Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
Torin’s mate touch was everything I imagined it would be. After years of pushing me away, his touch stirred emotions and feelings I hadn’t experienced before, not even in my bodyguard’s arms.
“Anna,” he whispered in my ear. “You’ve always known, haven’t you?”
The days after he rejected me, I thought I was crazy for feeling a strange pull toward this man. Even after I met Torin in my dream realm, I still denied believing in the truth.
But now, all confusion cleared as a part of my heart that had been dormant for so long suddenly awoke. He was my mate. But so was Hayden.
“I had my suspicions,” I said and cleared my dry and tight throat.
Torin blew a hot breath over the skin of my neck, sending more delicious sensations down my spine. An overwhelming urge to scrape my nails down the hard muscles of his abdomen took over me, and I sucked in a deep breath to steady my nerves and my resolve.
If Hayden did this to me, I’d feel the same, I kept repeating to myself.
But Torin’s touch was a rough promise of everything I longed for. I didn’t need gentle and cuddly at this very moment. I wanted to yank him toward me and feel every hard muscle. I wanted his hands gripping me, touching me everywhere with his bare skin.
His touch felt so good and so wrong at the same time.
That was a lie. It didn’t feel wrong at all. It was as if the earth plates shifted, the ground shook under my feet, and two puzzle pieces clicked together. It was everything Mom told me about when mates met.
I snapped my gaze at him, about to berate him, but seeing him close and touching me for the first time took my breath away.
Bristly black hair crowned his savage face, yet he was so handsome and alluring. He growled, long and slow—not in a warning but in how a predator soothed its prey before sinking his teeth into its flesh. I instinctively bared my neck, wanting Torin’s brand on my skin.
Mark me. I sucked in a sharp breath, my body and heart fighting a battle.
Eyes flashing with hunger, he watched me with a hooded crimson gaze, lowering it to the pulsing vein on my neck. His vampire was so close to the surface.
If he were in the kingdom right now, the tiniest shift to his vampire form would send Torin to the dungeon or have him banished or packless. His complete shift, especially around the princess, would result in the King’s order for Torin’s death.
That was why Torin was calm and collected in the kingdom, but his pack and Council didn’t mind Torin’s vampire form. A glance at the three men confirmed my suspicions. They watched us with curious and amused gazes.
What should I do now?
I ran from Torin twice before. Not this time.
Not yet at least.
I swallowed hard as if my throat had grown parched.
Torin’s face began to change. His nose grew thinner, his jaw somehow grew more square, and his cheeks hollowed. His hair turned silver in an instant, all while he held me.
The vampire Alpha desired my blood just as he did in my dream realm—another reason for executing Torin if the King found out. Although Torin’s fangs were not protruding, the thought of his blood hunger for me made my stomach quiver.
And yet my soul reached for his, wanting to lean into his touch and close my eyes.
The Fates must have been drunk when they assigned Torin as my mate. We were on opposite sides of the food chain. I was a human born to a werewolf royal family. Nothing about this match made sense.
Torin caught my arm and placed my palm over his chest. His heart beat as fast as mine.
“I’ve waited for so long, Princess.”
I drew in his earthy scent in my lungs and, with it, more oxygen that my brain desperately needed. His mate touch could not heal the pain he had caused five years ago.
“You could have waited longer. I wouldn’t have minded,” I said and wanted to smile at his deepening frown.
Even in his vampire form—which had once terrified me—I now wanted to caress his muscled chest, place my heated cheek on it, and listen to the rhythm of his pulse.
Fortunately, my mind still worked, even if my body didn’t, and it sent the image of a bitter memory from five years ago. A sharp pain cut through my heart. I needed to keep my resolve.
I pulled away from Torin. Did he think I would jump into his arms and declare my ever-lasting love for him?
I’ve longed to experience his touch, unsure if he was my mate, and always curious. When he appeared in my dream realm a few weeks ago, I was convinced he was my mate, but it also seemed impossible. And horrible.
He couldn’t—no, wouldn’t—give me what I wanted.
I yearned for unconditional love, like the kind my parents shared.
I desired a partner who would support me in my quest for answers.
Who would help me open the magic book I found in the London library with the help of an oversized butterfly creature.
I needed an equal who knew when to protect me and when to let me be.
I wanted too much, and the chance of having such a relationship with Torin was the same as catching a shooting star with my bare hands. I shook my head. I didn’t want a mate attracted to me because of some magical predestined connection.
I took another step back and met his red eyes. An image of Torin with Layla in his lap popped into my mind. That’s what I need. The reminder of him hugging another woman was like the icy shower I didn’t want to take after a hard training with Dad at the kingdom.
“You really believe someone like you would be born to be my mate, Alpha Torin?”
I used the exact words he threw at me to pierce my heart in the past. He might be an Alpha with great power, but words were his greatest weapon. I wished I were regretful for being mean, but I wasn’t. The tightness in my chest overruled my kindness and sympathy for the man.
Pain exploded behind Torin’s crimson eyes, and the tightness in my chest squeezed my torso like a rubber band. He took a step forward, so we stood toe-to-toe. I held my head high.
“I’ll die before I let you go, Princess.”
Was he serious? But one look at him told me he meant every word. His nostrils flared, and his eyes turned a darker shade of red. I tilted my head to the side and tried to take a deep breath to appear as if he were annoying me and not to look like I was calming my nerves down.
Stand tall, Breanna.
I straightened my shoulders while Torin studied me, seeming unsure about what to make of my attitude. He didn’t appear to be a man about to give up on me.
Ugh.
“I can be with you only if you let me,” he finally said in a low voice after a moment of silence.
I scoffed. He didn’t think I’d submit to him at the first sign of attention he gave me, did he?
“I made it obvious I don’t want to be with you, didn’t I?”
“You’re not going anywhere,” he snapped at me.
He was right about that. I wasn’t going anywhere without the book he stole. Not that I had anywhere else to run to.
Torin held on to his last drops of control. His hands partially shifted into claws, but at least his talons didn’t extend. Yet. And his fangs didn’t greet me. Yet.
I looked around the room, but the men watched us as if they were in a movie theater. The woman was the only one who glared at me. No one seemed disturbed by their Alpha’s vampire form. Did they trust him so much?
“I want you to work with me and find a way to be together, Anna.” His tender voice brought my gaze back to his handsome face.
I blinked. After years of radio silence, he wanted me to start singing his tune.
“No. Thank you.” I paused and added, “Alpha Torin.”
Torin’s hands flew to his head, and he dragged them down over his face. I smiled at him.
“Fine. But you won’t be going back,” he said.
I pressed my lips together to stifle the snort that wanted to escape. He didn’t get it—I had nowhere else to go.
I had to stay away from London. The thought of bringing danger to Tammy scared me. She didn’t deserve a friend who only brought threatening supernaturals around us. Lisa had paid the price with her life, and I promised myself I wouldn’t let anyone else get hurt.
But jealousy laced Torin’s voice. Was this about me not going back to London where Hayden was?
“So, if you can’t have me, no one else can? Is this what you want?” I deadpanned.
“Don’t twist my words, Princess.”
“I don’t care about your words, Torin. Your actions tell me everything. You lured me here knowing I wanted to get my book, and now what? I’m your captive?”
“No, you’re not, Anna. You are my Luna,” he said in the softest voice that melted my insides.
Luna? I wasn’t sure what face I made, but Torin’s flinched, and he grimaced.
“Don’t look at me like that, Princess. You’re my fated mate and supposed to be by my side. I’m the Alpha of this pack, and you’re its Luna. My Luna.”
“Are you out of your mind?” I asked.
I wanted to pull my hair out. It would hurt less than to deal with this unreasonable supernatural.
I couldn’t process any of his words now.
My emotions stirred a tornado behind my chest. I needed to lean against a wall.
He’d thrown that Luna stuff at me when I thought I could walk out of here.
Torin and I couldn’t have a normal conversation or be in the same room.
Ignore him, just as he conveniently ignores my words sometimes.
He was beyond forgiving or redemption. And I’d had enough of him.
I lifted my hand, palm out. “Before, you ignored my existence or looked at me like you wanted me dead. Now we only fight.”
And with that, I stomped out of the boardroom without sparing a glance at his Council. I was only walking away from him right now. I knew I couldn’t leave his pack territory. And I didn’t think Torin would tell me where he kept my book.
But if I gave him what he wanted, despite the protests of the rational side of my mind, I could distract him enough to find a way to steal it.
If I played “mates” with Torin, I had to stay alert and not fall into his charming ways.
I would have to protect my heart—an easy task, given Torin was my vampire captor.
As soon as I stood on the other side of the door, I let out a heavy breath. I twisted my head left and right to orient myself to his manor. I knew my way to the old bedroom where I had stayed five years ago.
I only took one step before stopping at the sound of the woman’s voice in the room.
“I don’t understand what you see in her, Alpha,” the woman said.
She was Torin’s personal assistant and a part of his Council. By default, he must have trusted her. A loud growl echoed in the manor, and goose bumps rose on my forearms.
“Veronica,” was all Torin replied.
I wasn’t going to stick around to hear more. I walked upstairs to the hallway of guest bedrooms.
I could have answered Veronica. Her Alpha was drawn to me because of the bond we shared. A connection that drew us together in a physical way that burned us with desire for each other, even if I wasn’t his type.
I leaned against the bedroom door, squeezing my eyes shut and breathing slowly through my nose.
After a moment, I opened my eyes, gasping as my gaze fell upon Torin. His eyes, a deep golden color, bore into me with an intensity that conveyed worry and pain. He’d changed back to his human form.
“You seemed far away from here, Princess,” he said in a gentle voice.
I blinked a few times to regain my focus. My back pressed against the door of the bedroom in which I’d stayed five years ago, but I still stood in the hallway.
“Anna?”
I couldn’t back down now. I was here for a reason.
“What do you want, Torin?” I snapped.
His eyes flashed crimson, but he regained control. Torin grabbed my hand and pulled me after him down the hallway. The tingling and warmth of his touch distracted me.
“Hey, stop dragging me around.”
We arrived in front of a door after walking the entire length of the hallway.
“As my Luna, you’ll be staying in my suite,” he said and pushed the door open for me.
“The hell I am,” I deadpanned and stood my ground.
I couldn’t believe he kept up with the Luna nonsense.
Standing at the threshold of Torin’s apartment, a wave of warm energy washed over me. I took a deep breath and focused on it. A buzz of electricity formed underneath my skin, traveling all over my body. My pulse accelerated, and as if some force pushed me, I took several steps inside his suite.
The magic beckoned me again, and it finally dawned on me that I was feeling the witch energy of my book. I was connected to it in a way I couldn’t fully understand.
My book was inside Torin’s home.
I had let all the hurt and painful memories cloud my mind. I was here to steal back my book, and Torin had hidden it in his bedroom.
Just great.
My parents had a safety room in their bedchamber, so I’d guess Torin had one too. I only had to find the secret door to Torin’s vault, open it, and steal my book. I stifled the groan that wanted to escape my mouth.
I cleared my throat, and turning to face him, gave him a sickly sweet smile. “On second thought, I’ll make myself comfortable here.”
The magic book was meant for me. Deep down, I knew it had the answers.
Even if I learned the reason for my human heritage, I wouldn’t miraculously change to a different species.
I was stuck as a human in the supernatural world.
But at least the book could give me peace of mind and the strength to accept myself as I was.
“So where do I sleep, Alpha?”