However, neither of the skinny women appealed to him.
Only Bride did. The sight of her cut through him intensely, making him ache with need. She might claim to be human, but there was more magic in her smile than his entire wolf pack possessed.
She was absolutely beguiling and those lips did the most amazing things to his body.
To his heart The three women were talking and laughing while they finished a platter of oysters. None of them seemed to notice anything different about Bride.
Maybe she wasn't his mate, after all.
But that was a futile thought. The mark only appeared after a Were-Hunter had had sex with his mate, and usually within a short time frame. Vane hadn't been with any other woman for months now.
There was no one else it could be.
Her hand markings should match his exactlythey were emblems that showed his parental lineage and could only be read by another of his kind.
But then again maybe it was different because Bride was human. What if the mating mark wasn't binding on a human female?
He went cold with that thought.
He would be screwed. Literally.
The only hope he would ever have for a family rested in his ability to claim his mate.
But she must be willing Bride and her friends got up and headed out of the restaurant. Vane crouched low as he tried to decide what to do.
"I'm telling you, Bride," the brunette said as she led the way out into the street, "our sister Tia can hex anyone. Say the word and we'll turn Taylor into a eunuch."
Bride laughed at that. "Don't tempt me."
The scarred redhead stopped as she caught sight of him in the shadows.
"Hey there, big boy," she said kindly, holding her hand out for him to sniff. "Want Tabby to scratch you behind your ears?"
"Tabitha!" the other woman snapped. "Leave the strays alone. I swear, one day you're going to get rabies."
"He doesn't have rabies," Bride said.
"See," the one called Tabitha said. "And the daughter of the vet should know."
Bride held her hand out to him.
Vane went to her immediately and sniffed her hand. Her scent went through him, piercing and hot, along with images of what she'd looked like in complete surrender to him. The sounds of her pleasure Nosing her fingers, he forced her to open them so that he could see his worst fears confirmed. She was marked.
Damn.
What was he going to do now?
"He likes you, Bride."
Tabitha had no idea just how true her words were.
"I think he likes her leftovers," Mina said with a laugh.
Bride knelt down while she stroked his ears. She cupped his head and examined him carefully. "I think he's a wolf."
"A wolf?" Tabitha asked. "Are you nuts? How did a wolf get in the city? Besides, he's way too big for a wolf."
"You are a big boy, aren't you?" Bride said as Vane nuzzled her face. She looked up at her friend. "Contrary to popular opinion, Tabby, wolves are the largest of the canines. But I think he might be some kind of mixed blood."