She's the one

LYSANDER

She was the one. Hazel cat-shaped eyes and black wavy hair. Eyes with a spitting fire, just like she had looked when she left in the dream. Yeah, you read that right. I'd never met this woman, had only ever been interested in blondes. However, the night before I met her, I'd had a dream, a lengthy one. 

It had gone by quickly, but strong enough to leave a lasting impression on me. The feeling had been raw, like I had experienced it. I hadn't, mind you. I'd never met her before. However, when our eyes locked, I felt her pain, the darkness in her gaze, and an emotion I couldn't decipher. There was also a familiarity that confused me. Just then, I decided, I would have nothing to do with her. Though I never knew her, my dream was enough to make me aware of what might happen if we ever got together.

I might mistreat her, then cause her disappearance and death. I didn't want that. I needed this woman to live a good life. The goddess might have shown me the dream as a warning never to cross my path with her. We were never meant to be. The douche version of me in the dream might be a premonition of the future.

To think I had changed my mind at the last minute. In my dream, I met her at the legal auction site, so I decided to raid the illegal one happening on my turf, save the girls and take the one that appeals to me, while avoiding the one I went to in the dream. Who would have thought I would meet her here? 

Though the scenes of the dream were the same, the only difference was the setting. 

When I saw her, I concluded the goddess had made our paths cross so I could help her.

However, when I strode past her, I did a double-take, whipping my head back so fast, I would have sprained my neck if I were human. I blinked, eyes wide, and sniffed the air.

'Mate!' my wolf growled, trying to force itself out of my body. I held back, teeth gritting and fists clenched, fighting it back, willing my wolf to stand back. I closed my eyes when I felt the shift in them and held him back. When I looked at her, she was still staring hard at me while the others cowered.

Fearless, I like that, but I wasn't about to change my mind. I couldn't afford to do anything rash, especially to a mate. Raw from a betrayal by a friend, the idea of a mate wasn't comforting. To a werewolf, a mate is a confidant, the only person you depend on with your heart, and I wanted nothing to do with trust.

I ignored my wolf's screams for me to get back to her, choose her over the other cowering ladies. Instead, I moved to the blonde I had glimpsed after dealing with the men who thought they could do their business under my nose without my awareness.

I had intended to take the blonde with me, and have someone take the lady to the flat I had in mind, but what happened after that was a rush. One minute she was standing in a cage with the others, and the next, I was choosing her. My hands were held. I couldn't leave her there, not when she looked desperate. I'd even tried to scare her into changing her mind when she asked me to pick her, but she was stubborn, adamant about that, not like the submissive woman in my dreams who did practically everything I asked her to.

I had to take her, even though I didn't.  I intend to let her go after this, help her sort out her life so she doesn't go down the dangerous path. It was the least I could do for her. It might not be enough to erase whatever I did to her or might do in the future if we ever got together. I just need to put her on the right track, then settle her for life.

 

'But she's our mate!' My wolf screamed. 'She's ours!'

No, she's not. The image of what happened in my dream was still fresh in my mind. It was real, the pain I'd felt when I lost her. The douche version of me in my dream made me realize we had to let her go.

I watched as they led her to the car. The men were as gentle as I asked them to be. I joined her in the car, careful to keep a reasonable distance between us. Inside the car, with her scent everywhere, it was difficult keeping my wolf in place. I had to look away while she fidgeted.

“Where are you taking me?”

Her voice was too gentle. I didn't even know she was speaking to me until she repeated the question. Thankfully, I had the men blindfold her, so I wouldn't see those seductive and hard-to-ignore eyes of hers. 

“Home,” I choked out, just sparing her a glance. 

“Your house?”

“Where else?”

She nodded, and that was all. Oddly enough, I wanted to hear more of her sweet voice, but I couldn't, not when she had decided she didn't wish to speak again.

I leaned back on the car seat and closed my eyes, counting the seconds until we arrived at my house and planning the next course of action. I will just have to make a call and arrange for Maria to pick her up. I can help her get a job and house her in one of my flats until she's independent. She can also choose to remain there forever. It's her call, and the least I could do for her as her mate.

'What if she starts dating a human?' My wolf reminded me of something I didn't want to think about; my mate with a human lover. 

I shook my head. There was no need to think about that. My decision won't change. “It's for her.”