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

Chapter 29

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

S lade didn’t break the silence during the drive, but I wasn’t bothered by it.

Mostly I enjoyed my time in his powerful supercar.

Music played in the background, and it was heavily instrumental. I had no idea what genre it was, having only ever listened to pop, rock, and dance music at the clubs, but it was nice. Soothing . Between the speed, the thrum of the engine, and the instruments, I felt more relaxed than I’d expected around Slade.

If he wasn’t a nearly seven-foot-tall walking wall of muscle, with a face too beautiful to stare directly at, who could turn into a giant dragon, I’d have almost forgotten he was in the car with me.

Almost .

I hadn’t noticed how fast he was driving until we were out of the urban center, heading along a narrow back road. The location change didn’t worry me, though, after Hunter’s message about Slade needing to see his squad. As we raced along the road, I caught sight of a track with stadium seating in the distance. I wanted to ask if that was where the pack raced, but tall, silent, and deadly wasn’t exactly inviting conversation.

Pulling out my phone, I found that Kellan had messaged again.

Golden Boy: Emme, what’s happening? Is Slade behaving himself? Just don’t encroach on his personal space and you’ll be fine.

Daddy Alpha: Don’t touch him or anything that belongs to him.

I side-eyed the dragon.

Slade hadn’t shown any outward signs of being a threat, at least not right now, appearing content to silently drive like I wasn’t even here.

Pretty Girl: I’m currently sitting in his car. Does that count as touching his belongings?

There was a minute delay before Hunter’s reply came through.

Daddy Alpha: No, brat.

Well, he couldn’t blame me for clarifying.

Pretty Girl: Just quickly, is the racetrack you own on the way to where Slade’s squad trains?

They both answered at the same time.

Golden Boy: Hell yes it is! Can’t wait for you to see it tomorrow.

Daddy Alpha: Yes.

I had nothing more to add, so I fiddled with the phone for a few seconds, and by the time I looked up we’d arrived at our destination. Slade pulled his flashy green car into a spot with his name on it, right beside Warrick’s Range Rover. The building itself gave the impression of a state-of-the-art sports stadium, clearly dripping in money.

The large, oval-shaped center was perched in the middle of nowhere, with just trees and patches of cleared land around it. There were dozens of cars already in the lot around us as I exited the vehicle and took a second to enjoy the warmth of the last rays of the afternoon sun. There was a hint of fall in the air, and I couldn’t wait to experience Golden Claw during the cooler months.

Cora had told me about their huge pack runs through the snow, and I hoped to be here long enough to experience one.

Slade waited silently for me to stop daydreaming. When I moved closer to him he set off along the path leading to the automatic doors. Air-conditioning blasted us as we stepped inside the foyer, heading past a long desk where a dozen or so shifters were busy on computers or answering phones.

No wonder Warrick made enough money to buy fancy cars; this was clearly a valuable hub in the city. It made sense when you considered the importance of enforcing order and safety amongst large groups of predators, and that these squads were the ones dishing it out. But in my experience, not everyone had their priorities straight. Especially when it came to distributing money.

Heads bowed as the shifters behind the reception called out greetings to Alpha Slade . A pungent scent of fear grew stronger as they reacted to the predator in their midst, barely even noticing me at his side.

Clearly, I needed to be more cautious around Slade since I’d all but fallen into a relaxed doze during the car ride. It had been stupid to leave myself that vulnerable.

Jogging to keep up with his long strides, I followed him through a labyrinth of rooms, many of which contained training courses and walls of weapons.

We finally emerged into the center, which was a massive open-aired stadium. Out here there were dozens of shifters, all standing around on the grassed area in large groups.

I noticed Warrick at the same time he saw us, and a welcoming smile broke out across his face. As I started to stride forward, Slade made the mildest—albeit terrifying —rumble at my side, and I froze in my tracks.

Fuck. The dragon might not care about me, or want a mate, but that didn’t mean he’d tolerate the disrespect of me running toward another alpha.

Swallowing roughly, I moved slower, and Warrick ended up being the one to come to us. “Emme!” he said, wiping a hand over his forehead, his dark skin shiny with perspiration. “How was lunch with Cora today?”

“So freaking good,” I replied, unable to help smiling. “The food and company was excellent, and Cora even treated us to a very nice bottle of wine. You found yourself an amazing mate.”

“That I did.” His lips twitched, and I wondered if he thought my compliment was a dig at my pack.

Not that the dragon gave a shit, having already strode away toward a group of about twenty shifters. “They’re Flight Squad,” Warrick explained, lowering his voice. “I’m in charge of Beta Force, since they’re all betas under my command.”

“Can all of Slade’s fly?”

“No, but a lot of them can. He has a lethal team at his command.”

I watched the dragon closely. Even before he reached his squad they had fallen into formation. Four lines of five soldiers, representing the biggest and best of what alphas offered.

“All alphas.”

Warrick nodded. “Yep. They could have been alpha squad, but Slade prefers not to advertise that to the world. Flight is an ode to his dragon.”

I narrowed my eyes on Warrick. “Speaking of, I could have used a little heads-up that one of my pack was a mythical creature.”

My face must not have reflected my true annoyance, because he chuckled and almost ruffled my hair before he remembered who was here with us. My wolf rumbled in my chest to remind him that we were a predator too.

“There’s no amount of warning that can prepare you for Slade. Plus, you’re so skittish, I didn’t want to scare you off before you got a chance to know them.” He examined me closer, as if searching for injuries. “How is it going with them?”

There was no easy answer to that question. “I’ll get back to you when I sort out my feelings on the whole situation.”

His worry softened into an expression of sympathy. “We’re always here for you, Emme. Cora would add you to our pack in a heartbeat.” As he said that, I swore I heard the rumble of the dragon again, but when I looked Slade’s way, he was focused on his squad.

“Thank you. I’m grateful to have you guys in my life. Okay, I better let you get back to training.” I was about to walk away when a former niggling thought pushed to the forefront, and I had to ask: “When I stayed at your place, did you let Hunter into your territory? Into my room?”

A brief sigh escaped him, and I couldn’t be sure, but it felt like guilt flickered in his eyes. “No, but there’s no one who can stop Hunter Reeves when he sets his mind to something. He warned me he’d be keeping an eye on you, and while I scented him around the property, I never gave him permission to trespass.”

His expression remained open and pleading, and after experiencing a little of Hurricane Hunter myself, I couldn’t really blame him. “Thanks for your honesty. I appreciate it.”

He bowed his head briefly, and with that respectful gesture, a flare of warmth hit my chest. After we said our goodbyes, I headed for Slade, who was in deep conversation with his squad.

There were eighteen males and two females in Flight Squad, all of them hanging on the dragon’s every word. I hovered a few feet away, and was surprised when Slade addressed me directly. “I’m organizing them into sparring groups. You can wait over there.”

He pointed toward a bench under one of the few trees out here, and I didn’t argue, striding off to wait. By the time I’d seated myself, Flight Squad had separated into pairs, getting right into their sparring.

For the next twenty minutes, I forgot everything else as I watched the most mesmerizing fighting I’d ever seen. They moved in a fast, deadly dance—if I’d gone up against any of them, I’d be dead in seconds.

At first Slade wandered between them, giving instructions and correcting stances, before he eventually moved to spar with a dark-skinned alpha. From this distance I couldn’t tell what the other shifter’s animal was, but he moved super-fast, striking with lethal force.

Or it would be lethal against anyone who wasn’t Slade Riverson.

Slade batted those strikes away like they were wisps of cloud, and when he struck back I winced at the loud snap of connection. The other shifter cursed, stumbling a few steps before righting himself and shaking off the blow.

The pair exchanged more hits, but from this angle none looked to land directly on Slade. He was unparalleled as a fighter, flowing between moves like he was made of liquid. He leapt from one style to another, dodging, blocking, and striking until the other shifter sprawled on the ground, hands up in surrender.

Slade relaxed his stance as his squad applauded, and when I managed to remove my gaze from the dragon, I found all the other squads were also watching the fight. I observed the awed faces, and it was the first time I understood that the respect Slade commanded was about more than him being a dragon. He commanded it because he was a trained and deadly weapon, without ever needing to change forms.

The hit of pride I felt at his accomplishment upset me, even more so because I’d been enthralled during that fight. I hadn’t been able to look away from Slade. His body was a finely honed weapon, and the play of his muscles with each rapid strike had felt very close to foreplay. It was bad enough that I’d been a simpering, needy bitch with Hunter and Kellan, but now I had a mini-crush on a freaking dragon.

A dragon who probably wanted to eat me in the very not fun way .

It was almost like I, or my traitorous body , had a death wish.

I honestly couldn’t even blame my wolf for half of my feelings and actions lately.

This lusting after alphas was all on me.

Slade wrapped up his training, and by the time he strode over to me I’d gotten myself together. He didn’t say a word, and I found the silence comforting.

Silent and deadly worked for me because he was never going to push the mate bond.

If anything, being around Slade might be the safest of all.