She was pacing back and forth, and her strawberry-blonde hair followed her every move. She was beautiful. How could she think for a second that I wouldn’t love her? I was the cursed one here.
The only thing that had excited me in the past was fighting, but now… My heart was frantic, and I paced with her as she processed all I’d said.
I was in turmoil inside, but I wouldn’t do anything to affect her decision. She needed to make her choice without regretting it later. I couldn’t influence her, even if a rejection would break me.
I’d seen what it had done to Sirius, and I didn’t want to go through that, but… My reputation had preceded me. I’d understand if she didn’t want to be my mate.
“You guys are real?” she asked with her melodious voice.
I nodded, and she started pacing again. She was intense, my total opposite. She sighed and turned back to me. I’d never tire of her hazels on me. I wanted them to look only at me.
“That doesn’t change that you’re my mate,” she finally said, and I could have dropped on my knees right there.
“Is Death really your name, though? Don’t get me wrong. It’s cool, and it suits you with all your…” She scanned my body once again and blushed.
I couldn’t help a small smile, seeing that she desired me.
“Tattoos.”
“It’s what I’ve been called for the last thousand years.”
She gaped like a fish out of water, and it was adorable. Who would have thought I could think something was adorable after desensitizing myself to everything?
The mate bond was changing everything around me. I was scared of what I could do to her, but as long as I kept in control, we were safe.
My power was activated by touch, and I didn’t want to kill my mate. It would destroy me, and my wolf agreed.
We’d used our power over death during the Vampire War, but I preferred to play it safe.
We would see.
“How old are you?” she asked.
“I stopped aging at thirty. The Moon Goddess trapped us in our wolf forms for a thousand years. So… I’m one thousand thirty.”
“Holy moon,” she cursed again, and I smiled. She had a bad mouth, that one. It made me wonder what she’d sound like underneath me.
As soon as the thought crossed my mind, my cock went hard to greet her. It was the first in a long, long time.
I think I was as surprised as she was, but she was definitely torn. I could see surprise but also lust in her eyes as she looked at me. It made me want her on the spot, and my wolf wasn’t helping.
“Goddess,” she whispered. “Let me… Let me grab some clothes. I have some in the trunk.”
She turned around and walked back to her car. She seemed unsteady, and I could smell her arousal. It was such a sweet scent. I wanted more instantly.
I followed her to the car as if I were hypnotized, and she handed me the clothes. It was unexpected. Why did she even have male clothes in the trunk of her car?
I frowned, but she didn’t seem scared as she spoke again.
“They’re my father’s. You’re…bigger, but it should be all right for the ride to the pack,” she said, looking at me, her face all flushed.
“Thank you.”
I put on the clothes to hide the fact that I wanted her right here, and she motioned me to the car. She sat back behind the wheel, and I rode shotgun.
I wondered if it was a good sign that she was taking me back with her as she started the engine and pulled back on the road.
“How did you manage to enter our territory?” she asked.
I turned my head to look at her, and her cheeks were still red, but she was focusing on the road. I wanted her to look at me, but safety first.
“I jumped over the fence.”
She looked surprised. It was a big fence, but I was a lycan. It had been nothing for me, so I shrugged.
“I’m impressed. Lycans are something else…,” she said. “Silver doesn’t bother you?”
“No. We have other weaknesses.”
“I see. Why did you come here?”
“A year ago, the Moon Goddess told me to come to Montana. I supposed that she wanted me to find something, so I’ve been running around the whole state ever since the Vampire War was over.
“I guess now she wanted me to find you.”
“Seems logical.” She nodded. “Wow. You’ve seen the Goddess.”
“I used to live in her palace. All lycans do,” I said matter-of-factly.
Did they truly know nothing about us? I remembered Penelope mentioning something like that and Sirius having to teach her everything about what she was.
Lady Selene was good at keeping her secrets, it seemed.
Her eyes went as wide as saucers, and it made me smile. She was so expressive. I’d never get bored with her. The Goddess couldn’t have been more right with this one for me.
“I didn’t know that. We don’t know much about lycans, to be honest,” she admitted.
“That’s okay. We need you to know as little as possible in order for us to intervene when the Goddess requires it.”
She nodded and seemed to accept that statement. There were more reasons that the lycans were secretive, but I couldn’t tell her.
I’d been an outcast, and Lady Selene had put the fear of her inside me so I’d never cross her again. I’d stay clear from all her doings.
A village replaced the forest soon, and I supposed it was her pack’s home. The houses and pack houses looked modern and comfortable for the wolves.
At this hour, none of them were outside, except for patrols. Those guys were amateurs for not sensing a lycan on their territory. I feared for my mate’s safety if things were so easygoing here.
She parked the car in front of the biggest house, and I assumed she resided here. Her eyes glossed over for a second, and I realized she was using her mind-link.
Then her gaze focused on me again, and she offered me a small smile.
“Our pack doctor is on his way. Let’s meet him inside my apartment. Come on.”
She opened her door and stepped outside the car. I followed her into the house, and it looked even more comfortable on the inside.
It was all designed like a chalet, and I could see that the wolves would love it. We liked simple, natural things, as they reminded us of our true nature.
She walked to the left wing, and I trailed her. Not too closely, but closely enough that I could feel her warmth and smell her scent. It was making me relax. I’d never felt so good in my whole life.
She opened a door and let me inside the living room. The whole place smelled like her, so I figured she was living here alone.
Good. I didn’t know how I would have reacted if I’d sensed a male here. Probably badly. My true violent nature was never far.
The other lycans often described me like the sea, calm one second but a raging hell the next. It was fitting; even I thought so.
She motioned me to the black couch. I sat on it, and she sat next to me. She maintained a distance, and I wondered if she sensed the darkness inside me. Could she sense Death?
She’d touched me earlier, but now she was keeping her distance. She seemed torn again about what to do.
“Do you…like it here so far?” she asked, biting her bottom lip. I couldn’t look away from it. It looked so alluring, and I wondered how it would taste between my teeth.
“I do,” I said, my voice raspy.
She blushed, and that was all I could take. I put my hand on hers, and when she let me, I pulled her closer.
I’d seen how it had been between Sirius and Penelope, and I wanted the same thing.
Our knees were barely touching, and I felt like a lovesick teenager wanting his first kiss. Her hazel eyes were wide but full of anticipation as I leaned into her to taste her lips.
A knock on the door interrupted us, and I couldn’t keep a low growl from escaping my lips.
She startled, and I growled louder in warning because I couldn’t accept that something would potentially threaten her.
“It’s all right,” she said. “It must be Dr. Andrew. I’ll…get it.”
She stood up from the couch and walked to open the door. A man in his mid-forties entered the room, soon followed by another man around Cassandra’s age.
The older man turned to look from Cassandra to me, and his dark brown eyes took me in.
He came nearer, and my mate introduced him.
“This is Dr. Andrew. He’ll take care of you, all right?”
“Casey,” the younger man said. “What the fuck happened, and who is that?”
I didn’t like how he talked to my mate, but I wasn’t the only one. My fiery half growled at the man, and he widened his eyes. It even surprised me. We weren’t so different, after all.
“Don’t talk to me like that, Mike. I’m the alpha here. I…had a car accident, and I just wanted to make sure my mate is okay.”
Mike looked at me and then back to Cassandra. Saying he was surprised was the understatement of the year.
A smile naturally bloomed on my face, but it wasn’t a nice smile. This man was pissing me off and awakening my ugly side.
It hadn’t happened in a while, and it could be bad. I needed my mate closer or I’d erupt, meaning I’d kill him.
“Cassandra,” I called, and she blushed furiously.
I held my hand out to her, and to my greatest pleasure, she wrapped her smaller delicate one around it. Relief instantly washed over me, and my wolf settled back down. So good. So, so good.
