Mates: Prequel (Claws Clause 0)

Over the course of the next few days, he watched her even closer.

Now that his father had finally been informed that Maddox he was courting his mate, Terrence relieved him of his pack duties until Maddox’s bond with her started to form.

A good thing, too. Maddox was already way too distracted to be any help around the worksites. Colt, on the other paw, absolutely jumped at the chance to take on more jobs since it kept him out of the house while Maddox continued to mope around inside of it.

He realized after that first week that he needed to shake up his new routine. Watching her overnight made him feel better, but the wards kept him from getting too close; he had no chance to learn anything about the woman except that she went to bed early and never had guests. Leaving when the sun came up might have kept her from knowing he watched over her, but it left him just as alone as before.

Driving past her house early in the morning and late at night kept him from being discovered by her neighbors. At the same time, it kept him from spying her.

So, that Monday morning, he got into his truck and slowly drove down her street again, parking his truck about two houses over so that he had her front door in his rearview mirror. He told himself he was patrolling his mate’s territory, keeping her safe the only way he could, but even his wolf called his bluff.

Both parts of him were in agreement, though. This woman was his mate and, now that he knew where to find her, nothing was going to stop him from at least making sure she was protected. It was, after all, his duty as her mate.

If only she would see it that way…

To his surprise, he finally managed another glimpse of her. About ten minutes after he parked, he watched as she finally left her house.

As he waited for her to drive past him before he started his engine, it dawned on him that he was out later than the other times he lingered during the day.

Thank fucking Alpha. He had a lead at last.

When he slipped into traffic a few cars behind her, following her to the busy downtown area in Woodbridge and observing her pulling into a parking deck, he finally figured out what she was doing. There was an office building that towered over its neighbors. The woman headed straight for it.

She was going to work.

So now Maddox knew where she lived and where she worked.

Progress.

* * *

The next few days, her routine was exactly the same. He did a lot of waiting, scoping out the building, getting a feel for her daily activities. If he’d been a human, his actions would’ve been viewed as creepy and weird; as a shifter, it was considered totally normal. Whenever a curious human got too close, he let them get a glimpse of his wolf and they scurried. The few Paras that strolled through the downtown recognized that he was on the hunt and gave him a wide berth.

Because he was desperate not to spook his mate, he stayed out of her sight. He knew he wouldn’t be able to do that for much longer, especially since his wolf was chomping at the bit to get closer to her, and he finally came to a decision.

When he approached her again, he’d be careful to hide the fact that he was a shifter. Maddox wasn’t a moron. He knew there was no way she would’ve forgotten about the crazy-eyed, lust-filled shifter that scared the hell out of her while she was relaxing in the park. His plan? To make sure she never figured out that that was him.

For the first time in his life, Maddox would conceal his pride at being a shifter. To win him a human mate, he would act like a human.

His primal instinct warned him against pretending to be anything else but what he was. A shifter—an alpha wolf—would never be able to hide everything that made him that way. He’d be protective and possessive and more devoted than most humans could hope to be. It was a good thing he wouldn’t have to pretend for long. It would be impossible to keep up the act.

His mate wasn’t the only one he had to convince. His wolf hated the idea, but it hated the reminder of how Maddox had made her scream even more. That, and the spike of fear in her scent when she first saw him.

It was the only thing that got through to his beast. He was a shifter, a born alpha, and his animal side was stronger than most. He could control it, even with her being the biggest temptation of his life, but it took his wolf’s devotion to its future mate to allow the man to make all of the decisions.

Because, he admitted, sometimes his instincts could definitely be trouble.

Grabbing her, running off with her, learning everything about her before they became true mates… in that first rush of recognizing just what that woman was to him, Maddox couldn’t deny that stealing her away wasn’t an overwhelming instinct that first afternoon in the park.

Until their eyes had locked.

He didn’t know if she recognized who he was. Had no clue if she knew that she was looking at her forever when she saw him. On the other hand, from the way she paled and screamed, he figured he might have given away more of his intentions than she was prepared for.

Or maybe she was just afraid that he was a Para. A shifter. Didn’t matter either way. The only thing that did?

Her scream, and how quickly her scent had changed.

It turned bitter. Acrid, almost, like the stink of burning paper.