Need to get to her.
Her sweetness took me all the way to the far end of the property, and when I got a concentrated inhale of her intoxicating aroma, I stilled. Froze. She’s here.
The force of my breathing had my shoulders moving up and down, had the sound of my respiration loud in my ears.
I had to find her, like a hunter, a predator searching out his prey, because I was starving.
But the wind was causing her scent to surround me. I started to grow frantic. Then the sound of a twig cracking above me had me snapping my head up and looking at the thick line of branches that nearly reached the wall. For a moment, I didn’t see anything, and then I saw a swatch of white amongst the shadows and green foliage.
My heart momentarily stilled before it beat overtime. I took a step forward, and another one until I was toe-to-toe with the fence, not about to touch it and risk my strength and energy when my mate was so close.
Within reach.
And then there she was, balancing on a large branch, coming closer to me, her focus straight ahead, her movements graceful. She was even more beautiful than I remembered, stunning. Perfect.
I was stunned, motionless, frozen as I watched her delicate body move fluidly. It was very clear she was a vampire by how graceful her movements were, her mother’s species known for being ethereal, stealthy stalkers.
And then she was as far as she could go on the branch before dropping down so silently she didn’t make a sound but a tiny, almost gentle thud as her feet hit the forest floor.
When she straightened, a mere twenty feet from me, everything in my body thrummed and hummed to go to her, to clutch her close and take her far away from here.
Take her from those who think to keep her from us, my wolf demanded, snarling.
But I couldn’t move, not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t want to frighten her. I didn’t want to ruin the first chance I got at finally having my mate close enough to where I could reach out and touch her.
I saw her inhale, and her head snapped up in my direction when she picked up my scent. She immediately turned toward me as if on instinct.
We stood like that, just staring at each other, me so much bigger than her that I felt like I’d snap her in half, just break her in two like one of the twigs that were scattered around the forest floor.
My instincts were to go to her, my wolf fueling the need to do just that. But I beat the fucker down, because I knew I had to be frightening her just from my visage alone. I could see how wide her eyes were as she took me in, raking those baby blues up and down my body.
She was tiny, not just compared to me—a full-blooded male Lycan shifter—but just in general. She couldn’t be more than a few inches above five feet, her body lithe and graceful. She was reminiscent of a ballerina, all feminine lines and curves.
I saw the way her slender throat moved as she swallowed. Every protective instinct in me said to go to her, take her away from all of this so it could be just the two of us. But I could sense her unease and nervousness. She was afraid, not of me specifically, but of the situation. Her innocence was evident, but I could tell it wasn’t just of the sexual nature.
I had no doubts her father and brothers had sheltered my mate her entire life, something I was very thankful for, because she’d been looked after. But I was here now, able to protect and provide for her, to make sure she was forever taken care of in all ways… to make her happy in all ways.
“Your… your wolf,” she whispered.
I knew how I looked, how I wasn’t fully turned but in the in-between, frightening, intense… dangerous.
“I’ve never seen a Lycan in your state.”
If I could force myself to go fully human, I would, but I honestly didn’t know if I’d ever be able to again. I’d been like this too long.
“I won’t hurt you, female.”
She licked her lips, and I was proud when she kicked up her chin in strength. “I know you won't.”
I all but hummed in pleasure that she knew that.
“I wanted to talk,” she finally said, and I closed my eyes as her voice filtered through me. Gods, it did wonderful things to me, like this balm to soothe my damaged, broken soul.
I opened my eyes and just stared at her. I wanted her to speak again, to help ease me further. I wanted to heal so I could be the male and mate she deserved.