Chapter 11

Clay’s P.O.V

Fuck! She looked gorgeous!

My mind had taken a while to register that the gorgeous red-haired woman on the opposite side of the parking lot was none other than the woman I desired the most, Flora Argentine.

“Fuck! Is that my sister and her friend?” Riley whispered in astonishment from next to me.

“Seems so.” I tried to act nonchalant, not wanting him to catch on to the fact that I wanted his sister; wanted her so badly that it was driving me nuts. And the fact that I had liked his little sister ever since we were kids.

There had been nothing sexual about that childhood liking. It had been a crush that I knew would remain unrequited until I found my mate. But ever since I got back from Lindersay, things had changed drastically.

It had taken just one look and I was a goner.

I could still remember walking into class for my first lecture and that was when her scent had hit me. Floral and earthy, hence her name, Flora. And then I had taken notice for the first time at the girl I had left behind and who had now turned into a woman in her own right. Gone were the pigtails, the lanky built and that toothy smile. In her place stood a woman with honey blonde hair, icy blue eyes and a skin as pale as snow. But as soon as my eyes had met hers, everything else had just…disappeared. Like the world around us had stood still.

“Should we go talk to them?” I asked Riley now, trying not to let Flora’s presence affect me, or at least, trying to not let it show on my face.

“Sure.” Riley waved at his sister, but it was Flora’s friend who waved back. Looking left and right to check for cars, the girls crossed the parking lot and walked over to us.

“Hey!” Flora’s friend greeted us cheerfully. “Fancy meeting you guys here!”

“Hi Dorothy,” Riley gave her his most charming smile. “We came to get our car fixed. We’re about to go grab a bite, you guys wanna join?”

“Only if it’s your treat.” Flora told her brother slyly, obviously having caught on to his shameless flirting.

“No problem.” Riley grinned, making me raise my eyebrows at him. Since when was Riley this generous? Fucker had never treated me to anything in his life!

“This way, ladies,” Riley led the group inside the mall and we decided to grab a bite at the food court instead of any fancy restaurant. It was Flora’s friend, Dorothy, who suggested we eat at the food court, probably to save Riley’s sorry ass. I wanted to protest, but I stayed quiet and fell in step with Flora as we walked behind Riley and Dorothy, who were too busy choosing the menu to bother with us.

“You look gorgeous.” I bent down slightly to whisper into her ear.

Flora looked at me startled, unconsciously twirling a strand of her hair through her fingers. “Really? I don’t look odd?”

“No.” I frowned. “The colour suits you.”

Why would she think she looked odd? Was she self-conscious…or was she nervous to be around me? With a start, I realized that Flora might actually be worried about my opinion. And it shouldn’t feel so satisfying, but it did. I was elated that she was valuing my opinion, giving me a place in her life.

The attraction between us was undeniable; it was like a magnet that kept pulling us towards one another. Even now, as we walked side by side, our hands touched each other involuntarily. Flora seemed unaware of it and it made me smile, this tiny gesture that meant a lot more to me than it should.

Reaching the food court, we ordered our food and sat on opposite sides from one another, me with Riley and Flora with Dorothy. However, I was a bit confused as I saw Flora frown and clench her teeth. At first, I didn’t quite understand what had upset her, but when I followed the direction she was looking at, a smile spread on my face.

There were a group of college girls sitting and dining a couple tables away from us, about ten or eleven of them; and every single woman in that group was openly admiring me and Riley. Some even gave us the ‘come hither’ looks and from what I could hear over the chatter of people in the food court, words like ‘man hunk’, ‘fine piece of meat’ and ‘do me all day’ came floating to my ears.

I looked over to Flora once again as Riley chatted with her friend and found that her frown had deepened. She was jealous! Damn chivalry, but it felt wonderful to know that Flora was jealous. Which meant that I might have an answer sooner than later.

Flora must have noticed the smug smile on my face because then her murderous gaze turned towards me. Placing my elbows on the table, I intertwined my fingers and brought them in front of my lips to hide my smile, but then her glare just turned towards then girls.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to enjoy the show much longer since our food arrived right then and this time, it was my turn to frown as the waiter handed Flora her drink personally and even slipped her a piece of paper.

A sudden anger overtook my wolf and I was about to snatch that paper from her hand but thankfully, Flora just bunched it up and dropped it on the floor after the waiter had left. Sighing in relief, I scratched the back of my neck and connected eyes with her.

The desire in them was clear. And today just proved that both Flora and I were equally possessive of each other. Which is precisely why we needed to do something about it and soon.

We didn’t get to interact much after that as Riley and I decided to take our car back home while the girls drove back in their truck filled with pack supplies. But the entire way home, the only thing on my mind was Flora.

Riley kept chatting on about some nonsense shit that I didn’t really listen to, but I had to pretend like I was listening so I kept giving him an occasional answer or two, not bothering to listen to the actual question. We reached home at around midnight and after Riley had dropped me off at my house, I went straight to my room and took out my phone.

Red hair suited her more than the honey blonde, of that I was sure. She looked gorgeous before, now…she was simply stunning. What worried me most however, was that now; she would be attracting a lot more attention from other male wolves. Flora didn’t know this, but Riley wasn’t the only one warding off men who wanted to be near Flora. I had done my fair share of threatening as well. How that Garrick guy went under my radar, though…I had no idea.

But I had dealt with him now. Flora was mine. And soon, she will be mine forever.

Opening a messaging app, I typed away and hit send.

“Come over at my place for lunch. Tomorrow @ noon.”

Now, all I had to do was wait for her reply. This was going to be one fun night…NOT.