Page 4

MACK

M ack stepped out of the castle and spotted Ella immediately in the crowd of people waiting outside. Like she was a magnet.

One he’d spent his life fighting the pull to bond with.

His father had given him some sage advice when he was younger, saying, “Son, that girl is your mate. We all know it. But once you bond with her, it’s forever. Live your life, spread your wings, then settle down.”

It was contrary to what he saw around him, but his dad was his dad. He wouldn’t give him poor advice, so Mack figured that there was more to this grown-up bonding stuff than met the eye.

He wasn’t going to argue, especially when his dad had gone on to say he’d met his mom when he was very young, and while he loved her, he’d watched as his friends enjoyed a fun bachelor life for years.

Traveling, partying, and being carefree.

Mack sensed a resentment within his dad that he didn’t voice further.

He didn’t want to resent Ella.

He also wanted her to enjoy her youth before mating.

In his mind, back then, it seemed like the right thing to do. After all, Mack didn’t have a lot of life experience, nor did he know what it must feel like to be bonded for eternity.

Not that vampires were immortal.

They could die from exposure to the sun, by beheading, or a good old stab to the heart.

“Take your time. Ella isn’t going to bond with anyone else if she’s truly yours,” his father had added.

He’d agreed.

It may have seemed like the right thing to do, but it hadn’t been easy. She’d grown into the most beautiful female before his eyes while dating both vampire and human males.

Mack may or may not have been responsible for things never working out for her. Possibly. Fuck, it didn’t matter. Ella belonged to him anyway.

But then, fate, the fucker, interfered and changed the trajectory of his life. Of both their lives.

The night he met Callan, he’d drunk from his neck, surprising the shit out of him. It hadn’t taken long for Mack to realize something was wrong, that his body was changing.

His sex drive one of the most obvious.

Mack wanted to fuck everything in sight—everyone in sight—all at the same time. His cock had been hard almost twenty-four seven producing an eye-opening amount of semen when he acted on it.

Sometimes alone.

It had freaked him the hell out, and more than once he had to lock himself in the bathroom, so he didn’t drive over to Ella’s house and kick the door down.

God knew he’d jerked off with her sexy cleavage in his mind, imagining giving her a pearl necklace and making her lick his dick clean.

Jesus, stop thinking about this while walking toward her.

When Callan had circled back and shared his story, Mack knew he had to go with him to the king and get help and answers. Leaving his business in his brother’s care, he said goodbye to his family.

Then rang Ella and told her.

He might not have bonded with her, but they were close.

As close as he allowed. Treating her like the annoying little sister he’d never had, Ella followed him around like a puppy.

Then, as her curves began to appear she would blush, flutter her lashes, and toss her gorgeous locks around hoping to get his attention.

Mack had noticed.

He noticed everything about her.

After watching a movie together, or walking her home from a neighborhood party, Mack would wait at the end of the drive while she climbed the stairs to her bedroom and changed before closing her blinds.

He wasn’t sure if Ella knew he watched.

Every night she would remove her dress or sweater, flick her long hair over neck so the dark silhouette of her body made him swallow loudly and his cock thicken inside his jeans.

If it wasn’t for her dad, so many times Mack would have ripped off her front door, sped up the stairs, and kicked her bedroom door down.

Oh, and then. Then he would have taken her pert breasts in his hands and licked those hard nipples. Lifted her onto her computer desk and said, spread your thighs, Ella.

She would have obeyed as he’d dropped to his knees and run his tongue over her wet panties, teasing her until she was shuddering and begging him.

Only then would he tug the lace aside and slide a finger into her aching core, then another, then another.

When she was stretched enough to fit him inside her, he’d press her back on the desk, leaning over her, and press his swollen cock in.

Taste your juices on my tongue while I finally fill this pretty pussy.

Mack deserved a damn Nobel Prize for his willpower.

Then, just before Mack and the others had reached the king, Callan had shifted.

Into a wolf.

It was obvious the rest of them would, and they had.

They had become hybrids—no longer just vampires. Inside them lived a wolf, a powerful wolf that, when unleashed, was huge.

Mack learned to control it while living in Greenwood, with the support of Callan and the other wolves. Now he and Callan were in Maine. The king recalled them to boost the number of senior warriors in the war.

But their existence was top secret.

Only the very senior level warriors, the SLCs, and the king’s newly formed science team, had the knowledge. Sage, who led the team, was helping them to understand what they had become.

Her priority, though, was creating an antidote for the serum.

So even if Mack had wanted to, he couldn’t tell Ella. He wasn’t even sure he could control his wolf around her. Hence renting the house and sending her the code.

The need to protect her had been the reason he’d wanted her on the East Coast. Having her show up at the castle was not the plan.

As his mate, the king would give him permission, but fuck that! There was no way he was bonding with Ella and potentially infecting her.

What if she also shifted and became a hybrid?

She’d hate him.

Many vampires knew the stories about humans mating vampires and having their humanity taken from them. Not often voluntarily. Becoming a wolf? That was a whole new level. He knew firsthand.

Mack had adapted more easily than many of the wolves, and he couldn’t say why. He loved his wolf. There was a silent conversation that almost constantly took place. He loved the feeling of its power. The grace with which it walked with him.

He almost said beside him.

But they were one.

Watching Ella’s body break apart to shift would almost kill him. It was painful. He couldn’t—he wouldn’t—do that to his female.

Ella was safe— safer —now that she was close to him, but he had to keep her at a distance. Having her under the same roof was an absolute no.

No fucking way , to be exact.

Ari had been on the money before. Ella was far sexier and more beautiful than she realized. If any of the warriors saw her, they’d be cocks out and dicks in before he could stop them.

She had no idea how he felt, despite being as affected by the tug of their bond as he was. So, there was no reason Ella would say no to the males inside.

And that was not okay.

Jesus.

Definitely not okay, Mack thought as he took in the gorgeous female standing before him. His entire body was lighting up like a Christmas tree.

There was a sparkle in her eyes, covering the usual questions that lay beyond them, and he almost crossed the distance and pulled her into his arms, swinging her around.

Like a bloody romance novel.

Then his wolf began to scratch at the edges of his skin, eager to meet her. An excited whimper sounded inside his mind.

Settle the fuck down.

Mine.

Nope, we can’t have her.

His wolf growled and shoved at him to get out and take over.

Mack was a powerful vampire, strong and sculpted because of his career as a personal trainer. His body had always been his art, but never did he think he’d be using it as a weapon.

Now it might be the one thing that saved this female who was his.

Yet never could be.

It had to be enough.

She was here, and a part of him let out a sigh.

But she also had to leave.

“Ella.”

His eyes drifted over her petite frame and long, glossy brunette locks. She was short for a female, barely reaching his chin, and those brown eyes flickered from gold to deep brown, depending on her mood.

When her cheeks turned pink and lips parted, his willpower slipped. Mack skipped down the stairs as Ella moved toward him and flew into his damn arms.

Slam.

“Mack!” Her lips pressed against his neck, and he forced his eyes closed, trying to ignore how incredible she felt.

Warm.

Soft.

His.

“I’ve got you,” he replied, soaking up the familiar vanilla and rose scent.

Ella was soft in all the right places—places he wanted to unwrap and taste.

Fuck.

Mack couldn’t let himself slip. While he’d accepted his wolf, if Ella died or was harmed because he couldn’t keep his cock and fangs to himself, he’d never forgive himself.

She was too important.

He would have to love her from afar.

You can’t love her.

No matter which way he looked at it, there was no possibility for them to be together. God knows he’d laid awake day after day, hour after hour, thinking of a way around it.

He’d even blamed his father.

Then again, they had no idea what could’ve happened to their bond once Callan had infected him. None of the infected were bonded prior.

His cock throbbed as it pressed against Ella, and Mack gripped her upper arms and shifted her off him. He saw the flicker of rejection in her eyes.

“Come on.” Taking her hand, he tugged her up the stairs toward the entrance. “She’s with me,” he told the guards.

They stepped aside.

Very few in the castle had that type of influence, but as an honorary SLC—for the time being—Mack did.

“Wow.” Ella grinned up at him. “Look at you.”

She was turned on and he liked it...way too much. His heart did a little skippy thing, knowing he’d impressed her. This was why she couldn’t be here. It would be so easy to slip and next minute have his mouth on hers.

Her panties off...

His mouth on her flesh.

Mack stopped dead in the middle of the lobby. “Why are you here?”

Ella’s mouth parted, and she swallowed audibly. “I... you...what do you mean?”

“I told you to go to the house.” He snapped, angry at himself. Angry at her. Did she not realize how dangerous this was? One bite and...

“I did go. I dropped my bags off. I wanted to see you.” Her frown did not disguise the hurt, and Mack wanted to punch himself in the face.

When his eyes dipped to her mouth, the desire to kiss her and tell her he’d never been happier to see anyone in his life, her lips parted.

Goddamn it.

She was like that little pack of white powder that an addict was staring at while their mouth watered.

Impossible to resist.

Yet he was doing this for her.

“You ca—”

“Mack daddy!” Three warriors raced past him at speed, one of them whacking him over the head.

The hell?

Mack turned and let out a growl as he watched Ben, Tristan, and Logan, all wearing black Moretti sweatpants, head outside for a run.

With.

Nothing.

But.

Skin.

On.

Top.

“Oh!” Ella gasped, while Mack cursed under his breath.

“Who’s the little lady?” Tristan skipped backward, being a showoff.

“She’s the fast lane to your death if you don’t turn around and run away. And put some fucking clothes on!” Mack yelled after them, pulling Ella with him in the other direction.

Ben laughed in the distance.

“Are they your friends?” Ella asked.

“Nope.”

The less she knew, the better.