My mate.
There were many aspects about the reality that were too complex to spend much time on at this point. Whereas I’d felt a strong pull to her before, my beast floating precariously close to thesurface every time she was near, after fucking her in the car in the woods, while other shifters had lingered in the shadows, there was no longer any possibility of denying the truth.
We’d already comingled DNA. Well, my sperm was currently riding waves in her system, happy as could be. While there was no formality to the process of mating, certainly not as depicted in books and in animal documentaries, there was that moment, that very moment when fucking ceased to become all about pleasure and more about creating life.
That’s what mating was supposed to be about in any culture and species.
Procreation.
Humans could deny the definition and meaning, preferring to use sex as nothing but pleasure, but the truth could eventually hit them in the ass.
There was one other thing that usually occurred that I’d yet to do with anyone.
Knotting.
Only wolves performed the sexual act and I’d felt the urge only moments before. Shit, this was getting serious.
Let’s face it. I didn’t want a mate. Why did I need one? I was Steven, the Beast, Masters, a man of power and sensuality, hungered for by all women.
Well, some anyway.
Mostly puck bunnies.
But it was the truth. Women were easy to come by. On any given night, I could have one or more. That just wasn’t my style.Maybe that’s why the only time I’d taken one of the puck bunnies up on their salacious offers was when I’d been introduced into the team in Philadelphia. I’d had fun. My father would call it sowing my wild oats.
My mother had called it working through my inner child.
Saint? He’d laughed in my face, patting my shoulder and winking.
And my teammate had told me it was a rite of passage I’d grow bored with.
He was right.
Damn the man.
The craziest thing of all was not just that Christine was human, and mating with one was unheard of no matter what my father had told me, but that I’d smelled her desire. Not a typical desire, but something that had shocked her, an uncontrollable urge to feed the hunger in a way she couldn’t understand.
Her skin itched.
Her face was blotchy and red.
Her breathing was labored even now.
And she was hot to the touch, baby.
I’d felt the very same thing. Still did. Now, the two of us were forced to pretend as if nothing was wrong. As if we weren’t two animals about to lose our shit.
Case in point.
She was standing too close, so much so I couldn’t breathe. She’d yet to walk inside her parents’ house or even ring the bell, still fiddling with her dress. In the garish light of the massive estate, her skin appeared to be glowing.
Another telltale sign that the mating process had begun.
Now she was gasping for air, tossing me looks that were driving me crazy.
“Do I look presentable?” she asked in a much gruffer voice.
“You look fabulous, baby.” Wow. I could barely recognize my voice.
