I hadn’t taken the time to appreciate the beauty of his wolf before, but it was otherworldly. His fur was a mocha brown, shiny and thick. His massive paws sunk into the earth with a heaviness as his human caramel-brown eyes pierced into mine. He was gorgeous in a lethal kind of way, and it made him that much more attractive.
“Xav,” his name tumbled from my lips.
He shifted into human form, and I had a hard time averting my gaze as he stepped into the river until the water covered him waist-down.
“I’ve been looking for you, little witch.” He smirked, but something sad lingered behind in his eyes.
“You found me.”
So this is the wolf.
I nodded, my face heating up. I’d forgotten she was here.
I used my hand to gesture toward the bears. “Meet Nita and her cubs. I think you owe them an apology.”
His face dropped. “Oh, shit. You’re the bear from before.”
Nita stood on her hind legs and let out a warning growl. Her cub scurried off me and hid behind his mother with his siblings. I do not like him.
I climbed to my feet. “I understand.” I stood between them and narrowed my eyes at Xavier.
“I’m sorry,” he grumbled.
I do not accept. She lowered onto her front feet. He is not genuine.
“He’s not really a bad guy.” I cupped my elbow. “I promise.”
He’s a predator. She began walking toward her cave with her cubs in tow. I will give you privacy with your wolf.
“I’m sorry, Nita. He won’t ever lay a hand on you or your cubs. I’ll make sure of it.”
Thank you, Harlow.
And with that, she and her cubs disappeared into the darkness of the cave.
I spun around and jerked a finger toward him. “You couldn’t have been more sincere?”
He stepped forward, and the water rippled around him. “She’s a bear. She’s my food source, Harlow. It’s called the fucking food chain.”
“You outrank me on that too. Does that mean you’d eat me too?”
A wicked grin took over his features. “Baby, I’ll eat you whenever you want me to.”
My mouth dropped. “Xavier!”
His eyes softened. “You’re my mate, Harlow. I wouldn’t hurt you.”
“I’m serious. She is off-limits and so are her cubs.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“I won’t hurt her or her cubs if it’ll make you happy. But, I will eat other animals. It’s how I survive in my wolf form.”
“Okay,” I said. “I can deal with that. But Nita is my friend.”
All that could be heard between us were the sounds of the water and nearby animals moving through the brush.
“I overheard your conversation with her.” He paused. “Do you doubt my feelings for you?”
My body tensed at the threatening nature of his voice. “It’s not that, I just… It’s the unknown. You said you had a mate before me that died. It doesn’t make sense. Did you feel for her the same way you do for me?” His eyes blazed so hot I flinched.
“Olivia.” His voice cracked. “Her name was Olivia.”
Hearing her name was equivalent to scorching lava being poured over me, and my heart burst in my chest. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was like or what color hair she had.
“She was my first mate, but she isn’t you.”
I couldn’t bite my tongue. “Would you be with me if she were still alive?”
He raked a hand through his hair and looked as if he was struggling against something. “Fuck, Harlow. I don’t know. I don’t know if I would’ve come into this forest if she was still alive. The whole reason I came in this forest was because I was running for days to clear my fucking head and strategize how to kill that motherfucker Lockhart to avenge her death. If she hadn’t died…”
“You wouldn’t have met me,” I finished.
His canines and snout extended, anger radiating from him and into me as he turned shifted into his wolf. He landed on the other side of the river. Don’t say shit like that. I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened had she not been killed because that would mean I wouldn’t be here with you. And that makes me a piece of fucking shit mate to her.
I slid my foot back as I recoiled from the intensity of his anger and pain. He took one last look my way before disappearing off into the woods.
Watching his retreating wolf form sent jagged spikes through my chest as I collapsed in a heap on the soil below. It was as if the spikes scraped against my insides every time I breathed until blood dripped from the shattered pieces of my beating heart. I glanced down, half-expecting to see red-colored syrup seeping from my chest but instead, tears dripped onto my hands.
I hadn’t cried since the day I lost my family and was banished, but him walking away from me felt equally as painful.
TWELVE
Xavier
I was a fucking moron. How could I not have realized she’d had her own thoughts about Liv? If the roles were reversed, I’d sure as hell have felt second-best. But Harlow wasn’t second-best. When it came down to it, I felt more for Harlow than I ever did for Liv, and that was fucked up.
After I’d run off from her, I hunted for a couple of hours before feasting on a couple of deer and ran for a while to burn off the anger her questions caused me.
It wasn’t fair to her. I knew that. I couldn’t expect her not to be jealous. I was her mate just as much as she was mine. She had every right to know about my past with Olivia, and it was damn well time I’d told her. I’d been living with her for almost a month now.
I shifted back into my human form and slipped the sweats on before entering our little home. A home I’d hoped I was still welcome in.
Harlow sat on the small wooden table with her legs crossed as she sipped from
