Page 23 of Ignited By My Mate

TEN

Harris

The punching bagrocks back violently on its chain, the metal creaking with the force of my fist. I don’t pull the next punch. Or the one after that.

I’m not here to be gentle.

Sweat drips down my back, my chest heaving. My knuckles are sore and bruised despite the wraps, but it’s not enough. I could shift and run until my paws are raw and my lungs burn and still not work this restlessness out of my system.

Because I can feel her slipping.

Lark.

My mate.

My heart.

I throw my weight against the firehouse punching bag harder than I should. The chain groans above me, rattling with each hit, but I don’t stop. Not until my fists ache and the sharp edge of frustration starts to dull.

She’s pulling away.

I felt it the second I left the cabin this morning. She didn’tsayit outright, but I know.

She’s scared, and I can’t blame her. She was dropped into my world with no warning—shifters, fated mates, bonding under a full moon? That’s a hell of a lot for a human to process in under a week.

Still... I’m not used to this kind of uncertainty.

When I smelled her that first day, my entire soul locked onto hers like a magnet. Every part of me knew she wasit. The one I’ve been searching for.

And now I’ve found her, I can’t stand the thought of losing her.

“You okay?” Miles asks as he steps into the training room.

He’s one of the EMTs here. He’s also my oldest friend, and I know he’ll try to help me with all this.

I shake out my hands and grab a towel. “Not really.”

“Want to talk about it?” he asks, leaning against the wall near the punching bag.

“I claimed Lark last night.”

“Congrats, man!”

“And this morning, she kind of freaked out. I don’t know if she’s going to stay here. I don’t know if she wants me,” I tell him.

“Well, it’s a lot to take in,” he says with a frown.

“I don’t know what to do. I mean, she’s not running. But she’s not exactly staying, either.”

He raises an eyebrow. “She’s been pulled into a supernatural world by a half-naked firefighter who bit her under a full moon.”

I grunt.

“She probably needs time,” he advises. “You told her it was okay if her feelings grew more slowly. You meant that, right?”

“Of course I meant it,” I snap. Then, quieter: “But I didn’t realize how much it wouldhurt.”

“I’m sorry, man.”

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