18. Flint

Icaught him as he sagged and his eyes rolled back in his head.

Fuck! Now he’d seen my beast—or both beasts if I counted the one in my pants—but we were no closer to finding each other because he thought I bayed at the moon and turned into a predator once a month.

My wolf didn’t understand werewolves and urged me to look after Tony.

Luckily the household staff were still on vacation ‘cause I’d extended their holiday beyond this week. I hadn’t wanted them to remove Tony’s scent, and I needed to be alone when I was at home.

I pulled on my briefs, slung on the holster, and flung the remaining clothes over my shoulder before scooping Tony up and striding back to the house.

I placed him in my bed on the second floor, and he stirred, though he didn’t open his eyes. After pulling on a robe, I heated up chicken soup and brought it to the bedroom. I stood away from the bed with my back to the window, not wanting to scare him by being in his face when he opened his eyes.

My wolf sensed Tony was awake before I did.

His heart is beating rapidly, and he’s sweating.

My mate jerked his eyes open and stared around the room.

“Not the basement. I’ve gone up in the world.” He grabbed two pillows and stuffed them behind his back. He grunted and punched them into shape before leaning back and folding his arms. “This must be your lair.”

I had to unravel this shit before we could get into my story.

“Not a lair. Just my bedroom.”

“Right. The basement is your lair.” He fingered the sheets. “No handcuffs?”

“I can’t control how you think or feel. But let’s get one thing clear.” My voice was louder than I intended, but we had to get past this freaking werewolf situation. “I am not a werewolf. They do not exist.” I paced the floor, the words erupting with every step. “I’m a shifter and?—”

“What’s that smell?” he interrupted.

He was doing it again. Avoiding what he didn’t want to think about.

“Is this for me?” He pointed to the soup. “I can’t have my world turned upside down on an empty tummy.” He eyed the robe I was wearing. “And you’re dressed. Hmmm. I enjoyed your little show.”

“Little,” I growled. “No one uses that word when talking about me.”

“Ouch!” He giggled. “Did I puncture your ego? Sorry, I didn’t mean to. What you showed me was amazing. Like nothing I’ve ever seen before.” His impish grin had me coughing to disguise a chuckle before placing the tray on his lap. He slurped the soup. “Go on.”

I related our history and how centuries ago we came out of the forest and began living amongst humans. “Outwardly, we are indistinguishable.”

“So am I one of the few people who didn’t know about shifters?”

I sat at the end of the bed. “No, it’s against our law to reveal our identity to humans. In ancient times humans were aware of us, but because of discrimination, we chose to hide our identity.” And now they’d forgotten we ever existed. Faint memories of shifters was possibly how the werewolf legend began.

He took a mouthful of soup and it dribbled over his chin. My shifter reflexes had me grabbing the napkin, and our eyes met as I dabbed his chin before the liquid could drop onto his clothes or the bedding.

“Tell me that wasn’t magic.”

“Shifter reflexes are much quicker and stronger than a human’s.”

He put down the spoon. “What else can you do? Fly? Become invisible?”

“I’m a wolf shifter. Wolves don’t fly. You’d need a bird or a dragon for that.”

“Dragon,” he screeched, and the tray wobbled before I rescued it. “This is so exciting.” He munched a piece of toast, and I ignored the crumbs tumbling onto the duvet. I hated crumbs in the bed, but I held my tongue as my Tony was under my covers. “So why did you show me your wolf if it’s not allowed. Why am I so special?”

Once again this was crunch time. I could tell him he was my mate, but while he didn’t loathe me as much as when I’d kidnapped him, we weren’t best buddies.

“La Luna Noir is our pack’s name, and I’m the head, the Alpha.”

“Head honcho, huh.” He finished the toast and wiped his mouth. But his hand froze as he patted around his mouth. “The pack… the group I met… they’re all shifters.”

“That’s right.”

“My father was a part of the pack.”

He was so close, and I could almost see the cogs in his brain whirring.

“My father was a shifter too.”

“He was.”

Tony lifted the covers and peered underneath. He pulled off his hoodie and examined his belly. “So what does that make me? Have I got a wolf inside me? Here, boy. Come to Tony.”

What is he doing?my wolf sniffed. Make him stop.

He’s not trying to be offensive. He doesn’t know what’s happening, and he might be in shock.

“You’re human.” I explained if he had a beast, they would have met at the onset of adolescence.

He made a face. “I’m a little disappointed.” He pulled the bedding up to his chin before tapping his head. “I’m trying to piece together everything I couldn’t understand at the meeting. You said I was your mate.”

I couldn’t hide behind excuses or half truths or turn the conversation in another direction. “In the shifter community, some alphas and omegas are fated.”

Tony slid down in the bed and huddled under the covers. “Sounds bad.”

“No. They’re fated to spend their lives together, and they recognize one another by their scent. It’s a life-long relationship. It’s like marriage but the bond can’t be broken.”

He flung off the covers and bounded out of bed. “You and me? I’m the one fate chose for you?” he scoffed.

“Yes.”

“So a human with a shifter father who was part of the mafia is the shifter mafia boss’s one and only?” His voice rose and his hands fluttered in the air.

I took hold of his hands. “The universe chose for me, but you don’t have to abide by that decision. You can walk away.”

He paced over the rug, his bare feet hardly making a sound. “But we don’t like one another, and you kill people for a living.”

Gods, we were back to that. Even if I detailed what we shifters had suffered, he would never understand. To Tony there was black and white and no gray area in between.

He slid his shirt down, exposing his mark. “And what’s the purpose of this?”

“It’s the mating mark, a sign to every shifter you are my mate.”

He stomped over to me, shoving a finger in my face. “You took me as a mate without my permission.”

“Yes, and I’m sorry. It was to protect you. You are not bound by it, though I am. You can walk away and never see me again. You can marry. Have a family. Live a wonderful life.”

I choked and had to turn away until Tony padded over and put a hand on my arm. My wolf squeed, thinking we’d kiss and have babies, but I couldn’t allow Tony to feel sorry for me and agree to be my mate out of guilt.

“Oh, Flint. I’m so sorry. But maybe there’s another mate for you out there somewhere.”

No! Tell him no, my wolf implored me to set our mate straight.

“Perhaps.” No, that wasn’t happening. “I’d better get you home.” I had to be at the office for a meeting in a few hours, and I couldn’t allow the turmoil in my private life to mess with pack business yet again.

“I can stay a while because someone got me a month off from college.”

I took hold of his shoulders and swung him around. “Don’t do this.”

“Do what?” He opened his eyes wide as if he had no clue what I was talking about.

“Feel sorry for me.”

“Listen, finding out I live among people who have an animal inside them is a lot.” He studied the almost-empty soup bowl. “I need more food.” He charged out the door and tore over the landing. “So many rooms for one person.” Him thundering down the stairs brought the house to life, and I imagined our children doing the same.

I craved his presence at my side, and I should’ve been pleased he was hanging around, but it would be that much harder when he left.

“Hurry up, Flint. I’m starving. Ravenous even.”

Me too but not for food. I’d lost all interest in eating this week, but I couldn’t blame everything on my longing for my mate. I was frazzled when Emilio had reported back about Sewell and Foley’s movements. Not that he’d discovered anything, but my insides were in knots.

Tony had his head in the fridge, giving me the perfect view of his ass. Sadly, it was encased in jeans.

“I’ve never seen you eat.” He twirled around, spots of pink on his cheeks. “What do you want?”

“You.”

He stepped back, eyes open wide as his back banged against the fridge door.

Shit! Did I say that out loud?