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

Chapter 18

Chapter

Eighteen

H unter strode in a few minutes later looking as perfectly pressed as when he’d left this morning, though his expression was harried. “Apologies. There was a slight disaster just as I was about to leave the office, but we got it handled.” He rubbed his right hand over his face in a tired gesture, and I noticed a white bandage on top, stark against his olive skin tone.

There weren’t many injuries an alpha couldn’t heal within a few minutes, and as my annoyance rose at seeing him wounded, I was about to ask what happened, before remembering that it was none of my fucking business .

It would just have to be added to the list of questions on a constant loop in my mind.

Hunter shrugged off his navy suit jacket, and Florence was there to take it from him before he said a word. He sat, and I noticed the slightly tousled strands of his dark hair, as if he’d been running his hands through it. It was a good look on him, especially when he loosened his tie and released his cufflinks to roll up the sleeves of his dress shirt.

It took all my willpower to focus on the crispy white tablecloth in front of me. There was no woman strong enough to watch Hunter Reeves relax after a hard day of work and not want to strip the rest of his clothes from him.

I never imagined how fucking sexy it was to watch him go from perfectly pressed and professional to this slightly ruffled alpha, his tattoos peeking out from his sleeves as he unwound from a long day.

Now I wanted to know how he looked in the morning after a night of running my hands through that glorious hair. Wait! What?

No. Emme. Immediately no . I was in desperate need of some therapy because my mental thoughts were getting out of control.

These alphas could literally kill me with almost no effort, and yet my body— and wolf —was ready to sign up for whatever they offered . I’d be ashamed of myself, but I was too busy being pissed off.

“What was the disaster?” Kellan leaned forward, uncharacteristically serious. In the short time I’d known him, he’d never given the impression that he was at all business minded, but as Hunter launched into an explanation about production and testing issues, Kellan understood it all, and even offered what sounded like practical and intelligent suggestions in return.

Hunter might be the genius inventor behind their gadgets, but if Kellan was any indication, the rest of the pack had plenty of input into their company as well.

“Enough about work,” Hunter finally said as Florence appeared. She carried a tray in her hands, and the scent of roast meats and vegetables filled the room until my stomach rumbled in response.

“How was the rest of your day, Emmeline?”

Hunter drew my attention from the food, and since I’d never liked my full name, I said, “Call me Emme, please. My mom thought Emmeline would class us up, but it’s never suited me.”

Hunter observed me in his focused way, and I waited for further questions, but none came. “Emme it is,” he said gruffly.

Kellan pressed his huge hands to his chest. “Aw, Shortcake. Look at you and Hunter playing all nice with each other.”

“Shut up, Kellan,” he growled.

“Yes, Daddy.”

The growls grew louder, and Hunter’s wolf flashed in his stormy eyes as gold flecked brightly near the irises. I swallowed at the dominance in the room until Kellan threw both hands up, his face contrite. “Don’t attack. I’ll shut up. Sorry, I get annoying when I’m nervous.”

Unable to help myself, I reached out and patted his hand. “You’re not annoying, Golden Boy. You’re exactly what I needed to keep from losing my shit. So… thank you.”

He all but preened under my touch, his eyes bright and shiny.

“If you call him a good boy, he’ll make a mess in his pants,” Hunter added dryly, sounding calmer as he took a sip of what looked like whiskey in a crystal glass.

I’d missed Florence dropping off drinks, and I could have kissed her when I saw the wine in front of me. Clutching the glass, I took a gulp, worried that after a few weeks of alpha tension I’d be right on my way to regular day-drinking.

Kellan’s cheeks flushed, but he didn’t deny Hunter’s statement. I filed his praise kink away, for absolutely no reason , because I’d never get to use it.

When my stomach growled again, I couldn’t wait any longer, reaching out to take a serving of meat from the tray in the middle of the table. When I’d selected some of the seasoned chicken, beef, and pork, I also added one head of broccoli and two potatoes. Wouldn’t want them to think I was uncivilized.

Neither Hunter nor Kellan touched the food until I’d filled my plate, and their consideration once again heated a place in my chest I thought was long dead. After I started to eat, they both selected from what remained. Kellan piled his veg and meat together, cutting everything into a mess and eating it all mixed like a psychopath.

Hunter, to no one’s surprise, was methodical. He took an even mix of meat and veg, and while each dish sat close on his plate, a slight gap remained between them. When he ate, he started with his potatoes, and moved clockwise around the plate, one food at a time.

The alphas continued to discuss work while I ate the deliciously seasoned meat, drank crisp white wine, and enjoyed a chance to listen but not have to participate. It was as if they knew today had already been overwhelming and were letting me just float along in the deep hum of their voices. Voices that should not be soothing, and yet I’d never felt quite so relaxed as I did tonight.

These two, for all their alpha tendencies, were treating me with more kindness than I’d ever expected. Well, Kellan was anyway, and his personality went a long way toward softening Hunter’s controlling nature.

“Do you think you’ll be ready to start work tomorrow?”

I jumped and sloshed my wine over the side of the glass. Florence, bless her beautiful soul, filled right to the brim, which was great in all situations except when startled. “Sorry, what?”

Hunter’s jaw twitched, but he didn’t call me out on my absentmindedness or complete lack of coordination. “Work, do you think you can start tomorrow?”

“Yes!” I said too loudly, leaning down to lick up a few drops of wine off my hand. “I can start whenever you need.”

The silence after my statement had me lifting my head to find both alphas staring into my soul. Their dominance was heavy in the air, and as unease and arousal trickled into my gut, I realized I had set them off by licking my hand. Damn wine went to my head.

Gently placing my glass on the table, I attempted to deescalate the situation. “I’m ready to start work and am free every single day.”

Kellan recovered first, shaking his head. “Not on Sunday. I want her at the racetrack, and then we have family bonfire night.”

Hunter’s chest rumbled into a deep guttural sound, and while he didn’t look away from me to acknowledge Kellan, he did at least speak. “You will train at our restaurant, Golden Fin, tomorrow, and our club, Luxuria, the next day.”

Tomorrow was Thursday. “So, that’s two training shifts and then a proper shift on Saturday?”

Hunter’s nod was rough, his dominance finally fading.

“It’s a relief to start working,” I admitted, hoping to keep pushing these normal conversations. “Oh, and I’d like to be paid in cash.”

Kellan’s face shut down, giving nothing away, and while I hated to see his sunshiny personality dim, this wasn’t a situation I could compromise on. Cash meant freedom.

Hunter, on the other hand, showed no outward reaction as he pushed to his feet. “That’s fine, Emme. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some business to attend to. I’ll see you in the morning with your schedule.”

After he left, I felt like an absolute piece of crap, but there was no point in having money if it could be controlled or tracked. These alphas might not be a risk to me today, but they could in the future, and I had to plan for all situations.

To keep myself busy, I stacked the empty plates onto the platter, but before I could cart it into the kitchen, Kellan grabbed it first. “I’ve got it,” he said, heading out, with me right behind him. We left the tray with Florence, who was fussing because that was her job .

She shooed us out of her dominion, and when we reached the entrance hall, Kellan paused as if debating with himself. “The night is still young,” he finally said. “Want to watch a movie with me?”

Refusing to dull his shine again, I nodded. “I’d love to.”

This had his smile broadening, and I could feel his warmth returning as I tried to ignore the rapid beat of my heart. “Any movies you’ve been looking forward to? We get access to all the theater releases.”

“I’ve never actually been to a movie theater,” I admitted. “I don’t think I’ve watched a movie in years, so everything is new and exciting for me. Just no Westerns, war movies, or super gory horror.”

I was stupidly relieved to hear his deep chuckle. “You sound like Kenzo, Finley’s brother. He once puked on the row in front of him in the cinema after watching a slasher flick. He still can’t talk about it without going green.”

Ugh . I felt a little green just hearing about it.

Kellan didn’t touch me as we walked to the theater, and once we were inside he told me to choose a seat while he got the popcorn going. There were five rows of four reclining chairs, each with a small table between them.

I chose the middle of the second row, deciding it had the best view. I sank into the soft depth and stared around the room with its dark, padded walls. The screen was massive, spanning high into the ceiling, and almost wrapping around to the side walls.

Within five minutes, the scent of popcorn, butter, and salt permeated the air, and I was relaxing again as I snuggled into the soft cushions. Kellan handed me a small remote. “You choose the film while I bring the snacks.”

We’d only just eaten dinner, and I was pleasantly full, but as the popcorn smell grew stronger, I had no doubt there was always room for snacks.

Sliding my thumb across the touch button on the remote, I found row after row of movies, recognizing maybe ten percent of them. I finally settled on a superhero flick that looked interesting, right as Kellan returned with two bags of popcorn, chocolate bars, Twizzlers, and two bottles of water.

“I wasn’t sure what sweets you liked,” he said, handing half across to me. “But there’s a ton of other options over in the kiosk.”

“This is perfect.” I clutched my goodies and tried to ignore the giddy shot of exhilaration blasting my stomach. I knew it was lame, but I was truly excited to watch this movie with him. It almost felt like a normal date with my alpha.

When the movie started, Kellan settled in close enough for me to feel his heat and energy down my right side. For once, I didn’t fight the moment as I rested my weight against him. There was a heady, fizzing feeling inside my chest, and to distract myself I shoveled handfuls of popcorn into my mouth.

“Oh wow,” I groaned as flavor burst across my tongue. “Why does this taste so damn good?” I’d bought popcorn from fairs before, but it had never tasted like this.

Kellan nodded in enthusiastic agreement. “Oh yeah, freshly popped is the only way to eat it. Along with a ton of butter.”

He’d get no argument from me.

When the opening credits of the movie finished, sound wrapped around us as if there were speakers in every panel of the wall and ceiling. It felt so immersive; I could barely keep from bouncing in my seat.

“This is incredible,” I squeaked, sounding like a freaking kid at Christmas. “I’m so excited.”

It was lame, I was well aware of that, but… whatever. Kellan wouldn’t judge me, and luckily the meaner alphas were nowhere to be found.

Kellan threw his arm over the top of my shoulders and pulled me to his side, sending my heart into splatters against my ribcage. My mind went blank as he pressed me into his muscles, dropping a brief kiss on the top of my head. “You’re adorable, pretty girl. Fucking adorable.”

Adorable wouldn’t normally feel like a compliment, but there was no way to miss the catch of desire in his voice. Adorable or not, he wasn’t currently thinking of me in a cute, platonic way.

Being plastered against his side left me floundering and unable to focus on the plot of the movie, even with intense action kicking off in the opening scene. My popcorn remained forgotten at my side, and Kellan’s scent surrounded me until I was drowning in his sweetness.

“Relax, Shortcake,” he murmured, the nickname apparently stuck now. His breath brushed over my ear. “Or do you need a little help with that?”

Oh, fuck my life . HALP! Abort mission. I was going down with this ship and there was no lifeboat in sight.

Kellan’s scent grew stronger, and I tilted my head back to find his deep blue eyes staring into the deepest parts of me. His head moved closer, and I was frozen, unable to form any coherent thoughts. When our lips were a hairsbreadth apart, there was a bang as the cinema doors slammed open. Kellan growled and I leapt about a foot in the air right as an alpha stormed into the room.