36. Tanner

Cole stared at me with daggers in his eyes when I strolled out of my bedroom with Eva tucked under my arm. My wolf was smug as fuck. We'd claimed our mate, marked her, and there was fucking nothing Cole could do about it.

I gave no shits that he was butt hurt. He'd had plenty of opportunities to stake his claim on Eva. They both had. Their problem was they were too afraid of messing up the fragile equilibrium we'd found. I, on the other hand, had no such qualms.

I'd known from the very first moment I met her that Eva was important. The sweet scent of her arousal was enough to identify her as my mate. It was biology, pure and simple. Yes, I'd tried to fight the attraction, but in the end, it was pointless.

Fated mates were something we were all aware of. It was rare to find your fated mate, but not impossible. Most shifters settled for finding a regular mate: someone compatible they could build a life with.

This was one of the main reasons for the Full Moon parties, which packs held semi-regularly. The more opportunity unmated wolves had to socialize and meet wolves from other packs, as well as other types of shifter, the greater the likelihood we'd find mates.

Mating with humans was uncommon, and not because humans were weaker. There was a lot of prejudice against humans and also from humans.

We were a superior species in terms of physical prowess, longevity, and more, which meant humans were often afraid of us.

Most shifters saw humans as annoying and sometimes dangerous, although plenty of us cultivated business and personal relationships with sympathetic humans in nearby communities.

Sometimes, interspecies matings occurred. They didn't happen often, but when they did, both species invariably faced a lot of negativity. Things had improved over time, and these days, when a shifter mated with a human, most packs didn't banish them, but sadly, not all packs were as enlightened.

Not that I gave any fucks about how the shifters in my old pack would react when they heard I'd mated with a human. I had no loyalty to them anymore. Not since Rufus banished me.

Yes, he was fine with me these days, mostly because he often needed my assistance with issues his pack enforcers couldn't or wouldn't handle. But I was under no illusion that he planned to welcome me back to the pack any time soon.

I would always be an outcast. Just like Cole and Silas, who, out of loyalty to me, had rescinded their pack membership not long after Rufus banished me. For years, it had just been the three of us. But not any longer. Now we were a foursome.

"Have you told her yet?" Cole asked, his whole body vibrating with suppressed anger. Silas said nothing. He just perched on a stool, gold eyes flicking between Eva and me.

I sat down on the sofa, ostensibly relaxed, but ready and willing to fight for what was mine. If they thought they could steal my mate from me, they were about to get a very rude awakening.

Eva stayed quiet as she sat next to me. Too quiet. I could almost hear her thoughts churning in her head. As Cole suspected, I hadn't explained exactly what had happened last night. She thought we'd had sex - her first time, to my surprise and delight - but it was way more than that.

"You fucking bastard!" Cole snarled when I shook my head, my hand resting on Eva's leg in a not-so-subtle sign of ownership.

Before I could snap back at him, he shifted into his wolf and lunged for my neck. This was surprising, but not wholly unexpected. My wolf came forward. We met in mid-air in a clash of teeth and claws. Eva screamed with shock, which distracted me enough for Cole to sink his teeth into my throat.

We'd fought before, but never at this level. Thankfully, Silas had the good sense to pull Eva out of the way. My wolf snarled when he saw our brother holding our mate in his arms, but I was too busy fighting a homicidal Cole to do anything about it. He'd get what was coming to him later.

Cole and I fought like the feral beasts we were, with pure savagery and testosterone. The problem was, neither of us could gain the upper hand easily. Furniture broke and the Christmas tree got knocked sideways, narrowly missing the fireplace.

Silas opened the door so we could take the fight outside, and when I got hold of Cole's scruff, I dragged him out into the snow. He swiped me with his claws, drawing more blood, but I didn't feel a thing. I managed to gain the upper hand, and this time, I didn't let go.

From the fury in his eyes, he was pissed off with me, but then the fight left his eyes and he submitted.

We lay in the snow panting and bloody, steam rising from our sweat-slicked bodies. Deep gouges across my ribs stung, but I smirked when I saw the bite marks around Cole's throat. He liked to think he could best me, but I was stronger than him.

"Are we done here?" I asked nonchalantly. "My mate needs me."

He growled but didn't bother shifting again. What was the point? I'd beaten him once already.

"You need to fucking tell her, Tanner."

I sighed. He was right. I needed to tell her, but a big part of me was worried she'd reject me when she knew the truth. Not just about what we were to each other, but also what had happened to Jessie-Lynn. Although, as far as I was concerned, she didn't need to know that bit. It wasn't relevant to our current situation.

"Fine," I huffed. "Let's get cleaned up and we can all sit in a prayer circle, braid each other's hair, and have a cozy little chat over mugs of cocoa."

Cole didn't appreciate my sarcasm. He punched me in the face and smirked when I winced. The guy might struggle to beat me in a fight, but he still had fists like concrete.