Page 72 of Mated to the Enemy
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“What?”
He tried not to laugh, but he did anyway. The buildup of tension in her neck and around her jaw had been unmistakable. The tenseness of her knees gave away her readiness to run. This was not at all what she’d been expecting to hear from him.
“How much do you know about shifters and their mates?” he asked slowly, not wanting to overwhelm her.
“Not much. My sister is apparently mated to a wolf. I never really asked what that meant, I just assumed it was a term you used interchangeably withloved one,boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.”
“It’s all of those, and much more,” he confessed, watching her face for the reaction.
“How?”
He tried not to let his relief at her willingness to listen show through. When he’d left the room, Klaue had been well aware of what she was planning to do. It had become evident in the way she spoke, her body language, just everything. On top of that, he knew her better than she thought, and he’d been able to read her like a book. Jessica wasn’t thinking good things about herself, and she was getting ready to sacrifice herself in the hopes it would set her sister free.
Nothing of the sort would happen, not with Canis acting the way they were lately. Klaue knew he had to stop her before she did anything drastic, but using force was out of the question. If he restrained her, it would destroy any trust the two of them may have been building. That left only one option; showing her what she truly was.
“Mates aren’t chosen at random,” he said. “Human pairings are often random chance. With shifters though, there is something that bonds us together with another person.” He hesitated. “Andonlyone other person.”
“You only ever have one mate? Is that what you mean?”
He nodded. “Yes, and that person is you. We are destined to be mated.”
“How can you know that for sure?” she countered.
“The Hunter told me. He can…sense, the strings that bind us together. It was he who was with me at the gates. We weren’t there by chance.”
Jessica lifted her eyebrows. “You were waiting for me.”
He nodded.
“So you were stalking me.”
Klaue rolled his eyes. “Not in the slightest, and you know that. I never forced you to stay. Heck, I didn’t force you to crash your car outside my house.”
Jessica walked across the length of his quarters, processing the information. “But youdidknow about this…this mating thing.”
“Yes,” he admitted. “Don’t tell me you haven’t felt anything. That things between us didn’t seem to work smoother than any other relationship you’ve been in before. I know you aren’t blind, I know you felt it too. I didn’t force you into anything.”
“Maybe, but why tell me now?” she said, brushing aside his point.
“Because you need to know I’m not going anywhere.”
She smiled. “I know. But I am. I’m leaving, Klaue. I’m going to turn myself in, in exchange for my sister’s life.”
“They’ll never do it. They’ll kill both of you.”
“And if I stay here, they’ll kill both of us eventuallyanda bunch of you. What would you have me do?”
“Tell me what you know,” he said strongly. “And if you won’t do that, then at least don’t fight me when I say I’m coming with you.”
Jessica frowned, pulling at her hair in confusion. “You just said you weren’t going anywhere.”
“I meant in regard to you. Not physically. I’ll go wherever you go.”
“Why?”
He snorted. “To give you the best possible chance to run away when they turn on you. Which they will.”
