Dalila stays silent for a while. “I don’t understand this,” she finally says.
“I know… losing a loved one—”
“No, that’s not what I meant,” she blurts out. “I mean this here”—she gestures between me and her—“is not normal. I don’t usually cling to men. I’ve had one boyfriend so far, and only because everyone deemed me weird because I wasn’t interested in anyone on more than a platonic level, but then you come along, rip your shirt off your body, and save me and my notebook and…” She groans. “This isn’t normal. Something is happening, and I don’t understand it.”
Goddess, I wasn’t aware of just how much she felt the bond and how confusing it must be for her. I know what it is. Every wolf or lycan does, and even if they haven’t experienced it yet, they know about the mate bond, making this a pleasurable, slightly scary, but wonderful experience. For her, it’s just confusing.
“And yesterday evening, I felt a sudden surge of emotions that felt foreign, like they weren’t mine,” she continues.
Damn it, she felt my emotions from the bond when I broke down in front of Henry. Oh shit, I didn’t know the bond would work like that towards humans. Actually, when mates haven’t accepted each other yet, it shouldn’t work like that at all!
That’s weird and probably something I need to discuss with my parents.
“Tony, is this normal? Is something wrong with me?”
I swallow nervously, wondering what to tell her. “Does it help if I tell you I feel the same?”
She chuckles. “But you said you were a womanizer and—”
“But I never dated anyone,” I tell her. “I never lied to a woman. I never pretended there to be more than it was. This here, it’s new for me, too.”
“It’s almost like I don’t have a choice or don’t want one,” she admits. “Like, if I even think about having to leave tomorrow, my heart gets heavy.”
“Then don’t,” I tell her. “It’s raining anyways.” Yeah, like that’s the reason, Anthony!
She chuckles. “Like I can afford this place.”
“You’re my guest,” I tell her with finality. “You don’t need to afford anything.” Besides, this is the pack house, we don’t charge our members, but I can’t possibly tell her. “And this is not some super-expensive place. I know my room looks fancy, but we own it, and my family is well off. However, this is not a luxury holiday resort. You can stay for as long as you want.” I pause. “Please stay,” I whisper.
She blinks up at me in surprise. “I’m not sure. Technically, I have rented a tiny apartment in town to do my work here, but…”
“You could check our internet security,” I point out. “If you really want to pay me back in any way. It’s not necessary though, but—”
She beams. “I could do that,” she exclaims. “If you would accept my help, I’ll accept yours.”
“Alright.” Warmth floods me at the thought that she will stay here. Now I just need to find a way to tell her that I’m a lycan, that she is my mate, and that what she feels isn’t anything creepy but the mate bond.
I’m momentarily distracted by her silver-gray eyes looking at me, though, and allow my hands to trace over her cheek, feeling the soft skin and brushing my thumb over her lips. Her own fingers start driving through my hair. She pulls me closer, the look in her eyes confused but also longing.
“I don’t understand this,” she whispers before she pulls me into a kiss.
Her lips are plump and soft, and I know instantly I can never kiss any other lips. It’s hers or no one’s. Wrapping my arms around her, I deepen our kiss, willing my instincts down and kissing her as gently as possible.
Waking up to my mate is magical. I thought it would never happen to me, and I was settling for the thought of looking for a chosen mate. I’m appreciating this more now. It doesn’t matter to me that I need to court her or that she is a human. She is perfect.
She might not know yet what’s going on, though her instincts push her towards me. I’m starting to believe it’s impossible for all of this to be a coincidence. The storm and rain are still going strong, making it impossible for her to even leave. Actually, the weather literally chased her into my arms.
And she feels the mate bond stronger than even a normal werewolf would feel it. We need to accept each other as mates for the bond to strengthen. It’s said to be a prevention from the Moon Goddess to stop one party from deliberately taking advantage of the other.
We have breakfast together, and the dining room is emptier than usual. I assume it’s probably Mom’s doing to make it all less suspicious. Dalila does seem to wonder about it, though. Dad’s right; I need to tell her somehow, or she will think we are some weird cult at one point.
After breakfast, Elise and Elodie lure Dalila away, leaving Henry and me. I’m worried about letting her out of my sight, but it’s still raining like crazy, so they are going to stay inside. Elise said she wanted to show her the leisure room with the retro arcade games and then further show her the indoor swimming pool.
I sigh a bit, already missing her, before shifting my attention to my brother. “You marked Elodie,” I say with a smile. I saw it first thing when we arrived for breakfast but obviously didn’t want to comment on it in front of Dalila.
“Yes.” He looks flustered but happy.
“Congrats, bro!” I look at him curiously. “And now tell me what you want to talk to me about. There is no way you had the twins lure my mate away so that you’re alone with me for no reason.”