“Just tell him how you feel, Eva.”
“He’s going to be even more upset with me if I do that,” she answered, her fingers playing almost absently over his heart. It was as if she wasn’t even aware of doing so. Maybe she wasn’t. While John knew Eva was human and didn’t feel the mating bond in the same way he did, he liked to think it was there on some level. That while she didn’t understand it, she felt a pull toward him, nevertheless.
“How do you feel, Evaline?”
“There’s that name again,” she muttered.
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. I like it from your lips.” Her words sent warmth flooding through his blood.
“Does it hurt?” he whispered.
“A little, but I think it’s time I remember her. I’ve been avoiding everything that hurt me, doing everything in my power to keep busy and fill my mother’s shoes, and it never gave me time to actually feel the loss. When my dad said he wanted to sell the house, I panicked. They’re moving on without me. Zac’s got this big family looking out for him; he doesn’t need me anymore, and my dad wants to join him.”
The depth of pain in her words had John holding her tighter as he paused, leaning his head down and resting it on hers. “Have you not been listening, Evaline? That big family is looking out for you now too.”
Sighing, Eva snuggled into him further. “My brothers a wolf, my father’s built your homes, and I’m of no use. I don’t belong here.”
Pulling back, John could no longer restrain the desires of his wolf. One second he was in control, and the next, he was eyeing her lips. “You belong with me, Evaline,” he whispered hoarsely, before claiming her mouth.
She gasped into his touch, her fingers digging into his shoulder as he encouraged her to open for him. When she didn’t resist, a growl of pleasure rumbled up from his chest and into her mouth.
Eyes widening, Eva dragged in a ragged breath as she pulled sharply back. “What was that?”
“My wolf saying hello.”
Laughing softly, Eva shook her head. “Sometimes I swear I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole and all this isn’t real.”
“I’m real, Eva.”
“That’s what scares me.”
Kissing her softly, his lips a mere brush, John then rested his forehead on hers and sighed longingly. “There’s so much possibility beyond fear. Be brave enough to find it.” He began walking again, adjusting her slightly in his arms.
“Brave, strong… you’ve been saying these words, John, but I don’t feel them.”
“You’ve buried yourself for so long that you’ve forgotten what you look like.”
“My mom suffered for a long time, and watching her slowly fade away in front of me meant the only way to cope with that was to shut down.”
John couldn’t imagine watching his vibrant mother fade away, seeing the spark slowly disappear from her eyes as a disease stole her from him. Just the thought made him sick. There was no wonder Eva had reacted the way she had to get through it. But John couldn’t stand back and allow Eva to vanish too. He’d breathe life back into her veins, pull her from the depths of her grief himself if he had to. The idea of Eva leaving him forever was so unimaginable he wouldn’t even let the thought pass through his head. She was his. And until Eva felt the same pull as him, he’d slowly and gently coax her back to life, showing her all that waited on the other side of her fears.
“I understand, but it’s time to wake up now, sweetheart.”
They stepped through the trees, and whatever answer fell from her lips was swallowed by the shout of her brother. Her father stole her from his arms, the growl in his gut somehow contained even as his claws slid free.
“Easy now,” Bass murmured, stepping beside him and placing an arm on his shoulder. The strength of his alpha rushed into him, crushing any trace of anger his wolf had voiced. “He’s her father. He has the right to hold her.”
“I know that,” he answered sharply.
Bass chuckled softly. “Then why are your claws still out?”
“Shit,” John muttered. “She was in my arms at last, and I wasn’t ready to give her up.”
“Believe me, John, I know exactly what that feels like, but trust me, slicing up her father won’t help you win her over.”
“I wasn’t going to slice him up,” John muttered, slipping from his alpha’s grasp. “She’s hurt. Can you get a first aid kit, please?”
John walked a few paces toward Eva, the weight of his alpha’s stare felt with every step, before Bass must have decided John wasn’t a danger and veered off to do as he’d asked. But the truth was, John wasn’t sure if he had his wolf under control or not, and the closer he and Eva became, the stronger the urges of his wolf grew until they could potentially be a deadly situation.
Chapter 8
Eva
She’d never admit it, but the moment her father pulled her from John’s arms, she felt the instant loss, as if someone had torn a limb from her that she’d been unaware was there before.
“I can walk, Dad,” she complained. “Put me down.”
He obeyed but kept an arm around her shoulder, her brother close on the other side. She’d been such an idiot to think they were drifting apart. Here they both were, frantic and by her side, fussing as if she was going to die from the few grazes on her skin.
“Seriously, guys, back off. I was upset. I got turned around and figured if I stayed put, someone would find me eventually,
