Almost a full day had passed since I'd bitten Hannalee, and she still hadn't woken up. The moon was rising outside of my bedroom window and my wolf was whining to get out. Not that it would wake Hannalee up even if it did let it out. I knew that her body wasn't doing terribly because I had noticed that the bite was starting to heal. It was just unbearable to wait. It didn't help me that I knew that the red haired woman was in the area. Not that I'd gone out, I hadn't left Hannalee's side for more than a moment at a time, but I had some friends in the area who had told me of their sightings of the red haired woman. Her eyes were no longer red, from what I could pick up. She had probably donned a glamour, but hadn't bothered to hide her red hair, instead simply deepening the color. Red hair had always been a rarity among wolves.
A soft groan escaped Hannalee, this one sounding closer to waking than any other had before, and I felt the blood roaring in my veins, only for it to still with the sound of my doorbell. I didn't want to move, didn't want to leave Hannalee's side, but I could smell the woman all the way from my front door. The red haired woman had found us.
My wolf growled its frustration as I stood up from the chair I kept beside the bed, and I shushed it as I left the room and went down the stairs to the front door in the living room. I had mentally gone over this happening for hours. Trying to figure out what would be the best way to go about this. No doubt at this point the woman would know that I'd been getting closer to Hannalee, but I doubted she knew about Hannalee being my mate. If Hannalee had made contact with her people, which was most likely what had happened, she may have reported my claim, but would have also report her attempt to erase my memory. So it would be easiest to play like I didn't remember her, even if I hated that thought as much as my wolf did.
Taking a breath, I gripped the doorknob and forced myself to open the door. My face fought for neutrality, but my breath caught in my chest when I was met by inhuman red eyes.
The woman was taller than Hannalee, even without the 3-inch heels of her boots. Her black pants were skin tight, similar to leather in appearance, with a black, button-down blouse, only halfway buttoned and revealing the red of her bra against her pale skin. She was thinner than Hannalee, but had more of a sense of curve, larger breasts and wider hips. Had I not known that Hannalee was my mate, I would have likely been very attracted to this woman. At least, I would have been until I saw her face.
Not that her face wasn't beautiful, but her eyes were as cold as the dead and her smile was clearly dripping with venom. There was no way I was going to fool this woman by acting like I had no memories of Hannalee. Throwing all of my plans out the window.
"Hmm, so you're Dante" she spoke softly, her voice resonating with power "I must admit, while you are quite good looking, I'm rather disappointed."
"Can I help you?" I asked through clenched teeth.
My wolf was chomping at the bit, wanting to get out and defend our mate.
"I believe you know why I'm here" her eyebrows moved as if to soften her gaze, but the glowing anger within her eyes ruined that attempt.
"You're here for Hannalee, I assume?" I asked, trying to think of my best method to handle this situation.
"Why yes I am. I'm here to bring her home." she answered icily.
A growl escaped me before I could stop it, earning me a cruel smile from her.
"You will let me in, won't you?" She asked, as if it would only be common for me to invite her in when she planned to take my mate away.
Against every growl and snarl of my wolf, I stepped to the side, granting my enemy access to my home. Thankfully she didn't know which room Hannalee was in, but that didn't mean we were safe yet.
"I'm guessing you bit her already?" She asked as she walked past, her heels clicking on the hardwood of my flooring.
"I have" I answered calmly.
Once Hannalee woke up, this woman would no longer be able to take her away. I had to keep reminding myself of that.
"Will you bring me to where she is?" She continued, looking around at the forest green wall paper that I used all over the house.
"And why would I do that? Do you plan to kill her or something?" I growled a warning.
She looked at me, her eyes hardening to stone "I will not kill my daughter."
I stiffened. I clearly remembered that Hannalee had said that she had been found as a baby and raised by one of her superiors. If this woman was the one who raised her, it made sense that she was clearly stronger than the man named Hunter had been. And yet, she still had barely even registered compared to the power I had felt from Hannalee.
"I'm going to apply a salve that will reverse the effect of your bite. I can't risk her going berserk and destroying this realm." she went on.
"Why do you think she'll go berserk?" I asked, letting my anger fill my tone.
"Simple" she smirked "this isn't the life she wanted. She's been fighting hard to reach her goals, and no man could make that girl change her mind so easily."
It was my turn to smile, knowing that the woman knew nothing of what had happened so far. Though it was quite annoying to know that Hannalee had been in such denial that she wouldn't tell her own mother about having a mate.
"I'm sorry to inform you of this, but if she was going to go berserk, she would have done it the instant her body became infused with my essence. The fact that she's sleeping right now means that her body is willingly accepting the transition."
The woman's face twisted with hatred, the implications of my words having been clear enough for her to understand that this change was, in fact, consensual.
"Bring me to my daughter this instant" She snarled, all prettiness gone from her.
"I'll bring you to your daughter when she wakes up." I stated, pride and power flowing off of me with every word I spoke.
Her hands shot out and I dodged, amazed by the speed the woman had.
"Ah, ah, ah, no playing with my mind now. I won't allow that kind of thing to happen again." I warned quietly.
"A-again?" The woman blanched, her look of hatred turning to a look of fear.