Soul of the Wolves

She didn’t answer. She averted his gaze and stayed mum.

“Susan!”

She startled. “It was nothing, really.” She tried to pull the robe up to cover her nakedness. It was a vain attempt.

“Who hurt you?”

She continued to refuse to answer.

“Cain did this, didn’t he?”

She flinched. Ethan got what he needed.

Damn. Damn him. Ethan held back his anger. The last piece of the puzzle fell into place. Susan wasn’t just Cain’s accomplice—she was forced into it. Unwillingly.

This revelation changed everything.

“I never had amnesia. I pretended to have it so I could buy some time to find the son of a bitch who tried to smoke me. And what do you know, Cain came forward the day after the rescuers called off the search. He announced that I had been survived by my young wife—you. A wife that I allegedly married the night before my accident. Very convenient isn’t it? But Cain miscalculated my survival. Imagine his surprise when Graystone fished me out of the lake. Barely alive, but alive nevertheless. Even then, Cain kept playing his charade. I must admire his guts, though. Ballsy.”

Ethan studied her expression. She couldn’t be more pale if she tried.

“Susan, he played you to lose. Do you think he would contact you when the last domino piece of his game fell?”

She looked terrified. Absolutely terrified. “Are you going to kill me?”

The jig was up and she knew that. “If I want to do that, I would have already done it.”

“I guess you want some dirt on your cousin.”

“I couldn’t care less about that. His days are numbered, and so are those who betrayed me. You’re by my side because you are my mate.”

“Say again?”

“You, my dear, are my mate.” Ethan stroked her hair fondly. “Unlike humans who can spend their entire lives with several partners, we wolves only bond with one—our mates. The moment I laid my eyes on you for the very first time, I knew you were the one. My mate—the only woman for me. Once we establish the bond between us, you will not want any other men for the rest of your life. You will go crazy for me. You will crave my touch when you spend the night out of my bed.” Ethan lowered his head as he whispered in a throaty, husky voice. The beast within him was overly excited. “You can’t live without me, Susan, because you and I are bound together.”

She looked puzzled and blinked in disbelief. Then a little shake of her head. “You’re wrong...”

“So this is how you’re going to be...”

He held her face and kissed her hungrily.

At that very moment, Ethan felt as if he had been enlightened about the biggest mystery of his life. His instinct was correct. This woman was his true mate—the only one who would make his life complete. And this first kiss between them acted as a sealing bond. If somehow, along the way, they chose to forsake it, they would be forever cursed, languishing in unhappiness until they day they died.

He studied her face as if he saw her for the very first time. Her lips were soft, a blooming petal, fragile and divine. She tasted so indelibly sweet, like ripened honeydew before the frost where its nectar was exquisite, ambrosial, and yet, fleeting. Suddenly, he found himself ravenous. Lust–filled blood rushed in his every vein as his own alpha-beast demanded that he claim his mate properly. She was his from here to eternity.

Judging from her reaction, she was also surprised. Shocked even. Her eyes were wide, a soft gasp frozen in her throat. He couldn’t tear his eyes from her. He noticed that her thick, long lashes were actually natural, beautiful perfection without the aid of mascara or false lashes women usually wore. She was a natural beauty. Her mouth opened, calling his name, but the word was only a faint mewl, curling out her throat like a bride’s gentlest whisper.

Ethan ran his tongue along her inner lip as they gazed into each other’s eyes. The window of their souls spoke louder than words could ever do. With his thumb, he caressed that soft alabaster skin of her cheek.

“Do you feel it?” His voice was nothing but a growl. The wolf-beast of his shimmied to the surface. “Our bond?”

She blinked. She looked as if she tried to deny it but couldn’t.

“I know it’s hard to comprehend with the mere logic you humans are accustomed to, but this is a gift. A gift that can only be explained by feeling it. Experiencing it.” Ethan closed his eyes and kissed her slowly, tongue sweeping inside her, feasting on the sweet dew-frost of her mouth. She responded to his kiss. Only briefly though. It was as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t.

Ethan’s eyes snapped open. “I don’t know how many lovers you’ve had in the past but let me assure you, they can’t compete with me, nor will they be able to give you what you crave most. You belong to me, Susan, and me to you. And don’t you forget that I’m the only one who can protect you from Cain.”

Her expression began to change. She went from a dreamy princess awakened from a thousand-year slumber to a maiden who just found out that she was about to be married off to an evil ogre.