Fangs of Blood and Moon

Chapter 4

Dante

I paced in the common area of the hotel room. It had two bedrooms. My mate was sleeping in one, and the young wolf was in the other. Reed watched me with a frown. I felt my bond to my mate buzzing. It had flared with so much pain when she ran away. I had rushed out of the shower, and when I saw she was gone, I panicked. I ran a hand through my hair with a large sigh.

"Dante, I don't know if this was wise," Reed said finally, and I growled at him.

"Should I have left her to die instead?!" He flinched back at the anger in my voice. "You weren't there when I found her. If I hadn't formed a bond with her, she would have died. Long before I would have been able to get her help. I wasn't about to let my mate die in my arms after I had just found her." He glanced towards the door to the room my mate was sleeping in. Our bond was frayed, and it would take longer to settle because she had run away from me. It hurt so much to think she would do that.

"She can't feel the bond like we can. She's human." I knew that. He didn't have to explain it to me. "Perhaps a human mate is not the best for you." He said softly, and I stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you telling me to let her break our bond and pick someone else? Someone other than her? Someone who isn't the other half of who I am?!" He frowned deeply but didn't respond. I growled and felt my wolf close to the surface as my rage grew. I felt my eyes shift, and I had to fight to keep from shifting. My body was already struggling because of forming the bond and it nearly breaking and having to reset it.

"You should sit down before you burn yourself out," Reed said with concern in his eyes. I knew I was pushing my body pretty hard, but I couldn't relax. Not when my mate was so terrified of me. Not when she was trying to escape me.

"Guard the door." I gestured to the door to the room my mate was sleeping in. He sighed deeply but nodded. I flopped on the couch as he pushed a chair against the door and sat in it. It opened this way so she wouldn't be able to get out, with him blocking it. "Thank you," I said with relief, and he nodded.

"I can't have my alpha losing his mind over this." He looked towards the door and c****d his head to listen. "I'll let you know if she wakes up." I nodded, and my eyes started to close. I had been going so much since before I even found her. My body needed the rest. My wolf instincts were telling me to go to my mate and hold her, but I didn't want to scare her anymore. When she woke up, I would explain things just like I promised. I hoped she could understand that I did what I did to save her life.

I was awoken to the feel of Reed shaking me. I groaned as my body protested being woken up until I realized why he must be waking me. I shot up and rushed for the door to the bedroom. My mate was starting to come around, and as her eyes opened, and they landed on me, I felt our bond soar. My wolf wanted to shift and be next to her. To curl my body up against her and assure her with my safety and warmth. Her eyes filled with fear, though, and it stung.

"Please let me explain," I said as I stepped closer. She tried to move, only to realize her hands were bound above her and to the bed. It hurt to see her tied up like that, but I couldn't risk her running again. She turned those eyes back on me. One brilliant blue and one a deep forest green. The most enchanting pair of eyes I have ever seen in my life. I stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed. "I saved your life. Please don't be so scared of me."

"Just let me go. I promise I am not a witch," she whispered softly. Almost too low for a human to hear. I growled, and she flinched back in fear.

"I am not like those idiotic humans. I am not going to hurt you." Her eyes searched my face, and I whimpered softly. My wolf was close to the surface again. Begging to be let out. I felt my eyes shift, and the fear in hers grew stronger. "I will never hurt you, mate," I promised her. Reed stepped into the room and touched my shoulder.

"Alpha, you have to get a hold of yourself. Your body won't handle a shift well right now." He looked at my mate. "Please calm down. You'll only hurt Dante." I brushed his hand off my shoulder.

"I can handle myself, Reed. Check on the young wolf, please." He frowned but nodded and left the room. I stood and clenched and unclenched my fists. My wolf was practically howling at this point. The fear from my mate was setting me off, and we weren't even fully bonded yet. "When I found you, you were dying," I said to her, and her eyes went wide. "I bit you to save your life because a bond like that would heal you. You are my mate. The other half of my soul."

"What are you?" Her voice was still small, and I wished I could take her fear away.

"I'm a wolf. A werewolf, if you like." Her eyes went wide, and she shifted her body further away from me. That was enough to make my instincts snap. Pain rocketed through me as my wolf tried to force a shift. I shook my head harshly. No. It would scare her even more. That seemed to calm my instincts enough to regain control. "If you run away, you will suffer again. Worse than before because our bond is already so frayed. It WILL snap this time. It'll hurt like hell, and then I will never be able to be bound to you again."

"What if I don't want it?" My heart clenched in pain at her words. I could understand her fear, but it hurt so much to see it and hear it.

"I didn't have a choice, mate. If I hadn't marked you, then you would have died in that cabin. I couldn't let you die. I was coming to free you because you had helped my pack member. You fed her." Her eyes widened as she realized who I meant. I nodded. "The red wolf. She's a young woman whom you saved. I was going to save you from your torment in return, but when I found you, they had left you to die. I knew you were my mate the moment I smelled you. I couldn't just let you die. It would have crushed me. You are my everything."

"Will you untie me?" Her eyes were still swimming with fear, and I shook my head.

"Not until I know you won't run, or our bond is settled." She looked up at the rope around her wrist and then at me. I watched her expression harden and growled. She was shutting down on me. "Don't do that. Please." My voice came out more desperate than I thought, and her eyes flashed with sympathy for only a moment. My wolf howled and strained to be let free. I bent forward as I struggled to keep it contained. Reed was right. I couldn't handle a shift right now. I would be trapped in my wolf form if I did. Despite knowing this, my instincts were screaming at me. My wolf growled and demanded control.

"Alpha!" I heard Reed shout as he entered the room just as I felt the shift take hold of me. I couldn't stop it anymore.