“Why the hell not?” Kara growled at him. “You keep giving me the same material, Nick. It’s time that you come up with something new. Reruns aren’t my thing.”
Nick’s wolf clamped the man’s mouth shut. No matter how angry he got, the wolf would not allow him to say anything that might cause their mate pain. She’d endured enough in her life. But the man’s frustration with her was at an all-time high. She just couldn’t leave it alone. “We’ve been over this, Kara,” he said when his wolf finally released its hold on him. “You’re not ready.”
Kara whirled around so fast he was surprised she didn’t give herself whiplash. “Who the hell are you to tell me what Iamoram notready for?” She took a step toward him, her finger pointed. If that finger had been a gun, he thought she just might shoot him. Not to kill, but maybe just to wound him. “I am a grown woman. I am not the seventeen-year-old girl you met over a year ago. I’m eighteen, legally an adult.And not just any eighteen-year-old. I know about the supernatural world, found out I’m a gypsy healer, then added witch to my resume. I’ve had werewolf males paraded before me like I’m at a weird courting auction. I dealt with a semi-narcissistic high fae who loved to insult people just so she didn’t have to show she cared for them. I faced off with another crazy high fae, who was completely off his rocker. I voluntarily gave up my ability to have children. And if all of that is not enough to show that I’m not a child, I willingly entered into a relationship with a bossy, possessive, growly, domineering ass-wipe. A relationship, I will remind you, that is forever. And not like a normal life span forever that humans commit to. We’re talking a long-as-hell, normal-people-would-dry-up-into-husks kind of forever. So, in conclusion…” She stepped closer to him until her pointed finger pushed into his chest. He relished the touch, even in anger. “You do not get to determine whatIam ready for.” Her words were clipped, and every single one was emphasized by a poke of her finger.
“I know all this,” Nick said before his beast could intercede.
His mate snarled at him. Okay, so maybe that hadn’t been the best thing to say. “Keep your mouth shut, human,” his wolf snapped at him.
Kara threw her hands up in the air and turned away from him. It was a motion he was very familiar with considering she did it all of the time when talking to him. That wasn’t to say they argued every waking moment. There were times, not as many as he wanted, when she softened to him and let him hold her, kiss her, and cuddle her. And yes, he was man enough to admit he loved to cuddle with his mate. Lately, those times have grown less and less. And it was his fault.
Nick watched her with an intensity that humans would no doubt find a little disturbing. Maybe they wouldn’t if it lasted only a moment, but Nick could stare at her, watch her every move, for hours and not grow tired. He loved everything about her, even the passion that drove her to such rage. Rage meant she cared. It meant she felt as strongly for him as he did for her.
She stomped back and forth in front of the windows that revealed the mansion grounds. That land had become her escape from him. At first, he watched her the whole time. But then, as his own temper grew, he found he needed to burn off his emotions. But it wasn’t just his anger he needed to exorcise. It was also his desire. He refused to complete the bond with her, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want her … badly. He hadn’t even allowed himself to bite her because he knew it wouldn’t stop there. His beast was ravenous for her. And he didn’t understand why Nick was waiting. “She’s ours. She’s not a child. Her body does all the things that a female’s body is supposed to. We can scent her ov—” Nick snarled at his wolf, cutting him off from pointing out something of which Nick was painfully aware. The man didn't need reminding that once a month his desire grew for her because, unlike a human male, Nick and his wolf could smell it. “It’s true,” his wolf grumbled.
“Why are you snarling at me?” Kara glanced over her shoulder at him. Her back was ramrod straight, her shoulders pulled back, and her hands rested on her hips. “This is your fault, Nick. You don’t get to be pissed at me for wanting what is my right. Isn’t that what I hear you males continually spout? That you have a right to your true mate. Does that right only go one way?”
“Dammit, female!” Nick shouted, his irritation getting the best of him. “Can’t you see that I’m just protecting you? I will always look out for your best interest. Your health, safety, and happiness will always come before my own.”
She turned to face him. Her hands dropped from her waist and fisted at her sides. “Do I look happy to you?” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, and a piece of him shattered. He hated when he caused her tears.
“Baby,” he said softly, taking a step toward her. He needed to touch her, to feel her flesh against his own. His wolf needed the reassurance that, despite their quarreling, she still wanted him, that she wasn’t giving up on him.
Kara put up a hand. “Don’t,” she breathed out at him, sounding defeated. She wiped away a tear she hadn’t managed to keep from falling. “I’m done fo—”
“What!” Nick practically roared, causing her to jump.
“Fix this. NOW,” his wolf bellowed inside his mind. “If she leaves us, I will destroy everything and everyone near us until our alpha is forced to put us down.” Nick ignored his beast's threat. The man didn’t bother to argue because he agreed with him. Nick would not want to live if Kara chose to live without him.
“Nick,” Kara’s voice trembled as she took a step back. She held up both hands as if to keep him away. Like hell, he thought. “You need to calm down. Now.”
“You just told me you are done with me, and you expect me to calm down?” He could feel the nails on his hands phasing into the claws of his wolf. He would never, ever, hurt Kara, but his emotions were out of control, and he was fighting his need to phase. “You are the other half of my soul, and you expect me to live without you. You would choose to live without me?” He knew his eyes glowed, and he felt his teeth sharpening and lengthening. “Just because I won’t give you what you want, you would throw us away?” He was too busy trying to keep from tackling her to the ground and tying her up to notice the confusion on her face. “I am your male, and you are my female. I will not give you up. I told you that. You knew that before you came to our pack. That hasn’t changed, Kara, and it won’t change. I will do anything to keep you.”
“Not anything,” she said, finally dropping her hands. “Don’t lie to me. Ever. And don’t interrupt me. It’s rude, and it makes you assume things because you weren’t smart enough to keep your muzzle shut.”
Nick glared at her. He wanted to throw her over his shoulder and carry her to her room and lock her inside so she could never follow through with her words.
“I wasn’t saying I was leaving you—”
“You said you were done.”
She stomped her foot. And it would have been adorable if she wasn’t staring daggers at him. “I just told you not to interrupt me, dammit. I was about to say, I’m done, for now, you overgrown hairball.” Kara took a deep breath as she seemed to attempt to calm herself. “By ‘for now,’ I mean that I am done fighting with you. I’m exhausted mentally. I’m beginning to wonder if I can use my witchy magic on you if only to zap your ass. I don’t want to hear your voice for at least a few hours, because if you attempt to tell me, one more time, that I don’t know what I need or what I’m ready for, I just might cut out your tongue while you sleep.
Nick didn’t move, afraid that if he so much as twitched she might follow through with trying to zap him. “There’s no need for name-calling,” he said after several moments of silence filled only with their respective glares.
Her brow rose, causing her forehead to wrinkle. “Seriously? You have the nerve to say that to me after you just went apeshit over a conclusion you made because you couldn’t just listen to me?”
“Apparently,” Nick groused as his teeth and nails phased back to human form.
“I need a drink,” Kara huffed.
“N—”
“But because I’m mature, and know that it’s not legal for me to have a drink, then I won’t have one. But know that it's my choice whether I do or don't. Instead, I will take my mature ass out for a run. Bite me, Nick. I’ll talk to you later.”
Nick refrained from telling her how badly he wanted to do just that. He didn't want to send mixed signals. He even kept their mental bond minimized so she didn’t pick up on his need for her. “You aren’t very good at being a mate. Maybe you should let me take over,” his wolf pointed out. “And you aren’t human. You don’t understand that they don’t think like you. It’s not as simple as claiming and bedding her because she’s our true mate,” Nick responded. He watched her storm from the room. “From where I’m standing, it is that simple. If it wasn’t, our mate would want to be with us instead of always trying to get away from us.” Nick didn't respond to his wolf’s observation. Maybe his beast was right.
Nick shook his head, pushing away the memory as his feet pounded against the ground. Every day since they’d returned to the pack mansion, Nick had gone out into the field where his mate had run after they'd had their arguments. He jogged the same route, the grass worn where her much smaller feet created a trail. In his mind, he pictured her ponytail swishing back and forth, her arms pumping at her sides, and the determined look in her eyes as she burned through her frustration at him. His mind kept dragging him back to the times when they’d argued, which had ultimately put her in the dangerous situation that had gotten her taken. He rarely allowed himself to think of the good memories. Nick didn’t feel he had a right to them. But just then, he needed to remember that they’d had more than conflict between them. No matter how they’d snarled at one another, they still loved each other.
