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

Chapter 10

Chapter

Ten

H unter moved closer to me, and I realized my mistake in not leaving when the doors opened. I was completely trapped here with him, but at least he didn’t crowd me, stopping a few feet away and crossing his arms over his chest. He was dressed in black suit pants, a white button-down shirt—no tie at the open collar—with both sleeves rolled up to expose thickly muscled forearms.

Swirls of black tattoos peeked out from under those sleeves, but I forced myself not to spend longer than two seconds staring. I’d love to know what he inked on his skin, since I’d heard it was quite the process for shifters to get a tattoo to stick around. With our natural healing, you had to want them badly, and he appeared to be covered under his designer suits.

“I’ve been waiting for you to come to me, little omega,” he said in a soft, dangerous tone. “Hiding with the Annandale pack doesn’t seem to be your style.”

“How would you know my style?” Instead of snappy, my words come out tired. A little broken. Navigating conversations with Hunter Reeves felt like navigating landmines. You couldn’t ever let your guard down, and there was still an excellent chance you’d get blown up.

“Instinct. Trust in fate’s design. Whatever you want to call it, I possess it in abundance, and I know that my scent match would never cower under the strength of another.”

He had far more faith in me than I’d ever had in myself. “I’ve never had a choice but to stand on my own. Pack Annandale is a nice reprieve from battling everything alone.”

Hunter’s chest rumbled in a light, barely discernible sound. “You shouldn’t have had to battle alone. That’s why we have packs and quintets. That’s why we aren’t human out there stepping on each other to get to the top. We’re shifters, and we bond in ways that means you never battle alone .”

I repeated, with more force this time: “I had no choice.”

Hunter regarded me more closely, his brow furrowed, and I wasn’t sure what he thought as his lips thinned. “Let’s make a deal,” he finally said. “There’s no single housing available right now, and it’s not safe for you to live alone anyway. Come and live in our pack house while you’re getting yourself settled here. We have a lot of room. You won’t be crowded or forced into any of our lives.”

Horror flooded my system until I felt nauseated, leaving me unable to reply for fear of vomiting.

“You can have your pick of jobs across our businesses. Save all of the money for your plan to run away.” He stated it so matter-of-factly it was clear he was well aware of my intentions to run again. “But you will not live by yourself or with another pack.” His expression darkened as he morphed from businessman to hurricane in a split second. When he stepped into my space, I had to tilt my head back to keep his face in view. “If a male shifter gets too close to you, Emmeline, I will kill them.”

There was nothing in his expression to suggest he was kidding.

Finally finding my voice, I scoffed weakly: “Kill them? Feels a touch extreme.” And psychotic.

He shrugged, unconcerned. “Extreme or not, it’s the truth.” He brushed a strand of my hair back behind my ear, sending energy tingling across my skin.

“Stay with us,” he murmured. “It’s our job to keep you safe, and I promise, none of us will force any sort of bond on you. We’re willing to swear it to the council and the goddess herself, if that’s what you need.”

He was a dangerous shifter, and I should be running for my life, but strangely I no longer felt fear as I stood before him.

“Live in our pack house,” he repeated. “Let us keep you safe.”

His scent surrounded me, and being this close to him while trying to make a life and death decision was a bad freaking idea.

Hunter’s gaze dragged over my skin as he leaned against the sidewall. “Kellan said you are absolutely exquisite in your wolf form. All white fur and arctic eyes.” As a powerful alpha, it was possible he could sense her energy, bouncing around inside me. “Which isn’t surprising. You’re exquisite in all ways.”

I was lost for words. All my refusals of living with them died on my tongue. “I want it in writing before the council that no one will force my bond, and you’ll give me fair pay if I work for you.”

As I said those words, I knew it was a terrible mistake, but it was too late to take it back. Hunter would never let me take it back.

“Deal!” His growled reply had me wanting to take a step back, but I was already pressed to the wall. “We’ll have everything moved over to the compound this afternoon. Now, let’s go over your job options, if you’re brave enough to leave the elevator.”

He stepped to the side, giving me room to move past him. “Tomorrow,” I bit out as I finally moved. His scent grew stronger, and I fought the urge to close my eyes and inhale deeply. Being this close to him was intoxicating.

“Tomorrow?” Hunter questioned, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head to the side.

“You can move my stuff out tomorrow. I’ll be with my friends tonight to say goodbye.”

He’d already gotten his way far too easily, using alpha wiles to cloud my brain. Now I needed to double down on keeping as much distance between them and me as I could while living in their pack house.

I internally snarled at my beast, knowing she had a lot to do with this. I hope you’re happy with yourself. When they’re murdering us, I’ll be sure to say I told you so.

Her snort was filled with annoyed derisiveness; she thought I was an idiot, and she might be right. Just not for the reason she suspected.

From the elevator we headed toward a large reception desk where Hunter’s assistants sat. There were two blond women behind the computers, as polished and perfect as Fee. Both eyed me closely as I followed their boss past the shiny white desk and through to a massive office near the back of the floor. I noticed at least three other closed office doors on this level, and I wondered if everyone in the pack had space here.

Inside his office I crossed toward his desk while Hunter closed the door. Everything in here was massive, starting with the room itself, and followed by the dark timber desk that dominated the center of the space. His high-backed, black leather chair was as custom-made as his suits.

To my right was a whole wall of windows, giving him a royal view of Golden Claw. It was no surprise Hunter Reeves was used to getting exactly what he wanted. The world sat at his fingertips, along with all the power and control he commanded.

“Take a seat,” he said, gesturing to the chair on the opposite side of his impressive desk. I found myself sinking into pure luxury, the leather soft as it cupped my body like a lover’s caress, padded in all the right places for maximum comfort.

Hunter sat across from me and let the silence extend between us. As hard as it was, I didn’t squirm, letting him look his fill. Neither of us appeared to be in a rush to break the tension, even as the air crackled between us.

“You’re not what I expected,” he finally said, and I congratulated myself on waiting him out. Yeah, it was a stupid dominance game, but I had very little power in this situation, so I’d take what I could get.

“What did you expect?”

He leaned onto his forearms, still observing me in that unblinking way of a predator. “I expected a delta shifter. One with softer edges to temper our dominance.”

My forehead wrinkled as I tried to figure out if he was disappointed by me or not. “I’m an omega though. There’s no shifter with less dominance.”

“You are,” he confirmed, “and while I have glimpsed softness from you, most of your edges are sharp and biting. Omega or not, you have alpha energy.”

Your edges are sharp and biting . Sad but true. “I was tempered in fire,” I said, too truthful again. “I’m the product of my past and future.”

He probably wondered what I’d meant by being a product of a future that hadn’t come to pass yet, but I’d known how my life would play out long before I lived it.

I was surprised when he said, “We need your fire, little omega. Four alphas would have destroyed a delta, especially if she had the sweet, soft nature I envisioned. Now that I’ve met you, I can’t imagine anyone more perfect for us.”

My hands shook as I pressed them to the edge of the table. “You promised that there’d be no forced bonding.”

Hunter’s intensity faded, and he leaned back in his chair. “And I always keep my promises. Let’s talk about what you’re looking for in a job?”

It was a rapid subject change, but I welcomed it. I might have screwed up in agreeing to live in their pack house, but I couldn’t forget why I’d come here in the first place. A job was my ticket to freedom, and since he’d agreed to let me keep all my earnings, I’d be able to work hard and save even harder.

“I have experience with bar and diner work mostly.”

“You don’t want to work here in the office?” he asked, not looking all that surprised. “Better hours, pay, and less time lugging around heavy trays.”

The thought of being stuck behind a desk for eight hours had me wanting to throw myself from those impressive windows. “I know my strengths, and trust me when I tell you I’ll be most useful in the service industry.”

He gave in without an argument, which was very un-alpha of him. “We own two nightclubs and four restaurants in Golden Claw. All of them could use more staff.”

“I’ll take one club and one restaurant, and I’m happy with a mix of day and night shifts. Whichever is the busiest and needs the most staff.”

He didn’t show it, but I got the feeling my response had surprised him. “Okay, I’ll get a schedule to you tomorrow when you move in. Is there anything else you need, Emmeline?”

He drawled my name, dragging it out slowly, and I almost gave in to the need to squirm in my seat. The overload of sensation he created was a lot, and I was ill-equipped to deal with it.

“Nope, I think that covers everything.” I jumped to my feet. “You’ve done more than enough, and… thank you.”

It pained me to say those two words, because I didn’t ask to be here at this pack’s mercy. But here I was anyway, and he was being surprisingly reasonable.

Not that I planned on letting my guard down any time soon. Hunter was an alpha with a plan, and I looked to be squarely set in his sights. This reasonable face he presented was no doubt a ploy to lower my defenses and allow Reeves Pack to infiltrate my life until they were indispensable.

Which could never happen.

My time in Golden Claw was no more than a small reprieve from a life on the run.

Pack life couldn’t be mine. No matter how attractive it appeared in its designer suits.