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The poundingon the door startled her, and Flora eyed it wearily, dread slithering up her spine. She wanted to be strong, but after Draven’s declaration, she couldn’t take any more surprises the realm had to offer. As Emery would say, her fucks had runneth dry, and she had none left to give. Her body was deteriorating, living on stale water and the hope that maybe they’d figure a way out of there. Add in the shocking revelation of being Draven’s mate, plus the heartrending tears she’d cried, and she was on the verge of giving up.
Just for the night.
She could give herself that much.
A harsh breath fell from her lips. The realm was sucking the life out of her. She didn’t even have the sun to look forward to with the new day. Just darkness filled with the taunts of a moon that granted her a half-hearted gesture of hope. This place was supposed to be the answer to their problems. The place where the moon touched the earth, in the eye of her mountains.
Flora didn’t know who the “her” was, but she could fuck right off. The realm had brought them nothing but problems. They didn’t have the other half of the moonstone. They didn’t have a way home. And Draven was still engaged to someone else, even if he was all about mating right now.
The last problem was the one that haunted her most because with each passing moment, Flora realized how much she wanted Draven as her mate. He made her feel like no one else did. He made her feel seen. Like she wasn’t just the quiet girl in the Culling. Draven treated her as if she were something precious to be coveted. Not only that, he valued her thoughts and opinions. He listened with care and even when he would much rather be the one to protect her, he allowed her to find the strength she desired. The problem was: life wasn’t simple. It was messy and complicated. It always had been. She wasn’t sure why she thought being blessed with a mate would be any different.
Another knock sounded at the door. Flora stood from the pile of furs she’d curled up in and gave Bonesy a pointed stare. “You’re not expecting anyone are you?”
He stared at her with his jaw gaped, unmoving.
It was official. She was going stir crazy in the cabin with Bonesy as her only friend.
She shook her head, and let out an amused chuckle. “Didn’t think so.”
The smell of cooked meat wafted under the door as she approached, and her stomach rumbled.Please don’t let this be a cruel joke.
The door creaked as she pulled it open just enough to look onto the porch, and her mouth fell open when she found a pile of cooked meat set in a wide leaf. All around it were large wolf prints, telling her exactly who’d left the gift.
Freaking mush. That’s what her heart was.
Her eyes flitted to the treeline as the distinct feeling of being watched washed over her. He was there. It was as if she could feel his piercing emerald gaze all over her body. She searched for the black wolf, but he was out of sight.
Maybe he had heard her when she told him she needed space. She whole-heartedly expected him and his barbarian wolf to disregard her words, but he was proving her wrong.
Her heart swelled as she picked up the meat and headed back inside, curling up once more by the heat of the stove. The meat was a soft pink color, but the texture was that of beef. She popped a piece into her mouth and couldn’t help the moan that escaped her. There was no telling what kind of animal it came from, but she was thankful for every last bite.
When she’d finished, tears welled in her eyes and guilt pulled in her chest. She’d rejected him and he’d still gone out of his way to take care of her. It wasn’t his wolf. His wolf was the one who wanted to claim her regardless—a thought that made her tummy flutter more than she cared to admit. But this compassion, this was all Draven. The man who, from day one, had promised to protect her.
She looked up at Bonesy and laughed. “I’m sure I seem ridiculous to you. Telling him off and making him leave only to cry the moment he does something nice for me. I should want this. Someone to love me. To cherish me above all else. But I’m scared.”
Flora fingered the purple veins on the leaf he brought her dinner on. “I had a plan. It was a damn good plan.” Tears stained her cheeks and she choked back the sob in her throat. “He wasn’t part of my plan, Bonesy. I didn’t come here looking for a mate, or a pack or any of this.”
Bonesy didn’t move. Didn’t answer. Not that she expected him to. In truth, she didn’t even need him to pretend to answer in her head. She knew what she needed him to say. She knew what was in her heart—what had been there from the very moment Draven said she was his mate.
It was a resoundingThank the Goddess.
She didn’t think she could walk away from him. Because when it came down to it, she would have done anything to help him. Flora believed in him and what he could do for the wolves. For hybrids. He was the answer, whether he saw it yet or not.
She knew he had agreed to marry Tracy or Deborah or whatever her name was for the good of his pack. It spoke volumes about the kind of man he was and the lengths he would go to for his people. He had always wanted Flora at his side, not Mateo’s cousin. And the truth was, she wanted to be there, too.
But there was at least one major barrier to their happiness: immortality. It was the one thing he couldn’t give her. Wouldn’t give her. So the question still remained, could they make this work?
* * *
Flora woke from a fitful sleep to find that Draven still hadn’t returned. There was meat waiting for her on the doorstep, this time with a branch of berries too.
The same happened at lunch and dinner. Still no sign of Draven.
The next morning was more of the same, with no wolf in sight.
On the third afternoon, Flora sat eating the meat he’d left for her, trying to figure out what the hell she was going to do to get him to come back. She was ready to talk. She’d been ready to talk since the first evening.
Doubt crept into the depths of her mind. Maybe he’d had a change of heart and didn’t want to follow through with the mating. She’d told him to make sure it was what he wanted, too.
