chapter 37

One day.

Two days.

Three days.

Four days.

Five days.

Six days.

Seven days.

Heather opened her eyes, staring up at the morning light. Her body was completely sated.

The thick arm draped across her stomach nearly sent her into a panic attack, but as she turned to look at David’s sleeping face, she was able to keep a hold of her sanity, but only just. They were still in the old cabin.

Lifting her hand, she pressed it to her forehead, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. What she had done. Why she had done what she did.

The mating heat! Her virginity was long gone. Seeing that woman talk to her man had sent her on a downward spiral, and she had nearly lost control. All she could think about was David belonging to her and no one else.

Even as she screamed inside her mind to stop, to run as far away from him as possible, the wolf had been too angry.

She’d always prided herself on her ability to stay in constant control, but the mating heat was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. The needs were on the next level and impossible to control.

She hated it.

Now she’d had sex with David. Time was still a blur, but they’d been holed up for many days. It had been a sexfest like nothing she ever imagined possible. Flashes of memory of what happened swamped her and she jerked out from under his arm, not caring that he woke up.

She’d begged him to fuck her. To take her. That wasn’t her.

It was the mating heat. Yeah, right. It was you. You wanted David. “Heather.”

She froze.

David was awake.

She took another step back. “Damn it, Heather, don’t do this.”

She whirled around and paused.

He was completely naked. They both were. She had her hands crossed over her chest, and one leg in front of the other, trying to hide her body. “Look, I know what happened, but I don’t want to talk about it, okay? It’s not … just … leave me alone.”

“No!”

For the last few months, David had always given her the respect she asked for. This was new. She wasn’t sure if she liked this. He was making her face the consequences of what they did together.

She didn’t know why it was so hard to be with him. When it came to David, she felt like she was split in two. A part of her wanted to cave and to be with him, another just wanted to run and hide. To never know pain again.

Losing her parents, the rogue bear, all of it was just too much for her to take in. Then David, now the mating heat.

Everywhere she turned, people expected something of her—demanded it. All she wanted to do was run, to mourn, to find out who the hell she was as a person.

“What do you want from me?” she asked. “We had the mating heat. I feel your cum inside me. I’m all marked up.

Every single wolf is going to know I belong to you. What more do you want!” She finished on a yell.

“You’re the most … for fuck’s sake, woman, you’re making me feel like a rapist here.”

“I know you didn’t do anything I didn’t want you to do, so let’s not even go there.”

“You could have fooled me. Do you think this was some kind of booty call?”

“I don’t know what this is.”

“We’re mates, Heather! I’ve been patient with you. I have done everything at your pace and the way you’re treating me, it’s not fair. I’m at a loss here as to what to do next,” he said. His shoulders slumped, and for some odd reason, she felt tears come to her eyes.

She didn’t want to disappoint him. “Look, I … I always wanted to find my mate and I do recognize you as my mate. I’m not rejecting you.”

“But you’re doing something here, Heather. I feel it.”

She licked her lips and swiped at her tears. “We don’t know each other.”

“I’ve tried to get to know you. You just won’t let me in.”

“Can we stop with the blaming please?” She bent forward as her wolf seemed to want to come out and play.

David was by her side, his palm flat on her back. “The mating heat hasn’t completely gone. It lingers in the air. There’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

The feel of his palm on her back felt so good. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation, wanting his touch all over her body. The mating heat wasn’t gone.

She let him pull her in close and she breathed him in, not wanting to let him go.

“I’ve got you, baby.”

“We don’t know each other.” She lifted her head and opened her eyes. “I have always wanted to find my mate, but … I always thought I would fall in love with him. That I would feel this never-ending love and lust and…”

“It hasn’t happened yet,” he said. “You’re not in love with me.”

“I don’t know you, David. I’m so sorry.” Her heart shattered in two. “It’s not you. I just don’t know what love is.”

He stroked some hair back from her face. “Do you hate me?”

“No, I don’t hate you,” he said. “I get what you mean, I think.”

“You don’t love me either?”

“Heather, you don’t want to know how I feel about you.” He tilted her head back. “You want to get to know me?”

She nodded her head.

“I think we did things a little backward, but I’m game to a fresh start if you are.”

Heather frowned. With him so close, it was impossible for her to make sense of anything that was happening. Words were flying out of her mouth with no real thought to them.

Her heart was torn, yet her wolf wanted to be fucked and she didn’t know what the hell to do. This wasn’t how she imagined her mating to be.

Her parents had been very much in love, but her mother had warned her that mating didn’t always come with love. There were some couples who just weren’t ready to be together.

“Or do you not want to be mated at all?” David asked.

Pain shot through her body and she shook her head. “No, I do. I do want to be mated to you.” She hated this.

All her life, all she’d ever wanted was to find her mate, regardless of her mother’s warning. She understood that a mate could show up at any time, but she didn’t care about that. Even mates that hadn’t fallen in love immediately had grown close in time and their feelings had developed.

Why was she being so difficult now when this was what she wanted more than anything? It didn’t make any sense.

“Let’s start over,” she said. “Get to know one another first.”

David nodded and removed his hands from her body, which she missed the moment he let her go. It wasn't fair. She needed him. Wanted his touch, craved it even.

Pressing her lips together, she stared at the hand he offered instead.

No, I want you.

“I’m David, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

They stood completely naked, pretending like this was the most natural thing on the planet.

“Heather,” she said, touching his hand and giving it a small shake. Her wolf didn’t like this.

Silence fell between them. She didn’t know what to say to make it better, or how to stop these feelings spiraling inside her.

Her throat felt thick. Pain flooded her body.

She had never been so confused in her entire life.

“So, with everything okay with you now, I think it’s only fair that we head back home.”

“Home?”

“Yeah, everyone knew we were out here. They were giving us space to you know, bond,” he said.

“David, I’m so sorry.”

“No worries. I just … I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, Heather. You may not have feelings for me, but I do care for you.”

“I do have feelings for you,” she said. “I’m just confused.”

“Right, just not strong enough feelings to give this and us a chance. I get it. Don’t worry.” David glanced over her shoulder. “We’ve been gone for a week. It’s time we headed back. We can make it for breakfast.”

The last thing she wanted was to be back home. They were all going to hate her.

“You’re right.” She turned on her heel and started to walk back to the house. In the back of her mind, she thought about the rogue bear.

The one that had come and taken so much from her. She had never known such fear until he had invaded and killed.