Page 52 of Bitten Shifter

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “You cheated on me,”I want to shout, but what is the point? I’m numb. Too much has happened, one shock after another. I’m too emotionally drained to react to anything Paul says right now.

“He’s practically a child!” Paul snaps.

Wrong again. He’s Prime for a reason. Merrick’s probably at least eighty, maybe older—shifters age differently. Butexplaining that to Paul would be like trying to teach calculus to a goldfish.

Another guard nudges him through the door, and it slams shut, thankfully cutting off his tirade.

Somewhere in the chaos, Barry must have slipped out—I didn’t even notice him leave, and I never said thank you. My hands shake as I stare at them, willing them to stop. The room feels eerily quiet now.

The silence stretches. I should be angry—livid. Merrick has neglected to tell me far more than Paul ever did, yet all I feel is a weary sort of gratitude, a gratitude I don’t want to examine too closely.

I sense Merrick’s presence before I hear him.

“Are you all right?” His voice is softer than I expect.

I glance up.No.“Yeah, I’m just great. I’m legally dead, my name’s been changed, and my ex-husband thinks I’m running off with a shifter.” I wave my hands vaguely. “Alpha Prime? Seriously? You are the Alpha Prime. And you were the one dropping off my work contract? What was that about?”

Merrick settles on the edge of the table, looking far too calm for someone who just detonated my life. “I’m hands-on,” he says with a shrug. “I get things done.”

“Was this whole mate thing your way of ‘getting things done’?”

“No.”

“Did you make it up to speed along the paperwork?”

His lips twitch, amusement flickering in his eyes. “No.”

“Then what, Merrick? How does any of this make sense?”

He leans forward, his voice steady and deliberate. “I knew the moment I saw you in the hotel lobby. You are my fated mate.”

“Fated mate? I don’t even know what that means.”

“You will learn at the Facility,” he says, daring to brush my forehead with a gentle kiss. “Don’t worry about all this. Everything will be all right.”

“All right?” My laugh comes out sharp. “I’m so confused.”

“I know.”

“I’m terrified.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do this so publicly.” His eyes lose their sharpness, regret shadowing his features. “But your ex pissed me off.”

“Yeah, he has a knack for that.”

“I should’ve talked to you first.”

“Yeah, you should have. That was nuts, Merrick. This whole thing is nuts. Would you have told me about the mate thing if I hadn’t been bitten?” I ask, my voice steady, although my heart pounds.

Merrick hesitates, the weight of the question settling over him. Finally, he sighs. “I don’t know,” he admits, his voice low, almost regretful. “I would have protected you, kept you safe from a distance. But… telling you? I don’t know.” He rubs the back of his neck, his gaze dropping to the floor. “It was hard enough to stay away as it was. I’ve had a security detail on you for months.” His eyes lift to meet mine, and there’s something raw in them. “My life is too dangerous for a human.”

That’s a no, then. A lump forms in my throat, sharp and painful.Why does that hurt so much?I knew we were different, that his world was nothing like mine. I knew he was out of my league. But hearing him say it—that he wouldn’t have told me—hits me hard.

A small, insidious thought worms its way in, was the break-in really a terrorist attack?

Or was I set up? Could Merrick have decided it was better for me to be gone than to be his fated mate?

But no… He wouldn’t have come for me if he’d wanted me dead. Right?

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