I feel my face grow warm when I look at him. Embarrassed, I drop my gaze and look at the floor. But Ryker’s hand comes under my chin and gently lifts my head, so I’m looking at him.
“There’s a golden aura around you right now, like the wolf in my dreams,” I say as fast as I can while I still have the nerve.
Ryker’s breath catches before he asks, “You can see it?”
“Yes,” I whisper, my own voice cracking. “What is it?”
Ryker turns his head to look at Addison, his eyes pleading for her to help him.
“Remember, when I explained your parents were mates?” Addison asks me. I nod, and she continues. “Every wolf shifter has someone that is his or her perfect match. They are meant for each other, born to complete each other.”
Margot jumps in and says, “To help us recognize our mate, there’s this thing called the mating aura. It’s usually gold, and it appears around the person meant for you, but typically goes away after the mating ceremony.”
My eyes are wide as they shift over to look at Ryker. “If I can see it around you now, does that mean…”
“I’m your mate.”
13
Pruitt
This is way too much for me to comprehend. I’m trying hard to keep it together, but I’m this close to losing it.
If I hadn’t seen Ryker shift into a wolf right before my eyes, I wouldn’t believe a word of Addison’s story.
But now, Ryker is standing in front of me, telling me I’m his mate, and I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry.
“No. This isn’t possible,” I finally say, sensing every eye in the room on me as I try to come to grips with what everyone has said. “I can’t be your mate. I’m not a wolf shifter.”
“Your wolf is just buried right now,” Margot explains. “That doesn’t mean you’re not one of us anymore.”
“I see the same aura around you now that you see around me,” Ryker says as he reaches for my hand. “And when I touch you, it feels like I’m touching electricity. I know you feel it too, you told me so this morning.”
“But how does any of this make us mates? I’m not completely sure I understand what being mates even means!” I hear the panic in my voice but can’t seem to control it.
“It means I am not meant to ever be with someone else. That fate has destined us to be together, to be with no one else.” Ryker’s thumb runs over my knuckles. “We were created for each other.”
“But what if I don’t want to be with you? What if I want to be with someone else?” I pull my hand back, suddenly feeling like I’m being trapped into something without any other options. “Could I be? Could you be with someone else?”
The feeling that these big life decisions have been made for me, and I don’t have a choice in the matter is bursting to the surface with intense speed. Ryker is looking at me like I’m his everything, and I don’t understand how he can believe full-heartedly I’m his one. Because he can see the glow around me, there is no one else in the entire world he could love.
Ryker stares at me with a pained expression. “You’re telling me you would be okay if I were with someone else?” Ryker’s voice is harsh as his eyes narrow. I haven’t seen this side of him before, and it makes me take a step back.
“I have no right to dictate who you’re with!” I fire back at him. “I’ve known you for like one day!”
Ryker moves so fast across the room, my eyes have trouble tracking him. Then he does something I never expected he’d do. He grabs hold of Avery’s side and the back of her head and pulls her face to his. He crushes their mouths together with such force Avery doesn’t have time to react. Everyone shouts and yells at him, but I stand quiet.
He was right, I would not be okay seeing him with someone else. As I watch him kiss her, something inside of me shatters, almost like a dam being broken. I feel the power wash over me and seep out of my pores. It vibrates in my chest so hard I feel nausea bubble up in my stomach. My hands are shaking at my sides, and I can no longer hear the uproar of voices around me. My beating heart is the only thing I hear as I stare at them, their mouths still locked.
All of a sudden, a deafening growl shoots through the room, causing everyone to jump. Ryker finally separates himself from Avery. Her face is flushed from the passionate kiss. I look around the room, and I’m shocked to find everyone staring at me, their eyes wide.
Holy shit…
“Was that me?” I ask with a gasp.
“I told you that you wouldn’t be okay if I were with someone else.” Ryker is the first to speak, and I want to punch him in the face for the cocky smirk that sits there now.
“You kissed her to prove a point?” I spit, my hands balling into fists at my sides, and the shaking from a minute ago subsiding.
“Well, yeah…” Ryker shrugs. “I told you, I’m not meant to be with or kiss anyone but you, Grey. I needed you to see I’m telling the truth. You don’t like seeing me touch another just as much as I don’t enjoy doing it.”
“Don’t call me that!” I holler. “That is not my name. Not anymore.” I shove my hands through my hair and look back and forth between Avery and him, my anger boiling up again as I replay the sight of them kissing.
The buzzing in my chest starts again, and I can’t seem to catch a breath.
