Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
A kind of dark, screaming panic wells up from behind my breastbone. My attention is fixed on Merrick—Merrick, the Alpha Prime. I’m still trying to process what just happened. He is the boss of all shifters, and yet he was the one who delivered my contract?
What the heck is going on?
“Lark, I forgive you for scaring me with the flowers! Lark! Tell them we can keep the house!” Dove’s voice rises as Blondie physically removes her from the room. “I gave up my rental! I like your home, I like your street—tell them! Lark!” A satisfying ‘oof’ escapes her as Blondie deposits her outside.
Paul, meanwhile, stares at me as though I’ve sprouted a second head. “You left me for him? For that guy ?” His tone drips with disbelief.
I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “ You cheated on me,” I want to shout, but what is the point? I’m numb. Too much has happened, one shock after another. I’m too emotionally drained to react to anything Paul says right now.
“He’s practically a child!” Paul snaps.
Wrong again. He’s Prime for a reason. Merrick’s probably at least eighty, maybe older—shifters age differently. But explaining that to Paul would be like trying to teach calculus to a goldfish.
Another guard nudges him through the door, and it slams shut, thankfully cutting off his tirade.
Somewhere in the chaos, Barry must have slipped out—I didn’t even notice him leave, and I never said thank you. My hands shake as I stare at them, willing them to stop. The room feels eerily quiet now.
The silence stretches. I should be angry—livid. Merrick has neglected to tell me far more than Paul ever did, yet all I feel is a weary sort of gratitude, a gratitude I don’t want to examine too closely.
I sense Merrick’s presence before I hear him.
“Are you all right?” His voice is softer than I expect.
I glance up. No. “Yeah, I’m just great. I’m legally dead, my name’s been changed, and my ex-husband thinks I’m running off with a shifter.” I wave my hands vaguely. “Alpha Prime? Seriously? You are the Alpha Prime. And you were the one dropping off my work contract? What was that about?”
Merrick settles on the edge of the table, looking far too calm for someone who just detonated my life. “I’m hands-on,” he says with a shrug. “I get things done.”
“Was this whole mate thing your way of ‘getting things done’?”
“No.”
“Did you make it up to speed along the paperwork?”
His lips twitch, amusement flickering in his eyes. “No.”
“Then what, Merrick? How does any of this make sense?”
He leans forward, his voice steady and deliberate. “I knew the moment I saw you in the hotel lobby. You are my fated mate.”
“Fated mate? I don’t even know what that means.”
“You will learn at the Facility,” he says, daring to brush my forehead with a gentle kiss. “Don’t worry about all this. Everything will be all right.”
“All right?” My laugh comes out sharp. “I’m so confused.”
“I know.”
“I’m terrified.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do this so publicly.” His eyes lose their sharpness, regret shadowing his features. “But your ex pissed me off.”
“Yeah, he has a knack for that.”
“I should’ve talked to you first.”
“Yeah, you should have. That was nuts, Merrick. This whole thing is nuts. Would you have told me about the mate thing if I hadn’t been bitten?” I ask, my voice steady, although my heart pounds.
Merrick hesitates, the weight of the question settling over him. Finally, he sighs. “I don’t know,” he admits, his voice low, almost regretful. “I would have protected you, kept you safe from a distance. But… telling you? I don’t know.” He rubs the back of his neck, his gaze dropping to the floor. “It was hard enough to stay away as it was. I’ve had a security detail on you for months.” His eyes lift to meet mine, and there’s something raw in them. “My life is too dangerous for a human.”
That’s a no, then. A lump forms in my throat, sharp and painful. Why does that hurt so much? I knew we were different, that his world was nothing like mine. I knew he was out of my league. But hearing him say it—that he wouldn’t have told me—hits me hard.
A small, insidious thought worms its way in, was the break-in really a terrorist attack?
Or was I set up? Could Merrick have decided it was better for me to be gone than to be his fated mate?
But no… He wouldn’t have come for me if he’d wanted me dead. Right?
It’s awfully convenient, though, isn’t it? If I survive the change, I will go furry, and suddenly Merrick has a shifter partner who does not look like an old lady. My mind flickers back to Jo and Sandra—the way Sandra looked at Jo with such unshakable adoration. They make it work, but Sandra and Jo aren’t us. Sandra isn’t the Alpha Prime.
The bite, though… it does make things convenient for him.
I look twenty-five years younger now.
I rub my face, the motion doing little to ease the pressure building behind my eyes. This is all just too much. Everybody wants to be loved, to be adored for who they are—not for what some twist of fate decrees. Nobody wants to feel forced into a relationship because of some cosmic matchmaking.
First Paul. Now Merrick.
Neither of them really wants me.
Merrick catches a strand of my hair resting on my shoulder, twirling the end between his fingers. “Hannah did a good job,” he says.
“She did,” I admit.
Before the meeting, Hannah had evened out my hair, undoing the damage from my hasty, self-inflicted chop. It’s not fancy, but at least I don’t look like I lost a fight with a hedge trimmer.
“The things you will need have been packed and are in the car, ready to go. I know you don’t want to leave, and you think you can handle this alone. But you can’t. Trust me.”
“Trust you?” I shoot back, my voice rising. “You set me up for your own amusement. Why should I trust you?”
“Because I’m your mate.”
I throw my hands up. I’m his mate only when it suits him. “You didn’t ask me. There’s this crazy thing—it’s called consent.”
“I know.” His voice is calm, unwavering. “But once you feel your animal, you will understand. You can’t fight fate.”
Oh, I can, and I will. I don’t say it aloud, though. He is the Alpha Prime, after all.
Optimus Prime , I think, stifling a sigh under the weight of this ever-expanding disaster. I thought I’d skirt the Ministry and find help from an outsider. Instead, I walked straight into the jaws of the wolf himself.
“So, I’m leaving now?”
“Yes.”
“To the Facility.”
“Yes.”
Okay, fine. I will go to the Facility. I will do the tests, endure the training, read the books—whatever they need me to do. I will prove myself, be the best bloody shifter they have ever seen. And then, hopefully, I can get back to work. I will keep my head down, focus on my job, and steer clear of Merrick.
I glare at him. “And what are you going to do? Go play Alpha Prime while I’m dealing with this mess?”
“You don’t need me hovering. Riker will take you.”
“Riker?”
“Your bodyguard.”
“Blondie? The big blond guy?”
Merrick’s laugh is warm and unexpected. “He will love that. Have you given me a nickname too?”
“Oh, yeah. You are Mr First Class.”
“Mr First Class?” He smiles.
“Yeah. I thought you were a courier.”
“Ah.” His smile widens. “I will take it. I can be your Mr First Class anytime.” He wiggles his eyebrows.
“No, you can’t. I’ve got a new nickname for you.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Dickhead,” I say, pushing myself up from the chair.
Merrick chuckles behind me. “Settle in, little mate. I will visit you soon. Be safe.”
I wave over my shoulder without turning around. “Whatever, dickhead.”
I yank open the door to find Blondie—Riker—leaning casually against the wall, his massive arms crossed.
“What’s up, Alpha’s mate?” His smirk is infuriating.
“Which way to the car?” I snap.
“This way, Alpha’s mate.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Why? Every time I say it, you look like you’re gonna scream. It’s hilarious. Mate, mate, mate, mate… Would you prefer Pup? Perhaps Blondie’s ward might suit you better?—”
I let out a frustrated scream, and he bursts into laughter, his deep chuckle echoing down the hall as he leads me to the car.