“How?” I whispered.
“How what?”
“How is this even possible? If it is even possible. Is there some kind of mistake?”
Theo stayed quiet for a few moments, processing my question. “This isn’t a mistake, Margo. A wolf only gets one mate; there are no substitutes or mistakes that occur in that process.”
“But why me?” I asked, pulling at the hem of the shirt I was wearing.
“Every mated pair is chosen carefully.” He reached his hand out to touch mine, but I pulled it away nervously.
“By the ‘moon goddess?’” I fought not to roll my eyes.
“Something like that,” he clenched his jaw. “We were meant to be together. We fit for some reason. We make each other better, stronger. That’s what mates do. They challenge you, protect you, love you, strengthen you. Margo, I promise you, this is going to be the best thing that will ever happen to us. You just have to give it some time; you have to adjust.”
“You don’t know that,” I whimpered. “You took me away from Caddy, he’s my family, he’s the only person I have, and you took me from him.”
He slid off the couch onto his knees in front of me, placing his hands on the armrests of the chair. I sat back further in my chair to put distance between us.
“I’m sorry that the way we met was so…rough. But I don’t regret meeting you. Many shifters don’t meet their mates, and I’ve been blessed with you. I understand your frustration, your anger, your skepticism, but you will make friends here. I will care for you. I will love you. I will take care of you. You are my world now, Margo. You will never be safer than you are with me; you will be treated like a queen.”
I shook from the proximity, nodding my head to appease him.
“Margo, I don’t want you to be afraid of me. I might be stern around others, but it’s only to keep you safe. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“So that’s what you were doing yesterday when you yelled at me and bruised me in front of the whole pack, you were keeping me safe?” My voice was thick with emotion, the back of my throat beginning to burn with the raw, rough scream that was building under the surface.
“Yes,” he pressed on. “If I could go back and do it differently, maybe I would, but it’s the only way I saw us getting out of there without anyone knowing you’re my mate.”
“What is so bad about that?” Tears began collecting in my eyes. “You said I was a gift, that I’m your world. Why does it matter if other people know?”
“I’m an Enforcer, Margo,” he slumped tiredly on his knees. “The only one on this entire continent and I worked really hard to get this position, but that doesn’t mean it comes without threats. There are a lot of people that want this job; it comes with a lot of power. That’s why I have those guards standing outside. That’s why no one can know about you until I make sure you are absolutely safe. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if you got hurt because someone was trying to hurt me.”
His words sunk into my skin like a lullaby, and I nodded understandingly. He was only trying to make sure I was safe, and there was nothing to fault him for. I studied his face as he knelt before me, his thick, dark hair, the tan skin that sat with two wrinkles between his gunmetal, blue eyes as he stared at me anxiously. Soft pink lips tilted in a frown, two freckles that sat on his right cheekbone, all of which melted into the humble man who sat on the ground in front of me.
When I stayed quiet, he left for a while, going upstairs and closing a door. I wandered around the first floor, finding a stainless-steel kitchen, a small den that looked like the Enforcer’s office, a few large bedrooms, another office, a few storage rooms, and then I found myself back in the large open space near the front door. His house was open, and the floor plan didn’t allow many places to hide, which I suppose was the point of it.
I found a space near the wall of windows and curled up in the closest chair, watching the world around me. The men near the door never moved, constantly watching for signs of an intruder. There was a small space of grass around the house, and then the tree line started about one hundred feet away.
In the distance, a squirrel ran up a tree. I never thought I would be jealous of a squirrel, sitting on the other side of the glass like a caged animal. I sighed and turned my attention back to the interior of the house. It was beautiful, designed with quality and masculine, refined taste, but it was a cage around me.
“Margo,” the Enforcer greeted as he came downstairs again. I looked over apprehensively. “Would you come upstairs with me? I want to show you something.” I untangled my legs from the seat and trailed after him. A few doors before his bedroom, he opened a door.
There was nothing inside.
“You wanted to show me an empty room?” I wondered, stepping inside a little.
“I cleared it out. It used to be a guest room. I thought you might like it, and you can turn it into whatever you’d like. I’ll help you.”
“So, this could be my bedroom,” I thought softly.
“We will be sharing the bedroom. I can’t have you sleeping in another room, but you can turn this into a library, a craft room, an art studio, wardrobe, a place where you hang your hate mail towards me,” he chuckled.
“I don’t have anything,” I realized, the weight
