7. Kai

Days had passed with no contact from the stalkerish alpha. Was I a little disappointed he hadn’t tried to find me? No. Absolutely not. No way. No. No. No.

But that pesky little voice that popped up when I least wanted it to told me to stop ignoring what I was feeling.

I closed my eyes and told said voice to butt out of my life.

Dante had been working from home since the incident. But he’d returned to the office today, and I was sitting at the computer, uploading photos to my blog. But my mind kept wandering to the alpha who’d followed me. Being with Dante had taught me about shifter scents, and while I couldn’t tell what animal he had inside him, I was certain he was a shifter.

A frisson of excitement whisked through me, followed by guilt. I was mated to an alpha I adored, and despite what he said about omegas having more than one mate, I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. I’d given my heart to Dante. I didn’t have any space left over for another alpha. And how would my beloved feel having to share me with another guy?

Ewww! If it were me, my skin would be tinged with green, my teeth would be ground down to nubs, and my blood pressure would be off the charts.

I pushed my chair back, unable to concentrate on my blog. It was a beautiful day, and I missed my regular walk to the café for my one coffee a day. I hadn’t left the house since that day but was peeved I was giving the unknown alpha so much power over my life.

Grabbing my phone, I looked in the mirror near the front door. My paternity shirt was rumpled, and my hair needed brushing. The voice niggled me, saying I was hoping to see the guy and wanted to look my best. But I protested and told it to buzz off. Did other humans have conversations with their conscience? Unlike Dante and his beast, my voice usually pissed me off and wasn’t a companion but a giant pain in the ass.

Getting outside and breathing in the city fumes wasn’t the same as the country air in the before time, but I didn’t let my mind wander to my previous “life” very often and pulled my thoughts back, concentrating on which coffee I was going to buy.

But as I went to push open the coffee shop door, that scent, the one that both confused and intoxicated me, greeted me, almost knocking me over. I teetered in my sensible sneakers and my vision blurred, thanks to that damned scent, but a hand grasped my elbow and steered me outside.

I coughed and dabbed the tears streaming over my cheeks with a tissue. Blinking the rest of the tears away, I studied my rescuer. It was him! Of course it was. Who else’s scent would make me almost lose consciousness and keel over?

“You!”

“You,” he mimicked.

Hmmm, for a guy who thought I was his mate, I wasn’t impressed with his conversational ability.

My gaze lowered to his fingers as they gripped my arm, and he let go. Part of me was disappointed at losing the skin-to-skin contact.

“You’re pregnant.”

Huh? Did he think I had a basketball under my shirt? I bit back my snarky response. I supposed with me rushing away, holding a bag against my belly might have hidden it. But perhaps he was more interested in me than my body.

“Yes.”

I expected him to respond with, “Sorry to bother you,” and rush off, muttering he’d made a terrible mistake.

“You have a mate.”

Again I resisted the temptation to blurt out something scathing, and repeated, “Yes.”

“You’re human.”

I sighed. This conversation was going nowhere fast, and I refused to give the same one-word answer again. “You scared me the other day.”

His brow furrowed, and his eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I’m sorry, but my beast scented you in the crowds and urged me to find you.” He then explained that he’d always been able to control his animal but not that day. “Instinct told me to protect you, not frighten you. I hope you can forgive me.”

If I hadn’t been mated to a shifter, I’d have had the guy arrested, but I’d witnessed that feral drive which overrode all other emotions.

“You’re my mate.”

“I got that.” Damn, I had to tamp down my sarcasm.

He sniffed. “Your current mate is a wolf.”

My hackles rose, and I stiffened, drawing myself taller. How dare he use “current” as if he could change it to “past” or “former.”

“He is my mate, my one and only mate.” My teeth clamped on my bottom lip, trying to stifle the rest of the sentence, which was “But I am drawn to you in a way I don’t understand.”

“Humans cannot fathom how an omega could be with more than one alpha. They call it cheating, I believe.”

Gee, thanks for using the C word. Now it was at the forefront of my mind.

“I would never cheat on my mate. He’s the love of my life.” By resting a hand on my belly, I hoped this guy got the hint Dante and I were not only mated but about to become a family.

“Does he know about me?”

I hated all these intrusive questions because they forced me to be honest, and I didn’t want to admit this alpha got my tummy in knots and my insides all squirmy. Only Dante did that. Damn this guy for messing up my life.

“Mmmm.”

“Maybe we should go somewhere and talk, all three of us.”

I pressed a hand over my heart as it responded to what he’d said. It thumped so hard I worried it’d wake the baby.

“Not to our place.” Never there. I couldn’t let this guy sully our home with his scent. It was mine and Dante’s.

But as I nodded my agreement, I caught a peek at his crotch, and my body betrayed me. Slick coated my thighs as my cock engorged.

That was unexpected.