Rafe’s face remained impassive as he sniffed the air around her, his nostrils flaring wide.
“She’s not aroused,” he said to Doc Fischer. “Wouldn’t she be aroused if he were her fated mate?”
Relief coursed through Chloe like a river through the desert. The cold stranger had gone and her Rafe was back, once again defending her, just as he had when they were kids and the wolves in their class made fun of her for being a foster pup.
Doc Fischer gave them a long, considering look before saying, “In rare cases, a fated mate can catch the scent of someone who doesn’t return his feelings. Those situations usually get messy and end up with the two males fighting for dominance.”
Rafe set his jaw. “I will be more than happy to put his ass down if that’s what it comes to.”
“Now, now, calm down, young wolf,” the doctor said. He pulled out his smart phone. “I’m going to call back my friend at UC Denver. Maybe if get him up here, he can help us out with this language barrier and we can figure this out without any wolves having to lose their lives.”
“Call your friend,” Rafe said, alpha prince to his very core. “But I’m letting you know right now, if he tries to lay one hand on Chloe, it’s not going to end peacefully.”
The doctor gave Chloe a sullen look, as if this entire situation were all her fault as opposed to some unfair trick of fate. But he eventually answered Rafe. “Noted. Now get out of here, I’ve got some calls to make if we want to get this situation resolved before tomorrow’s full moon.”
SHE WASN’T AROUSED BY THE VIKING, and she hadn’t lied to Rafe about not feeling anything sexual whatsoever for the strange visitor. If anything, the whole situation had turned her nether regions even more numb. Before, there had been the loud absence of any kind of sexual feeling on her part. But now she was feeling the opposite of aroused, like she’d rather hike up a thousand King’s Trails than have sex with anyone, ever. That’s how horrible the scene back in the clinic had been.
But still, guilt clawed at her insides as Rafe walked her home from the clinic. People kept stopping him to ask who had come through the portal this time.
“Is it true it was a man?” their high school Social Studies teacher asked. “Mercedes Griswold said she saw you two carrying a man’s body into the clinic. Is he dead? Did you have to kill him like your dad had to kill that rabid wolf back in the day?”
Rafe handled all the questions diplomatically, with various versions of, “We’re not allowed to talk about it just yet, but we’ll be making an announcement soon.” The answer sounded neutral enough, but Chloe knew him too well not to recognize the edge in his voice as he answered question after question about their mysterious visitor.
“You don’t have to walk me home,” she told him. “It’s been a long day and I know you probably want to catch up at your office.”
Along with his duties as the alpha prince of Colorado, Rafe was also the vice president of Wolf Springs Timber, one of the largest privately owned logging companies in the world. It was rare for him to take lunch, much less a whole half-day off work.
“You said you were going to do a chicken recipe for your next show. Doesn’t that mean you need me to kill the chicken?” he asked.
She wrung her hands together. “You know what, I’m going to try to kill the chicken myself this time. It’s so ridiculous that I always have to call you to do it for me.”
“That’s what mates are for,” Rafe said, his voice flat. “We help each other out when we need it.”
“Sure, sure,” Chloe answered. “But what kind of werewolf can’t bear to kill a chicken? It’s so embarrassing.”
“Not as embarrassing as what just happened in the clinic,” he answered.
And there it was. Rafe never had been the sort to dance around the elephant in the room.
“I’m sorry that happened,” she said. “I have no idea why the fated mates spell would send that guy forward in time for me, especially since I feel no connection to him whatsoever. You believe me, right?”
He stopped and studied her face for a few moments before deciding out loud, “I do.”
“And if it comes down to a choice between you and him, I pick you, Rafe.”
“I know.”
“You’re my best friend.”
Now something unreadable passed over his face. “You keep on saying that.”
“What?”
“That I’m your best friend. You’ve said it like five times today. But you know what I call you when I talk about you? My mate.”
And just when she thought things couldn’t get any more awkward. “I call you that, too,” she insisted. “And what does it matter what I call you anyway? The most important thing is I love you. I love you so much, more than anybody else in this entire world.”
“I believe you. But this Viking thing...”
She grabbed his hand. “Look, Rafe, if you want to have sex before I go into heat, that’s fine with me. I don’t care what Council law says. I’m twenty-five, old enough to make my own decisions.” Including the decision to ignore the wrenching of her own stomach as she made this offer.
Rafe rubbed the side of his face with his knuckles, considering. But then he said, “No, I’m an alpha prince. I can’t ignore the law.”
A wave of relief swept over her. She could have forced herself to hold still for sex with Rafe, just like she forced herself to accept his kisses, but it wouldn’t have been pleasant at all. For what felt like the millionth time, she sent up a tiny prayer that going into heat would solve everything between them and finally help her body catch up with her heart. She-wolves were actually known for their lusty nature, and she’d seen nerdy and mousy girls from her high school honors classes transform into black leather-wearing, unapologetic sexpots with just one moon cycle and mating. She hoped to God it would be the same for her.
But out loud to Rafe, she said, “Okay, if that’s the way you feel, we won’t break Council law. I just want you to know how committed I am to you, to us, to our being together and starting a family.”
“I know you are.” Rafe took her hand in his and began walking again. “But you know how the wolves gossip. We’re not going to be able to keep this a secret for long.”
She shook her head. “There’s nothing to hide. He thinks I’m his fated mate, but I’m with you. Tomorrow, we’ll have Doc Fischer’s professor friend explain that to him, and he’ll go back to whatever time period he came from. The end.”