Roxie opened the door a few seconds later. She smiled and waved them inside.
“Come on in. It’s nice to see you again, Ansley.” She closed the door and directed her attention on Roan. “I didn’t expect you today. Jager and Dirk are already here. I thought you and Ansley would be a little busy.”
Roan cleared his throat as if he had suddenly become nervous about something when Roxie led them into her large living room. “I brought Ansley here because I thought you would be able to help her understand when I tell her about me.”
Roxie spun around and stared at Roan crossly with her hands on her hips. “Are you telling me you claimed her without explaining everything to her even after I told you not to do it that way?”
“Well, you see, things got a little out of hand.” Roan then let out a squawk when Roxie reached up and grabbed him by his ear. “Rox, that really hurts. Let go.”
“No. And it’s supposed to hurt you, idiot. Now get over here and let’s see if I can make this right for you.”
Roxie didn’t let go of Roan’s ear. She kept hold of it as she led him over to the large sectional couch and forced him to sit down. Ansley had to cover her mouth with her hand to hide the smile that spread across her lips. It was really quite comical to see Roan, who stood much taller than Roxie, being led about by a woman half his size. Ansley wiped the smile off her face and went to sit down next to Roan who rubbed his abused ear. Sitting on the couch so she faced them, Roxie looked over at Ansley and asked,
“Okay, what exactly has Roan told you about your relationship with him?”
“Not too much really,” Ansley said cautiously. Seeing the serious expressions on both Roan and Roxie’s faces, she started to get a little worried. It didn’t take a genius to guess Roan had kept something from her about himself. “He only said that we’re now a part of each other and that we won’t like to be apart for long periods of time.”
Roxie leveled a hard stare at Roan. “You told her that much, but not the reason behind it?”
Roan sighed. “I had to tell her something. She went to work this morning while I slept. When I woke up, she had already been gone for over an hour.”
Roxie put her head in her hand and shook it. “Yup, you couldn’t have messed things up any worse then you already have.” She looked up. “Roan, tell Ansley the truth.”
“Now? You don’t want to gently ease her into it?”
“No. Sometimes it’s best just to get it all out in the open at once. And it’s not as if she has much choice in the matter, now does she?”
Now really starting to worry, Ansley kept her gaze locked on Roan. He turned to her and picked her hand up in his. She didn’t know if she wanted to hear what he had to say now.
Roan took a deep breath. “Please try not to freak out when I say this, okay? I never meant to take your choice from you. I tried to tell you the other day at your apartment, but you were acting as if you didn’t want anything to do with me and my control snapped.”
“Just spit it out, Roan.”
“All right. Ansley, we’re mated. That’s why we can’t be separated for long without needing to be with one another. The mating bond, the joining of our souls, happened the first time we slept together. I knew you were my mate the first time I met you at the salon. I knew if we made love that would be the end result.”
“Mated? I don’t understand. Only animals take mates. The last time I looked, I wasn’t one.”
Roan’s eyes started to glow mutedly. He then made a very animal-like growl. “I’m not completely human, Ansley. There’s a part of me that is an animal.”
Ansley shot off the couch to stand in front of Roan. No longer could she try to talk herself into believing that his eyes didn’t really glow, or that he didn’t growl like a wild animal would. “That is not possible.”
“It is possible.” Roan reached for Ansley, but she crossed her arms over chest. She narrowed her eyes. “If it’s possible, then what exactly are you?”
Roan stood up, but he kept his distance. “I’m a werewolf, Ansley.”
“A werewolf? There is no such thing as werewolves. Next you’ll tell me vampires, fairies and evil trolls exist too.” Roan gave Roxie a pleading look. Ansley started to chuckle. “Oh, come on, Roxie. Don’t tell me you believe this werewolf nonsense.” She gasped. Roxie’s eyes started to glow just as Roan’s did.
“Sorry, Ansley,” Roxie said. “I’m a werewolf too. Same with Beowulf.”
Ansley’s gaze shot back to Roan. “Your family? Are they werewolves too?”
“Yes.”
“Your eyes, it has to be some kind of trick you’re both playing on me. They aren’t glowing by themselves.”
“It’s no trick. I didn’t want to do it this way, but I can’t think of another way to prove to you that Rox and I are telling you the truth.”
She backed up a step. His body started to shimmer and blur. It all happened so quickly. One minute Roan stood in front of her and the next a wolf had taken his place. A wolf that had light brown fur and light blue eyes the same as Roan’s. Ansley shook her head and backed up even more until the back of her legs hit the coffee table. She flailed her arms to keep her balance. Her arm hit the crystal vase that sat on the table. It smashed on the hardwood floor with a loud crash.
The wolf moved to come closer, but Ansley held up her hands to ward him off.
“Keep the hell away from me,” she yelled. The wolf stopped dead in his tracks. Jager suddenly ran into the room with a huge sword held in his hand. “What’s the matter? Are you okay, Roxie? I heard a crash and someone yelling.”
Ansley didn’t know who to keep her gaze on. Both the wolf and Jager with his sword seemed equally dangerous to her.
Roxie groaned. “Put the sword away, Jager, before you upset Ansley more than she already is. And of course everything is fine. I thought I told you not to come running with your sword drawn at the slightest noise. We discussed this the last time you did it.”
Jager lowered his sword slightly. “I apologized the last time. How was I to know you and Beowulf were fooling around? The noises you made, I thought someone was trying to kill you.”
“For the love of God, Jager, would you just shut up already?” Roxie said. “Now give me the sword. I don’t want you scaring anyone else with it.”
Jager lowered his sword even more and shook his head. “I am not giving you my sword. I told you, I feel naked without it when I’m not at home.”
Ansley felt her heart jump into her throat. Roxie’s body shimmered and blurred, but unlike Roan she didn’t shift into a wolf. She shifted into what could only be described as half wolf/half human. Her body was covered head to toe in golden brown fur. She now stood taller than Jager, and looked much stronger. With a swish of her tail, Roxie stalked over to Jager and easily took the sword from him.
In a gruff voice, Rox said, “You’ll get it back before you leave. Now out. We have a situation going on here. Ansley isn’t taking the news of Roan being her mate, or us being werewolves, very well. With your mouth, I think you’ll just make things worse.”
Jager looked around Roxie and gave Ansley a weak smile. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make things worse.” He then left the room.
Roxie shifted back to her human form and came to stand next to Roan, still in his wolf form. She stroked the top of his wolf’s head. “Roan, why don’t you leave Ansley and me alone for a bit?”
The wolf nodded his head before he turned and padded out of the living room. Roxie put the sword she held down on the floor at her feet and at down on the couch once again. She patted the spot next to her. “Ansley, why don’t you come sit down and we’ll talk about this? I know it’s all very confusing, and a bit scary.”
Finally finding her voice, Ansley shot back, “How would you know? You’re a werewolf.”
“I wasn’t always one. I’ve only been a werewolf for the past year. I used to be a mortal just like you.”
Feeling more than a little overwhelmed, Ansley
slowly moved over to the couch and sat on the far end of it, as far away from Roxie as she could get. “What happened? Did you get bitten by a werewolf?”
Roxie chuckled. “No. A mortal can’t be turned into a werewolf if bitten by one. You have to be born a werewolf.”
“But you just said you weren’t always a werewolf.”
“My case is a little different. A spell turned me, a spell that was written specifically to turn me. You see I’m special.” Roxie did air quotes when she said the word special. “A few thousand years ago it was foretold a werewolf with a special mark on his or her wrist would one day rule over all the werewolf packs—the foretold one. Well, it turns out I’m the foretold one.” Roxie held out her left arm.
Ansley looked at the black Celtic styled markings that banded Roxie’s left wrist then glanced back up at her face. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I’m trying to give you a little more insight into Roan. He, along with his brothers and sister, has trained for hundreds of years to be my protector. Even though they all went lone wolves long ago, I have never met a more loyal bunch of people. Roan would never hurt you, Ansley. Nor would his family. They protect their own. They welcomed Eli into the family with open arms when he and Saskia mated, even before he chose to become a werewolf. They’ll do the same with you.”
More intrigued now than she would admit, Ansley’s brows drew together. “I thought the spell had been meant only for you.”
“Originally, yes, but like I said before, I’m special. Besides being able to shift into my half wolf/half human form, which no other werewolf can do, I have a little bit more magic inside me than they do. Only if I perform the spell can a mortal be turned into a werewolf.”
“You keep calling everyone who isn’t a werewolf a mortal. Are you telling me werewolves are immortal?”
“Not exactly. Our life spans are much, much longer than a mortal’s. We can live three thousand years. We also can heal much faster, and survive wounds that would kill a mortal.”
Ansley swallowed. “How old is Roan?”
“He’s just slightly over a thousand-years-old. I think 1,008 to be exact.”
She felt all the blood drain out of her face. Spots appeared before her eyes. “A thousand years old. That means he’ll live for another two thousand.”
Roxie moved to sit beside Ansley and rubbed her back. “Just breathe, Ansley. Don’t faint on me. Roan will get upset with me if you do. I don’t want him to accuse me of mistreating his mate.”
Ansley took a couple of deep cleansing breaths. Once her vision cleared, she gave Roxie a weak smile. “I’m okay now. Can you please tell me what it means to be his mate?”
“For starters it’s more permanent than marriage. As Roan said, your souls have joined. There is no undoing it. And, as you found out from first-hand experience, it isn’t pleasant being separated from your mate.”
Ansley fisted her hands on her lap. “So let me get this straight. The first time we made love we mated, and technically we’re as good as married. Roan knew he would tie me to him forever in this way when we first met, and still he went ahead and did it anyway. Without giving us the chance to get to know each other.” Her voice rose with each word she spoke. “Nor did he even try to tell me anything of his being a werewolf before he went ahead and made love to me.”
Roxie snorted. “That basically says it all. Beowulf did the same thing to me. I reacted about the same way you are now.”
“You two must have worked it out. You seem crazy about each other.”
“Yes, we did in a roundabout way. I’m going to say this even though it sounds kind of cornball, but deep down inside you must have fallen in love with Roan the first time you laid eyes on him. If you hadn’t, your souls never would have joined. I want you to think about that, because I’m going to offer you something that will bring you closer to Roan.”
“The spell?”
“Yes. I don’t want you to give me your answer now. Hell, you can take as long as you want. Years even. My offer is open-ended. Now I’m going to get Roan back in here. I can hear him pacing in the kitchen.”
Ansley couldn’t hear any noise. If anything the house seemed as silent as a tomb. Roxie smiled. “Werewolf hearing. We can hear, smell and see three times better than a mortal.”
After Roxie left her alone, Ansley prepared herself to face Roan again. Talking to Roxie had helped, but she still felt a bit overwhelmed by everything she had learned. It wasn’t every day a girl found herself married, mated, to an over-thousand-year-old werewolf. As for Roxie’s offer to turn her into one, Ansley didn’t know when or if she would be able to take that step. It all depended on how Roan really felt about her, and she about him. She would like to believe their souls joined because they fell in love with each other at first sight, but she was too practical to believe that could be possible. Neither one of them had declared their love for the other. To be quite frank, Ansley had no idea if she loved Roan. Her feelings for him were still too new. She hadn’t had the time to really examine them closely. Roan had barged into her life and she hadn’t been able to think straight since.
Chapter Ten
Stepping into the living room, Roan found Ansley on the couch. She stared off into space lost in thought. He had no idea if that boded well for him or not. Cautiously, not wanting to startle her, he crossed over to where she sat and took the space next to her.
“I’m so sorry, Ansley. I never planned to spring it on you like this. I wanted to take things slow.”
Ansley kept her gaze fixed straight ahead of her. “I don’t know what to think, Roan. What Roxie told me … it’s an awful lot to digest all at once.”
“I know. Roxie told me to be upfront with you right from the start. You have to understand when a male werewolf finds his mate the mating urge sinks its claws into him and doesn’t let go until he has claimed his mate. It’s hard to ignore when the wolf inside is howling for you to take what belongs to you.” When Ansley didn’t say anything or look at him, Roan sighed. “I know it doesn’t excuse what I did, but can you at least try to forgive me?”
“Do you love me, Roan?” Ansley’s voice sounded flat, emotionless. Roan blinked at the sudden change in topic. “What?”
“I asked if you love me.”
No longer able to stand the distance Ansley had put between them physically and mentally, he pulled her onto his lap. He put a hand under chin and forced her to look at him. “Of course I love you, Ansley. You’re my mate.”
“Are you sure it’s love and not lust? Are you sure it isn’t this mating urge forcing you to feel what you think is love?”
Roan scowled. “It isn’t just the mating urge. I love you. The mating urge never would have kicked in if you weren’t the one meant for me. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to find my mate?”
“Roxie told me you were over a thousand years old. She also told me about the spell.”
“And?” Roan held his breath, waiting to hear what Ansley’s answer would be.
“I’m not ready for that, Roan. I don’t know if I’ll ever be.”
He released the breath he had been holding. “What are you saying, Ansley?”
“You say you love me, but I don’t know if what I feel for you is love or not. I’ve never been in love before. I have no idea what love is. I didn’t exactly grow up knowing the love of a mother or father. I don’t know if I’m even capable of it. I’m just so confused right now.”
Roan pulled Ansley’s head down to his shoulder and rubbed her back. “I won’t ask anything from you that you aren’t ready to give. Just know that I’m not going anywhere, ever. You’re mine. For now, that’s enough for me. We’ll work out the rest as we go along.”
Some of the tension he felt left his body when Ansley snuggled closer into his embrace. At least she hadn’t rejected him outright. The way she had reacted when he had gone wolf, Roan had been pretty worried she would want nothing to do with him. At that moment, Jager popped his head into th
e living room. “Sorry, never mind me.” He walked over to the couch and picked up his sword where Roxie had left it on the floor.
Much to Roan’s surprise, Ansley lifted her head and shook her head in Jager’s direction. “You better not let Roxie catch you with that. She may kick your butt instead of just taking it from you the next time. And given how big she looked in her half wolf/half human form, I would say she would have no problem kicking your butt if she wanted to.”
Jager shrugged. “She can always try,” he said with a smile. He had just stepped into the hallway when Roan and Ansley heard him say, “Oh, shit.”
The next voice they heard was Roxie’s. “I thought I took that from you already.”
Jager replied, “Well, I took it back.”
“You know how I feel about it,” Roxie said. “Now hand it over.” Jager obviously didn’t do as Roxie had asked, because she then said, “Give me that damn sword, Jager.”
The next thing Roan and Ansley heard were the sounds of heavy footfalls taking off at a run and another much lighter set following behind them. Roxie’s voice drifted to them as she chased after Jager. “You can run, but I’m still going to take that sword away from you.”
Roan and Ansley looked at each other then burst out laughing. Ansley was the first to recover. “Are they always like this?”
“Not all the time. The sword just happens to be a bone of contention between them. Roxie’s just afraid Jager will hurt somebody with it.”
“Would he?”
Roan shook his head. “No. Jager can handle a sword better than most of us. He doesn’t make mistakes like that. As you may have guessed, he’s so attached to the thing you would swear he had been born with it in his hand.”
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