The Fated Bond

A Failed Attempt

[Violet’s POV]

“Divine punishment.” I repeat, vaguely remembering Lance mentioning such a thing. “What kind of…”

“That’s not for me to say.” Noel responds. “Anyway, I think I’ve left Trevor long enough, so I should get going, and you,” she continues, her voice gentle and filled with positivity. “You should pamper yourself a little tonight so that you look like an absolute babe tomorrow for your date, do you hear me?”

“Yeah,” I say, smiling. “I’ll make sure that I look so good Thomas will want to eat me.”

At least, that was the plan, but by the time I hang up, I feel so exhausted all I want to do is sleep.

The next morning, I wake up extra early to prep myself for my date, and by the time I’m ready, I’m certain that Thomas will like what he sees. I mean, how can he not when my dress is fitting me right, showing just enough cleavage and leg? Or when my hair is falling perfectly in dark ringlets around my face, emphasizing my perfect bone structure that I was blessed with thanks to being half werewolf. And don’t get me started on my makeup that actually went on right, emphasizing my purple-pink eyes and my high cheekbones and plump lips.

Not to toot my own horn, but toot toot, I was looking drop-dead gorgeous, and I knew any man who laid their eyes on me would fall for me in an instant.

Smiling, I grab my purse and slip my shoes on, then head out the door so that I arrive at mine and Thomas’ meeting place on time, and when I realize that even the weather was cooperating with the evening, I get a good feeling.

That is, until I arrive at our designated place and then wait and wait some more until finally, fifty minutes after the meeting time, Thomas shows with a look of ease that he shouldn’t be wearing.

“Sorry,” he says, walking up to the table that I’ve been awkwardly sitting at alone for almost an hour. “Work went over, and I couldn’t leave.”

“It’s alright.” I smile, though I honestly don’t feel that way at all. “I’m sure that it was something important, right?”

I mean, obviously it had to be important for him to make me wait with no notice, right? There couldn’t be any other reason for it.

“Not really.”

Eyes widening, I stare at him as he lifts his menu and begins to look over it, ignoring me completely after all but telling me that his reason for making me wait and not even bothering to contact me wasn’t that important. So, he just didn’t care about contacting me?

“Oh,” I say slowly, wanting to feel him out, but also feeling like it wasn’t my place to do so. “That’s good at least.”

“Yeah,” he smiles, lifting a hand and calling the waiter. “It was handled, so that’s a good thing.”

“Of course.” I smile, watching as a man dressed in a suit heads toward us. “Good evening,” I say, preparing to give my order, only to stop as Thomas starts to speak.

“We will have a bottle of champagne, please, along with a few of these and…”

I listen silently as he busies himself ordering, not only for himself but even for me, despite my not saying that I wanted the things he was ordering. However, like the coward I am, I don’t speak. I let him take the lead while I just smile like an i***t.

Why do you always do this? I think once the waiter walks off and Thomas shifts his attention to me for the first time this evening.

“Oh,” he says as if realizing that I was watching. “You didn’t mind that I picked what I thought would be good, right?”

“No,” I respond while I scream yes in my head. “I trust that you have excellent taste.”

“Atta girl,” he grins, sitting back and getting comfortable. “In the past my dates would be a little annoyed that I took the lead. That’s the reason I’m still searching for the perfect mate. I need a woman who will sit back and let me take the lead, you know?”

“Really?” I ask as our waiter returns with our drinks. “And what exactly do you mean by that?”

I mean, I knew what letting him take the lead meant, but maybe I was just overthinking things. So far, the Thomas I was seeing this evening wasn’t the man I met in my perfume shop, but maybe this was just a side to him that I would have to learn to accept if things went well between us.

“Well,” he says slowly, taking a sip of champagne. “As the leader of my pack, I need someone who will go along with what I say without any arguments.” He explains. “There’s no place for that when it comes to leading a pack, and if my future luna so much as tries to become the leader and take away my packmates’ loyalty, then that would be an issue.”

“You don’t say.”

Instantly, I can feel myself being turned off from the man in front of me. Even if he wasn’t openly saying it, it was clear that he was trying to say that he wanted an accommodating doormat as a luna, and that just didn’t sit well with me. Especially not after I did that very thing with my past boyfriends.

“With that said,” he continues, taking my silence as my agreeing to what he wants. “If you and I start to date with the intention of marriage, are you willing to quit your job?”

“What?” I gasp, shock rushing through me over what he just asked. “Did you just…”

“That’s right.” He confirms. “As my luna, you will need to be with me at all times as we show the pack that we are a single unit. You will also be required to help me bear an heir, and when that happens, I can’t possibly let you go around freely.”

Not being able to go around freely. Was he really saying such things?

Who was this man in front of me? Because he wasn’t the man I thought he was when we were first talking. That man was cool, calm, and caring. He listened when I spoke, and he seemed to appreciate the things I was doing with my shop, but now here he was asking me to quit everything and remain a prisoner in his pack.

No way. I think, knowing there was no way that I could do such a thing. I can’t give up everything that I’ve worked so hard for because of a man.

“Don’t worry,” Thomas smiles, leaning forward so that his dark eyes can properly rest on me. “You don’t have to make a decision now. We still don’t know what will happen in the future, but if things progress and we do decide to take that next step, I expect you to make the right choice.”

After that, our food arrives, and we chat about absolutely nothing important. Or rather, Thomas chats, telling me about his work and about his pack responsibilities. He doesn’t really give me a chance to say much of anything, and by the time we finish our dessert and he asks for the check, I can’t be more thrilled about leaving, but when I think that I’m free, Thomas reaches out and grabs my hand.

“I’m taking you home.” He says, not giving me a choice to say yes or no. “Grab your things.”

“One moment.” I tell him, gently pulling free. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom first; please excuse me.”

I don’t give him the chance to respond before I’m standing and grabbing my purse, then I’m rushing through the busy restaurant to the bathroom, where I pull out my phone and text Lance a single word.

Emergency.