The Alpha’s Fated Choice (Alpha's Fated Encounter Trilogy #1)

Saul takes a deep breath and sets down the hammer and nails he brought with him to assemble the bed. “It was Julia.”

I feel my body go cold. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“The woman isn’t a complete idiot, Alex. She figured out where we were going and put two and two together. She signed on as a fighter last night. She was already in the ring before we realized. There was nothing we could do. Her attacks were brutal. For a moment, I thought she fully intended to kill the Wily Vixen.”

“This is not good.” I feel a ball of tension form in the base of my neck. “That woman is like a cockroach who refuses to die.”

Saul zips up his bag with the tools in it, muttering, “Amen to that.”

The idea of Julia hurting Sophia makes me shake with anger. My wolf wants her blood, and I’m afraid that this time I might not be able to stop it. I push down my animal, trying to be rational right now. “You think Julia’s onto us?”

“I can’t say for sure,” Saul responds. “Either she realized that we suspect the Wily Vixen is the Silver Wolf, or she simply noticed your interest in another female shifter.”

My mood dark, I ponder this new development. I cannot let Julia interfere in our mission. And if the masked fighter truly is Sophia, then I may just have to kill Julia to keep her away from my mate, damn the consequences.

Now that Saul is done with the bed, I want him out before Sophia returns. I have to talk to her, and I’m not looking forward to that conversation. Getting answers from that girl is like pulling teeth.

Sophia’s lack of trust in me is more than evident. And if I’m right about her identity, then she has even less reason to trust me. She was in so much pain yesterday, and it was all because of me.

By the time Saul leaves, I’m running through scenarios in my head, trying to meld the image of the Wily Vixen and Sophia. In my gut, I’m sure they are one and the same. But if that’s the case, then who is the Silver Wolf? Was she even in this town to begin with? Have we been searching in the wrong place all along?

We are running out of time. With the Alpha Successor already aware that this town has been infiltrated, and with no black wolf body for him to find, he’s going to be on high alert. Patrick and the others already had their identities scrutinized yesterday.

We need to find the Silver Wolf, and we need to find her now.

It’s as I’m thinking this that I feel a vibration in the delicate thread of the bond that ties Sophia and me. I go completely still.

Fear, uncertainty.

I feel these emotions, but they’re not mine.

They are Sophia’s.

I get to my feet. What is happening? How am I able to feel her emotions?

There’s something else, something I can’t quite put my finger on. A sense of urgency that my wolf reacts to. The beast is uneasy inside the cage of my mind, pacing and growling.

I have to find her.

I need to know where she is and make sure she’s unharmed. My hand is already on the doorknob, and I turn it only to see my mate reaching the top of the stairs. Her face is flushed, her body trembling.

“Soph—”

Her scent knocks the wind out of me. It’s tantalizing. She smells ripe, ready for the taking.

My wolf growls in approval, and I can feel desire wrap around me like a noose.

There’s still time.

I can turn around.

I can leave.

My pack has to come first.

But I can’t resist her any longer. My hand is reaching out for her as I faintly realize that I’ve been referring to this woman as my mate all this time. Not my fated mate, but my mate. Mine.

She comes to me easily as I yank her forward. She doesn’t resist as I slam my mouth down on hers hungrily, starving for her.