A war played inside her, and she felt so lost. She had no parents to guide her. No mother to teach her about these new feelings bombarding her. Her sister couldn’t understand what she was going through. She was the perfect shifter. Strong, vocal, and a meat-eater.
She cried harder, needing the release.
“What are you so afraid of?”
Heather gasped, rolling to her side to see where the voice came from. It was David, standing in the shadows in his human form.
“How did you get here?”
“I followed you. I was worried.”
She hugged her knees, trying to hide her nudity—another freakish thing for a shifter to do. “You don’t have to put yourself out. You don’t have to pretend to care.”
There was no denying the growl, the masculine authority made her pussy tingle. “If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be here, Heather.” His tone was deeper, darker than normal. “I’ve been walking on eggshells the past six months, trying to please you, to give you everything you need, not to scare you away. Nothing’s enough for you, is it?”
“I never asked for anything.”
“Is that your way of saying thank you?” he asked. “You’re not being fair to me.”
“What do you want me to do? Bend over like a good little bitch?”
“Fuck, Heather. I’ve only treated you with kindness, but you make me out to be a monster. And I think you’re the only one who doesn’t believe we’re mates.”
The word hung heavily in the air.
The entire forest seemed to silence at that moment.
“I never said that,” she said.
“Then what? You hate me so much you’d rather spend your life alone?”
She turned to glance at him. The moonlight highlighted his naked form. He was the perfect male specimen. And, even though she wouldn’t admit it, she liked this dominant side of him better. It was starting to get annoying having him dote over her every chance he got. She was already so uncertain about everything in her life, she almost craved a male who could take control. To ground her.
“I’m not sure what I want.” It wasn’t so easy bringing down her walls, but it felt liberating.
“Stop pushing me away,” he said. “Even when I can scent your desire, you deny me.”
“I’m used to everyone rejecting me. If I open up, you could do the same.”
He shook his head. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ve been waiting for you, dreaming about the day I’d find my mate. From that first day in the forest, I knew you were the one. I think you did, too.”
“It scared me. I wasn’t ready. I lost my family and found my mate on the same day.”
“And now?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know what I am or how I should feel. Sometimes I feel like a rogue wolf.”
“Well, you’re not.” He took a step closer. “You’re mine. There’s only so long we can put off the inevitable.”
“Your pack tolerates me.”
“No, they want you to accept them. Besides, if they don’t accept you, they don’t accept me. Mates are for life. That’s a long time, Heather.” He reached out a hand, beckoning for hers.
She bit her lip. Her natural tendency was to reject, but instead, she obliged him. He hoisted her up to her feet, their nude bodies briefly crashing against one another. His body was rock hard with the muscle and strength of a male wolf. Every cell inside her came firing to life, the coolness thawing in an instant.
He kept her close, breathing in at her neckline. She felt her body react to the heat and rugged scent of his skin. The man was tall and built of solid muscle.
“Bethany was human, and I know Caleb had a lot of trouble courting her. It’s supposed to be easier with shifters, as natural as breathing.” He ran his tongue along the shell of her ear. “Don’t fight what your wolf wants.”
She closed her eyes, savoring all the sensations bombarding her. The rush of the leaves in the branches above her, the glow of the moon, the feel of David’s body, the deep whisper of his voice, and the way her pussy tingled just from their proximity.
He ran his hand down her back, and all the little hairs on her skin stood on end. As his fingers grazed the top of her ass, she gasped.
“You’re a virgin. That’s good,” he said.
“It is?”
“I don’t like the idea of sharing what’s mine,” he said.
She liked the thought of being owned by him, claimed by his wolf. Her deep-seated wolven instincts kept rushing to the surface. It was impossible to fight them, and did she even want to? Her sister had accepted the new pack. Even her eccentric uncle had settled in. It was time for her to stop pushing back against the inevitable.
If her mother were still alive, she’d be celebrating this day. Becoming a mated she-wolf was an honor, the beginning of forever. Since becoming orphaned, nothing had the same joy. But, deep down, she knew she couldn’t mourn her old life indefinitely.