Chapter 5

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I"d been feeling off the entire day, unable to shake this strange feeling, this low hum beneath my skin. I'd lain in bed for hours, staring straight ahead, tossing and turning, the sounds of Cian and Odhran softly snoring in their beds coming through the too-thin walls.

But they weren't the reason I hadn"t been able to rest. I was too agitated, that weird feeling in the pit of my gut and the ache in my chest something I couldn"t shake off. And the strangest part was… I didn't want to let it go. I didn't want it to leave.

I ran my hands up and down my arms, tuning out the tavern noises all around me. My skin felt tight and prickly. And my wolf… my wolf was anxious, pacing belowmy skin, rising every once in a while to let me know he was here and he wanted out.

I pushed away my mug of ale and leaned back in the chair, crossing my arms over my chest and staring at the other two Lycans. After I told Cian and Odhran we'd be staying another night, something they'd grumbled about only briefly because they wanted to get back home, we'd found ourselves at the only tavern in this little village.

"I told ye two stubborn bastards ye could leave at any time." I narrowed my eyes on them. "I donna need guards."

Cian snorted. "Like we're leaving our king alone."

I gritted my teeth and leaned closer, resting my forearms on the table. "I was doing battle when ye were still in your da's bullocks, Cian."

Odhran tipped his head back and roared out his laughter.

After holding my gaze for a second, Cian grunted and lifted his mug to toss back the rest of his ale. He gestured for another, any tension now forgotten.

"Stubborn arseholes," I clipped out.

"Look who we are around all the time," Odhran said and grinned, lifting his mug at me in a salute.

Both males had been tossing back copious amounts of ale since we'd arrived, so much so that I was pretty sure they'd pass out as soon as they got back to the inn.

I stood, unable to sit still any longer. "I'm done here," I murmured, and both males nodded, pushing their empty food platters away, finishing off their drinks, then standing as well.

"Aye," Cian said. "I think we are too. Starting tae see double."

Odhran barked out a laugh and stood as well.

I stepped out of the tavern, Cian and Odhran stumbling out behind me. "Head back tae the inn and sleep that shite off," I murmured as I looked around. "I need tae walk, tae clear my head." The air was still all around me.

"Ye'll be okay?" Cian asked, coughing to try and clear his throat of the slurred tone he now had.

"Did ye really ask me that?" I looked over at Cian with a gritted jaw.

"Ye want us tae walk with ye? No' like we canna use the fresh air," Odhran grumbled, his voice even more slurred than Cian's, clearly oblivious to the irritation I felt.

"I'm fooking fine," I all but growled in annoyance. "Ye two can barely speak straight let alone walk." I scrubbed a hand over my face and exhaled, the scruff on my cheeks and jaw growing thick from the days of not being able to shave.

After only a moment of both males trying to convince me they were fine, they finally conceded and left, making their way in the opposite direction.

I watched them round the corner of a small cottage before I started making my way forward, inhaling deeply and picking up the scent of unwashed animals and humans, the sweet scent of fruits, fresh aroma of cut vegetables, and a muskiness in the air of a couple having sex nearby.

The truth was I didn't need to walk to clear my head. I needed this walk to find her. Because I knew that's what this feeling was in me, this restless energy. It was my wolf pacing and snarling, digging his claws into my body and reminding me that he was alpha, he was dominant.

It was time to find our mate.

And so I walked the tiny muddy roads of the village, going down every alley and every hidden, shadowy corner all in the hopes that I'd feel that intensity even more that she was near.

And although I still felt that she was someone here, I wanted to know what my mate smelled like. I wanted to see her with my own eyes, touch her with my callused, too-big fingers.

I rounded the corner, seeing a man astride a horse, a wagon being pulled behind. He inclined his head in my direction in greeting, and as soon as he passed, the wind picked up, and I froze, my feet stalling, my senses rising violently to the surface.

I smelled her.

Mine! Mine! Mineminemine!

She was Otherworld. Vampire. Her scent so sweet that my wolf went crazy. My feet moved on their own record, and I tipped my head back, inhaling deeply. I followed the scent like an invisible tether tied me to it irrevocably.

I found myself in front of a small cottage, her scent all around it. I followed the scent around the side of the cottage to a lone window at the front of the home.

I placed my hands on either side of the frame, my nails—now claws—digging into the wood, the sound of them gouging out chunks barely penetrating the low pumping sound of my instinct that filled my ears.

Growling surrounded me, and I knew it came from me, growing louder and louder. Everything inside of me said to go inside, to turn everything over and find where she hid from me.

But as I inhaled a deep breath again, letting reality fade back into me, I realized her scent was dissipated. She wasn't inside, hadn't been for quite some time.

But still I didn't move, my eyes closed, my head now resting against the pane as I kept inhaling deeply, taking in as much of her scent as I could. I canna get enough.

My heart was thundering, my cock stiff. I wanted my mate, I needed to get to her, claim her, spread her thighs and rut between them like the wild beast I was.

I snarled and ripped away from the cottage, tipping my head back and inhaling again and again, finally picking up on which direction she'd gone.

I turned and followed her trail, passing a drunkard who got in my way, slurring and murmuring incoherently. I shoved him out of the way, snarling in annoyance. My aggression was too high—the Linked Connection making me even more territorial and possessive.

No one and nothing would keep me her from me.

The hunt was on.

I loped through the village, following the trail of her scent. It was faded, hours old, but it didn't matter. Now that I had it I'd never lose it. Her aroma was forever ingrained in me, and I'd find her anywhere.

Once out of the village and in the woods, I picked up my speed, allowing my wolf to burst through marginally, heightening my senses even more. My sight was crisp, clear, my nose picking up on the smallest of scents… the earthworm tunneling through the ground, stirring dirt. Color burst all around me vibrantly.

But only one thing mattered.

Her. She's mine. Only mine.

I had one focus, one purpose. Get to her.

And that's what I did.

Her scent started to become stronger and more concentrated the deeper I went into the woods. And then I found myself standing at the base of a mountain and staring at the entrance to a cavern, knowing that's where I'd find my little vampire mate.

I felt more animal than human right now, feeling every bit the Lycan beast my kind was known as in the Otherworld.

I stalked toward the entrance, my hands coming down on the hard, unforgiving stone, digging into my callused palms. I leaned in close and groaned as her scent was so concentrated right here that my cock throbbed, my bullocks drawing up right to my body, pre-cum dotting the tip and no doubt dampening my trews.

I'd never felt arousal before, never touched a female, thought of the fairer sex in that way. I'd saved all of this—all of my firsts—for my mate. For over two hundred years, I'd gone without a mate, living my existence in this almost stasis where I was alive but not truly living. Because until an Otherworld found their mate they were never whole. Never truly happy.

Once I gathered enough control, I could think of other things than fucking my mate until we were both so satiated neither of us could walk, I opened my eyes and went toward the entrance.

It was difficult getting my big body through the jagged, too-small entrance, my arms getting scraped from the rocks digging into my flesh and tearing my tunic, but I didn't give a shite. The pain was so minimal with the adrenaline and anticipation thrumming through my veins.

Once through the opening, I stood there a second and inhaled deeply. I could smell dirt and moss, fresh water and other natural aromas from the untouched caverns. But the one aroma that stood out was… her.

Ah Gods. Yesss. There she is. Perfection.

I was moving before I realized I was doing it. The scent of fresh water was powerful now, the sound of dripping water echoing all around me. And then the narrow tunnel opened up to an intimate cavern.

The rocky walls were jagged, and the ceiling and dirt and pebble-covered ground were scattered with stalagmite and stalactites. A small pool was up ahead, an equally small waterfall trickling water into the recessed area.

But the only thing I was focused on was the female currently floating in the pool, her arms out, her eyes closed and a small smile on her face. Her long blond hair was fanned out around her, wild strands floating on either side of her like a halo.

Gods… she's more beautiful than anything I've ever seen in my life.

The sound of my heart pounding drowned out everything else. I couldn't think clearly, and as I took a step forward, I felt on edge, unbalanced. The only thing I could focus on was her and getting as close as possible until we were fused together, until nothing on this planet or in the ether could tear us apart.

The water from the fall fell into the pool and splashed along her cheeks, seeming like little gems on her alabaster skin. She wore a white shift, but she might as well have been naked for as transparent as it was. The material was plastered to her body and showing me the rounded swells of her breasts, the tight peaks of her rosy nipples.

I was a voyeur as I watched her without her knowing, but I couldn't seem to tear my focus away and give her the respect and privacy she deserved. In fact, my eyes would have had to be gouged out for me to stop watching my mate.

And so I let my gaze travel down her tiny abdomen, her belly flat, the small indentation of her navel having my cock jerk. And gods… between her thighs, I could see the small triangle of blond curls that covered the sweetest fucking part of her.

My mouth watered, and my cock leaked even more pre-cum, the front of my trews damp from my need. My wolf roared inside of me, and I took another step forward, and another. I kicked a rock in my haste, the pebble skittering across the craggy ground and echoing off the cavern.

She gasped and sat up, water splashing in her haste.

And then we just stared at each other for long seconds, her eyes wide and so very blue, her chest heaving from the shock of thinking she was alone only to find me standing here watching her.

"W-who are you?" she breathed, her arms now covering her breasts as she tried to conceal her body from me. But the image of her was now forever ingrained in my memory.

I let out a low growl at the sound of her voice. Soft and sweet… so very feminine. My wee mate was American, and judging by the shocked expression on her face, no doubt sheltered as well.

Although I scented her nervousness and shock, there was no real fear pouring from her. She was startled, yes, because I was a stranger and we were alone. But deep down, she felt a pull toward me. In that moment I wished the females of our world felt the same intense connection their counterparts did, that Linking Connection that roared out in me over and over again that I'd give my life for her, kill for her.

But I knew she recognized me on a primal, instinctual level.

She knows I'm her mate.

"You know who I am," I said low, far too low for a human to hear clearly, but my little vampire mate gave me a gasp at hearing the words. "You know what that means."

She licked her lips, and I was transfixed to the sight, couldn't stop the obscene images that slammed into my head of what she could wrap those pouty lips around. And when she started shaking her head as if trying to deny the undeniable truth, I let my very wolf-like grin spread across my face.

"I'm yours," I growled out and took another step closer. "And you're mine, little mate."