Avilas looked Aurelia directly in her ocean blue eyes. Tears slipped down her face as she stared back at him, hugging her knees to her chest.
"What do you know about the wolf mate bond?", Avilas asked her gently. His expressions didn't change but her tears were hurting whatever soul he had left.
"Its a connection that feels impossible. Your mates scent, voice, presence is intoxicating. You want nothing more than to touch and be with them. My friend Claudia found her mate and she told me what it was like, and that's what I felt for Grant." She remembered how she wanted him to hold her and hugged her knees tighter but refused more tears to escape her eyes.
"The wolf mate bond can only be truly broken by death. Even after formal rejection, wolves are still attracted to their fated mate.
Skin contact is documented to feel irresistible and its almost impossoble to stay away from eachother." Avilas glanced away from Aurelia, he knew this would confuse the poor girl further.
"He was not your mate, Aurelia. You do not have a wolf mate because you are not a wolf. Your heat was likely a precaution taken by Alpha Graeme to make sure Grant didn't mark you. If you were his mate, you would feel a pull back to your pack and you would be in physical pain to be away from him. Tell me, do you wish to go to him?", Avilas already knew the answer but had to give Aurelia every opportunity to understand for herself.
"No. I don't. Nor did I or do I feel pain from being away. It was not impossible to stay away from him, I just wanted somebody to want me..." Aurelia stared into the fire as she spoke. She had never spoken to anyone about her true feelings. Not even Claudia. She could not hold it in any longer, Aurelia buried her face in her knees and sobbed.
Looking back at Avilas she asked "What do you want with me, Avilas?"
"You did not feel the true mate bind before Aurelia because...", Avilas took a deep breath.
"Because you are my mate, Aurelia".
"What?", Aurelias crying had stopped. She let go of her knees and stared at Avilas dumbfounded.
"We don't call our destined 'mates' but in the simplest terms you are my mate, Aurelia."
And with that, Avilas stood. He rounded the table and sat in the space next to Aurelia. His scent was as beautiful as his face but Aurelia moved away from him. Her most recent physical contact was not the most romantic and she still needed the space.
"I will not touch you, not without your consent. Just let me show you something." Avilas moved slowly, he removed his black overcoat and undid the buttons of his shirt.
His skin was pale and his body defined. The muscles in his upper body were absolute art and Aurelia wanted to touch his skin. It was like marble, white as snow and impecibly smooth.
Avilas turned and lifted his white hair from the back of his neck.
He had the same spiral mark. It was a deep red, below his neck and between his shoulder blades.
Aurelia reached out and touched the mark.
When Avilas and Aurelias skin collided, the sensation between the pair was like the beginning of time.
Explosive warmth and tingles between their touch that cause Avilas to spin and face her so fast that Aurelias hand was now on his chest.
"Can I?" Avilas looked down at Aurelias hand on his bare chest.
Without even thinking, Aurelia nodded and Avilas placed his hand over hers.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. A shadow of a smile graced his lips.
In this moment, Aurelia found more solace in Avilas' touch than anything in her entire life. She was petrified and overjoyed and confused and didn't know which one came first. So she asked.
"Avilas... what are you?", it was clear to her that he was not Fae nor Wolf and he was far too beautiful to be human.
"I promise I will not hurt you...", Avilas didn't want to answer. He knew if he said the words she would run and this was the first time in 600 years that he felt any kind of pace.
"What are you? I want the truth" Aurelia asked again, she pulled her hand away from Avilas' chest. It felt so lonely, even though she was less than a foot away from him.
Avilas looked up from hus hands in his lap to Aurelias eyes. He could get lost in them for hundreds of years, but first, she wanted the truth and her wish would be his command.
"I am what you would probably call a vampire.."