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What am I? Caroline said that mixed species weren’t allowed to have children and if the council found out about me, I would be put to death. And then the vampire looked into my eyes…
“What are you, Ivy?” He asked again.
“Forbidden…”
Luca sighed and shook his head. “No, you are not. You are my mate. You are a beautiful female with a strong and rare wolf. You are not forbidden, Ivy. You are mine.”
My eyes shot to his. “The council will kill me if they find out.”
His face morphed from horror to confusion. “No, they will not!” He took my other hand, now holding both. “Why do you think that?” When I didn’t readily answer, he squeezed lightly. “Ivy, talk to me.”
My heart thundered in my chest as Luca rubbed his thumb across mine. His scent lulled me into a feeling of safety as it chased the fear away. God, I wanted to trust him. To have someone—a wolf—help me. Could I do it? Could I take a leap of faith, believe Luca wouldn’t turn me in? That he would help me? Protect me? Ugh! This was so fucking hard! It went against everything Caroline taught me.
But he had already witnessed my power, seen my wolf, and yet, he brought me to his home and comforted me. He let me sleep in his room. That had to account for something, right? I mean, he had every opportunity last night to drag me in front of the council, even lock me in a cell. Instead, I awoke in his bed.
“What do you want to know?” I finally asked.
“Everything,” he smiled. “But for right now, why don’t we start with why you think the council will kill you?”
I inhaled deeply. Being this close to Luca, surrounded by his scent, I felt safe, like I was finally home.Home, I shook my head and tried to dislodge this strange feeling, but it stayed. And I liked the thought of having a true home. Belonging somewhere.
Thoughts of running away and being on my own—being completely alone—scared me more than I cared to admit. I found that I wanted to trust him. Maybe that’s why I decided to confide in him. At least a little. “You already know that I am more than a wolf shifter. Caroline told me to avoid super-naturals at all costs. That if the council ever found out about me then I would be sentenced to death.”
“And Caroline is?”
“The person who raised me…Mostly.”
“And is this Caroline a shifter?”
“Yes.” Finding this more difficult than I’d anticipated, I blew out a long, slow breath. And the thought of being cared for felt like a dream just out of reach because I knew I couldn’t take a mate. It would be risking Luca’s life if the council ever found out. But a tiny flicker of hope took root in my chest and dared to grow.
Chapter 12
Luca
The smell of fear always enticed my wolf, unless that fear wafted from my mate. Then it made my wolf aggressive. The need to protect and console Ivy was as strong as the need to breathe. And somehow, I needed to gain her trust to get the answers I needed. It would be the only way to help alleviate her fears. If only she would give up the information without me having to drag it from her one word at a time.
Trace, I have the first name of a shifter. Caroline.
On it. Although you know this is like finding a needle in a haystack. Right?Trace mind-linked back.
Yes, but it’s a start. Give me a few minutes, and hopefully, I’ll have more details.
“Is Caroline a wolf shifter?” I asked, hoping she would volunteer more information than I was asking.
“No.”
I held in a heavy sigh while watching Ivy chew on the inside of her jaw. Somehow, I needed to break through the wall she had erected to shield herself from everyone. I wonder if the human, Kelly, knew Ivy’s story. Jealousy flared just thinking someone knew more than I did about my mate.
Softening my voice, I grasped at every ounce of patience I could while saying, “Ivy, I really need you to trust me here. Surely you know that you are my mate. If you do not, then your wolf does. Listen to her. What is she telling you to do?”
Ivy scoffed. “My wolf has liked you from the beginning. But she does not understand.”
“Understand what, little wolf?” It had not escaped my attention that Ivy knew absolutely nothing about shifters. Yes, I was about to turn thirty-five, but wolves aged slow and lived an average of two hundred years. I looked early to mid-twenties in age.
Ivy chewed her lower lip, and I knew her resolve was weakening. She seemed frustrated, even nervous. It made me sad that she found this all so difficult.
“My wolf doesn’t understand that we can never have a mate. Surely you know this, Luca.”
