Elias picked up on the second ring. “Hey, Rach,” he said.
“All right,” I said, not bothering with preamble, knowing that the longer I waited, the more chances I would have to talk myself out of it. “I’ll do it.”
Chapter 4 - Sam
Rachel wanted a small ceremony. That was fine by me.
We hadn’t spoken since the day the Oracle had told us both her plan, using Elias as an intermediary instead. I was fairly certain that neither of us knew what to say to the other about any of this. Still, that didn’t stop the day from coming. And before I knew it, I was in the small chapel near the center of town, standing by the altar with the elders, the Oracle, and Elias as Rachel, guided by her mother, walked down the aisle.
My entire body tensed when I saw her. She had always been beautiful, but this was on another level. She was more stunning than I could have imagined. She was in a white gown that clung to her slim figure, and her arms had several symbols that our pack used for good luck drawn on her arms and neck. Her dark hair fell in a sleek sheet that gleamed in the light, and her blue eyes looked even wider than normal.
She came to stand in front of me, looking me up and down, caution and nervousness in her eyes.
“You look beautiful,” I muttered, softly enough that only she could hear.
Her blush at the compliment made her look even more stunning. “Thank you,” she muttered.
She swallowed, and I could sense the nervousness radiating off her. I wished that I could soothe her, that I could tell her it was going to be all right. I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She started for a brief moment, then relaxed, risking giving me a small, timid smile.
The elders began the ceremony. I barely heard any of it, too intent on Rachel, taking in every inch of her that I could. Shewas so different from the kid I had known growing up, the kid I had said was too weak to mate. And though I had promised both her and Elias that our mating would be in name only, my wolf seemed to have other thoughts. Being this close to her, he took in her scent, a gentle honeysuckle and vanilla that drove him wild. He didn’t seem to care whether or not she was strong. He was more preoccupied with how beautiful she was and wondering what the hell she looked like under that dress.
An overwhelming urge to take her right then and there washed over me, and it was all I could do to keep my hands at my sides instead of having them explore her body, onlookers be damned. My fingers flexed as I held myself in place.
I pulled myself from those thoughts when Romulus, one of the elders, told us, “It is now time to exchange marks, to claim one another as your mate.”
Rachel and I turned to one another. I saw her swallow as she stared up at me, and that overwhelming urge to kiss her and carry her to the nearest room to tear off that dress washed over me once more.
Slowly, I brushed her hair back from her neck, the backs of my fingers caressing her neck. She stiffened, sucking in a breath at the touch, as if she was having the same thoughts I had been fighting this entire time.
I bent to her collarbone and bit down.
The instant I did, a surge of emotion raced through me, amplifying everything that I had already been feeling. All that need and desire and craving for her that I had fought for years burst forth, and I had to wonder how the hell I could have been so stupid.
Rachel did the same to me, and with the way she stiffened, her fingers tightening on my shoulder blades, I knewthe same thing had happened to her. She took a step back, breathing heavier than normal, and I saw a burning in her gaze that mirrored my own. Through the newly formed mating bond, I could sense her emotions. Could feel that desire she was desperately trying to hold back, same as I was.
This “on paper” thing was going to be harder than I thought.
***
Later, after the small party where Rachel and I avoided one another like the plague, we couldn’t hide from one another any longer, and we went back to my—now our—house.
Rachel glanced around as she entered. She had been in my house before for cookouts and things like that, but this was different for her. It was now her house, too, and I watched as she took it in as if seeing it for the first time.
I walked over to her and placed my hand on her shoulder without realizing I was doing it. She stiffened slightly at the touch, then relaxed into it. Her head leaned back, and her eyes opened, those beautiful, wide eyes staring up at me, her lips slightly parted in a way that made me wonder what else she could do with them. Unconsciously, she pressed against me, shooting a new hunger through me.
“So,” I said.
“So,” she responded.
We both knew what the other wasn’t saying. Normally, this would be the time when the newly mated couple would consummate the bond to solidify it entirely. But we weren’t a normal mated pair.
A dozen unsaid things hung in the air between us. I would have to be blind not to notice the electricity crackling between us. I had always thought she was attractive, even if I had also always told myself not to notice it, or the way my wolf stirred whenever he caught a whiff of her scent. Now, after the mating bond, it all seemed amplified a thousandfold. Everything about her, the way she walked, the way she looked up at me through her eyelashes, the way she sometimes bit her lower lip when she was thinking, it all made me go wild with hunger.
My hand had gone to her waist without my realizing. Her breath caught, and that slight hitch was enough to drive me wild. All I wanted was to pull her tighter against me, to pull her hair back and press my mouth to hers, to claim every inch of her.
A tug of desire and lust that didn’t feel entirely my own made my head jerk. I realized after a confused moment that it was Rachel’s. I turned her around so she was facing me, and she pushed her body against mine, even as I could feel a tremor in her hands. Her fingers curled into fists as she gripped my shirt. She held me tight against her, drowning me in her scent. I didn’t think she meant to do any of it. She bit her lip, and I could feel her want as strongly as my own.
But this was Elias’s sister. This was Rachel.
