Page 15 of Wulf's Pack
Before I can answer, he notices the way Skylar’s hand is clinging to mine. His eyes grow comically wide, and he picks up his phone. “Nora! Get your ass out here! You have to see this!”
I groan. Ren’s theatrics are as annoying as his flirting.
“Just get out here. Now.”
Ren hangs up the phone and grins a wide, mischievous smile at Skylar. She blinks a couple times and is momentarily dazed. It’s a typical response. Ren’s allure is no joke to anyone with even a spark of attraction to him. Skylar quickly comes back to herself, blushes, and then nervously steps closer to me as if I can protect her from the ridiculously good-looking man. I wrap my arm around her.
Ren’s smile gets even more obnoxious, and he clasps his hands together under his chin. “Aww. You two are adorable. And who might you be?”
Skylar can’t seem to find her voice, so I say, “Ren, I’d like you to meet Skylar.”
I pause, unsure how to admit the rest. What will he think? I don’t give much credence to other’s opinions, but my clan is different. I respect the hell out of each and every one of them, and I very much care about how they’ll feel with the news.
Ren cocks an eyebrow, knowing there’s something I’m not telling him, and waits for me to elaborate. I resist the urge to rake my hand though my hair. “She’s my mate.”
His mouth falls open.
At that moment, Nora comes bursting through the door behind the reception desk, groaning. “Okay, Ren, I’m out here. What in the world is so important?”
Nora is a beautiful woman. She’s a little taller than average for a woman, with long dark hair, haunting emerald eyes, and she’s got a figure that could cause riots. She’s a siren, and the allure she has on men is as strong as Ren’s. But more than that, she’s beautiful on the inside too. One of the friendliest, most caring, loyal people I’ve ever met. She affects every man differently. Her siren’s song sings to all of us, but it only amplifies our deepest desire where she’s concerned. From the moment I met her, I knew she’d be perfect for my brother, so her connection with me is not sexual. I love her like a sister.
Ren jumps up from his desk and grabs Nora by the arm, dragging her out from behind the desk to stand in front of Skylar and me. Being gay, Ren’s never been attracted to her either. They’re best friends. “You’ve got to hear this!” Ren gushes. “You’re not going to believe it.” He waves at Skylar and me with a huge grin. “Tell her! Tell her!”
Nora blinks at me, bewildered by Ren’s enthusiasm. At least he seems happy about this development. Nick Gorgeous, Detroit’s resident dragon shifter and the lead FUA field agent, followed Nora to see what Ren was freaking out over. Nosy bastard. He saunters over, moving right next to Nora, waiting to hear the news as well. He’s not technically a member of our clan—he’s too dominant to be in a clan, and his dragon is too unruly—but he’s still part of the family. He’s like the obnoxious uncle you can’t help but love.
He folds his arms across his chest and looks back and forth between Skylar and me. He puts it together quickly. Shock registers on his face, and then it’s replaced with a shit-eating grin. “I’ll be damned.”
Nora frowns at him. “What?”
I sigh. “Nora, this is Skylar. My mate.”
Nora was already holding out a hand to Skylar but freezes on the last word, hand hanging in the air. She blinks again, and then gapes at me. “Mate?”
I gulp and nod. “Yeah.”
Her mouth flaps like a fish, and her eyes flick between Skylar and me so fast it’s dizzying to look at her. “But…but…”
I know why she’s confused. Mates aren’t usually something you find overnight. Wolves date. Sometimes mate pairs are influenced by instinct and dominance, but most of the time shifters develop relationships much the same way humans do, by spending time with one another. Our wolves need time to choose each other as much as our human sides. Becoming mates is like getting married, except more intense. And it’s for life. It’s not a decision that’s taken lightly, and I sure as hell haven’t been dating any she-wolves recently. Or ever. “She’s my true mate,” I clarify. “Fated. The connection was instant.”
Nora still can’t recover from her shock. “That’s a thing?”
Being raised human her whole life, Nora is still playing catch-up when it comes to underworld information. She’s learning quickly, but there’s still a lot she doesn’t know. “I thought it was a myth,” I admit. “We’ve all heard the stories, but I’ve never known of it happening to anyone in real life.”
“It’s rare,” Gorgeous says. “But it happens. In certain situations.” He eyes Skylar with a hint of suspicion. Not like he doesn’t trust her, but like he suspects something about her. The man is millennia old. He knows everything there is to know about the supernatural. The trick is getting him to share his secrets. He likes to hold his cards close to his chest unless it’s something he can bust your ass about. Me, Mr. I’ll Never Date a Wolf, having a fated mate is something he’s going to laugh about for a very, very, very long time.
Nora takes another moment to process this, then smiles at Skylar. “Welcome to the family. I’m so happy to meet you.”
She moves to hug Skylar, but stops when Skylar stiffens. She sends me a quick, questioning glance, but her warm smile never falters, and she holds out her hand again instead. She waits patiently until Skylar shakes her hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” Skylar says.
When Nora moves to me next to give me a congratulatory hug, I press my cheek against hers. One of Nora’s siren gifts is the ability to read minds with skin-to-skin contact. I mentally send her a quick explanation.
Skylar needs you. She just escaped from a very abusive situation. I don’t know details, but she was beaten all to hell and wearing a spelled dog collar that suppressed her wolf when we found her. She’s traumatized and nervous about the mating thing.
Nora nods against my cheek to let me know she heard me, then pulls back and smiles at my mate with bright, excited eyes. “I need details. How did you and Wulf meet? Where are you from? How old are you?”
Suddenly a roar catches my attention. It’s faint but loud enough that my wolf ears can still hear it even four stories up. Gorgeous hears it too. Our gazes meet, and then we dash to the elevator.
When we reach the first floor, the noise is chaotic. The roar comes again, and then there’s a bunch of shouting. Different shouting than that of the protesters. This is fearful.
