She spoke in that foreign language again, saying something that I didn't understand. But I did understand the power in her voice. A warning and a threat to the man named Hunter. He was clearly on the verge of saying something that she didn't want him to say. I couldn't deny that seeing the man flinch away was quite a pleasure.
"I'm leaving" she stated, frustration in her voice.
"Shall I accompany you?" The man, Hunter, asked, with a slight quiver in his voice.
"Don't even think about it!" She spat and I had to hide my smirk.
Hunter may have been her betrothed, but she clearly had no affection for him. Even if she did have some for him, he wasn't her mate, I was. But neither of them would understand that. Not until I explained it to her myself. And, now, I needed to explain it to her, and make her be honest with me. She wasn't human. No matter her looks or her smell. No human had the kind of power she had. Hunter also seemed to have some power, but it was nothing compared to hers. The fact that she didn't hold back, to show him that, was extremely impressive.
Now, I just needed to make my plan and set it into motion. I wouldn't let that man or her families expectations to take her away from me. A wolf could be waiting for decades before finding their mate. Granted, we did live longer than humans, so it wasn't as lethal to our species, but it was a strain for many of us to hold on long enough to find them. Some wolves would sleep with others simply to alleviate the loneliness. I hadn't, but I'd been tempted several times in my 30 years of life.
I knew that she was drawn to me, she was simply fighting it, and now I knew why. Her people, whoever they were, had expectations of her, or maybe it was simply that she had expectations of herself. But she needed to see just how important she was to me. If she left in a few days like she planned, I just knew I wouldn't be able to find her again. She had appeared out of nowhere, and that would be where she would go when she was done here.
I left Hunter standing in the hall, going in the opposite direction that she had gone, needing to plan everything out before making my move, and following her would probably just piss her off. However, even if I did piss her off later, she would quickly see the value of us being together. I could already feel the pull within her. She had been so close to speaking more just moments before, so close to revealing whatever it was she was trying to hide. She clearly didn't understand, but all wolves knew that the mate pull made it extremely difficult to lie or keep secrets. I wasn't planning on resisting it, but she was very secretive. I didn't like that at all.
֍֍֍֍֍֍֍֍֍
Several hours had passed and it was now near dinner time. With everything planned out, I simply needed to find her.
That actually hadn't taken much work. She had left the clinic after the conversation ended with Hunter and myself, and following her scent was very easy when it still clung to all of my senses anyway. I found her rather quickly, at a motel fairly close to where I was planning to take her anyway. It would definitely help if she had at least familiarized herself with the area a little, but if she knew the details of where I planned to take her, she might understand what I intended to tell her, before I could talk to her, and she might try to run. It was a very delicate situation.
Lucky for me, I was pulling into the motel driveway just as she was walking out of her room, holding a bucket that was most likely used for ice.
"Miss Hannalee" I called out, relishing in the shiver I saw climb through her, but not liking the scent of her anxiety.
She turned to face me, using the bucket to cover the obvious cleavage in her snug pink tank top. The tank top and shorts she was wearing was making it very difficult for me to hide my erection as I eased out of my car. She was absolutely perfect, with her long legs, that showed just enough muscle and size to show that she wouldn't break with the slightest touch. No way in hell I wanted some skinny little thing, and she was the perfect size. Not too large, but not too thin, and delicious curves. Not that I wanted to sound totally sexist, but she was completely my type.
I wanted to move to her side immediately and pull her long hair from that hair tie she had around it. She always had to control it, I could see that from day one, just like I had to control all of my own instincts. It was a wildness that she probably feared.
"Dante, what are you doing here?" she asked, unaware of the rise in her pulse of the slight breathy sound in her words.
It was exciting to know that it was me doing this to her.
I took a slow step, hoping she didn't see the hesitation, then began a calm, steady pace til I was just a couple feet away from her. This close to her, I could tell that her head would rest just perfectly against my shoulder, she was the perfect height for me to hold her against my chest, if she would allow that.
"I came to invite you to dinner" I smiled, hoping she didn't see my anxiety.
If she rejected me, I didn't know how much control I would have. My wolf had been going wild since we'd become aware of her. Everyday, pushing me harder and harder to get close, to talk to her, to smell her scent. My wolf was extremely agitated and on the verge of taking over, all it would take, at this point, was a small push and it would completely surface.
She looked down, hesitation on her face, but a scent of excitement around her. She wanted this, even if she didn't understand it herself.
"I..." she paused, then met my eyes, taking in a sharp breath.
It made me happy to know that just meeting my eyes could make her scent increase as such. The scent all wolves knew. Arousal. And if my eyes had that much effect, I looked forward to finding out what effect my touch would have on her.
"I...really...shouldn't..." she forced herself to look down, but I knew she wouldn't reject my invitation by this point.
"Are you worried about your betrothed?" I asked, burying down the annoyance so it wouldn't show.
She looked up again, then shook her head "I already contacted my superiors. I told them that I would not accept him as my partner."
Her hand shot up, realizing she had just admitted something that she hadn't planned. I would explain that to her tonight as well. She needed to know that very important fact of the mate pull. If it meant I got some information to go on before telling her, then all the better.
"Your superiors?" I raised my eyebrow, looking at her cautiously.
She seemed to panic, feeling the conflicted urge to spill her secrets while still trying to control herself.
I sighed "Do you want to know what's happening to you?"
She looked at me, wide eyed, lowering her hand nervously, then nodded her head.
It hadn't been how I had hoped for the answer, but this was going to be the easiest way "then join me for dinner. We will talk, and I will tell you everything you want to know."
Naturally, I wasn't lying to her, and I never planned to unless I had to. And, once she knew the truth, I would do everything within my power to make sure she accepted it, and me.
"A-alright" she finally agreed after several seconds "I'll go get changed."
She walked past me, back to her room, still clutching the bucket to her chest like a form of security. I made sure to graze my fingers against her hip as she passed, making it as subtle as possible, and smiled as she bit down on her lower lip to control herself.
Several minutes passed and my wolf fought to surface, demanding I go see her, find out what was taking her so long, when she finally emerged from her room. A stunning, pale blue, low cut blouse with elbow length sleeves, and black dress pants and black boots. Her hair was still tied back, but the stray wisps of it flew around her in the breeze. She had even applied a small amount of perfume, not that it covered her own scent. Wolves generally preferred one to smell natural, but it still seemed well on her. My fangs were half descended by the time she reached me. All it would take was one bite and she would be a wolf as well, but it needed to be consensual, or she would go insane. Even if she did want to give into the mate pull, she still needed to be certain.