Fated By Starlight by Krista Street

Chapter 8

~ WYATT ~

I threw my napkin on the table after Avery departed. Her scent still drifted around me. The lilac aroma was tinted with heady musk. She was more than turned on, and it made me livid that she’d had such a strong sexual reaction to the vamp.

Never mind that it shouldn’t bother me. Never mind that even having these irrational feelings could get me questioned by Wes—my boss—since relationships between a superior and subordinate were expressly forbidden.

Bottom line, she was free to fuck who she wanted.

But the thought of her with someone in that way, especially Nicholas Fitzpatrick . . .

I leaned back in my chair, my teeth grinding together. At least she hadn’t left with the vamp.

A bitter taste filled my mouth when I thought of Nicholas Fitzpatrick. Given what he’d done a few years ago, he was one of the supernaturals that I could honestly say I hated.

But I couldn’t fault my new recruit for her reaction to him. Especially since she had no idea what a scumbag Nicholas was.

I sighed bitterly. As much as I hated it, I wasn’t surprised they’d hit it off. Similar to Avery, Nicholas was educated and well-traveled, yet the scent of Avery’s arousal had made me see red.

She’d practically been panting under the vamp’s stare. I knew that vampires had that reaction on a lot of women—especially humans—but to see him weave his spell over Avery and elicit that response from her . . .

I scowled, my mood blackening even more. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. Keep your shit together, Jamison. You’re not in high school anymore. She’s a new recruit. You’re her commander. Your reaction about this is not only unprofessional, it’s against protocol.

But my pep talk didn’t help. My wolf still growled in agitation.

Which didn’t bode well given how much my wolf had matured since we’d last seen Avery.

This wasn’t like before. When Avery and I had attended high school together, my wolf had still been young since the first shift didn’t happen until puberty. He’d shown interest in Avery at that time as well but not to this extent. And worse, now he was an alpha male who was used to getting his way, and one thing he’d made very apparent tonight—he didn’t like seeing Avery cozying up to the vampire.

Just cool it, I said internally to him. She’s not our mate. We have no claim to her. Besides, if you keep this up and I do something stupid, I could get fired, and I can’t get fired. Remember that promise we made to Marcus?

His response was only to growl louder and raise his hackles.

I rolled my eyes. Typical irrational wolf.

“You finished, Jamison? I can take your tray if you want.”

Houston’s question startled me from my inner warring. My friend, and fellow commander, who’d I’d had dinner with held out her hand for my tray, her rings flashing on her hand.

“You don’t need to take mine. I got it. Thanks.” I stood and dropped my tray off at the kitchen’s cleaning station, trying to let the magical apparatus that sprayed the dishes distract me.

But the scent of lilacs still permeated the air. My wolf rumbled in appreciation, and then in anger when he caught Avery’s arousal again. He wanted that arousal to have been caused by us, not the vamp.

“You up for a drink?” Houston asked from behind me. “Jasher and I are heading to the bar.”

I raked a hand through my hair and turned to face my friends. “Nah, not for me. I’m gonna turn in since I’ve got another early morning with my new recruits tomorrow.”

“Don’t go too hard on ’em,” Jasher joked.

“When have I ever done that?”

Houston laughed before she and Jasher walked away. I went in the opposite direction toward the cafeteria’s south exit door.

I strode down the hall and was just about to leave the building when Nicholas rounded the corner. We nearly collided.

As soon as he realized it was me, his eyes widened, but then he smoothed his expression and stood immobile in that deathly still way only vampires could manage.

I ground my teeth together. I was tempted to punch him in the face and lay him flat, but that wouldn’t be appropriate given where we were, but if I happened to see him again in a bar or outside of the SF . . .

My fingers curled into fists.

“Major Jamison,” Nicholas said coolly. “It’s been a while.”

“Not long enough.”

He lifted his hand and inspected his fingernails. “I was lucky enough to have dinner with that delicious new recruit of yours.”

Blood roared in my ears, and I took a menacing step forward. Before I could remind myself that Avery’s sex life was none of my business, the words tore from my mouth, “You stay away from her.”

He dropped his hand and rolled his eyes. “Really, Wyatt. How long has it been? Are you still harboring distaste for me?”

I took another step forward, until we stood toe to toe. His vampire stench flooded my senses, and my nostrils flared. My wolf urged me on until I found myself saying, “She’s not for you to play with.”

Something flashed in his eyes—almost like . . . regret—but he quickly veiled it. “Well, lucky for you, I’m leaving the SF tomorrow morning, so I won’t be playing with her anytime soon.”

“It better stay that way.”

He opened his mouth, as if about to say something, but then he closed it, his lips thinning. “Good night, Major Jamison.”

With that, the vampire stepped gracefully around me and sauntered off, which left me seething in the hall.

My wolf snarled within me, his lips curling back to reveal his sharp canines. He wanted to follow the vamp, tear his throat out, and make him suffer for setting his sights on Avery.

Even though I was no fan of Nicholas Fitzpatrick, my jaw dropped at my wolf’s heightened reaction.

What the fuck is the matter with you?

But as before, he only growled more.

After Nicholas had fully disappeared around the corner, I took a deep breath but still found myself heading toward the exterior door that led to the barracks. I knew I should go to the gym to work off some steam, but a part of me had to know if Avery was going to hook up with Nicholas tonight, even though it was none of my damned business.

I sniffed, picking up Avery’s trail. I kept my pace swift and silent until I spotted her ahead of me on the sidewalk. She was still alone.

Thank the Gods.

My jaw locked at my reaction, but I kept following her.

Since it was getting late, twilight had emerged. Her footsteps were quiet, and she wasn’t walking fast. I knew she was sore and hurting, which made my wolf grumble.

What did I say earlier? You seriously need to get your balls under control. She’s not our mate. Easing her pain isn’t our concern.

But as he’d been since this morning, he didn’t care and just snarled more.

I knew my human side was going to have to talk some sense into him. Since a werewolf’s inner wolf ran purely on instinct, it wasn’t unheard of for one’s wolf to find a female attractive who was entirely wrong for him.

However, I did agree with him about the attraction. Sexually, Avery was exactly what I found appealing in a woman. It didn’t help that the grit and determination I’d seen in her today were admirable. And I would be lying to myself if I said I didn’t respect how hard she’d worked to be admitted into the Institute.

But practically, we were all wrong for each other.

I sighed in frustration. Avery Meyers and I could never be anything. For one, she was my new recruit. As per SF policy, I was forbidden to become romantically involved with any subordinate. If I broke that rule, I would be fired.

And two, just as she’d been in high school, she was still completely out of my league.

Even though she was two years younger than me, she had traveled to more countries than many elders in my pack in her first thirteen years of life. And since then, her cultural education had only broadened.

Unbeknownst to Avery, I’d kept track of her after she’d left Ridgeback, even though I knew I would probably never see her again. She and her parents had first moved to France for a one-year assignment, and following that they’d lived in Zimbabwe for six months, and then Japan.

By the time Avery went to university in the UK, I was no doubt a distant speck in her memory, yet . . . she remembered me.

I thought of the comment I’d made during the ropes course, when I’d tried to reassure her that it was like the ropes in our high school gym. Her eyes had lit up. Did that mean she was happy that I remembered her too?

I sighed, but the sound came out as a low groan. I was putting way too much thought into this.

Avery continued walking ahead of me, oblivious to my stalking and obsessive thoughts.

I shoved my hands into my pockets, remembering how she’d affected me when I’d first met her in my pack town eight years ago.

My entire life, I’d lived in one place—Ridgeback, British Columbia. Since most wolves lived within their pack, that wasn’t unusual, and we had to live with other werewolves, or at least have regular interaction with them. Living amongst our kind was needed in order to live a healthy life. Without that connection, we ran the risk of turning rogue and becoming a bloodthirsty psychotic wolf who preyed on everyone.

But unbeknownst to Avery Meyers, meeting her had inspired me to look at life beyond my pack.

Because of her, I’d joined the SF. It was the only option I had to travel since I needed to live with other wolves close by, and there was a plethora of werewolves in the Supernatural Forces. And since the SF required its members to travel for jobs, it was the perfect fit.

Since being admitted to the SF seven years ago, I’d traveled to dozens of countries, which wasn’t the same as what Avery had done, but each time I went somewhere new, I still thought of her.

To my teenage self, Avery Meyers had been an enigma—a beautiful enigma who blossomed from an awkward teenager into an alluring young adult while she’d lived in Ridgeback.

And now, she’d only become more breathtaking.

I smiled, thinking again about her courage and tenacity during the ropes course today. I’d smelled the blood on her palms when the ropes burned through her skin, but she hadn’t complained. Not once.

“Fucking hell,” I muttered under my breath. My feelings for her were growing again, and it hadn’t been much more than a day.

How can I already be feeling this infatuation again?

I continued to trail silently behind her until she reached her barracks. Thankfully, Nicholas never showed up, and I didn’t scent his stench on the breeze, which meant he wasn’t hiding nearby either.

Avery was now home safe and there was no vamp dick in sight, yet agitation still oozed through my veins, but . . . why?

I rammed a hand through my hair before doing a one-eighty and heading toward the gym. I knew why. Because once again, I wanted her, but she was off limits.

Seriously, I needed to get my head back in the game.

But it didn’t help that my wolf had become so demanding and eager in Avery’s presence, because nothing could come from this even if my old high school feelings were resurfacing again.

In a few months, Avery would once again breeze out of my life as quietly as she’d slipped back into it.

And that was something not only my wolf needed to remember, but I needed to remember too.