Page 7 of Forsaking His Mate (The Wolves of Black Mountain #1)

Chapter 7

Abel

I watch her as she makes her way up the path toward her cabin. Again. As she does every day. It’s been two weeks since she crashed into my life.

It feels like a lifetime.

The pull toward her is undeniable, and it takes all my strength to resist her. I hate my body for reacting against my wishes.

She’s beautiful.

My cock seems to be in a semi-hard state every time she’s in my vicinity, and my wolf screams at me repeatedly to make her ours. It takes everything I have to ignore that call.

I’ve been avoiding leaving my cabin other than to make supply runs into Laurel Falls or to run in the woods.

I hunt until I’m so exhausted that I can’t seek her out, but I can’t do this forever.

I need to leave, but where would I go?

I need a witch to keep my moon sickness at bay, and witches tend to hate wolf shifters.

Tessa stops on the path, her face tipping toward the darkened sky. She closes her eyes, just enjoying the scenery for a moment.

Fuck, I want to go to her and kiss her.

I want to sink into her tight pussy and make her mine.

Her gaze suddenly turns in my direction and I feel as if she is staring through the walls and into my eyes.

My heart stops in my chest.

If this is wrong, then why do I want her so much?

I wait for her to walk away, for her eyes to let me go, but she makes her way up the path toward my cabin instead.

My wolf loses his mind, howling and pawing at the ground as she approaches the door. I could slip out one of the windows, avoid her completely, but I don’t. I wait until I hear a timid knock on the door.

My heart is pounding so hard in my chest that I know she must be able to feel my anxiety through our mating bond, even though that is not yet fully formed.

I wipe my sweaty hands on my pants and walk to the door as if I’m facing the gallows.

I pull it open, and without the door between us, my breath catches in my throat.

Fuck, she’s stunning, and my body calls to hers.

It takes all my will not to rip her clothes off and to keep my hands fisted at my side. “What do you want?” I demand, my voice choked as I force it between my tight throat muscles.

“To talk. I know you don’t want me,” she says, and my stomach twists at the way those words make me feel. I do want her, and that’s the problem. I want her so much, but I can’t. “But we can at least be civilized. We are both living here. ”

“When have I not been civilized?” I demand.

“Avoiding me, the house, and the women isn’t civilized.”

My skin feels too hot, and I want to touch her. I want to grab her face and slam my mouth against hers.

I lick my lips and she follows the trail of my tongue, her eyes heating.

“You need to go,” I tell her, but she doesn’t move.

“Why? So you can continue to pretend I don’t exist?”

She reaches out and touches my arm. As soon as her skin meets mine, heat explodes through me and I move before I know what I’m doing.

I grab her throat, pulling her into the cabin, and press her against the wall next to the door.

She sucks in a surprised breath as I press my body against hers. I feel like fire is licking over my skin and my cock is solid to the point of pain.

Tessa meets my gaze without a hint of fear in her eyes, but if she had any sense she’d run and never look back.

She has no idea how much of a monster I am.

I watch the rise and fall of her chest as she tries to breathe through her excitement, maybe even her doubt.

I dip my head as if I’m going to press my mouth to hers. I want to. Every cell in my body screams at me to do it as her wolf calls to mine.

I can feel the mating bond there, ready to snap fully into place the moment I accept her, but I can’t. Not when there is the risk I might end her life by becoming her mate.

With great resolve, I push my hands off the wall and step away from her.

Ash fills my gut as I watch her face fall .

“Okay,” she says softly and I hear the hurt in that word.

Moving from the wall, she heads for the door. My feet move a step, but I don’t chase after her. I watch her until she disappears into her cabin, then I leave and make my way to the house.

I find Hester and Roux sitting at the table. Apryle is at the sink rinsing the dishes and gives me a dark glare that I ignore.

That girl has always had an attitude, but since Tessa arrived, she’s been directing it at me.

“Are you hungry?” Roux asks, always the peacekeeper. “There’s enough left for you to have a plate.”

I nod and sit at the table while she pushes a plate full of food in front of me.

“Dinner is at six,” Apryle says, her words biting. “It’s eight.”

I don’t say anything to her.

What does she want from me? She knows why I’m not at the house while Tessa is. Tonight proved to me I can’t be around her without wanting to claim her, and that’s dangerous.

“You can’t avoid her forever,” Hester says.

I ignore her and keep chewing my food. I barely taste it.

Roux leans over the table and places a gentle hand on my arm. “If you tell her about the moon sickness—”

“I’m not mating with her.”

I can’t stop myself from snarling, and it’s not because of Roux’s words but because my wolf is pissed at me. He wants me to do what she is suggesting.

I chew in silence for a few moments; the only sounds are my fork scraping off the plate and the water sloshing as Apryle washes the dishes.

I hate that this conversation is happening. I’d rather ignore the issue entirely, or as much as I can considering she’s a constant, yet thankfully, faint presence in my mind.

“The full moon is in three days,” I say eventually.

A pang of pain goes through me at that thought.

As it gets closer, it feels like my skin is itching. I want this to be over fast, but I know it won’t be.

“We’ll have everything ready,” Hester assures me.

I shovel the last mouthful of food into my mouth. “Good. Thanks for dinner.”

I leave the kitchen and as soon as I’m outside, I push my wolf to the forefront.

My bones snap and break as my body changes and grows fangs and fur. It takes less than five seconds for the change to take place, and the pain I used to feel at shifting no longer exists.

As my wolf, I can scent Tessa, but I force myself into the trees that surround the sanctuary. It takes all my focus and strength not to give in my animal instincts, but I manage it, barely.

Using the moon to guide my path, I run through the woods, my paws padding against the leaf-covered ground, putting as much distance between me and Tessa as I can.

She infuses every thought in my mind as I run that I nearly miss a dangerous scent.

I stop in my tracks, kicking up dirt under my paws. My snout goes to the ground and I suck in a noseful of smells.

The hairs on the back of my neck rise and I bare my teeth. There are wolves in these woods. Close by, too.

Hunters are an ever-present threat to the women at the sanctuary, but this is the first time I have scented outsiders just beyond the wards.

I pick up at least four unique trails as instinct tells me I need to get back to safety. I turn and run in the direction of the sanctuary, but I barely reach the edge of the territory when a huge wolf steps out in front of me. The moonlight barely reaches the floor of the forest, the canopy of leaves overhead blocking most of the light, but my wolf senses help me see better than I can in my human form, so I track the wolf in front of me as a second one steps up behind me.

My wolf twists its head to glance over its shoulder and I steel myself, ready to fight. They are here for the women. For Tessa.

I will kill them before I let them touch her.

Two more wolves melt out of the shadows, and I realize I’m screwed. I can’t fight this many wolves, not alone, and I don’t have a pack I can call on.

The wolf in front of me attacks first, his teeth aiming for my throat.

I clash with him at the same time, a frenzy of motion as I manage to sink my teeth into his shoulder. Another wolf bites my hindquarters, making me snap my jaws. I fight with a fury I know won’t help. I’m outnumbered and I’m already bleeding.

I give my wolf full control, letting him take over and fight instinctively. I’m weakening, though, as attacks rain down on me.

There’s a flash of light and then the wolves are thrown off me as if by an invisible force. I struggle to move to see what happened, and as I turn my stomach fills with ice.

Tessa is standing behind me, wearing a tiny pair of shorts and a camisole that shows her midriff. Her tousled hair tells me she must have climbed right out of bed to save me—the fucker who rejected her.

She mutters something under her breath and I watch as the other tau women step out of the trees behind her.

Hester is wearing a nightgown that’s billowing around her body. Roux and Apryle are in yoga pants and tees. All of them are barefoot, as if they raced out of the sanctuary to come to my rescue.

The relief I feel at seeing them dissipates quickly as I realize the danger they have put themselves in. I whimper as the four women hold hands and chant low. I don’t know what the words are, but an invisible force pushes the wolves further back, whimpering and howling, as if in intense pain.

Blood spurts out of each wolf, as if they are being torn apart by claws. I duck, trying to avoid the spray, but unable to tear my gaze away as their cries fill the air before falling silent. The tau wolves keep chanting, their hands clasped together as they work their magic. I can feel it crackling through the air, like static before a storm.

The wolves shudder and stop moving as the chanting ceases, and a coppery tang of blood fills the air.

Tessa rushes to my side. My wolf relaxes and tries to nuzzle her side as her fingers dig into my fur. “You need to change back, Abel,” she orders.

I don’t know if it’s her tone or the fact my wolf recognizes her as ours, but my body changes and morphs back into my human form until I’m lying naked on the forest floor.

Tessa crowds me, her fingers trailing over the wounds covering my skin. “You’re hurt.”

I don’t give a fuck about that. I grab her wrist, stopping her exploration of my wounds. Her featherlight touch on my skin is making me unravel.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I demand, focusing on my anger instead. If I can keep that, maybe I’ll avoid lying her down in the dirt and rutting her like an animal. That’s what my wolf wants us to do.

At my words, Tessa’s face melts from concerned to pissed. “I’m saving your life.”

“By risking yours? Those hunters could have hurt you—all of you,” I say the last part to the other women. “Have you all lost your fucking minds? And what the hell did you do to them anyway?”

Roux glances at Hester. Apryle just glares at me, as she has from the moment Tessa crashed into my life. “We combined our magic and I was able to focus it enough to make them… explode .” Hester wrinkles her nose. “I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do, but that’s what happened. I’m not sorry.”

I stare at her. Hester is powerful in her own right. I know that because she keeps me under control when the moon sickness hits, but this… The girls working together is something else. The air crackles with the energy of what they did, and I can smell the traces of their magic.

Tessa falls back onto her ass, as if she’s struggling to stay upright. I can see the exhaustion in her face. “Whether you like it or not, we’re tied together. If you die, I’ll fade,” Tessa says.

I can’t describe how disappointed her words make me. I don’t want to mate with her, but a part of me was hoping she came because she was compelled to by her feelings .

It’s selfish as fuck to think that when I’m constantly pushing her away, but I can’t help it. My brain doesn’t know what it wants, other than her.

“Can you walk?” Hester asks, and I’m not sure if she’s talking to me or Tessa.

“I’m fine,” Tessa says, sounding a little stronger. “That was my first big use of magic.”

Hester nods. “It’ll take you a little time to get used to channeling that much, but you’ll be okay after a good sleep. You okay?” she asks me.

“Yeah.”

She turns to the others. “We need to get out of here. The hunters will send other wolves to find these dead ones. We need to be behind the wards when they return.”

I push off the ground, stumbling as I come upright. Tessa slides her shoulder under my armpit and I flinch. Her touching me is almost too much to resist, and I should push her away, but I don’t. I let her hold me up. She’s so small beneath my hulking form, but I don’t feel even a molecule of weakness from her.

We follow the others back toward the sanctuary. All I can focus on is Tessa at my side. The pain I’m in melts away to nothing with her pressed against me. My body itches to push her to the ground and fuck her. I try to focus on anything but her scent surrounding me.

“How did you know where I was?” I ask.

“I had a vision. I got the others, and we rushed to find you.”

The fact she didn’t hesitate fills me with unexpected warmth. She should hate me, but these aren’t the actions of someone who does.

My side aches and I can feel all the little cuts and nicks that cover my skin. I don’t need her support to walk, but I don’t pull myself off her either. I’m fucking furious she put herself in danger.

I grit my teeth together so I don’t lose my shit at her, even though I want to. What the fuck was Hester thinking letting the girls come to me? They could have been taken by those hunters. I could have watched them dragging my mate away and that fucking terrifies me.

My mate…

I try to deny that thought, but I can’t. She is mine, even if I’m not willing to accept her. She’ll always be mine.

Hester glances over her shoulder and I’m not sure if it’s to make sure we’re following or that we’re not killing each other.

I feel the moment we cross the wards. The magic that surrounds our territory is like a comforting safety blanket and I finally let out the tension I’ve been holding on to since Tessa melted out of the trees.

There are lights coming from each cabin and the main house is lit up too. Tessa helps me to my cabin, the other women following.

I shouldn’t have her inside my space, but my resolve is weakening, so I don’t argue when she unhooks herself from under my arm and follows me into the cabin. The other tau wolves remain outside.

Once the door is closed, she leans back against it and I move before I consider my actions. I wrap my fingers around her throat, feeling her pulse fluttering wildly beneath my fingers. “Never fucking do that again,” I snarl at her.

Her eyes harden and she glares at me, daring me to do… what?

“You’re not the boss of me,” she snaps back.

“I’m your mate!” I roar the words. It would make anyone else flinch, but she doesn’t move. She just glares back at me.

“You rejected me, Abel. You don’t get to act like you care now.”

I clench my teeth together to stop the vitriol from spewing from my mouth. I don’t have the right to school her like this, but fuck, I’m going to.

“I do care. We’re linked together, Tessa.”

“You’ve ignored me from the moment you rejected me. I feel empty inside, my heart is hurting because of what you did to me. You don’t get to tell me what I can do.”

She has a point, but I’m so far past reasoning I can’t see it. I release her, putting distance between us. My brain is fuzzy with need, my cock hard as a rock. I rub a hand over my jaw, trying to calm my thrumming heart and focus on the only emotion keeping me sane—anger.

“Those wolves were here for you. They tracked you here. What the fuck do you think they would have done to you if they’d taken you?”

“Probably killed me,” she says, throwing her hands in the air, frustration in the gesture. “What do you want me to do, Abel? Pretend that I didn’t see you getting torn apart in my vision? Just stay in bed and ignore it?”

“No—”

“You don’t get to be the only one making decisions about my future.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, pacing as I try to calm my fury down. “I’m not worth dying over, Tessa. That shit happens again, you don’t come for me. You leave me. ”

I watch her throat as she swallows. “I can’t do that. I won’t watch you get hurt.”

“What if you get hurt? What do you think that will do to me?”

“Honestly, I don’t care what it does to you. You’re so low down my list of priorities—”

I cross the space between us, intending to grab her and shake some sense into her, but as soon as I’m in her space, my body has other ideas. I meet her eyes and I see a moment of panic as she tries to figure out my next move. She can’t because I don’t even know what I’m going to do until I peer down at her, watching her chest flush a pretty pink.

My cock stirs and my balls feel tight. My wolf bays, wanting me to give in and take what’s ours.

I relent. I press my mouth to hers, hard and forceful. It is as if all my stress leaches out of my pores the moment I touch her. Everything suddenly feels right.

This is where I’m meant to be. I don’t fight against myself any longer. I can’t. My brain has ceased to function beyond touching her.

She pushes me back, her hand in my chest, but I grab her wrists, holding them over her head. She tries to fight my grip, but I’m too strong for her, so Tessa glares at me instead. “Now you want me?” she demands, anger threading through her words.

“Wanting you was never the problem,” I say and crash my mouth against hers again.

Her lips are soft and our scent intermingles as I hold her throat, keeping her in place as I devour her. She fights for a moment before softening against me. I nip at her bottom lip, hard enough to make her whimper. She smells so good. I can’t describe what it is, but it calls to my wolf.

She lifts her hips to press her pussy against my cock, and I curse those tiny shorts she’s wearing for being in my way. I want to be inside her.

Tessa is mine and I’m going to show her that.