Rafe

Rafe squeezed the bridge of his nose. Guilt rushed over him. Devin had often talked about how he’d love to have a family, but he knew it wasn’t in the cards for him. He was too broken. Nobody would be able to fix him.
“She’d be a lucky woman, Devin. You’d treat her like a queen.”
“Yeah, well, I doubt there’s a female alive who’d want to share my broken soul or my crazed cats so I don’t think I’ll need to worry about pampering anyone. I’ll call if something comes up

Halfway up, she ran into a man rushing down. She gasped and teetered backward, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her against him.
A whiff of cigars and cologne filled her lungs. She choked on the stench and coughed into her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”
Bright-brown eyes focused on her, and a grin spread over his face. In the dim light she couldn’t see many other details, but the tiny hairs on her arms stood up. Fear slithered into her belly and churned it. He set her aside before the sick feeling spread.
“No problem, sweet thing. I’ll keep an eye out for you from now on.” He rushed down the stairs.
She watched him until the bend in the staircase blocked him from view, then slumped against the wall. The rushing blood in her veins echoed in her head. She stood there and trembled but didn’t know why. The guy had saved her from falling. He hadn’t done a single thing to make her afraid. She shook off the weird sensation and hurried up the stairs in case he came back.

He let his head rest against the wall. She would if she knew how Royals had to claim human mates—at the point of death. And if one of his cats refused her? Or she panicked and refused him? She’d die. If his cats accepted her, however, she’d be his for eternity.
His one true mate.
The goddesses had promised all shifters—singles and Royals—peace in the form of a true mate. Too bad their goddesses hadn’t offered them an easy way to find their perfect complement, the one person who could calm both man and beast. The only advice their elders gave was to trust your instincts. That was great for the single shifters. If their animals refused to complete the bond or she did, they’d leave their lover with a scar. If Royals picked poorly, they’d end up as murderers.
It was no wonder few Royals mated. Or found peace.

There were days he wished he’d been born a single shifter, one who had one animal sharing his body and soul, not a Royal with three animals. He couldn’t change his fate, however. He was a Royal. An immortal shifter descended from the goddesses. He was also resented and envied by many of the single shifters. They wanted to be immortal too

She released a shaky breath. “Wow. You’re a dangerous man, Rafe Alexander.”
In more ways than one. If his instincts failed him, then she would learn exactly how dangerous he was. But wouldn’t allow those thoughts to take hold. Not yet. The cats he’d been born with would never have allowed him to touch Jasmine if they doubted her