Chapter 8

Ren

I'd stay in the woods all night, watching that cottage, waiting for my mate to emerge. I had to see her, wanted to hear her voice, get a concentrated inhale of her sweet scent.

The instinct to go to her was fierce in me, a war drum that beat fast and hard, demanding I make her mine.

The minutes turned into hours, and soon the moon was falling away as the sun rose. But I'd wait out here all day for her, wait my entire fucking life if that's what it took for me to get another glimpse of my female.

I wanted to watch as the wind blew through the strands of her dark hair, teasing the ends so they moved along her shoulders.

I wanted to see every detail that made up her facial features. I wanted to stare into her Lycan-like eyes and pull her in close, push the hair off her shoulder, and strike her neck to mark her.

And then she finally emerged, and all rational, conscious thoughts left me.

And she was even lovelier in the morning sun.

Absolutely gorgeous.

Perfection.

Mine.

Never could I have pictured my mate to be so ethereal, so perfect for me in every way. It was as if she'd been plucked out of every fantasy I could have ever conjured. Made just for me. Only for me.

She was so small compared to me, half my height, her body lithe yet curvy. She seemed fragile, delicate.

Tiny.

I had to curl my claws into the trunk of the tree once more, forcing myself to stay hidden, to not go to her and take her to the ground to claim her like the animal I was. Christ, I wanted to sink my canines into her pretty neck good and hard so every Lycan would know she was mine.

I wanted them to gaze at the slender column of her throat and see how fiercely I marked her, laid claim to her.

But I didn't go to her. I just watched.

She walked the trail of the woods, her brows pulled low as if in deep concentration. I wondered what she thought about. I wondered if her subconscious remembered me from last night, maybe feeling as though she had an intense dream but unable to pull up the details.

And then she sensed me. I heard the way her heart started beating faster. I could smell the perspiration start to line her perfect flesh. All those reactions were so strong it was as if they were happening to me, our Link so intense there was no denying what she was to me. What I was to her.

I could've stayed right in the entrance of the forest—staring at where she resided, hoping to see her again—all fucking day. And I would have if I didn't have to go back to the manor and check on Luca. I had to make sure he was well.

I have to tell him about my mate.

I wanted to tell my brother that I found her. I wanted to let him know there was hope, that he was next. I wanted my brother to know that after all these long centuries, his mate was, in fact, out there. Waiting for him.

I hoped he felt relief, maybe a semblance of calmness that he couldn't give up... that he shouldn't.

I focused on my female once more, my entire life revolving around her now.

I knew what my mate looked like. Knew her scent. It was now forever ingrained in me, both of us linked in that inescapable, undeniable, and unbreakable way. There was no place in the world she could go that I wouldn't find her. There was no place she could run that I wouldn't give chase. And I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back from claiming her much longer.

I just hoped before the full moon rose she would be ready to give herself to me completely.

Because I didn't think I could control myself where she was concerned.