A Fierce Heart
Chapter 1
November 26th, 1811
Fitzwilliam Darcy was running away from an imprudent attachment.
Well, not running away, he told himself. He was just distancing himself from Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who seemed to have bewitched him.
He was afraid he might do something foolish otherwise.
His days in Hertfordshire had passed in watching and slowly growing to admire her. She was delightful, handsome, playful, and intelligent.
He could not afford to admire her. He had greater aspirations for himself.
Still, he resolved that he would indulge himself one last time, and ask her to dance before he left the next day.
She was standing by her friend Miss Lucas when he requested her hand.
"I thank you, Mr. Darcy. I have the next set free."
Darcy endeavoured to keep his face expressionless as he thanked her and led her out onto the dance floor.
As the music began, Darcy looked down at his partner, who had a placid expression on her face. As they stepped through the first movement, their hands touched lightly as they passed, and Darcy realized two things at once:
One, Elizabeth Bennet was not wearing gloves.
And two, she was his moon fated mate.
His whole body flushed with elation, pleasure, and possessiveness as the knowledge moved through him. He didn't know how he had not recognized it before. Moon fated mates always recognized each other immediately at first glance. They instantly felt the pull of attraction and possessiveness that it induced. Perhaps it was different when a wolf bonded a human. Maybe they had needed to touch bare skin in order for it to become apparent.
Looking down at Miss Elizabeth, it was clear she felt nothing different. In fact, he had the vague idea that she was speaking. Her lips were moving, but he heard nothing. He was too overwhelmed by what he had just discovered.
Moon fated mates were incredibly rare, one in thousands, and he had never heard of a wolf bonded to a human in such a fashion. It was usually the moon's way of pairing power with power, most often alpha wolves who would produce powerful offspring.
He had never heard of a wolf having a human fated mate.
He watched Elizabeth with rising lust. He was elated that she was to be his; the moon had decreed it. There would be no running away.
As the dance continued, he found himself devouring her features with his eyes, thinking about the next steps. He would find her alone after their dance and propose. He had tried to avoid raising any expectations, but he flattered himself that she had flirted with him on several occasions. She must admire him to some degree, even if the mate bond did not affect her as it did him.
They would need to be married soon so they could fulfill the bond, however. He needed to give her his seed and his bite, or else he would slowly fade, his strength and life force vanishing until he eventually passed from the world.
He would have to reveal his identity as a wolf shifter after she agreed to wed him. He had never contemplated sharing his kind's secrets with any human before, but he knew that many wolves mated with humans because of the low birth rates of shifters. Humans were more fertile, and bore their wolf mates more children.
Darcy was not thinking of the practical elements right now, however. He was thinking instead of how it would feel to have her under him, driving his body into hers, then giving her his bite. He felt his canines elongate slightly in his mouth and his trousers grew tight as he thought of it, and tried to force his mind off the enticing images.
Before he could do more, the music ended. Elizabeth pulled away from him with a stiff curtsey and walked away.
He felt bereft without her presence. He was inclined to follow her around the ballroom like a puppy. No one had ever told him that the sacred mate bond would be so strong. He did not want her out of his sight.
He moved to the side of the room to watch her, ignoring Caroline Bingley who had come over to try to induce him to ask her to dance for a second time. He had no interest in Caroline Bingley, although being the sister of his beta had somehow made her think that they would make a good match, and that he would offer for her.
Eventually Caroline went away, and Darcy watched Elizabeth avidly, waiting for a moment when he could speak to her alone.
At last she moved over to one of the balconies. He waited until only half a minute had passed before following her.
Before he could be seen, however, he heard voices speaking. He stopped, hearing his name in Elizabeth's voice.
"Mr. Darcy is the most disagreeable man I have ever met! Why he bothers to come to social events when he spends all his time scowling, I do not understand."
"I still think you could catch him if you made an effort." That was Miss Lucas. "He didn't ask any other lady from outside his party to dance."
"He spent our entire dance staring at me disapprovingly, Charlotte! No doubt he was accounting all the features that make me 'tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt him.' He did not respond to a single word of my conversation, though I asked him many polite questions. I endeavoured to be cordial, though I despise the man. He is certainly not worth the time or effort."
"It would be a wonderful thing to have such a wealthy and handsome husband, though," Miss Lucas said.
"I would not marry Mr. Darcy if he were the last man on Earth," said Elizabeth in disgust.
Darcy felt sick. He had no idea he had made such a poor impression. Clearly Elizabeth had heard his "tolerable" comment at the Meryton Assembly. As she went on to catalogue all his unattractive features, his heart sank further.
There was no way he could propose now. The only way she would possibly accept was if he told her he would die without her. She would be compassionate enough, he knew, to accept the bond for that alone. But then he would have ruined her life, tied to a man she despised. And he would not be able to bear being resented for such a thing, especially since he would be able to feel her emotions once they sealed the bond.
He withdrew from the ballroom and retreated silently up the stairs to his room.