Chapter 75
Feeling his eyes on me, my body demands not aligning with my mind's rationale, our needs and wants pulsating desperately between us.
The mate bond had the same effect on indecisive individuals like me; it ate away at your inhibitions until there was nothing left to think about except your mate, and he was consuming every thought I had, his essence entwining with mine and his desire to have me close to his skin.
The sensation of being apart from him was unbearably painful, pressing against my chest as I turned to leave. I could still taste him—a sinister sensation layered over each breath I took that wasn't his. Everything about him was enticing: the way he touched me, the way he looked at me, and the way he wanted me to spread out in front of him so he could have everything I had.
My wolf was reflecting his desires, and her need to be claimed was starting to annoy him. I was finding it hard to move because of the space I was creating between us. It was going to be hours of fasting before I was with him again—another risk I wasn't giving any consideration to—and I was frantic to go back to him because the safety net I had built around us was breaking apart with every step I took.
When I entered through the bakery's doors, it was packed with patrons, and as soon as I walked in, the joyful chattering stopped.
The earthy tones of their wolf sides mingled with my own, and I was enveloped in the familiar fragrance of the pack. Every single individual in this room is a wolf; they are all members of the pack that identified me as their Luna, and when I brought them in, I had no idea what to do. I had come here to breathe some fresh air, but right now all I could feel was my chest tearing apart from suffocation.
I suspected it was partially his doing—the reason he'd let me go so lightly, even though he knew his pack would keep me safe.
They lowered their heads respectfully as I hurried by. Vera yelled my name as I entered the kitchen's confined area, and I felt a spooky sensation against my back as the bitter taste crept up my throat.
I kicked open the bathroom door and dropped to my knees in front of the toilet, stumbling through the room and grabbing onto the edges of the counters. My breath was labored and my eyes watered as the uptake caused my pancakes that I had eaten with Derrick to taste less delicious.
Now that I was apart from him, the raw force within me was fighting to be contained; the energy was fighting to yield to my wolf's authority now that it had no cause to. Derrick seemed to be the one who brought my power forward, and when I wasn't with him, it appeared to lose balance and struggle to find its purpose.
It was just a moment before I felt Vera's shadow cast over me, her annoyance evident as she observed my unkempt appearance.
I inhaled deeply before leaning over to flush the toilet, my eyes darting to hers as I lifted myself up off the floor. However, she attended to me before I could reach the sink. Her hands first touched my cheek to feel how hot I was, and then they moved to remove my hair from my neck.
I had been alright prior to leaving him; the mate-bonding temperaments were happening since I hadn't accepted his mark.
She ran her fingers over the tendons in my throat precisely where his teeth marks should have been, and I looked with dismay as she stared at them, clenching my teeth. She touched flesh that was unclaimed, unscarred, and unbitten, which is what caused my abrupt illness.
As she looked at me, I knew exactly what she was going to say and what she was thinking.
"The longer you wait for him to claim you, the more painful it's going to get." I successfully moved toward the sink by pushing her hands away from me. Before I put the water on my lips, I collected some of it in the palms of my hands.
We both understood the ramifications of my actions in defying the mate link, but there were more sinister factors at work—things I wasn't sure I could disclose to her, but something had changed in the day since I'd last seen her.
My enchantment seemed more gentle with her, with little hints of approval circulating between our spirits.
"Why are you resisting it?" Her eyes squinted, and her voice grew quiet as she labored to solve a puzzle without a picture.
"Something is off about you; you haven't been yourself since we got to this place, and I know it's not completely to do with finding your mate—you're keeping something from me." I observed her in the glass, wiping my lips with the back of my hand before I began to wash them, my heart straining to keep up with her movements.
Until I saw her like this, I had no idea what I wanted to accomplish, and now my need to come here makes even more sense.
Since I had been lying to her the entire time and she was the one who had taken care of me for the past ten years, she was obviously concerned about me and would eventually discover the truth. We had shared many tears and laughter, shared mistakes, and offered each other support when things went wrong, so we knew each other better than anyone else could.
She had never questioned me about my past, but I hadn't even given her a chance or considered the possibility that she may still love me in the same manner after I had informed her about it. Even when I talked to her about my brother, she never made me tell her anything.
Perhaps she would give me one last opportunity to speak because she cared and listened, and I was still the endearing young lady she had grown to like. At the very least, I owed her that much.
She was the one I owed it to the most.