Hunger of the Heart (Wolves of Ravenwillow Book 1) (22 page)

Though Eric hadn’t attempted to kill her—yet, she still felt wary as to why he was so desperate to keep her from leaving him. He had to know. He more than likely simply wanted to keep her close to find out what all she knew before he killed her, which meant that she had no ally now; least of all Damon.

Schooling her apprehension, Rebecca smiled friendly at Damon as he came to stop in front of them. Almost instantly she noticed that Eric’s face had darkened at the sight of Damon. His hands fisting at his sides as a low rumble echoed so softly in his chest that she would have missed it if she hadn’t been standing so close.

“What are you doing here, Damon?” she asked.

Before he could answer, Eric echoed her question as well. “Yes.
What
are you doing here, Damon? I would have thought that since your business was concluded here, you would be on your way.” Eric bit out with a murderous glare.

Shrugging his shoulders, Damon chuckled. “I found something to stay for I suppose.” His eyes turning to give her a lingering look before flashing Eric a knowing look.

Was she missing something here? Was Damon still attempting to make Eric jealous as he had that one night?

Waste of time, if you ask me.
She thought.

Regardless of what Damon’s personal game was, she had to find out what he’d told Eric and who else knew her secret. If she was lucky she could find a way out from under Eric’s watchful gaze and escape to freedom. She just had to get Damon alone.

Easier said, than done.
She acknowledged grimly.

*~ * ~ *

Fire burned in his stomach as Eric watched Damon look down at Rebecca with a gentle look.
I should have killed him!
What right did he think he’d possibly have to Rebecca? As far as Eric knew; Rebecca and Damon hadn’t seen each other since the night of their
date
. God; that word had never tasted so foul in his mouth before, it was even worse when he remembered that night.

Surely Rebecca wasn’t fooled by Damon’s playboy charm. Much to his irritation, he acknowledged that Rebecca was even able to resist his own brand of seduction.

To a degree.
Eric thought with a smug grin pulling at the corners of his lips.

Despite what Rebecca may say, her body didn’t lie when it came to him. She was his in every way. Without a doubt he knew that he didn’t need to worry about Damon attempting to pouch his mate.

Turning to look at his soon-to-be-claimed mate with his jaw slackening, Eric felt his blossoming pride in the situation deflate rapidly as he took in her returning smile. She looked at Damon like she was…happy. Happy to see
Damon?!
Why the hell hadn’t she ever looked at him like that?

Jealously filled his gut like a thick oil, sickening him and fueling his rage all the more. Damon wouldn’t be getting within a foot of her after this if it was the last thing he ever did.

Grinning at Eric, Damon ran a smoothing hand over his jaw. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that I didn’t sustain any permanent damage to my handsome face from your little tap the other night.”

Fighting against the need to lunge at him and remedy the situation, Eric muttered. “Ecstatic.”

Shrugging his shoulders at Eric’s response, he turned back to Rebecca with a softening expression. “I heard about what happened this morning.” Reaching out his hands settled on Rebecca’s shoulders as he stepped closer to her. “I am so glad you are alright.”

Eric’s eyes widened as they fell on the hands that dared to touch
his
mate.
Now I really will kill him!

Take our mate from him! She isn’t properly bound to us and he will take her!
His wolf snarled as he shared Eric’s rage at another touching their mate.

Before Eric could step forward to kill the back stabbing wolf in front of him, much to his relief, Rebecca shrugged his hands off of her shoulders.

“I am fine. Just a few cuts and bruises.” She stated nonchalant with a shrug.

Eric bit on his tongue to prevent from pointing out that she’d nearly gotten herself killed and had injured herself badly. The last thing he needed was Damon fawning over his mate even more than he already was.

“I’m glad you both are safe; especially you Rebecca.”

Not bothering to cover his scoff at Damon’s sweet words, Eric stepped between the two as one of his arms curled around Rebecca’s stiff shoulders. “Regardless what your
real
reason for staying here; run along. Rebecca and I are busy.” He prayed that Damon was intelligent enough to understand the not-so subtle hint in his voice. Moving to steer Rebecca away from the
possible
threat, Eric flashed Damon a look that said;
this one is mine
.

“Damon, wait.” Eric froze at Rebecca’s pleading tone as she held a staying hand out to Damon. “I need to talk to you…privately.”

Privately? PRIVATELY?!
Why the hell would they need to be in private—without him there? Mere thoughts of why this would be needed had Eric nearly grinding his teeth into powder. Perhaps they wanted to pick up where their
date
had ended? There was no way in hell he was leaving Rebecca alone with this wolf.

Clearly enjoying Eric’s anger at what was occurring, Damon shrugged his shoulders. “Sure. Will you walk with me?”

Returning his smile, Rebecca extracted herself from under Eric’s heavy arm too quickly for his stunned mind to act. His breaths became more ragged with his control of his wolf slipping when she allowed Damon to clasp her hand tenderly within his own.

His pelt will be a nice addition to my bedroom décor.

Rebecca must have sensed his anger at Damon, because she turned to look at Eric like he was a third wheel nuisance. “I’ll see you later.” She stated with a distracted voice.

Had she just
dismissed
him? Oh no. He wasn’t going to chase after
his mate
like some pathetic lap dog. Feeling his wolf breaking through the bonds that kept him from shifting and ripping Damon’s throat out on principle alone, Eric forced himself to spin away from them and head toward the main section of the house.

He was in no way done with Rebecca, but until he informed and accustomed her to what he was, he couldn’t risk scaring her. Once his rage wasn’t so high he intended to drag her back to his room and have a long drawn out talk with her. The first thing he would be sure to decree to her was that she would have absolutely
no
contact with Damon ever again.

Moments later, after leading Damon far enough away from Eric until she was certain their conversation wouldn’t be overheard, Rebecca turned around a corner to jerk her hand from Damon’s tender grasp to shove at him angrily.

“How could you!” she hissed out, both her hands shoving at his powerful chest pushing him off balance until he stumbled back a step.

“Rebecca?” With a shocked look, he adjusted his footing to take a step towards her, reaching a hand out to her.

Angry tears burned in her eyes. Acknowledgement of how stupid she’d been to trust him was like a slap in the face. He’d promised to protect her secret. She’d thought him to be a friend, an ally. How gullible she was! He’d betrayed her and now he had the nerve to look hurt by her reaction to him. Screw him! “Don’t touch me!” she cried, slapping his hand away from her. “I trusted you! I confided in you!”

Holding out his hands up in surrender, he took a step closer to her, his eyes filling more and more with concern. “Rebecca, it’s me, Damon.”

“Oh, I know who you are, Damon.” She answered bitterly. “Now I really see you for the man you are.”

Eyes narrowing in question, he shook his head. Hands dropping to his sides, Damon released a heavy breath. “What is going on, Rebecca?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know.” She snapped. “Eric
knows thanks to youoiceknownow you cahands is eyes filling more and more with...1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
knows and according to Jason and Chris so do everyone else.” Curling her nose at him, her tiny finger stabbed into the middle of his chest. “I don’t know if you are involved in Eric’s scheme—”

“Rebecca, Eric doesn’t know.” Damon quickly interrupted.

Stilling, she dropped her jabbing finger from his chest. Rage lessening, she took a step back from him. “What?”

Damon shook his head as he flashed a gentle smile. “Eric doesn’t know. That’s why I am still here.” He looked as though he meant to say more but quickly snapped his mouth closed. Casting a suspicious look around them, he stepped closer to her, pressing a flat hand against the middle of her back. “It’s not safe to talk out in the open. We might be overheard. Come with me.”

Too surprised at the new revelation, she mutely allowed Damon to direct her to a small room that served as a storage room. Closing the heavy door behind them, Damon pulled her amongst the maze of towering shelves until they were out of sight of the door. Placing his back against a wooden shelve, he allowed his hand to drop from her.

Taking a step back from him, Rebecca shook off her shocked expression to eye the werewolf warily. Could she trust that he was telling the truth? If what he said was true and Eric didn’t know her secret, that information only left her with even more questions than answers.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she took a step back, placing a comforting foot of space between them. “What did you mean that’s why you’re still here?”

He sighed. “Listen to me. As far as I know; Eric doesn’t know your secret and neither do anyone of his pack.”

“How can you know for certain? You even said, “
as far as I know”.
That means you could be wrong.”

“I’m never wrong.” He stated smugly. “As for why I am still here, the reason is I’m here for you.” Shoving his hands into his jean pockets, he took a step towards her, his golden eyes bearing heavily into her own.

“What do you mean?” she stuttered out. “If you’re trying to hit on me again; now is not the time.”

Chuckling low, he shook his head. “I’m not hitting on you. I am here for you—to help you.”

“Help me how?”

“You need to confide in Eric.”

Air rushed from her lungs as panic swelled within her. Was he insane? She may as well as take a gun and blow her brains out herself. “Are you crazy?” she hissed out. Shaking her head, she stepped back from him like he was a dangerous animal. “You promised you would help keep me safe. How is revealing my secret to Eric helping?”

“I cannot remain here in his territory for much longer. I have been called back to my pack. I’m here on borrowed time already. But I don’t want to leave unless I know for certain that you will be protected against the wrath of Eric’s pack.”

“I’ll run and disappear. I’ve done it before I can do it again.”

“Running and hiding will not protect you from the Right of Revealment.”

Squeezing her eyes closed she shook her head. “What are you talking about?”

“The Right of Revealment. It is a law that is evoked by shifters whenever our secret is threatened to being exposed by a human. It states that if a human knows or even suspects what we are; they are to be eradicated immediately for the good of all shifters. There is only one loophole in this law that can save the human from a painful and terrifying death.”

Nearly afraid of what he would say, Rebecca found the courage to ask, “What?”

“If the human is claimed as a true mate.”

“Like a wife?”

“It's much more than that, but yes. True mates are rare amongst shifters. Only a small number of shifters have been lucky enough to find their true mate’s. For my kind, true mates are our soul mates times thousands. Our true mates have the ability to draw out our inner beast fully and doing so; uniting the shifter and their inner spirit. True mates are our matches in every way and become our lifeline once we claim them.”

“Claim?”

Waving away her question, he continued. “In all of our history, a human has only turned out to be a true mate in a couple of times, but here recently more and more shifters are finding their soul mates amongst humans. You are Eric’s true mate.”

For a moment she blankly stared at him. Then; a moment later a snort of laughter bubbled up from between her lips. Covering her mouth as she laughed, Rebecca shook her head at him. “You’re funny.”

With a stony expression, he replied. “I’m serious.”

Laughter fading, Rebecca’s expression filled with doubt. “No. it’s not possible.”

“Answer me this; do you feel drawn to Eric? Like something is tying you to him and won’t let you stay away from him? Do you feel a connection to him even though you don’t know why? Do you hunger for him against your own will? Do you feel possessive of him?” The dawning realization on her face was Damon’s answer. “Those are all signs of true mates.”

“You’re mistaken. Yes, I find him attractive and feel a connection to him, but that’s just because we had sex.”

Nodding in understanding, he stepped into her personal space. “Let me prove it to you.” His hands suddenly clasped her hips in his hands, jerking her up against his hard body. “Kiss me.”

“E-Excuse me?”

“If Eric is not your true mate and you are not his; nothing should stop you from wanting another. Kiss me and you will know for certain.”

When Rebecca made no move to kiss him, Damon grew impatient and reached up to grip her ponytail in his fist. Holding her still with his hand in her hair and the other wrapped around her waist, Damon’s mouth crashed down over hers.

Eyes wide, Rebecca stiffened under his moving mouth.  Even as she held herself stiff against him, she felt Damon’s mouth move against hers, attempting to entice a reaction. She expected to feel the warm rush of sensations that always accompanied Eric’s kisses. But Damon’s kiss only left her feeling cold. It wasn’t a moment longer until Damon lifted his mouth from hers. The hand that had held the back of her head still, now slid down to rest at the back of her neck.

With a blank look, Damon shook his head at her. “Even I know that you didn’t find that kiss remotely stirring.” Dropping his hands from her, he took a step back. Crossing his arms over his chest, pulling the material of his t-shirt tighter over his muscled chest, he watched her. Waiting for her to deny his words and to deny that Eric wasn’t the only one she wanted.

Rebecca shook her head. “This isn’t poss—”

“Don’t even bother to finish that sentence. It’s true, Rebecca. The longer you fight this the less time you have to save your life.”

Turning away from him, her arms wrapped around her middle as she paced back and forth. Spinning back to him, her gaze was troubled as her teeth bit down into her bottom lip. “How did you know?” she asked softly.

“If you watch someone close enough and often enough, you can see things that they won’t admit to even themselves. Every since you came into Eric’s life, he’d been different. More on edge and almost everyone could sense his wolf rising against his control more and more. Eric simply didn’t want to admit it to himself.”

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Why then did you ask me on a date if you knew that I was his?”

That night, Damon had said that he wanted to force Eric out of his own stubborn ways, but for what purpose? What did Damon have to gain for Eric to know the truth about her?

His crossed arms fell as he rubbed a tired hand at the tight muscles of his neck. With a groan he answered. “There is only one thing that can push a shifter’s beast over the edge faster than anything and that is another male threatening to take a mate away. I knew that if Eric wouldn’t see reason; his wolf would force him to.”

“I still don’t see why you went through all this just to throw me and Eric together. We don’t even like each other.”

“You may think he doesn’t like you, but trust me when I say that Eric would kill anything and anyone that came between him and you.” Taking a step closer a heavy weight seemed to settle upon his shoulders. “Listen to me, I am telling you this not to scare you or to push you; but to warn you. The only chance you have at surviving is to tell Eric your secret as soon as possible.”

Icy terror filled her at the thought of doing what he asked. There was no way she possessed that kind of courage to lay her life on the line and pray with fingers crossed that Eric would be understanding and protect her. “I can’t do that.”

“You have to.” he said earnestly.

“You said that you would be my protector.” she pointed out, grasping for anything but telling Eric the truth.

“I
can’t
.” his voice strained woefully. With a defeated look, he clenched his fists at his sides. “I hoped that I could keep others from finding out your secret, but I had always hoped that you would eventually confide in Eric. But things are happening that changes all that.”

Sensing the seriousness of what he was trying to tell her, she asked. “What things?”

“A power struggle is occurring within Eric’s pack. Many will want him dead and anyone who stands with him. It won’t matter whether others know about you or not.”

“Power struggle? What about this scheme Jason and Chris mentioned?”

“Thing you have to know about wolf shifters is that we are very power hungry and territorial beings. We don’t do change well and for our safety; we stick with our own. Eric has been secretly forming alliances with other packs of different castes, something that no wolf shifter has done in a long time. He’s changing traditions that have stood for thousands of years and it is causing his own pack to rebel against him.”

“With all that happening you still think it’s a good idea to unload my secret on Eric? You’re crazy.”

“Rebecca, regardless how your secret comes out, Eric is the
only
person that can spare your life. I have no doubt that Eric’s enemies are watching him, his children and you for a weakness. As bad as this will sound; you are a liability to Eric. Why do you think that his home was shot up this morning? You will never be completely safe until Eric claims you as his.”

Eyes filling with tears at the finality of her situation, she squeezed her arms tighter around herself. Running was out of the question now. Eric’s enemies would find her, whether to kill her for the secret she harbored or to strike back at Eric. Unmistakably; she was a walking target.

Seeing her watering eyes, Damon stepped forward, his arms wrapping around her and drawing her to his chest. Smoothing a flat hand over the top of her hair, he sighed. “I promise to stay until the next full moon; that’s a week away. According to my information, Eric has summoned everyone to gather here in the next few days. He plans to use the opportunity to draw out his enemies. You need to tell him before someone tries again.”

Tilting her head back to look at him, she blinked her hopeless tears away. Damon was right. She couldn’t hide any longer. It was time for her to stop running. She had to trust Eric and trust this bond between them.

“You promise you won’t leave me?” She was disgusted at how pathetic she sounded, but the truth was, Damon was her safety net, at least for the time being. She wanted to trust Eric to cling to him like she did with Damon. Though Damon was just a precarious friend, Eric was more and could be much more if their reaction to each other was anything to go by.