“They make you nervous.”
“A little.”
“Why?”
“The night my mom...well, there was a storm that night.”
“I see.”
Honestly, I really can’t walk back home in a storm. Not really. If I shift, I’ll be safe enough, but it’s still a bad decision. Meredith is scared, too. She says that she’s not, but hearing the thunder made her nervous and uncomfortable. Her heart is still racing. I can hear it.
Besides, I can smell her fear.
Even if she wasn’t the woman I believe to be my mate, could I really leave her to weather this storm alone? It seems cruel somehow.
“You don’t have to stay,” she whispers.
“I want to stay.”
“Nothing has to happen.”
“I want it to happen.”
“But you aren’t ready.”
“Not yet, Meredith, but it’s not because I don’t want you,” I whisper. I go to her. She’s sitting on the couch and I kneel in front of her and place my hands on her knees. Then I look up at her lovely face. She reaches for my hair and tousles it, touching me gently.
“Then what is it?”
“It’s because I want you too much.”
“Too much?” She laughs awkwardly. “Is that really a thing?”
So she feels it, too.
We both know it’s the wrong time. I’m new, and she’s got stuff she’s working through, and, well, neither one of us is looking for something super serious. That’s okay. Still, my inner-bear is clawing at me, dying to express how he feels.
“Do you believe in mates?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Well...”
“A little, huh?”
“Maybe.”
“Have you ever been around someone whom you thought was your mate?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, have you ever been around someone who makes your inner-wolf feel like she’s going to crawl right out of you? Have you ever been around someone who makes you feel so safe and wonderful that nobody else could ever compare to them again?”
“Have I ever been around someone who makes my heart soar?”
“Yes.”