Page 10 of His Secret Mate

“Oh, that’s rich. I’m pretty sure your sister didn’t choose to be turned from a polar bear to a cave lioness.”

Derek chuckled before crossing his arms, his expression hardening. “To hear her tell it now, it was all her idea, but Orion, you’re a dire wolf-shifter. The shifter world is always dangerous for humans and especially now, and she’s my sister.”

“Sister-in-law…”

“Same difference. I’m fine with you being involved with her if she wants to be turned, but you can’t turn her without her consent. She’s family. Between Zach, Deke and me, there’d be a fight to see which one of us got to kill you first.”

“Go with the cave lion, he’s the only one who’d have a shot at besting me. Look, Derek, I get it and I understand your concern. I’ve tried to stay away, to protect her from the storm, from our world, from me. But it isn’t working. I can’t ignore what I know to be true. Every instinct within me tells me she is mine and to take her regardless of what anyone thinks—including her.”

Shaking his head Derek said, “What about your childhood sweetheart? You thought she was your fated mate. Have you forgotten about her?”

Orion closed his eyes, memories of his past washing over him. “I haven’t forgotten. But that was a long time ago and I figured out she was never meant to be my mate—fated or otherwise. Any feeling I had for her died long ago.”

Derek sighed, leaning closer to the screen. “Orion, you can’t just decide she’s yours and take her to mate whether she likes it or not. You deserve to be happy, but at what cost? Lara’s humanity?” He shook his head. “I don’t know. If I put myself in your shoes and we were talking about Tess, I don’t know that I wouldn’t have already claimed her.”

Orion felt a weight lift from his shoulders at Derek’s words. “Derek, you’re one of the best men I know. Hearing you say that makes me feel a bit better about all of this.”

Derek nodded. “The thing is, you need to be honest with yourself and with her. The one advantage you have is that Lara knows about shifters and doesn’t have a problem with our kind. She knows what’s at stake.”

Orion took a deep breath, feeling a sense of clarity wash over him. “Thanks, Derek. I needed to hear that.”

Derek smiled. “Anytime, brother. Just… be careful. And don’t hurt her.”

Orion managed a small smile. “Not any more than I have to. I promise.”

A little bit later, Orion found himself standing, once again, outside the door to Lara’s room. The soft glow of candlelight flickered through the windows, and he could hear her moving around. It was closing in on dawn. Raising his hand, he knocked.

The door opened, and Lara stood there in her T-shirt and pajama bottoms. He wondered if she had any idea how incredibly sexy she was standing in the doorway with her hair all messy and falling down around her shoulders. “Orion? What’s up? Is everything okay?”

He took a deep breath, his gaze locking onto hers. “Probably not. I needed to talk to you. Meet me in the common area.”

“Um, sure. Just let me throw on something a little more appropriate.”

He figured now wasn’t the time to tell her that for what he had in mind, naked was most appropriate. “I’ll wait for you in the main room.”

It didn’t take her long to join him. “What’s on your mind? I’ve seen the weather reports, and if you think I’m going back before I can harvest that plant, think again.” Lara’s voice was soft, but firm.

Orion turned from the fire to face her. “Lara, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been trying to keep my distance. I was kind of hoping you’d notice and say something.”

“Yeah, I was hoping you would notice that I hadn’t said anything.”

“I can’t do it anymore. You know enough about our kind to know what a fated mate is.”

Lara’s eyes widened, and she took a step back, shaking her head as if to deny him. “I don’t want that. I can’t want that. I won’t. I don’t have time for you—not you, specifically, but any of you. Trudi is my friend, and by this time next year, she could be dead. I can’t let that happen. If there’s even the remotest chance I can save her and her kind, I have to do it. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t.”

“That’s bullshit. Not the saving Trudi part. I get that, but you don’t have to sacrifice everything in order to do that.”

“Orion, I can’t do this,” she said turning away.

Maybe she thought by putting distance between them she could keep him at bay, but Orion wasn’t having it. His wolf had been spinning out of control for days and now, sensing his unwillingness to let her go, it seemed determined to take over.

Orion grabbed her, turning her back to him and hauling her up against him. “So, you feel nothing for me?”

“Nothing.”

“Liar,” he growled, fisting her hair and dragging her head back. He brought his lips down on hers in an angry and punishing kiss. She needed to understand, needed to know she was his.

As their lips molded together, a surge of electricity shot through his veins. The taste of her, a subtle mix of sweetness and defiance, ignited a wildfire within him. He deepened the kiss, pouring every ounce of dominance, possessiveness, and need he could into it. If she wouldn’t admit what she knew to be true of her own free will, he would force her capitulation.

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