Chapter Six
Ryan
One week later
“Doctor Moore will see you now, Mr. Rivera,” the perky blonde receptionist who has been eye-fucking me since I walked in tells me. I try to give her a polite smile, but my wolf snarling inside me turns it into more of a grimace.
I push myself from my seat in the waiting area and walk toward the wooden door for my first in-person appointment with Maya.
This place is throwing my senses off. Between the water-feature on the central desk and the overpowering scent of lemon cleaning products, lavender candles, and the various people who have been through the room, my head is pounding.
My wolf is pacing just beneath the surface, poised and ready to attack.
Part of me wants to turn around; I hate the idea of bringing my borderline feral wolf into Maya’s space.
But I have to know. Have to know if she is someone my wolf will accept as a chosen mate.
It seems too unlikely to consider, but what if I’ve been looking in all the wrong places? What if she is my fated mate?
In the mere four hours I’ve spent doing video therapy sessions with her, she has pulled me in more than anyone else I’ve ever met. She challenged me, held me accountable, met me with empathy and understanding, and somehow made me feel like there was a reason to keep fighting.
Enough that it has me questioning whether this could be something more, if maybe fate made her my therapist for a reason.
Enough that I was willing to hand over the role of alpha to my younger sister.
Enough that I decided to leave the pack I have spent my entire life living in and living for.
I had left Luca in charge before when I went to visit other packs or attended council meetings, but this is different.
I didn’t just leave Sofia to deputize; I passed the role to her officially, and along with it, my abilities to apply alpha commands and sense the emotions of the pack members.
The absence of the power that once flowed within my blood has left me feeling hollow and uneasy. But it will all be worth it if I’m right about her. Every decision is leading up to the moment I meet the woman I hope my wolf will see the same way I do.
I feel as though I’m moving in slow motion. Every action more intentional than usual as my hand extends to grip the cool door handle and push it downward. The door swings open and standing before me is the vision that is Doctor Maya Moore.
The most breathtakingly beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life.
Looking at her through a computer screen did her no justice.
Her brown eyes—almost as dark as night—widen as she takes me in.
Her sleek black hair, down today, frames her high cheekbones, and her fair skin is flawless, accented by light makeup.
Her svelte figure is wrapped in an outfit of a fitted white shirt and pencil skirt, which is both professional and sexy as hell.
She’s wearing high heels that bring her height to slightly below my chin.
But what stands out about her more than anything else is her scent. Vanilla, jasmine, and mine.
She shakes her head slightly before stepping back from me and sweeping her arm out. “Hi, Ryan. Please take a seat on the couch.”
I stare at her for a moment longer before nodding and walking into the room. My wolf howls within me, chanting to me that she is mine. My mate. My future. My everything.
Fates, she is perfect.
I push my wolf down, easier than usual because of the reassurance that I understand.
That I know Maya is the one. She’s everything I could have hoped for and so worth every agonizing second of waiting.
She closes the door and then takes her seat across from me.
Nothing in her serene expression implies that she is affected by the pull of the mate bond.
“I was surprised you decided to move to in-person appointments. The address I have on file is quite a drive from here.”
“It is, but I felt some time away from my family might help me put things into perspective. I’ve handed the reins over to Sofia in the interim.”
“That was a big step,” she says, raising a perfectly arched brow. Her voice is laced with curiosity and questions, even though her words were a statement.
“It was. But I realized I need to focus on myself for a little.” Maya blesses me with a subtle smile.
The kind of smile that doesn’t demand attention or outwardly show her happiness at the choice I have made to prioritize myself.
But it’s there, a gentle nudge of encouragement and affirmation that I’m heading in the right direction without being obvious.
In the way her eyes light up, and her scent takes on the sweetness of pride.
My wolf preens as if she had praised him verbally.
“I figured maybe I needed to try something different,” I continue. “Move outside of what I’ve been doing because that’s obviously not working.”
“You’ve said previously that your focus was on finding your perfect partner. Has that changed?”
Needing to be closer to Maya, I scoot forward on my chair, resting my elbows on my knees as I nod my head. I can’t fight off the grin that spreads across my face.
For years, my wolf has dictated my life. He was a constant, demanding spirit; his hunger and need to find her was a relentless presence that overshadowed everything else. Any joy I experienced was always tinged with the awareness of what I was missing.
But now, sitting in this office filled with the scent of her, my wolf and I both recognize the bond and connection; she’s everything I could have ever wanted.
Calmness settles over me, and the need to fight my wolf is gone.
We’re on the same side again, with no need for aggression or temper.
I’m genuinely happy for the first time in years without my wolf pushing me to hunt for her because she’s sitting right in front of me, giving me her full attention.
“Yeah, I guess something has changed. I found her.”
“Oh,” Maya says, her mouth forming a small o-shape and her brow creasing. She’s disappointed. I can see it painted on her beautifully expressive face. As a human, she doesn’t feel the bond like I do. That’s okay, she will. “That is a big change. And you sound so sure.”
“I am. She’s perfect. Intelligent, beautiful—breathtaking, really—and she challenges me. She makes me want to be a better person. She’s the one I want to have a family with. Live happily ever after with.”
Maya’s pulse ratchets up, and her heart pounds in her chest, a frantic drumbeat against her ribs. While to anyone else her face would give the impression of being impassive, her body tells me she isn’t unaffected. I inhale deeply; her scent fills me up and grounds me in the present.
“She’s also sitting right across from me,” I continue. “It’s you, Maya. You’re the woman I want to be with. You’re my future.”
Maya blinks slowly. Once. Twice. Her heart thumps, and her pulse flutters like the wings of a hummingbird. She takes several slow breaths, and her body tenses.
“Ryan, what you’re experiencing is called transference. It’s where a patient transfers their feelings for another onto their therapist. It’s not… Your feelings for me are not real. Is there anyone in your life I might be representing for you?”
Instantly, my wolf’s hackles rise, and he starts pushing back. Show her. Convince her. Claim her. The short-lived peace I experienced moments ago is fracturing, the joy slipping through my fingers. This can’t be happening.
I know she’s human; she doesn’t understand mate bonds or fate. But she must be feeling something for me.
“You represent my wife,” I press, coming on way too strong, but I can’t stop myself. “This is as real as the couch I’m sitting on or the fuck-me heels you’re wearing.”
Maya gasps and her mouth drops open before she composes herself again. “Ryan, this is extremely inappropriate. If you continue to speak like that, I will have to ask you to leave. Are we clear?”
My wolf howls inside me, urging me to claim her.
I’m sure my eyes are blazing gold, so I squeeze them shut and hang my head forward.
I can’t reveal that I’m a shifter with any human unless they have accepted they are my mate.
The risk of our kind being discovered is too high.
And while my wolf and I are sure she is the one for us, Maya will obviously need more convincing before I can share that part of me with her.
My wolf doesn’t care about any of that though. To him, it’s fate and biology. Maya is perfect for me; I am perfect for her. There’s no need to delay the inevitable. I inhale deeply, her delicious scent soothing me and my wolf. Fates, I can’t wait to taste her. She’ll be so damn sweet.
“Was it the fuck-me shoes comment that was inappropriate or the part where I said my feelings are real that you objected to?” I ask when I feel like my wolf is back in check enough that I won’t shift right here in front of her.
She leans back in her chair, two fingers massaging her temple on one side while she contemplates her reply.
“My licensing board and code of ethics prohibit romantic relationships between therapists and current patients. I’m flattered by the… whatever it is you’re suggesting, but nothing could ever happen between us.”
My head spins. What the hell is happening right now? Without becoming her patient, I would never have met Maya. How the fuck did Fate screw me over so completely?
“Wait,” I say, turning her words over in my mind before processing them fully. “You said current patient. That’s an easy fix; you’re fired.”
“Ryan,” she says, her tone stern and hot as fuck. As much as it’s tearing me apart that she isn’t accepting the bond, her fire and commanding presence are everything. She would be an amazing luna.
“Yes?”
“I also can’t date former patients for at least five years after therapy ceases. A relationship between us is not happening. Now, am I still fired—which isn’t actually a thing—or do you want to get back to work?” She raises an eyebrow, and my shoulders slump.
I need to figure out a way to win her over.
But how do I get her to stop caring about her ethics?
I won’t survive five years without her. Fates, I’m unlikely to survive five weeks.
Being close to her will help in the short term, but my wolf only wants her more and more by the minute.
He’ll go feral if she doesn’t accept our bond.
If she doesn’t accept me. And Maya is human.
Vulnerable. The longer this goes on, the more at risk she will be.
He already wants me to claim her with my bite. And I can’t let anything happen to her.
If I can’t win her over, I’ll need to distance myself. Even if that means certain death.
“Maya, I’ve fallen in love with you.” I say, hoping my voice conveys the sincerity of my words. “I believe you are the one woman made for me. I understand you are telling me that can’t happen because of your job. But at no point during this conversation have you told me you don’t want me.”
I push to a stand and take the three steps needed to close the distance between us. Maya gasps as her eyes snap to mine, but she remains seated.
“Tell me you’re not feeling anything,” I say, bending forward and caging my arms around her. Fates, she smells sweet up close. And there’s an edge there. Not like a wolf, but not entirely human either. Interesting.
Maya inhales sharply, and the scent of her arousal floats up to me, telling me everything I need to know. She’s not as unaffected as she’s letting on.
Feeling emboldened by how wet I know she is, I lean in even more—as close as I can get without actually touching her. “Tell me you aren’t wet for me right now. Tell me you don’t want me to drop to my knees, push up that skirt, spread your legs and taste your dripping pussy.”
Maya’s breath hitches and the scent of her arousal intensifies, swirling around me and pulling me in.
“You can’t, can you?” I ask, my voice a husky whisper in Maya’s ear. Her skin pebbles under my hot breath and her respirations come heavy, but then something changes. Her eyes flash yellow, and she glares at me.
“Back the hell up, now.”
I step back instantly as my mind reels at the sudden transformation.
Her eyes flashed yellow, but she smells human.
I think. She’s certainly not a wolf. And if she were a shifter, she would know I’m her mate.
It feels impossible trying to process what’s happening when my wolf is howling at me. What the hell is going on?
“Ryan, you need to leave,” she orders, her tone firm. “This is completely inappropriate.”
I raise my hands in defense as my mind spirals out of control. She wants me. I can smell how much she wants me. But she’s resisting the bond and acting like she doesn’t even know what we are to one another. But she didn’t reject me either. She didn’t try to deny what we both know she wanted.
Maya stands on shaky legs before pushing her shoulders back and striding toward the door. She opens it and turns to face me. “You should leave.”
I nod sharply before walking out. My wolf howls at me, trying to force me back.
Urging me to claim her now. He doesn’t give a fuck about consent or the fact that the human part of Maya has told me to leave.
Despite her words, her body tells him she wants us.
The battle between my human part, who respects my mate, and the animal part of me, who just wants to tear her clothes off, is giving me a headache, but I trudge forward.
Away from my mate and my sanity.
For now, I tell my wolf. I need to figure out what the hell is going on here. I’m not giving up. Not even close.