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  Heather felt Kale’s arm tighten around her like a steel band. She felt wetness drop on her hands which were clasped tightly in her lap. She was crying and she hadn’t even realized it. Her heart pounded harder and her lungs felt tight. Taking a breath was nearly impossible. She didn’t understand why she was reacting so strongly. Yes, she hated the idea of losing Kale, but it hadn’t been something she’d allowed herself to fall apart over. That’s just not the way Heather was wired. She didn’t act like a wilting flower and fall over in the face of a storm. She was an oak tree, strong, with deep roots, and she met the lightning, thunder, and rain with her branches fisting in the air, daring the storm to give her more.

  “This is ridiculous.” Kale suddenly growled. “Perizada of the Fae is not a Canis lupus, and she isn’t an Alpha. Why then are we letting her order us to go against our very nature?” His breathing increased and Heather felt something sharp on her arms.

  She reached her hand over, ran it down his hand, and felt sharp nails. No, not nails, claws.

  “Kale?”

  “I can’t lose you, lass.” He breathed out and then rubbed his rough cheek against hers, nuzzling her. Heather felt a rumble in his chest. “I won’t,” he added.

  “What can we do?” she asked. “Peri said—”

  Kale interrupted. “I am not subject to Peri. We can do whatever the hell we bloody want to.”

  Heather’s thoughts clouded. Kale’s words were true, of course. But something about his tone felt very wrong. She couldn’t exactly put into words what she detected. She simply knew it wasn’t the real Kale speaking, the one who was always so gentle with her. But as soon as that thought appeared, it evaporated.

  They were true mates. Weren’t they supposed to complete the bond? Isn’t that the reason the Great Luna put the desire in the males so strongly, to bond the mates together so they would always be one? Did Peri really have a right to ask them not to do exactly what the Great Luna intended for them?

  “I won’t lose you, Heather,” Kale said, pulling her from her messy thoughts. “Tell me you don’t want this, and I won’t do it.”

  “Do what?”

  “Do the Blood Rites,” he answered, a low growl filling his voice.

  Heather sucked in a deep breath. Did she want that? Hell to the yes. But should they do it? They couldn’t. Could they?

  Kale’s lips were on her neck, and she was tilting her head on instinct. He kissed her flesh several times and licked her as well, making her shudder. “Tell me no and I won’t.”

  His teeth scraped across her skin, and she had to bite her lip to keep from moaning.

  She wanted to scream at him, “Yes,” but somehow, she held back. Heather gasped as he kissed her again. “We can’t. I want this so bad but we can’t.”

  Kale pulled her into his lap. He was panting. “Okay,” he said, “you’re right. I’m just so damn—”

  “Ouch!” His words were cut off as Heather hissed and covered her eyes with her hands.

  Chapter 10

  “Loose ends are never a good thing. It doesn’t matter if the loose ends are someone else's or your own. They always unravel and leave some poor idiot naked … or staring at some other idiot who’s naked. In case you’re having trouble following along, it’s a metaphor people. Quit trying to read ahead to see if someone ends up naked. Geeze." ~Nick

  When Nick could no longer hear the other two couples speaking, he knew they’d walked far enough away to have a private conversation. He’d been wondering when Kara would finally bring up her frustration over her age and how protective Peri was, and rightfully so. She was seventeen, a minor. Well, a minor in some countries. In others, she would be considered an adult. But that was beside the point.

  Nick found a cluster of trees where there was some shade. He pulled his mate into the shelter and started to tug her down to the ground where they could sit, but Kara pulled against him.

  “I want to stand. I can’t be properly outraged if I’m sitting,” she told him.

  He tried not to smile, but she was sort of adorable when she was pissed.

  “Alright then,” he said. “We’ll stand.”

  “I’m not a child,” she began.

  “No one is saying that you are,” he countered. “But you are significantly younger than me. I’m a grown man, Kara. If you had parents, they’d be ready to kill me for pursuing you.”

  “I’m pretty sure if I had parents, they’d be more concerned about the whole ‘sprouts fur and runs on four paws’ thing.”

  “There is that,” he conceded. “But the point is, you’re in a vulnerable situation. Your life has been upended, and everything you’ve known turned on its head. I don’t ever want to take advantage of you being in such a vulnerable state.”

  “Because I’m young,” she asked.

  The question sounded innocent enough, but Nick felt as if he was navigating a minefield and if he placed his foot in the wrong spot, it might get blown off.

  “You don’t have to be young to be vulnerable, but in this instance, you’re both.”

  “Do I look vulnerable to you?” Kara bit out through clenched teeth. “Do I look like I can’t make decisions for myself? Do I look like a girl who would let herself be taken advantage of by anyone, even a gorgeous, supernatural being who claims they belong together?”

  Nick looked at the woman who had been given to him, who carried the other half of his soul and was the light to his darkness. What he saw stole his breath. No, she didn’t look vulnerable. She looked magnificent in her anger. The wind had picked up as if in response to her temper, and her hair blew back behind her. The high cheeks on her face were flushed, and her eyes held a feral quality that called to the beast living inside of him.

  “You look amazing,” he practically whispered. “You look strong, determined, and fierce. You…” He paused as his wolf pushed forward, desperate to communicate with their mate, hating that the mental bond had yet to snap into place. “You look like mine. My female. My mate.” He knew his eyes were glowing. He could feel how close he was to phasing.

  “Then what is the problem?” Kara nearly growled.

  “The man thinks like a man,” Nick’s wolf said as he pushed the human back even farther and took control. “He does not understand the wolf bond.”

  “Is there a difference? I mean, you say wolf bond like it’s something separate from the mate bond.”

  Nick’s wolf stepped closer to their mate. He took a deep breath and let her scent wash over him. The man had kept him on a tight leash since they’d found her, and though they usually were in agreement about things, on this, they were at odds. The wolf knew she was no longer a child, despite the human laws concerning adulthood. The animal within knew the bond would have never made itself known if she were still a child.

  “I wouldn’t have known you were my mate if you were too young. Wolves do not prey on the young as humans do. We are not attracted to a mate who is not mature physically and emotionally,” the wolf explained.

  “So, you’re saying we wouldn’t have felt anything for one another if I wasn’t ready to be your true mate?”

  “Exactly,” he answered. “But you are ready. I am yours and you, my lovely healer, are mine.” Nick took another step closer until he could lean his head down and touch it to hers. Being in the human form didn’t change his need to rub up against her and cover her in his scent. His tongue darted out and licked her forehead, and he growled at her delicious taste.

  “Did you just, uh, lick me?”

  “I like the way you taste,” Nick’s wolf rumbled. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to his body. She felt warm and … right pressed against him. The wolf buried his face in her neck and nipped gently at the flesh there. He wanted to bite, needed to bite, to leave his mark and to have her blood flowing in his veins. He was angry over the fact that the high fae, Perizada, thought she had the right to tell him he couldn’t claim his mate. That he couldn�
��t offer her his full protection by marking her and finishing the bond between them that would ensure they would never be separated, not even in death.

  “Nick?”

  Kara’s voice was breathless, and when he took another deep breath, he could smell her desire for him. His female wanted him as a woman wants a man.

  “She has no right to keep us apart. It should be between mates, when the bond is completed and no one else.” He pulled back and took her face in his hands. Her eyes were glazed over with passion as he pressed his lips to hers. It was one of the things the wolf appreciated about being in the human skin, the ability to kiss his mate.

  She pressed closer to him as his tongue swept out across her lips, and her mouth parted with a gasp. Nick’s wolf purred his approval. He tugged on her bottom lip with his teeth and then delved deeply into her mouth, their tongues tangling in a timeless rhythm. It wasn’t enough though. The wolf wanted more. He wanted the bond complete.

  Kara wanted to sing with joy as Nick kissed her. His hands ran up and down her back, pulling and pushing and tugging as if he didn’t know what he wanted to do next—throw her on the ground or pull her on top of him. She wouldn’t have objected to either. Hearing Nick’s wolf tell her that he didn’t agree with how Nick and Peri were treating her with kid gloves was a relief because she knew in her soul Nick was hers. They were meant to be together now, not later. They needed to complete the bond so there would be no separating them.

  Kara felt the urgency growing in her as Nick did something fancy with his feet and hers, and suddenly, she was on the ground, and he was covering her with his body. She clung tightly to him, terrified he would suddenly come to his senses and stop. She needed him. Needed his touch, his taste, his love. She didn’t realize she’d spoken out loud until he answered.

  “You have it. You have all of me, babe,” Nick said, and his voice was once again his own. When Kara opened her eyes, she saw that his were no longer glowing. “My wolf is right. We wouldn’t have had even the hint of the bond if you weren’t ready. And to be honest, I’m done having a fae tell me how to handle my own bloody mate bond.”

  He gently tilted her head back and ran his nose down her neck. “My mark is going right here.” He kissed the skin between her shoulder and her neck. “And then every male will know that you are mine.”

  Kara started to tilt her head further back, giving him even better access. She wanted him to bite her, wanted to bear his mark, to belong, to be loved, and adored. She wanted forever with him. To be safe and treasured.

  “No more waiting.” Nick panted. “We can figure out something else for the sacrifice.”

  His words were a bucket of cold ice water flushed through her scorching bloodstream. Kara could practically feel the steam coming off of her skin. Yes, she wanted the bond complete, and no, she didn’t like being told how to handle her relationship with her true mate, but, she did understand the reason behind it. Peri cared deeply for those she considered under her protection. She wasn’t trying to keep them apart. She was trying to keep them all alive so they could one day have a completed bond.

  “Nick, we can’t,” she said as she tried to push him back.

  “Yes, mate, we can and we will. I’m done being kept from you. I promise you will enjoy this,” he said, a hint of humor and something more sensual in his voice.

  Kara wanted to say, “Of that, I have no doubt,” but she was beginning to realize that something wasn’t right. The Nick she knew would stop the minute she questioned him.

  “I’m serious, Nick. We can’t do the Blood Rites. I want to”—she reassured him when she felt him tense—“but we have to consider the consequences and how our actions will affect everyone around us.”

  He was licking and kissing her neck again, which was completely unfair because he’d figured out that it was definitely an erogenous zone for her. Kara tried turning her head to hopefully pull further away from him. As she tucked her chin down, she glanced up and froze as she stared at a small man. No, not a small man, a pixie, she realized. A male pixie was staring back at her from about twenty feet away. He gave her a sinister grin and a wink.

  “Nick, Nick,” she said urgently as she pushed at him. “Someone’s watching us. Look! You big ass hairball!” She growled as she pinched and then twisted his nipple. It worked. He snarled at her and pulled back.

  “Damn, female. You fight dirty,” he huffed as he rubbed at his chest. Then he paused and shook his head as if to clear it. “What the hell just happened?”

  “I’m trying to tell you. There was a pixie, over there.” Kara pointed to where she’d seen the little creepy dude. “He winked at me.”

  “He what?” Nick rumbled.

  “He winked at me. It was creepy.” She noticed Nick rubbing his head as he stared where the pixie had been. “Are you alright?”

  “My head hurts and it feels, uhh, fuzzy. Did I attack you?”

  Kara chuckled. “If by attack you mean assaulted my senses with all of your male hotness, then yes, and don’t worry. I liked it.”

  “But I didn’t stop,” he said, sounding very upset about that fact. “You said to stop and I kept pushing.”

  “You weren’t hurting me and you have. You were just a little distracted, running on instinct I think. Your wolf did come out to play, so maybe he was driving you a bit?” She didn’t have a clue if what she was saying could actually happen, but she hated the self-loathing look on her mate's face. “I’m fine, Nick. We’re fine.”

  “Maybe,” he said. “But whatever just happened wasn’t normal. I shouldn’t have lost control like that. No matter how badly my wolf and I want to complete the Blood Rites, we would never force it, not when you were telling us to stop. I couldn’t think clearly. All I could think was that I was pissed Peri was trying to tell me that I couldn’t claim you and that we needed to do it now. I felt desperate to complete the bond.”

  She nodded. “I began to feel that way too. But then something happened. You said something that made me realize we couldn’t, and that’s when my head cleared and then I saw the pixie.”

  Nick stood, pulling her up with him. He gently brushed her off, being careful where his hands touched. “I have a feeling that pixie had something to do with us both feeling so out of control, and if he was messing with us, then he’s no doubt going to mess with the others. We need to warn them.”

  Kara agreed, but she worried that there was a certain couple with a blind chick with no self-control and that they’d be too late.

  ***

  Ciro led Stella back to Peri’s home. Since the others had wandered off into the forest there was no reason they couldn’t go back to the empty house. He took a seat on the couch and motioned for her to join him. She didn’t hesitate, and he noticed how pleased that made his wolf. The wolf hated that she feared them, even a little. There was no one safer in the world from him than his mate.

  “I know that in my heart,” Stella said, obviously having picked up on Ciro’s thoughts. “It’s just my head that has a hard time.”

  Ciro took her hand in his and caressed the top with his thumb. He hadn’t realized how much he needed to touch her. “Does this bother you?” He motioned to their hands.

  She shook her head slowly. “I’m sort of surprised it doesn’t bother me. It’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to be touched.”

  “So you want to be touched?”

  She looked away shyly. “Only by you. I mean, it doesn’t bother me for the other healers to touch me, but I wouldn’t be able to stand it if another guy touched me.”

  Ciro tried to bite back the low growl. “That is a good thing, amor, because I wouldn’t be able to stand it either.” He’d never considered his possessiveness as a weakness until now.

  “Don’t try to change your nature for me, Ciro,” Stella said. “I’m not scared of you.”

  “The males of my race are intense, and when it comes to our mates, well, there isn’t an accurate descriptio
n to explain what we become. The need to protect, possess, and provide becomes all-consuming. I am old. I am more controlled than almost all others, but having you, well, it’s definitely harder than I anticipated,” he admitted.

  “What are you worried about?”

  Ciro met her gaze and forced his hand to stay in hers instead of running his fingers across her cheek and down her neck. His wolf wanted him to bury his face in her neck so they could breathe her scent in deep. He was worried he would give in to his wolf and do something that would push her away.

  “All you have to do is ask,” Stella said, once again responding to his thoughts. “The worst that can happen is I might say no.”

  Ciro considered her for a moment before asking the question that had been burning inside him since meeting her. “This might be something you say no to, but I’m going to ask on the off chance you will say yes. Will you tell me what happened to cause you to distrust men so badly?”

  Stella knew the question had been coming. How could it not? They were soul mates. Ciro was going to be stuck with her for the rest of their lives; he had a right to know why his mate couldn’t stand to be touched. It didn’t mean she hadn’t hoped it had been the one question she could have put off answering for as long as possible.

  “You can say no, Stella, my love,” Ciro said gently.

  “You have a right to know.”

  “But you have a right to tell me when you’re ready. If that time isn’t now, that’s okay.”

  She shook her head. “I think I should treat it like a bandage and just rip it off.” And so she did. She told Ciro about the abuse she had endured at the hands of the one man who should have protected her—her father. Stella was shaking by the time she finished, and she wondered if she would ever get herself under control.

  “I would like to hold you,” said Ciro, his voice so quiet she almost didn’t hear him. “In fact, if I’m being honest, I need to hold you at this moment, as much as I need air to breathe.”