For Reeve McCabe, meeting her true mate couldn’t have come at a worst time. She wanted to fight it, but was powerless against the attraction. She felt inexplicably drawn to the handsome stranger in the coffee shop, and he became her only focus. She smelled her sister’s scent all over him, and it made her want to pounce on him to claim him right then and there. Aster. The only reason she stopped by the coffee shop to begin with. She broke away from her mate’s gaze when her sister cried out and winced when she saw the hurt on Aster’s flushed face, her red cheeks stained with tears. When Aster took off, Reeve ran after her.

She called out for Aster to come back, but by the time she reached the alley, Aster was gone, her clothes a discarded heap on the pavement. Reeve started to call her cat forward so she could pursue her sister, but her cat had nothing but mating on her mind and refused to cooperate. She was unable to leave her mate. She didn’t even know his name or where he came from, but that didn’t matter. Now that they’d crossed paths, she knew she’d never stray far from his side.

She had come to tell Aster she was home for an indefinite amount of time. Life had gone sideways in Denver, and she needed the security, the protection, of the den and her family. Trouble had followed Reeve lately, and sadness weighed heavy on her heart when she realized the source of her sister’s anguish. Her mate was Aster’s boyfriend. Shit. Without even meaning to, she had once again caused her sister pain. With a sigh, Reeve picked up her sister’s clothes and folded them. She brought them inside and left them in a neat stack on top of a cardboard box before returning to her mate.

“I feel just as shitty, too. Aster doesn’t deserve this. She’s a good person. I’ve seen you in the pictures she has in her apartment. You’re Reeve?” her mate asked in a deep voice that echoed within her soul. He brushed a tear off of her cheek before his hands came to rest on her hips, and she felt the strength they possessed. His eyes were a warm brown, framed with thick lashes. His light brown hair was long on top and tousled. A straight nose brought her attention to his full lips.

“Yes,” she replied and stepped closer so their bodies were a breath apart. “And you are?” His heart pounded a strong, steady beat, and she was shocked to discover her heartbeat had already aligned with his.

“Patrick O’Shea.” A hand left her hip and ghosted up her side, lightly brushing against her right breast before cupping her cheek. She leaned into his touch and purred. All thoughts of anything except Patrick disappeared when he touched her. She knew they had an audience in the coffee shop, but she didn’t care. The instinct to fully mate with Patrick clouded her brain. “Please tell me you have your own place, because I’m staying with my parents.”

Patrick smiled, his canines already grown longer, and his eyes flashed golden. “I do. Let’s go.”

They quickly left Coffee Haven, a boatload of pheromones following them out the door.

Patrick lived in Havenwood Village, an apartment complex located a block away from downtown Main Street. At the speed they ran, they reached his apartment within minutes. He opened the front door, and that’s as far as they got. Patrick pressed her up against the wall and lowered his head to capture her lips. She tilted to meet him and growled in appreciation when they connected. His lips were soft, but the kiss was hard with urgency. She parted her mouth and welcomed his tongue while burying her hands in his thick hair and tugging on it, encouraging him to deepen the kiss. Reeve moved her hips forward, and as if in sync, Patrick did too. His arousal pressed against her belly, and she broke off the kiss.

“I can’t believe this is really happening,” she panted.

“Me either,” Patrick said between kisses that he traced from the corner of her mouth and along her neck. She tilted her head back, giving him more access. He brushed her long auburn hair behind her shoulder and gently bit down on at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. His canines just barely broke the skin. The act of dominance triggered waves of lust.

“Wait, I don’t even know you, and what about Aster?” she asked, trying to retain a grip on reality and not be consumed by her emotions. Reeve’s voice shook as she struggled to form the words.

Patrick groaned, but raised his head to meet her gaze with glowing eyes, his irises darker slits, echoing her struggle for control as his cat called to hers. “Trust me, Aster needs her space, and honestly, I don’t think I can stop. We will get to know each other—we have our entire lives to learn everything there is to know and so much more.”

He kissed her again, and Reeve allowed her cat closer to the surface. She shifted enough to allow her hands to transform into paws tipped with sharp claws, and she shredded Patrick’s shirt. He growled with approval, his eyes flashing golden again right before he sliced her shirt open with an equally sharp set of claws. Soon their shredded clothes lay in a pile on the floor, and they stood naked before each other without any shyness.

Reeve admired her mate, running a hand down his muscular chest and stomach. He had a few scars on his side—faint claw marks that had faded to white—which she guessed were from an old injury. Leaning forward, she gently licked the scars, then placed a soft kiss on his skin. His scent filled her nose, and her whole body pulsed with a powerful wave of arousal. She gasped and stood up straight, almost dizzy with need. Patrick looked her over appreciatively, and her skin flushed under his gaze. His nostrils flared, and his eyes glowed amber right before he spun Reeve around so she faced the wall.

“I don’t have the patience to be gentle or slow, but I promise the next time . . .” He ran his nose along her neck and cupped her breasts from behind. She arched her back and pressed into his hands. With every touch, she felt her hold on reality slipping, her conscience suppressed by the call to mate. Every nerve in her body hummed with promise and came alive with each caress.

She whimpered as she stopped resisting. “Take me. I’m yours.”

The moment he entered her, Reeve knew there would never be another man for her. Their souls merged, and she felt his need as acutely as her own. His hard, muscular body pressed her against the wall, and she pushed back against him, causing him to drive deeper.

“Oh my God,” Reeve cried out, and her knees threatened to go soft.

Patrick brushed her hair aside and bit down on her neck. This time his teeth pierced her skin, completing his claim on her. An overwhelming sense of peace and pleasure consumed her as she felt her blood surging into his mouth. With a final thrust and grunt, Patrick stilled and rode out her orgasm while licking the bite mark clean. They stayed pressed against each other, their pulses pounding, for a few moments, catching their breaths. Reeve slowly turned around to face her mate. His hair stuck out in all directions, and his cheeks were flushed from exertion. Reeve wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes, pulling him to her for a kiss. Now that the initial itch had been scratched, the urgency had waned, but after a few strokes of her tongue, Patrick was ready again.

This time they faced each other. She raised a leg and hooked it over his hip, and he slid inside. They moved in sync, creating a rhythm that quickly rose to a crescendo. Patrick lifted her up, so she wrapped her legs around him. From this angle, she was at the right height to stake her claim. She licked the spot on his neck first, and the vein pulsed underneath her tongue. Her canines dropped, and she struck, drawing his blood into her mouth. The iron-rich warmth bubbled up, and she drank deeply until Patrick released with a muffled groan. Then she retracted her teeth and licked the wound. She was his, and he was hers. The mating bond was officially complete, and there was no going back.

After they collapsed in Patrick’s bed, sated and drowsy, the guilt set in.

“I don’t regret finding you, my mate,” Patrick said as they lay in his dark bedroom. “But I just hate that Aster is hurt. I do care for her, but now, you’re all I can see.”

“I know. I tried to resist, but the mating call . . . I’ve never experienced anything so powerful before. Poor Aster.” Reeve sighed and rolled over onto her side to face Patrick. He moved so she could settle against him with his arm tucked in behind her, holding her close. “It’s not like I planned this. Trust me, I have enough complications in my life, and I just added another reason for my sister to hate me forever.”