A Curse of Fate (Shifter City Fated Mates #1)

Chapter 3

Chapter

Three

W e exited the building via a short staircase. “That’s the healing ward,” the alpha said, his grip remaining firm around my arm. “It’s next door to the main council chambers.”

We emerged into a city, a cacophony of cars, horns, and other “city noises” crashing into me. It was extra-loud after the sensory deprivation of the silent hall. The council chamber and healing ward were two large buildings sat side by side. The healing ward was square and squat, with white walls and lots of windows. The council chambers were nothing like that. They stood at least four stories high, and were built from gorgeous red brick with green ivy trailing up the sides of the archways leading to the main entrance. I had no idea what style the architecture was, but I’d guess it wasn’t built in this century.

Warrick walked us through the central doors, past a male and female shifter in a navy-blue uniform standing guard. They didn’t stop us, but both lowered their heads respectfully to the council member.

Warrick glanced down at me. “We take care of our omegas here. If they don’t have a bonded pack, they’re guarded and revered. They’re never forced to bond. In fact, we have very strict laws against that in Golden Claw.”

“Not everyone obeys laws, Alpha,” I said with a huff of sad laughter. “And it’s too late once it’s too late. If you know what I mean.”

Tension kept his broad shoulders rigid, and I wondered if I should suggest he take a weekend to enjoy a few cocktails and a massage. He was coiled tight. “I don’t expect you to trust us straight away, but if everything goes your way today, I promise that we’ll give you a reason to stop running.”

The very thought almost sent me to my knees. The hardest part of the path I’d chosen was… I didn’t want it . Secretly, deep in a place that I kept locked up tight and never visited, I craved this world. I wanted to be part of the packs with a bonded mate and family.

Yep, there was a sad and lonely little girl buried deep inside. I’d tried to burn her out, but like my wolf she wasn’t quite ready to give up on the dream. We were all pathetic, and at this stage I couldn’t be sure I wasn’t suffering from multiple personality disorder.

Desperate for a distraction, I said, “I’ve got to survive the council first. I don’t know much about your world, but it’s clear that you don’t take well to rogues. I didn’t understand before that I wasn’t just keeping my freedom, I was flouting your laws.” Might as well get started on the lies necessary to build my innocent persona.

His gaze remained shrewd, and I wasn’t sure he bought it. “Rogues are generally trouble. They lose control of their beasts due to a lack of pack stability. We’re not designed to be on our own, it messes with the animal’s mind and instinct. You, on the other hand, are about as far from unstable as I’ve ever seen a rogue shifter who’s been without a pack since they were young. I think you’ll do just fine.”

There was no more time for conversation as we arrived at the trial room. Warrick led me through a set of double doors, where two more navy-clad shifters stood guard. Inside, there was a lot of chatter and mild scents, with dozens of shifters standing in groups looking very alpha-like with their arms crossed over broad chests. More shifters were seated to the sides—the spectators—with all those chairs already filled.

In short, the room was packed, and I was about to pee myself.

“Breathe, Emmeline,” Warrick murmured. “You know we can scent your fear and hear your heartbeat. You’re not prey. Remember that. You are not prey .”

My spine straightened, seemingly of its own volition, and I lifted my head to meet the gazes boring into me. A lot of their eyes were wild, as if their beasts peered through, and I assumed they were attempting to use dominance to test me. Which was never going to work. Omegas weren’t part of the normal structure; our designation stood apart, even though technically we could be considered the least dominant. Depending on how you looked at it.

“Alpha Warrick!” a burly redheaded shifter greeted him with a small bow. When he turned his light, orange-tinted eyes on me, I was reminded of a tiger. With the faintest Scottish accent, he added, “And you must be our new omega. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Alpha Sorenson of Thenguard Pack.”

Sorenson Thenguard was dynamic. There was no other way to describe him. And he was most definitely not a wolf shifter .

To my knowledge, the pack cities were made up of seventy percent wolves, with a decent array of other creatures scattered amongst their ranks. Sorenson, with his fair skin and arresting eye color, was a tiger shifter for sure, with his power falling mid-level for an alpha. Not that I was an expert, but omegas were good at reading the power of others.

Another glorious gift.

“Emmeline,” I said, sounding calmer than I felt. “It’s nice to meet you too, though it could be nicer. Under different circumstances.”

Sorenson threw his head back and laughed like that was the funniest joke he’d ever heard. I mean, maybe being on trial for my life was a punchline around these parts. “You’ll be just fine, lass,” he finally said. His beefy hand landed on my shoulder, and I was surprised to feel such a gentle squeeze from this larger-than-life alpha.

“Soren, stop flirting with the rogue,” another alpha growled. He was in the group standing near the door. “She’s on trial.”

Sorenson didn’t look worried, flashing his broad smile and shooting me a wink. “I’ll see you after the trial, Emmeline,” he murmured. “I’ve got a proposition for you.”

I stiffened in Warrick’s hold, and before I could stop myself, I shot the older alpha a glare. He promised they were different here, and yet the first alpha I’d met outside of him already had a proposition for me. “You are safe here,” Warrick repeated near my ear. “We can’t stop the offers, but we can back you if you refuse. Now, let’s get this trial over with.”

The rest of the shifters took their seats, and I noted that the vast majority were male. There were alpha females of course, but not many who were both entitled and amongst the twenty strongest shifters in the city which made up the Alpha Council.

With a quick glance along the table, I started to calculate my odds of making it through alive. A few of the alphas were already glaring at me, and I knew they wouldn’t care what was said here today. In their eyes, I needed to die for my crimes. Others were better at concealing their emotions, and I couldn’t get a clear reading on them.

There was a diverse range of ages, races, and faces seated before me, and I never imagined seeing such a display of power in one place. It was overwhelming, even for a shifter who stood outside normal dominance structures.

“We’re still waiting on Reeves Pack,” said a tall, blond female on the left side of the council table. She didn’t look much older than me but was clearly powerful enough to sit amongst the strongest alphas. “There was an issue on the eastern border that Alpha Hunter wanted to personally deal with, but he’ll be here soon.”

She preened, as if to point out she had inside information, but I was stuck on hearing that pack name. Reeves . As in… Reeves Industries? I didn’t know much about the company itself, but the name Hunter Reeves sounded familiar. It would explain why that guard had expensive, patented technology in his hands. I’d been dragged to the city where the genius inventor of weaponry made his home.

Warrick straightened at my side and nodded toward the female. “Thank you, Alpha Sissily. While we wait for the Reeves pack, we can get started with preliminaries.” His hold on me loosened and I was moved to stand in front of him. “Here we have Emmeline Anders, aged eighteen, without a pack since she was young. Her mother was murdered by shifters and she ran right after, not realizing she was breaking the law. There’s been no formal testing of her designation yet, but she shows signs of being a strong omega, able to withstand direct orders from dominant alphas.”

Forcing myself not to fidget, I stared over the top of the long table toward the closed doors which represented my escape. While I daydreamed about never standing on display like this again , the doors to the council chambers slammed open. Power reached us first, crashing into the room with the same force as the doors. Silence descended as a male shifter strode inside, and since I’d been staring longingly at my escape, I was the first to meet his dark as sin eyes.

There was no doubt in my mind who this was…

Alpha Hunter. Holy shit.

He was a giant of a shifter, standing at least six and a half feet, dressed in a dove-gray suit, his white button-down open at the collar with no tie. I might have hailed from the poorer side of life, but even I could tell his suit, stretched across broad shoulders and over heavily muscled arms, was custom made and no doubt cost a year of my wages.

As he moved forward, a tsunami of destruction in designer wear, I took in every part of him like he was a piece of art I wanted to buy—only I definitely couldn’t afford him.

Hunter’s ethnicity wasn’t immediately clear, but he had the look and coloring of a Hawaiian guy who’d flirted with me during a shift at O’Malley’s bar last year. His brown skin was flawless, his strong jawline covered in a five o’clock shadow, as if by the time he’d finished shaving there was already growth. He wore a look of impatience, running his hand over inky black hair, cut short on the sides and wavy on top where he’d let it grow longer. I could see his attempts to tame the loose curls with product, but rough hands had knocked a few wayward strands free.

As he stalked through the room, I remained locked in a gaze so dark his pupils and irises were almost indistinguishable from each other. Sweet baby shifter gods . Hunter Reeves was the most dominant, terrifying alpha I’d ever seen in my life, and considering I was in a room filled with the strongest in Golden Claw, that said a lot.

As he moved toward the remaining empty chair, I was hit with the delicious scent of coffee laced in chocolate. A strong and perfectly noted scent.

NO! Unable to help myself I breathed deeply, and my wolf jerked inside as my entire world stopped. Hunter Reeves was my… scent-match . What the hell? My first day in a shifter city, a goddess blessed true mate had strolled into my life.

Hunter ground to a halt, his nostrils flaring as his energy sent more than half the shifters in the room down to the table, most of them barely avoiding a head-smack against the wooden surface. He threw dominance without trying, and even I felt the push against my wolf.

All the while he never took his eyes off me once.

His gaze grew harder, penetrating deeper into my soul.

A soul that screamed for him.

The need to run hit me and I took a step away, and then another, until my back landed against a wall. From my peripherals, I noticed Warrick turn with me, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from Hunter to see him clearly.

The darkly enticing alpha, who my wolf kept screaming mate at , had me locked in his predatory stare. I felt rather than saw Warrick reach out to grab me, but he never got a chance. Hunter leapt across the table and slammed into the other alpha, sending him flying. When his rumble filled the room, utter chaos broke out.