“You are a rabbit shifter. The moment you stepped into these woods, you were on pack territory. I couldn’t stand the thought of my brothers and sisters tasting you first.”
“Your brothers and sisters wouldn’t want me for a mate, though. They’d just kill me.”
He nuzzled the tip of his wet snout to my nose. “Yes, and what a waste that would be.”
“You don’t care that I killed your brother?”
“You took a family member from me.” He growled again but I could almost hear the smile in it. His hand trailed down my body to rest on my stomach. “You can repay me by giving me another.”
Unlike his human side, the wolf had no intention of letting me go after he gave me his mark. The panic from that knowledge devolved into something more primal. “But your pack?—”
“I will leave the pack.”
“With me?”
“Who else?”
“And what would we do? Get an apartment together? Get jobs? What would a life together even look like?”
It was a ridiculous thought, spending our lives together. A few minutes ago, the idea of seeing this man after tonight made my stomach churn. But he was different now, gentle yet possessive of me. Like all the fairytales of fated mates from books I’d read. Too bad this personality was caged inside an asshole.
“The details aren’t important, Little One. All that matters is that we’re together in a place where we will be safe to raise our cub.”
I squirmed beneath his palm, which was unnaturally heavy on top of me, and he crushed me into the mattress. “Even if you could convince your human side to leave these woods with me, we’re different species. You can’t breed me. There won’t be a cub.”
His tongue moved along my jaw, then my throat and traced my collarbone, and I reveled in the texture of the hot, wet muscle. He’s stopped pumping into me—and started licking me. It was weirdly sweet and adoring. Like he was trying to comfort me.
Eventually, he drew back to level me with a look that sent a chill up my spine. “You have it wrong. I can breed you.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve seen it done before.”
A pang pulled under my gut, making my stomach clench beneath his touch. “What do you mean?”
“A sacrifice from many years ago carried our last alpha’s babe to full term.”
The pang in my gut turned sharp and burrowed down to my marrow. “That’s a lie. Every sacrifice my burrow has sent your pack you’ve killed and used their blood to sate your Hunger.”
“One lived… For a time. She was hunted down by the old alpha and kept for his pleasure.”
“That’sdeplorable. That poor woman.” My tone was rife with distress, and the werewolf tried to lick me again to soothe me, but I cringed away.
I was more aware than ever that he was still inside me, hard as a rock. I hated myself for how much I still wanted him, how much my body craved him. Even after learning that he could impregnate me.
“It is deplorable,” he agreed.
“Why didn’t you do anything?”
“This was years ago...” The wolf’s gaze hardened, turning icy. It was as if more of his human self was shining through and speaking his next words. “I was just a pup and hadn’t even had my first shift yet. The pack didn’t know the girl was still alive, either. The alpha kept her hidden inside his house. Once she was discovered, my father challenged him. My father died that night.”
“I’m sorry...”
To my surprise, the silver wolf laughed, the sound starting in his body and ending up in mine. “Don’t be sorry, Little Bunny. I will start a new family with you.”
A potent cocktail of confusion, fear, and intrigue coursed through my veins. On the one hand, this male seemed to hate my guts, but as soon as he shifted, his entire demeanor changed.
He didn’t want to simply fuck me; he really and truly wanted me to be his mate.
