Chapter 6
Tore Hansen
Bringing her into my bedroom was no doubt a horrible, terrible idea. Yet as I opened the door to my room, positioned next to hers, I stepped to the side to let her into my space, suddenly thankful I’d picked up earlier.
I felt a bit like the big bad wolf convincing her to come into such a private space where all I had to do was shut the door to keep her captive and one hundred percent mine, but considering the three other men that were watching her a bit obsessively…
I figured I would be able to keep myself in check.
Hopefully. If not, we would have a problem.
Briefly, I wondered what she thought about my room.
Considering it mostly consisted of dark posters, featuring some Scandinavian bands from my pack’s headquarters, and small hand-carved trinkets my siblings had sent me, it probably seemed somewhat depressing to her.
At least in comparison to her bright, colorful appearance.
I had always thought my favorite color was black, but now that I had met Effie, I was starting to think that blue, pink, and purple may be moving further up on the list.
I ran a hand over the back of my neck nervously as I flipped on the lights and hit the button that opened up the large windowscape. She crossed the room immediately, her wolf jumping in excitement under her skin and causing my magic to roll with energy at the electric current surging between us.
Did she feel this? She had to, right?
I watched as she planted her small hands against the window ledge and leaned forward, trying to get a view of the lake.
I inhaled sharply, trying to ignore the way my cock jumped to attention at the view of her pert little ass bent forward slightly.
Fuck. Despite the oversized jacket, the way she leaned over showed off her long, lean legs and the way her jeans clung to her perfect ass.
Holy shit. I hadn’t realized I was an ass man, but now all I could see was sliding into her from behind while pressing her up against that window.
I could imagine the way she would whine my name as I buried my teeth into her soft neck and ran my fingers over her silky skin.
I wanted to fill up every single inch of her tight, curvy body.
It was like a constant wave of desire that continuously crashed into me since the moment that I’d first laid eyes on her.
A drum beat, warning me of what was to come, predicting my upcoming demise.
My magic wanted to mark her head to toe with bites so that everyone knew who she belonged to.
My hands shook slightly with tension as I tried to shake myself, not trusting myself to move from my position in the doorway. Not yet.
After a moment, steeling myself from possibly attacking her, I opened up the closet nearby and pulled out a large, warm dark coat that I didn’t wear unless I was attending more formal functions.
It would no doubt be absolutely massive on her, but I liked the concept of covering her up.
She was so fucking beautiful, and I didn’t want anyone else to see her.
I knew my thoughts were ridiculous, but that didn’t stop them from being true.
It didn’t make the desire to do just that go away.
“Here,” I called out. She turned sharply, fixing me with a bright, wide-eyed blue gaze that almost seemed to flash a purplish pink momentarily with heat.
Her normal shade matched the exact sky blue outside of the window behind her, but the edge was rimmed in a nearly navy shade.
Effie, even in the short time I had known her, didn’t seem like someone to hide her emotions, and her eyes were brimming with them.
It was… refreshing? Sure. Let’s go with that. I didn’t really know how else to describe the coursing energy that she pulled out and infected me with. My throat caught as she made her way towards me, everything about the stunning woman calling out to me like a goddamn siren song.
Not just physically, either. I mean, that was a large part of it, from her small curvy but lean stature, to her almost perfectly gorgeous face…
I mean, the woman was a knockout. Somehow managing to be both sexy, her curves pressing against her tight clothes, and adorable, with long, dark lashes and soft pink lips that I wanted to fucking ruin.
My fingers twitched to pull that beanie off her head, because I had the urge to see what her hair looked like down completely instead of the single vibrant piece hanging by her face.
I didn’t, though. I was finding that I was far more hesitant than usual around Effie, considering I was usually someone who just took what I wanted.
But I wasn’t positive I could handle her flinching, running, or looking at me with objective fear like last time, without it absolutely wrecking me.
It was enough knowing that there was a man out there that had laid hands on her that wasn’t dead.
A snarl almost escaped my throat at that thought, but I covered it by clearing my voice, not wanting to freak her out as she approached and took the offered jacket.
But instead of handing it to her, at the last minute I pulled it back slightly and opened it so that she would have to step towards me to put it on.
She turned after a moment, examining my expression with confusion and then a hesitant smile as she slid on the large sleeves.
I eyed the beanie once more, wanting to tug on it.
Adjusting the jacket, she turned towards me, and I saw her shift under the weight of it.
At least it would keep her warm. Was it too heavy though?
We needed to get her a jacket. What else did she need?
Would it be weird for me to go through her stuff?
Effie was so delicate looking that I worried a heavy wind from the lake could knock her over, and that terrified me.
What didn’t terrify me? The idea of being able to haul her little ass over my shoulder and toss her around as much as I wanted.
A low rumble almost broke from the back of my throat, not even able fully to blame my magic, because the idea of dominating her had my blood rushing in my ears.
My predatory instincts had made quite the goddamn mess already today when she had run from me, so I really needed to chill the hell out.
I hadn’t meant to hunt after her like that earlier.
She had run, and I’d caught her in less than a second of her turning away from me, unable to handle the woman we had been looking for so long leaving us already.
I knew fenrir wolves didn’t normally have fated mates, but this felt as natural as fucking breathing.
Effie was mine. I knew that in my goddamn soul.
So yeah, I had been terrified when she had tried to run.
Honestly, the only thing that had snapped me out of the predatory haze had been her small wince of pain.
The idea of hurting my mate was abhorrent, causing a visceral reaction that made me feel sick to my stomach.
I couldn’t ever imagine hurting her, and in fact, I could see myself going to some drastic lengths just to make sure that she was never physically injured.
I had a violent reputation, and while those habits seemed to extinguish around Effie, I couldn’t handle the concept of someone else trying to hurt her.
A small twinge of heartache pulled in the center of my chest, thinking about my older sister.
Isabella had been part of the reason I’d been sent here.
When I had found out that she had been killed by her mate, I had hunted the motherfucker down and beat his skull in like he’d beat my sister.
Of course, while my father hadn’t disagreed with the action, my rash decision hadn’t sat well with the pack…
so he sent me to Silver Falls University so that the entire situation could ‘breathe’ a bit.
It was why I’d been so willing to form this blood-bonded pack.
I had no intention of returning back to Washington, and I hoped my father understood that when the time came.
Neither of my parents had been pleased I’d yet to return on any of my breaks.
But what was I going to do in a pack I didn’t plan on leading one day?
Absolutely nothing. They could come here if they wanted to see me.
They knew where I lived, and they had yet to visit.
It hurt more than I was comfortable admitting.
“Tore?” Effie asked softly, making me realize I’d been staring at her with probably somewhat of a concerned expression.
I couldn’t help it. Didn’t she realize how dainty and ethereal she appeared?
I wasn’t even positive she was completely real.
I could feel her wolf running under her skin like a fluid silk scarf, and the magic that sparked around her almost felt elven or godlike in nature.
It felt unreal. There was enough light and magic radiating from her that it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to find out the woman was a goddess among men.
I mean, she had appeared out of nowhere. That alone was odd.
It was also something that I would need to talk to the others about.
I knew enough about Silver Falls to know that coincidences were bullshit.
My brow dipped in sudden consideration of whether or not we should venture out from our secure dorm.
Not just because I was liable to hurt someone if they stared or talked to Effie too much, which was entirely possible.
No, I was concerned that more people finding out about her was playing right into what they wanted.
‘They’ being whoever made the decision to invite her here in the first place.
Something that I was thankful for, but now also very concerned over.