Taken by my mate; Second Chance

EVAD

When we pulled up to my apartment he didn’t comment on how close it was to our diner, and followed me, his hand in mine, up the stairs to my place.

“It’s adorable,” he commented, observing my wall decals and stickers on the cupboards.

It was small but I had made it my own, never planning on staying in this city long. I ran to my room, grabbing bags and tossing things I wanted and needed with zero care as to how they made it in the bag. My laptop wedged down one side to fill my first bag, a second suitcase entirely of clothes, and then I grabbed one more for Sequoia.

Ambrose remained quiet, helping me pack things I handed him into the bags quickly and passing me things from higher shelves. I was grateful for the silence that let me focus. Everything had hit the fan so quickly and my mind flopped between willingly entering apackand leaving Ambrose.

Still, I was in a hurry to leave. Only a handful of people had ever been to my house from work, but I didn’t expect them to keep quiet if Sal’s men questioned them. I quickly grabbed a dress and slipped it over what I was wearing. I’d bathe in a lake when we got there if that’s all there was but I wasn’t going to sit in the car in basically lingerie when I already had a hard time resisting him.

“Is that all?” He asked when I was through and bent to reached for Sequoia.

I nodded. “I’ll have my movers pack up the rest and get it out of here. I can collect it later if I need to, but there’s nothing here of any importance.

“Your movers?”

I nodded. “I move often. One company knows my family well. They always handle our things.”

He seemed content with this answer for now and picked up all my bags for me. I wanted to offer to help, but honestly my mind was still buzzing through my house to make sure I didn’t forget anything. At the last minute I grabbed an old book I rarely touched anymore and clutched it in my arms while Sequoia moved to lay around my neck like a scarf. I had been wrong, this book wasveryimportant, but I worried about the risk in having it with me.

We got back into his car and he took off, telling me he lived in Ceciel. I was happy I had grabbed my entire container of medical stuff and popped some anti-nausea meds right away.

He stopped for food before leaving the city, and I made my necessary phone calls while he filled up his gas tank. When he got back in the car he also had an ice bag for my neck and examined it more closely.

“We have doctors at my home. They can make sure nothing is damaged and give you something for the bruising.” I garbled words of appreciation and he smiled at me, gently kissing my lips again.

I leaned into it, moaning slightly at the sparks that flew between us. Nothing felt as good as him, but I couldn’t get close enough with the gear shifter between us. Sequoia had found her comfy place on top of my bags in the backseat and we set back off on the road.

I saw his mouth move like he was nervous to speak and waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts. “There is one thing about my pack…. we don’t normally bring humans on the land, not unless they’ve been marked as our mate. I don’t want to push you, and I will talk to our Alpha that an exception be…”

“You can do it.” The words came from my mouth so suddenly they surprised even me.

He looked widely at me too, between keeping his eyes on the road. “Can what?”

“Mark me. I trust you.” I breathed and then my heart began racing. “Besides, my mom told me of a way to break the bond of you change your mind. I know not being a wolven and marking me means you’re stuck with such a weak mate…”

“Don’t you ever say such nonsense! You are perfect in every way and I would never think of breaking our bond because you are not wolven.” He seemed angry at my words, but not at me, at the idea that the thought had even crossed my mind and made me feel less than to be with him.

I nodded slightly. “Okay… but Ambrose, you should know,” I bit my lip, knowing I should tell him at least this much, “I can’t have children. Not that I don’t like kids, but I physically can’t. If you marked me….”

“That is not a factor in my affections,” he said quickly then took a big breath, let it ride, and blew it out. “I’m sorry for yelling before. It is your choice. You can decide before we enter my territory, but no matter what I’ll protect you.”

I pried one of his hands off the steering wheel and took it in mine. “Thank you Ambrose.”

He squeezed my hand and smiled, “always.”

He then put on my playlist, returned his hand to mine, and let the music take over everything in my head.

-

I must have drifted off because the next thing I was aware of was his hand brushing my hair from my face and him calling my name.

“Evadiene, we’re here. We’re just outside of our boundary.”

I stirred and sat up adjusting my dress that had ridden up on my hips and slipped sideways around my top. The road was more of a worn trail through the wood and everything around us gave no signs of a house being nearby.

“How far is it ?” I asked, rolling down the window for fresh air. The breeze through the trees was heavenly.

“About twenty minutes by car, but once we cross here they’ll know I’m back. I need to know if you want to enter as my mate or as a friend seeking sanctuary. I’m sorry, I know it’s a weird distinction, but for my people it’s important.” I could tell he hated posing me such a question but I looked into his eyes.

“You‘re only seen a taste of the trouble I get myself into. Areyouready to claim that?” I asked instead, almost hoping he would make the hard choice I was too weak to.

Instead he breathed heavily and his eyes began to darken. “More than anything.”

He got out of the car and came to pull me to stand with him, his eyes still darker than normal when he asked, “are you sure?”

I nodded, biting my lips. “Yes, I’ll enter as your mate.”

My heart was so happy at the true words I had spoken and I was able to convince myself that I had been alone long enough. Surely I had paid my time and deserved some happiness, even if it was only for the limited time that wolven lived. I pleaded with myself and the universe that all of my deals and everything Fate controlled would let me have this man.

He looked cautiously excited now. “I have to bite you, to mark you as mine so the other males know to stay away.”

I looked down for a moment, but then back to his eyes. “Will it hurt?”

He gave me a sad smirk. “Only for a moment, and then I will make it feel better.”

I nodded again and our eyes locked like this was the last time I’d see them like this. He crushed his lips into mine, rough and needy, like he was trying to convey that this was his first act of worship to me. Ambrose moved his lips down my cheek, over my jaw and to my ear, pulling it into his mouth and letting me hear him reciprocating my moans of pleasure.

I felt a warm tongue trail down my neck to the crook and then he licked and sucked on the skin there. If my knees hadn’t already gone weak from his attention to my ear this would have sent me down, but his arm wrapped around me and pressed my chest to his. I clenched my legs together, already feeling a warmth move there with just this much, but then I felt the sharp sting of his teeth and everything was more.

Pain seared through my skin and I gasped out loud, my hands flying to the back of his head and into his hair. At first I wanted to pull him away from me, but as his owns hands moved through my hair and pushed me from my lower back toward him the pain subsided. The pain ebbed into a warm safe feelingand I let out a cool breath beside his ear.

This was what he had meant about marking me as his, but Ifeltlike his now. I could feel his love and affection like it was my own as his teeth retreated he returned to licking and sucking the skin.

“I can feel your emotions too,” he mewed against my skin. “And it makes me happy that we feel the same.”

His hands moved to cup under my ass, lifting me up against the car and I wrapped my legs around him. The feelings he gave me through that mark on my neck left me feeling drunk and needy. My limbs around him tightened, needing him to touch me at as many spots as our bodies could physically manage. Soft gasps and moans escaped my lips even as my head started to feel heavy and tired.

He slowed his movements, migrating his lips back to mine, pressing against them firmly several times before pulling back and resting his forehead to mine. My body demanded more but my chest was panting from the breathless feeling he gave me.

“We will always have time for more, but now we should go see the Alpha.” His head drifted to look down the road where two wolves as big as horses stood staring at us.

It had been averylong time since I had seen a shifted wolven, and they hadn’t been happy to see me then. I had visions of their sharp teeth and claws coming for me, and my weak body without the presence of my phoenix unable to do anything in my defence.

I wrapped my arms tighter around him. “Don’t let me go,” I whispered in his ear.

He chuckled lightly. “It’s okay. That’s McLain and Jared, members of my pack on patrol. They’ll walk in with us.”