“Oh, did that offend you?” He placed a hand on his chest. “I apologize.”
“I get that you’re pissed, confused, and whatever else you want to throw in there.” Dad had treated me like nothing my entire life, and I refused to let anyone else do that. That cycle ended here and now. “But if you talk to me like that one more time, I’ll make sure you don’t ever do it again.”
“What?” Donovan leaned away from me. “You going to bite me again?”
He might as well have kicked me in the gut. “Really? That’s how this is going to be between us?”
He didn’t answer me, just leaned his head back to look at the sky again.
“You do realize if I hadn’t bitten you, you’d be dead right now.” He wanted to mourn and think about all the things he was going to miss out on. “You can go back to college when it’s over. You can still live.”
“With an animal inside me.” He huffed. “I can’t chance hurting someone.”
“Your wolf has been there the entire time.” I closed the distance between us and stood in front of him. “This isn’t a brand-new thing.”
“Maybe, but it’s brushing against my mind.” His jaw clenched. “And it feels as if it could surge forward at any time.”
It was because they hadn’t been acquainted yet, and he needed to get his emotions in check before he turned. If he shifted now, he might not be able to shift back to his human form. “You will gain control of it. And wolves aren’t like vampires. They don’t have to feed off humans to survive.”
“Maybe not, but your dad sure doesn’t have an issue with harming people.” Donovan crossed his arms and looked disgusted. “I’m thinking wolves aren’t as innocent as you’re making them out to be.”
He had me there. Dad would hurt anyone who got in his way. Hell, he’d be looking for us now that I’d turned my back on him. He had no heir and no leverage to handpick the next alpha over his pack. “There are good supernaturals just like there are good humans.”
“And let me guess, you’re one of the good ones?” he asked mockingly, and I’d had enough.
Chapter Four
“You know what?” I took a menacing step toward him. “I’m trying to be understanding, but this is where I draw the line. I get that you didn’t ask for this, but a little respect goes a long way. Turning you was the only way to save you.”
His shoulders sagged, and he shook his head. “You’re right.” He looked at me with remorse. “I’m sorry. It’s just, I like control. I haven’t had a lot of it most of my life. Now that we’re finally out of the system … my future was finally in my hands. And I lost it all in one night.”
“You can’t actually be in control of your life.” Destiny always had her plans. “It’s a nice concept, but it’s not possible.”
“Maybe, but I feel like I’m back in foster care.” He fisted his hands. “Once again, a decision was made for me that I had no say in.”
“It’s not like I could have asked.” If he was trying to make me feel bad about what I’d done, it wouldn’t work. Being alive trumped the alternative. “You were unconscious. Would you have said no?”
“No, I wouldn’t have.” He hung his head. “You did the right thing, but dammit, it’s like I can’t make my own path.”
Humans loved the idea of free will. It was something they held dear to their hearts and one thing we supernaturals didn’t get. Good people had bad things happen to them, and on the flip side, bad people had good things. It made no sense how they could believe in free will when it was obvious there were other influences woven into their lives … into their existence. Destiny wasn’t fair. “There are things out of our control.”
“Obviously.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “And I’m taking it out on you, which isn’t right.”
“Then why are you?” If I didn’t put my foot down and stop him from using me as a punching bag, he’d think he could do it from here on out. “I wasn’t trying to rip everything away from you.”
“I know that.” He patted the spot next to him. “It’s messed up, but I can feel how much you care about me. I never had a chance to lash out before, and I’m being a complete selfish ass. But this connection between us petrifies me. It’s like the icing on the freak-out cake.”
“Freak-out cake?” I felt his remorse, which softened me some. “Really?”
“Oh, stop.” He took my hand in his. “But is it normal? To feel so drawn to you.”
“Yeah, that’s how fated mates are.” Thank God he still felt our connection. I wasn’t sure how I could have survived if he’d moved on and left me behind. “You felt part of the tug since you were a partial wolf, but now that you’re whole …”
“I thought it was strong before, but this …” He scooted closer to me. “It scares me.”
“Partially, it’s because we had sex.” Our mate bond was pretty much firmly attached, but we hadn’t claimed each other for everyone to know we were taken. It was probably a good thing because, if he was struggling now, then us completing our bond would make things harder on him. “Our bond is pretty much intact, and then you got changed, so it’s more intense than it was a week ago.”
“Pretty much intact?” His brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“For it to be officially sealed, we have to claim each other.” It felt good talking to him like this. Our wolves intermingled, and he wasn’t overflowing with anger.
“How do we claim each other? What the hell does that mean?”
“It just means we bite each other and our scents intermingle.” It probably sounded so weird to him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t freak out again. “That alerts all other shifters that we’re off the market.”
“But you bit me,” Donovan said with confusion. “Doesn’t that count?”
“No, not really.” My cheeks were growing warm, which was stupid. “It has to be consensual and is followed by cementing the bond. Most couples that bypass a ceremony do it during sex. It’s way more intimate that way.”
“Oh, okay.” He turned his body toward me. “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”
“Because you’d just found out you were part wolf, and I didn’t want to scare you away.” Now that I said that, it sounded a little crazy. Instead, I’d bitten him and turned him into a full-blown wolf. “I had hoped to ease you into it.”
“That plan went out the window.” He dropped my hand, and his body stiffened. “And I dragged Axel along with me.”
“You’re blaming yourself for Axel getting turned?”
“Yeah. He’s my best friend, and I dragged him into this mess.” His jaw clenched, and he glanced at the ground. “He’ll hate me when it’s over.”
“He isn’t freaking out like you are.” With all of the other emotions running wild, maybe that was the feeling I couldn’t put my finger on: self-loathing. “I’m thinking he’ll be just fine.”
“I’m not so sure.” He yawned and sagged a little.
“Let’s head back.” I stood and tugged him to his feet. “We all need some sleep. It’s been a very long night, and it’s almost dawn.”
“Okay,” he said and followed me toward the house.
Inside the house, everyone was still sitting in the living room. We introduced Donovan to everyone, and Lillith guided us to our rooms. Egan had a room to himself while Roxy insisted she and Axel stay together. All of our wolves were volatile and needed to be with their mates.
Make sure you don’t do anything hasty. Warning her to not rush their relationship was important. He’s still acclimating. Don’t do anything to make it worse.
Fine. She pouted as they entered their bedroom and closed the door.
I turned to Donovan. “You don’t have to stay with me if you don’t want to. We can have separate rooms.” I purposely didn’t mind link with him, not wanting to scare him.