Page 6

T homas

I don’t return to my Alpha’s home. Shame keeps me locked in my own house. Calum has never been anything but good to me and I attacked him. If it had not been for Lola, I would have killed him. My wolf is insane, and I can’t remain here in the compound putting this community at risk. There are children here for heaven’s sake.

What if I hurt Joy? Or one of the others? I die a little inside just thinking of it. It may be time for me to make peace with the fact that I don’t belong here.

A knock sounds on the kitchen door, and I glare at it. I’m not in the right state of mind to talk to anyone. A second knock a few moments later has me rising from my seat to make them leave. It’s probably just Rose, coming to check in like she always does.

Opening the door, the words die on my lips as I take in my mate. The sun hits her hair making it shine. Her grey eyes are weary as she takes me in.

“I brought you some food,” she says nervously. “You never came back.”

“I couldn’t.”

“Because of Calum?” she asks. “Or because of me?” She looks nervous as the words slip softly from between her lips.

“Why would I avoid you?” I ask with a frown.

“Could we have this conversation inside?” She holds up the plate. “We have a lot to discuss.”

Moving out of the way, I allow her into my personal space. Her strawberries and cream scent permeates the air and I sniff her hair as she walks past me. Her gaze connects with mine and I feel my face flush with embarrassment.

“Sorry,” I mumble closing the door before going to stand behind the counter. I need to keep the dark wooden structure between us as some semblance of the boundaries I don’t have when it comes to this woman. And I want to hide my enormous, inappropriate erection.

“Here,” she says removing the cling film and pushing the plate toward me. “I made you a plate.”

The smells are divine, but I can’t focus on food right now. My cock is harder than lead as I stare at the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. All I want to do is lick and kiss every inch of her while whispering words of praise. It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, standing here and not going to her.

“I’ll eat later,” I reply, pushing the plate aside.

Lola frowns but doesn’t say anything. For long moments we stare at one another before she finally breaks the silence.

“We need to talk, Thomas.”

I know what is coming and even though it is going to kill me, I know getting it over with will allow us both to move on with our lives.

“We don’t need to have the talk,” I say not waiting to give her a chance. “If you’re going to refuse me as your mate, just do it.”

The words sound harsh and leave a bitter taste in my mouth while my wolf is whimpering inside me as the last part of my soul is shattered. But I won’t force her into anything. She is far too precious to have anyone hurt her in any way.

“Excuse me?” she asks, confusion coating her words.

I can’t quite decipher the look on her face but I’m not too good at that. My social skills are very much lacking, never having been socialized while living in the Hunter prison. But I do know something is wrong.

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “No. And that’s why I wanted to talk to you.”

“Shit,” I mumble, scrubbing my hand down my face. “I’m no good at this stuff.” I try to explain myself, but I seem to be failing miserably. “My socialization skills are basically nonexistent.”

I feel my face heat with shame. She shakes her head trying to hide her smile and failing miserably. She is even more beautiful in this moment, and I can’t help but smile at her.

“Why don’t you let me speak first?” she says, taking one of the seats at the counter. “That way, you can take your cues from me.” I nod in agreement and wait for her.

“We’re mates. That much is obvious,” she states, staring into my soul with those stormy grey eyes of hers. “I think we both have baggage. Just taking what you said earlier, I assume you are afraid of being rejected?”

She is so calm, her tone even. I nod in reply.

“I have the same problem. I’ve been rejected before and I just assumed with you keeping your distance in human form that you weren’t interested. Add in the fact you don’t want to eat what I cooked...”

Her words fade away and I take that as my cue to say something. I breathe deeply before I speak, getting my rage under control at the idea of someone hurting her by refusing her.

“I didn’t know you cooked. I’m just too nervous to eat. As for the rejection fear, most of that is because of my wolf. I don’t trust him not to hurt someone. Hurt you.”

She smiles brightly. “Your wolf is actually quite docile. I think that’s because you’re not a pureblood dire wolf.”

“Dire wolf?”

“Do you not know your heritage? Where are your parents?”

I knew this was coming, I just hoped it would be a while and I could have some time to prepare. Now, I need to just tell her everything and get it over with.

“I don’t know my parents. My mother died in childbirth, and I never knew my father,” I say. “I grew up...” The words desert me and all I can do is stare at her. She waits patiently. The next words are simply blurted out. “I was raised in captivity. The Hunters caught my mother while she was pregnant with me. They started experimenting on me while I was still in the womb and continued until we were rescued.”

****

L ola

Rage sweeps through my veins and flows through my body. How could those monsters do that? It’s no wonder he says he has zero social skills. Growing up in a prison, separated from any semblance of pack life, never getting to build relationships. That is fucking disgusting. Barbaric to say the least.

“I’m sorry,” I say through clenched teeth. “I still don’t understand why you thought I would refuse you.”

He gazes over my shoulder. “They did experiments on me. Things that changed my animal...”

My heart breaks a little once our gaze connects. He truly thinks he isn’t worthy of a mate. I may have issues about being refused because I’ve lived through the pain of actually being rejected. He just thinks no one could ever love him.

I stare at the gorgeous man in front of me. Dark hair, hazel eyes, and tan skin. He is taller than I am, around six and a half feet, and muscular. Dark ink decorates his arms and I want to see where the rest of the tattoos lead. To tell the truth, I want to climb the man like a tree. I can’t see a single outer reason to not want him. He is a great specimen of male physicality, and no one should be pushed aside because of their history. Especially not if they didn’t have any choice in the matter.

“Your wolf seemed perfectly fine to me,” I say with a small smile. “Exactly the way I would expect a territorial male with an unclaimed mate to act.”

“Really? You said I was mixed. My breed, that is.” Once more he looks self-conscious.

“Most wolves are mixed. Some are two different kind of wolves and some are dire wolves mixed with regular wolves. I think you have some Yukon wolf in you. That could be something the Hunters did or either of your parents could have been a Yukon,” I explain. “I’m full-blood dire wolf but my best friend has arctic wolf on her father’s side. It happens.”

He nods, working through my words. “So, you’re not here to refuse me?”

“Not at all but I do think we need to decide how we would like to move forward.”

“I have no idea how to do that,” he says sourly. “I honestly don’t know what the hell I’m doing. Yesterday, my wolf was leading me, but I don’t trust him.”

She smiles. “I think that’s the first thing we need to do.”

“What?”

“We need to get you better acquainted with your wolf. To show you he is trustworthy and won’t hurt anyone you care for. And he definitely won’t hurt me.”

****

I t takes me an hour to convince him nothing bad will happen. When I finally lead him out of the compound, gripping his hand tightly in mine, I know this was exactly what he needs. We are going to run together, my wolf and his.

Knowing he doesn’t intend to refuse me has my heart—and my wolf—bursting with joy. I know he is still struggling to accept that I don’t have any intention of refusing him and he lives in fear of his own animal, but I am sure this will help.

We make our way into the thick trees, and I can feel the nerves pouring off him. Taking a deep breath, I release his hand once we are far enough from the compound to be considered decent. I smile softly when I turn to him.

“Breathe, Thomas,” I say, pulling the shirt over my head. “This is natural. We are going to run together, and I will prove your animal doesn’t pose any danger to me.”

“But...”

I cut him off. “But nothing. I can take care of myself if I need to.”

I allow my bra to fall to the ground beside my shirt before slipping off my shorts and panties. My gaze travels back to my mate and pride surges through me at the sight of the obscene erection tenting his sweatpants. His gaze is dark, and his breathing is harsh as he takes me in.

“Lola.” He rubs the back of his hand across his mouth.

“Run with me.” The words are soft before I allow the shift to fall over me. My wolf howls at the sky before taking off into the forest. She is sure-footed and fast. A moment later we catch the sounds of our mate chasing after us. His footsteps are loud and gaining. Both of us intend to play with him for a while but our plans are thrown out the window when we are taken to the ground by the large onyx wolf.

He pins us beneath him, his gaze crazed. He nuzzles us with his jaw, a rumble building in his chest. Both my wolf and I are aroused beyond measure, and she quickly allows me to shift back to my human form.

“Thomas,” I beg lowly, the fur from his beast pressed against my breasts. “Shift.” His wolf growls in displeasure and I kiss his jaw. “Please.”

A moment later, Thomas is above me, pinning me to the ground. His thick erection is resting against my inner thigh as he stares down at me. I pull him down to me, kissing him. For a moment he is hesitant before kissing me back.

I push against his shoulders and roll us over until I am straddling him. I want to take his thick length inside me, but I hold back. Something is wrong and I need to know what it is. I can feel his hesitation in the way he kisses me. Yes, I want to claim my mate and have him claim me but not if this isn’t what he wants. The euphoria from a moment ago leaves me as I consider he may not want to refuse me, but he also may not want to claim me.