His Mate;His Redemption

One good turn

Raven black hair tumbled over tan shoulders, stopping only when it reached his torso. He had eyes of truest amber and they were so cold, Aerona shivered. Her eyes trailed along the elegant lines of his face and she found that she couldn’t draw her gaze away from him.

There was nothing soft or delicate about his features. Wild and rare was his kind of beauty. He was not a man you looked away from. Or walked away from. He was the type of man you ran away from.

All of her senses screamed danger as she observed the man who was bathed in blood and covered with tattered clothes that had no doubt been ripped from battle. Her eyes drooped from his luscious and sensual lips to the skin below his neck. Through the rip of his shirt, she could see the build of muscles and—she swallowed, forcing her gaze back to his face.

She jerked, heart slamming in her chest when she found his amber gaze narrowed on her. He tilted his head in an awkward way, eyes skimming over her figure, beckoning her closer. Something. . .there was something wrong with her. She found her feet moving toward him, even if her subconscious screamed at her to run from him.

A hand settled on her shoulder, breaking through her trance, and she turned slightly to find Iona watching her strangely. “What are you doing?”

“I. . .ah. . .I have to give the prisoner food,” she said, slightly flustered. Just what had she been about to do? Walk into the cage? Everyone knew never to engage with the imprisoned enemy unless necessary. What had she been thinking?

“Leave it in the corner, Ari. This one’s different. I wouldn’t advise you to get within five feet of him.”

Aerona blew out a shaky breath and nodded. She had done this a lot of times. She just had to drop the darned food tray and get the hell out of there. Holding that thought, she straightened her spine and walked briskly to the corner, dropping the food tray by the side of his dungeon.

She knew she really shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help but steal a glance in his direction. Her heart began to race again when she found him watching her still. Her cheeks flamed and something within her began to melt under his hot gaze. What in the world was going on with her?

Her insides turned molten as she held his gaze. There was a sudden c***k behind that cold and steely demeanor, and she spied something she shouldn’t have. Something she had never seen in the eyes of any other prisoner she had tended to. There was pain, and regret.

It was so strong, she nearly doubled over. Yeah. That was it for her. She fled from the cell, not trusting herself to remain there without speaking to him, or even worse, reaching out to touch him. Never would she return to that place, she swore to herself.

But she knew she would go back. She couldn’t get his eyes out of her head. Even as she stood in the meeting later that night, listening to her mother address the witches on the fight that had happened earlier, all she could think of was the emotion she had glimpsed behind his eyes. She had to go back to see him later tonight.

**************

Aerona stood before the cage, staring defiantly at the prisoner. She observed him with the same amount of intensity he watched her with. There was something unsettling about this. Him. Perhaps, she was scared that Celeste would skin her alive for being in here at this time.

Not quite. Though Celeste was not her biological mother, she loved her like her own. She would not harm her. Though it didn’t change the fact that she really shouldn’t be here.

“You didn’t touch the food,” she blurted, not knowing how to start a conversation with him.

His eyes remained cold and unyielding as he said, “Why? Has the Witch Leader given the order for me to be poisoned to death?”

Her nostrils flared and ire flashed in her eyes. “My mother would never do that. Watch your words.”

“You do not reek of blood. You did not fight today.”

“I do not like the war. I try to avoid conflict as much as I can.”

Mate. The word had clanged through him the moment her scent of jasmine had reached his nostrils, cleaving right through the grief and anger that had been eating away at him. He had felt it that first night but now things were different.

The Witch and her people had murdered his guards and best friend in cold blood. And now he just reconfirmed that she was his mate.

Aerona also didn’t know or suspect anything. It brought a lot of things into question. What was a wolf doing in a horde of witches? Did she really know nothing of it or was she as deceitful as the other witches?

He had seen her bright eyes of turquoise blue. There was only stark clarity in them. She had not known what she was, or who he was to her. He had seen her confusion and he had known the moment she dismissed it, choosing instead to speak to him.

He couldn’t tell if it was a blessing or a curse, but he knew one thing for sure. He would never be with her. He would reject her the moment he got out of this cage. But he needed her now especially since he had saved her that night.

A small smile twitched on his face. Fate definitely had a way of matching destinies

Convincing himself that it was all for the greater good, he made a decision. He would use the mate bond to his advantage and coax her into setting him free, as well as his men. He would do whatever was necessary to get back to his pack. He would do whatever it took to give Ulrich a fitting burial, even if it meant spinning lies and deceiving her.

And she would believe him because he was her mate. She would never understand it, but she would succumb easily to his lies. Zayn didn’t care what that made him. A monster, one might call him. Good. For Ulrich, for the men he had led to death, for the pack he had to get back to, he would be the monster.

She reached for his hand that was a few inches away from her and she jerked at the impact of their skins touching. It was like touching an electric eel. It zapped her, straight to her core and she backed away from him, eyes wide with confusion.

“Did you feel that?” she whispered, eyes searching his.

Rather than respond to her, he straightened, rising to his full length. Instinctively, she rose too, tipping her head back to truly look at him. He was several feet taller and more imposing. He stopped shy of the barricade and when his eyes dropped to her lips, her tongue darted out instinctively to moisten it.

His eyes followed the movement, and she could swear it began to glow with iridescent light. “Ari,” he muttered softly, reaching through the bars to cup her cheek. His touch sent delicious tingles through her and she held her breath when he leaned closer.

She wished the useless barricades were gone. She wished to touch him and understand what the texts said about being loved by a man. She was untouched. He was the first man who had touched her this way, and the only one who made her breath catch.

Butterflies scattered in her belly, causing her stomach to squeeze tightly as his warm breath tickled her skin. Heavens, she could die happily like this. Being touched by him was bliss. She wanted more. Needed more. She wanted his lips in places she didn’t know existed.

She ached and hungered for this man in a way that was beyond sanity.

“Zayn,” she whispered, rising on her toes to inch up to him.

His head lowered until their noses were touching. Aerona wasn’t sure she was breathing anymore. Her whole world was at a standstill, waiting for the touch of his lips against hers. Even the air had paused to bear witness to it.

Lower, his head dropped, avoiding the bars of the cell and her eyes shuttered as his lips drew nearer. She would have this. She could have this. She wasn’t betraying anyone by kissing him. She could—

Zayn pulled back from her so suddenly, it took a few seconds to wrap her head around it. She swallowed painfully as he said, “I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry. You should leave.”

He turned from her, dismissing her, and she stood there, aghast. Aerona turned around when Zayn spoke.

"I saved you. It's time to save me, Aerona." Zayn muttered.