Valeri was a careful driver and a considerate companion, Ellie thought. He had escorted her to his car, quietly taken her address, and spoken of nothing important after that. He never once mentioned that he knew of her passionate encounter with his boss in the little restaurant office, even though she was quite sure he must know.
She was quite sure everyone must know.
She had tried to repair some of the damage before she left the office, but she couldn’t magically get the wrinkles out of her dress any more than she could instantly redo her earlier elaborate hairstyle. She had settled for a quick braiding of her hair and then pulled her shawl around her before she had forced herself to leave the safety of the office. She had hoped to minimize the appearance of sexual excess.
“Miss Bradley,” Valeri said, his tone clearly indicating that he had said it before.
She managed a wan smile. “Sorry,” she said. “Please call me
Ellie.”
He darted a quick glance her way, then focused his attention on the highway.
“Ellie, our Alpha is the center of our many businesses and has many demands on his time,” Valeri began.
Ellie suddenly had a very bad feeling. It sounded like the self- proclaimed ”second” was going to apologize for his boss’ behavior toward her. She was holding it together, but if he started talking about Rylek having sex with her and then immediately walking away, she wouldn’t be able to keep from crying.
“Please, don’t,” she said, and was aware of the tremor in her own voice.
“He likes you very much,” Valeri pressed on determinedly. “I have never seen him so instantly drawn to a female. I, and many others in the family, have noticed that he has been pulling away from all of the eligible females recently. It has been a great concern to us.”
Ellie prayed that he would drive faster. They were almost at her apartment, and she wouldn’t have to listen to any more about all the “eligible females” that wanted Rylek. She wanted him, but he didn’t see her as eligible, obviously, since he had no difficulty sending her away. He didn’t even want to look at her. She just wanted to curl up in her bed for a week and bawl her eyes out over another rejection.
“Rylek Sidarov is a man much in demand in his businesses,” Valeri repeated, “so you must not take it personally that he had to leave you before he could completely satisfy your needs.”
Ellie almost groaned at the humiliation. Just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse. Apparently, Valeri had some mistaken belief that Rylek had been interrupted before anything happened.
“I know that he will explain himself, of course,” he continued, “but you must know that—”
“What I know is that Rylek got what he wanted from me and I got what I wanted from him,” Ellie lied shakily.
Valeri started to speak, but she talked over him. She couldn’t hold it together much longer.
“Turn here, please. This is my building,” she said quickly.
“Thanks for the lift. It was certainly better than having to call a taxi. I
really appreciate it.”
She jumped out of the car almost before it stopped rolling, bolted to the door of her building and ran right past the started doorman before he could even blurt out his customary greeting.
Rylek looked up, startled, as his second burst into the office and threw the car keys on the desk with a great clatter.
“You hurt that lovely human female,” Valeri accused.
Rylek groaned and dropped his head back in his hands.
“Yes,” he said, thinking of the scratches and bright love marks his claws and fangs had left all over her soft pale flesh. His vulfen side had come to the fore in that joining, very nearly starting the first mating ritual. It had been all he could do to keep from flipping her over on her stomach and giving her the mating bite. As it was, he had nipped her sensitive throat at least once in his dominance. It was a wonder that she hadn’t run straight from his arms to scream for the human police to come and arrest him.
Valeri sighed. “When she came in here tonight, Alpha, her scent was already lovely, but when she saw you, her scent became hopeful, beautiful. And all your people became hopeful. It was more than obvious that you were drawn to her as well. But when I escorted her to the car,” Valeri went on in a hard tone, “her scent was sad, and by the time we reached her apartment, she was so humiliated she was almost shaking.” His voice was loud now, on the verge of shouting with his irritation. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Valeri,” Rylek said, not defending his actions, but wanting his second to understand, “I did not humiliate her. You must be wrong about that. I know that I hurt her, bruised her, and scraped her delicate human flesh with my claws and my fangs. She was so delicious I very nearly devoured her, but—”
Valeri snorted loudly. “Alpha, please. I’m not saying you hurt her
physically. What I’m saying is that your rejection of her has hurt her.” He flung himself into a chair and continued with his lecture.
“Since when does any vulfen male lucky enough to be granted a mate, and such a beautiful mate, send her away? I’ll tell you when — never. We all know there is no guarantee. It doesn’t always happen. Not every warrior is granted a mate. Not even every Alpha,” he said pointedly.
“I didn’t mate her,” Rylek said softly. “I had enough control to keep from giving her the mating bite, although I came very close to
it.”
Valeri made a face. “Yes, you are universally respected for your iron control of your vulfen side. And what do you use this fabled control for? Denying a gift from the goddess! Denying a mate!” Valeri was clearly disgusted.
Many seconds would never speak so frankly to their Alphas, but Rylek had always encouraged his seconds and the warriors in his Cadre, his elite group of twelve, to openly share their opinions. He was strong enough to listen to other ideas, and to take criticism, if it came to that. Valeri was within his rights.
“Valeri, she would not have thanked me for dragging her into our world, a world she does not even know exists, a world where she would be in danger every moment. It is unfair to her. You know we are hunted.”
Rylek didn’t know if he was trying to convince Valeri or himself. Sending Ellie away unmated was excruciating. He could hardly concentrate on his second’s words. He couldn’t help but smell her incredible scent all over the office and all over him, and it was driving him mad with the need to follow her and finish the claiming. Claw tips still protruded from his fingers, and his fangs refused to fully retract. The pleasure she had given him!
“We guard every mate,” Valeri said, and his voice made it a pledge. “You cannot doubt that we will guard the Alpha’s mate. She represents hope for all of us.”
“Not all would accept a human as the Alpha’s mate. She is so soft and fragile compared to our females. She would be in danger every moment.” Rylek’s tone was tortured.
“No one will challenge you or the mating. My father is an Elder. Miros, the entire Cadre, everyone who saw her tonight and saw your reaction to her, will support you. She is human, yes. And she reacted strongly to you, proving she is not fragile. She was devastated to be sent away from you. It is a true mating. We all saw it.”
With those words from his second, Rylek felt his heart lift. It was not common for him to be burdened with self-doubt. He could not think of another time when such a thing had happened to him. He was born to be the Alpha, and had always been acknowledged as such within the three clans. His birth, along with the combined strength of his mother’s status and his father’s diplomacy, had reunited the three clans, even before his father had been killed. After that, Rylek challenged and ascended to the position of Alpha before the Council of Elders.
There would be difficulties with this mating, not the least of which would be apologizing to his mate. Revealing his true nature and convincing her to mate with him in truth. Forever.
Rylek cast aside his doubts and pushed to his feet suddenly. Valeri rose as well.
“I must finish the mating,” he said in a deep grating rumble, her scent beckoning more strongly to him, as if the decision to accept her had released his stranglehold on his vulfen senses.
“Yes, Alpha,” Valeri responded with satisfaction.
“My seconds will accompany me and stand guard, as is proper.” “Yes, Alpha.”
Knowing that his seconds would be right behind, Rylek ran out the side door, his limbs elongating as fur and muscle shifted effortlessly into the form of a large black wolf. The strength and freedom of the form was incredible.
His Uncle Vasily shook his head fondly as Rylek passed, and the
Cadre warriors raised their fists in the air and roared their support.
In this elemental form, Ellie’s delicious scent sang in his nostrils, pulling him onward, leading him unerringly in the direction of his beautiful human mate.
Ellie stood in her tiny bedroom and gazed uneasily in the mirror. Her lovely, alarmingly expensive dress had four long slices along one side. Her pale skin was clearly visible through the torn black silk, and she stared at the rents, frowning as she turned one way and then the other. The light scratches on her hip corresponded exactly with two of the tears.
She could not come up with an explanation, at least, not one that belonged in the real world. Her thoughts raced along lines that could only be described as fantastical.
She shook her head finally, and turned away from the mirror to remove her ruined dress.
The door buzzer shrilled loudly and Ellie started. She didn’t often
have outside visitors, since her best friend lived in the same building. In point of fact, she couldn’t think of a single person who would visit at this time of night. The doorman must have hit the wrong button by accident.
Calming her sudden sense of unease with that thought, she pulled her dress off and shrugged into her white silk robe. She always dressed very conservatively at the office, but when she was on her own time she loved the feel of silk against her skin.
The buzzer rang again, and Ellie walked slowly out to her living room to answer it.
“Yes, Fred?”
“Miss Bradley, I apologize,” Fred’s tinny voice came through the speaker. “I couldn’t stop him. I didn’t dare. He just looked at me and it was impossible to refuse.”
Fred’s voice was drowned out by a firm knocking on Ellie’s door. “Thank you, Fred,” she said. Fred was always very conscientious
to the point of obsession about his job as the first point of building security. It would take something, or someone, truly extraordinary to make him change his usual careful guardianship of the tenants’ privacy.
Her heart thumped. Suddenly, she knew who was at the door.
Ellie hesitated for a moment, and then looked out the peephole. The hallway light was dim, but even through the distortion of the glass there was no mistaking the large form of Rylek Sidarov standing outside her door. Her emotions surged at the sight of him, and she honestly couldn’t say if she wanted to invite him in or send him away.
She stood, undecided, with her hand on the doorknob.
At her lack of response the knock came again, only a little louder this time.
“Ellie,” Rylek’s gorgeous voice said. “Please let me in so I can
apologize to you in person.”
“Apologize?” Her response was suspicious. “I’m not hurt. The scratches are nothing, so if that’s what this is about, you don’t need to say anything else.”
She could hear him groan through the closed door.
“Ellie, please, I wish to tell you that I am sorry. Please.” The voice had a distinct bite to it, and she suddenly had an image of sharp white teeth snapping.
Ellie almost smiled in spite of her anger as she put her eye up to the peephole once more.
His words were a plea, but his tone was one of command and his posture was straight and proud. Rylek probably believed he was begging. The thought amused her. He was such a powerful man. He wouldn’t even realize that this was not the way in which most people pleaded for an audience, but perhaps that was appropriate for him. Certainly, the mere fact that he was willing to apologize and take responsibility for his own behavior already made him superior to
every other man she had met in her life.
Ellie took a bracing breath and opened the door.
His hand was raised in a loose fist, and it was clear that he had intended to knock again. He moved forward immediately, coming inside and closing the door behind him, as if he feared that she would change her mind about admitting him.
Rylek took her hand in his and brought it to his lips.
“Forgive me, Ellie,” he said, his warm breath rasping across the back of her hand and causing corresponding shivers up her spine. “I want you to understand, I was not rejecting you when I sent you away. I am sorry. Of course that would be your thought. In my defense, I would say that my life is dangerous, and your life is so fragile. I am dangerous, but I never want to be the one to cause you harm.”
“Rylek, you didn’t hurt me,” Ellie began. “I loved every moment of what we—”
His finger across her lips gently asked for her silence.
“Ellie, I was fast, you cannot deny. For that also, I apologize. The first mating between us should have been slow, if it could not be gentle.” He smiled ruefully. “I fear that you inspired such heat within me that true gentleness was far beyond my reach.”
That incredible statement soothed some of her anger. The idea that a decidedly average woman could “inspire heat” in a man like Rylek Sidarov—it was flattering to say the least.
His hand caressed her cheek and she couldn’t keep herself from leaning into the warmth of his touch. His magnetism was such a potent force. He had given her such incredible pleasure that her body was still heavy with satisfaction. In one encounter, he had already trained her nerve endings to respond to his strokes, sending tingles of delight up and down her spine.
He took her hands in his and led her to an overstuffed chair. When she was seated, he knelt in front of her.
“Please say that you can forgive me.”
“Yes, of course,” she answered immediately. In her heart, she had
already forgiven him. Perhaps the handsome prince might choose the ordinary, average woman at least once in a while, she thought happily.
He smiled at her, but he stayed on his knees, and to Ellie he still looked tense.
“You are as gracious as you are beautiful,” Rylek said fervently. Ellie put her hand on his head, running her fingers through his
black hair, sifting the thick, silky stuff over and over.
He allowed the familiarity, but didn’t relax into it as she had expected. He took a deep breath.
“I came here with a specific desire,” he said, “but now I find I
cannot go through with it.”
Ellie stopped petting him. Was he going to reject her again now? What game was he playing?
Before she could question him or become angry, he was speaking again.
“I want you for my mate, to live with me always, to bear my
young. I feel it is destined, but there is something you must know before you decide. It is perhaps unfair to be so hasty in this, but I must have a true answer.” Rylek stood. “If you decide against me, it must be while I still have the strength to leave you.”
The air around his big body seemed to shimmer with an almost imperceptible iridescence, and in that moment, Rylek was gone and in his place sat a huge black wolf. Ellie shrieked and threw her arms out protectively then sat frozen, fearful, and disbelieving. She was afraid to move, afraid to breathe, and when the wolf made a hesitant move toward her, she shrank back in her chair, keeping her eyes fixed on him.
“Stay,” she said shrilly, pointing at the creature, trying to sound firm though her heart was pounding in her chest. The wolf stepped back again.
“This can’t be real. You just cannot be real,” she muttered. She laughed a bit hysterically when the wolf went down on his belly and began edging closer. His pink tongue came out and washed over her
bare toes, causing her to shriek again and pull her feet up into the chair.
“I do not believe you’re real,” she said warningly, but her voice wasn’t as strong as she wanted it to be.
The wolf whined and sat up, cocking his head to one side and studying her. He was a big animal, but he didn’t seem inclined to attack her right away.
The two sat for a moment, just looking at one another, and then Ellie carefully stretched out her arm, letting just the tips of her fingers stroke his massive head. His fur was thick and shiny, black as midnight just like Rylek’s hair. He butted her hand gently with his massive head, pushing against her touch. He seemed to be encouraging her to stroke him with a firm pressure.
She looked into the wolf’s intelligent black eyes, and her heart missed a beat.
“Rylek,” she said. Her voice shook. “I need you to not be a wolf
right now. Please.”
Her words sounded impossibly bizarre to her own ears, but for the second time the air began to faintly shimmer, and then Rylek the man sat before her on the carpet. Her fingers just barely touched the top of his dark head.
“Oh!” The room revolved slowly. She slumped forward until her head touched her knees. She concentrated on just breathing.
She definitely did not want to pass out with a werewolf in the room.