Chapter Two
JESSE
"Jesse? You're freaking me out, man." My brother stares at me as I struggle to gain control of myself. My wolf is howling inside me, struggling to free itself.
Holy hell. I just met my fated mate.
And she's a human.
And now I have to admit that I was wrong when I mocked everyone who ever talked about fated mates, including my older brother Andrew. They said when you met the right one, you just knew. And I always laughed my ass off.
But I just met the right one. How do I know? Because the minute I laid eyes on her, a grenade of hunger and need exploded inside me, sending me spinning out of orbit.
So what do I go and do? Thoroughly insult her, mistake her for a man, and threaten to run her out of town. The fates have a wonderful sense of humor.
My wolf is howling like I just won the cosmic lottery, and I'm standing here trying not to punch myself in the face.
"Jesse?" my brother says again, looking half-concerned, half-entertained. "You look like you just got hit by a truck. Or Cupid shot you in the dick."
"Shut up," I mutter, dragging a hand down my face. The image of her— short, curvy, furious, gorgeous—flashes behind my eyelids. I'm a foot taller than her and she still stomped over to me like a tornado in boots. My wolf practically rolled over and showed his belly.
"Whoa. I was just joking. That woman who just handed you your furry ass – is that why you're freaking out?"
I groan. "No! Maybe. Yes. Shut up."
"Holy Hell. I've seen that look before." He starts laughing so hard tears come to his eyes. "Oh, man. The universe finally delivered. She's your mate. And she hates your guts. That's beautiful."
Brothers. Can't live with them, probably shouldn't kill them. Maybe. The jury's still out on that one. Since my father passed away, my mother seems to be strongly against any more reduction in family size.
I glare at him. "She doesn't hate my guts."
He raises an eyebrow.
"Okay, fine, she probably hates my guts," I admit. "But it's temporary. I'll fix it. I'm charming as hell."
"Sure," he says, grinning. "You'll fix it. You insulted her, threatened her, and called her a man. What's next, sending her flowers and an apology note scented with wolf pheromones?"
"Would that work?" I wonder aloud. "Like, how would I do that, maybe rub the note all over myself…no, she's not a wolf, it wouldn't work."
He just laughs harder. "Oh, man. Jeremiah's going to shit a brick."
Jeremiah's on our pack council, and he just might hate humans even more than I do. He carries a lot of sway with our pack. Our council has five members, and they can override the Alpha if necessary.
I don't love that, but it keeps the pack safe in case an Alpha goes rogue. The council spend so much time with each other that they develop a telepathic bond and in case of emergency, they can use that bond to subdue even an Alpha.
Yeah, Jeremiah's going to be a real bitch about this.
I ignore my asshole brother and hurry for the door. If I'm lucky, she hasn't gotten far. If I'm really lucky, she'll let me apologize before she stabs me with whatever tiny human weapon she probably keeps in that purse.
But with my luck today, she's got a nail file made out of solid silver. Silver and werewolves don't mix.
As I burst out of the door, her VW bug is peeling out of the parking lot, spitting up dust and gravel.
I glance at my truck, parked right by the Late Shift Grill's front door. Nahh, I won't take the truck. Cole can drive it back to our pack lands. I need a run right now. I've got to burn off some wolf energy or I'll explode.
I barely have time to think before my wolf claws at the inside of my skull, demanding release. My body stiffens, heat building from the inside out.
The fabric around my arms and chest splits with a satisfying rip, seams giving way as my muscles swell and stretch. Jeans tear at the thighs and knees, sliding down into a crumpled pile around my boots, and my shirt is gone entirely, shredded into oblivion.
Fur erupts across my body, dark brown with streaks of gold that catch the sunlight as my fingers fuse into massive paws and my spine elongates.
My jaw stretches into the perfect predatory snarl, teeth sharpening almost instantly.
My wolf takes over completely, senses exploding—the memory of her scent hits me like a punch to the gut: salty, sweet, fast, angry, perfect.
I shake the last threads of humanity off my shoulders and sprint, front paws hitting the asphalt, claws scratching little divots in the parking lot as I launch after her VW.
I spot her car up ahead. The wind whips past my muzzle, carrying the scent of her and exhaust fumes, and I know I'm faster than her, no question. Every stride is effortless, powerful. I feel alive in a way humans will never understand—like the world just sharpened itself around me.
I laugh—well, a wolf-laugh, a low, rolling sound in my chest—as the VW fishtails slightly around a corner. And somewhere in the back of my mind, I vow: she's mine, and I don't care if she's angry, scared, or armed with a silver steak knife. She's mine.
I hang back just far enough that I can keep the car in view. I don't try to overtake her. I don't want to make her panic and swerve off the road.
It's two miles to the pack lands, and pack headquarters, a sprawling building where we carry out all pack business. Many of our pack members live there, and our farmlands are there too. Our pack, like most, is made of dozens of family clans.
Lane will live with me on those pack lands. We will raise our children there. She just doesn't know it yet.
I jog effortlessly, the wind rushing through my fur. I imagine her lying underneath me, kissing her, biting her…
She's glorious. Sexy. Feisty. Takes no bull. Just what I need. All my life, I've met simpering yes-women who just want to bag an Alpha. They want my status, they want the prestige of being the Alpha's mate, and they'd say or do anything to lure me in.
Not her. In the very very short time I've known her – okay, in the minutes that I've known her – I've seen that she's honest, she's proud, and she's strong. I'll have to earn her. Every glorious inch of her.
She's just…right. She feels like the missing piece who will fill a hole inside me that I never knew was there.
Now all I have to do is convince her not to hate me after making the worst possible first impression in the history of…ever.