It seemed that, even after years of experience with men like Calder, I still hadn’t learned my goddamn lesson.

I held it together until I reached my townhouse. Incredibly grateful I lived in a unit with a single car garage, I pulled inside. I shut off the car and then closed the overhead door before I climbed out. Though it was fairly early on a Saturday, people were already out of their homes, jogging or doing yard work.

Still barefoot, I went inside my townhouse and straight upstairs to my bedroom. As soon as I passed the open doorway, I began shucking my clothes, leaving them in a haphazard trail behind me. Though I’d bathed a few hours before, I felt an uncontrollable urge to take a long, steaming hot shower. Since I’d spent the night in his shirt and his bed, I could still smell the warm tang of Calder’s scent on my skin and in my hair. I needed to eradicate all traces of him from my body and mind.

I turned on the shower, making the water as hot as I could stand, when my naked reflection in the mirror caught my eye. Suddenly, all the marks I’d been cataloging earlier seemed to mock me.

Stepping under the scalding water, I finally allowed myself to cry.

“I appreciate your help, Chloe.”

She glanced over her shoulder, smiling. “No problem. If I had known that Shane was going to bait your pack members like that, I would have kicked his ass and left him at home.”

Chloe MacArthur was the enforcer for the pack from Austin. They had come in for the weekend to meet with Conner and the Council, as well as my pack’s alpha, Lachlan. At first glance, I’d rolled my eyes at the idea of a female enforcer, because, well, she was a girl. I know, I know, completely sexist and narrow-minded. I guess I’d forgotten how vicious and bloodthirsty a she-wolf could be. Most of the females in our pack were fairly laidback.

By laidback, I mean they would only maim a male for misbehaving rather than outright killing him.

Chloe was not that sort. I’d seen her take on male wolves twice her size and make it look easy when she won. In order to reach beta in my pack, I’d had to fight my way through the ranks and I hoped to God Chloe never asked to join our pack because, as good as I was, she was better. I wasn’t too prideful to think that I wouldn’t get my ass kicked into next year if I ever went toe-to-toe with her.

In fact, after seeing the way she handled her wayward pack member, Shane, this morning, I knew I would get my ass kicked. The confrontation had begun between Shane and one of my pack members, Kyle, while they were at the party. As was often the case among wolves, the disagreement was taken outside and punches were thrown. Chloe and I had tried to break it up, but Shane shifted and almost ripped Kyle’s throat out.

In order to hunt the dumbass down, Chloe and I had shifted as well. I didn’t know what she had planned for him and I really didn’t care. We chased him to ground and she incapacitated him.

With all the fists and claws flying, my shirt had been ripped to shreds as well as parts of my back. The deep scratches burned and throbbed. I knew they would heal in a day or so, faster if I slept for a few hours.

Since she still had a few streaks of blood on her skin, Chloe hadn’t bothered to dress again. She’d muttered something about not wanting to ruin her designer dress with bloodstains. Then she’d kicked Shane in the ribs. Apparently, her fancy clothes meant a lot to her.

As shifters, we were accustomed to nudity. Modesty was an unfamiliar concept to most werewolves. Considering we often stripped, shifted, and hunted together, most wolves weren’t shy, so no one batted an eye when Chloe walked around in her underwear. Even if it had been a big deal, I doubt any of the wolves in either pack would have had the guts to risk pissing her off.

“Here,” she said as she handed me a card. “This is my number. As things progress with the packs and the Council, we’ll need to keep in touch.”

She leaned forward, highlighting all the gorgeous curves and firm muscle on her body. Just a few days ago, faced with that barely there lingerie, I would have been all over her. In fact, in the past, we had blown off steam together. Now, she was just a beautiful woman that inspired my admiration rather than lust.

When she noticed my lack of response, her brows raised. “That lucky girl waiting on you must be pretty special.”

Ricki was. She was mine and I was hers. My mind stuttered at the thought. Awareness snapped through my brain. Fuck me, she was my mate. How had I not recognized it? My attraction to her scent, my possessiveness bordering on obsession, and the driving, uncontrollable urge to mark her as mine. These were the classic signs of a male who’d found his mate.

I cleared my throat, which had all but closed up at my epiphany. “She’s my mate,” I choked out. Feeling weaker than a newborn pup, I staggered back and collapsed on the sofa in Conner’s office. “Holy shit, she’s my mate.” I rubbed my aching chest, realizing that it hurt because I was holding my breath. I sucked in air and released it so quickly, I thought I was going to pass out. I glared at Chloe as she giggled and clapped her hands.

“Oh my God!” she squealed. “I never thought I’d see the day. Oh, how the mighty have fallen!”

With her wide smile and high-pitched giggles, she looked nothing like the deadly she-bitch I knew her to be. Knowing it would wipe that smug look off her face, I replied, “You know, you’re acting like a girlie girl.”

Sure enough, she scowled at me. “Shut up.”

I shrugged. “Call’em like I see’em.”

Chloe studied me with narrowed eyes for a moment before she smirked. “You’re just pissy because you know your days of sniffing after any bitch in heat are over.”

Actually, I hadn’t given that a second thought. Sex with Ricki was better than anything I’d ever experienced. I didn’t want anyone else if I could have her. The only obstacle was her humanity. It would be almost impossible for her to gain respect within the pack unless I turned her. After our short conversations earlier, I doubted that would be an easy task. Ricki had a mind of her own and she was stubborn. Also, turning a human was difficult and painful and my heart constricted at the idea of causing Ricki any pain. There had to be another solution.

Groaning, I buried my head in my hands. “I can’t wait until you find your mate,” I grumbled. “I’m going to rub this moment in your face.”

“Oh hell no. I have yet to meet a wolf who could take me on and win.”

I lifted my head. “Maybe your mate isn’t a wolf.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Never gonna happen.”

I rose to my feet. “As fun as this has been, I need to get back to my….mate.” I rolled that word over my tongue and discovered I enjoyed not only the sound of it but also the thought.

She swayed over to me and kissed my cheek. “Seriously, Calder. Congratulations. You deserve to be happy.”

I only nodded in response and left Conner’s office. My body had suddenly realized that it was well past dawn and it hadn’t rested for over twenty-four hours. Knowing that Ricki had promised to wait for me gave me the energy to bound up the stairs.

My room was almost completely dark when I entered. Thinking Ricki was still sleeping, I didn’t bother with the light. I stripped off my jeans and boots, wincing as the motion pulled at the fresh scratches on my back.

It wasn’t until I pulled back the blankets that I realized the bed was empty. Frowning, I went into the bathroom, hoping to find her there. Empty. Fighting my rising panic, I sniffed the air and realized that Ricki’s scent was fading. Considering how strong it had been when I entered the room, she must have just left.

When I went back to the bed to pull my jeans on and go in search of her, I noticed a piece of paper on the nightstand. Snatching it up, I switched on the lamp and read the words scrawled on the page.