Page 31 of The Billionaire Alpha's Assistant

I take half a step toward her, but Alex shrinks back, covering herself with her hands. “Stay — away from me!”

The look in her eyes feels like a punch to the gut, but it’s understandable. Humans are supposed to fear wolves. We’re the villains in every fairytale for a reason.

“Will you just let me explain?” I ask, holding out a hand in a placating gesture that only seems to make her more hysterical.

“Explain how you just changed from a wolf to a person?” She shakes her head and straightens up, edging around me to reach the bedroom. “And don’t tell me that’s crazy. I know what I saw.”

“You’re not crazy,” I say, as calmly as I can. “I’m a shifter, Alex. That’s all.”

“That’s all?” Alex gapes at me, and a bubble of crazed laughter bursts out of her. “That’s all!”

Damn, she is so beautiful, even when she’s yelling at me. Her nipples are pebbled from the cold, and water droplets glisten all over her body. I have the sudden urge to lick every single one — making my way down to her tight little cunt.

“I’m the alpha of the Golden Gate Canyon pack,” I explain. “I was born this way. It’s just . . . who I am.”

“You’re a werewolf?”

I cringe. “Wolf shifter, technically. There are other types of shifters in the world — not just humans who can turn into wolves.”

“And you had to shift because it’s a full moon?” Alex gulps, glancing up at the bright silver moon.

“No,” I scoff. “It’s not like the movies. The full moon doesn’t compel me to shift. I just . . . needed to.”

“You needed to?”

“It’s been a couple days,” I explain. “I get . . . irritable if I go too long.”

“You get irritable,” Alex repeats, raising her eyebrows. She swallows. “Have you ever . . . turned someone?”

“No,” I bark, choking on a laugh. “We can’t ‘turn’ a human by biting them. All of us were born this way.”

Alex blinks as that information sinks in. “So, it’s like a genetic condition.”

“Yes.”

She sucks in a breath. “Are Elena and your mom —”

“No.” I shake my head. “My mother is human, and so is Elena. Jake, on the other hand . . . well, he’s like me.”

Alex’s eyebrows shoot up, and I worry she might actually flee. For some reason, the idea that there’s another shifter in the house seems to be too much for her.

“Does Elena know?”

“Yes,” I sigh. “Elena is his mate.”

“His mate?” Now she’s looking at me as though I’m crazy.

“Every shifter has a fated mate,” I explain. “At least, that’s what they say. The bond between mates is . . . undeniable. Mates are bonded on a soul level.”

“What does that even mean?”

I shake my head, searching for the right words. I’ve never really bought into the whole fated-mates thing, but suddenly, I understand.

“Meeting your mate is like . . . like meeting someone you’ve known your entire life,” I say in a rush. “You see them, and you just know. You know you have to have them — even if it costs you everything.”

My shoulders sag as I catch my breath, my heart thundering as the realization hits me.

It’s the reason I felt such an instant attraction to Alex — the reason I dragged her to Aspen.

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