Page 10 of Wounded Mate
Bela
Maybe I’mdead after all because surely the man kneeling in front of me can’t be real. He’s too perfect.
Too beautiful.
Too absolutelymineto exist.
If this is the afterlife, it’s better than I could have imagined.
His palm on my shoulder is warm and gentle. I want to curl up in his embrace and sleep forever. As he leans in, I catch his scent. Perfumed. Sweet like roses and spicy like cloves. I want to lick him to see if he tastes as lovely as he smells.
I’ve met other wolves who’ve found their mates. They all say they knew right away, as I know now. I never thought it would happen to me, this magic, but here he is, kneeling over me, a concerned expression across his handsome features.
His brilliant red hair is slicked back and gathered at his elegant nape. Even in the low light, it shines. Sapphire eyes full of sparkle gaze upon me with no hint of revulsion.
He’s inspecting all the places where skin meets fur, and he’s not shying away. If only I were whole, I’d sweep him off his feet and never put him down.
Except the more I sniff, the more I realize he isn’t a werewolf. I don’t know what he is. Human maybe? But he’s so ethereal I get the sense he’s something well beyond simple human. It’s odd for a werewolf to find his mate in another creature, but not unheard of. It happened to the other mongrel with a vampire of all beings.
“It must hurt very badly,” he says, and his voice is as sweet as the rest of him. A soft tenor. I could listen to it all day. “But don’t worry. We’ll bring you to safety. We’ll take care of you.”
Though I hear his words, they’re unimportant when the only thing I can think is “Mate.”
“So you’ve said.” He offers a radiant smile and curls his fingers in mine. “But how do you know?”
“You don’t?” Around us, the other two are moving and speaking to each other, but I can’t pay them any attention when my mate is right in front of me.
My mate.
“I don’t know,” he says gently. “I never thought I’d have a mate. It doesn’t make much sense, considering.”
Considering what?I frown. He hasn’t rejected me. Doesn’t look like he’s going to. But why doesn’t he know we’re meant for each other as I know it? I thought that was the way these things were supposed to work.
“Ssh, it’s all right.” He strokes my cheek with his free hand, and I stop the mournful whimper I hadn’t meant to start. “Perhaps we are mates. It’s just, well, I’m surprised.”
So am I.
“But”—his smile returns, a little crooked, one corner of his mouth lifted higher than the other, eyes glittering—“I feel something too.”
I squeeze his hand. The urge to howl for joy, to race through the woods whooping and yapping, crying out my delight, rises inside me, but I’m stuck lying here for the most momentous moment of my entire life.
Just my luck.
“Up, up.” The panther, Leonas, thumps my mate’s shoulder. “We need to move him.”
I’m grateful he came back for me like he said he would, but I don’t want to be parted from my mate for a second. I whine. Even to my own ears, it’s pathetic.
“I’m not leaving you,” he says, reading my mind. “But Leonas is right. We need to get you back before the sun comes up.”
Reluctantly I release his hand, but my eyes never leave his face as he backs out of the way.
“Take his legs,” says Leonas. “I’ll get his shoulders. Easy but quick. We don’t want to prolong the pain. Bela, you ready?”
I haven’t been paying attention, but a quick look confirms they’ve fashioned a cot for me. Out of…red velvet? Well, that’s a choice. “Ready.”
“One, two, three.” They lift.
A growl escapes my lips. I can’t help it. I’d forgotten the pain in the presence of my mate, but it comes roaring back the moment I’m moved. It feels like I’ve been chopped in half. I gasp for air and squeeze my eyes shut against the onslaught.
