Page 48 of The Hunger
Sputtering and blinking, I looked up at him. He had me pressed against the edge of the pool with his arms boxing me in. He released his hold on the ledge long enough to wipe the water from my face then leaned in to lick my nose.
“Do you know why you’ll never turn me into a mindless puddle, chipmunk? Because I found my mate years ago.”
The boyish smile, which had been missing since he got into my car, lit his face.
“I saw her, and it was everything. She was everything. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think straight.” He shook his head ruefully. “I was a mess, but she wasn’t. She was perfect. But it only took one inhale of her sweet, terrified scent to know she wasn’t ready. So I walked away to give her the time she needed.”
I felt sick. It’d been bad enough when I thought he was unattached. It was another story completely to know that I’d been feeding on one side of a mated pair without the other side’s approval.
Fenris gently took my wrists and removed my arms from around my waist. I hadn’t realized I’d hugged myself.
“And now I’m dying a little bit every day. I’ve been patiently waiting for her to be ready, and I think she finally is.”
He leaned in and set his forehead against mine. I swam in his scent, torn between my hunger and my need to respect that he wasn’t mine to have.
“Help me, Eliana,” he whispered.
“I want to, but I don’t know how.”
“Yes, you do.” He closed his eyes. “You were twelve. Your hair was parted down the middle and hung in two braids. One on either side of your flushed face. Your mom was talking to Mrs. Quill, and Oanen was standing next to you. You were wearing the prettiest blue dress.”
I stared at him in stunned silence as what he was saying sank in. He’d seen me the day my mom talked to Mrs. Quill about letting me stay with them. I thought back to that day, trying to recall him.
“I don’t remember,” I said.
“My dad and I were passing through the foyer on our way to meet with Mr. Quill. Adira had let us in. I don’t think you ever looked at me.”
But I did now. I leaned back to look at his handsome face. My insides went hot and cold as I stared. Mine? Was he really saying he was mine? No. He couldn’t be. This had to be more of his confusion from all the feedings.
“Who are you, Eliana?”
“I…” I struggled to draw in a decent breath. It felt like the water was crushing me.
“Come on, chipmunk, you know the answer. I’ve been waiting so long to hear you say it. Put me out of my misery.”
He cupped my face, and I panted against the weight of my panic.
“Two words can set us both free. Then, we can—” His head whipped toward the cave’s entrance, and a growl rumbled through the air between us.
The woman who entered was a stranger to me. Her gaze landed on us, on Fenris, in the water. That thing inside me fought to rise up as she scowled.
“Fenris, you foolish pup, get out of that water before—”
“Leave now. The pup is mine.”
Her eyes widened like I’d slapped her, and she bolted for the cave opening.
Fenris’s face popped into my line of sight. His gaze flicked to my eyes, and I knew what he saw. The real me. The monster.
I swallowed hard, waiting for his damning rejection.
“You are so beautiful when you let go,” he said, instead. “Do you want to know what started this? This thing between us that you pretend you don’t want but we both know you do? Instinct. And that’s not something that can be undone.” His thumb brushed over my cheek. “Now tell me who you are?”
He said two words would set us free and, in that moment, I understood what he wanted. Acknowledgment of his claim. My heart stuttered as I whispered what he believed to be true.
“Your mate.”
CHAPTER NINE
