I grin when I see her running towards me with red cheeks with her gym bag slung over one shoulder. She looks both ways before walking towards me, a look of pure anxiety etched on her face. “I was starting to think you wouldn’t come,” I say while fishing my car keys out of my pocket. “Thank you for deciding to trust me.”Her mouth opens slightly when I say this, then her lips form into a thin line when she nods. “We have to start somewhere, and if this…mate bond turns into something more then at least we know it wasn’t forced,” she says, looking everywhere but at me. I don’t have anything to add to that, so I simply sigh and gesture to the parking lot. She follows me as I walk towards my car, then I hear her suck in a breath when she sees the one I’m approaching.“No way,” she says, shaking her head. “Tell me that flashy thing isn’t yours.”I look at the sleek black and orange sports car and press the key fob to show her that it is mine while flashing her a grin. Her red cheeks turn

I didn’t head back to The Slip after dropping Cherie off, instead, I went back to the estate in an attempt to clear my mind. As much as I loved having Cherie on my lap and nearly giving in to what we both wanted, it left me confused.Why do I want her as much as I need to breathe? Why do I crave her touch and scent? Why do I want to see her slowly submit to me and call me her Alpha? This is fucking with my head and I don’t know why.She didn’t catch my eye before and the way she makes me feel now that the Sighting has clicked has set off a range of emotions I didn’t know I was capable of feeling. I’ve fucked women before, been intimate with them but none of them felt like this.The fact that this is Fated and not natural…it bothers me.How do other wolves give in to their fate so easily? Is it the rush of the Bond, the desire to claim what’s theirs? How do they accept the person the Goddess chose for them without question?Gods, I have never wanted to speak to my father more than I do

Sage is grinning at me when I walk into the gym boardroom and I roll my eyes. “Why did I have to get dressed up for a meeting?” I ask him for the fifth time, but again he refuses to answer me truthfully.“This is an important meeting, and as the CEO of our brand, you need to be present for this,” he says and gestures for me to sit at the head of the table.The boardroom is situated on the same floor as our offices, but I never use mine. What’s the point if I didn’t want people to know the gym belonged to me? I only come here because the equipment is better than the gym in Volkov forest; well, that was before I met Cherie.An oval dark oak table dominates the center of the room with six chairs present; a stack of papers at each chair indicates that we’re meeting with four other people until I see Luka walking in. He looks as confused as me and shrugs when I ask him over the mind link what he’s doing here. “Sage told me to get dressed up and come to the boardroom,” he says and we both

I decided to leave the gym after my kiss with Cherie, because there was no way I would pay attention to the work out when my temptation is so close. I need to get out of here and spend the day alone in my head.So for once, I actually walk into my office, but I head straight for the liquor stand in my entertainment section. I haven’t had bourbon in a while, and the taste of the amber liquid slipping down my throat is exactly what I need right now. I don’t want to think, because I won’t be able to stop my thoughts from straying to her. Watching over the New York skyline, I bite my tongue bar and hate that I can still smell her scent on me.Hours pass, maybe - I lose sense of time standing there with my mind blank, willing it not to go think of those amber eyes.“I knew you had more of Uncle Nikolai in you,” a familiar voice comes from behind me while I’m lost in my own thoughts and I can’t help but smile and shake my head.“Fuck, the circus is in town,” I say and finish the last of my

His crimson eyes are blazing with fury as he pins me against the cage.“Are you doing this on purpose? Have you seen what happens when I lose my temper?” he growls. “You’re putting what’s mine on display; don’t make me kill every fucking male in this gym.”I scoff at his words. “What’s yours?! How presumptuous of you!” I exclaim, pushing that brick wall again. “I’m not yours until your mark shows I am!”Gods, what the heck is wrong with me? Why am I playing with an inferno like Creed Volkov, especially when he’s clearly close to his rut? His behavior should have told me I'm making a huge mistake, but no…it’s his grin that tells me I’m in a world of fucking trouble.He grabs both my hands and pins them above my head with only one of his. “By the look in your eyes, I know you’ve just realized your mistake, am I right?” he murmurs, before leaning his head down close to mine and claiming my lips with a vicious kiss.This one isn’t as sweet as the kiss in the boardroom, this one is filled