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I growled at how fucking good that sounded from her lips. “Because I think I’m falling head over heels, madly in love with you, Ren.”
My body went tight, my heart racing. And then I closed my eyes as pure pleasure washed through me.
“I know it’s insane, seeing as things have moved so fast. But I can’t deny that I’ve never felt this way about anyone, never even dreamed of it.” She tipped her head back to look into my face. “And what else can it be besides love?” Her voice was so soft.
I cupped the side of her face, stroking a finger over her cheek. “You make my heart ache, my blood rush, and every protective instinct in me come alive. Even if I’d only ever gotten this one moment in time with you, every lonely second of my existence would have been worth it.” I leaned in and kissed her. “I love you, my female. More than you’ll ever know, more than you can ever comprehend.” I kissed her once more, sealing those words between us. She rested her head on my bicep once again, and we stayed silent for so long I wondered if she’d fallen asleep.
But then she whispered, “Will you show me your animal?” Her voice was soft, her tone inquiring.
My Lycan rose up, anxious, excited to show our mate what he looked like. I pushed him back, fearful of what Mikalina would think about him. He wasn’t a normal-appearing wolf. My beast was massive, corded with power and muscular, and stuff terrifying legends were made of.
“I don’t want to frighten you.” Although I desperately wanted her to see my inner animal, it was a fearsome fucking creature. She wasn’t fully used to this new supernatural world, and I worried about shocking her.
“Will your animal hurt m?—”
“Never,” I said with so much firmness there was no doubt about that lone word. “He only wants to please and protect you. He wants to always provide for you. We are one in the same, and everything I feel for you in my human side is magnified by my animal side tenfold.”
She was silent for long seconds, just letting me hold her and rub my hand up and down her bare, warm back.
“I trust you with my life,” she said softly and tipped her head back to look into my face. “I’ve never trusted anyone more, Ren. I want to see him.”
And the sound of her saying she wanted to see my wolf had the beast rising up excitedly again, feeling pleasure that our mate wanted to see him fully.
I couldn’t deny her anything, even if it worried me that I’d terrify my mate with the sight of the feral creature I housed within me.
I leaned in and kissed her slowly before murmuring, “Okay. He’s yours the same as I am. Forever.”
28
Ren
After we’d gotten dressed and ate a light breakfast of fruit and juice, homemade bread, pastries, and jam, I felt my female sigh contentedly in my arms. She was happy, because of me, and damn if that didn’t please me to no end.
It was as if she couldn’t be parted from me, and because I was more animal than man and was possessive of her and her time, this also fucking pleased me immensely.
The servants had been moving around the castle with purpose, and I could see she wasn't used to having people wait on her, but the more she saw them and how much they enjoyed their job, how well I treated them because I saw them as an extension of my family, the more I felt her get used to the idea.
I led her out of the manor and toward the house, wanting privacy for what I was about to show her. And I couldn’t help but look at her constantly, smiling at how fucking lucky I was. I found myself continuously thanking whoever listened that I’d been granted my mate after waiting for so long.
But even my happiness for her couldn’t dim how tense I was. My body was tight, because a part of me dreaded this. I worried about what she’d think about me after I showed her my wolf.
“I care for you, Ren. So much.” We stopped, and she rose on her toes to place her palms on my shoulders, smiling up at me. “Your inner animal is an extension of you, so your fear isn’t needed, because I’ll love him as much as I love you,” she said as if she read my mind.
I leaned down and kissed her for long seconds, continued to kiss her until she was breathless and I had to force myself to take a step back or I’d take her right up against a tree.
We walked for another ten minutes, my hand wrapped around her, keeping her close. Finally, I stopped, exhaling, feeling my wolf pacing in me, desperate to get this going and show our mate what he was. He wanted her to see how big he was, to know that he could protect her no matter what.
I stared at Mikalina, gathering my courage to do this. Although this was the most natural thing for me, to show her this side of me, frightening her when I just found her went against everything in me.
But our connection was undeniable. Unbreakable. Irrevocable. And as the years passed, it would grow. And I wanted my female to see me in all ways, to know what she was truly getting herself into by mating me.
I’d taken her to a secluded place in the woods on my property. Did she know all of this was hers, ours? For as far as the eye could see, from the edge of one town to the border of another, it was ours.
And today, I’d show a female—my female—my Lycan for the very first time.
I pulled her in close, kissing the top of her head and closing my eyes, just inhaling the sweet scent that filtered around her. She tightened her arms around me.
“I’m ready,” she whispered against my chest, and I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me.
