Nash is all wolf. He’s sleek and rugged and handsome. His eyes are so bright they practically glow in the dark. His skin is tan from years of being outdoors, but it’s soft and smooth beneath my touch.
Still, it’s not fair for me to expect him to put out just because I don’t have any self-control. Isn’t that what the other female wolves whisper about?
How I’m a human who can’t control myself?
That’s why their leader left them for a human girl. That’s why their leader chose to mate a non-shifter. I must have seduced him somehow. I must have tricked him. Nash is such a handsome wolf that he must have felt sorry for me if he’s with me instead of them.
He deserves better than me.
At least, that’s what they say. The thought wraps slowly around my heart, choking me. I know Nash doesn’t feel that way. At least, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t, but it’s still hard for me to cope with. It’s hard to ignore the words when I hear them whispered constantly in the caves.
“Hey,” I say, sliding off the bed and going to him. I rea
ch for him, wanting a hug, but he pushes me away gently.
“I’m sweaty and dirty,” he says. “And you look so perfect.”
“That never bothered you before,” I whisper, pained at his sudden rejection. This has become a regular thing since he became pack leader. He’ll come in tired and just want to go to bed. There are always random excuses, but the sweat thing is new. I know every couple has an adjustment period where the honeymoon ends, but this seems so extreme to me. Is there something wrong with me?
Maybe I should have started Aunt Germaine’s special diet weeks ago.
Nash must sense what I’m feeling because he looks weary for a moment, then nods slowly.
“You’re right.” He reaches for me and pulls me close, pressing his body to mine. Despite the thin nightgown I’m wearing that separates us, my nipples harden at his touch and I’m instantly wet. Oh, I want him inside of me tonight. After the day I’ve had, I just want to forget. I just want him to make me come undone in his arms.
I just want my man.
Even though things have been tough for us lately, I want to feel close to him. I want him to make me forget all the whispered words, all the rumors, all the ways I don’t fit in this new world we’re a part of.
“You look tired,” I murmur, and I feel him nod, but he doesn’t let me go. He just holds me, and for a moment, all is right with the world. For a moment, I’m not worried about the mating ceremony or pleasing his aunt. I’m not worried about the female wolves. I’m not worried about anything but Nash and me and our bodies meshing together.
“It was a good hunt. I got a deer.”
“A deer?” It sounds delicious. I lick my lips as I think of all the ways I can cook venison. My grandmother taught me this amazing recipe for stew, but then I remember my stupid mating day diet, and my heart drops.
No meat.
No meat for another month.
“Yeah,” Nash doesn’t seem to notice my anxiety as he heads toward our in-room hot tub and turns the water on. Slowly, hot water begins to fill the large tub. “Ryder and Thorn each got one, too. So did Tessa.”
My blood runs cold.
Tessa?
Tessa went on the hunt?
Of course she did.
I should have known.
She’s part of the pack, after all. Why wouldn’t the hottest woman in the caves go on a hunt with my man? Why wouldn’t she be naked with my man? Shaking my head, I try to ignore the feeling of dread that comes over me. Tessa is just another wolf in the pack. She’s nothing to me: no one. She means nothing to Nash. He loves me.
It’s just that Tessa is beautiful.
And she’s a wolf.
And she hates my fucking guts.