Page 48 of Banished Mates
It was enough. If I’d learned anything in the last few weeks, it was that I couldn’t live without her, even if it meant forcing her to face her feelings.
I’d bided my time. I went along with Torrin’s orders as he sent me away to do one thing or another, convincing myself that it would be soon. And she’d slipped from my hands. I wouldn’t allow her to push me awaywhenI found her. There was no if. I had enough of acting like we hadn’t fucked so good I’d never touched another because I could revisit the scene over and over, and it kept me satisfied.
But enough was enough.
I had to find her and if I didn’t, that was it for me. At least I was somewhere I could easily end it. I had no desire to continue without her.
I tensed at the sound of huffing and clicking teeth. My ears twitched to listen for the direction it came from. I’d been on her trail. Or at least I’d thought I had been, but then the snowstorm came and wiped all traces I’d scented. Snow was a fucking nuisance.
My wolf was on edge, and on top of being an ornery type, his frustration didn’t help dampen mine, but he’d been especially itchy these last few days.
I’d had to hunker down in a small cave to wait out the blizzard and I counted it as wasted time. As soon as I was able, I’d hunt, but at this point, I was going in circles. Or at least it felt that way on this vast fucking land.
I took a sharp turn and picked up the pace, letting my wolf rush forward and take the reins. His excitement bled into me, overtaking my flesh and causing my stride to widen. It took my human mind a second to comprehend what delicious scent we caught.
Familiar, yet not. It was stronger, more intense—mine. I sped up.
Weaving around a snowy knoll, I bounded over a fallen log and careened to a halt, snow spitting up around me.
My lungs stopped functioning and I froze before shifting into my human form in my excitement. My wolf clawed at my insides and I stumbled forward.
Please don’t let this be an illusion.
I shook my head and blinked hard as the girl tossed a shoe to the side and hopped on her bare foot to reach for the other.
Here she wasfinally.
She turned, a huge smile fixed on her face. Her scent filled my senses, and I fell to my knees, panting.
I found her. Days, weeks had passed without her.
And she was my mate.
I sucked in a hard breath as the ground shook.
Willow was mine.
A ragged exhale exploded from my chest as achildish grin fixed on her lips as she looked through the trees.
How the fuck was she so happy while I’d suffered looking for her?
It was an illogical jealous response, of course, I didn’t want to find her suffering, or worse, dead, but the intense churning in my gut overwhelmed my senses.
As soon as her gaze met mine, she exhaled with a heavy puff, eyebrows raising high on her forehead.
“Camden?” she mouthed and lifted her hands to her chest. She stumbled forward and my ire faded. I caught her before she fell into the snow.
My arms wrapped around her torso so tightly she grunted. A few beats passed as I absorbed the heat from her body. It seeped into my flesh and thawed the iced over organ that had stopped functioning properly when she went missing. I clasped her face, shuddering at the feel of her skin.
She inhaled deeply, eyes fluttering as she swayed toward my chest.
My cock throbbed at the visual of her enjoying my scent. My mate was as enthralled as I was.
I squeezed her face so tightly her lips pouted. I had a severe urge to squeeze her tighter and keep her glued to me.
Her scent overpowered my nostrils. It was still her but slightly different and... she was a wolf?
How was that possible? No one shifted past eighteen and she was already twenty-six. There was no way she’d been able to shift when she disappeared into that male’s car.
