The Alpha Assassin novel Chapter 85

That attraction, that pull, snapped together and became a tangible thing tying us together—binding and unyielding.

I looked down as if I could see it, and Ezra did the same. He reached for my hand, and sparks jolted through me. His scent was consuming, powerful, a drug.

I blinked at him, the sensations overwhelming.

“Mates?” I asked both him and Aksala.

Did you know? - I asked only my wolf.

No - she responded - I felt connected to his wolf, I felt as if I could trust them, I knew I could immediately. But I did not know they were our mates.

Ezra held a hand up, and I placed my palm against his. Those sparks and tingles danced around them and through me. “You are my undoing, Simone," Ezra Rumbled, his mismatched eyes looking at our hands. "Tied forever together.”

Forever suddenly felt like not long enough.

He pulled me against his warm chest and encircled me in his arms. I hovered between sleep and wake in a state made of pure buttery golden contentedness, a state I wish I could stay in forever.

But life pushed in, grasping its black talons into my happiness and demanding my attention.

“We must go meet Nolan,” I murmured.

“Who?” Ezra asked as his fingers trailed over my bare back, eliciting goosebumps in their wake.

“The man who is running this pack,” I grumbled into his hardened chest; the faint scars and wisp of dark hair made it impossible to remove myself from him.

“One more minute with my mate,” he replied.

I glanced at the blackened tattoo from where I lay. It was now a light faded white, a scar like the others. Not entirely gone, still lingering, a part of him a visual representation of a choice he had made. I wondered what my own marks would look like if my choices left behind stains on me.

We finally managed to pull ourselves apart; the mate bond made it almost impossible.

The charged, crackling feeling was our bond suppressed. But the fated bond only heightened the sensations, the touches, the smell. But the visceral feelings, the love I felt for him, did not change. That was real and raw, and I knew it would stand despite the bond. But the bond did alleviate some of the anxiety, well, all of it, worried that his mate was someone out there who was maybe not a murderer, and I would be depriving her of him and him of her.

I felt… I felt good—whole almost.

The bond and warmth saturated into me, not pushing the anger down but helping dissipate it.

I leaned against him, hands intertwined as we walked in silence to the Alpha office. Once we got to the door, I settled into myself, not a mask anymore, but shifted to the woman who had to make decisions as an Alpha instead of the girl intoxicated by love.

Ezra knocked, and Nolan called for us to come in.

I noticed the rug was gone, made from my fathers… my father’s pelt, his fur.

“I have put together their contact information and took notes of questions they had. They know they can reach you here in the future while you're getting established,” he said. "I hope that’s okay.”

“Yes,” I agreed.

“Good.” Nolan nodded, going back to the desk. “I told them mail is best for now, as you won’t be by this phone, but I will procure you a cell phone,” he added.

“Thank you, Nolan.” I took a step forward and paused before plopping on the chair across from him and taking his hands in mine. I waited until he looked at me.

“I know this must be hard; I- I can't imagine what you’re feeling. I can to some extent but I know it is never the same, two people, two situations are not, even if they are similar.” I shook my head. “I do not want you feeling tied to me, to this, not out of fear.”

I took a deep breath. “You are free, Nolan.” I grabbed his hand across the desk, and he looked at it with wide eyes. “Do with that what you will go elsewhere, do what you want. You are free," I repeated.