Page 25 of Shifting Fate
“He won’t,” I assured him. “He’s my mate.”
“What?” Colby’s lip twisted up in a snarl, his eyes sparking with an icy fire. “What the hell? Then why the fuck were you fooling around with me? Is this some sort of game to you?”
“Hey! It’s not like that,” I insisted, gripping the plate of cinnamon rolls so tightly that my knuckles ached. I took a hesitant step back, hating the sheer revulsion on my friend’s face. “Colby—”
“I don’t even want to hear it.” Shaking his head, he turned around to go inside. I darted forwards and grabbed his elbow. He shot arrows through my chest with a single glare. “What?” he hissed.
“I didn’t know,” I whispered. “Honest to god, I didn’t have a clue.”
“I call bullshit.” He snorted. “How can you spend time with someone and not know he’s your mate?”
“I don’t know, okay? I don’tknow. I’ve never been able to smell him! Ever. I swear, the last thing I wanted was to hurt you.” My shoulders drooped as the fight seeped out of me, and uncertainty took its place. “Trust me, I’m just as confused as you right now and I have every intention of hunting him down and demanding the truth, but I needed to make sure you were alright first.”
I pinched my eyes shut. “I don’t understand any of this. All I know is that when he kissed me, it…it triggered something, and suddenly, I just knew.”
The hard-as-stone expression on his face softened, but he still looked less than friendly. Damn it.Great job, Dallon. You fucked up a good thing.
“Okay,” is all he said.
“I’m sorry.”
He paused with his hand on the doorknob, then slowly shook his head. “Me too. Just…do me a favor and be careful, would you?” Releasing a sigh, he went inside and left me standing on the front steps holding my failed peace offering.
Well that could’ve gone better. I was even more confused than before. I didn’t understand. Arias had been crystal clear about his feelings when he’d dumped me on the floor, only to turn around and stalk me to the party? To hunt me down, chase off the competition and claim me? Was that what last night was? Him leaving his mark?
I needed answers, and I needed to hear them from Arias.
I found myself standing on his front stoop, pounding on his door. Tristram answered, looking like he’d not gotten a wink of sleep last night. His clothing was as rumpled as his hair. He took one look at me, grunted, and let me in.
“He’s in the shower,” he said.
“I’ll wait. Thanks.”
A hint of a smile curved up one side of his mouth. “Figured you would.” He paused, then cocked his head. Curious. “You good?”
“Yeah. You want some cinnamon rolls?” I offered him the foil-covered plate. His eyes lit up, like a demon who’d just been offered my firstborn child, and he snatched the plate out of my hands. I had to laugh when he took a big bite and moaned in satisfaction. “Enjoy.”
He caught my eye and winked. “You too.”
Arias came down the hall wearing only a pair of jersey shorts, all dripping wet and delicious. His blond hair was slicked back away from his face and rivulets of water dripped down his chest to soak into the waistband of his pants.
What hit me, though, was his scent—god,yes,his scent. How had I never smelled this before? It was…damn, indescribable. Soft and sweet and kind of crisp, like that first deep breath of winter air that was mostly pine and frosted berries.
Or like one of those fancy candles your distant relatives give you at Christmastime because they can’t think of anything better, except, this candle was everything I never knew I needed, therefore making it the best Christmas gift ever.
Arias froze, his eyes widening. For a moment, he looked like he might bolt. Tristram nodded to us and made tracks for the hallway, taking the cinnamon rolls with him.
As soon as I heard the door click shut, I squared my shoulders.You can do this. Don’t think about how amazing he smells. Ignore it. Focus on the now.
“We need to talk,” I said.
“I know.” His brow furrowed as he dropped his head. “Dallon, I… I’m so damn sorry. What I did was inexcusable. It was wrong and I didn’t mean to hurt you—”
“You didn’t hurt me,” I told him. “At least, not physically. But Iampissed off about how you treated Colby.”
He winced. “I couldn’t control it. My wolf wanted to shred him to pieces. He didn’t want him touching you. He didn’t want him anywhere near you.”
“So it’s true, then?” I murmured, studying his face. The sharpness of his jawline. The days-old scruff on his cheeks. The worry lines grooved deep into his forehead. He looked beaten down. “You’re my mate?”
