I had found my mate. After years of wandering the woods as a rogue, I'd found her. She was the one person that could accept me for me and I'd die before I'd let some puny wolf alpha take her from me.
'Careful,' Enzo cautioned me. 'If you hurt her family, you'll hurt her too.'
I gritted my teeth.
'What do you suggest I do then?' I spat at him angrily.
'Swallow your pride and respect her father.'
I mentally scoffed. As if. I was a lychan by birth, he should be respecting me. If I hadn't been turned by that wretched vampire, I'd be his prince right now.
'But you were, and we aren't, so stop acting like a baby and do whatever it takes to gain our mates trust!' He growled at me. 'There's no point in having her if she hates us, now is there?'
It was my turn to growl. I hated it when he was right. I tuned back in to what her father was saying.
"-will die to protect her if we must."
I sighed. I hoped he wouldn't make this difficult. I swallowed the growl that wanted to escape and straightened from my crouch.
"I do not wish to hurt you," I started, "but she is my mate. I cannot let her go that easily."
The alpha turned to my mate. I assumed from the silence and the look on my mate's face that they were mindlinking. I waited, impatiently. After a few moments, she stepped to put her hand on his arm, reassuringly. She then turned to me and spoke, her sweet Irish voice like the first rain after a drought. It invoked feelings in me that I didn't even know that I had. My jaw clicked in frustration at her words though.
"I cannot leave my pack for a man I do not know." She paused to gauge my reaction, so I focused on her eyes, allowing them to soften the rage that threatened to boil over. "But if you can agree to live here peacefully, we can work on getting to know each other."
My jaw went slack in surprise. I didn't know what to say, but I opened my mouth and the words found me on their own.
"I agree if only you will promise to be open to leaving with me if the time comes."
She drew her bottom lip into her mouth to chew on it and it was all I could do to keep myself from lunging at her and devouring those lips myself. I shook the thought away and held my breath a she thought it over. She nodded.
"I promise."
I grinned and saw her flinch at the sight of my fangs, though she tried to hide it. I quickly closed my mouth to cover them, making a mental note to keep them from showing as much as I could. I couldn't blame her for her reaction. I truly wanted her to be comfortable around me, but even I wasn't comfortable with my fangs.
She turned and gestured for me to follow. As I did, I took the time to admire her. She had the most entrancing blue eyes that I'd ever seen and her light brown hair hung in tight, unruly curls. My hands itched to run themselves through her silky locks, but that would have to wait. Her body was perfect, with curves in all the right places, and the dress she was wearing only made her more enticing. She was absolutely gorgeous, but I doubt that she knew it (or even cared to) by the way that she carried herself. She walked confidently, but not in the way that most beautiful women did. She was simply comfortable in her own skin.
As we made our way through the crowd, I smelled several different alpha scents. I frowned, wondering why so many alphas were gathered in one place. It didn't escape my notice that most eyes were trained on me, but what I focused on were the eyes that followed my mate. Almost all of them were young alphalings, judging by their scent, and they all looked disappointed.
Then it occurred to me why they were all here. She was fairly young, so she'd probably just recently shifted. My eyes narrowed at the thought of what they were here for. She was being offered to them like a show pony, and they were all hoping to be her mate. I felt anger bubble up toward her father. How could he do that to her?
'Easy.' Enzo had impeccable timing as always. 'Does she seem like the type to let people walk all over her?'
He knew the answer so I stayed silent.
'She would have said no if she didn't want to do it.'
'She would also do whatever it took to keep her family happy,' I quipped, thinking I'd out-thought him.
'So respect her decision to do so.'
I growled at him, but didn't argue. He was right. Again.
I followed her into the packhouse and up a flight of stairs, stopping outside of what I can only assume was a guest room.
"You'll stay here," she gestured at the door and turned to walk away. I felt a pang of disappointment until she turned back. "I'm McKenna," she said as she held her hand out.
"Domenic." I placed my hand in hers to shake it and felt an involuntary purr rumble through my chest. I smiled at her blush, remembering to keep my fangs covered.
She let go of my hand and I fought the urge to grab hers back. I watched as she walked away and disappeared around a corner. I heaved a sigh and entered the room that would be mine for as long as it took to earn her trust and affection.