Mated to the Hellhound Alpha

Nine

Morning came all too quickly. Eva knew she had no choice but to face the music. Maria couldn't hide her forever and her parents would be worried.

Nursing a cup of coffee at the kitchen table in Maria's home, Eva silently formulated a plan on how she was going to deal with the day. It didn't make her feel any better but it meant she had some control of the narrative. She'd head home first to freshen up and change. Hopefully her parents were still there so she could talk with them.

Despite the fact that the conversation would probably be difficult, Eva knew that it was going to be the easiest part of her day. Once she had her parents onboard, she would speak with the Ouma and then look to reject Daniel as her mate. All being well she'd send him packing by the end of the day and Eva could go back to her life.

However, that plan fell apart the moment she stepped into her parents' cottage.

Instantly she was swept up in the scent of Cardamom, Lavender and Vanilla. Eva froze for a moment as her eyes landed on the man seated at her parent's kitchen table. His intense blue eyes were focused on the mobile phone in his hands, forearms resting on the faded wooden surface of the table. He still looked like a biker but today he had on black jeans, combat boots, a band tee and a heavy looking denim jacket. He looked close to a model. A really dangerous model. A deliciously dangerous model who was built like a god. Eva realised now he had tattoos on his hands. Carefully placed symbols and lines that Eve couldn't decipher...

"What are you doing?" Eva asked in a clipped tone.

Daniel looked up slowly, his face void of any emotion but eyes still holding that terrifying darkness.

"Playing Angry Birds." He replied as he looked back at his phone.

"I meant, what are you doing here?" Eva snipped.

"I think that's pretty obvious but for your benefit. I'm waiting for you." Daniel replied without looking up from his phone. "Shut the door will ya? It's f*****g freezing."

Eva swallowed the lump in her throat down and slowly moved to shut the door. She dumped her bag by the sink, making sure to keep as much distance as she could between them. Her mind was reeling as her carefully thought out plan was shattered while her body betrayed her, wanting nothing more than to climb into the man's lap and claim him.

"Where are my parents?" Eva looked around, leaning back to try and see if they were in the living room via the door but it was empty.

"They went out. They thought we could do with some privacy to talk."

Eva turned to face Daniel, caught off guard that Daniel was now looking at her with those dangerous eyes. His lips were set in a firm line and Eva couldn't help but feel like she was to be told off by the school headmaster...or the school's bad boy.

Shit.

"Gotta say, you're the first woman that's ever ran away from me." Daniel broke the tense silence. "Normally I'm fighting them off. If you weren't my mate I'd probably have punished you for embarrassing me like you did. Still might."

"Yeah well I'm not your mate." Eva replied quickly. "The Goddess has got it wrong."

"To be honest I don't believe in all that Goddess bullshit." Daniel shrugged, stuffing his phone into his jacket pocket before standing. "However I do believe in natural selection and my wolf has chosen your wolf as a suitable mate. I suspect yours has done the same."

Eva wanted to deny it but she couldn't. Kalla had responded to the call of the mate bond. She had deemed Daniel's wolf a suitable partner.

Panic flashed through Eva, her eyes going wide. Like hell was she going to mate with this asshole.

"I Eva Larson reject-"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Daniel cut Eva off with a calm but deadly voice, taking slow steps towards the she-wolf. "There is a lot riding on this union. You wouldn't want to be responsible for single-handedly destroying an alliance that goes back dozens of generations, would you? After all, it's the only thing preventing the Hellhounds from taking your territory and wiping Silver Moon off the face of the planet."

Eva was frozen. Her mind wanted to put space between herself and Daniel but her body was paralyzed by dread and yearning. How could someone so dangerous coax such illicit feelings from her body? Especially since he was a complete asshole! A very delicious looking asshole...

"You're bluffing."

Daniel smirked at that. "Am I, sweetheart?"

Eva's eyes narrowed and part of her wanted to swing for Daniel. She wasn't '*a fight now, ask questions later*' kind of girl but the way Daniel turned up and destroyed her plans and then had the upper hand left Eva's blood boiling. She was meant to be in charge here. This day was meant to go by her terms.

"So this is how it's going to go." Daniel spoke up when Eva didn't, moving to sit back at the kitchen table. "My dad, the Ouma and I are going to talk business. Then I am coming to pick you up and we are going to have dinner and talk."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I drag you back to my pack kicking and screaming tonight without so much as a chance to say goodbye to your folks."

Eva groaned in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose. How did she get mated to an asshole?

"Fine." She relented. "But any funny business and I'll break you in two."

"Hm, can't promise that." Daniel smirked, standing once more and heading for the door. "I will see you tonight. Oh and don't try running again or I will punish you and you won't like it...or maybe you will. Depends what you're into." He shrugged before disappearing out the door.