Page 16 of Undesired Mate

2

EZRA

Pacing in front of the fireplace, I try to calm my bear down, focusing all my attention on the dancing flames. Agitation builds in my veins. I don’t know what the fuck is going on today, but I’m ready for it to be over. My bear has never been restless like this. I already let him out this morning, and all he did was run through the woods, taking a whole lap around the lake.

I don’t get what the problem is, but I need this shit to stop, so I can go back to my normal misery. It’s been ten years since I moved out here to live by myself in Blackclaw Manor. I couldn’t take it anymore. Not after my entire pack found their mates, and everyone was happy and complete… except me.

Normally, we find our mates when we turn eighteen; some wait until their nineteen or twenty. I’ve never heard of anyone not being mated by their mid-twenties, though.

I’m thirty-eight, and I still haven’t found her.

I gave up a long time ago, accepting fate’s cruel hand. I can take the hint; they didn’t want me to find a mate. I even thought about offing myself, cutting this life short since I have nothing to live for anyway. Except, every time I’ve tried, my bear intervened, refusing to let me.

Just thinking about killing myself has him growling in my ear. He rushes forward, pushing against my skin, wanting to take over again. To be set free. You had your turn today. I tell him, pushing him back down. Usually, he’s content with that, but not now.

My body shakes, and my chest rumbles. The urge to go on another run overwhelms me.

The world I live in is very lonely. Shifters are the only supernatural beginning left. There used to be witches as well, but they died out. Mostly since humans hunted them and killed them simply because they were different.

Leaving the fire to burn on its own, I stomp out of the house. Cool fall air washes over my always hot skin as I step outside. Inhaling deeply, I smell it…

The most amazing scent I’ve ever caught. It’s sweet vanilla and wild berries with something so unique, there is no comparison. The scent is overpowering, consuming my every thought. Before I know what I’m doing, I’m running toward it.

The scent guides me like a beacon through the darkness. I’m not talking about the darkness of the night since I can see just fine with nothing but the moonlight.

It’s the darkness that has been my life so far. The darkness that has been eating me up from the inside for years. Whatever that scent is, it’s leading me right out of that misery. Whatever it is, promises me salvation.

Then it hits me… Mate .

Fuck, this has to be her.

My muscles burn as I run faster, my feet slapping against the forest ground with the same ferocity that my heart is beating in my chest. My lips do something they haven’t done in so long, I can’t count the months, years even. They turn up at the sides and into a smile.

That smile vanishes as quickly as it appears and is replaced with a deep fear. A fear that isn’t my own. I can sense her. My mate is scared. She is in danger.

On instinct, I rip my shirt off, midway through shifting, letting the rest of my clothes tear off as my body grows in size. One moment, I’m running on two legs; the next, I’m on four. I lift my nose into the air and catch another whiff of her intoxicating scent. It’s leading me straight to the edge of the lake.

A ferocious roar rips from my throat as I get closer to my mate. Her fear continues to grow in my chest, and her scent gets more potent with each step I take until it’s so strong it overwhelms every other smell around me.

My limbs lock, and I come to a sudden halt, almost taking a tumble into the lake. Where is she? Panic races through me. Then I notice a set of foot tracks in the dirt leading right to the edge of a slope. She needs me. Somehow, I manage to shift back into human form and leap down the steep hill. Wasting no time, I jump into the water headfirst. My sense of smell is gone beneath the water, but the ache in my chest leads me right to her.

The water is murky, making it hard to see. Her long blonde hair floats in front of her face like rivulets of spun gold, and even without a close look at her face, I already know she is the most beautiful creature in the world.

Wrapping my arms around her slender body, I pull her to my chest and rush back to the surface. The moment we break through the water and into the air, something changes in me. I feel like I’m being reborn. My old life is a memory, and my new life with my mate in my arms begins right now.

I quickly swim to the edge and pull us out of the water. Shivers wrack her slender body almost immediately. She trembles, and her teeth chatter inside her head.

Warm her. My bear roars in my mind as if I wasn’t going to do that, to begin with.

Her eyes remain shut as I cradle her to my chest and come to stand. In a flash, I’m running through the forest and back toward the manor. Her shaking seems to intensify, and that worries me. Glancing down at her, I find her plump lips blue and her beautiful face pale.

Fuck. I need to get her warmed up.

The thought is fresh in my mind when I reach the pile of shredded clothes I left behind on the way over her. Stopping, I lay my mate on the ground next to me, ripping off her wet shirt and bra in a hurry.

If I didn’t know she desperately needed warmth, I would just stay here and admire her breasts for the rest of my life. Full. Perky. Perfect. She is perfect. Everything about her is perfection. Every curve, every slope, and dip of her body is without flaw.

I already love her, every part of her, body and soul. Since she is human, she doesn’t know it yet. She can’t feel the bond between us until I bite her. But in my mind, she is mine, and I’m never going to let her go.

Keep reading I’ll be Your Beast.