Page 26 of Owning His Mate

“Stop grabbing me all the time.” I want to snap at him, but it comes out kind of breathy.

“Then stop running away from me. I understand this is a lot to take in. It’s a lot for me too. Do you think I woke up that morning expecting to find my fated mate? I was fine going through life alone.”

There is something in the way he says this that makes my stomach dip unpleasantly. I know nothing about him. Whatbrought Kye to Callum’s group? No one would choose this path, not unless they had been driven to it, or forced, in the case of tau wolves.

What kind of pain has he gone through? What have I dismissed about him by only focusing on my own past?

This is all just so confusing. His overbearing behavior makes me push back, but I haven’t considered there may be a reason for it. Was he mated before me? Has he lost someone to the Order? Questions assault my mind, but now isn’t the time to ask them. We both need to focus so we can stay alive long enough to save others like us.

I soften my voice. There is an ugly feeling of guilt spreading through me, but I still counter with, “I haven’t asked you to take care of me.”

“I know, but I’m going to anyway.”

Okay, that makes my insides melt a little and I suddenly get a little choked up.

“We’d better get moving,” I say, my voice tight.

“Please stay close to me, no matter what happens, okay?”

I don’t fight back this time. Instead, I nod.

As we walk down the streets of this small town, I’m on high alert. I can’t scent anything unusual, nor can I smell or sense magic in the air, but that doesn’t mean the Order isn’t here. They’re good at covering their tracks, so we have to be vigilant.

As much as I don’t want to admit it, I do feel better with Kye at my side. I know I’m not strong enough to face a full-grown wolf or man alone. I tried that in the past, and I hadn’t come out on top. My trust in others might be eroded, but that tells me I can put my faith in Kye, who is walking beside me, looming like a skyscraper. There is this inexplicable pull toward him, as if he has me on a rope, tugging me to him. I can’t deny my attraction to him, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s only because of the bond.

“You’re thinking too hard,” he remarks, his eyes scanning the street we’re making our way down.

“I’m surprised you know what that looks like. Have you ever had a single thought in your life other than wanting to fuck me?”

He snorts at my bitchiness. “If this is the method you’re planning on using to push me away, you will have to find another. This will not work.”

“We’ll see,” I mutter.

He keeps close to me as we make our way along the sidewalk. I sneak glances at his profile, trying to decide if I would be drawn to him if we’d met under normal circumstances.

“It’s the lack of choice that bothers you,” he says suddenly.

“What could possibly bother me about being forced into a relationship with an overbearing maniac who only wants me because magic tells him so?”

Kye stops walking and my footsteps falter too. “Is that what you think?”

“It’s true. You would never choose someone like me if you were given the option.”

His head tilts to the side. “Someone like you?”

I snort at his attempt at deflection. “You wanted to be stuck with an abomination of nature?”

His expression falters. “Apryle, that’s not what you are.”

“It’s not? I’m neither one thing nor another. I’m too witch to be wolf, but too wolf to be witch, and neither side is strong enough on its own. I’m a failure of evolution, Kye, and you can’t pretend that’s not the case.”

There is sadness in my tone, and I hate that it makes me sound weak. I shouldn’t care what anyone thinks of me, but I still find myself wanting the approval of others.

“If you’re a failure, then so am I. Vargr wolves aren’t exactly welcome in most packs.”

“Being unwelcome isn’t the same as being hunted down and killed or forced to breed because of your genetics.”

“No, it’s not, and it shouldn’t be happening, but it’s not just tau the Order are targeting.” It’s not. Jackson is vargr and had been a prisoner. Other vargr wolves and full-blooded shifters were also taken by that bunch of maniacs. “I’m never going to let that happen to you, Apryle.”

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