04

That sounded unnecessarily possessive.

He shoved Canary away, grabbed me, and gently set me down on the ground. Well, he did the work for me, so I didn’t need to fight with Canary or make harsher demands.

My eyes darted wildly as I calculated how far I could get from my new captors if I ran now. But then the scent of pure masculine musk and honeysuckle from Sideburns hit my nostrils. A spark of fire ignited in my belly, warming and awakening something inside me. A lick of liquid flames materialized out of nowhere and caressed the soft flesh between my thighs. Lust came alive, coursing through my veins.

My pussy suddenly grew slick, and Sideburns suddenly seemed like the most attractive man on Earth.

I parted my lips in surprise.

What the fuck was this?

I looked back at him. Lust had invaded his glowing eyes. If I didn’t run or stop him, he might mount me right there in front of everyone. At least, he looked like he wanted to.

My body pushed me toward him, but my will made me take a step back.

“Fuck me. How can this be?” Canary muttered to himself, eyes wide with shock and bitterness.

“Fuck me, indeed,” Gray echoed his younger cousin’s sentiment as he cast his dark gaze between me and Sideburns.

Understanding bloomed within me.

Sideburns and I had a connection. It was more than a physical link. It was biological. I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew what it meant.

He was my fated mate.

Sideburns sniffed again, inhaling my scent. His gray eyes never left me, and then he nodded as if confirming what he already knew.

“What happened here stays here.” His deep voice lowered, speaking in a curt and authoritative tone: “No one will know about this.”

Canary and Gray exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, and solemnly nodded.

Okay, so everyone thought this whole connection and chemistry thing between Sideburns and me was bad. It wasn’t hard to conclude that he might feel attracted to me, but he wasn’t going to act on it or even acknowledge it.

He was basically a stranger to me, no matter how much Fate wanted to tie us together, and I didn’t even like him that much, so his subtle rejection shouldn’t hurt.

But damn, it still stung.

I turned my face toward the river. The shifters were moving around, packing their things, and getting ready to leave.

Getting past them would be difficult. Or I could just walk away like a normal person leaving a group they didn’t belong to.

Act natural and get the hell out of here.

I spun on my heel and forced myself not to run.

“Where are you going, Catnip?” Canary called, running after me. “You’re going the wrong way.”

“No, I’m going the right way,” I said, waving at them without turning back. “Goodbye, everyone. Nice meeting you.”

Moving faster than a flash, Sideburns blocked my path. “You’re not leaving.”

I raised an eyebrow mockingly. “Oh really? Who says so?”

“I say so,” he said. “You’re staying with us. I have questions for you.”

Despite him being an asshole, and despite the fact that I wanted to shove him out of my way, the attraction between us rippled like rays of sunlight.

I laughed as I put a hand on my hip. “You’re not my lord, and you have no right to detain me.”

Sideburns looked at me. Standing so close, I could feel his intoxicating heat, his lust hitting me like bricks.

Fire swirled between my thighs, licking at my bundle of nerves. I had to fight not to squeeze my legs together and stop the painful need inside me.

He sniffed again, and his eyes turned silver and glimmered.

“I can smell your wolf, girl,” he said, inhaling deeply as if he couldn’t get enough of my scent.

But then he held himself back the next second and held his breath. His fists clenched at his sides. The Alpha Heir was working hard to control himself.

His body wanted me, but it wasn’t his will to desire me.

I understood. Look at him and then look at me. Anyone would understand why it was a mismatch.

“You’re a shifter,” he said in a hard voice while heat boiled in his eyes. “Every shifter in North America is a subject of the Shifter King, whether you like it or not. You’re probably a rogue wolf, but you’re still under his jurisdiction. I’m the Alpha Heir, who speaks for my father in his absence. And as such, you are my subject and will do exactly as I say.”

I was tempted to flip him off and tell him to go fuck himself. I also wanted to tell him he was wrong about me being a wolf girl, but I had no idea what I was.

I knew it wasn’t wise to provoke him, but that didn’t stop me from stepping back and kicking up a cloud of dust and dirt into his eyes. He shouted in surprise, raising a hand to rub them.

I made a mad dash toward the river.