She pointed to her chest. “You think I’m dangerous? Why would you sleep with me then?”
“No, Sophie. Of course not. It’s others. Think about it—if the wrong humans found out about our true nature, think of how they would try to exploit us.”
His words made sense on one level. A government or military organization would almost certainly seek an opportunity to achieve their means.
Still, the bottom line was he’d deceived her.
Just like the others.
Her heart twisted and tumbled insides, as if she’d been crushed rolling downhill in an avalanche. She thought Damon was better than them. She was wrong.
“How can I ever trust you?” Her voice caught in her throat.
He lowered his head. “I don’t know.” He glanced behind him. “Let me grab my clothes and we can go back to my place where we can talk.”
Sophie wrapped her arms around herself and walked in a clouded daze back to his cabin. Before she stepped in, she hesitated. Who was he really, this man she had slept with? Did she even know him at all?
She sighed and walked by the hot tub and through the patio doors. So much for her expectations for the night—shattered, like how her heart—torn to tatters.
Damon followed soon after, now clothed again. His eyes implored her as he asked, “What can I do to make it up to you?”
Hot tears scalded her eyes. She blinked them back and demanded, “How about you start by telling me the truth?
Chapter 14
Sophie
Once Sophie was back inside Damon’s cabin, sitting on the couch, he paced barefoot over the hardwood floor. He’d put on a pair of black shorts, but nothing else.
“You see…” he began. “Everything you saw with wolves is real.”
“Why did you fight that white wolf?”
He exhaled. “I detected your scent going off trail and I followed you to see if you were in trouble.”
“What?” Her eyes bulged. “My scent?” What kind of insane story was that? “What?”
“I have my wolf’s sense of scent.” He pulled out a wooden chair from the table near the window and turned it to face her. He sat down and raised his gaze to meet hers. “Please have an open mind while I tell you this. I know it’s not something humans are familiar with.”
No freakin’ shit. She blinked a few times. “Okay.”
“Legend is that wolf shifters have one mate, our other half. My wolf.” He placed his hand on his chest. “My wolf is a part of my being. He sensed that you are the one the night we met in that club six months ago. I tried not to accept it. The very idea of having a life mate has always terrified me. I spent all those months struggling with letting you go without at least trying to find a way to see you again. And then, when I scented you off the trail, I had to follow.”
Her mouth fell open. She said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
“You’d wandered into Sacco territory, that’s the land claimed by another wolf pack. I knew that crossing the boundary would be bad. We’d signed a treaty agreeing to land division over a decade ago. But I had to find you and make sure you were safe—especially since you were on their lands. When I crossed the borderline, one of them attacked.”
“Holy shit.” She couldn’t keep from interrupting over that. “Are you telling me you fought because you stepped onto their ‘land’? What kind of ridiculous crap is that?”
Damon shrugged. “Wolves are territorial.”
She snorted and bit back another retort.
“The thing is, Sophie, spending time with you this week has changed me. I’ve struggled against wanting a mate for so long, but it’s something I can’t deny. It’s so monumental. Life changing.” He swallowed. “After last night, I have no doubts.” He closed his eyes. A second later, he reopened them, and the depth of his vulnerability tugged at her. “For me, there is no other. There will never be another.”
Her ribs clenched her lungs and her heart ceased to beat.
“Sophie, you are my mate.”
Confusion battled with strong emotions in her mind. The betrayal was too raw. “What are you saying, Damon? You barely know me.”
“Do you believe in soul mates?”
“I—I—” She stammered and glanced outside the window. The stars were beyond her vision. “I don’t know.”
“I wish I told you before. I planned to tell you tonight. I didn’t know where to begin—or how you’d react.”
She stood. “I’ll tell you how I feel. Betrayed. You kept things from me. I asked you about the wolves when I woke up here confused and scared a week ago. You could have told me then.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Instead you—deceived me.”
“Sophie, please. I’m trying to explain.”
“No.” Each word sliced through her and deepened the wound. “I’m getting my stuff and leaving.” She avoided his gaze. “Please leave so I can pack in peace.”
“I will do as you wish.” The pain in his voice almost made her relent. The sound of the glass door opening was soon followed by it closing.
He’d left.
After a few seconds, she glanced in that direction. His shorts were on the floor. She ran over to the window and watched Damon walk with head bowed back to the forest path. Once under the cover of foliage, his body shimmered and expanded once more. She didn’t dare blink while he morphed back to the form of a gray wolf.
Her mouth fell open. Utterly amazing. She wouldn’t have believed it unless she’d seen it.
Which might have been one of the reasons he hadn’t told her.
The wolf turned and glanced at her from those intense golden eyes. Damon’s eyes. No wonder she’d thought his were spectacular. The wolf released a low whine and then bounded deeper into the forest.
Sophie needed to get out of here, get off this mountain with strange wolves,
