Her Forbidden Human Mate

Someone knows

(Narrator)

Walking up to the bistro, Tessa's heart was racing. She was determined to fix things with Rowan, to make him understand that she wanted him and that she was sorry for the way she'd responded when he asked her to move in.

She spotted him leaning against the brick wall, next to the door. He had his head bowed, appearing lost in thought. He took her breath away every time she laid her eyes upon him.

'He's still hurting,' Dez whined. Tessa ignored her wolf, agitated that she pointed out the obvious. She was well aware of how pensive he looked.

When she was a few feet away from him, he looked up and smiled when he saw her. She picked up her pace and sprang into his embrace, giving him a soft kiss. He took her hand and led the way inside.

Once seated, Tessa watched him browse the menu. She already knew what she wanted. She was a creature of habit. So she took the extra time to simply adore him. She took in a deep breath to fill her senses with his scent, that was like smelling a warm spring day. She felt such a sense of calm and serenity in his presence.

The server came promptly and took their order. Without the menu to hide behind, Tessa could see and feel the apprehension from Rowan.

She reached across the table and took his hand. He stared down at the table as their fingers entwined. Tessa opened her mouth to speak but Rowan beat her to hit.

"I want to apologize for mentioning us moving in together."

Tessa was surprised. Why was he saying sorry?

Rowan continued, "I just got caught up in the idea of seeing you daily and got over excited. I mean, I don't even know where you live, haven't met your friends... We are a long way from that step."

Tessa opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She turned to Dez, 'Where is this coming from? Does he mean this?'

Dez was quiet for a moment. 'He seems... apathetic' she whispered back. 'He's pulling away.'

Tessa's heart skipped a beat. No, no, no, this is not what she wanted. She had come prepared to repair the damage she'd caused, not pull away from him.

"Rowan," she began, placing both hands around his. When he raised his eyes to her, his sadness washed over her. He was saying what he thought she needed to hear. She could fix this, "I was going to apologize to you."

His eyes searched hers, like he was confused.

"I didn't mean what I said the other night. I do want to live with you. I'd love to see you everyday."

She saw the hope fill his eyes and she smiled. "My life is just... complicated."

He was about to question her when the server arrived with their food. She was glad for the interruption as she was starting to lose her nerve about explaining what she was to him.

"What do you mean?" he asked softly.

Tessa took a bite of her food, trying to give herself a minute to psyche herself up. He was staring at her intently, anxious for her answer.

"I... uh.. I'm not..." she began when suddenly...

She smelled a hybrid, one she recognized. She scanned the restaurant until she pinpointed her.

Rachel, Dimitri's shadow, was standing at the counter placing an order. Tessa stared at her wide eyed. It was extremely rare for her kind to come to mingle with the humans, especially one who never seemed to leave Dimitri's side.

Rowan followed her gaze, confused. "Tess what is it? Are you ok?"

Tessa snapped her attention back to Rowan. He was eyeing her worriedly. "Yeah, sorry, I thought I saw someone I know," she replied shaking her head. "What was I saying?"

"You were about to explain how complicated your life is," he answered, with a bit of suspicion.

"Oh... yeah...I....." she began again.

Rachel sipped her drink, trying to get a good look at who Tessa was with. She could not smell another hybrid here, besides her and Tessa. He appeared human and a good looking one at that. They seemed close and Rachel admitted she was intrigued. She knew her kind came here to have fun since it got old flirting with the same members of the pack. She had yet to see anyone so close to a human though in this setting. Was this a date? She needed to get a closer look, so she decided to have a little fun and introduce herself.

She sauntered over to their table, making sure she swung her hips dramatically. She loved watching the men drool over her. "Tessa?! Oh my gosh! Hi! Small world seeing you here!" She grinned at how Tessa squirmed, uneasy by her presence. She turned to the handsome guy she was with,"And who do we have here?" she purred.

Ever so charming and polite Rowan immediately introduced himself. As he extended his hand he turned to her. Tessa watched as Rachel shook his hand while looking him up and down like she wanted to devour him. She saw her eyes linger on his neck and her smile faltered.

Rachel could see the mark she had claimed on Rowan's neck. She hadn't worried about it before since no humans would know it's significance but Rachel would. Dread washed over her immediately.

Rachel recovered and her smile returned so quickly Rowan didn't even notice. "Your mate is so handsome," Rachel cooed, meeting Tessa's eyes daringly.

Rowan gave her a dimpled smile as he furrowed his brow with a chuckle, taken aback by being called Tess's mate, as if he was an animal. Tessa thought she would have a panic attack any second. This was bad. Real bad.

"How do you two know each other?" he asked, glancing from Rachel to Tessa.

Rachel opened her mouth but Tessa was faster, "College," she quipped. "We were roommates in college."

Rachel snickered at her and met her eyes. Tessa silently pleaded that Rachel would just go with it and held her breath.

"Right," she answered. "University of Massachusetts." Tessa released the breath she was holding.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Rowan said ever so politely.

"The pleasure is all mine," Rachel said leaning on the table. She glanced between Rowan and Tessa with a big grin on her face. Tessa's heart sank. She knew Rachel was up to something. She wasn't one to keep a secret for her. Rachel had made her hatred for her very obvious when she'd begun seeing Dimitri. Rachel clearly had feelings for Dimitri but of course he was oblivious.

"But I must be going," she concluded. "I'll see you later Tessa," she said, her eyes burning into hers. Tessa smiled meekly as Rachel sauntered away.

Tessa watched her exit the Bistro, Rachel immediately got out her phone and called someone, pressing the phone to her ear. She glanced into the window at Tessa before she disappeared, giving her a wave and a dangerous smile. Dread shot through Tessa as every worst possible scenario played through her mind.

"Hey, are you okay?" Rowan asked with concern, squeezing her hand. Tessa steadied herself and plastered on a smile as she nodded.

"Where were we?" she said as she resituated her napkin on her lap.

"Well, you were about to tell me what's so complicated about your life... for the second time," Rowan replied.

Tessa's head snapped up. She felt sick. She had hoped he had forgotten what they were talking about before Rachel ruined their lunch.

She gulped. "Do you mind if we talk about it later, in private? Maybe when we get back to your place?"

Rowan held her gaze, his lips in a thin line. He said nothing for a few seconds. Tessa could feel the unease and frustration coming off him. Finally he nodded.

They ate the rest of their lunch in relative quiet. Tessa anxiously filled the silence with talk about her work, asking Rowan questions about his upcoming projects he was in charge of at the architectural firm. He gave unenthusiastic responses. Tessa could tell he was getting impatient about waiting to hear what she had to tell him.

After paying for their meal, Tessa asked if they could walk to his apartment vs taking a cab. He obliged and even let her entangle her fingers in his, but he was silent along the way.

Tessa fidgeted nervously while he unlocked the door. He shut the door behind her, locking it and tossing his keys on the counter. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned back on the door, eyeing her. Tessa could feel his unease. She knew he was expecting the worst but there was no way he was expecting the truth of what she was going to say.

Tessa reached for his arm, pulling his hand out of his pocket and pulling him to her. "I think you need to sit down for this," she whispered.