Mated By Fate by Christa Wick

Chapter Four

Seth carried an overstuffedduffel bag and a suitcase into one of Esme Stone's spare bedrooms and placed them on the bed. Walking to the window, he opened the curtains and checked the lock. He could feel Lana out in the hall, hesitating at the room's threshold. Slightly angling his head, he caught her reflection in the glass pane.

"Promise I won't bite, baby."

He'd meant it as a tease, but she clenched her hands against her sides and took a step away from him. Sighing, he closed the curtains and turned to her. It only took a few long strides before he stood alongside her lush body. He expected her to retreat back to the front of the house, but she stood her ground, impressing him. Even within his pack, people had a way of backing away from him. Only Denver, who was his second-in-command, stood up to him.

And now Lana. Not that she was part of his pack—not yet.

He closed his eyes for a second, breathing her in. This close, her smell made him drunk with need—even more now than it had in the elevator or on the car ride back now that he'd had time to study its intricacies. There was a dash of hot pepper to it, like the fire she'd shown at her apartment when she told him to leave. An undercoating of dark chocolate gave it a depth, a memorable bite before her scent finally relented and melted across his tongue, rich and sweet.

Opening his eyes, he fought the urge to curl his hand along the back of her pale neck and pull her to him for a first kiss. The timing sucked. If Esme was right and latents weren't just witch tales, then he had to figure out what Lana being one meant for the clan, not to mention the whole shape-shifting thing she had to deal with and the ashes of her dead sister Esme had stirred to life.

"You can go now." Lana lifted her chin, tried not to look at him and failed.

Her face was a work of art, the canvas creamy with thin traces of blue beneath the skin. A barely perceptible cleft dented her narrow chin. He pictured his thumb flat against the spot, using it to control the tilt of her head as he kissed her. Those startling green eyes would close in surrender when his lips touched hers.

Not green. Green was too bland a description. She stared at him with irises the color of pale liquid moss, the kind he could happily roll around in for hours in his wolf form. Right then, her pupils pulsed, their size huge. Watching them dance, he leaned a little closer and felt heat flare through her body.

God, what a body. The memory of pressing against her made his cock twitch. Definitely on the plus side, she had rounded arms with wide flared hips that dipped back down to plump thighs. Not at all like the women in his clan who were as hard and muscled as the males.

His gaze moved to her breasts. Full and sensuous, he could bury his head between them if she would only let him. But first he would suck each nipple to a swollen peak. Just thinking about it turned his tongue as hard as his dick.

He blinked, his gaze refocusing on the most lush, fuckable woman he had ever seen. His woman, no matter how much she might deny it. The witch was right. Lana was a latent. She'd triggered his mating response. She didn't understand yet what that meant, but he knew. All the shifters before them, all the living, fucking, and dying to make room for the succeeding generations had distilled down to this one woman—his genetic mate.

He reached up, not so much rethinking the kiss as knowing he had to taste her mouth before he took that hot, sweet pussy.

She stepped back, her pupils growing impossibly bigger as she swatted his hand.

"There'll be none of that!"

Fiery, but winnable. He grinned, matching her steps away from him until she had her back up against the door to the opposite room. Bracing his hands against the frame, he bent down until his lips were even with her glistening strawberry pucker of a mouth. Seth dropped one hand, slid it between the door and the small of her back, then pulled her to him.

"Do you know how much control it's taking not to strip you naked…"

Pausing, he trailed one fang over the curve of her ear. "Throw you on the bed…"

He sucked the bottom of her lobe into his mouth, his cock swelling with the need to plant his seed inside her.

"And lick you head to toe, driving you to a screaming orgasm before I fuck you?"

A sexy little whimper, chased by a full-body shiver, ran through Lana. She surged against him for one brief second of pure heaven before she pushed at his chest and glared up at him.

"Do you even speak English?"

"No, but I hear he can howl in both Mandarin and Cantonese."

Esme appeared from the laundry room carrying fresh towels and a small travel bag. Ignoring Seth's frustrated growl, she disappeared into the guest room and placed the items on the dresser. Reentering the hall, she directed Seth toward the living room with one finger. "Pillow and blankets are on the couch. Keep the snoring to a minimum."

Lana shook her head, the raven black strands settling in a tousle around her face. "He can't stay here."

The hell he couldn't!

Seth wrapped a lock of Lana's hair around his finger. Soft, smooth as silk, it made him wonder how much smoother and softer the fur between her legs was. His cock shifted inside his jeans. Not only was he staying, but he would be damned if he slept on the couch, not when she was this close. He'd almost had her. A kiss, a lick along the corner of her mouth and she would have forgotten the ridiculous human rituals of courtship and surrendered.

Esme snorted. "If you can convince him to leave, please teach me."

Seth dipped his head back down to Lana's ear. "Yes, love. Convince me."

He didn't care if Denver's witch was standing right behind him. He exhaled along the curve of Lana's neck, heating the sensitive flesh before the tip of his tongue darted out to stroke it. Running his palm across her breast, he felt the tip harden. Her scent, heavy with arousal, rose to greet him. He took a deeper breath in, realizing she was just days away from ovulating.

According to the witch tales, it was possible Lana, as a latent, would be able to bear his children. There were no little ones in the pack. A little more than ten years had passed since the last child was born to any of the clans. Every damn shifter, male and female, needed hope that they were not a dying breed.

A hungry growl escaped Seth, his hand tightening on her breast as his chest started to ache.

"Staying right here, beautiful."

Lana reached between them, pressed her thumb against the underside of his chin and pushed. "I'll leave if you don't."

Her voice caught as she rejected him. Seth pulled back, his gaze landing first on her eyes. It hurt too much to look at them. Anger sparked deep inside the pupils. The quiver in her mouth told him he'd gone too far. The lick, the breast, calling her "love."

The ache in his chest deepened. She should be feeling the same connection. His mating instinct would not have been triggered otherwise. If she wasn't his mate, she'd smell like any other human woman or witch to him—body wash, perfume, sweat, lip gloss, and dozens of other chemicals clogging up his snout.

Instead, all he smelled was chocolate dipped chili peppers, and the combination made his mouth water.

Behind him, Esme cleared her throat. "Seth—"

He growled. Whatever the witch was going to say, he didn't want to hear it. He didn't need the two of them ganging up on him.

The warning didn't deter her, just softened her tone. "It's a lot for someone who grew up outside the clan to process."

"You said they were hunting her." Turning away from Lana, Seth glared at Esme. "She's in danger and she's my m—"

Feeling Lana stiffen behind him, he swallowed the last word down before he could finish it. She had looked horrified at her apartment when Esme had mentioned his mating response. It hadn't helped that he lost control of the change in the stairwell, showing her his fangs. Despite her body's continued arousal, she probably thought he was some kind of rabid beast who would claw her to shreds.

"Fine." He relented with a snarl. "Denver will guard her."

A small swell of satisfaction eased his pain as Esme paled. Petty, he knew, but he felt better knowing he wouldn't be the only one whose night was ruined. Denver and his pretty little witch could be miserable right along with him.

Esme acquiesced with a tilt of her head, her nostrils flaring slightly in irritation before she waved him away. He turned, gave one last look at Lana, who stubbornly avoided his gaze, then left the house.