He closed his eyes and let her voice soothe his hungry wolf. He was hungry for her attention, affection, anything. But his wolf was a patient hunter, and listening to her voice would suffice until she was ready to givehimmore.
“I know you’re not stupid,” she said. “I’ve been avoiding you, or at least attempting to. Your tenacity isimpressive.”
Ciro smiled to himself, and he imagined it looked creepy on awolf’sface.
“I’ve got a lot of baggage, Ciro. It’s heavy and suffocating, and no one should have to take it on just because they have a supernatural bond. And if my baggage wasn’t enough, I’ve got serious hang-ups about men. Doesn’t matter if they become a wolf or not. When it comes to the opposite sex, all I have are negative memories. That probably isn’t what you want to hear, but you needtoknow.”
Ciro listened as she told him that she didn’t want to or couldn’t be with him because of her past. His heart ached for her. He didn’t have to know the details to understand what she was saying. She’d had very, very few positive encounters with men. Quite possibly the only positive experiences she’d had were after meeting the wolvesandfae.
But it pained him she wouldn’t let him help her bear her burdens. That’s what mates did. They took care of each other. She’d more than likely never seen a healthy relationship between a male and a female. She wouldn’t understand the dynamics between two flawed people who chose to love each other despite their flaws. It was something he would have toshowher.
As they sat in companionable silence, Ciro considered the things he would need to do in order to claim his mate. He would need to show her through his actions he was not like the men she’d known over the course of her short life. He must teach her a different way to have a relationship than what she’d seen. He would have to move at her pace and pay close attention to her reactions. Ciro could feel Stella’s anxiety, her need to run because she was afraid. Ciro knew he wouldn’t get a second chance with her. He had to get it right thefirsttime.
* * *
Elle frownedat the Alpha as she sat across from him in the living room of Peri’s home. It was late, or early, however you wanted to look at it. Sorin sat next to her, his hand rubbing up and down her back in a soothinggesture.
“Don’t you think you should have some sort of plan in place for when the spell dissipates?” sheaskedhim.
Lucian shrugged. “You’re acting like this is something new, Elle. Our species has been claiming true mates for centuries. It’s in our blood. They’ve all survived it, and those three women up there”—he pointed toward the stairs—“will survive itaswell.”
“But…” Elle began, but he cutheroff.
“They won’t hurt their mates. You know this. Will they be a little overwhelming? Probably. But the Great Luna doesn’t make mistakes, and she put each of them with the male that was perfect for them. I think they can handle themselves without myinterference.”
Elle understood what he was saying, but she still didn’t like it. She stood and headed for the stairs.“Give me a minute,”she told Sorin throughtheirbond.
“I’ll be waiting for you,”he said, pushing the feelings of adoration he had for intohermind.
She should trust the mate bond to protect the girls, but she’d grown to care for them, and she hated that they were just being tossed into something sointense.
When she made it to the hall, she rolled her eyes. Three huge wolves were laying side by side, heads on their paws, staring up at the closed door where their matesslept.
“You do realize that this is bordering on pathetic, right?” sheaskedthem.
They huffed at her but paid her no more mindthanthat.
Elle grabbed the doorknob of the room and nearly laughed as their three heads came up as if they were attached to the same puppet strings. She shook her head at them and then entered the room, closing the door behind her. She didn’t lock it. There would be no point. A little lock would not keep the big, bad wolves out if theywantedin.
She wasn’t surprised to find the three gypsy healers huddled in a circle on the floor furthest from the door. Stella had a pillow in her lap and was chewing on the inside of her lip. Heather was running her fingers across a book, and, Elle realized when she got closer, that it was written in braille. Kara was laying on her back with her feet pointing toward the door. She had earbuds in place and was bobbing her head up and down to awildbeat.
Elle walked over and sat on the nearest bed. When Kara opened her eyes, she removed her earbuds and sat up. “Hey,Elle.”
“Hey ladies,” Elle said, sounding more tired than shewantedto.
Heather’s head popped up. “You don’t sound like you’re here to give us apeptalk.”
Elle laughed quietly. “No pep talk. But I did want to see how you all wereholdingup.”
Stella shrugged. “It’s not like they’re going to club us over the head and drag us by our hair to their den,right?”
“No, I don’t believe they will do that. I do, however, want you all to be prepared for the intensity that is a Canis lupus male. They don’t really know how to do things slowly. I’m not saying they’re going to push you into anything you don’t want, by any means. I am saying that if you need space, you can’t hint at it and expect them tocatchon.”
“So you’re saying we need to go billboard on their arses?” Heatherasked.
“Billboard?” Elleasked.
“Arses?” Karaadded.
