Page 23 of Purrfectly Mated

He stood up and opened the door to his office. It was one of the few rooms on the ground floor with an actual door that locked. A necessity when the house was full. Especially when he needed to get any work done.

Hunter frowned and turned down the hall. What was all the ruckus about? He breathed in deep and stopped dead.

Holy fuck.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Hunter felt as if he’d been sucker punched. Worse than that. It was like he’d been struck by lightning. He couldn’t get any air into his lungs. Eyes watering, he gasped as the second breath he sucked in brought with it the heavenly scent. Something strange, but warm and decidedly feminine.

What is that scent?

Need it.

Want it.

Mine.

Grrr.

His Tiger snarled and scratched at his skin, urging the man to move closer to the owner of that fragrance. It was like fresh baked pie.

Cherry,he sniffed,with a sugared crust.Yum.

Hunter’s favorite. A low rumble started deep in his gut. It built up to his chest, making his whole body vibrate. Need, want, and desire fought for dominance inside of him as he stealthily made his way to the large parlor.

Every step, every single breath he took, brought him closer to the source.He had to snag a mental leash around his Tiger to stop him from bursting through his skin, but the strong fucker continued to push and snarl.

The beast wanted him to stop fucking around already. He urged Hunter to run to the owner of the scent so he could finally breathe it from the source. And that wasn’t all. The animal wanted to roll around in it. To taste it on his tongue.

Shit.

His cock hardened in his jeans, making it difficult to walk. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, but that scent wrapped around him like a leash. Circling his body, his brain, his dick.

It tugged him forward, urging him to move, First one foot, then the other. He’d been doing this since he was a cub! He should be able to walk into a room without having to think through each step, but his brain was rapidly turning to mush. He was like one giant ball of need. But still, he inched his way there.

Pause. Sniff. Step. And repeat.

Finally, he stopped where the scent was strongest and took in the scene before him. Lust was the first emotion to hit him as he took in the short, curvy blonde who was holding her own against Blake.

The younger male was in her face, growling, it would seem. Unacceptable. Shifters did not intimidate females. Especially not this one, he thought with a growl of his own. What was even more astounding was the fact the tiny woman was standing up to his clearly agitated Beta.

That’s when a second emotion hit him. Pure, unadulteratedrage. What the fuck was Blake doing crowding his mate that way?

Mate?

He questioned his Tiger, pausing in his tracks.

Mate.

The animal growled back with barely leashed fury as he took in his supposed friend’s threatening stance and leering smile.

He didn’t need to ask his beast again. He accepted it for what it was. Fate. Destiny. Either word was fine. They could chat about it later. Only one thing mattered at that moment.

Her.

The beautiful stranger was his mate, and Blake was way too fucking close to her. Hunter was struck with the need to protect her. To get her to safety. He also had to work to not kill Blake for stepping to her that way.

Fuck that, snarled the beast.

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