Then he frowned. “Would you object to letting a female healer examine you from head to toe, so we can see if there’s an obvious spot where you may have been injured or bitten without realizing it? It’s James’ wife, Anita.”
She nodded. “That’s fine. I want to know as much as you do. If what you’re telling me is true, my entire life is about to change. Every full moon, I’ll turn into a werewolf.”
“Well, it’s a little more than that. The week before the full moon you’ll crave red meat, and you’ll be more aggressive and temperamental. On the night of the full moon, you’ll change, and you’d be a danger to any human who came near you. You won’t be in control of yourself. That’s why we have this enormous property, and why it’s so isolated. There are a few major wolf packs scattered across the country. They all own properties like this, and any werewolf who’s traveling near the full moon, or who belongs to a smaller pack, is allowed to come to the larger tracts of land when it’s time for the change.”
“So. The full moon isn’t for about ten days. Can I go home?”
The look on his face was all the answer she needed.
She took a deep breath. “You’re literally telling me that I’m a prisoner here. That makes me very angry. My father was an abusive jerk who tried to control my mother. He locked us up in a room for days.”
“This is different,” Cliff said. “There are a lot of things I have to teach you, for your own safety. And for the safety of my pack, we have to find out who turned you, and how. And…” He took her hand in his. “I want you to stay with me. I want you to be my mate. You’re the one, Taylor. I felt drawn to you the very first time I spoke to you, and I thought I could never have you, so I walled away my longing and desire for you. And now that I know I’ve been so blessed, so lucky, that you’re my True Mate, I don’t ever want to let you go.”
“I’m your…what?”
He looked a little sheepish. “When a wolf meets the woman who’s his destiny, he knows it right away. Some say it’s an old wives’ tale, but now that I’ve met you, I know they’re wrong. I think people who say that have just never met their True Mate.”
“I’m a thief,” she blurted out.
Was she telling him that because she wanted him to throw her out on her butt, or because she wanted him to know everything about her and go into this with his eyes wide open?
She didn’t really know for sure.
“You’re what?” He looked at her in puzzlement.
“I stole the samples. The Platinum pills seem to delay the symptoms of a certain type of blood disorder. I found it out on the dark web, when I was trying to research cures for my friend ‘Chantelle’s blood disorder. It’s not an actual cure, but it keeps the symptoms at bay, at least.”
She thought he’d be furious. Instead he just looked thoughtful. Calculating, even. “So you need the samples to keep your friend alive.”
She yanked her hand away from his, fury bubbling up inside her. “Are you bargaining with my friend’s life to force me to stay here and agree to be your…mate?”
Those beautiful amber eyes bored right into her. “I will never lie to you. Yes, that’s what I’m doing.”
She stood up and took a few steps back, so angry that it took her a few moments to form words. “You are a conniving, manipulative son of a bitch.”
“I am all those things.” He nodded. “Those are necessary characteristics for the leader of a pack. And I want you very badly. You. Nobody else. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you mine.”
Under other circumstances, she would have been incredibly flattered, and touched, by such a romantic declaration. But he was using Chantelle as a pawn in a chess game with life-and-death consequences.
“I’m not a business deal! I’m not some factory equipment you’re buying!” she shouted, flushed with fury.
“I know that.” He stood up and walked towards her, stopping when she took a step back. “You’re Taylor. You’re mine. After the Alpha Trials, you’re going to be my mate.”
She wanted to know what the Alpha Trials were, but she was too angry to ask him any questions right now.
“Fine,” she bit out finally. “But my friend Chantelle gets all the product she needs.”
“Agreed.”
“And by the way, I texted her that I was coming out here to talk to you. I have to call her back, or she’ll worry.”
“You can call her, but I have to listen in on the phone call for now. It won’t always be like this. The last thing I want to do is make you feel like a prisoner; I want you towantto be here. To want to be with me. It’s just until we figure out how you turned in the first place, and get you settled in as a member of the pack.”
“All right. I’m going to call her and tell her that I came out here and you invited me to stay for the weekend, and that everything is fine. And one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“I said that I’d agree to be your mate. However, we’re not going to have sex.”
