Crossed Fates by Lexi C. Foss

Makayla

So, this is awkward, I thought as I took in the room of grieving wolves.

My heart had broken a little for Alaric, his family, and his pack. Not just because of the loss of his brother, but because of the innate tension flourishing through the small space. Something had clearly happened between Alaric and his pack, something that had alienated him or caused him to feel like an outsider. The discomfort still lingered in the air, making it difficult to swallow.

No wonder Alaric bolted.

His emotion had been so raw that I briefly considered waiting until later to approach him, but time wasn’t something we had a lot of at the moment. This situation had clusterfuck written all over it. They’d even mentioned that another girl had been taken. Gloria. What did the disappearances have to do with the silver poisoning? Clearly something since Vex had received a call about it.

I really need to talk to Alaric about that call.

If anything, he’d probably appreciate a distraction.

Besides, I’d known the guy for less than a day, so I didn’t feel any guilt about originally keeping the information to myself. However, staying silent going forward would be a real dick move. If that had been my brother lying in that bed, I’d kill anyone—and have every right to—who denied me information that would bring his killer to justice.

Decided, I slipped away to find Alaric. Not that anyone noticed me to begin with; they were all too lost to their grief to pay attention to me.

Alaric’s woodsy scent surrounded me as I stepped outside, but I didn’t see him. Following my nose, I discovered him pacing in the woods at the back of the property.

His fists clenched at his sides as his body trembled with unadulterated aggression. It whipped across my senses, provoking my wolf. His anger and hostility had mounted over the last several hours, reaching a high point now.

“When was the last time you shifted?” I demanded, recognizing the animal in his pacing. His inner beast craves freedom.

Alaric paused and slowly raised his head. His eyes were black, his wolf barely contained, both the man and the animal filled with rage. “Go the hell away, mate,” he growled, spitting the last word as though it left a dirty taste in his mouth.

“But—”

“Not another word,” he bit out. “Unless you want to fight or fuck, go away.”

My brows shot up to my hairline. “Excuse me?”

He stalked toward me, his expression akin to an animal hunting its prey. My wolf urged me to run because she knew he would chase. And if his wolf caught her, he would mount her. Which led me to thinking about Alaric taking me like an animal from behind. Shit!

As Alaric drew closer, I mentally snapped at my wolf to control herself and held my ground. I’d never been one to back down, yet anxiety danced around the edges of my arousal. What the hell? I’d faced bigger, scarier men in my job and had never felt a twinge of uncertainty or fear. One super-hot alpha looks at me like he’s going to eat me for lunch, dinner—and dessert—and I’m freaking out?

The wicked smile that spread across his face told me he smelled my interest. If he hadn’t just watched his brother die, I would’ve knocked that expression right off his face.

I assumed he would stop prowling forward when I didn’t back up in defeat. But he kept advancing, stirring a shiver deep within me. My face heated, partly from the dominant vibes coming off Alaric in waves and partly because I took an involuntary step back.

Arrrrgh! Don’t back down,I screamed at myself. And yet, I retreated another four steps with Alaric immediately eclipsing all the space I’d put between us. My back hit a tree, halting me midstep as he cornered me against the bark wall behind me.

Well, shit.

Alaric pressed into me, his palms settling on the tree trunk on either side of my head to cage me between his arms. I swallowed hard at the glimpse of fury and lust in his intense gaze. The emotions coiled so tightly together that I doubted he knew the difference between them. “You heard me, Makayla.”

Heard what?I wanted to ask, my mind fracturing beneath the heady scent of man and wolf.

And why did it always sound like sex when he said my name? My nipples stiffened, and electricity buzzed over my skin. What is wrong with me? This alpha caveman bullshit should not make me wet and desperate to take him up on his multiple offers for a ride.

Alaric inhaled, his chuckle dark and not one of amusement but one of a man who knew his prey wanted what he had to offer.

I quivered in response, hating that my body gave me away.

But his did as well, his arousal a heavy weight against my lower abdomen as he leaned into me to ensure I felt every hard inch of him.

“What’s it going to be, Makayla?” he asked, his lips grazing mine. “Because I’m not interested in seeing, hearing, or fucking smelling you unless you are here to console me like a good, obedient little mate. So either fuck off or kneel and put that sharp tongue of yours to better use.”

I almost pointed out that I hadn’t spoken much since walking out here, but I couldn’t think beyond the pounding of my heart.

His words were abrasive, but my wolf didn’t understand anything except his need to dominate. The large, prominent bulge in his jeans pushed into the apex between my thighs, and my inner animal started panting. I fought to keep her intrigue from showing in my own breathing patterns and cleared my throat while silently commanding my wolf to back off. For the love of all that is holy, he’s grieving his brother! She snarled at my tone, then marched to a dark corner and curled up to pout.

Alaric’s body vibrated with unchecked emotion, needing an outlet before he exploded. I had no intention of being the thing he used as an outlet for his grief. A quick, angry fuck sounded hot, but it would only further complicate this situation. Something we definitely didn’t need.

A smirk tipped up the corners of my mouth. “Can you see the ‘fuck you’ in my smile? No? That’s because it’s not fucking happening, jackass. I just came out here to tell you what I know about the silver poisoning. This shifter Neo—”

In the blink of an eye, I could no longer breathe or speak because Alaric had his hand wrapped around my throat—the hand of his good arm. Shit.

His blue irises smoldered with accusation, the aggression coming from Alaric—the man—just as much as from his wolf.

“You know something about the poisoning?” he demanded in a deadly voice. “And you are just telling me this now, why?”

I tried to respond, but his hold still cut off my flow of oxygen. Clawing at his fingers, my body twisted this way and that, trying to free myself. But he had pressed himself so tightly against me that I could barely move.

Fortunately, he seemed to realize I couldn’t talk and loosened his grip just enough to allow me to gulp in a lungful of air. I coughed and sucked in a few more deep breaths before croaking out, “If you stop trying to choke me, I might tell you. But right now…” I paused to inhale, the oxygen burning my raw throat. “You might as well finish the job because if I get free”—another breath—“ I’m going to fucking kill you.”

He ignored my threat. “Tell me about the silver.”

Bitten wolves didn’t possess compulsion, which meant that even as an alpha, Alaric couldn’t force my will. And yet, both my wolf and I were drawn to his commanding presence. Which really pissed me the hell off.

“Are you a part of this, Makayla?”

“What?” Was he fucking high? “Are you seriously asking me that?”

His hand tightened again, not enough to cut off all of my air but enough to make a point. “You weren’t exactly trapped in that cell. And you did fucking stab me, after all. Your actions don’t exactly scream innocence, Makayla.”

“I took you home,” I wheezed as he loosened his grip again, allowing me to speak once more. “Fixed you up. Brought you to your brother so you could say goodbye.” Each reminder came out in a rasp of sound, but the point remained. “I helped you.”

Alaric shook his head as if trying to clear it of clutter. “Something’s not right,” he muttered. He considered me for a beat before his eyes narrowed to slits. “Are you even my fated mate? Or have you figured out some way to trick me? Did you—”

Not only did I find myself unable to breathe again, but my feet also left the ground as Alaric lifted me up. The expression on his face held so much hate and bitterness that I could smell it tainting his normally intoxicating scent.

Black dots danced in front of my eyes, clouding my vision. Shit! I choked and dug my claws into his arms as hypoxia began to crawl toward my brain. My wolf slammed into me repeatedly, trying to keep me from passing out and to force a shift so she could protect us.

“The distraction at Blood Thirteen. Were you part of that ambush, Makayla? Because if you had anything to do with Violet almost being killed—”

I didn’t understand why, but his protective tone at the mention of Violet—while accusing his supposed fated mate of trying to kill her—tipped me over the edge I’d been teetering on.

Enough of this bullshit.

He still had a weakness I could exploit.

I reached for his damaged shoulder and pressed my thumb into the wound I’d created earlier. Oh, he’d healed some, but not nearly enough, and his wince and resulting growl told me it still hurt like a son of a bitch.

Dick move, yes. But so was choking me.

I pressed harder, provoking him to shift. Taking advantage of my newfound space, I wiggled my legs out from beneath me and wrapped them around his waist like a vise, catching Alaric by surprise and knocking the wind out of him. Then I partially shifted and swiped a claw up his front, slicing his sweater and skin in the process, drawing blood. His resulting shock allowed me to push his hand away from my throat so I could finally take in air.

Part of me wanted to collapse with relief and just breathe, but I could already sense Alaric beginning to regroup.

I fought the dizziness and sucked in as much oxygen as I could and began fighting my way out of his hold. He tried to loosen my grip around his waist while I struggled to hold on, my thighs clamping even tighter around him. All our grappling tipped us over and took us to the ground. We tussled and wrestled, both of us attempting to dominate the other, but neither of us managed to keep the upper hand for long. His injured shoulder worked in my favor, suggesting he’d be an even fiercer opponent at full health.

I jumped to my feet, and he quickly followed.

Neither of us held back as we fought, and I couldn’t help being a little impressed and a whole lot turned on. My wolf basked in the glow of his powerful vibes, loving the way he proved himself to be an alpha in his prime. She believed he could protect us and would be possessive, dominant, and a worthy mate. Which really irritated me. Sometimes I felt like I needed to remind her of her status as an alpha wolf and not a submissive.

Alaric finally took me down and pinned me to the ground, his domineering growl vibrating me to my core. We were both covered in superficial wounds, our breathing hard from being ramped up on adrenaline. I stared into his eyes and saw a reflection of my own emotions.

Anger.

Respect.

Desire.

Except Alaric was also drowning in an ocean of grief.

He lowered his head, his eyes still glued to mine, and covered my mouth with his own.

Lust ripped through me and exploded with the force of a hurricane, knocking the wind right out of me. I knew I shouldn’t, but I kissed him back anyway, lost to the high of the moment and the violence erupting between us.

It felt right.

Perfect.

Intense.

And just for a moment, I completely forgot what had provoked our fight. Because all I wanted was to feel. To breathe him in. To lose myself to the flawless moment of us.