Page 20 of Howl Me to the Moon
“Ugh, such a dog.” I snorted. “Fitting.” I scowled at him. “You played me well, Rex Forte, but whatever. I’m a big girl. I’ll move on."
"Piper—"
I gestured at him with disgust. “You didn’t have to go through all the shenanigans to sleep with me. I see how it is.” I huffed as the frustration mounted. How had I not seen this coming? I should have known better. “Now that you got what you wanted, you’re trying to find a way to blow me off. Well, you don’t have to, Mr. Bigshot Rockstar. I’ll take care of it for you.” I stood and tossed my napkin onto the table. “Suck it, shifter.”
He gasped and his mouth stayed open wide. “Piper!” He stood. “Wait. It’s not that—not that at all. It’s the complete opposite.”
Aware of how loud I’d gotten, I glanced around at the pairs of eyes turning in our direction.
"Please, will you sit down so I can explain?"
I crossed my arms and plopped back down in the chair. “Fine. What is it, Rex?” I said, straining to keep my voice low. “You’re freaking me out by not telling me.”
He hesitated. "I’m afraid you’ll freak out if I do tell you."
I gritted my teeth as I glared at him. "One way to find out."
He exhaled. "True. All right, here goes. So, well… something happened when we first met. Do you remember how awkward I was?"
I clucked my tongue. "More than you are now?"
“I’m trying…”
"Go ahead." I motioned with a frustrated wave.
"The thing is… my wolf… my wolf…"
When he didn’t finish, I nudged him. “What about your wolf?”
Rex rubbed the back of his neck. "He knew right away that—that you were the one."
Did I hear him correctly? "The one?"
"Yes," he said, finally meeting my gaze. "My fated mate."
Hex.
Me.
Sideways.
I grasped the half-eaten croissant and twisted it in my hands like some violent origami.
Fated mate?
That was big. Huge.
A helluva lot more than a romance on board. Fated mates were…forever.
Forever? How the funky monkeys could he know that? We’d only known each other for a few days. We’d only spent one night together. We’d only…
I dropped the napkin and stood abruptly, knocking into the table and sending plates and coffee clattering. Fortunately, they didn’t fall to the floor.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky.
"I gotta go." I rushed away from Rex, zipping past the pool and not seeing the Wet Floor sign until it was too late. I slipped and slid across the deck with a high-pitched squeal, landing on my butt.
Wonderful.
