Behind the door was a freaking monster of a wolf.
I took a few steps back as he moved to block my only exit, staring at me with almost human eyes that seemed to stare deep into my soul.
The only sound in the entire house was his breathing; his flaring nostrils seemed to be inhaling in my very essence. He curled up his gums to reveal sharp, white teeth before he let out a low, rumbling growl. Something about his aura was pulling me toward him, but I knew my fate, and I didn’t expect anything less.
In seconds, my throat would be ripped out, and my flesh consumed. With my magic depleted, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
TWO
Xavier
I didn’t know how long I’d been running. If I had to guess, it’d been a little over a year since I first left the Maxwell Pack to set out on my path of revenge. I’d come up empty. Every time I tried to attack Lockhart, the plan got fucked, royally.
I’d taken off in a rage to clear my mind days, maybe weeks, ago, and I’d ended up in some thick ass forest I could barely run through without bumping into a tree.
I’d sniffed out some bear cubs for dinner, but their mother distracted me. I took a good chunk out of her before catching the scent of sunflowers and soil—a smell that wrapped me up and made me fucking choke.
It was a fragrance that captivated me like the scent of a mate would, but my mate was ten feet under. It didn’t make a lick of sense, and if anything, it pissed me off. I had to track the source of the phony scent, so I let my dinner be and followed it.
The smell led me to a small as fuck cottage. I’d pushed the creaky door open with my snout and moved in. The structure was one big ass room with herbs, crystals, and blankets scattered everywhere. It was hard to see anything from the forest being dense with trees, but inside was dark as hell too, with only a couple of candles illuminating the surroundings.
I decided to wait in hiding until whoever lived here came back. The cottage reeked of that smell, and my wolf fucking purred, the dumbass animal.
I’d never met a witch before, but I swore magic lingered in the air.
When the door finally opened, a dainty woman with silky black hair reaching down to her hips strode in. The smell wafted from her to me, and my mouth watered like a damn puppy. She let out a sigh and spun around, her dress twirled up around her, showing those short, slim legs I would have loved to wrap around my hips.
Fuck.
The need to claim her was overwhelming, but I fought it. She wasn’t my mate. I had one already. She was a fucking witch, and there was no doubt in my mind now that I’d seen her. She must’ve put me under a voodoo spell or some shit.
Her lavender eyes locked with mine, and the world stopped. She was enchanting, with her button nose and plump pink lips. A low growl emitted from my throat as I stepped forward, and she back peddled away from me as the color in her face drained.
We stared at each other for a while before she broke the silence. “Do it already.”
The fear laced in her delicate voice slammed into me. She was afraid of me, and at that fucking moment, I didn’t care if she had me under a spell. I didn’t want her to be afraid of me.
I shifted back to my human form for the first time in what seemed like forever. My bones ached from the swift transition, and I cracked my neck to relieve some of the pressure. It hurt like a bitch.
She let out a high-pitched scream, turning her back to me so quickly those black strands of hair fanned around her before settling over the pale skin of her shoulders. “You’re naked!”
“Well, yeah. I’m a werewolf. Do you expect me to shift with clothes on? Could you imagine a huge ass wolf dressed up like a damn domesticated dog?” I chuckled.
She pointed toward the corner next to the mattress. “Over there. I have an extra pair of sweats. Put them on.”
I shook my head but did as she said and slipped on the discarded sweatpants. They were tight on me, but whatever. The little witch was amusing. “All done.”
She peeped around to make sure the sweats covered me before facing me. “Who are you, and why did you break into my cottage?”
I smirked. For a scared little thing, she sure was demanding. “I’m Xavier. I used to be the Beta of Maxwell Pack before going rogue. And you are?”
She gasped as fear overtook the ambiance again. “A rogue? Aren’t you like a… mindless killing machine?”
I shook my head, watching her stumble over her dirt-covered feet and lean against the wall furthest away from me.
Why the fuck did that bother me?
“Why are you here?” she asked again.
“I caught a scent of sunflowers and soil, a smell that made my mouth water. It seems that smell is coming from you, little witch.”
“Sunflowers and soil.” She stilled. “Are you going to eat me?”
Laughter erupted deep from my chest. She couldn’t be serious. “Not that kind of mouth-watering.”
Her mouth dropped as pink cascaded over her cheeks. I couldn’t help but notice the swift smell of arousal that radiated off her before disappearing as fast as it came. “But...” She cleared her throat. “What does that mean?”
My long strides ate up the distance between us, and her stare followed my every move. Tension hung thick in the air. “Have you ever heard of a mate bond?”
“Fated
