Page 74 of Hawke

Hawke

“Icanbecomejustlike you?” A look of intense excitement and delight twinkled in her eyes.

Had she not heard that she could die in the process?

My wolf snorted. His arousal was at the forefront of his mind. He didn’t care about the repercussions that could put our mate in the cold dirt. No, he wanted to fuck her senseless and rut her into oblivion.

I wanted it too, but we had to think this through.

“Did you not hear what I just said?” I moved closer, my head tilted, and our lips connected in a loving kiss.

“Yeah!” Her body jolted, pushing me back harder than I thought her capable of. “I can be a wolf shifter, just like you! What color would I be? Would I get to run in the woods and prance around and hunt tiny defenseless animals and have them become my prey?” She rubbed her hands together excitedly.

“Damn, sexy as hell,” my wolf whispered.

I shook my head. “No, Dede, do you realize what could happen? You may not survive your first shift! Some shifters can’t even survive it. What about a human?” I looked up and down her body. She was petite in the weight department. She was taller than most human females, but she lacked muscle, she looked like she might be anemic. I’d never seen her eat much red meat. She was lacking the proper nutrition.

“And whose fault was that?”my wolf snipped.

While she rambled about how amazing it would be to be just like me, I jumped off the bed and opened the door. Bram had left a tray of food on the floor just outside.

I didn’t like to have to rely on others for food, but like Grim, I had become helpless while taking care of my mate. I needed a pack. I needed the strength from my brothers, but Delilah and I were both weak from stretching the bond so thin.

And part of me didn’t want to call them to ask for help. I hadn’t asked Locke for permission to leave the club, and I also didn’t want to know if Journey hadn’t made her shift.

With great care, I lifted the tray and put it on the bed. Delilah was animatedly waving her hands around as she described what she would do if she could take on the form of a wolf. Running, frolicking, jumping over logs, the small things that I took for granted when I was a younger wolf. I did nothing but train to be worthy of my father’s expectations.

All of it was for nothing because of his untimely death at the Royal Court, along with my mother, since their bond was strong. And on top of that, my former mate rejected me.

I pulled the plate of eggs, sausage, waffles, and hash browns from the tray and then held out my hand for Delilah to come closer to me. She prattled on as she sat on my lap. I picked up the fork and enticed her to eat. Her mouth opened in response, her eyes closing and moaning at the taste of the buttery eggs.

My wolf purred in happiness that my mate would eat the food we were feeding her. It was a great honor to feed your mate, and Delilah took it all so willingly. Between bites, she tried to speak, but I coaxed her to eat.

The tea he’d left smelled bitter. I smelled it once more to be sure there would be no poisons that would hurt my mate and then dumped a heavy helping of sugar into the liquid.

She smiled, knowing how she liked her tea. She couldn’t stand anything bitter, or healthy for that matter. It had been hard over the years to get her to eat any sort of vegetables.

Delilah took it willingly, though. She was completely submissive, which caught me by surprise. She has always been strong, independent, and even more so with my rejection.

But with the bond and goddess helping me, I had a chance to win her over. If Journey’s claims were true that the Goddess had spoken to her, then maybe she was speaking to my mate as well.

That could be the voice speaking to her.

My cock was stiff in my sweats. My balls felt heavy with the need to release the tension building inside. There was no question that she could feel it. She continued to move in different directions, her ass sweeping across the obvious bulge. Each movement caused a groan to leave my chest, but she continued to speak as if she couldn’t feel it.

I wanted her to become like me. I wanted her to experience the fullness of the bond that I felt for her.

But to mark her, knot her, only for it to end up in disappointment would devastate me. She didn’t deserve a short life. She deserved a long one.

As I fed my mate the last portion of food, I licked the side of her mouth where a small crumb lay. She smiled, and her hand rested on my cheek.

“Do you not think I am strong enough? Or do you not want me to be your forever?” she asked solemnly.

“Damn, I felt that stab my heart,”my wolf whimpered.

I put the plate down on the side table. My fingers brushed through her hair so I could see the entirety of her face. She was hopeful, she always was. She looked for the good and was optimistic about everything in life. Yet here I was, the pessimistic one, looking for the bad in everything.

“I want you. I’ve wanted you despite my actions. I’ve only done what I’ve done because I wanted you protected. I don’t want your life cut short because of me.”

---