Page 15 of Wolf Reborn

Abruptly he pulled back, his eyes now brown again, and filled with worry? He looked away, his brows furrowing for a second. “I should start working.” He turned his back to me and moved away.

I watched as his hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. Finally, he sighed and tapped at my bracelet. I stared at the small screen where the word ‘home’ flashed.

It was clear we were at the end of our time together, at least for today. Lucian was indeed a loner, a man who was quite comfortable without a mate in his life. As strong as our bond was, it had to compete against centuries of him being just fine without me. But now I understood why he kept to himself so much.

I knew that often, the calmest person in the room was the one with a blinding rage lying just beneath their flesh, waiting. And Lucian seemed to be that person.

It was hell for me being around him. I wanted to be with him. And that kiss just now proved he felt the same way.

One day, we’d be inseparable. But not yet. I was sure he wanted to claim me. But at least for now, he wasn’t going to risk hurting me.

And I was fine with that. I understood now, so I wasn’t going to rush things. After all, we’d only met last night.

Our bond would always be between us, even if we weren’t ready to act on it yet. But in the meantime, it made sense for us to be friends, to know each other and find a balance. I knew it would take some time, but we had lots of it here. An eternity, in fact.

* * *

Lucian

Iknew Natalie had only been joking, but the thought of someone ‘hitting on her’ at the ball made me angry. And since it tended to be disastrous for the people around me when I got angry, I usually stayed away from anything that triggered my fury.

And now that I’d met my mate, I knew that some things—like a simple joke—would upset me more than they should.

The moment she’d uttered those words, my wolf had burst forward, luckily not strong enough to make me claim her then and there as a lesson for even thinking about what she’d said.

I wasn’t that kind of man. I wasn’t going to assert my dominance over her. Controlling the power surging inside me was something I’d had centuries to learn. And yet, in a matter of hours, Natalie’s presence had thrown me off balance.

I hadn’t been able to sleep last night after returning from Natalie’s house. I kept reminding myself that the only way to fix this situation was to keep her at arm’s length, at least until I found a way to break our bond or until the Goddess woke up. But every time I saw her, I had to fight against my overwhelming urge to claim her.

Maybe my driving urge to mark her and be done with it was so strong because I’d starved myself of affection for so long. Whatever it was, I was genuinely afraid of what might happen to her if I lost control.

When the Goddess made me, the process wasn’t perfect. I was the first, after all.

For one thing, she’d given me too much divinity. I’d survived, but it had left some scars. And dealing with all of that power before I’d learned control had led me to hurt others and myself.

I placed my hand over my chest, feeling the ring beneath my shirt. I’d hurt—killed—people I loved. I wasn’t going to add Natalie to the list.

I preferred to go without having her in my life than having her blood on my hands. Or worse, her dying a soul-death. But how long could I keep this up? I’d thought taking things slowly, guarding my heart, and doing the bare minimum to appease our bond would be enough. But I was wrong.

I wanted her.

I entered my office at the temple and closed the door, my claws digging into my palm. “You can’t have her,” I growled. “You know you can’t.”

I raked my fingers through my hair, feeling as if I was being ripped in two. A pulse escaped my body and suddenly, my desk flew backwards, shattering against the wall.

I watched the pieces fall as energy vibrated through my body. I tapped at my bracelet to arrange for a replacement, then sighed. We couldn’t always have what we wanted—in this case, it would be incredibly dangerous—so I had no choice. I had to keep looking for a way to break our bond.

I felt horrible leading her on, having her believe all was well between us. But at least she now understood that my anger wasn’t something to be tested.

I would never hurt her. But I couldn’t say the same about my wolf.

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