

  "And you can't remember anything else in between?" Marcus asked. "Nothing about what your mate looks like?"

  "All I know he has black hair and black eyes."

  "That could be anybody," Marius added.

  "Do you think the bartender slipped you something?" Matthus asked him.

  "I thought about that, but I was watching him pour my glasses," Maverick told him.

  "Have you gone back to Chuck's and talked with the bartender or the owner to see if they noticed anything strange after you left?" Misha piped up.

  "What do you take me for, an idiot?" He scoffed. "Of course, I did. According to the bartender, he did not see me leave the bar. He went home after he got the manager since I was the last customer. But I remembered there were more people in the bar. I still have not been able to talk with the owner. I went back for information, but he was on a business trip."

  "Do you remember what your mate smells like?" Misha asked him.

  "Caramel and chocolates."

  The room got silent again—Maverick lost in his own thoughts. I need to find my mate.

  "All right, I'm going to say it if the others won't," Matthus said.

  "Have we ever stopped you from speaking your mind?" Maverick snapped.

  "Don't get pissy with me because your damn mate did a hit and run," Matthus argued back.

  Maverick would have gotten angry at Matthus if it wasn't true and if his other brothers hadn’t started chuckling.

  "Hit and run. Seriously, Mat?" Marius said between chuckles.

  "Well, it's the truth," Matthus defended.

  "You're an asshole. You know that, right?" Maverick told him then smiled.

  "I'm sorry it came out the way it sounded." Matthus stood and ran his hands through his hair. "It's just what guy would do that? It's pissing me off thinking of what you've been going through for the past few months."

  "It hasn't been easy," Maverick admitted.

  "What do we know about the bar?" Misha asked. "I mean, we knew Chuck was human. But his mate was a leopard shifter. What if they sold the bar to another paranormal?"

  "That could be a possibility," Marcus said.

  Maverick groaned and covered his face. "I thought of that too and got in touch with Chuck, asking him to tell me about the new owner. All he'll tell me is it was a nice guy who bought the bar and gave him more money than it was worth. And before you ask, I hired a PI who couldn't find a damn thing."

  "So, it has to be a supernatural then," Marius said.

  "It's the only explanation I can come up with, but what kind? Feys hate the way our kind smell, and we see the window dressing. All beauty and dreamers. Vampires wouldn't be caught dead being with one of us. Do I need to go down the list?"

  "No need," Misha said.

  Maverick went to speak but stopped when the most enticing scent reached his nose.

  Caramel and chocolates.

  "It can't be."

  Maverick got up from his desk and hurried over to his door, pulling it open. He gasped as the person turned to face him—long raven hair with matching ink-black eyes.

  "It's…"

  "How could you fucking do this to me?" the guy yelled, stopping whatever else Maverick was going to say.

  Maverick couldn't speak, he couldn't take his eyes off the man. He wasn't tall but not too short. Even with anger written all over his handsome face, Maverick could envision the man in the throes of passion—begging Maverick to fuck him. Maverick’s cock got so hard it became unbearable in a short time. His gazed up and down the man's body. The soft and hard ridges of his skin. The way he smelled and the way his eyes burned with passion. And then it hit him.

  "Mister Silver, is there something we need to discuss?" Matthus asked from behind him.

  "It's you," he blurted out. He could feel himself getting angry even in his aroused state.

  "What the hell is going on?" Marius asked.

  Maverick and the other man didn't respond to his brother's questions, and they kept staring at each other.

  C. A. Silver as in the CEO of the company we just bought? Holy shit.

  "What are you? And how did you erase my memory," he growled.

  Maverick realized he should take the conversation into his office and not out in the open where everyone was watching, but he needed to know what happened that night.

  "Because you were only supposed to be a one-night stand, and now I'm fucking pregnant!"

  "Pregnant," Maverick said in shock. "What the hell do you mean by pregnant?"

  "Do you need me to explain it to you,” Silver growled. “You knocked me up. I’m up the duff. I’m with child. I have a bun in my damn oven. I’m fucking preggers...”

  "Enough!" Maverick yelled. "I know what pregnant means." He took a few short breaths and stepped back. "Do you mind if we speak in private?"

  He could tell that Silver didn't want to step foot into his office but realized they couldn't have their screaming match in front of everyone. He sighed when the other man walked into his office. Maverick looked out at his employees.

  "Get the fuck back to work or you're all fired," he snapped. He almost chuckled when they all scurried around, trying to get away from him.

  "Guys, can you give Mister Silver and me some time to talk things out?"

  "Yeah, sure," Matthus said, looking at both him and Silver, who was standing by the window with his back turned. "Come on, guys. Let’s give them some space."

  "Welcome to the family, I think," Misha said before he walked out of the door followed by the others.

  Before closing the door, Maverick looked at his assistant, who he knew had lots of questions. "Bailey, make sure I'm not interrupted." He didn't wait for her to respond and closed the door. "Now that we are alone and before we address that you're pregnant with my child, answer my damn question. Why did you erase my memory?"

  Chapter Two

  Alexis

  Alexis Silver glared at the handsome but angry werewolf standing in front of him.

  He looked the same as he had the night they’d met. Maverick Knox was tall, muscular, with dark blond hair and the lightest blue eyes Alexis had ever seen. His eyes were the first thing that had caught Alexis's attention. Alexis had bought Chuck’s a few months ago on a whim, making changes to the place to give it a more elegant but comfortable atmosphere.

  On the night he’d met Maverick, he’d been checking on his investment. He’d been in the manager’s office looking over paperwork when James the bartender had told him a customer wanted to find out where they got their signature whiskey from.

  He’d known James had been cleaning up and had been ready to knock off for the night. Alexis had told him he’d speak with the customer. Seeing Maverick sitting by the bar had Alexis’s mind going blank for a few moments. It had taken him a few seconds to collect himself before he’d approached the handsome man.

  Maverick had looked at him and their connection and attraction had been instant. They’d started up a conversation. Maverick had told him he’d had a fucked-up day and Alexis had given him another drink on the house while he’d listened to him complain. One drink had turned into two, accompanied by more talking, dancing, and kissing.

  He’d had no idea when James left, but he hadn’t cared. He’d been more focused on the man tightly holding him in his arms. He and Maverick had stayed in the empty bar gazing affectionately into each other’s eyes. He remembered they hadn’t been able to keep their hands or lips off each other.

  Alexis had been so caught up in the romantic moment that he hadn't realized his heat had coming on the more they’d danced and drank. The word mate hadn’t even cross his mind while they were together. All he’d kept thinking was how soon could he get the man to fuck him deep, sending
him into the afterlife.

  Sometime during the night, they’d moved their dancing to the hotel, and Maverick had made love to him. It hadn’t been hurried and without passion as he was hoping. It had been better, making him feel treasured. The emotion should have scared him then, but he’d yearned for more while they were together. He’d been so caught up in a haze of lust, he hadn't realized what had happened until he woke up the next morning.

  They’d been mated.

  He hadn’t been ready to deal with the whole mates thing and had gotten out there as soon as possible. To cover his tracks, Alexis had erased Maverick's memory of them ever meeting. It had been wrong of him to do, but he couldn’t have the werewolf remembering they were mates. Alexis didn’t want a mate. He didn’t want to be tied down to anyone, not when he still had a lot of life to live. His kind were free-loving and thinking people who indulge in their carnal desires. There was no such thing as limitations for a single warlock or witch.

  Well, until we find our mate.

  Commitment to the one or ones they were mated to was important to his kind.

  His freak out about being mates had been mild compared to what had happened when he’d found out his was pregnant.

  Alexis came from a long line of powerful warlocks and witches. So powerful they did not need wands or a trinket to center their magic. He simply needed to say the summoning words and his spells would work. There was still some magic he struggled to perform, but there was always a way around it. His parents were the high priest and priestess of their clan.

  Alexis had an older brother, Cullen, who was one year older than him and a sister, who was two years younger. He and his siblings were sometimes referred to as the Silver triplets because of how close they were, even though they sometimes got on each other’s nerves. When he’d told his brother he'd bought Chuck’s, Cullen had shook his head and said to him that his spontaneous actions were going to get him in trouble one day.

  Fuck, he was right. I seriously fucked up this time.

  Alexis turned away from Maverick, hating the anger he saw in the man's eyes.

  He closed his eyes, remembering how sexy Maverick had looked that night. Alexis knew Maverick was a werewolf. It was easy to tell who shifters were being a Supernatural. His kind was an exception. Many believed warlocks and witches used magic to hide themselves from other shifters. But magic had nothing to do with it.

  Warlocks and witches were humans blessed with powers from the gods and nothing else. Some were born stronger than most. Alexis and his brother had each been expected to become the next priest over their clan, but they’d declined. They’d wanted to do something else with their lives. Cassandra, their sister, had been more than happy to take their place.

  Alexis and Cullen started C. A. Silver after they’d been in the workforce for a couple of years. They'd gotten tired of working for other people and wanted to strike out on their own.

  Cullen had obtained his degree in business, while Alexis got his into information technology and engineering. Things were going great for them for a couple of years before they’d started getting noticed by more prominent and more influential companies like Knox Corp. who seemed to own everything they touched.

  And now me.

  When Cullen came to him about the deal of becoming a part of the Knox Corp. family, Alexis had laughed until his stomach hurt. He was flat out against the idea. Alexis hadn't seen the reason.

  Their company was small, but it was thriving and brought in more profit than most of the start-up companies. Most of the other companies went under unable to make a profit. For months, they’d brought deal after deal to Cullen who was more receptive to the idea than Alexis was.

  “Why do you want to sell our company off so badly?” Alexis asked his brother. “I’m not down with the idea of working for someone else again.”

  “Because it’s time. It’s time for us to do something new,” Cullen explained. “And I never said we’re going to work for anyone. This is the perfect opportunity for us to do whatever the fuck we want to do, with the money we’ll make by selling the company.”

  “I don’t want to do anything new. I’m doing whatever I want now. Why change things up.” Alexis wasn’t sure what was up with his brother.

  “Then buy me out,” Cullen told him.

  “You know I don’t have enough to buy you out.” Alexis tsked shaking his head. “I’m not selling C. A. Silver. Not when we’re moving up to the top.”

  “Gods, you’re so fucking stubborn.” Cullen huffed. “Six months.”

  “Six months for what?”

  “I’m giving you six months to buy me out,” Cullen said. “But if Knox Corp. or any other company puts a new offer on the table, we’re taking it.”

  “Whatever,” Alexis harrumphed.

  Alexis had stood true to his word and even though it was approaching the six months deadline, he had no plans to sell his company. Until it all came crashing down on him.

  Pregnant and mated to the president of Knox Corp. How the fuck do I always get myself into stupid situations? I'm not even ready to be mated or have kids.

  The strange thing was, Alexis hadn’t realized he’d spent the night with Maverick Knox. The man had introduced himself as “Mav” and nothing else. He’d called himself an idiot a thousand times after he’d found out who Maverick Knox was. When he found out that he was pregnant, he’d gone to Cullen and told him everything that happened.

  According to his brother, it was fate intervening and setting things right. He had no choice but to give in when Cullen brought him the new deal Knox Corp. had offered them. He hadn’t planned on showing up to the meeting with Cullen, because he didn’t want to see Maverick. He still wasn’t sure if he was going to ever let the man know about his child.

  Alexis was a ball of confusion. He’d been pissed when he showed up for their meeting and Maverick wasn’t in the conference room. He’d hardly paid attention and kept hoping the man would show up, when some part of him hadn’t wanted to see the werewolf again. After all the papers were signed, they were getting ready to leave when Cullen stopped him.

  “Go talk to him, Alex.”

  “No,” he said folding his arms over his chest. “What kind of CEO doesn't show up for a meeting in his own building?”

  “A busy one.” Cullen rolled his eyes. “Stop acting like a fucking child and go talk to him. You were looking for him the entire meeting.”

  He couldn’t deny the claim his brother made.

  “What the hell am I supposed to say?”

  He was angry his one night of good sex resulted in him being mated and pregnant. He was even more furious with himself that he’d gotten so lost in passion and lust he’d not recognized he’d been in heat.

  Fate was a fucking bitch, sometimes.

  “Tell him the truth, Alex.” Cullen kissed him on the forehead and walked out of the conference room.

  He’d stayed in the conference room for a few minutes building up his courage. He was fine when he walked up to Maverick’s assistance’s desk, feeling calm and confident until he’d heard and saw Maverick and his anger took over.

  "I'm sorry," Alexis said.

  "What?"

  "I said, I'm fucking sorry." He whirled around to face the other man.

  "What are you?"

  Alexis sighed, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. Maverick had asked him that question that night, too—but he hadn’t given him and answer.

  "I'm a warlock."

  Maverick pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can you give me back my memories?"

  "Yes," he answered. But Alexis didn't want to, not because it was a hard or strenuous spell. But because he didn't want the werewolf to remember how erotic their night had been and how wanton he’d acted.

  "Then do it," Maverick ordered.

  "Can I just tell you what happened?"

  "Are you fucking kidding me?" Maverick snapped. "For over three fucking months, I've been trying to figure out how I went from talking
to the bartender to waking up in a hotel room alone and mated."

  Fuck. He's sexy when he's angry.

  Alexis was having second thoughts about telling Maverick the truth.

  I'm going to fucking kill Cullen for making me do this.

  He turned and looked out of the window, watching as the heavy snow continued to fall. He pressed his hand to the window, letting the cold glass cool his body down. He loved the holidays. He turned into a little kid wanting to buy presents for everyone he loved. It wasn't just him.

  Alexis's entire family got into the holiday spirit and was not afraid to show their joy. From October to January, they dove into it wholeheartedly and decorated for Halloween all the way up to New Year’s. Hell, he and his siblings dressed up and trick or treated right up until they started college.

  "I didn't mean to take your memories," Alexis said, turning to face Maverick. "I kind of freaked out when I realized what had happened."

  "Imagine how I've been feeling." Maverick growled.

  "Will you stop fucking growling at me," Alexis snapped.

  "It's all I can do right now, since I want to take you over my knee and spank your ass for the shit you've done."

  Like you did that night.

  "I said I was fucking sorry. What…" He paused, knowing he was about to ask a foolish question.

  "Did you put something in my drink?"

  "What? No," Alexis answered quickly. "Look, you can think whatever the hell you want about me, but I would never let shit like that happen in my establishment."