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

Chapter 4

Chapter

Four

H unter towered over me, and I mentally readjusted my assessment of his height. How freaking tall was this shifter? Not just height, but breadth and muscles. There was too much, including that sweet mocha scent which had me wanting to climb him like a tree and bury my face in his neck. Gah, scent matches were the worst; they completely clouded the mind and destroyed reasonable thought.

No! Fuck. No.

I had to get myself under control. I could not cave after all these years just because I’d stumbled across my scent match and true mate. An alpha this dominant would destroy me in a heartbeat. He made Mom’s alpha pack look near powerless in comparison.

“Alpha Hunter, what are you doing? Stand down from the omega.” Warrick was nearby, but he didn’t move any closer to the heaving mountain of a male crowding me against the wall.

I couldn’t see anything around his giant form, and no one else made any attempt to subdue Hunter Reeves, leaving me completely at his mercy. “Are you going to kill me?” I asked breathlessly, tilting my head all the way back to meet his gaze while bracing myself for his reaction.

His chest rumbled again, and it was clear his wolf was close to the surface. He held on to his control though, retaining a grasp on his beast. “What’s your name?” he murmured, his deep rasp sending shivers down my spine.

There was no way I could resist if he touched me, but so far he maintained the smallest distance between us. “Emmeline Anders,” I choked out.

Up close, his eyes weren’t quite as dark as I’d thought. They were a gray so stormy it was almost charcoal. As I revealed my name, there was the smallest flash of gold around his pupils, and a predatory tilt to his head as he observed me. “Why would I kill you, Emmeline?”

Sissily, the blond alpha, with impeccable timing, piped up: “We don’t care if you kill the rogue, Alpha Hunter. But, love, could you release us all from your dominance first?”

Love? Now I was the one who wanted to growl, which was wildly inappropriate considering he was not my fucking alph a. Nope. No matter how desperately this brutally beautiful shifter called to me, I could never have a mate or pack.

“Looks like you’re being paged, love ,” I whispered, swallowing my snarl. “Might want to back up before your girlfriend gets angry and plucks my eyeballs out.”

Even a whisper was heard in a room full of dominant shifters, and I wasn’t surprised when Sissily lost her shit and started raving about how I was a mouthy cunt and all rogues should be put down.

“Shut the fuck up, Alpha Sissily,” another council member snapped. I couldn’t see him of course. I couldn’t see anyone around the giant wall of dominance crowding me. Typical fucking alpha.

“Uh, hello?” I called, hoping someone out there could control Hunter. “Is Alpha Hunter broken? What the hell is actually happening?”

My breath escaped in a harsh rush as Hunter snapped out of his rage, his dominance dying instantly as he took a step away from me. By the time I blinked again, he was gracefully lowering himself into his council seat at the table as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, I’d forgotten how to breathe, and why for the love of all that was holy did I feel cold now that his overpowering energy no longer encircled me like a gravitational force.

“Emmeline, please step back to the head of the table.” Warrick sounded calm and unruffled, as if a hurricane hadn’t just blown into the room. “Let’s get this underway.”

Hunter’s appearance had me all but forgetting that I was literally in a fight for my life. The hurricane had blown every thought out of my head but his imposing presence, which was a giant kick-in-the-ass reminder of why I could never have a pack.

I managed not to stumble as I hurried back to the head of the table, and it took every ounce of the control I’d built over the past two and a half decades not to glance at Hunter. Especially when I felt his darkly penetrating gaze on me. My wolf whined for our mate, and I shoved her down. We have to get through our trial first . Please. I just needed her on my side this once.

With a huff, she settled, but her awareness remained solidly across that boardroom table with the most dominant shifter in the room.

Warrick picked up where he’d left off: “As I said, Emmeline Anders, eighteen years old, has been on her own since she was very young. Her mother was killed by shifters, which caused her to believe she was unsafe in the shifter cities. We have discerned no signs of instability, but as an omega wolf, that’s to be expected.”

“ Omega !”

Despite my best efforts, my head snapped toward Hunter at his growl. He was half out of his chair like he couldn’t help himself, and I swallowed roughly, searching for moisture in my mouth. With a strength of will I had no idea I possessed, I pulled my gaze from him and spent an inordinate amount of time staring at the grain of the wooden tabletop.

“Correct, Alpha Hunter,” Warrick said, his tone as respectful as one entitled alpha would ever get with another.

“Which means she needs to join a pack,” a male council member at the farthest end of the table stated.

Sorenson stood abruptly, and it was a testament to everything that had happened since I met him not ten minutes ago that I’d almost forgotten he was here. “Thenguard Pack is more than happy to speak for her and her safety, once she’s cleared from the trial.” A smile broke out across his face, his red hair disheveled in a cute, rumpled way. “You know we’re a strong pack, and we already have one blessed omega in our ranks.”

There are other omegas here?

I straightened. “How many omegas are in this city?”

Sissily scowled at me, and I wondered if she was aware of how she looked with that expression. Should I advise them not to get her wet or feed her after midnight? She snarled. “Prisoners don’t get to ask questions, bitch. Shut the hell up.”

Hunter slammed his closed fist on the table and half the room jumped. A low, creeping growl rumbled from his chest, catching us all in his vortex. “Emmeline Anders belongs to the Reeves pack. She’ll be taken into our custody, and we’ll ensure that whatever bad habits she picked up as a rogue are corrected. She will become a productive member of our society.”

Excuse the fuck out of me? Was this asshole actually for real?

“Yeah, I’m going to pass on that generous offer, but thanks.”

My flippant reply had the room falling so silent I could hear the dripping of a tap in a bathroom at least four rooms away.

Hunter slowly rose to his feet, and I wasn’t the only one holding my breath. “I’m the true alpha of the strongest quintet in America,” he said softly, but no one could miss the deadly intent. “We’re a blessed-by-the-goddess pack of scent matches, and you are the fifth of our quintet.”

My breaths came out faster as the truth of what I’d stumbled into here became very apparent. It was so much worse than I’d thought. It wasn’t only Hunter I had to deal with in this scent match—there were three more waiting in the wings. Scent matches were the strongest match a shifter could find.

True freaking mates. Praise the goddess.

Except four alpha males with one omega was the exact situation my mother found herself in, and it got her killed before she even turned forty.

“We’re missing the final of our quintet, too,” Sorenson called, still upbeat. “I mean, we’re not all alphas, because you fuckers have to be overachievers, but we have two betas and an omega.”

Quintets were the top tier of the common five-bonded-pack within shifter cities. And scent-bonded quintets were considered the Holy Grail. The fact that Sorenson’s pack had an omega they hadn’t killed yet was a great review, while Hunter was my absolute worst option here. Not only was he my scent match, already driving my wolf crazy, but he was scent matched to other alphas.

Outside of my mom’s former quintet, I’d never heard of another with that many alphas. Reeves Pack was my death waiting to happen.

An alpha snarled at Sorenson from down the table. “Most of the alphas at this table are powerful and part of an incomplete quintet or pack. That’s why we’re all on the council.”

Hunter pointed his finger at Sorenson. “Sit the fuck down, Soren.”

Despite the room being filled with the strongest alphas in Golden Claw, most of them exhibited fear and deference toward Hunter. Sorenson, on the other hand, acted as if they were old friends. He flipped him off as he grumbled, “Cranky bastard.”

But he also did as he was told and sat.

“Is anyone against keeping Emmeline alive and part of Golden Claw shifters at this stage?” Warrick called to get everyone back on track.

Sissily raised her hand along with four other council members, but the majority appeared fine to let me keep my heart beating in my chest.

An older, blond alpha beside Sorenson said, “We have so few true omegas, it would be the greatest crime to execute her. I’m excited to see what dynamic this adds to the pack structure.”

Warrick smiled, flashing his perfect teeth. “Excellent. That’s part one settled. Part two is going to be more complicated, but we can all agree that Emmeline cannot be allowed to roam freely without security. I’ve promised her that no harm will befall her from the shifters in our city, and I stand by that promise.”

Hunter, who had remained on his feet after the last outburst, didn’t interrupt. But I could feel his wolf’s dominance simmering through the room.

Warrick glanced down at me with an apologetic stare. “The Reeves pack is the strongest in our city. You will be safest with them. Do you have a good reason for not taking up Alpha Hunter’s offer?”

Yes . An exceptionally good reason. A reason I was never going to reveal because I wasn’t sure it was common knowledge that a pack of alphas could destroy an omega in the way my mom’s pack destroyed her.

Instead, I said, “I’m used to freedom and Alpha Hunter clearly enjoys control and dominance. I think we’ll end up coming to blows if I stay in his pack.”

“But we’re a scent match,” he boomed, his scowl infinitely more attractive than Sissily’s.

Warrick jerked like I’d used a Reeves Industries’ Taser on him. “Scent match? Why didn’t you say so before?”

I was confused by what they thought his behavior before had been about. Was I not the only female he’d ever acted this way around? The very idea made me angry enough to snarl into a lie. “Not on my end you’re not. I won’t be forced to bond no matter how many times you blow into a room and throw your power around, Alpha Hurricane . I’ll take my chances with literally any other pack.”

Several of the alphas lifted their hands, but Hunter’s glare shut them down fast. All except Sorenson, who smiled and waved his arm like he was having the time of his freaking life. Weirdo .

“Are you saying you reject our offer and pack?” Hunter asked in a softly dangerous tone.

I was too pissed off to care as I replied with the falsest chuckle I could muster. “Wow, not just a pretty face. I don’t need or want your protection, but thanks for the offer. I really hope you have the day you deserve.”

His eyes grew wilder. I was sure a shifter like him had never been rejected before.

Get used to it, asshole.

“At least she thinks you have a pretty face,” Sorenson called with a laugh. “Never thought I’d see the day you found a shifter immune to your charms and power, Hunt.” Hunter’s face went blank, which only amused Sorenson further as he laughed again and shot a wink my way. “I like you, sweetheart. You’re a fun addition to the city.”

I wanted to join him in laughing, but I was currently working on not vomiting across the council table. Finding a scent match on my first day in a shifter city was not on my to-do list. I mean, what the actual fuck? Mom had told me scent matches weren’t even common, with most packs bonding out of love or friendship. Was that another one of her lies?

Before I made an even bigger fool of myself, Warrick came to my rescue. “Why don’t we give Emmeline a few days to get her bearings,” he suggested in a calm tone. “She could stay with my pack, as we’re fully bonded in a solid power structure and not looking to add any others to our ranks. I’m sure all of this has been very overwhelming for her after being in the human world. I’ll provide some basic training on what to expect in Golden Claw, and when she decides on her path forward, I’ll inform the Reeves pack and the council.” His smile was gentle, and I found myself calming enough to stave off a full-blown panic attack. “Is that agreeable with you?”

I nodded disjointedly, my head feeling weird and floaty. “Yes, perfect. Thank you.”

A few days or a few weeks would make no difference; I’d never agree to live with the Reeves pack. But I did need time to figure out how I would escape and never get caught again .