Page 9 of The Silent Mate

“Goddess, help me,” I groaned, collapsing back on the bed and staring at the ceiling.

I refused to accept rejection from my mate. Of course, the circumstances of our first meeting were awkward, and it didn’t help that we couldn’t effectively communicate. But surely hecouldn’t give up on our fated bond after a measly fifteen minutes in my company?

Turning my head toward the door, I considered exiting the room. He’d locked the door from the outside, meaning I could still leave. Surely it wouldn’t be too difficult to locate that hulking mountain-of-a-man inside this place?

I chewed on my inner cheek.No, this castle is freakin’ enormous. Not to mention it’s filled with dozens of equally enormous and intimidating shifters.I shivered and decided to stay in the room, like Malik’s note ordered.

But if I kept staring at the door, I would go insane. Even more, I felt pathetic—like a lost puppy waiting at the window for its owner to return.

No, that’s not me.

My mate wouldn’t reject me. I wouldn’t allow it.

Instead of sulking, it was time to make myself at home.

MALIK

Every fiber in my body itched to be reunited with my little dove.

I’d spent the better part of fourfuckinghours by my brother’s side, wasted discussing plans for his next campaign to expand his control over the region. He sensed my agitation, no doubt, and decided to keep the advisors gathered for an hour longer than usual.

I saw it in Roman’s eyes. That familiar glimmer of smug arrogance that always filled his eyes—our father’s eyes—when he wanted to make a show of his power. He asserted his authority when he felt threatened, as if he liked to remind me ofwhoour father appointed as heir.

As if I could ever forget.

I knew he felt threatened today. When I marked my claim on little Aria and snatched her from beneath his nose. Although he’d been forced to submit to the laws of a fated mate bond, Roman wanted me to know that he would never bow tome.

I didn’t need the reminder. I simply needed to return to my mate.

With every moment spent away from the girl, my chest tightened with an innate, primal need to claim her. To protect what wasmine.

By now, every soul in theIntonat NoctePack had undoubtedly heard about what transpired in the throne room. Word traveled unfathomably fast among shifters who shared a mind-link. Only a handful of my pack mates—friends that had known me since boyhood and were not afraid to approach—dared to congratulate me on my newfound status as a mated male.

Fated mates were a blessing from the Moon Goddess, and some shifters spent their entire lives searching for that bond. Mine had walked, unknowingly and unwittingly, right into mine.

For the first time in my life, the Moon Goddess had granted me somethinggood.

And I’d abandoned her in my damn bedroom.

I stalked the hallway of the second floor, spearing toward the door that I never visited more than once a month. Maybe less.

I already had the key in hand when I arrived at the door but paused at the threshold. Holding my breath, I listened for any sounds coming from within the room.Nothing.

My pulse quickened at the thought that Aria might not be inside when I open the door. Had someone taken her? Had she run away, desperate to escape a life shackled to me?

I turned the key and pushed into the room. Immediately, the delectable combination of honeysuckle and pear rolled over me, and my body relaxed. She was here.

Although darkness shrouded the room, my eyes adjusted quickly, and I found Aria curled up on the bed. She created a lump beneath the quilt, her small body occupying a mere portion of the huge mattress. Was she asleep? Without dinner?

I heard my heartbeat pounding in my ears as I took a step into the room, quietly closing the door behind me and locking it once more. I never utilized the lock before. I never cared enough about anything in my personal space.

Slowly, I walked closer to the unmoving shape. Soft, steady exhales told me that she was truly asleep, and I willed myself to memorize the rhythm of her breaths.

As I neared, her hair glimmered a shade lighter in the moonlight that pooled in from the open curtains. It illuminated her delicate features. I studied her from the foot of the bed, not daring to take a step closer for fear that she might wake up and find me staring at her.

She possessed a dainty nose with a round tip, dusted in light freckles. Her lashes were surprisingly dark given her blonde hair and light skin tone, resting peacefully on high cheekbones. In her sleep, her lips took on a pucker, leaving the smallest gap between each full petal.

Beautiful.My own mouth parted at the sight.

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