Page 4 of Targeted By Fate

“Might as well go back. Saw there was an omega checking you out.” I was such a liar.

“No. We want you.” The older of the two stepped forward and went to put his hand on me. I stood there acting like I was scared, which I was, but not as scared as I hoped to portray. The second he got close enough, I jammed my palm into his nose.

Blood started gushing out, and before his friend could react, I kicked him in the balls, grateful they’d had so much to drink, because in a fair fight, I would’ve lost against them. I still might.

And then I caved and did what my cat had wanted me to do from the beginning, I ran.

And I ran and I ran and I ran.

I turned the corner, not stopping to look and see if they were behind me, unsure what the steps were that I heard. Could’ve been someone from any of the local businesses, or it could’ve been them. I needed to get out of here. I cut down an alley, discovering far too late that it was a dead end.

There was no way out without going back the way I came. I reached into my pocket to grab my phone, hoping to figure out exactly where I was and where to go from here, when I heard a crash, which startled me enough that my keys fell out of my pocket and bounced under the dumpster.

Fucking great.

I climbed in behind it to fetch them just as I heard people rushing in. There were more than the two guys I’d left, and at first I thought that was a good thing. But then I figured out they weren’t running together, some were running away from the others. Maybe they wouldn’t look back here. Maybe I’d be okay. My bad luck had hit again.

These weren’t men. Hot human men, anyway. They were shifters, predatory shifters. No one would ever accuse the energy flowing off of them to be that of a bunny or squirrel. A better sense of smell would be really handy. At least then I’d know who I was up against.

My heart started to pound as the scene unfolded before me. My gut said it was the mafia. I didn’t even know how I knew. It could’ve just been rivals beating each other up. But something told me—the cold, heartless commands were not unusual. This was their norm. That left organized crime of some sort.

I’d have been better off chancing things with those drunk-ass alphas.

I heard a wolf growl and did what any small, adorable shifter would do. I freaked out, my cat taking over, pushing my human side down, and crawling out of my clothes and under the dumpster. I crossed everything that I’d be able to hide long enough for them to leave. Goddess knew I wasn’t strong enough to fight them, and running? Yeah, that wouldn’t get me far. They could easily track my furry ass, and without my car, it would be an easy hunt.

These weren’t humans. They weren’t going to see my clothes and toss them in the dumpster and not think twice. They were going to know that I was here. They were going to see my cat and instantly recognize me for who I was. There was nothing I could do but wait and hope.

Everything was a blur. It was too much coming at me, all at once. So much was happening. My cat was pushing me down and the sound of my heart racing flooded my ears.

My cat gave me no freedom, fearing I’d put us in danger. As if I could make this whole situation worse than it was... There were dead shifters and live murderers on the other side of the dumpster now. I didn’t know who the good guys were, or the bad guys for that matter. There was a good chance they were all bad guys.

And then they left. Not all of them. The dead ones were still there. Or at least their blood was. I wasn’t even sure if they’d removed the bodies yet, my ability to focus completely stolen.

But the man—the man in control—his slow footsteps came closer and closer. And he squatted down, looked under the dumpster, his body naked and blood-covered. He looked like a horror movie poster.

“Come here.” It wasn’t a request.

And then what did I do? I crawled out from under the dumpster and jumped into his arms, fucking purring.

Apparently, I went from having bad luck to having a death wish.

Except... why wasn’t I scared?

3

BOAZ

My mind is blank.

Not true.Your thoughts are tumbling over one another.

I sighed because my beast was so literal.

But I was naked and covered in blood and tufts of fur. Gross. Two dead wolves were on the opposite side of the alley, and I was holding my fated mate—our first meeting which should have had us falling into one another’s arms and mating—who was a cat.

Kitten!The name popped into my head. This cat wasn’t a kitten, but rather it was a term of endearment, and if we ever met in person and mated, that was what I would call him.

I cradled him against my bare chest, but the metallic stench of blood smeared over my skin, in my hair, and puddled over the asphalt was obstructing my mate’s scent.

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