Page 3 of Forced Bonds

“It started three weeks ago and, in that time, we’ve killed around fifty rogue vampires.”

“Fifty?!” I blurted.

Christopher smirked at me. “What? Afraid to get your hands dirty?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “No, but it makes sense why a werewolf-run town needed assistance in keeping their territory safe.”

He growled. “Be careful. I could very well demand another vampire hunter help us out.”

Shrugging, I leaned further back in my chair, emboldened now that I knew I could get under his skin. “I’m the best, so please do. You’ll need at least five hunters to do what I can do alone.”

Christopher sighed and rubbed his temples. “Can we just get to the part where you make them go away?”

“Sure,” I nodded calmly. “But first, can you please tell me why this room smells so good?” Christopher’s eyes widened in shock, likely because most wouldn’t notice it. I liked finding things others weren’t aware of though, and felt almost proud of myself for noticing it. “Is it to lure suspects into a sense of peace? Or perhaps to dull their senses enough to pry out a confession?” The room didn’t seem like the typical interrogation room, and perhaps that was by design too, falsely luring in the guilty and making them confess.

“You—” he began, then cleared his throat. “You can smell something? In here?”

“Oh yeah,” I nodded. “Pine and whatever else you’ve added to make me all calm and relaxed. If I could bottle it up I would. It must be a dream to inhale this all the time.”

“Fuck,” Christopher growled, then abruptly stood, pacing the floor next to the table. I hadn’t expected him to freak out over it. So, what if I noticed their tactics, it wasn’t as though I was about to tattle on them.

“What’s—” I began, but was cut off by his piercing green eyes glaring at me.

“You’re my fucking mate.”

Chapter Two

Benjamin

“You’re my fucking mate.”

I blinked, unsure if I’d heard him right or if the pine scent was getting to me. “What?”

“I said,” Christopher growled. “That you’re my mate. I was sure of it when I got a whiff of your scent, but you scenting me? That shouldn’t be possible for a human to do.”

Fucking fantastic. Here I was, just trying to off vampires and keep people at bay and the freaking alpha wanted to claim me. Not that he was bad looking or anything, and his scent was so damn addictive… maybe I could give him a chance—

“I don’t want a human mate,” he growled, dissipating my thoughts completely. Wow, okay then. If he didn’t want a human, then I would be all too happy to stay the fuck away from him.

“Okay,” I agreed with a casual shrug. “I’ll focus all my attention on your vampire problem and be gone before you know it.” I stood, placing my card on the table. “Call me when you need my assistance, otherwise, I’ll just roam the streets at night and locate them myself.”

The alpha seemed stunned that I wasn’t sobbing on my knees for his alpha cock. If he truly thought alpha dick was so good I’d cry for being denied it, he could find himself another alpha. I’d been on my own since I was fifteen, I didn’t need a mate. Especially not one who hated humans.

I left the station, feeling my mental barriers harden as I drove toward my hotel. Christopher was just a random alpha. I couldn’t even trust his word that I was his. I could go on living life happily without him being in it. Alone. Just as I preferred it.

I hit Hazi’s number and he answered on the first ring. “Benji,” he greeted.

“Hazi. It’s bad here,” I began. “They’ve killed over fifty rogues in only three weeks.”

“Shit,” my boss cursed. “I won’t be seeing you for a while then.”

“No,” I grimaced. “I fear we need to find the source of the problem, and that won’t be easy.”

“I trust your judgement. Just call me if you need assistance. Oli and Hannah are both between small assignments. If you need more bullets, let me know and I’ll have someone drop them off. Just got a bunch delivered from my witch.” None of us hunters knew who the witch was, and Hazi had told us many times there was a reason for it. A witch helping out human hunters could be frowned upon by their own kind, and I understood that completely.

“Will do, boss. I’m staying at the Norh hotel, if anything should happen send people there.” I always gave him details of where I stayed, simply because it had been needed once. Being locked inside a hotel room while a vampire tried to burn it down hadn’t been fun. But it had taught me that Hazi should always know my location. Always.

“Noted. Stay safe, Benji.”