“Mate. With. Who?” he snarled in a savage voice.
“Oh, God,” Piper whispered, her head bowed.
“With who!” he shouted.
“You, Alpha.”
The gold flickered in his eyes when he blinked. “What?”
“She, uh… She went to a witch and asked for a spell that would turn her into a full werewolf. The witch agreed with the condition that she choose a mate within two days. You, specifically. Otherwise…”
Poor man looked gobsmacked. He cocked his head and regarded Piper. “Otherwise, what?”
“Otherwise, she’ll become a real wolf. Cursed into that form for the rest of her life.”
His eyes reignited. If I thought him pissed before, it was nothing compared to now. The air grew thick with power. I almost choked on it. Piper fell to her knees next to me, her hand waving in the air as she gestured for me to do the same. I felt his energy crackling down on me, but I refused to submit. The way I saw it, if we were to become mates, I refused to cow. Regardless of his strength.
A response he watched with a keen eye.
“Alpha,” Piper panted, “please.”
He growled under his breath, then whirled away. Piper slumped to the ground and sucked in a shivering breath, a light sheen of sweat glistening on her brow.
“What the hell were you thinking, Juniper?” he demanded. “I know Sloe said something to you. Is this because of her?”
Sloe? You can’t even shift, her voice echoed in my head. Look around. Does it look like the pack would accept you? Something was missing, though.
I frowned and probed the memory. The wedding was there, but in bits and pieces. “She said the pack would never accept me,” I murmured.
On her hands and knees, Piper crawled toward him, her head hung low. I watched her with a heavy heart. That was something I would never do. At least I remembered growing up around werewolves and knew that you could never back down. If you did, you’d always submit.
“Alpha. You should know there was a side effect of the spell. Juniper knew of the risks, but she took it anyway.”
“What are you talking about?”
“One of the side effects was memory loss.”
The tension in the room spiked. “And?”
Piper drew in a deep breath. “The witch removed all her memories of you.”
Boom. Self-implosion. Even I cried out when Mathis turned and unleashed his fury on his unsuspecting living room. Pillows flew across the space, his coffee table upturned. Then, with an enraged howl, he whirled around and slammed his fist into the nearest wall. I cringed into Piper, breath caught in my throat. Whatever beauty I’d seen in him vanished in the blink of an eye.
Holy crap on a cracker.
Fist lodged in the drywall, he turned his head and glared at me.
I tamped back my fear, then glanced at Piper. Poor woman looked distraught. And it was all my fault. Time to step up. She’d done enough talking for the night. I was the one who had taken the spell. Patting her hand, I pushed away from her and straightened my shoulders, then met his stare head on.
“Juniper?” he whispered, his voice a broken fracture.
“I’m sorry, Alpha.” He cringed at the formal title. There was something here, I could feel it. As much as see it on his face. Devastation creased his eyes. “But no, I don’t remember anything about you.”
His jaw tightened. “Piper. Go home. Now. Juniper, you’re staying the night.”
I shared a glance with her, my brow climbing as I wondered what he had in store for me. My heart leapt into my throat as the worst possible scenario came to mind. No way in hell I was mating with him tonight. Or ever! Not a volatile and dangerous man like him.
“To sleep,” he growled as he yanked his fist out of the drywall. Sheetrock and blood speckled his ragged knuckles, his pinky twisted at an odd angle. Geez. He must have gone to town in that one hit. “What kind of a bastard do you think I am?”
I shrugged. I didn’t have an answer to that.
“We’ll head back to the witch’s shop tonight and have her undo this spell.”
My head jerked up. “I don’t want—”
“I didn’t ask what you wanted,” he snapped as he pulled his finger straight and set it to heal. “You’re playing a dangerous game, little wolf. And you’re in no position to argue with me.”
“But—”
“Juniper,” Piper snapped. “Shut the fuck up.”
Mathis rubbed his injured knuckles. “Then once everything is back to normal, you and I are going to have a long chat.”
Well, that sounded ominous. “I have my own home. I remember that much. I don’t need to stay the night.”
He sucked in a breath, his eyes slipping shut. “Is it so much to ask for you to listen to me?”
“I…don’t think you actually want an answer to that.”
“Piper. Out. Now.”
“Yes, Alpha,” she said, her voice meek.
I grabbed her arm before she could escape, my gaze darting between her and Mathis. “Why can’t she stay?”
“Juniper.” That was all he said. Just my name. But his tone had softened. “Let go of her so she can leave.”
After a moment’s hesitation, I released her. Not that the rest of me was as convinced. The last thing I wanted was to spend the night alone with this man. I didn’t know him, and what I’d learned here tonight hadn’t been promising. Prone to violence and a quick temper. Thanks, but no thanks. I knew a warning sign when I saw one. I’d just have to find another way to solve this conundrum of mine, without mating.
“Um…where will I sleep?” I asked.
“In my room.”
I watched as Piper vanished around the corner, the sound of the door slamming shut echoed through the house.
“What about you? Where…where will you sleep?”
He gave a bitter laugh. “Don’t worry about it.”
Easier said than done. And now, I was alone with him. Disconcerting, to say the least. But if I was stuck here for the rest of the night, the least I could do was look at his injuries.
So, with a sigh, I crossed the room and gently took his hand.
He stared down at me, his eyes narrowed and mouth grim.
“Come on,” I murmured. “Let me help you get cleaned up since this was my fault.”
Another bitter laugh, but at least he didn’t argue. I led him toward the kitchen and pointed at the nearest chair. I knew the moment I did it, I’d made another faux pas. No one ordered the alpha around. But rather than acknowledge my mistake, I waited to see how he handled it.
He rolled out his shoulders and cricked his neck, then sat.
Huh.
Maybe I really did have a little sway over this creature.
I reached for a cloth and ran it under the tap, then wrung it out. When I turned around, he pushed the nearest chair out with his foot and gestured for me to sit. A smile tugged at my lips. Quid pro quo, hey?
Once seated, I lifted his hand and placed it on my lap. The startling sound of his heart skipping a beat snapped my gaze up. I lifted a brow.
A sardonic smile twisted his lips. “What? Thought I had no interest in you?”
My pulse fluttered, but I shrugged. “I honestly don’t know what to think right now.”