Chapter 4 - Heinrich
A long moment of silence stretches between Annika and me, and I'm trying to read her eyes. The dark brown orbs glow with something unreadable, and while I want to believe that it's recognition, I know there's no way she'd be able to feel me that way—as a fated mate would. Not yet, anyway.
She just got to the valley and wouldn't be awakened so soon as a witch and descendant of the Ashclaw Pack, even if she's been here for a good few hours.
I don't have a choice because of the fight against the demons; my pack is counting on me to restore our powers to their former glory. Apart from being unable to wield earth magic the way we used to, our rapid healing abilities have been stunted, and Silver Stone is weaker than ever.
So am I, as the leader, as the alpha. But still, I'm not weak enough that my reflexes are too slow to catch the moment when Annika picks up the candlestick from the nightstand.
The look in her eyes wasn't recognition, after all. It was a quiet calculation—the type of methodical thinking she always utilizes around me.
She always believed that I didn't clock it, that I was oblivious to her. But how could I be, when she's always been her?
I'm not blind.
From the first moment she walked into my office for an interview four years ago, I've noticed how beautiful she is.
I couldn't stop myself from noticing, couldn't stop myself from being attracted to her.
But living a double life in the human world meant that pursuing a relationship with a human would only further complicate my life.
If only I'd known back then what I know now…
And this time, touching her is further proof of the fated mate bond when I grab her wrist and stop her from using the candlestick as a weapon.
She's feisty, I'll give her that, the fury in her eyes deepening the dark brown in a way that makes them appear like glowing embers, the fire buried deep within the core of her being stirring.
Where my fingers close around her tiny wrist like a cuff, warm pulses hum to awaken the mate bond, thumping on my heartstrings like it's the only thing that matters between us.
A frown flits past my face as I stare deeply into her eyes, seeing my own face reflected there as if she's seeing right through me, as if her soul recognizes me, even if her mind doesn't. She must feel it, too—the awareness coursing through her veins—but she's obviously in denial, unaware of what it actually means, and she drops the candlestick from her fingers.
It falls with a metallic clink on the wooden floorboards, and Annika remains unflinching, even as I pin her against the wall again, her arm over her head.
My airways are arrested by the sweetness of her scent, like a field of jasmine flowers; her scent always appealed to me in the past with a faint trace of sweetness I didn't recognize before, but it's authoritative now, demanding my attention, commanding the attention of my inner wolf who stirs inside my being.
The fiery, fierce look in her eyes is what’s most captivating, and seeing this different side of Annika, who's usually calm and collected, has my body responding in ways I thought I was in control of.
Seeing her like this is hot. Annika Singh is a beautiful woman, and right now, she's driving me wild.
It takes every ounce of self-control not to crush my lips to hers, or slide my hand between her thighs and catch her essence on my fingers, as I have imagined for the past three nights.
Last night, after I'd used a potion to make her collapse into my arms and brought her to the valley, I'd spent a restless night in my room beside hers, knowing she's right under my roof, and there's nothing I can do about it.
Not yet, anyway. And from the wildly furious look in her eyes right now, I can tell that it's going to take some time before she accepts that being my mate means that I get to ravish her.
“Stop trying to fight me, Annika,” I warn, clutching her wrist tightly as I lean in. “There is no way out of this, and you will become my wife by the end of today.”
Annika gulps hard, holding my stare as she purses her lips. It isn't fear in her eyes, but calculation, and I'm aware of the split second it takes for her eyes to flicker to the window.
She's stubborn, still plotting an escape. But this time, I don't show her that I'm aware of her next move. Instead, I release her hand and take a step back, calmly walking toward the door.
“Would you like some breakfast?” I ask casually over my shoulder, and all I get in return is silence. I smile to myself as I leave the room, locking the door behind me with a purposefully loud click.
I pause, waiting to hear movement behind the door before I make my way down the hall, entering the kitchen. The warmth of a homemade meal fills the air, and I make a mental note to thank Anastasia for bringing over breakfast this morning, but there's no time to enjoy the meal.
Not when there's a woman hell-bent on escaping me.
A few more long, calm strides take me to the porch, and soon, I'm rounding the cabin and treading gently through the garden and meticulously-placed rocks on the side, careful not to make a sound that would alert her. I can't startle her, and I'd like to see this through.
It's probably my fault for locking her door and forgetting to secure the window, but it's also entertaining when I see her climbing out, one long leg sticking out from the small pine frame.
A piece of the nightgown Anastasia dressed her in gets hooked in the latch, and Annika rips it free before she climbs the rest of the way out.
Watching her is like seeing a spy in action, and I smirk, pride puffing my chest because Annika seems to be full of surprises. Perhaps I underestimated her, and I quickly realized that I don't know everything about her, even after four years.
It's going to be fun learning everything there is to know about her, but to do that, I must ensure that she doesn't escape. Just as she turns to scan her surroundings, questions flickering across her face, I swoop in and grab her arm.
“Going somewhere, fearless dove?”
Annika gasps when I have her pinned right where I want her, the window just above her head, her back ramrod-straight against the wall. She groans, the defeated sound filling my eardrums with triumph.
“Don't call me that…” she mumbles, and the annoyance is evident in the fire in her eyes.
Of course, I did my research and found that one meaning of her name is “fearless.” She embodies the Indian Goddess her name is derived from, like a fearless soldier who won't give up.
But I am an alpha, and won't let her slip through my fingers so easily. Without wasting another second, I fling her arm over my shoulder and lift her off her feet.
“Put me down, you crazy man!” she wails, fists beating against my back as she tries wiggling free of my grip, my hand secured on the small of her back.
I chuckle as I get to my toolshed, grab a toolbox, and then carry her back inside the cabin. When we're in her room again, and the door is locked behind us, I set her on her feet, only to meet her terrifying death-glare.
“If you want me to stop treating you like a prisoner, you'll have to stop trying to escape,” I warn her in a condescending tone that only infuriates her even more, and she crosses her arms and lifts her chin with a defiant huff.
This feels like a game of cat and mouse, and it's rather thrilling. But Annika is no mouse—she's a fierce fighter.
The council was right. Sophie's vision was right.
The fated mates of the alphas of the valley packs are all meant to be witches, descendants of the Ashclaw Pack.
The alpha of Ashclaw mated with a witch, and saved the child he had with her before the demons got to him, and Annika shares the bloodline, even if she isn't a shapeshifter.
Like Ashclaw, she has fire power in her bones, magic that lies dormant until awakened by the fated mate bond.
I can see it in her eyes now, the way the chocolate-brown orbs glow as if they're hiding the fire buried deep within.
I fight the urge to grab her and feel her body against mine again, to feel those tingles beneath my skin.
To distract myself from the sinful thoughts in my head, I focus on the task of bolting up the window while I can feel her anger pulsing off her in waves from where she stands behind me.
“You won't take no for an answer, will you?” she finally speaks, her voice gravelly.
“No,” I shake my head as I turn from the window slowly, throwing the hammer into the toolbox and arching a brow at her. “You know me well enough to know that I don't take no for an answer, ever.”
Annika scoffs. “I don't think I know you at all, Mr. Ralph.”
“Henry. Just Henry,” I remind her, but Annika doesn't bite. Instead, she clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes in a way that should be irritating, but instead, I find it endearing.
I'm used to women falling to their knees vying for my attention, but Annika is different. She never cared, not even when she first walked into my office for her interview.
She's always been different, and that's probably why she's so intriguing, even apart from her being my fated mate and appealing to my inner wolf.
She's so much more, and she has no idea what she is. Not yet. But I'll be right here when she finds out, and I'll be the one unraveling her in other ways…
“Suit yourself,” I say coolly, chuckling lightly as I pick up my toolbox again. “The offer still stands. About breakfast, of course.”
Annika doesn't look my way and just scoffs. “I'm not hungry,” she mutters under her breath, but I know she's lying, because she hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday.
Lugging my toolbox with me, I pass her and sneak a nose full of her scent before leaving the room, since it's the only thing that seems to soothe my wolf. This morning has already been eventful enough, and tonight will be different after we're married.
While I stack a plate with breakfast for Annika, I make a mental note to remind my father to keep tonight's ceremony strictly matrimonial, leaving out the traditional part of the ceremony that makes it a mate bond for wolves.
Annika hasn't agreed to the marriage, let alone one to a werewolf, and I can't dump this on her yet.
I sigh regretfully as I stare at the plate, my heart turning heavy with sadness.
I wish I didn't have to force her into this, because the truth is, Annika Singh deserves so much more than a forced marriage and a certificate signed under the guise of me protecting my freedom for the sake of the company.
Our mate bond is sacred, more profound than anything I could have asked for, and even though it comes in the midst of a war against demons, the fated mate bond itself is special.
I can only hope that with time, Annika realizes this, and that she doesn't hate me too much for kidnapping her and forcing her into marrying me. But from what I witnessed today, seeing her fiery, fighting spirit, I know I have my work cut out for me.
I take my plate to the sink, then head to my study to finish up some work that’s been left incomplete. But as I take a seat behind my desk, my eyes land on the mirror in the corner, and I’m reminded of another night when I’d been restless because of Annika.
The night of the gala.
She was so beautiful, and I couldn’t take my mind off her, even when I returned to the valley. I knew she was my fated mate, but I couldn’t even touch her.
I imagined her in that mirror, my mind projecting the way she looked that night into a fantasy.
But she’s no longer a fantasy.
She’s in my cabin.
And Annika Singh won't go down without a fight. When she discovers her fire power, it will be a miracle if I survive.
After all, the earth burns when fire rages, and Annika will soon discover that she can set fire to anything, even me.