Chapter 11

“Skepticism is always a good first response.”

Charles Wheelan

I’d always prided myself on my ability to think logically in a crisis, but as I stood there, back against the wall, the most gorgeous man I’d ever met in my life hovering over me, there wasn’t a logical thought that ran through my brain.

As close as he was now, all I could focus on was him.

The curve of his strong nose, his razor-sharp jawline, or the dark curls that fell over his forehead. Handsome wasn’t the word for it. You could find a handsome man at the grocery store or coffee shop.

No, Alpha Enzo was beautiful. The kind of beautiful that deserves to be in an art museum or on a magazine cover. The kind you just couldn’t look away from.

*Snap out of it, Elsie!*

*He might look like a model, but the intensity of what you’re feeling isn’t real. This has got to be some kind of spell or mistake – maybe the same magical error that landed you here in the first place.*

He was still staring at me with an expression I couldn’t read, waiting for an answer, and since making eye-contact seemed to zap every thought in my head, I forced myself to look away. Instead of looking into his eyes, I focused on the point just beyond his right ear.

His addictive scent was still distracting as hell, but at least, I could form a rational thought now.

“So, as I said…” I swallowed down the urge to make a run for it. Even if I wanted to, I doubt I would get far – and I certainly couldn’t leave Scarlett behind. “This is really all just a big misunderstanding. We’re not mates.”

“I got that part,” Alpha Enzo said, his voice low. “And what about this feels like a misunderstanding to you?” Something in his tone told me that my explanation better be pretty fucking *good.*

I froze.

How was I supposed to explain this?

Was I supposed to tell him that we weren’t mates because he was a fictional character, and I wasn’t? He’d look at me like I was insane…and then probably stick me in the psych ward, or whatever the werewolf equivalent of a psych ward was.

Since I wasn’t ready to open that can of worms, I said, “I’m human. We can’t be mates.”

I knew it was a weak argument, but it was all I had.

My breath hitched when a large, tanned hand suddenly cupped my jaw, and turned me to face him. Not only did his touch leave my jaw tingling, but once again, I was staring into those beautiful eyes again.

His full lips were curled into a frown, and for the briefest second, I hated that. I didn’t want this man to frown. Ever.

His eyes though…they were intense. And with his hand holding my face in place, I couldn’t look away.

“I know you’re human,” he said, “You don’t think I could smell your humanity from the top of those stairs?”

“And that doesn’t bother you?” I retorted, “I know who you are. You should be the last person to want a human for a mate.” Maybe there was still a way out of this. If I could convince Alpha Enzo I’d be nothing but a liability, maybe I could still walk away with my freedom (and life).

His eyes narrowed. “Is that so?”

I should’ve read the warning in his tone, but my brain had already leapt at the opportunity to make him see my side of things.

I couldn’t move my head to nod, but I still managed to say, “Yeah. Someone of your strength level being mated with a human? It just doesn’t make sense. It’s got to be some kind of cosmic mix-up.” For good measure, I added, “Surely, someone as powerful as you would be mated with an equally as powerful she-wolf. There’s no way fate would stick you with me.” I almost said the words ‘white wolf,’ but chose not to. I didn’t need to draw more attention to Scarlett.

The book had described Alpha Enzo like some power-hungry megalomaniac, so I hoped that a little ego-stroking would do the trick.

Unfortunately, he didn’t seem flattered by my explanation. Instead, his frown deepened, but I was already on a roll.

“Since I’m sure we can both agree this has got to be a…magical error of some sort,” I told him, “I figure we have two options here. We can try to figure out the root of the error and fix this with magic…maybe a witch or whatever supernatural equivalent you’ve got in these parts.” His eyes narrowed to slits. “Or we could just do this the old-fashioned way and reject one another. Nip this in the bud so you can find someone more in your…you know, league.” I almost felt bad proposing a rejection of the mate bond after the way I’d watched it wreck Scarlett, but this was different.

Asher had rejected Scarlett because he was an Alpha-hole who couldn’t see past his own ego.

I was proposing a mutual rejection to correct what had to be a cosmic fuck up. When a batch of cupcakes don’t bake quite right, you throw them out and start again, right? You’d never force someone to eat a raw or terribly-burnt cupcake – not when there are perfectly cooked cupcakes out there.

I didn’t see why this had to be any different. Alpha Enzo probably had a line of women out the door, vying to be his fated mate or rule beside him.

And me? I needed to get the hell back home. The last thing I needed was a mate bond or a possessive werewolf on my ass.

“Well, it sounds like you’ve got it all figured out,” Alpha Enzo finally said. Had I been paying more attention, his tone would’ve sent off every alarm bell in my head.

But I wasn’t.

“I mean, I’ve got it pretty figured out,” I replied, “So, how should we go about this thing, then? Should I start? I’m not sure I know my lines perfectly, but…I, Elsie –”

A loud growl echoed through the room, shaking me to the core, and the grip on my chin suddenly turned painful. Not enough to break a bone, but certainly hard enough to bruise – and stop the rest of that sentence before it ever made its way out of my throat.

I nearly whimpered in pain, but one look at Alpha Enzo, and that sound died in my throat too.

He was *furious.*

His eyes had transformed from gray to vibrant gold, and they didn’t look quite…human anymore. More animalistic. A predator.

And I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt this much like prey in my life.

He was close enough that I could still feel the growl vibrating in his chest as he snarled, “You ever try to say those words again, mate, and you’ll be too sore to walk for a month.”

I wasn't sure if it was his tone or the look in his eyes, but I had no doubt in my mind that he was telling the truth.