Page 104 of The Wolf King's Mate

It didn’t surprise me when she was late.

She hadn’t seemed like someone who was particularly concerned with things liketimewhen I met her before.

And honestly, I would’ve waited a lot longer than the fifteen minutes I did. Even though Fletcher was watching me warily, like he was trying to come up with a way to convince me to change my mind.

Tattoo ink could change the way a person smelled. Hopefully, Enzo was into chocolate and pine trees mixed with ink. If not… well, maybe I wouldn’t have to mate with him after all.

So there was another potential perk of getting a tattoo.

“The Alpha is going to kill us,” Arthur grumbled, plopping down next to Fletcher and Jake on the bench outside the studio. It was only 9 AM, so the city was still pretty much dead. Everything was spread out so much that it never really felt alive, but still.

I was too excited to sit, so I was leaning against the truck, parallel parked just outside the studio.

“I’m surprised none of you have told him yet,” I said, half-expecting his mind to crash into mine as he told me I wasn’t allowed to make decisions without his approval.

I’d give him the mental middle finger if he tried, but I wouldn’t exactly be able to fight off his guards if they dragged me back to the truck.

“The mental connection causes him pain. We have to go through Clay or Hunter,” Jake said.

“What did they say?”

Jake snorted. “Clay said tattoos are sexy, and that it was your body, not Enzo’s. Hunter ignored it.”

I grinned.

I had no idea whether or not Enzo would agree with his brother, but I didn’t care. Itwasmy body.

The studio’s door finally opened, and Nova smiled wickedly. “Ready to raise some hell, Wolf Queen?”

“Yes, but donotcall me that.” I stepped inside, and she laughed as she yanked the door shut behind me. Growls and curses ensued, but she was already walking through the studio.

The guys all caught up to us quickly, grumbling. None of them looked suspicious of her, at least. It would’ve been hard to suspect her. She couldn’t have been more than five feet tall, and her hair was dyed a dark shade of teal that was nearly black. I couldn’t see any of her roots, so I assumed the dye job was recent, though it was the same color it had been the last time I saw her.

Part of her hair was pulled back, revealing an ear dotted with piercings. I had two in each ear myself, but they were both on my earlobes. I made Fletcher help me pierce them, to avoid any chance of risk.

The earrings stayed with me when I shifted, so I had never dared to wear anything bigger than small studs. Nova had two small hoops, but most of hers were around the same size as mine.

She was wearing a pair of thin leggings, hot pink Doc Martens, and a white tank top with an unbuttoned flannel shirt over the top. The flannel was rolled up her forearms. Floral and landscape tattoos covered her arms and chest, disappearing into her clothes.

She was cute. Sexy. Fun.Small.

No werewolf would ever feel threatened by her, myself included. She smelled like coffee, and underneath that, tattoo ink. With a hint of hair dye, though I only recognized the scent because of my trip to the hair salon for my highlights.

Most wolves didn’t drink coffee. We found the scent too strong.

Nova and I chatted while she sketched her own take on the designs I’d found for inspiration. My security entourage stayed in the small room throughout that, but when she started working on my skin, they moved out to the hallway and took up residence there.

The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable when it set in while she worked.

It was peaceful.

The tattoo hurt way more than I expected, so I mainly focused on staying still rather than reacting to the constant pain. That was harder than I expected.

Time passed slowly.

Other people arrived and left while she worked.

“So does the king know that any of these are happening?” she asked me, as she cleaned the finished tattoo on my ankle.

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