His smirk told me he was thinking the same thing.

But there was time.

A week’s worth of time.

I lifted my chin and locked gazes with him. “The guys will find me before the heat does, and if they don’t, if the heat hits and you take advantage, then you might get your mating bond, but you’ll never have me. I’ll be your mate in name only, and I’ll hate you forever, do you understand me?”

His lips curved in a sardonic smile. “You can hate me, Fee. It won’t stop you from wanting me. It won’t stop you from begging me to fuck you. It won’t stop your body from coming alive every time I’m near.”

He bridged the distance between us, and I stumbled away from him, not wanting him to touch me again, because every time he did, my body responded like a flame to oxygen—greedy and hungry.

The back of my legs hit the bed, and I lost my balance and made a grab for Hunter instinctively to halt my fall, but instead of bracing me, he fell with me, crushing me under his powerful form.

I gasped and slammed my palms against his pectorals. My fingers curled, digging in and feeling him out before I could stop myself. Fuck, his hips were planted between my thighs, crotch to crotch. He was hard as a rock and pressed against me. I bit back a moan when he rolled his hips.

“You see what I mean?” His voice was thick with desire, his eyes hooded, mouth parted. He licked his lips. “See what you do to me?” He moved against me again, and heat bloomed at the apex of my thighs, slick and wet.

I turned my head away, eyes burning with impotent tears because my fucking body, my traitorous bitch Loup, was loving this, wanting this, and without my demon side to counter and give me strength, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to fight him.

His breath fanned across my cheek, and then he ran his nose down my jawline. “When we’re mated, your Loup will belong to me, and mine…Mine will belong to you.”

There was an aching vulnerability to his tone now, and I held my breath and slowly turned to face him. I caught the darkness in his gaze, a desperate void, and then his expression shuttered.

He stood and looked down at me. “I can smell your arousal, Fee. I can’t wait to taste it.” He headed for the door. “Come into the kitchen when you’re ready, I’m making pasta.”

What the fuck? How do you go from talking about wanting to taste someone’s arousal to talking about pasta? He made my head spin with conflicting messages. I lay on the bed for long seconds, heart pounding, clit throbbing angrily, and waited for the arousal to pass. Long minutes passed while I breathed through it and blinked back angry tears, because there was no doubt in my mind that if I didn’t get away from Hunter soon, this proximity would put me into heat early.

I could already feel it simmering beneath my skin. The damn bracelet was going to make it extra hard for the guys to find me. The guys…But maybe not a Grigori…

I sat up quickly, hope blooming amidst a swirling cloud of despair.

“Uriel, I need you.” I kept my voice low, gaze flicking to the open door to make sure Hunter didn’t come back. Nothing happened. Shit. Maybe I needed to be louder. I shut the door with a soft click and then hurried into the ensuite bathroom. “Uriel, I need you.”

I channeled every ounce of intent into the call and then waited, barely breathing, for him to appear.

Long seconds passed and nothing.

Either the bracelet was interfering with my calling him, or he was ignoring me. I dismissed the latter thought almost as soon as it entered my mind. Uriel wouldn’t ignore me. If he could hear me, if he could come, he’d be here. A prickle of foreboding skated over my scalp.

No. I couldn’t worry about why Uriel wasn’t answering my call right now. I had more immediate problems. I needed an escape plan.

So, I was sans reaper ability, but I had my Loup and my wits. My Loup, which meant I got to control her, not Hunter or some fated mate rule. I blew out a breath and exited the bathroom to scan the bedroom once more.

My gaze flitted from the chair to the window. If he was telling the truth, which I was sure he was, then running out all wild and crazy was a dumb decision. I needed to know more about our location and the surrounding area before I made a firm plan, and then my wolf would get me the fuck out of here, I’d make sure of it.

The smell of carbonara sauce and garlic bread drifted into the bedroom, momentarily distracting me. My stomach grumbled. I should fuel up in preparation for my escape.

I headed for the door.

I’d dine with the enemy, but like hell would I sleep with him.

Chapter Two

Grayson

I look at a teary-eyed Vi and feel like a bastard. “I have to do this.”

“No, you don’t,” she says. “You want to do it. You want her.”

She’s owed the truth. “Yes, I want her.”

She looks pained. “Thank you for your honesty, but tell me…if Fee had never come along, would you have chosen me?”

I don’t want to hurt her any more than I already am. “We had a good thing, Vi.”

She closes her eyes and nods. “I’ll get my things.”

She heads to the lift, and I turn my back on her, relief loosening the knots in my shoulders. Fuck, I’ve been dreading this moment since the day I laid eyes on Fee in the club that first time. A feisty woman I thought was human putting my Loup in their place. There’d been a spark even then. I’d known that my time with Vi was limited, because when I’d stood toe to toe with Fee, I’d felt the need to claim. Something I’d never felt with Vi, something I hadn’t felt with anyone. I’d known back then I’d have to hurt Vi one day soon.

Dean catches my eye from across the room. He nods slightly to let me know I’m doing the right thing. That this is the best move for the pack. Thing is, it’s also what I want.

I want Fee, and she’s on her way to me right now, and Vi turning up today is just bad timing. I look to the main entrance. Fee will be walking through those doors any moment.

“Vi knew this day might come,” Dean says, joining me in the kitchen. He pours himself a mug of coffee and then tops up mine. “You’re making the right choice.”

I give him a wry smile. “There is no choice, Dean.”

Dean tucks in his chin. “Yeah. You and Fee were made for each other. Her wolf and yours…it’s fate.”

My lip curls. “Tell that to the fucking cosmos.”

“I don’t understand how Hunter can be her fated mate.”

“I don’t understand it either.” My brother is dark and wicked, and Fee…Fee is neither of those things. “Hunter will claim her because he can. Because he believes she belongs to him, and Hunter doesn’t share.”

“Fee’s in love with the Dominus,” Dean says, as if reading my mind.

Jealousy stirs in my veins, but I tamp it down.

Dean is watching me, narrow-eyed. “How will you handle that?”

I swig from my cup, allowing the green-eyed beast to calm the fuck down. I know Fee. I know what she needs and what she wants, and I know what I need to give her to make her happy, and that…That fucking matters to me.

“I don’t own her. She’s a Dominus as well as an alpha Loup, and if I have to share her heart, then I will.”

Dean nods and sips his coffee. “You may not be fated mates, but your wolves have an affinity to each other, and you’re a damn better match for her than Hunter.”

I know this. Have known it for a while now, and given time, I’ll prove it to Fee. I glance at my watch. “Where is she? She should be here by now.”

“You’re nervous.”

“I’m the fucking alpha. I don’t get nervous.” I take a gulp of my coffee; it’s dark and sweet, just the way I like it. “Where the fuck is she?”

The lift returns with Vi just as my phone buzzes. Fee? I look at the caller ID. “Azazel?”

Dean’s brows shoot up. “You think the big guy has convinced her otherwise?”

“Azazel won’t do that. He wants to keep Fee away from Hunter.” I answer the call. “Hello?”

“Grayson, Fee’s been kidnapped,” Azazel says bluntly.

I freeze, my brain trying to decide if I’ve heard him right.

“I interrogated the taxi driver,” Azazel continues quickly. “He got a call from dispatch telling him he had a fugitive in his cab and ordering him to a location where he was told the police would intercept. When they got there, he says the fugitive tried to attack him, so he bolted. I asked him if he saw anyone in the vicinity. He gave me a description of a man he passed on his dash away from the taxi. Dark hair, dark eyes, tanned skin. Movie star looks.”

“Hunter.”

“It has to be. Mal and I are on the way to Eldrick’s now. Maybe he can give us a clue as to where Hunter might have taken her.”

Hunter has Fee, and I can feel the vein in my temple throbbing. “How long till the heat?”

“Less than a week,” Azazel says.

Fuck. “Listen, Eldrick isn’t what he seems. We acquired a new recruit at the culling, an ex-member of the Rising Pack. It turns out Eldrick plans to take over all of Necro and push the other packs out. He has Hunter working for him, and they’ve garnered support from rogue packs all over the country. He’s building an army. I’ve spent the past two weeks trying to undo some of his work, but Azazel…If Hunter has Fee, I don’t think Eldrick is innocent in it.”

“Dammit, of course…Fee mated to Hunter will give Eldrick’s pack power.”

“Yes. Enough to put his plan into motion. If Hunter completes the mating with Fee, then Necro as we know it will come to an end.”

Azazel curses.

“Play it safe. Don’t let on you know, and get permission to search Rising Pack territory. I’ll get my Loup on the ground now. I need something with her scent on it.”

A female voice pipes up in the background.

“Cora will drop something off,” Azazel says. “I’ll call you in a bit.”