Chapter 1
I watched the gentle rise and fall of her breathing as she slept. Listened to the noise of the air coming in and out of her body; all of it was sweet music to my ears. Mine. I held her tighter as I thought that word. I couldn't keep out the memories of what happened tonight. They kept replaying in my mind like some sort of twisted horror movie. I know that even though I am new to this idea of mating in the consuming way that the wolves do I would not have been able to carry on if something had happened to her. Each time I think about how close I came to losing her, my heart feels like it's being shredded into pieces and my soul feels as if it is incomplete. What would I have done without her? How could I continue to live without my mate, my life, my love, and the other half to my soul? You'll never have to find out. I hear her beautiful voice in my mind. "I hope I don't ever have to feel like I felt tonight. I almost lost you, Crina. After I had seen what that sick psycho made the other females do, I knew I had to find you soon before you made the sacrifice yourself. I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't made it there on time. You're everything to me." I say as I nuzzle her neck. I breathe deep and smell her scent; cinnamon and vanilla. She doesn't say anything more, she just holds me closer to her; telling me everything that I need to know. "Sleep, love, I will see you in the morning." I say and kiss her on the head.
The next day I woke to find her side of the bed empty. I jumped up and immediately went to the bathroom to see if she was in there. She's not here. Where is she? I can't help it, my protective instincts kick in after not seeing her for months I need her, and I need to see her, to be with her. Yet, she is not in our room. Where could she have gone? I put on some jeans and a t-shirt and open the door to our room in the Romanian pack mansion. I look up and down both ways of the hall. I decide to go right, thinking as soon as she woke she might've been hungry and gone to the kitchen. When I reach the kitchen I find Sally, Jacque and Jen sitting and eating hot chocolate. "Hey, have you guys seen Crina by any chance?" I can't seem to find her anywhere. "Uh...I'd love to help you play this game of cat and mouse, but how about you use this useful thing called the mate bond and talk to her?" Jen says in her usual sarcastic tone. "I've already tried. She's blocking me." I tell her as I begin to pace around the room. Where could she be? Why is she blocking me when she knows that Peri's insane sister is still lurking about? Jacque gets up from her seat and walks closer to me. "Hey, don't worry about her. Crina's a big girl, she can handle herself just fine." She says as she puts a comforting hand on my arm. I try and am discreet about me gently shrugging her hand off of my arm. I know she's only trying to help, but she's not my mate. The feel of any other than Crina is wrong. "I know, it's just that after a day like yesterday you'd think that she wouldn't block me like this. I'm so stupid for letting her out of my sight. What if she needs me again and I'm not there? I'm such a failure as a mate." I say as I sit down and put my head in my hands. "Don't say that." I hear a voice say from the doorframe. Not just any voice; Crina's voice. "Crina. Where have you been? Why did you block me?" I asked as I walked up and pulled her into my arms. I couldn't stand not having her near me after being away from her for so long "I went for a walk. I wanted some time to think and I didn't want to disturb your sleeping with my thoughts. I didn't mean to worry you." She says, her words muffled as she speaks into my chest. It's ok. I may have sort of overreacted just a bit. She just raises a single brow at me when I say a bit. A bit? Seems like you were ready to send out a whole search party. She says as she burrows her head more into my chest. I just grab her hand and lead us away from the prying eyes that are in the kitchen. Next time you go for a walk you wake me up and take me with you. I say into her mind as we reach our room. I know that as a werewolf she is strong and can take care of herself, but I still worry. I have never felt anything like I feel for Crina; I don't ever want to lose her. So, even if it means me being an overbearing caveman to keep her safe then that's what I'll be. She just ignores me and walks into the room, with me trailing close behind. As soon as I walk into the room I feel her push me up against the closed door. She leans in and kisses me. Crina's kisses taste like pure heaven, like sweet honey and lilacs. I get so lost in her beautiful soft sweetness. I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her up, with her legs surrounding me. I move us over to the bed, warning bells sound off in my head as we get to a place that I know we won't be able to come back from. With great strength I wrench my mouth from Crina's and rest my forehead against hers. Our heaving breathes becoming one, as we tried to gain control of ourselves. We both agreed that we would not go to the next level until we were properly bound and mated. Though the act of stopping was physically painful, I made sure to stay by our promise. I moved to Crina's side and just held her. Listened to her breath, basking in the rightness of my mate. Just when we were both dosing off to sleep we heard a giant crash come from a few doors down from us.