But his life had changed months ago when he’d laid eyes on his fated mate, the woman destined for him, Olivia.
Over the course of five months, he’d befriended her, grown to know and admire her. Despite his need to mark her and claim her as his, that grew more pressing as the days passed, he’d waited—for her, because she needed time. He’d waited and waited, but he was done waiting.
Today, he would tell her she was his.
With just the thought, excitement surged through him. He materialized outside the alpha werewolf’s estate, a large colonial, three-story mansion in northern New York, where Olivia lived with her brother, the alpha of their pack, Landon and his fated female, Jocelyn, Cain’s good friend. Jocelyn was an Elemental, a new breed of immortals who possessed the ability to control the classic elements: earth, wind, water and fire. Elementals, like other immortals, possessed super-human strength, agility and heightened senses, but they weren’t able to control the elements until they met their mates. Before Jocelyn mated Landon and gained her power over the elements, Cain had been her personal bodyguard. Naturally, a friendship evolved. Landon and Jocelyn had mated a few months ago and were now expecting twins.
The doors to the estate parted before he had the chance to knock. Ethan, head of security at the estate, greeted him.
“Cain, welcome.”
“I came to see Olivia,” he said, unable to hide his smile.
“Cain,” Jocelyn called.
He glanced up and spotted her on the second floor landing, beside the large winding staircase. Her golden brown hair parted in the middle and styled in soft curls. He smiled her way, but she didn’t return the smile. Her brows were drawn, her eyes beseeching. It wasn’t the fun-loving, hardheaded Jocelyn who usually greeted him. Immediately, he reached out with his senses and read her emotions, a gift demons possessed; concern and worry coursed through her.
“Come up,” she said simply.
Worry beginning to override his excitement, he materialized next to her then asked, “Joce, what’s wrong? Are the babies okay?”
She patted her belly and nodded, avoiding his stare. “Yes, they’re fine. Let’s go talk.”
Her solemn demeanor unnerving him, he prodded, “Is Landon okay?”
Nodding again, she avoided his gaze and led him into an office decorated with wood panels and dark blue tones. She took a seat. Too worried to sit, he remained on his booted feet. When her eyes finally met his, the sorrow in them had dread crawling up his spine.
“She’s gone,” Jocelyn whispered.
His heart clenched painfully in his chest. He knew, his body had told him so and still he needed to hear it, so he croaked, “Who?”
“Liv.”
And just like that, his plans were shot to hell. The light in his life went out. As the color drained from his face, he parted his mouth wanting to speak, but no words resonated.
His Olivia was gone.
Gone.
He looked away from Jocelyn, feeling numb inside and out. He knew it to be true. Jocelyn had said it, his body and heart responded to it, and still his mind couldn’t fully grasp the concept: his mate, his werewolf, his Olivia had left, leaving him behind.
Shaking his head in denial, he whispered under his breath, “No.” He said it aloud because it couldn’t be.
Olivia cared for him.
He knew.
He felt it.
She wouldn’t leave without telling him. They were friends, good friends.
Jocelyn stood and neared then whispered, “Cain…”
His head shot up to meet her gaze realizing her face was solemn, and her eyes were misted with unshed tears. That look alone proved it. Taking everything in stride, Jocelyn wasn’t much for tears or sorrow.
It’s true. He was sure he still stood, unmoving, but the room spun and swirled around him. No, not the room, it was his whole world spinning out of control. Without Olivia, his life was nothing.
“She left late last night. Left a note for Landon,” she continued.
He barely heard her words. She’s gone. She left, left you. She doesn’t want you, his conscience sniped. “But…” He grumbled as dread churned through him muddling his shock.
Jocelyn shook her head. “I’m sorry, Cain. I really am. She didn’t leave anything else.”
Pain too deep, too profound, pain he’d never thought possible, filled him, agony searing him alive from the inside out.
He shut his eyes, angling his head toward the heavens and clenched his teeth, praying for the strength he needed to keep the ache at bay.
He had to go to her. Letting the pain consume him wouldn’t do any good because when he saw her again, he’d tell her the truth and he needed his wits to do that.
Gaze shooting to Jocelyn, he wondered aloud, “Your overprotective mate let his sister go, alone?”
“It’s not like she asked for permission. She left late last night, left her cell phone and you know Landon. He’s upset, trying to run off his frustration.”
Fuck. She left late, left her phone. Was she in trouble? Was she safe? Worry for her now gnawing him, he snapped, “Where did she go?”
Shocked at his abrasiveness with a woman he considered his dear friend, he flinched. Still, he held her gaze waiting for the response he so desperately needed.
“She didn’t say.”
Panic seized him, leaving him without words, without a conscience, without life.
It just kept getting worse. Not only had she left without telling him, he didn’t even know where to start looking. “How could she…Why would she…” His thoughts tumbled frantically through his fragmented mind.
The months since he’d found her he lived in torment. He’d found his fated, the one woman destined for him, but she’d still been out of his reach, and yet she’d been near. Now, he couldn’t see her or feel the warmth of her presence or watch her face light up when she smiled.
He had to find her, couldn’t live without her, didn’t want to bear a life she wasn’t in.
“I don’t know why she left. All the note said was she needed a vacation.”
Because stringing words together was now beyond him, he parroted, “A vacation?”
“I’m sorry, Cain. I know she’s yours, and I have a feeling she cares about you, but—”
Jocelyn didn’t need to tell him that. As a demon, he was an empath. He’d felt her feelings for him intensify over the last several months, but still he’d been extra cautious. Perhaps, he’d been too cautious because he hadn’t thought she knew him well enough, and especially because a part of him had been terrified of how she’d react knowing the truth. He was a demon, after all, and she grew up isolated from the other immortals, thinking she’d find her male, the man destined for her, in a werewolf. Only recently had the pack begun to acknowledge mates from other immortal breeds. Besides that, he was a demon, an orphan, a warrior, so different from her, a princess within her pack. He hadn’t wanted to ruin their budding friendship or cause her to run if he admitted the truth, so he’d waited but she had to know how much he cared for her. He’d done everything in his power to show her.
Had she figured out she was his and run from him? God, no!
“But what?” he asked impatiently, fisting his palms painfully.
“Have you told her?” Jocelyn asked.
He shook his head, his cheeks flushing in shame. “No,” he admitted, reluctantly. “I was waiting for the right time. I wanted everything to go smoothly, so I waited…”
“You’ve waited five months,” she pointed out as if he hadn’t realized it, as if he hadn’t been counting the days himself.
He glared in her direction, then instantly regretted it. He had no right to take out his frustrations on her. It wasn’t Jocelyn’s fault. No one was to blame but him.
“Yes. I waited because you and Landon got together. Olivia’s new to this whole world. Landon kept her away from other immortals, from everything. She’s…”
Closing his eyes tightly, he took a d
eep breath hoping it would soothe him. It didn’t. His chest throbbed and ached. He couldn’t ignore it, so he met Jocelyn’s stare again and said, “I thought she needed time to adjust. I thought if I told her right away, she would freak and bolt. I wanted to give her time to get to know me. I just thought it—”
“Okay. I get it. You were doing it for her,” she interrupted.
Eyes hardening, he said, “You know I’ve waited for her far more than just five months. I’ve waited centuries for her then she was right there and I held back because I thought she needed time…Do you have any idea how hard holding back my need has been? I…” His words trailed off, and he ran his hand over his face.
“You have to tell Lucas to give you some time off—”
“I know. I can’t…” He shook his head. “…go on like this. I’ve been a wreck for months. Lucas…he knows, but…Fuck! I was coming over to ask her out on a proper date. I figured I had given her enough time to get used to everything and get to know me. I was going to tell her, and now…Fuck!”
Jocelyn strode toward him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay,” she assured.
He wasn’t so sure. His heart had just been wrenched out of his chest, and he ached all over. The agony was all he felt despite his attempts to keep it at bay. Without his Olivia, he wouldn’t last long.
Immortal men waited their entire lives to find their mates, the one woman destined for them. When they did, their souls instantly recognized them as theirs. He’d denied his desire and his need for her for five months. His heart and soul yearned for Olivia, knowing she was just within his reach, yet doing nothing because he felt his mate needed time.
He shouldn’t have waited.
He should have told her.
Perhaps, she would have accepted him, and he would have spent the last five months enjoying her, romancing her with words, flowers and actions. He could’ve enjoyed quiet dinners while he held her and loved her.
Could’ve, should’ve, would’ve.
Too late now, and rehashing his mistakes wouldn’t solve a damned thing.
I screwed this up.
Worst part was he should’ve known. The past several weeks, he’d sensed a deep sadness in her. It pierced through him worse than if it were his own, dislodging something deep and primal in him—the need to safeguard, protect as it was with fated immortals. He wanted to ask but hadn’t. Instead, he’d done all he could to distract her, attempting to make her laugh and smile. She had laughed, but deep down that sadness never faded.
And now…She was gone.
Why hadn’t he done more? He should’ve. She was his, and it was as much his job to keep her happy as it was to keep her safe. So not only was he a damned fool but he was to blame. Over the past months as he’d gotten to know her, he’d felt he didn’t deserve a female such as her. Now, he knew he had a right to feel that way. She deserved so much more than him.
His bitter thoughts, his faults, sparked his anger. Attempting to temper his rage, he exhaled heavily. He couldn’t let his emotions overwhelm him or else risk turning demon, and he couldn’t do that. He wasn’t in his home, so he didn’t have the luxury of turning.
Trying his hardest to ignore his rising fury, he asked, “How do you know?”
“I know because these things always work themselves out,” she said, softly.
It had worked out for the Elementals and their mates, but he wasn’t so sure it would work out for him because his mate was gone. Why she left and where she’d gone, he had no idea, but he had to start looking.
Unable and unwilling to control his emotions any longer, he said, “I gotta go, Joce.”
“I’ll let you know if I find out anything, okay?”
He nodded then dematerialized.
****
Olivia was exhausted. She’d flown half the night and half the morning to reach her destination—Greece. Thanks to her parents, Landon and she co-owned property in Santorini, part of the Greek Isles.
As a kid and later as adults, she and her brother often vacationed on the island but during the last decade or so, they hadn’t travelled much.
If she was being honest with herself, in a hundred and two years, she hadn’t needed a vacation as badly as she needed one now. It hurt her to leave the home she was fond of behind indefinitely, but she needed to get far away from Cain, whom she’d fallen madly in love with.
The demon she’d met months ago had somehow managed to wedge himself in the deepest part of her heart. So deep, when she closed her eyes it was his face she saw: his golden hair, his bright blue eyes, high cheek bones and full kissable lips. He was burrowed so deep, it was him she dreamt of, him she wanted to be hers—her fated male.
But he wasn’t.
Immortal men had an instinct—the ability to sense and recognize their fated females the moment they laid eyes on them. When they recognized their fated, they were incapable of suppressing their need for them. The desire to mark and claim them as theirs was powerful and unrelenting, the need to protect and guard them fierce and unyielding. They couldn’t leave them, couldn’t stand to be away from them—ever.
Unfortunately for immortal women, fate and destiny only granted men the knowledge of who their fated females were. She wouldn’t instantly recognize the male destined for her, only he would.
Finding one’s mate was viewed by all immortals as a gift, the one person who complemented you, someone you could love forever and share your long existence with. No immortal would wait to claim what was destined to be his, except for her stubborn brother, Landon, who’d tried to deny his female and had for three months, nearly losing his mind with desire for her. It had cost him, dearly, but she supposed he’d gotten what he deserved for fighting with fire and fate. In the end, destiny had won as it usually did.
She met Cain five months ago, and Cain was the same jovial, lighthearted man he’d always been. Further proving she wasn’t his. No way could he deny his need to mark and claim her for that long. No way any immortal male could.
Despite her brother, Landon, mating outside their breed, she doubted she would as well. Less than a handful of werewolves had found their mates in other breeds.
Regardless of all the overwhelming evidence lingering in her mind, Cain wasn’t destined for her. She often found herself thinking of him, and feared she was becoming infatuated. His muscular frame, his good looks, his mannerisms and his fun-loving, kind-hearted personality, everything about him drew her to him, and it wasn’t fair to her or him.
Although she’d never dated and had no experience with men because of her domineering, overprotective brother, and alpha of their pack, she knew her feelings for Cain intensified with every passing day. She couldn’t completely trust her instincts because of her inexperience, but in her heart, she believed she loved him and feared if she wasn’t already in love with him, she was close to it. That alone had her running away from home.
Only Landon knew where she was now. She hadn’t written it in the note she left for him, but expressed she was taking a vacation, like the ones they used to take. Regardless, she knew her brother would attempt to track her and call her, so instead of flying Eternal Air, a private airline immortals often used, she’d flown commercial and consciously left her cell phone behind.
As she deboarded the small plane on the island and retrieved her luggage, she was glad for one thing—the trip was almost over. Soon, she’d be able to lie in her bed on the gorgeous island and sleep.
Perhaps she was foolish to think distance would diminish her feelings for Cain, especially considering ever since she’d left, he was all she thought about. But there was hope that, with time, she’d get over what she hoped was just a school girl crush, her first in a century.
Chapter 2
His mind in shambles, his heart in shreds, Cain materialized just outside his king’s office. Taking a deep breath, he strode through the doorway. His gaze gravitated toward the chaise at the far end where Lucas sat, his arms tight around his mate
, Jenna, who sat on his lap, seductively running her fingers down his chest. Staring into each other’s eyes, they looked so much in love, captivated with one another.
A glimpse of what he so desperately wanted and had let get away, so Cain knew he should look away. He knew he should attempt to erase the sight from his mind.
But he couldn’t.
A part of him knew he deserved what he got, deserved to feel jealousy churning his gut, and ripping open his chest. That same part of him felt he deserved to suffer for his cowardice, for his many mistakes. The other part of him wanted to memorize the sight so he could fantasize that one day Olivia would love him half as much as his queen loved his king.
The sadness that had clung since hearing the truth compounded, choking him. He fisted his hands in an effort to keep it at bay, though he knew it would be useless. Nothing would erase the grief, nothing until he found her.
He’d give the world to have Olivia in the same room. He’d sell his soul to the devil to have Olivia on his lap. No, that wasn’t true. He’d gladly sell his soul to simply know where she was.
If he’d been braver…If he hadn’t been a foolish coward, he could be enjoying her or maybe, he thought ruefully, it would’ve caused the same outcome, only sooner. If, as he feared, Olivia had figured out she was his and run from him, it wouldn’t have mattered. She would’ve just run sooner.
“Cain,” Lucas said in greeting without tearing his gaze from his mate.
Jenna quickly turned to face him, her long brown hair swayed as a warm smile spread across her heart-shaped face.
“I need time off,” he blurted without greeting.
Jenna stood and quickly closed the distance between them. “Cain? Are you okay?”
She didn’t give him time to respond, instead, she took him by surprise when she asked, “Did something happen to Olivia?”
Awaiting Fate Page 2
