The She-Wolf’s Mate (Book 2 She-Wolf Series)

Ivar

Samantha’s words sunk it. I wanted to call her a liar, to discount what she was telling me, but I heard the truth in her tone. She was strong enough to move forward. Meanwhile, I was fighting my wolf for control every minute of every day that we were apart.

I dreamt of her every night, and was forced to live with the pain of her absence every time I woke up. Alcohol numbed the hurt for a while, but eventually I had avoided sleep altogether. That was how Rankor had taken control, and the reason I was too weak to stop him from running thousands of miles to Samantha’s doorstep.

I met her beautiful emerald gaze and she held it. No other wolf I had met could stare directly into my eyes for more than a second or two, but she was different.

Of course she is, I thought.

“I should’ve just commanded you to come to Canada with me,” I muttered.

She pursed her lips thoughtfully before saying, “I don’t think that would work on me.”

I was the only werewolf in existence to have the power to command any other to do as I said. It was a gift that I used sparingly because I didn’t like taking other’s free will, but it occasionally became necessary. I thought about Samantha’s dismissal.

“Maybe not,” I conceded.

After all she was unaffected by eye contact with me, and I assumed that had something to do with her being my fated mate.

Destiny was such a bitch sometimes.

“Why did you leave?” she whispered after a moment.

It was so quiet I might not have heard it except for my sensitive hearing.

“I asked you to come with me,” I reminded her.

“We could have talked about it. You didn’t even want to give us a chance.”

I was surprised by her sentiment. I sat up, feeling the pain of all my injuries, and studied her.

She was as stunning as I remembered, but I saw a haunted look in her eyes that I had missed before. Her shoulders slumped just slightly and her hands were curled tightly in her lap. Looking at her now, it was easy to see she was fighting her own battle despite the strong façade she presented.

“I told you I wouldn’t beg,” I reminded her. “You said you didn’t want me to.”

“No, I told you I wasn’t asking you to,” she corrected.

“Either way, you rejected me,” I snapped.

“How could you think that?” she asked, dumbfounded. “I would have given anything for you to stay.”

She slapped a hand over her mouth, apparently surprised by her own words.

“What did you just say?” I demanded.

She shook her head, and I saw tears forming in her eyes. The sight of her pain was too much and the wall that I had tried to build came crashing down around my heart. I pulled myself from the couch where she had put me and felt the burning of the raw skin on my feet. Grimacing, I wrapped the blanket around my waist and knelt before her.

She shook her head again as I reached out to cup her cheek. I ignored her refusal and wiped her tears with my thumb.

“Please don’t do that,” she begged, closing her eyes. "I can't."

“Do what?” I asked, confused.

“Act like you want me,” she whispered.

“I do want you,” I told her.

“Enough to stay?”

I stilled.

When I didn’t respond, Sam took a deep breath and pulled away. I fought every instinct telling me to hold on to her.

“Then you need to go,” she said, firmly.

“Luke has his wolf now,” I argued. “He can be Alpha in your place.”

“He’s sixteen,” she snapped.

“Back in the day, he would’ve been considered a man,” I reasoned.

“Well we aren’t ‘back in the day’ and I’m not abandoning my son,” she seethed. “If I have to explain that to you, then there’s really nothing else to discuss.”

This woman was maddening. I stood to leave and pain shot through my feet and up my legs. I took a sharp breath before stumbling.

“Shit,” Samantha shouted as she jumped up to catch me.

I braced myself between her and the arm of the chair, breathing heavily.

“How long have you been unable to heal?” she asked after a moment.

“Six months,” I ground out. “I still heal. It just takes a while.”

Rankor had done a number on us in his desperation to get to our mate. He knew if he slept, I might be able to regain control, so he had kept up a relentless pace despite the damage. The pain of my injuries were far less for him than the pain of being away from Samantha.

After a moment, the she-wolf sighed, “Well I guess you won’t be running back any time soon. Who do I need to call for you?”

“Aidan,” I told her and recited the number as I slumped to sit on the floor, my back resting against the chair.

I listened to her side of the conversation, not bothering to tune into what Aidan was saying.

“Hi Aidan. I don’t know if you remember me… Right… Yeah, he’s here… He’s hurt and can’t make the trip back. Can you come get him?… Uh, okay.”

I watched as she hit a button on the screen.

“Okay he can hear you,” she said.

“Hey dickhead,” Aidan’s voice filled the room and I grimaced. “I’m not coming to get you and you know why. Either work it out or make the trip once you’re healed. Trinity’s not coming either so don’t even try. Kick his ass if you need to, Alpha Paulson. Or even if you just want to. Ciao mother fucker!”

Both Sam and I tried to protest but the line was already dead.

“Fuck!” I yelled.

I was going to kill him when I got home. We had been friends for almost 400 years. He was the only man I might allow to speak to me that way and live, but he had crossed a line.

“Now what?” Sam asked, clearly annoyed.

“Apparently I’m stuck here for a few days,” I muttered.

“A few days?!” Sam asked, incredulous. “Nope. You are not staying here.”

“Where would you like me to go then, Alpha?” I demanded. “You heard him. No one is coming for me.”

She thought for a moment before saying, “You can stay at the pack house.”

“I’m not staying at the pack house,” I retorted. “If anyone sees me like this, the werewolf kingdom will be in danger. Another wolf might challenge the throne, or a non-allied species might attack.”

I could see that she knew what I said was the truth. I didn’t mention that I also couldn’t stand the thought of being away from her now that I had seen her again. Certain things were better left unsaid. Especially since she he clearly wanted me gone as soon as possible.

“Fine,” she finally relented. “You can stay in one of the guest rooms until you’re healed. In the meantime, I would appreciate you keeping your distance.”

I narrowed my eyes at her and saw her shrink back slightly.

I lowered my voice to growl, “Let’s get one thing straight, little wolf. You might be the alpha of your pack but, mate or no, I am your King. I have lived over a thousand years. You are nothing but a pup by comparison. You are not one to be giving me orders. Am I understood?”

She nodded slowly, eyes wide.

“Say it,” I commanded.

“I understand,” she said, quietly.

“Good,” I muttered, tilting my head back against the chair to stare at the ceiling.

Without a word, I heard her quickly leave the room. As she did, her scent fell over me like a fog before disappearing with her.

My heart ached at her absence. Even knowing she was in the next room, I missed her deeply. Rankor pounded at my consciousness to follow her.

This is going to be a long couple of days.