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

Chapter 20

Chapter

Twenty

KELLAN

M y wolf whimpered in my head as I beat myself up. I’d been trying to take it slow with Emme, who was as skittish as a rabbit caught in the scent of my beast, but it had only taken one moment of listening to her heavy breaths and soft whimpers—not to mention scenting that sweet slick of her arousal—for me to lose all rational thought.

I’d had my hand on her bathroom door about to bust in and claim my omega. It had taken fucking everything to control myself, and then she’d walked out glowing from the hot water, a mere towel separating her naked body from me.

Fuck towels. Fuck them right off. Who the hell even invented them?

It should be my tongue lapping up every drop of moisture from her creamy skin, following the path of freckles dotted across her body… and I was so fucking gone over her .

I didn’t give a shit what it took, I was going to win the heart of my omega, because the thought of her running again broke me. Yeah, Hunter had warned me that she was ninety percent flight risk, and I told him that if she ran I would follow.

I will follow . No matter where she went, there was nowhere in the world far enough to hide from me. I’d go full-on psycho stalker just like Daddy Alpha , but fuck, I shared my soul with a predator, and while we enjoyed the lighter side of life, deep down we were all beast.

After a shit night’s sleep, I woke to find that Emme had already left with Hunter for Golden Fin, our restaurant which opened for lunch and dinner.

I’d already planned on stopping in to see her since we had a random day off from training. Usually, I’d head into the office and familiarize myself with the current product timeline and dispatch routes. Fin and I wouldn’t play hockey forever, and we both had positions in Reeves Industries when we were ready. With that in mind, I made it my mission to stay up to date with the inner workings.

Fin, on the other hand, gave zero shits and knew absolutely nothing about the company. Not that it mattered. We had more money than we could ever spend, and if none of us wanted to work again, we didn’t have to. But I, for one, needed to stay busy.

It kept the darkness at bay.

Emme called me a sunshine wolf, and for the most part she was correct. I didn’t fuck around with the heavier emotions or darker sides of life, but there would forever be a part of me that craved the chase. The fight and flight of the beast. If I’d let my wolf have free rein last night, Emme wouldn’t be unbonded this morning—she’d be chained to my fucking bed, and there she would stay until she craved me with the same intensity I craved her.

I’d only lost control of the monster inside me once before, and I wrought destruction in a way I never wanted to experience again. Now I channeled a golden boy, and luckily I enjoyed fulfilling that role even more.

“Asshole!” A heavy palm slammed against my door, and Finley didn’t wait for me to say a word before he had opened it. Poking his head inside, he found me sprawled across my bed, brooding. “You wanna hit the ice for a free skate?” He leaned against the frame, expression neutral.

He showed no physical sign of how shitfaced he’d been last night, but there were shadows in his eyes, and for that reason I nodded. “Yep, bro. But I’m going to fucking annihilate you out there for interrupting me and Shortcake. Just give me five to grab my gear.”

He ran a hand over his face, and I swore he wiped away a smile. “Sorry about that, Kel. My fucking bad. I need to keep it together a little better, and for that, I need to stay out of the omega’s way. Starting with don’t fucking add me back into that group chat .”

“For sure, brother,” I lied, straight to his face.

I’d already added everyone, including Slade, back into the chat this morning. My good morning message remained unanswered though, and I wondered if Emme even remembered to take her phone with her to work. Knowing Hunter, he’d tied it to her hand so she wouldn’t forget.

Finley waited while I grabbed my bag, then we headed downstairs to throw on our shoes, and steal a few of the breakfast muffins Gerald left in the fridge. They were a combination of eggs, bacon, and protein powder biscuits, giving us a good shot of energy to start the day.

Finley drove his TRX to the rink, the roads busier than usual as everyone started preparing for the Summit. Over the next week, we’d see thousands of shifters pouring in, most of them staying with friends and family, or in Golden Claw’s few short-term accommodations.

Our city would explode with shifters for seven days of trade negotiations, exchanges, peace talks, and security updates. “Did they send through an update on the Summit schedule?” I asked Fin.

In response I got a shrug. He cared about hockey, cars, Kenzo, and us.

Most likely in that order.

You’re my favorite . Shortcake saying that would never get old.

I’d never been a favorite before, not even in my family where I was the youngest child, and spoiled rotten, but also considered an annoying shit.

Even in our pack, I was the annoying pup .

Emme made me feel like I wasn’t a complete fuck up, and for that I’d lie down on burning coals and let her use me as a walkway. If that very specific situation ever should arise…

“Did you learn anything about her yesterday?” Finley asked suddenly, sounding tired. “Where did she come from? How has an unbonded omega just been gallivanting around the States without ever getting caught. She’s eighteen, right?”

“Twenty-five,” I replied distractedly, thinking about how little we really knew. “She lied in her trial in the hopes they would go easier on her.”

“And she’s a liar. Fucking figures.” He muttered it under his breath, but I heard him.

Shooting him a droll stare, I shook my head. “Come on. She was on trial for her life. I’d have lied about every part of me, even the shit they could plainly see, if I thought it would save my life. I don’t think you can judge her from that one mistruth.”

“What about the fact that she doesn’t want anything to do with us, and has rejected the pack’s very generous offers without giving any of us a chance? Can I judge her for that?”

I understood why he was upset; it fucking hurt when she iced us out or got that wild, frantic look in her eyes that betrayed her dream of escaping.

But there was a reason for it.

“She’s running from more than just us,” I said softly, rubbing my hand over the ache in my chest that popped up whenever I thought of her. “It’s trauma, and she has it in spades. Her hyper independence comes from the fact that she’s never had anyone to rely on, and I’m guessing the few times she did in her life, it blew up in her face, badly. So… no, I don’t know her story yet, but I see the essence of Emme, and her essence is pure. Don’t write her off yet.”

He was quiet until a long sigh escaped him. “Trauma I understand.”

I felt him mull over my gentle plea during the rest of the drive.

The rink was quiet when we entered via the players’ entrance. I continued to let Finley have his thoughts as we changed into our training gear. I checked my phone before we headed out onto the ice, but there was still no activity in the group chat. At least Emme had responded to my separate message apologizing this morning.

Otherwise, I’d be driving to the restaurant to beg on my knees until she forgave me.

Shoving the phone into the locker, I followed my pack brother out onto the freshly Zamboni’d ice. The scent in the air reminded me of home, growing up in Thorny Gardens, and the long winter months out on the lake beside our house.

My family was nothing like Fin’s, but we did have a similar means of escaping life’s woes. That, along with the fact that we were the youngest alphas in the pack meant we’d bonded a little closer.

Hunter was our leader, and Slade would destroy any fucker who touched our pack, but neither of them were particularly warm. Those two dominant assholes understood each other on a whole other level that Fin and I were excluded from.

“Want to race?” I asked after we’d done some warmup laps.

Fin shook his head. “I swear you get worse every day with having to speed through life. You’re downright reckless during our Sunday—” Mid-sentence he took off, and cursing, I flew after him, my laughter echoing around the rink.

We were evenly matched for a few circuits, but I’d always been a touch lighter and more agile on the ice. By the time we were done, though, both of us were fucked.

“It’s almost like Coach is here,” I gasped as I sucked down water like it was my lifeline.

“Exactly like it,” a gruff voice said, above where we sprawled across the ice.

I jerked my head up to find Coach sitting in home bench, staring down at us. His arms were crossed over his broad chest, but his expression was soft. For him anyway. “What are you two doing here on your day off? Don’t think I’ll go any easier on you tomorrow.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Fin groaned and pushed himself up to his skates once more. “We’re just working out our demons.”

Coach’s eyes glazed over, and I was reminded of his loss. One of his quintet fell in the last real pack city battle. A group of rogues had come together to try to take down the shifter councils, and with the help of an ambitious witch they’d almost succeeded.

Fifteen years wasn’t enough time to ease the darkness in Coach’s eyes—no years would be enough.

“It’s cathartic for sure.” His voice broke before he cleared his throat. “I thought when I got too old to play I’d lose my mind, but I found my place with our team. The Celtic Wolves saved me, and I’m going to ensure you assholes are the best team to ever grace the cities.”

“We appreciate everything you do, Coach,” I told him, barely resisting the urge to give him a hug. Coach would rip my fucking head off, even though the grumpy bastard needed a hug more than anyone I knew. Except maybe Slade.

He waved me off. “Get out of here. I’ll see you both bright and early tomorrow.” The smile that followed was positively sinister, and I swore my balls shrank in response.

He was going to destroy us in training.

Meanwhile, Finley looked as if all his dreams had just come true. My brother had issues, and the fact that he enjoyed our ass-whooping in training told me that therapy wouldn’t go astray.

Eh, who was I kidding… I enjoyed it too.

Whatever kept the darkness at bay.