A Wolf's Oath (6 page)

“
Are you sure you’ll be alright?” The group asked.

“
I’ll be fine, you worry too much besides its not like there’s
anyone or anything up here that can hurt me.”

Chapter
Six

Sebastian was seething inside, his mate’s calm dismissal of
him had snapped something within him and fury coursed through his
veins. The feeling of anger was a new sensation to him. He couldn’t
remember the last time he had felt angry with another person but he
was coming to realise that his mate invoked many new emotions
within him and not all of them were good. She was still standing
close to him, waving to the group of males that she had so easily
disregarded him in front of and his wolf decided to make it’s
opinion on the matter known.

She would choose them over us? I told you that there was
another male involved.

Be quiet.

No. This is our mate and I won’t be silent until she has been
claimed and I will do whatever is necessary to get us to that
stage. To refuse our claim privately is one thing but this is
another entirely. It’s obvious now why she refused our
claim.

And why is that?

She’s involved with one of them,
the
wolf spat, eyeing their retreating bodies from within Sebastian's
mind all the while wishing for release.
Give me control for ten minutes; that’s all I
need.

I’ve told you before she isn’t involved with another. But I
can’t just allow her to continue pretending that I’m not here. She
needs to acknowledge us as her mate and others need to be aware of
that as well.

What do you plan to do?

Turning he grabbed Erica by the wrists and pulled her close
to his chest, locking his arms around her to ensure she couldn’t
escape him. “Erica?”

His voice was calm, friendly even but his ragged breaths and
the rapid rise and fall of his chest told her he was anything but.
“Let go of me Sebastian.”
What if someone
sees us like this, how on earth would I explain this to
them?

He ignored her question, nuzzling against her hair. “That was
pretty rude what you just said, don’t you agree?”

“
It was the truth.”
Liar.
The word rang through her mind though she was
unsure whether it came from her wolf or her own treacherous
thoughts.

He tutted, “We both know that isn’t true, even you know it’s
a lie. I can smell you sweetheart.” His warm breaths fluttered over
her ear as his head descended to rest in the curve of her neck, his
lips moved gently against her skin as he spoke and she found
herself reluctantly glorying in the sensation. “Why did you lie
sweetheart? They’re going to find out about us eventually, it’s
inevitable.”

“
I don’t want them to know Sebastian. Please just go, you don’t
need me.”

“
That’s where you’re wrong. You don’t understand just how much
I need you. The world just isn’t the same without you with me.
There’s a growing emptiness inside me that nothing else can fill.
Yes, I was aware of it before, I knew that life could be better but
that was just an idea, there was nothing to prove it until I met
you. Now my thoughts are filled with you Erica, just being near you
makes the world seem a better place, filled with endless
possibilities. I want to have that feeling always and I know I
could if you would just accept me for what I am, your
mate.”

“
I can’t Sebastian. I’m really sorry but I can’t accept anyone
as a mate.”

“
Is it because of them?”

“
Who?”

“
Those men?” His jaw was clenched tightly as he spat the
words.

“
Those guys?” She chuckled. “They’re just my friends, they have
nothing to do with us.”

“
So there is an us then?”

“
No Sebastian, there isn’t.”

His head lifted and their eyes met. “Yes Erica, there is.”
The arms around her tightened as he put on a burst of speed, moving
them to the tree on the top of the hill and pushing her back
against it. “You’re my mate sweetheart and it’s about time you
accepted that.”

Before she could form a response, his head descended to hers
and his lips captured her own. Though they had touched only a few
times, she hadn’t expected the wave of desire that flooded her at
the simple meeting of their lips. Groaning against his mouth, she
found her mind become increasingly fuzzy.
Her arms rose of their own volition, wrapping themselves
around his neck as her body pressed closer.
More.
The insistent demand pulsed
through his thoughts and he obeyed, the kiss becoming more fervent
as he began to lose himself in his mate. As he nipped and sucked at
her lower lip her mouth opened on a loud moan and his tongue took
advantage of the movement, slipping inside to meet her own. Their
tongues clashed as their bodies pushed closer to each other,
silently demanding more contact. His lips left her mouth abruptly;
trailing warm kisses down her face until he reached the smooth skin
of her neck.
Mine…and I want everyone to
know it.
His mouth moved slowly against her
skin, his tongue gently licking her before his teeth bit down. The
pain from the bite was unexpected as was her reaction as she moaned
loudly, pleasure filling her as his mouth moved gently on her skin,
his lips placing gentle kisses against the unseen mark before his
tongue began licking her frantically, soothing the pain he had
caused.
Mine.

Her body’s reaction to him confused her, her breasts were now
heavy and aching for his touch, she could feel that between her
thighs was damp and her skin felt too sensitive in his presence,
aware of each small brush of his skin against her own.
What’s wrong with me?

We’re his mate. Our body is meant to react to him like this.
There’s nothing wrong,
her wolf supplied,
its voice lazy and content as it savoured Sebastian's
closeness.

The warmth of his mouth left her skin and he took a step
back, satisfied with simply watching her for the minute now that
his mark was in place. “Erica,” he breathed, caressing her cheek
gently. “I don’t want to have to fight you on this. Can’t you
simply accept that we’re meant to be?”

“
No Sebastian, I can’t.”

“
And I can’t accept that we won’t be together. It seems that
one of us is going to have to change their mind and that won’t be
me Erica. I’ll leave you to go hunting and come back
tomorrow.”

“
Is there anything I can do to make you change your mind? This
isn’t going to work Sebastian. I can’t take a mate.”

“
I won’t change my mind about this sweetheart and you don’t
have a choice in the matter of a mate, I’m already here.” Though it
was almost physically painful, he turned to leave, walking down the
path he had come. He refused to look back knowing that if he did he
might not be willing to leave her.
I’ve
got to give her some space, some time to adjust and then she’ll see
reason,
he assured himself.

He continued walking through the trees, content to restrict
himself to a slow pace now that he had seen Erica and was assured
of doing so again tomorrow. As he carried on walking in the
direction of the royal estate he became aware that he was no longer
alone on his journey. “Who’s there?” he called, stopping as he
waited for someone to make themselves known.

The sound of rustling greeted his demand and a tall man with
shaggy brown hair stepped out from amidst the trees smiling widely
at Sebastian. Instantly recognizing the man as one of Erica's
friends his lips drew back in a snarl.

I don’t like him,
the wolf commented,
eyeing the man with disgust. He’s
too
friendly with our mate.

“
Hello,” the stranger called. “I’m Isaac, one of Eric's
friends.”

“
Yes, I saw.”

“
Who are you?”

“
I’m Sebastian. Why do you want to know?”

“
I just thought I should give you some advice about
Eric.”

A stranger knows more about my mate than I do,
he groaned. “Advice?”

“
Yeah, you’re not from around here otherwise I’d know you and
you’d know all about Eric. I’m guessing that you met her at that
party Anna dragged her to.” Sebastian remained silent allowing
Isaac to continue. “I saw her before she left and I knew something
like this would happen. Eric has always been one of the guys so I
tend to forget that she’s actually a woman but when I saw her that
night… boy did I remember.” He whistled appreciatively.

Kill him,
his wolf advised.
Kill him now before he speaks another word about
our mate.

He might have something useful to say,
Sebastian reasoned.
Let’s hear what
he has to say and then decide whether or not to let him
live.

Unaware of Sebastian's inner turmoil Isaac continued. “I had
a feeling that she’d attract some poor unknowing man and now I see
that it’s true. Anyway my advise to you is to give up on Eric now.
There’s no point in wasting your time, she’ll never go out with
you.”

“
And why is that?” His jaw was clenched tight as he resisted
the urge to attack the man in front of him.

“
Eric doesn’t view men in any other way than as
friends.”

He remembered the way that she had responded to his kiss, a
small smile appearing on his face.
Maybe
he doesn’t know more about her than I do.

“
You’re not from this clan so you wouldn’t know. It’s not a
secret.”

“
What isn’t?”

“
You might not have seen them but Eric has a little brother and
sister.”

“
I saw them,” he remarked quietly.

“
Eric has been taking care of them since they were born because
both her parents are dead. Her mother was killed by hunters about a
year after the twins were born and her father…” Isaac trailed
off.

“
Her father what?” Sebastian demanded taking a step
forward.

“
Mated males don’t do well without their mates you know that.”
Sebastian nodded. “Well her father took his own life not long after
his wife died, leaving Eric alone with her siblings. She swore
never to let a man close to her after that. She said it wasn’t
worth the hassle and the strain it could leave on a family if he
chose to take himself from the world. The one I feel bad for is her
actual mate. She’d never let him near her. Even if she didn’t have
her siblings to look after, she wouldn’t accept a mate in case he
did exactly what her father did and left a family behind to fend
for themselves. Poor guy whoever he is, maybe he’ll get lucky and
won’t find her for a while. Who knows one day she might want to
start a family. My guess though is probably not.”

Thank you for your pity,
he
groaned.
This is going to be even harder
than I thought. It was bad enough when I thought she was just being
difficult but now I know she actually has a reason for not wanting
a mate.

Are you saying your giving up?
His
wolf questioned.

Sebastian smiled.
Of course not,
she’s our mate. We belong together. All I have to do is convince
her of that.

Chapter
Seven

Erica stood in the her bathroom in front of the small sink
and with a flannel in her hand as she scrubbed frantically at her
neck trying to remove Sebastian's mark from her skin. There was no
visible sign that it was there but his scent surrounded her
constantly, refusing to leave no matter how hard she washed. A full
day had passed since Sebastian had kissed her senseless and branded
her with his mark and the smell of him still refused to fade, being
as stubborn as the man himself. She had called off the hunting trip
with her friends from a distance not wanting them to smell him on
her and know that despite all her efforts to the contrary, she had
found a mate. Dylan and Wyatt were still too young to understand
what the strange scent following her meant as their experience with
mating was extremely limited and she thanked God for small
miracles. She continued to scrub harder at her skin, making the
pale area turn an angry red for her efforts but his scent refused
to fade. A knock at the door grabbed her attention for a moment but
it quickly faded and she returned to the more important task of
washing away any and all evidence of her mate’s
existence.

A small child opened the door for him and Sebastian smiled
widely at him, determined to make a good impression on his mate’s
family.
They might be able to help me in
the long run,
he reasoned.
“Hello.”

Curious brown eyes watched him from the inside of the house,
refusing to let him cross the threshold. “Who are you?”

“
I’m Erica's friend, I saw you yesterday do you
remember?”

He nodded before sniffing the air around Sebastian. “Erica
smells like you,” he commented, his eyes wandering Sebastian's much
taller frame as though searching for something.