33

Tara overwhelmed me. Was she just joking with me about it or not. I was sure that I didn't want to let her go back to that university. If I could, I would forbid her, lock her up, do whatever I could to prevent it. In the end it was her decision.

It all happened so fast I couldn't tell if she was serious or joking with me. This university was poison. There was nothing good for her there. If it was a marriage market for other wolves, it was a danger for them and it wasn't because of the wolves. It was due to her Erasthai and a Lycan not accepting that the king loved Tara and not her.

Even for me it was hard to accept and every second I wanted to rip his throat out two things held me back. I didn't know if he wanted to protect her and, secondly, if he could protect her. One thing was always clear to me, any attempt would have ended fatally for me.

No wolf willingly fights a lycan. No alpha, nor an entire pack, was able to stand against even one. I might not have had the strength to protect her, but maybe I could, as long as I was just with her.

If months ago I wouldn't have cared if I could just hold her in my arms, I didn't now. I wanted to protect her, to keep her safe, and this place wasn't something I hated just because of this damn fox hunt.

She had wrapped her arms around my waist and I hadn't even noticed that she had come to me. Despite being a very large wolf, everything about her was delicate. The little snub nose, like her long, slender arms that now wrapped around my body.

She said nothing that I had never dreamed of. On the contrary, everything I longed for, she said, she did and I was unable to respond.

"So you want to keep me? Here? Forever?" she repeated her words and smiled at me.

I silently looked at her pretty face, which became more and more beautiful the more she smiled. Her dark blue eyes, which were as deep blue as the lake in front of my house, suddenly shone brighter than I had ever seen them before.

"What about my kiss?" she purred, laying her head against my chest and I only now realized that I hadn't answered.

I wrapped my arms around her and just enjoyed the moment. I pulled myself tightly while simply looking down at a dream.

"If you don't kiss me right away, I'm seriously considering taking Trevor and Jade to breakfast every day to teach you some manners," she laughed against my chest. She took my hands from her hips and brought them to her lips.

Promptly, she kissed each one and looked at me playfully. My hands left her hands and brushed her cheek. It was like a dream that held me captive. I ran my fingers over her soft cheek and she rested her head in my hand.

"Mine," my wolf growled, and I was unable to hold him back, nor react to him. I could feel it digging more and more to the surface. He took over every fiber of my body until I was just standing next to him.

"Eros," I heard him introduce himself and watched as Tara lifted her head and cocked it to the side. She looked us straight in the eye. The pain in you, on the other hand, could not be overlooked, but I could not have it true. I could only watch. I was paralyzed.

"My wolf's name is Tyche", I heard her answer sweetly and with a shy smile I pulled out of our embrace.

She turned away from us, wrapped her hands around her chest and faced the window. She looked at the lake that always reminded me of her, that helped me memorize every detail of her.

"She doesn't like to talk at the moment," she said with a lot of caution in her voice.

"With you or with me?" I heard Eros ask.

"With nobody," she murmured.

My wolf walked up to her, put our arms around her and pulled her tight to us. So tight I was afraid Eros would break her delicate body.

"She has time, Tara. She will introduce herself to me when she is ready." Tara nodded and leaned against us, but the pain she felt was unbearable.

I fought with Eros to let me see her again. Minutes passed, more than I would have liked, before he did. In the end I was almost too weak to fight him, I hadn't felt him so intensely for too long.

I twisted Tara in my arms and looked down at her. She let her head fall against my shoulder as if trying to hide from me.

"We know what we're waiting for, Tara," I assured her. "Your wolf has all the time in the world." Maybe not if she hadn't been around for too long. Who knew Luna's ways.

"What if she never comes back?" she murmured, raising her head so that we could now lock eyes.

"Then she will always be a part of us," I murmured, kissing her forehead. I had seen her golden fur, felt and smelled her wolf, just like she had me. She had time to make up her mind and return. We could wait.

"What if we can never walk together?" she whispered softly as her head fell back against my shoulder.

"Even then, I'll still be by your side," I assured her. The thought hurt more than I wanted to admit. But the pain was very one-sided. Seeing her suffer was what hurt more.

"I'm half a wolf," she murmured on and I felt her tears seeping through my shirt.

"And even if you weren't one, you're my mate." I broke away from her now and took her face in my hands. It was worse than I thought. Tears constantly filled her pretty eyes and ran down her cheeks.

"Your mate," she whispered, her eyes glistening through the tears.

"The woman who loves me and showed me that there is more than a bond that binds us together." I kissed her cheeks, the tip of her nose, her lips. I couldn't catch her tears as fast as they flowed.

"Would you still like to walk with us?" I asked her and heard her clear her throat with a hiccup. It was so lovely and unexpected that I had to laugh.

"How is that supposed to work?" she playfully slapped my chest with one hand.

"Do you think I'm not strong enough to carry you?" I teased her and she looked at me in astonishment.

"Oh, you mean --"

I didn't know why she was so incredulous, nor so surprised. I knew of many who carried their mate on their backs through the woods just for fun.

I picked her up in one jerk and enjoyed the way she wrapped her legs around me. She buried her head in my neck and pressed closer to me. What more could I ask for?

I opened the patio door and stepped out with her. Winter had long since arrived, even for our region. The wind was icy and she actually had too little on.

I carefully put her on her feet and brushed the strands of hair away from her face, which he kept twirling around her nose. I didn't need my sweatshirt anymore. I quickly took it off and put it on her.

"Do you trust me?" That's all I wanted. your trust in me. I could protect her, I didn't have to be a Lycan to do that.

"Do you love me?" she murmured, looking at her feet that were scraping on the floor.

"I don't think the word is strong enough to express my feelings for you, Pebble."

I carefully reached under her chin and lifted it slightly. Her eyes tried to hide from my gaze and that small gesture said more than any spoken word.

No word in the world could express what I felt at that moment when her eyes, as blue as the lake, merged with those of the sky above us and she finally looked at me.