Rejecting My Shifter Boss by Skye Alder

Two

Roman

Here.

I swear, fate has the strangest sense of humor.

I’ve been all over the world looking for my mate. I spent a year traveling throughout Europe, ran with the wolf packs in South America, visited China, and even spent a few months traveling from pack to pack in North Africa. And those were just the places I set up camp. Over the years, I’ve spent time in every country, met hundreds, probably thousands of shifters, and to no avail.

Being a businessman at heart, I decided to outsource the problem of finding my mate by signing up for a shifter dating agency, Love Bites. They were unable to find a match, but they told me it could be because she hasn’t come of age yet. I fucking hope so, otherwise the alternative is…

I can’t even think it. If my mate doesn’t exist, that could mean she was taken from me before we even had a chance to meet. That thought haunts me sometimes late at night when I long to be curled around my mate.

And then, as soon as I’ve decided to give up hope, she shows up here.

How long has she worked for me? It couldn’t have been too long. I would have smelled her sweet cotton candy scent in the halls or elevator before today if she had been here.

Part of me still wonders if maybe I imagined the whole thing. Has my loneliness manifested itself into full-on apparitions? But no, I couldn’t possibly conjure up the way she made me feel, like every part of me was sparking to life, including my long-dormant cock. No mirage could make me as painfully hard as she did. My mate. The words still feel foreign to me.

Where has she been? Why hasn’t anyone been able to locate her before? How much time have we wasted not being together?

I sensed when she walked up behind me, but I paid her no mind at first. One look and I noticed just how small she was, especially standing next to a big brute like me. The woman isn’t one of us, not part of the pack here at Alpha Cybersecurity. I tend to stay away from humans. I find them confusing. I never expected to be mated to one, though. Now I wish I would have been better socialized.

All shifters know how mating works, but having a human mate may make things more difficult, especially if I break it to her the wrong way. She won’t know to give into the pull, won’t understand the force of fated mates until I can explain it to her without sounding like a total creep.

Although, surely she felt the mating pull and won’t be able to deny me. Once I find the right words, winning her over will take no time at all. I’ll mark her, we’ll seal our bond in the most intimate way possible, and then we can spend the rest of our lives learning more about each other. I’ll tell her all about shifters and anything she wants to know about our history. Just as soon as I’ve bred a few pups into her.

When the tiny woman stepped onto the elevator and I caught her scent, I knew. My wolf had gone crazy inside of me, clawing and biting to try to get out and claim her. I don’t think she noticed the growl that escaped, though I know she saw me break the damn elevator button. My overeager wolf was lunging forward and I had to use all of my brute strength to push him back. I would have scared the shit out of her if I shifted while in an elevator.

My heart jerked painfully in my chest when my mate stepped out of the elevator and onto the third floor. My wolf whined and pawed at me, and I tried my best to calm him down. I had wanted nothing more than to grab her, drag her back inside and take her up to the top floor with me where we would have some more privacy. I wanted to rub her against me, get my scent all over her so every other male knew to stay far away. I wanted to sink my teeth into that delicate skin and bind her to me forever.

God, I longed to show my mate how much pleasure I could bring her with my fingers, teeth, and tongue, then blow her mind all over again when I thrust inside her tight little cunt.

Unfortunately, none of that happened.

I own and am CEO of Alpha Cybersecurity, and there are quite a few humans working for me who would be shocked to learn that their boss is also a wolf shifter. I need to go about this the right way, and something tells me the right way doesn’t include mauling her within five seconds of first seeing her. Soon, though. Once the mating moon hits, we’ll both be so desperate for each other, none of the details will matter.

I step off the elevator on the top floor and stalk into my office. My two friends, Archer and Stryker, are there waiting for me. We try to have lunch together a few times a week. Archer is the CEO of Full Moon Real Estate Developing and Stryker is the CEO of Leader of the Pack Advertising. Both of their buildings are next to mine and border the forest behind. They’re also alphas of their own packs, although we all get along well together.

“I’ve found her,” I announce as I take a seat behind my desk and they both raise an eyebrow at me.

“Found who?” Archer asks, impatiently opening his takeout container.

“My mate,” I tell them, and they both look up at me sharply.

“Where?” they both ask.

“Here. She works for me. I just ran into her in the elevator.” I still can’t believe it, and one look at my friends’ faces tells me they feel the same. I confided in them that I’d given up hope just last month.

“What’s her name?” Stryker asks.

“When are you going to introduce her to the pack?” Archer asks, stabbing a piece of steak with his fork.

“I don’t smell her on you,” Stryker says before I can answer any of their questions, and Archer pauses eating to sniff the air, too.

“Me either.”

“I didn’t claim her yet.”

“Why the hell not?” Archer asks, looking at me like I’m crazy.

“She’s human.”

They both roll their eyes, sinking back in their chairs.

“That sucks,” Archer says, and I bare my teeth at him.

“No one will talk bad about my mate,” I growl. Archer glares at me, his muscles flexing as if he’s about to jump me. Even though all three of us are alphas, we’ve never fought each other. One bad word about my mate, however, and I’m ready to tear into Archer until he submits to me. Wisely, my old friend takes a breath and nods, silently agreeing to never speak ill of her again.

I know Archer can be a dick. He was second in line and left his old pack after his brother became alpha. Now his brother is mated to another wolf and they’re leading their pack. He’s jealous of that. He wants to be alpha with a strong mate at his side, but so far, he hasn’t found her.

Though Archer can be gruff and demanding at times, his bark is most certainly worse than his bite. I suppose that’s true of all of us. We have to be tough and in control to be alphas, but I now know one encounter with your mate will bring all of that crumbling down. Because she controls me now. My mate. Dammit, I didn’t get her name. No matter. I can track her down easily enough.

“How are you going to tell her about us?” Stryker asks, trying to break the tense silence.

“I don’t know yet. I should probably learn her name, though; at least before I mark her and freak her out.”

“Just wait until next week. The full moon will be here and she won’t be able to resist you. You’ll have her marked and bred before she comes out of the fog,” Archer suggests.

I ponder his suggestion as I dig into my own meal. I had certainly considered it.

Maybe he has a point. It would be the easiest way and after it was over, I could explain how we were always meant to be. That nature had dictated it. Once the initial shock wears off, I’m sure she would understand. Most humans are reasonable, after all…I think. I haven’t spent much time around them, but surely the mating bond will soften her up enough to hear me out.

I nod as I work out some of the details in my head. Stryker catches my eye, shaking his head no. He looks very dubious of the idea.

“What does she do for you?” Archer asks and I shrug.

“I don’t know for sure. She works on the third floor, so I’m guessing she just started and is some kind of analyst.”

“I’m surprised you’re letting her stay down there and work,” Stryker says and I look over at him, confused.

“Why?”

“Well, if she’s human, then she might say yes if someone else were to ask her out or take her home.”

My wolf lunges, wanting to rip out the throat of any other male who dares to even glance in my mate’s direction. My muscles bulge and my teeth elongate, as I heave out a growl. I can’t shift right here out in the open, but it’s almost impossible to control my territorial, possessive wolf.

“Calm down, Roman. Someone is coming!” Archer hisses at me and I grapple for control just as the elevator dings and my assistant steps off.

She’s carrying her own lunch and she gives me a smile as she sits down at her desk. My assistant is a shifter, so she wouldn’t have been surprised to see a wolf in my office.

“I wonder how she’s going to take the news,” Archer says with a grin.

“What?” I ask and he rolls his eyes.

“Dude, she wants you. She would kill to be mated to the alpha. She’s not going to be welcoming towards your mate or thrilled that you found her.”

I ponder his words, wondering how to fix this problem. Any member of my pack needs to respect my mate. I won’t accept any less. I’ll just have to make sure everyone understands that.

My friends leave soon after, and I get back to work. But the emails and spreadsheets before me are all ignored. Instead, I get to work planning on how to run into my mate again. Hopefully, next time we’ll be alone.