I Can't Be Mated to Him

Cutting Through the Haze

*Blanca*

I rush down the hallway, my bare feet slapping on the stone that makes up the floors in this dreary part of the castle. I don’t dare look behind me as I hurry toward the closest exit before someone discovers I’ve left my room.

Someone locked me in there. Someone who wanted me to miss the Haze. Someone who wanted me to miss my only chance at escape.

I can’t think about that right now, though. I have to find him.

I need to find my mate.

Pushing through the closest exterior door, I step outside and into another world. The Haze pulsates around me. No longer the milky white shade it has been the last few days, it is a shimmering silvery mass that engulfs me immediately. I can’t see anything, and with every breath, it sinks into my soul.

My wolf cries for freedom, letting out an excited, primeval howl as I leap into the unknown. My clothes shred, my bones pop, my skin disappears into my body as black fur takes its place all over me. It doesn’t hurt; in fact, it feels incredible, like I am meant to be in this form all the time.

I land on four paws and peer through the cloudy substance around me. With my wolf eyes, I can see better, but it’s still murky. It doesn’t matter. I will not rely on the use of my eyes to find him.

Taking off at a fast gallop, I cut through the trees in the castle courtyard, skipping along the path that leads to the gate. It’s been left open so that those of us who need out tonight don’t have to wait for someone to open it for us. Thankfully, the guards standing there cannot see me well enough to question whether or not I’m allowed to go out. I move like a shadow through the iron gates and out into the open.

Once I’m far enough away from the castle, I let out another howl. This one is answered in kind by the others who are searching the forest nearby.

Guided by nothing but instinct, I move through the Haze, feeling my mind clouding over completely. I only have one thought on my mind. Find him.

Find my mate.

Around me, I sense other wolves. I fly past tents, some moving as the lovers inside mark one another. I hear human sounds as I hurry past them. Gasps. Moans. Whispered endearments.

I keep moving, picking up speed as my wolf hones in on something. It’s as if she’s telling me he’s not far away. Move faster. Run this way. Cut left. Turn right. He’s here. I can feel him.

I’ve only been searching a few minutes when I see movement in front of me, and the Haze lifts just enough to reveal a sight that has me skidding to a stop.

He’s huge, majestic, his silver fur glistening in the moonlight. His eyes are the purest blue I’ve ever seen, and only one word fills my mind.

Mate.

My Mate.

A howl burst from deep within me. He throws his head back and lets out a melodic sound that twists through the air, tangling with my own cry so that we are singing in perfect harmony.

My mate moves toward me like liquid flowing down the path of least resistance. He nuzzles against my neck, his fur soft on mine. I nip at him, wanting him from a part of me buried deep in my core.

When he turns and cuts between the trees, I follow. I know he is fast, probably far speedier than I am, but he waits for me. The two of us come across an empty tent and jut inside. My back is to him as we both shift, and he zips the tent. Naked and in total darkness, I close my eyes as his lips find mine.

The Haze is still in my blood. My mind is controlled by my wolf. This is primitive, animalistic, and everything I could ever crave with my body and soul.

HIs hands glide over my skin, setting me on fire. He tastes like mint, like the freshest water from a mountain stream. He lays me down, his mouth tracing down my neck. I reach up and tangle my fingers in his soft hair, pulling him to me as my tongue twists around his.

The ache between my thighs is all consuming. I feel a dampness there as my thighs slip against one another. I want to open my legs for him, but he’s got me pinned, so I continue to kiss him, thankful that the first man to taste me in every way is this perfect creature.

My mate.

When he rests his hand on my breast, his fingers tugging on my hardened n****e, I arch my back, wanting more, longing for his mouth to close around my most sensitive area. He doesn’t disappoint me as he lowers his head to do just that. I bite my lip to try to keep from crying out, but I can’t contain myself. Like my wolf howling, I begin to moan.

I feel something hard and long against my leg, and though I’m not quite sure what it is, I know I want it inside of me. My body knows what we are meant to do, even if I do not. My wolf instinctively knows. I let her guide me.

His hand slides down my flat belly toward my apex. We move so that my legs are free, and I spread them wide for him. Without a word, he finds my opening, slipping his fingers along my wet slit before probing inside of me. He only sticks one finger inside at first, but I find myself taking hold of his wrist, demanding more. He gives me want I want, working his finger in and out of me, loosening me for what I now understand is supposed to go inside there–and it is massive. We continue to kiss until my body is on fire, his fingers spreading me, readying me, and then I feel the tip at my entrance.

I buck my hips, longing for him to take me, to make me his forever. He presses inside of me, and pain slices through my body, but it is quickly replaced by something else as he continues to move his hips, working in and out of me.

The same feeling of electricity I had out in the Haze pulses inside of me. My mouth opens in a silent scream of ecstasy. Everything about him is perfect–the way he moves, the way he touches me, the way he sets my body on fire. I wrap my arms around him, holding onto a sheer wall of muscle that is his back as he continues to thrust inside of me.

At the same time, our bodies tense. Leaning forward, I find the spot on his neck near his shoulder, and my fangs elongate. I feel his mouth on my skin just above my breast. We both lock down. His flesh rips between my teeth, the sweet taste of his blood filling me as I fall over a cliff, feeling no pain as he bites into me. The world explodes around us, my head spinning uncontrollably as an overwhelming sensation of pleasure wraps around me. I release my grip on his skin, letting out another moan as he goes rigid, grunting, and his warmth spreads through my belly.

Panting, sweating, tingling with electricity, I let go of everything, and still tangled and twisted in the loving arms of my mate, I surrender to the darkness that claims me as completely as he has.

Right before I lose consciousness, I feel him pull me tight against his chiseled chest, his hand on my stomach. He kisses my shoulder and whispers, “My mate. Mine.”

A smile forms on my lips as I fall asleep to a chorus of howls in the distance.

I know this night, and every night for the rest of my life, I will dream of him, my mate. Everything is right and perfect in the world, and now that he is here, that will never change.

I’ve finally found my happily ever after.