by Lexi C. Foss
My thoughts scattered as she came closer and my focus became riveted on the stunning woman. She couldn’t have been more than five foot—at 6’5”, I towered over her—but she carried herself with such confidence and authority that she would dwarf many women who were physically taller than her. Maybe that was why her size didn’t seem to bother me. I was astonished that it actually appealed to me and I’d never been so fucking turned on in my life.
Her skin was delicately pale, and her face was oval-shaped, matching the roundness of her plump, pink lips. She had a small, straight nose, high cheekbones, and I could tell she was stubborn simply by the set of her adorable chin. Her eyes were the most incredible shade of lavender, unlike anything I’d ever seen. Her black outfit clung to her, showing off a lean, athletic build, but with nicely rounded hips and shapely breasts that would fit perfectly in the palms of my hands.
Mine.
She was sexy as hell and the old adage, “Good things come in small packages” never made more sense. Then I noticed her hair.
As if I weren’t already overwhelmed with the earth-shattering desire, and need, I felt for her, I was equally knocked off-kilter by the sight of her long, wavy hair. It was thick and shiny, so soft looking that my hands itched to run my fingers through it.
And…it was silver. Silver fucking hair that shimmered with lavender whenever her head moved even the tiniest bit.
I knew that hair. I’d dreamt about it and hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. I’d been clutching it in my fingers as I took her on her hands and knees. The reminder had my body even more on edge, the mating desire beginning to buzz on my skin like an electric current. My wolf was reacting to her just as fiercely.
This was the woman I’d pictured while holding the pawn from Nathan’s chess set. This was the woman I’d fucked and claimed so many times last night.
I had to have her. Something about her just screamed…mine.
The closer they came, the more my feelings grew until the intensity had me near my breaking point. I was a heartbeat away from grabbing her and making a run for it. I wanted to find the nearest empty room and sink my cock and my fangs inside her, claiming her for all the world to see. My wolf seemed fully in favor of the idea. The potency of our need for her seemed to stir something inside me and then it snapped into place.
Son of a bitch. I was a fucking idiot.
She wasn’t just a woman that we were mind-blowingly attracted to and oddly possessive of. She was our mate. Our true mate.
The person put on this earth specifically for us. The one who owned half of my soul even though we’d never met. The one who was born with the spirit of a shifter inside her that would only emerge once she bonded fully with her true mate. And somehow, my wolf seemed to be aware of his connection to her wolf. He was anxious for me to claim this woman and release her wolf so he could mark and claim her for himself. He already considered this woman ours.
Mine.
Finding your true mate was something every wolf wanted for themselves, but the likelihood of finding that one person that was made specifically for you, out of the billions in the whole world, despite our very long lives, was slim to none.
Shifters could still mate and imprinting on each other. The imprinting bond was almost as strong as the one formed between true mates. Sometimes, the connection between you and another person, mixed with the mating desire sparked if your wolf accepted them as a possible mate, was so strong, it could be confused with the pull felt between true mates.
I had no question whatsoever that this woman was my true mate. My wolf was just as sure, even seemed a little smug. Clearly, he’d known the truth before I recognized it. He urged me to follow my instincts and take her. I pushed back, insisting he let me take the lead. She wasn’t a shifter, so I could easily send her running if I didn’t ease into things. Besides, she was so small and considering our size difference, I had a feeling I’d have to be extra gentle so that I didn’t intimidate her. He didn’t like it, but he retreated, though he remained very agitated and on edge.
By the time my heart stuttered back into a normal rhythm and I was able to suck in a breath, the duo was walking past me. Nathan patted her shoulder and both my wolf, and I emitted a low warning growl, causing him to glance in my direction.
His eyebrows shot into his hairline when he clocked my expression. Probably because I was seconds away from tearing out the throat of my friend and alpha. A man who fucking dared to touch what was mine. His hand flew back like he’d been burned and my mate’s brow wrinkled as she looked up at him before her face transformed, becoming serene and hiding all emotion.
I stalked toward them, my long legs quickly eating up the distance. Nathan held up his hand at me, and I growled when the dominant waves he was shooting in my direction forced me to heel.
He led her through a turnstile and escorted her to the massive glass doors. With one last comment to her, he pulled one open and my mate disappeared from my sight. I felt as though my entire body had been sliced down the center and every organ ripped away.
My wolf was so close to the surface, I could barely hold him back.
Those violent emotions quickly projected onto the man who had kept me from my mate. He’d better have a fucking good reason, or I wasn’t going to stop my wolf from coming out and killing him. He might be my alpha, but I was a strong as fuck dominant wolf. I followed Nathan because I chose to. If I had truly wanted to, I could have pushed away the force holding me, though it would have taken so much effort that my mate would have been gone anyway. At the moment, I was willing to hear his explanation and tried to calm my wolf with feelings of patience.
As Nathan approached us, he finally quit throwing his body against me, trying to be set free. I could feel through the connection that the only reason was that he didn’t scent her on Nathan at all.
14
Jax
“Jaxon.” Nathan’s tone was hard, but he’d ceased forcing my submission.
I tore my gaze from the last place I’d seen my mate and swung it to Nathan, drilling him with a hard stare. When he met my eyes, I knew he could see my wolf in them. The force of our emotion was staggering and all of it was directed at him, causing him to back up a step, something you would very rarely see from an alpha. He frowned when he realized what he’d done and planted his feet on the ground. Rather than retaking the step forward, he stayed in that spot, but the alpha vibes radiating from him were a warning to tread lightly.
“You don’t want to go there, man. I don’t care how strong the attraction is.” He folded his thick arms over his broad chest, showing off his strength.
Physically, we were equally matched, but it would be incredibly difficult to take him when he had the edge of being an alpha. “For one thing, she’s a witch.”
I continued to glare at him without any other reaction. His comment didn’t come from a place of prejudice, but of caution because witches could be fickle and a lot of them didn’t play nice with others. It was a warning.
Problem was, I didn’t give one single fuck about it.
“Second, she’s in a fucked-up situation. I’m positive she was hiding a lot more than she was sharing, and I’m not even sure how much of what she told me was true.”
My eyes narrowed and my wolf bared his teeth as he latched onto what I was feeling. I didn’t like hearing anyone insult my mate.
“Jax, you know I wouldn’t get involved if I didn’t feel it was completely necessary. She’s…if what she says is true, she’s not from here and I’d hate for you to get attached to someone else who won’t be around long.
I raised a brow in silent question for him to elaborate.
Nathan sighed. “Look, I saw what you went through with Camilla. Rowan is definitely unique, and she’s got a quirky sense of humor, but she’s everything you don’t want—the complete opposite of Camilla. So why start something with her that will end in disaster? I don’t want to see you hurt again. Especially not for a fling that will burn out
anyway.”
Even though my wolf and I both growled at hearing my ex’s name in the same breath as learning the name of our mate, the sincerity in his expression mollified me somewhat. My wolf didn’t understand the words and didn’t give a fuck about Nathan’s tone. He was focused on Nathan being the roadblock to his mate and my hold on him was getting weaker.
“She’s my mate,” I bit out.
His brow furrowed and his eyes bounced between me and the front door. “Oh, shit. Are you sure?”
“Without a doubt.”
Nathan rubbed his hand over his beard, as if contemplating what to say next. “You thought Camilla—" He clearly didn’t understand what I was saying. He thought I was telling him that Rowan was someone my wolf and I approved of as a mate. But it was much more than that.
“My true mate,” I snarled, taking a threatening step toward him.
His jaw fell and his eyes probed mine like he thought he’d be able to see inside my head. “You’re one hundred percent certain? Because I’m promising you, Jax, it’s going to be a hard road with her. Even if she was demure and sweet, your biggest problem is going to be convincing her to stay.”
I didn’t bother to comment. He knew I wouldn’t make this claim without knowing, with every fiber of my being, that it was true. There was no fucking way in hell I would chase after any woman if she wasn’t my true mate. I’d vowed never to give anything other than my cock to a woman after things blew up with Camilla.
But I’d known that there was one person who could shake my resolve and I’d just found her. I was certain when she learned that we were true mates, she would stay here with me. There was no other outcome that was acceptable. She might not be what Nathan thought I wanted—okay, what I thought I’d wanted too—but she would make me whole, so obviously I’d been wrong.
Nathan bent his head in resignation and gestured to the door, giving me permission to leave. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”
I ignored him as I raced out the door and followed my mate’s scent. I caught up to her one block away, but hung back, curious about her destination. Her stride was purposeful, and she seemed focused on where she was going, her attention never deviating from the path ahead of her. Another couple of blocks and she stopped at the entrance to the catacombs beneath St. Patrick’s Cathedral. There was a restaurant down there, but I couldn’t see her stopping for a bite with the way she was acting.
Keeping my distance, I took the stairs down a few minutes after her, using her scent to stay with her. She skirted around the side of the restaurant and made a beeline for the back.
A memory popped into my head as I neared a brick arch that led to a long hallway. Nathan had mentioned the portal system the witches used throughout the city. Apparently, certain vampire slayers were able to use it as well. I’d never been curious enough to check it out, but my gut was telling me that it was where Rowan was headed.
I treaded down the low-lit passageway until I saw the end. My eyes widened when Rowan placed her hand on the wall and it immediately gave way, allowing her to pass right through it. Alright, then. Definitely a portal.
I was worried about it closing, so I took the chance that Rowan wouldn’t notice me and warily walked through the wall. I flinched when a zing of energy streaked over my body and I stared at the portal, which now looked like a hole in the wall that was shielded by a glistening curtain of white. My wolf wasn’t fond of the sensation either. His fur brushed along my skin and he let out an angry snort. Knowing I didn’t have time to let any of this sink in, I ignored him and picked up my mate’s scent once again.
As I silently followed her, I briefly glanced around at the black walls that seemed to be moving and the tiny scattered lights above. Every so often, we passed another passageway or turned down a new one ourselves. I spotted other shimmering portals and wondered how anyone didn’t get lost down here. But my mate seemed to know exactly where she was going.
Eventually, she stopped in front of another sparkling shield and I shrunk back into the shadows to observe. I was only a few feet from her and I was a little surprised she hadn’t sensed me. Witches were very observant and usually alert to their surroundings.
My mate, however, was pacing and muttering to herself in a fast, clipped tone…or was she talking to the large, pink gemstone embedded her necklace? Either way, it was more than a little strange.
My eyes once again swept over her beautiful body and a deep, raw hunger grew inside me. Fur brushed along my skin as my wolf watched her with similar emotions.
My body was on fire for her and my cock was fighting even harder than my wolf to get out. Adjusting myself didn’t make a damn bit of difference and I swallowed a groan of pain when the zipper on my jeans abraded the sensitive skin. My wolf started pacing, irritated that I was fighting my lust. The desire to fuck her would only get stronger, along with the desperate need to put my claiming mark on her.
Abruptly, Rowan stopped moving and for a second, I thought she’d noticed me, but she growled in frustration and she raised her eyes to the ceiling.
“Come on, mudak!” she snapped.
I raised a brow at the Russian curse—I was familiar with the language because Nathan was fluent and still had a lot of family there—and a smile played at the corners of my mouth. It was actually pretty fucking adorable.
“Not to be disrespectful or anything, but it worked the last two times I prayed for your help, Gorska Maika. What—" Rowan broke off when another curtain appeared in the center, this one sparkling with a rainbow of colors.
“Yesss!” she shouted as she pumped her fist in the air. “That’s it, isn’t it? Thank you!”
She did a cute little dance that had me fighting a laugh. Then she looked up again, apparently toward this Gorska Maika, whom I was guessing was some kind of deity.
“Would’ve been nice to figure this out a hundred years ago,” she remarked dryly.
One hundred years ago?
“But I’ll take it now, so thanks.” When Rowan had let go of the amulet a minute ago, the multi-colored shimmer had begun to fade, so she grabbed the gem tightly once more. She hadn’t been holding the pink stone when she’d climbed through the first portal. The puzzle pieces began to fit together, and I realized she’d used the necklace, which was clearly enchanted, to open a portal within the existing portal.
She faced the opening and leaned in, looking for something. I edged nearer to her, making sure I was ready to go after her once she’d exited what I’d realized was a network of portals. I wasn’t sure how long the new one would stay once she crossed through it. At my close proximity to her, I felt a flash of irritation. She’d let her guard down and the thought of someone else being in my position, someone who meant to harm my mate, spurred a violent rage inside me . Picking up on my emotions, my wolf growled, ready for a fight.
I attempted to push away the rage so that my wolf would stand down, but I froze when Rowan snapped, “Stop that!”
My eyes flew up, expecting to see a face filled with fear, and no clue how I was going to reassure her that I wasn’t a threat. But she wasn’t looking my way; she was still staring through the portal.
“Throwing a tantrum isn’t going to make me let you out.”
I craned my neck to see who she was talking to—which didn’t make sense because from what I’d heard, the people on the other side couldn’t see you—but I didn’t see anyone. Who the hell was she talking to? Let them out? I was positive she wasn’t a shifter, so she certainly wasn’t reprimanding her inner wolf.
My questions were abruptly shoved to the back of my mind when she stepped right up to the portal and took a deep breath, seeming to brace herself before jumping through it. She stumbled on the other side and spit out what I assumed was more cursing in Russian as her body trembled violently a few times before reducing down to shivers. I hadn’t seen Rowan’s reaction when she passed through the portal in the catacombs, so I hadn’t realized the little shock from using the magical doorways affect
ed her more than it did me, which was logical considering she was so small. It took a minute, but she managed to shake it off and began to walk away. As I suspected, the rainbow of colors began to fade, so I went running and managed to leap after her before the portal closed.
Holy shit. The bolt of electricity I experienced this time was brutal. It knocked the breath out of me, and I tried to suck in air while my wolf snarled angrily, not understanding what had just happened. No wonder Rowan had looked like she’d jumped straight out of the electric chair.
My need to stay with her, and my big, thick body, gave me the strength to shake it off and get moving.
Rowan was speed walking away, and I thought about shifting to allow my wolf to follow her, only I didn’t have a change of clothes. Also, my wolf was agitated at being forced to stay away from our mate and I wasn’t certain he would listen to my urges to watch from a distance.
Besides all that, my wolf was bigger than I was and even though New Yorkers could be pretty oblivious, he would more than likely draw people’s attention. Some random person would call the police and whip Animal Control into a frenzy, which would make things hard on all the shifters here for a few days at the very least.
As she walked, I kept a safe distance, but always had her in my line of sight. When she pulled out her cell phone, I knew I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but my enhanced shifter hearing made it hard to ignore her…and I wanted to know more about her.
She held the phone to her ear and hissed in frustration after a minute of listening to it ring. “Pick up, Vi. Pick up!” she snapped as she came to a halt.
