“I’m doing surprisingly well. Now, I want to know why my body feels like it’s burning up inside, and I have the intense urge to…”
“Mate with me?” he asked.
“Yes. I guess that’s one way to say it. Now tell me why?”
“Because we are mates. You’re the only woman in the world I could ever make love to and build a bond with. Humans that have shifter mates are different in a way. You can live a normal life. You might not feel fulfilled, or you might feel like something is missing, but you’d be fine. If we don’t find our mate, we have physical pain, and the male slowly turns into their wolf and can’t shift back. Others go crazy, and others kill themselves before that happens.”
“You … you’re in pain?” she asked.
“Yes. I’ve lived up here for six years. “
“Oh my God, you’ve been up here for six years?”
He nodded. “The last time I talked to anyone was two years ago. I see one guy sometimes when I have to get supplies, but we never talk.”
She pressed a hand over her mouth. “But you’re so young.”
“No, baby. I’m seventy-two. Shifters can live up to two hundred years if they’re mated. I’ve been looking for you since I was sixteen.”
He watched her get tears in her eyes. “No, mate, it’s okay. We found each other. The pain will go away.”
Blake pulled her down onto his lap and held her tightly against his chest. His eyes closed when her arms crept around his neck. Fuck, yeah, this is perfect. They held each other for the longest time, and it was the most perfect moment of his life. The mating heat built until it felt like he’d burn up if he didn’t get inside her. He could tell she was feeling it because her cream was spilling out of her and wetting the crotch of her jeans, and she couldn’t sit still.
“Now, do you believe me?” he asked.
“Yes. It’s hard not to. I know the way I’m feeling right now is not normal.”
“Not for regular humans.”
“What happens now?” she asked.
“When you’re ready, we will mate.”
“When will I know I’m ready?” she asked.
“Your body already knows.”
She adjusted her body against his. “The heat and the ache are getting worse.”
“The longer we put it off, the more uncomfortable you will be.” He really hoped she didn’t wait too long because he was burning up inside and needed to be in her as soon as possible.
“I don’t know what to do. My body is screaming for you to take me, but we just met, and it feels wrong somehow.”
Blake shook his head. “It’s not wrong, mate. It’s what the universe has made us. We’ve been connected since you were born, but we didn’t know it until we met.”
He could feel her discomfort and knew he could improve it. She just needed to come to terms with the fact they were meant to be together.
“I can’t go much longer like this. It’s like a ball of heat is expanding in me.”
“Let me make you better,” he said.
She stared at him for a moment, sighed, and nodded. “Yes. Please make the pain go away.”
He sighed in relief. “Good, baby. Now, I’m going to take you to bed. Any objections?”
“No, but I would like to know one thing before this happens. What’s your name?”
He laughed. He’d totally forgotten that. “My name is Blake.”