SWNOVELS Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Five
I sink into the passenger seat of the police car we just stole. Eric compelled an officer to give it to us so we could transport Charlie to the mansion. It’s easier this way, but while I should be focusing on Charlie in the backseat, my mind keeps drifting to Eric and his newfound powers.
I glance his way. Eric has a five o’clock shadow from not shaving. I guess time locked up in the basement has done that to him. It doesn’t look back. I think it’s sexy, and my heart lurches when I study his strong hands on the steering wheel and his built chest. His lips are caught in a frown, and he disagrees with something the lady on the radio says. I’m not listening, but I smile when his eyes meet mine, just to make him smile back.
I’m so glad Eric hasn’t attacked anyone tonight. He hasn’t given in to his vampiric hunger, and I’m so proud of him. Afraid of his new powers, but also so damn in love with him. Eric and Logan are sexy, but…what if they hurt me in the future? The mate bond makes one fall in love quickly, but if it’s only the mate bond working its magic, that flame that kept it all alive will flicker and eventually die.
“I can read your mind, Five,” Eric says in a low tone. He doesn’t sound angry, but I still feel embarrassed when I realize I just admitted to being afraid of him.
“Yikes,” I stare down at my hands that are resting on top of my thighs. “I…I don’t know
what to say to that.”
“I really like you, Five, and not just because of the bond,” Eric says, eyes kept on the road, but I can see the emotion within them. “You’ve done a lot for me. I’ve been your bully and
tormentor, and you were still willing to give me a chance. And then I turned into a bloodthirsty hybrid, and you’re still here.”
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There is suddenly a lump in my throat as I whisper, “Because I’m your fated mate, Eric.”
He breathes a laugh, but it sounds pained. “Most other werewolves would have rejected me as their mate, but you were willing to give me a chance because that is who you are as a person. You want to see the best in people. You don’t give up on them, and that’s part of why I lo…like you so much.”
I stare at him. “Oh, wow…I didn’t realize you’ve been analyzing me that much.”
He shoots me a brief smile. “I see you, even when you think I’m not looking. I’m probably more obsessed with you than is healthy.”
A smile stretches over my lips. “I’m pretty obsessed with you too, Eric. You and Logan are on my mind all the time, and I…I want to spend time with the two of you, but things just keep getting in the way: the murder, you becoming a hybrid, and not to mention the drama between you and Logan.”
Eric’s face turns unhappy at the mention of his twin brother. He looks truly miserable, and my heart sinks. Eric and Logan used to be so close, but now they are torn apart. It makes me wonder how a relationship is going to work between us. Both of them are my mates, but they are refusing to even look at each other. It worries me.
Eric suddenly swerves the car to the side of the road. “Hey, Five…”
“Yeah?”
“Do you ever wish you were born in a different family?”
I let out a dry laugh. The past pains me to think about, but Eric’s face is all serious. He needs my honest opinion on this, so I take a deep breath and put my big girl panties on.
“Yes,” I shrug as if that will somehow ward off the sadness swelling inside my chest. “In my parent’s eyes, I wasn’t good enough for them. And I get it: they saw me as a failure for
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being an Omega. But…I was their child, you know? They didn’t have to treat me in the same cold way that the pack treated me…” I hesitate before adding, “You, Logan, and everybody else was so mean to me.”
Eric’s face contorts in remorse. “I’m so sorry, Five.”
I grimace. “It is what it is.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Try to minimalize the problem,” Eric places his hand on my thighs and smiles. “You act as if you are not important, but you are. You mean the world to me, Five. And in the past…well…I was dumb, okay?”
I laugh at that. “Dumb?”
Why do I find it cute that he is calling himself dumb?
I watch Eric’s face, baffled when I see a blush work its way across his face. “Yes, I was too blind to see how wrong we were treating you. I can never make up for it, but I promise to make it up to you in every way I can.”
Another one of those irritating lumps forms in my throat. I didn’t expect Eric to do this for me: taking the time to try and understand the pain I was going through, and now, he is determined to make up for it. I blink away tears, too overwhelmed for words.
Eric looks at me with sincerity in his eyes, that slowly melts away the bitterness in my heart. He leans closer and kisses me tenderly on the forehead.
“I’m here now,” he whispers against my skin. “And nobody will ever hurt you again. Not
even me.”
Chapter 35
I snicker. “Not even you?”
“I mean, I won’t make any promises since I’m a big, dumb oaf, but I will try Five,” he huffs. “I will try my hardest to be a good man for you, I swear.”
Those words seal the deal: I’m stupidly in love with this man. That thought both terrifies and excites me. Eric gives me one last longing smile, and then we are driving again. Charlie is asleep in the back, and I look out through the window. The pack doesn’t know Eric has been resurrected yet, but maybe they should.