Page 63 of Locke

The real kicker was—Locke. He’d lied from the beginning.

“You—You are Fenrir.” I wagged my finger at him, taking bold steps toward him.

Locke licked his lips and tilted his head toward me. “Guilty.”

“You have watched me bathe, you have watched me dress and have intimate moments with myself; you gnawed on my fucking dildo!”

He bit his bottom lip and grabbed me by the hip to pull me closer to him. He took the gun from my hip and threw it away from us, hitting the forest floor with a soft thud.

“I couldn’t resist tasting you. With your scent, your arousal right there at my disposal, what was I supposed to do? So, I licked up the sloppy seconds so I could have a sweet appetizer. So, yeah, I’ve done all those things—and what are you going to do about it, Princess?”

I narrowed my eyes and opened my hand, rearing back to slap him. He caught it, his powerful hand wrapping around my wrist. Power and strength came from it, far more than when we wrestled in the ring hours before.

This man played me the whole time!

I didn’t know if I should be utterly turned on by being impressed, or just fucking mad.

Locke puts his mouth toward my ear, his lips grazing my ear lobe. He tsked. “Now don’t tell me it makes you angry because we both know that is a lie.” His hot breath fanned down my neck. I felt the breeze flow between my breasts and my nipples stiffen upon impact. “You like it that I’ve watched you all this time. That I have licked you in my wolf form, that I have comforted you, that I have stayed with you when you were lonely.”

The heaviness in my chest was stifling.

“I can smell you, you know. All those nights where you were so needy. You wanted to run those fingers through those slick folds and you didn’t know why. It was because of me— even though you hadn’t met me yet, there was a connection there.”

I shook my head and tried to pull away from him. He kept one arm wrapped around my waist and the other around the back of my neck. “Don’t deny it. You were hot and needy. You just didn’t know your mate was right there. In an animal form. Far too taboo for a human to understand.”

“Locke—” My face heated with embarrassment.

He clicked his tongue. “There is no need for that, my sweet mate.” He ran a finger down my cheek. “Humans don’t know any better. You weren’t aware of the bond that was settling intoplace. I knew, know, it is difficult to understand. But it was me—I am your wolf, your crazy. That is why your body has such a strong connection to me. My Goddess has paired you to me.”

I reared my head back the best I could to stare at him in the eyes. The same eyes as Fenrir.Why was I so blind not to see it before?

Shit—it was him. I could feel it. The same smell, the same touch—the heat.

“Goddess? Goddess?” I tried to sound skeptical, but that word had already become ingrained in me. Don’t ask me how. I wanted to say it was because of Abuela and her dancing half-naked in the forest when I was young. She had Elena and I dance in the forest, and pray to a Moon Goddess for a pairing— of soul mates that would love and protect us so fiercely it would near strangle us.

Now, it was Locke’s hold that was strangling me.

I thought it was just a fairy tale. There were no fated mates.

“I mean, it’s just—it can’t be real, right?” I said to myself.

Locke laughed, the sound low and deep. He grazed his thumb over my lips, making me part them slightly. “Oh, my sweet mate, it’s very real. Our bond... it’s strong. Our connection... it’s ancient and unbreakable. We were destined for each other.”

I shook my head, trying to get my bearings. “So I have no choice? I just have to be with you? I’m just going to be horny for you, you cocky bastard?”

Locke gently took me by the shoulders before his hands gripped around my face. “No, you don’t have a choice.”

I shuddered, my nipples hardening into sharp points.

Locke’s eyes darkened and he took a deep breath. He leaned in closer, his breath hot on my face. “It's a gift, Emmie. You are the other half of my soul. I will never hurt or forsake you. I will protect you, love you fiercely and fucking kill anything that gets in the way of that.”

My thighs tightened together.

“And, I am going to claim you, Emmie. I want to seal our souls together to make us one. You are in danger, and I need to know where you are at all times. I’ve kept these secrets not because I wanted to, but because I had no choice. Now that I can control my human form we are doing this for your safety. I am strong enough to take you, knot you, show you what a real male does to protect his female; it’s time for you to accept your new reality. And you are a warrior, strong enough for this.”

I ground my teeth together and jerked away from him. “You don’t tell me what to do.”

His eyes narrowed as he moved closer to me with purposeful strides. “Emm, do not run.”

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