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To say he's less than happy with me would be an understatement. I can't say I blame him; Serena's beautiful. I'd love to look at her all day, but I don't trust him not to go after her and mate her.

And as much as I love Serena and want her as my mate, I won't make that decision for her.

I want her to choose me, not just be stuck with me because the universe says so. I've never been someone’s first choice. I've never been good enough. Is it so wrong to want to be loved, to be wanted?

Fuck, it sounds dumb right now, as Serena continues toward me, completely disregarding what I said. Her tits have a slight bounce to them, big enough that they will easily fill my hand. Her nipples are pebbled, no doubt from the chill in the air after getting out of the warm water. She either doesn't notice or doesn't care, but I'm damn near drooling as I look at them, picturing the way she would taste and how she would squirm if I sucked one into my mouth.

"Pike, are you okay?"

She's close, too close. My heart is damn near beating out of my chest, and I can feel my beast pressing to the surface, my canines growing longer in my mouth, the tail that sprouts from my lower back, my fingers turning to claws...

This is bad.

I stagger back a step; if she won't cover up, I'll leave.

I can't remember why I even came here to begin with, so it mustn't be that important.

I make it all of two steps before my beast catches on and stops me in my tracks, and suddenly it's a mental war. It only takes a moment to realize I'm going to lose.

Mate!

He yells again as if I didn't hear him the first three fucking times he said it.

I won't take her just because she's our mate. She has to choose us.I tell him, and I swear I feel him roll his eyes even without being able to see him. I'm not sure if I've always been able to communicate with him and never realized it before or if that's something new that we can do because of this realm, but I can't say I hate it.

At least not most of the time. Right now it's not doing me a damn bit of good, though, because he isn’t listening.

"Pike, is something wrong?" Serena's voice is soft, almost unsure, and I stop my mental argument to once again give her my attention.

Whereas, a moment ago, she seemed confident in herself and happy, now she seems unsure. Her shoulders slump forward, and... is she closer to the towel now?

She is. Which should be a good thing. I told her to cover up, but now... Fuck, I didn't want her to feel self-conscious or some shit.

Why do I have to fuck this up so badly? How the hell am I ever going to get her to choose me if she thinks I don't want to see her naked?

Smacking my palm to my head, I groan in frustration before quickly jogging toward her. She's picked up the towel now, and I should let her cover herself, but I don’t.

For once, my wolf doesn't seem to have an argument, and I can't help the smile that pulls at my lips. At least we can agree on something.

I rip the towel from her hands and let it drop into the water.

"What the fuck?!" Her head snaps up, and if looks could kill, I'd be so fucking dead right now. "What is wrong with you? First you tell me to cover up, and now you toss my towel in the water! Make up your mind, Pike. What do you want from me?"

The color on her cheeks is beautiful. Her eyes heat with her annoyance, and it shouldn't be a turn-on, but, fuck, it is. Her hands fly around in angry gestures, and her tits jiggle with the movement. I never believed in soul mates or wanted a mate in general. I never let myself dare to think about the future that far when I was busy fighting for each day, but fuck if Serena wasn't made for me. Every inch of her is perfect. She understands me, and for some unknown reason, she still puts up with me after all that shit with Harlow and my father and...

I step into her space before I can overthink it; her eyes stay stuck to mine as she cranes her head back, unwilling to look away first. Stubborn, beautiful, caring, strong but gentle when needed… fucking perfect in every way. She swallows hard, and I smell it in the air as her anger turns to something much more potent: arousal.

That's the last straw; it's all I can take. I won't mark her, but I need to taste her, or I'll go insane.

Just one kiss.

Her brows pull down as I reach for her, my hand tangling up in her wet hair at the nape of her neck, but she doesn't move away or tell me to stop. I yank her into my chest, the water on her chest quickly soaking into my shirt, but I couldn't care less. My lips are on hers, and my beast about loses it when her flavor explodes in my mouth. She tastes so fucking good all I can do is kick myself for waiting so long to taste her.

She's stiff for a moment, her lips unmoving, and I worry I've overstepped.

Maybe she doesn't want me like this...

Before I can spiral out of control, she melts into me with a sigh, her lips moving against mine with just as much hunger.