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

Chapter 7

Chapter

Seven

W hen I woke the next morning, I felt surprisingly well rested and calm. I wandered down to the living room to find Cora and Warrick in the middle of organizing a decent array of new clothes for me. All in my size, and in the style I would have chosen myself.

Even in the short time I’d known them, it was abundantly clear that when Annandale Pack set their minds to a task, it was done quickly and with great proficiency.

Staring between the multiple bags, I shook my head. “This is too much, and I won’t be able to pay you back for a couple of months. Even if I start looking for a job today.” Which was absolutely the plan.

I’d worked pretty much every day for at least the last eight years, and the thought of sitting around felt weird and lazy.

“You don’t need to pay us back,” Cora huffed with a firm shake of her head. Today she wore a floaty teal dress that made her look like an ethereal fairy. I was still in borrowed PJ’s with my butt hanging out, so… same same. “Firstly, it’s a dozen pieces of clothing. Secondly, the council has an allowance for newcomers to help them integrate into Golden Claw and we’re taking full advantage of it. This is all yours, free and clear.”

Warrick backed her with a nod, and I had no idea where all of this good luck was coming from, but for once, I decided not to question it. “Well… thank you,” I said feeling awkward but grateful.

As I leaned down to grab the bags of clothes, Warrick cleared his throat. “Richard, Sierra, and Marcus have already headed off to their jobs. They all work for the Celtic Wolves, our hockey team. They run the hospitality sector but will be back for dinner. Do you have any food requests tonight?”

I shook my head as I straightened with two bags on either arm. “Nope, I’m not picky at all. Whatever you have is perfect, and I could even help cook if needed.” In truth, I wasn’t the best cook but could whip up a mean chocolate chip cookie.

Cora chuckled as she leaned against her mate. Warrick shot her a warm smile as he brushed his hand over her silky hair. “Richard’s a qualified chef,” Cora told me, “and we all take advantage of his skills. Though I’m sure he’d be more than happy for you to hang around.”

A chef in the pack was my idea of perfection. Minus the pack of course.

“Sounds like a plan.” I jerked my head toward the stairs. “I’ll just take these up to my room and get ready for the day. Thanks again.”

Feeling like a kid sneaking around a stranger’s house, I walked away, only to find Cora falling into step with me. “If you didn’t have to look for a job today, what else would you want to do?”

Her question caught me off guard, so I gave it a little thought. “Maybe let my wolf out for a run. I’ve had to keep her so locked down over the past ten years, that it’d be nice to run safe in pack lands.”

Cora clapped her hands together and every part of her face lit up until I found myself smiling in response. “That’s what we’re doing, then! We’ll shift in the pack forests. Warrick has today free, and I manage my own business from home, so we could take you out and show you the stomping grounds.”

I was tempted. So very tempted. My wolf whined and clawed at my insides, reminding me that if I didn’t release her soon she would force the issue. She might be weak, but her wild soul remained. “I really need to find a job,” I said with a sigh, forcing myself to be responsible.

Cora patted my arm. “We’ll get you one, don’t worry. My mate knows everyone in this city. But it’s important to take a second for self-care as well. When you’re ready, meet us downstairs and we’ll head out for a run.”

Before I could protest again, she was flitting back down the stairs toward Warrick, leaving me to get ready. Wasting no time, I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth and hair. Cora had left a few hair ties for me, so I parted the thick strands of my strawberry blond locks and braided them into two Dutch braids hanging halfway down my back. I’d always called myself a strawberry blond, but it was quite pink, with shades of gold interwoven.

Truth be told, my hair was my one vanity, and it pleased me to see that after using Annandale Pack’s shampoo and conditioner last night, it already showed more shine and volume.

My skin was a rosy tan, a color I held naturally all year, and the smattering of freckles across my cheeks and nose never went anywhere. The arctic blue of my eyes were the only real reminder of my mom, while the rest of my features must have been from father-unknown , who fled the moment Mom fell pregnant. Not that I blamed him, after living with her for the first fourteen years of my life. If I’d had the means to escape her, I’d have been gone in a flash.

I considered myself an orphan now. Family-less. Alone.

Perpetually fucking alone.

Pawing through the clothes in the bags, I found a loose pair of shorts and matching tank. It was warm out today, and we’d be ditching the clothes soon enough, so I didn’t bother with underwear or shoes.

Moving faster because I’d already left them waiting too long, I hurried into the living room to find Warrick dressed in a loose pair of basketball shorts and nothing else. He was fit, with corded muscles across his shoulders and down his abdomen. I wasn’t surprised that he led one of their enforcer groups. He had that badass could snap your neck with one hand look about him.

Yet he’d still been cowed by Hunter Reeves.

“Ready for a run?” he said, glancing over as I entered the living room. “My wolf is clawing at my insides like a fucking pup right now. Nothing like a good pack run to get the blood pumping.”

I shrugged, even though I was thrilled to be taking part in a run. “I’ll take your word for it.”

He prowled closer, observing me like I was a particularly perplexing science experiment. “You’ve never run with a pack before? Not even when your mom was alive?”

Mom refused to allow my wolf out when she was alive, so I’d been forced to change in my room and run in circles until I’d thought I would both puke and lose my mind. “Nope.” That was all I’d say since there was no need for my pathetic past to ruin our run.

“That all ends today,” Cora said as she breezed in, dressed in an almost identical set of my shorts and tank. Only hers were pink. “Let’s get moving.”

The black Range Rover was still parked out front, and I hopped into the back, trying not to bounce in excitement. My wolf didn’t have the same reticence; she howled and scratched inside me.

“I’ve called in a few of my enforcers to give us security while we’re out here,” Warrick said as he exited through their gate. “Not that I’m worried, but you are an unbonded omega, and I promised you safety. I take my word very seriously.”

Leaning forward, I went to pat his arm before remembering it was safer for me not to touch another alpha. “Thank you.”

Warrick and Cora exchanged a glance and smiled back at me. “It’s our pleasure,” he replied simply.

I settled in for the drive, and it was less than ten minutes until he parked in a spot at the edge of what looked like a national park. The trees were so huge that I could barely see the top of some.

As Warrick opened his door, the scent of dirt, leaves, and decaying foliage lingered in the air—along with a sweet scent I couldn’t quite identify but had me craving candy.

There were a couple of other cars parked in the lot. “Enforcers are already patrolling,” Warrick said, casing the area. He paused when he noticed a blue and black Bugatti Veyron, in a model that I was fairly sure was one of only fifty in the world.

Just sitting here in a Golden Claw parking lot.

I let out a low whistle. “Not the only car enthusiast with money in this town I see.”

I meant it as a joke, but Warrick didn’t look amused. “There are a few of us,” he muttered, shaking his head and turning away. “Come on, let’s take that run and hope for minimal surprises.”

I swore his gaze darted to the Bugatti once more before he got ready to shift. Cora moved to his side and the bonded pair shed their clothes quickly. I averted my eyes while I stepped out of mine.

My hangups with nudity would hopefully ease over time, especially if I remained in Golden Claw for a while. For now, though, I wished we weren’t standing out here in the open. Exposed.

When I was naked, I closed my eyes and handed the reins over to my beast. She burst from me with ease. The pain was minimal these days as the magic of my body did the rest.

Mom’s pack taught me that shifters were originally cursed by the first-blooded witches, long before we had a peace treaty with them, forcing us to share our souls with a hideous creature . Their punishment turned out to be a beautiful symbiotic relationship between man and beast, giving us strength and longevity over humans. Giving us packs and bonding and a lot of amazing abilities. There was truth to the saying that from shit the best flowers grew.

Shaking off the shift, I rose to my full height, finding I was bigger than Cora’s wolf. Her mahogany-colored pelt was thick and shiny as she bounded toward me, while the blue of her eyes remained the same. She nuzzled against my neck, and I marveled at the sensation.

Warrick joined us and he was massive, towering over me. He was easily large enough to double as a small horse if needed, and unlike his mate, he didn’t bound… he prowled.

This was a predator through and through, despite the generally gentle nature of the alpha in his human form.

My wolf gave zero fucks that the alpha wolf was a beast, she was just elated to be here. We were about to run with a pack, which was all of her dreams colliding in one perfect moment.

Warrick got closer to me but didn’t nuzzle in like Cora, remembering to keep his male scent away. Find mates , my wolf whined, and in this form I couldn’t recall why we stayed away from Hunter and his pack. So close .

Thankfully, before I did something quite stupid like make a break for the Reeves pack, Warrick let out a low bark and turned to head deeper into the forest. Cora nudged me, and with a sense of real freedom I released my worries and followed along. There were many scents as we ran, and one with a lingering caramel sweetness caught my attention over and over.

At first it freaked me out, as I’d trained my entire adult life to avoid shifters, but once I wrapped my head around being in pack lands, it felt soothing to be amongst our kind.

Warrick initially set quite a brutal pace, and I enjoyed stretching my legs, despite not being the strongest shifter. When he finally slowed down and let us just frolic and play, I was almost consumed by my happiness. Cora pounced on me and I rolled, my white pelt picking up sticks and rocks from the undergrowth.

From what I knew, omegas were always white wolves, the only shifters with a pure white pelt. The white teamed with my eyes always reminded me of the Arctic. It was fitting because I loved winter, even though I wouldn’t want to live in constant snow.

After we’d been out for about an hour, we took a breather near a picturesque creek, beside a section where water trickled over rocks. Our wolves drank and then we rested near the bank with Cora pressed against my right flank, and Warrick on her other side.

It was the sort of contentment I’d never known was possible.

Her warmth against me, and the thudding of their hearts beating with my wolf’s, felt like family and home. Even if it wasn’t quite right, because it was not quite my family .

My eyes closed as a cool breeze drifted through my fur, and with it, the sweet scent I’d been chasing all morning grew strong enough for me to make out the strong, individual notes of caramel and cinnamon.

It seeped into my essence and wrapped around me, and my wolf was suddenly alert, springing up to take off after that enticing scent.

Warrick leapt in front of me, growls ripping from his chest.

I wasn’t experienced enough to understand an alpha command in wolf form, but instinct told me that he wasn’t attacking… he was warning me not to chase the scent.

A much louder growl echoed around us, vibrating with menacing intensity, and Warrick turned to face the threat. I flinched at the dominance of this new shifter as it stalked toward us, flashes of a tan pelt visible when the beast emerged between the trees.

His scent grew stronger and tugged at my wolf in the same way Hunter’s had yesterday.

Another scent match! A scent match who was stalking toward me with singular intent. His beast was larger than Warrick’s as he stepped out of the shadows, his tan pelt streaked with gold in the sunlight. His eyes were a dark blue, piercing and locked on me as if I were the prey and he was most definitely the predator.

Warrick remained in his protective stance, and I almost shifted back until I realized I’d be naked in front of my scent match. Which was frankly a terrible fucking idea .

Leaving my wolf in control was also a worry, since she was already pissed about another alpha standing between us and our mate. She released a few low growls at Warrick, and only pure respect for what he’d done kept her from attacking.

Dominance poured from the tan wolf, and Warrick backed up a step until I felt the whoosh of his energy as he shifted back to his human form. “Kellan Jackson,” he snarled. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

I kept my gaze straight on so as not to catch a glimpse of Warrick’s bare ass and balls hanging between his legs. It wasn’t really difficult when my wolf was firmly locked on the most predatory predator in the forest. Kellan Jackson, apparently.

There was another whoosh of energy and the giant tanned beast was replaced by a giant… uh, tanned man. Lifting my head to keep his face and defined chest in focus, I noted that Kellan was a golden boy through and through.

His skin was a glorious caramel-gold shade, his hair blond, short, and tousled around his forehead, and the dark blue of his eyes leaned toward violet in their intensity. Kellan’s piercing gaze was locked on my wolf, but he didn’t move closer, allowing a respectful distance to remain between us.

He was beautiful.

Not in the hard masculine lines of Hunter, but in a square jaw, straight nose, perfect white teeth, all-American hero way. Everything about him screamed handsome and virile. Of course the goddess would bless me with a pack of gorgeous alpha males.

No way she’d make it easy not to fall into all their overt masculinity.

“She’s my scent match,” Kellan said softly, and despite his threatening rumbles from before, his tone was filled with awe. “Hunter told us last night, but… fuck, it’s so much stronger than he described. That first punch in the gut when her scent hits…”

He crouched down until we were eye level, and so far I’d managed not to sneak a peek any lower than his broad shoulders and nicely muscled arms. The self-control that took almost did me in. “You smell like chocolate and honey, omega. And your wolf is such a pretty girl. You’re both the sweetest, most delicious treat I’ve ever experienced.”

Hunter was all growl, and this alpha was all heart. He wore it on his face as he stared at me, and I wished I could shift back to speak with him. “Let’s head to the cars,” Warrick suggested. “Allow Emmeline to get dressed so she’s more comfortable chatting to you. She’s not used to pack life. This is her first run with other wolves.”

I swore a flicker of hurt flashed across Kellan’s face, but he schooled himself quickly. “I didn’t mean to make her uncomfortable, it’s just impossible to ignore the draw of a scent mate. I’ll meet you back at the parking lot.”

He shifted back to his wolf in the fastest, most seamless change from man to beast I’d ever seen. Kellan might not be the entitled alpha of the Reeves pack, but he would have been one in another pack. He was stronger than Warrick, and I was starting to see that my chances of surviving all four alphas in my scent match were slim to not a fucking chance .