Chapter 16

Flora’s P.O.V

Clay had left marks.

I turned my back to the mirror, twisting my neck as much as I could so I could see the bruises, but I gave up after some time when my neck began to hurt.

They weren’t so much as bruises as love bites and they were all over my body. Light red dots where he had sucked at my skin, making me feel things I had never thought possible. Thankfully, I was a wolf with faster healing than any normal human and if my guess was right, I would be fine and love-bite free by tonight.

There were however, a couple bluish bruises on my back in the shape of fingerprints, where he had clutched onto me when we were both in the throes of passion. Those bruises might take a few more hours to disappear. But somehow, I didn’t mind them. These marks were proof that we had been together in a way only lovers could be.

Looking at the woman in the mirror, I felt like I couldn’t even recognize myself. My eyes were wide and my lips swollen. My breasts were supple and tender and my skin was marked with red patches from Clay’s lips in places where I had never let anyone touch before.

I had never considered myself as a sexual creature, but Clay’s touch had felt like an addiction...a drug I couldn’t get enough of. If I wasn’t careful enough, I just might get addicted. And for the first time in my life, I felt like I wanted to get addicted to him.

He’s not my mate.

The realization was bone deep and it helped me snap back to reality. Especially when I remembered that Clay was about to turn twenty eight this very year…in fact, in only nine months.

Shit!

Moving away from the bathroom mirror, I went straight to the shower and turned the water on to hot before standing under the spray. It was pleasure and pain at once. As the water cascaded down my body, I felt it take away the stress and fatigue...and his scent, down the drain.

Although the scent won’t be gone completely until a day or two had passed, but I still felt like I was losing something valuable. Still, I took my favourite bar of lavender scented soap and scrubbed myself clean, making his scent fade even more. It was the right thing to do.

What Clay and I had was nothing more than sexual chemistry. He had awakened my sleeping desires and I hadn’t been able to control myself.

If only it was as simple as that…

Even as I tried to convince myself that what I felt for Clay was nothing more than lust, I knew it went deeper. It felt like he hadn’t just touched my body, he had touched my soul. I could still feel the tenderness of his hands on me as he helped me dress this evening before dropping me home; the softness of his lips as he kissed my forehead, my eyelids, my cheeks…there had been so much more between us than just sex.

How could I ever go back to the way I was before? How could I ever forget his touch now that I was bathed in his essence?

And we fit so well together. I’d actually had fun with him. I’d laughed and played and let him chase me around his house, chased him in return as Clay allowed me to catch him. He had then whipped up a quick snack with me sitting next to him on the counter top as he narrated stories of his stay at Lindersay; about his and Riley’s wild adventures. I had wanted time to just stop right then and there. I didn’t want to let reality catch up to me.

A reality where Clay was my college professor and the hottest man in town that everyone wanted. A reality where he was the future alpha, far outweighing me in rank than imaginable. A reality where he was my brother’s best friend, our union forbidden because of honour codes. And…a reality where he wasn’t my mate.

Shaking my head to rid myself of these depressing thoughts, I got out of the shower and dried off before changing into a soft, oversized cotton Tee and some shorts that reached my knees.

Thankfully the colour of my hair hadn’t faded yet and I had remembered to use only the colour protective shampoo the saloon had recommended. Ruth had been right, the colour did suit me and Clay seemed to like it too.

I blow dried my hair so I don’t catch a cold and headed to bed. With the day I’ve had, I was exhausted beyond believe and ready for a long nap. I had prepared dinner for my parents, since Riley would be heading back to the main pack house for the night. And since they had just arrived only a couple minutes ago, while I was in the shower, I wouldn’t be seeing them until tomorrow morning, which will give me enough time to heal from the little love bites.

“I want boyfriend rights. I want everyone to know that you’re unavailable and that you are now mine.”

But was I really his? Even if I didn’t feel the mating bond or the connection that a wolf pair is supposed to feel in case they are mates?

But I did feel something. I felt my heart fill with joy every time I remembered out time together. I felt butterflies in my stomach every time Clay looked at me. I felt breathless every time he was near me. My heart raced when we kissed. I felt ignited from within every time he touched me.

So, what was this feeling? What was th-

I was snapped out of my thoughts as I heard a knock on my bedroom window.

I frowned as I looked towards my bedroom door and then at the window. The curtains were drawn so I couldn’t tell who it was, but only one person would dare to knock on the window of the future beta’s sister.

Getting up from the bed, I rushed to the door and locked it before heading to my window. Removing the curtains, I breathed a sigh of relief as Clay’s familiar face came into view.

But…why was he here now? Especially when my parents were home and Riley was also in the perimeter?

For some reason, he looked a little dusty, a bit unkempt. That wasn’t how he looked when I’d last seen him.

“Clay?” I opened my window wide for him. “What are y-“

And that was when I scented blood.