Chapter 4

Maddox

Just look at Aidan, don’t look at her. Eat the steaks, and get the fuck out of here. Maddox let out a long breath and glared at his Delta.

Aidan's short curly hair was the color of blood. Every time he looked at those strands, he thought of the Great War.

Those recollections represented old war nightmares. Hundreds of bodies slashed and chewed apart. On the battlefield, the scent of blood filled every inch of air. Severed heads toppled over sliced fingers and torn kneecaps. Werewolves and weretigers battled against werebears.

Finally, all the fighting has stopped.

For the past hundred years, witches ruled over shapeshifters. They hated it. Together, the shapeshifters warred against the witches. They won, and now the witches were the minority, and the shapeshifters returned to the majority. But then, the werebears so full of greed, decided they wanted to control all the shapeshifters. Too bad for them. After finally tasting the sweetness of freedom, he wasn’t having it. I united my pack with others and led us to victory, gaining the nickname, Conqueror.

Now, no werebears existed on the planet. And for the first time, shapeshifters walked the earth free.

Camille walked by their table, carrying two chocolate milkshakes. The sweet scent of the ice cream couldn’t compete with her fragrance. His gaze lingered her way. Her wavy black hair looked soft. He could picture his fingers slipping through her silky strands.

Stop it.

He switched his attention back to the pack. Looking at Aidan didn’t help, so I focused on Gerald's and Jake's conversation.

At 6’6, Gerald was the tallest of them all. He served as the Pack Enforcer. Gerald had dark brown skin and a bald head. Long ago, he was the crown prince of all the werewolves in Ethiopia. Then, the witches arrived. City by city, they decimated every pack.

He hid his identity, snuck out of the country, and fled to America. For years he traveled along the west coast searching for a wolf pack that he was comfortable with. In Arizona, he discovered Jake.

Jake had just split from his pack. They’d been a massive group of Navajo werewolves who aligned with the witches during the war.

And then Maddox met them.

He watched the men now.

Gerald murmured something to Jake.

Laughing, Jake tossed his long black hair over his shoulder. When one first looked at Jake, some might mistake him for a woman. He was slender and of medium height. Bronze skin and long lashes. Jake was the only one that was older than Maddox—around two hundred years.

In his old Navajo pack, he was not considered a male. He was two-spirited—the perfect balance between male and female. As his mother was a witch and taught Jake about fire magic and herbs that brought healings to magical beings. He became the Shaman of his pack.

Now he served in the same position for us. Not many packs were lucky enough to have a werewolf who could do magic just like a witch.

“Okay, guys. Here we go.” Camille returned with a cart stacked with platters of steaks. Finn and Maddox rose, helping her lift the plates. Shock hit her face. “Uh. . .thank you, but I’m supposed to be waiting on you.”

“We’ve got it.” Finn winked at her.

Maddox's beast didn’t like that at all. “No, Finn. Sit.”

Finn frowned and went back to his seat.

“I’ve got it.” Maddox took the plates from Camille and placed them on the table.

That clary sage and fresh ginger fragrance swirled around her. It made him want to shift and spend the rest of the day, licking at her skin and nibbling her neck.

Her voice was as sweet as her scent. “Thank you.”

Grunting, he grabbed the next plates and brushed his fingers against her soft skin. A streak of heat raced from his arm. This time I struggled with holding in his growl.

Camille gulped.

Did she feel that too?

“Yes,” Dire said. “Mate.”

Maddox shook the stupid notion out of his head, but still, his beast argued.

“Mate.”

Not meaning to, he glared at her.

“Are you okay?” Camille bit her bottom lip.

He didn’t want to say the words out loud, but they came out anyway. “You’re too beautiful to be working here. Someone should be waiting on you, taking care of you, and making sure you never have to lift a thing.”

She grinned. “Maybe one day I’ll be someone’s queen, but that day isn’t today.”

She grabbed two plates full of steaks and set them in front of Gerald and Jake.

Although all Maddox's wolves had their food in front of them, they all watched Camille's and his exchange.

“And here’s yours.” She handed the largest plate to him. “I gave you extra, so you wouldn’t end up fucking and eating me. Excuse my language, by the way.”

She heard him. Shit.

His whole pack chuckled to themselves. He eyed them, and the enjoyment ended. They turned to their plates and shoveled slabs of meat into their mouths, tearing into the steaks like they were sponge cakes.

He grabbed the plate, set it on the table, and directed his gaze back to her. “I’m sorry you overheard that.”

“That’s okay.” She shrugged. “I’ve heard worse.”

Maddox's face turned deadly. “What did they say? I can handle them.”

“Thank you, but they’re long gone, and my ego is healed.” She giggled, smiling broadly in a way that made him think she might be flirting. A few strands of hair fell in front of her face. He wanted to push the hair back behind her ears.

None of that face should be covered.

“Mate.”

Stop it.

Underneath the clary sage and ginger scent was the alluring perfume of lust. She was getting aroused just from standing in front of him. He stifled his own rising desire.

“Okay. . .” She returned her attention to the cart and turned it around. “Let me know if you need anything. Enjoy, guys.”

Maddox frowned as she walked away, that lush ass jiggling under her uniform. He sat down and caught Finn watching the waitress too.

“Kill him,” Dire roared.

No. He’s our Beta.

“Kill him.”

She’s not our mate. Calm down. She’s human.

Letting out an exasperated breath, Maddox sliced one of his steaks and stuffed the piece into his mouth.

What was he going to do now?