Looking to catch me in a lie? Why would my desire for him be a lie? Are my gulps of breath not encouragement enough?
I nod jerkily and tug his head back. “More.”
Stricken, he stands and sets my dress to rights. His expression shutters, and his lips pull into a thin line. “No. Blame for many things can be laid at my feet, but even I will not tarnish the honour of finding my Bride. I will tell you my name. There is power in a name.”
Concerned, I reach for him. I can’t hear past the ‘no’ in response to my plea for more. “Did I do something wrong? I’m inexperienced but if you tell me what do I’ll please you.”
Turning his face to the sky, he exhales then straightens to loom over me. His head drops and his eyes are heated. “Danielius.” His voice is resentful and distant. “My people call me Daniel. Do you hear me, she-wolf? This game was fun but now it ends.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Taking a step back never meant so much, or created such distance.
He flinches.
No denial. No outrageous display of innocence. No pleading or begging to help him discover what truly happened.
A guilty flinch and eye twitch.
My hands fall away.
The bottom of my newly discovered world falls away. It crumbles and breaks into fucked up little pieces. Nothing can fix this kind of broken. You paste over it, maybe tie it together with string, but there will always be cracks.
I turn, and bend, and struggle to breathe.
Clasping a hand over my mouth, I curl an arm around my middle and scratch at my side with the other. Lord, help me. Dry heaving, I force the sickness to the pit of my stomach. I regain my footing by focusing on the distance.
“Daddy … my Pack will never….” The chances of my Alpha accepting the true mate my wolf chose is slim at best, but if he knows what Daniel’s done it won’t be impossible; it will mean Daniel’s death. “You’re a murderer.”
“And you’re so innocent–”
“Shut up.” My eyes are hard as they meet his. “Just don’t.”
Looking away from me, his hands fall to hang by his sides. “What now?”
Unable to look at his face and not want him I spin away. My head hurts thinking over everything he’s said and the way he’s acted. My wolf is wrong? How can she choose a merciless killer as her true mate? It doesn’t make any sense. “I found you beaten.”
“I have been banished. Left here for judgement.”
Over my shoulder, I ask. “You killed my cousin.”
“I’ve already confessed this.”
I turn fully. “With … with your hands.” My hands push in front of me, curling to mimic strangulation. “You physically killed him.”
“Ja.”
“Is this a game to you? What are you doing?” Dragging a hand through my hair I cup my throat. “Why are you on our hunting grounds? Have you come to gloat? Was this some sick plan to take you to my home so you could murder the rest of my family?”
“Nej. No, no. None of this was planned.” Face creasing; he moves to hold me, hands reaching. “I don’t know what this is. I tried to tell you–”
“Don’t touch me.” I wrench myself back. “You never get to touch me.”
His fingers curl in the empty space. “I didn’t ask for this. I told you to leave me.”
My hand digs into my throat and I swallow down bile. Pulling it all back, I do what has to be done. “Leave.”
“Harmony.”
“Leave.” Shoulders huddled I turn from him. “Come here again and we’ll kill you.”
He just stands there, but I don’t wait to hear another word, or wait to see what he’ll do.
I can’t hear him leaving so I move, walking quickly. I sob. Speed up and stumble without looking back. As fast as I can, I run from him, until my lungs are bursting and my limbs burning. It’s surreal, like drowning. Suffocating. The truth is a noose and it’s getting tighter.
Time is irrelevant, and coming to an awkward stop on the threshold of my home has me starting, and looking around with round eyes.
The grey brick looms over me, austere in the night sky.
Shivering, I stare at the house that has been my home and prison for so long.
The Vampire has become a monumental complication in my depressing life rather than a way out of this place. I should alert my Alpha. Besides, telling my Pack about him would be alleviating myself of a nightmare and potential reprimand.
Isn’t it?
What if Daniel kills again and I could have stopped it by being honest?
I’m going to do this? I am going to destroy the Vampire? Kill my mate. The murderer who stole life from my cousin, and offered no explanation, showed no remorse. But he’s mine. Why would my wolf choose him if he wasn’t the best choice for me?
Instead of surging forward, I peer around and see no one about. My nose scents everyone is still at the back of the house.
I back away quickly.
Reaching the tree line, I breathe easier. I rub my eyes and push back my hair, unsure of what to do next. My family are in the backyard and won’t have scented me yet as I’m downwind. I have few precious moments to decide what I’m doing.
The person trying to get my attention grabs my shoulder and gives a little shake.
“Harmony?” Aaron repeats alarm clouding his face as it blocks my view of the house.
A little taller than me, his green eyes are concerned and his square face curious. He sniffs. He blinks rapidly, plaintive, uncomprehending. Aaron grips my shoulder tighter and sniffs deeper. His eyes widen when he places the scent of arousal and Vampire. His eyes demand answers but I stare back dumbly.
I have loads of answers, but can I open my mouth to utter even one? I’m still on lockdown.
Aaron swears, and grabs my arm to drag me away from the house back into the trees. After a minute of his brisk, no-nonsense pace, he lets go and gets in my face. “You reek of one of them and sex.”
“There was no sex,” I mutter, staring at nothing, wondering why there was no sex. I’d heard stories of mates going into a mating frenzy when they found each other.
The Vampire hadn’t seemed all that frenzied.
Has my wolf had latched onto a creature lacking the ability or desire to bond and care like I can?
Mating’s don’t always end in love, but most do see the couples well matched and happy.
Aaron claps his hands in front of my face. “Never thought I’d see the day when I’d have to force words from you. Explain or I’m getting our Beta.”
That yanks me out of it. My head snaps up at the thought of the over muscled wolf bearing down on me.
Right now Aaron is about as much as I can take.
“I found one. A Vampire. Um, you know the hunting grounds to the West where I like to run? A few miles from the boundary line.” My lips tremble at the confession. Good for the soul, I’ve been told. My knees wobble as adrenaline gushes through me, delayed from the confession that tumbled from Daniel’s mouth. “Damn it, Aaron. I was bringing him here then I changed my mind. I–I was going to … hide him,” I confess.
Aaron is too clever to try and lie to. He’ll want to know how I got away alive and unscathed from a being so much more powerful.
The truth is my only option.
“Jesus fucking Christ. Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what’ll happen to you if Sy finds out? Let alone our Alpha.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing.” I drag my hands through my hair. “I couldn’t think straight around him. It’s so strange but he’s different.”
“I know you’re sympathetic toward them but to even consider betraying the Pack like this is insane.” He exhales. “But you’re here. You came home. That’s what’s important. Your father is in the back concluding the bonding ceremony. We can go and get this sorted as soon as he’s finished.”
And my life will remain the same.
Sy will keep hounding me to mate him. One day I’ll break and give in.
I’ll be trapped. Forever. This stifling existence will consume me until I’m nothing more than a robot like the older females of the Pack, women who used to be strong, but are worn out by the never-ending dominance from their mates.
The scene plays out in my mind; Daddy’s reaction. Disbelief. Anger then acceptance, which would turn to cold-hearted purpose. He and his wolves would strip, shift and tear out into the hunting grounds to hunt down Vampire who dared to breach the Lycan borders. They’d pick up on my scent and realise how intimately it mingles with his. Lord save us all if they sniff around and discover the spot Daniel pinned me, and smell my arousal. They’d track him down. If the sun has risen they’d dig until….
“This is wrong,” I whisper. “I can’t. I won’t do this when I know what he means to my wolf.”
Aaron frowns. “What are you talking about, Harmony?”
“The idea of Daddy and the Enforcers surrounding Daniel makes me sick.”
“I know. They’ll be fine, I promise. He’ll send enough to take the Vampire down. Hopefully, the sun will have risen before they find him and the sun will do most of the work.”
Aaron turns decisively, and I catch the sleeve of his shirt.
“Wait. I can’t.” Can’t he read the pain in my eyes? “I don’t want him hurt. I shouldn’t have come back. I have to go.”
Aaron stares at me until it clicks. His nostrils flare and be begins sniffing me. He grabs my arms and runs his nose down my neck. He bristles when he comes to the spot Daniel licked, and continues down my chest, following Daniel’s scent to all the places touched. When he reaches the spot between my legs I remember. The scent of Daniel is all over me.
Pushing at his head, I twist myself away.
Aaron is left crouched, growling. His eyes glow. “Tell me my nose is wrong. Tell me– Shit.” He stands. “Shit, shit, shit.” He locks his arms behind his head and paces. “What were you doing out there anyway? You were supposed to be getting ready?”
“I needed some space.”
“I covered for you. When I found you gone, I told our Alpha you were in your room sulking.”
“I was in my room.” I scratch my head guiltily. “At first. I didn’t plan this, I swear.” I wrap my arms around myself, holding the mess in. “I found him there and things just happened.”
“You’re giving off the mating scent. Did you know that?”
I nod nervously. “It wasn’t my decision. She’s chosen him.”
Aaron splays his fingers out and exhales slowly. “Listen to me, very carefully. You can ignore the potential if you choose. So can the.…” He chokes on the word Vampire. “So can it. The connection goes both ways.” He rubs his chest. “You have to fight this Harmony, because if you accept the wolf’s compulsion that’s it. You’ll find it harder and harder not to see him as your true mate. There’s no coming back from that.”
My heart sinks. It sits like a ball of lead in my stomach. The truth is, I’ve accepted what my wolf wants.
“I have to go,” I repeat, since Aaron seems to have forgotten that part.
His eyes close briefly, not bothering to hide his grief and disgust. “Sy is going to lose his mind. Why did you embrace it? You know I have to tell your father, and if your Vampire is still on the hunting grounds at dawn he’ll order us to find him.”
The visual of the wolves sniffing out Daniel’s resting place and dragging him into the sunlight – the Vampire combusting into flames and burning to death – has vomit burning the back of my throat and my wolf pressing me to go find him, to keep him safe.
Swallowing bitter saliva, I grab the Enforcer in terror. “No. I just need to get him off the hunting grounds and back where he belongs.” I beg him with my eyes. “Aaron, please. Please don’t say anything.”
He touches my cheek like he always did when I was a pup. The contact is fleeting.
Goodbye.
He turns his head and steps away. “Tonight is your sister’s bonding. I won’t ruin that. I’ll try to give you as much time as I can. I should be able to resist any questions until dawn.” His jaw clenches and he shakes his head. “You have a couple of hours to get that thing the hell off Pack land.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Saying I’m running back to where I’d left the Vampire would be an understatement. My plan is ill thought and spur of the moment, but I have no time to waste. I have nothing. All my meagre belongings got left behind. I can’t risk going into the house and being caught by Daddy, and Aaron might be able to avoid the Alpha for a couple of hours before he realises I’m missing and seek answers. The Enforcer won’t be able to lie to them for long, and they’d smell me on him. It’ll be my ass if they catch me before I reach him.
It can’t be long since I left Daniel, but time is running out. Following my own scent trail back to where I’ve left him is a good plan. I figure I’ll pick up on his when my own scent fades, and he couldn’t have gotten too far.
I almost run over him passing the area we’d parted.
Leonine and magnetic, watching, waiting, Daniel stands where I left him.
Chest heaving, I stare at him. Dumbfounded. “You stayed.” My fingers grab at each other behind my back to stop from digging into his face to be sure. He’s not a mirage conjured by my fevered brain.
The relief he’s safe has my legs trembling.
I tuck my hair behind my ears to give me something to do other than a running jump into his arms.
He doesn’t look the type to catch me if I did that.
Lines furrow Daniel’s brow, and he peers around. Fresh dirt smears his front. At his feet is a burrow he’s dug in the ground to rest during the day. “Where else should I have gone?” He must understand why I stayed before now. Trust. The innate trust that comes with finding your mate.
Ignoring his sarcastic response, I glance cagily at what would have been his final resting place. I press my eyes closed at the grisly vision of him being dragged out into the sunlight by snarling Lycans.
“We don’t have time to draw this out so I’ll just get on and say it.” I lift my gaze to his. “I shouldn’t have left like that. I– I wasn’t able to–”
“Forgive?”
“No.” I swing my head side to side vehemently. “Cope. I wasn’t able to cope with it. Now I’ve been away from you I’m clearer on what I want.”
I rub my throat thinking it feels like nails are being hammered there.
Why has he not asked me for forgiveness for taking Sean’s life? Is he so arrogant he feels I don’t deserve some explanation or apology? Maybe he doesn’t have the right words and is stressing over it something fierce.
“Ask forgiveness and it’s yours. It’s your right as my mate to be given a chance.” I hold his gaze. “Things you’ve done to earn my anger are now irrelevant. The past is done and I can let it go if you can. I’ll never harm you, even if you deserve it. You’re mine to protect now.”
“Forgiveness?” Halting, unsure, he reaches to rub over my heart. Light fingers burn a trial of fire over my skin. “Father, forgive her. She knows not what she does.”
Startled at the plea, I pull back to break the contact. He’s always surprising me. “You mean–”
“That to be with me means eternal damnation?” Daniel shrugs. “Ja.”
I’m not religious. I call the Lord’s name in vain out of habit, one I embraced as a child to piss off my devout mother, but the idea of willingly turning my back on a higher power is frightening.
“You are right to be afraid.” The Vampire senses my hesitation. My heart rate climbs steadily under his palm again pressed to my chest. “I died and was reborn. The Accuser holds my soul and feeds upon it. I drink the souls of others to replenish mine.” There’s a lengthy pause. His mouth opens to articulate something then he simply says, “You came back.”
“I– I had to choose. I don’t know why this has happened, but the idea of you in harm upsets my wolf spirit.”
“How can this be?” His questioning is internal. “Why would
you have returned knowing what I’ve done if you were truly not….” His attention returns to me and his expression is bewildered. “Mine.”
I gasp.
The simple word causes a gleeful explosion inside, one I can barely stand. I lurch forward to crush my lips to his.
He inhales on a rush his eyes pop open wide in shock.
Watching him, I lick his bottom lip, coaxing him to open his mouth. My fingers curl in the softness of his hair, and I luxuriate in the feel of him surrounding me. My tongue laps at his mouth until his lips part and it slides in to stroke his.
A feral hiss rips from his throat in a low vibration. He pulls me in hard, a persistent and unrelenting pressure that crushes the air from my lungs moment by torturous moment.
And I love it.
I’m left grappling with the air as he hastily puts distance between our bodies.
The back of his hand presses to his mouth, and the pained expression creasing his face battles one of disbelief. Daniel pushes a hand through his hair. Rubbing the back of his neck he paces a circle, occasionally pausing to glare at me, mutter then pace on. There’s a deadly grace and feral intent behind his controlled movement.
He’s glorious. It’s the only word I can think of to describe him.
I’ve seen more handsome men. Sy, the Pack Beta is breathtakingly handsome, but Daniel is special. His strongly cut chin and straight nose are bold and prominently defined. Though his mouth is pulled into a grim line right now, when it’s relaxed it compliments his face in such a pleasant way.
Dark blonde hair is swept back from his highbrow again by an agitated hand, and his eyebrows pull together in furious thought. “This has never happened before. I am searching my memories and there is nothing to suggest this has even been attempted.” He stops. “This is unusual.”
“You’re my true mate.” My voice is a croak, still shaken by the intensity of emotion I felt when he called me his. “It’s natural.”
The crazy thing is my wolf has a choice. She could have chosen to mate with Sy. The potential is there, and Sy’s been hounding for me months to submit.
Bite My Love Dark Creature Page 4
