5

Jude’s POV

Even after staying half an hour under a nearly boiling water didn’t calm down my nerves, I gave up on it and got out.

I had so much on my mind. So many obstacles in my way. I was still searching for a new warlock to join my pack after Anastasia’s unfortunate loss. But it was proving to be a nearly impossible task. Before Anastasia’s death, she gave some locations she believed some warlocks were hiding in, but every single one of them turned out to be a dead end.

I couldn’t help but feel like things will soon get out of my control and my violet eyed mate will decide to choose this time to come out of her hiding place, now that I’m one warlock short.

Because when has fate ever stopped being ironic?

If another pack gets their hands on her, she will side with them, she will become their ultimate weapon and I; along with my whole pack, will be facing our doom. Just like that fucking prophecy said.

I didn’t want her to become anyone’s weapon. I didn’t even want the cursed thing for myself. I wanted to end it. So no one will get a higher advantage over the others. Because that is just cheating and deceitful.

But what if Elijah made good on his promise and abandoned me? It will all come to the same result. Mine and my pack’s demise. Without my wolf I’ll be weak and so will my pack.

I gritted my teeth in frustration. No matter who I tried to please, it will never work out.

Fuck it.

I’ll have my chances with being without Elijah than choose to save her.

She means nothing to me. But my pack mean everything. They come first.

“No they don’t” Elijah whispers in a tired voice.

“I’m done listening to you Elijah. Get out of my head and leave me to my fucking thoughts” I growl at him in my head.

“Stop being such a soulless asshole for one damn minute and listen to me. I know that ice cold heart of yours is shut off to feeling anything warm and tender for her but trust me, the moment you lay eyes on those violet colored orbs, you will feel everything you try so hard not to feel in there. It doesn’t matter what I make you feel because it will be you who will feel the connection, the warmth, the yearning. It will be you who will struggle to end her life because you will feel like you will be ending your own. You won’t…”

“Shut up Elijah! Shut up. I don’t want to hear anything like that ever again. You’re wrong. You’re trying to mess with my head. I will not become a mushy lovey dovey dog when I see her, that’s you, that’s never, ever going to be me. There is no amount of force or power that will draw me to her, even if she was a freaking angel in the form of a human being, even if she was the most beautiful creature on planet earth, even if she was destined for me, she will not bring me to my knees and suddenly get me to confess or pour my heart’s content to her. You know why? Because there is nothing in it. It’s empty. Empty of any resemblance of love and passion. It has always been like this and it will stay like that. Drop it and stop wasting your breath on me”

I shut him off and head out into the forest to catch some air.

It was the middle of the night. My favorite time for a walk. Where everything is quiet and still. It is the perfect time to clear my head and rid myself of all the stress caused by having the responsibility and burden to keep a whole pack safe and protected from any threats.

I keep walking into the forest in my human form for what seemed like hours. Just breathing in the scent of the woods, flowers, and fresh green grass. It brings me a lot of peace and perspective.

When I decided that I have had enough, I start heading back towards my pack house to tire down for the night.

Just a few miles before I reach the end of the forest, my beta Ian speaks to me alertly through our mind link “Jude, there was a breach in the security system around the border. Someone is trespassing on our territory”

 In that exact same moment, a strange sharp smell invades my nostrils all of a sudden.

I stop in my tracks and take a long whiff of it.

I furrow my eyebrows and try to identify it. I’ve never smelled it before in my life. But it was very strong and did not belong to the usual mixed smell of the forest I’m used to walk through all the time.

It was sweet, like honey, but also spicy and aromatic at the same time. I was certain it didn’t belong to one certain plant or flower, but a whole mix of them coming from one source, from one direction.

I turn around and start hunting that smell. My heart was pounding and I needed to know where that damn smell was coming from. It was drawing me in like a magnet.

And then I see it… or rather her. The source of that addictive smell that invaded every taste bud and every nerve ending within my body.

As soon as my eyes collided with hers the softest, most tender whisper I have ever heard came out from Elijah in my head.

“Mate”

I couldn’t help but feel like I was eating my own words right now. The words I’ve only expressed to Elijah a mere hour ago. The words where I explicitly said that even if she was an angel, she wouldn’t have any effect on me.

And my what an angel she was.

My eyes; in less than two seconds, were able to memorize her whole damn form and appreciate all the fine things she had to offer. Even as she was dressed in those simple, dirty clothes. I could see it all.

All the curves in the perfect places, those huge breasts compared to her petite form, that glowing in the dark platinum straight long hair, that damn angelic face, those deep pink hearty lips of hers that made me gulp involuntarily in a sudden ravenous hunger.

Finally, the eyes.

The wide deep violet blue eyes I always tried to draw into my imagination whenever I thought of her all those years. I realized as I looked at them now that the image I always pictured in my head never did her any justice. They were much more prettier and alluring than I ever anticipated. The fantasy wasn’t even remotely as mesmerizing as the reality I was looking into right now.

No

No

NO!!

This is not happening right now!

I wasn’t prepared for this. I wasn’t prepared for the surge of emotions that was pumped into my blood stream, forcing their way inside me, invading it against my will, bulldozing straight into my ice sculptured heart, causing it to start cracking that exterior protective shell, melting it, exposing it rawly, and revving it into a beating rhythm again.

I tried to fight them; those damn feelings, tried to stop them, even attacked them with all my might; and I was pretty mighty, but I couldn’t. They were much stronger, they were much deeper and fiercer than anything I’ve ever experienced.

The mate bond; with all of its feelings and enchantments, overwhelmed me at that moment and I was left with no choice but to let them in, it also wasn’t helping that my wolf Elijah happily invited them into his own damn head, more like broke the gate wide fucking open and blew the damn hinges off so it couldn’t be closed again.

Fine! You want to fucking strip me of my true self you stupid merciless mate bond? Go ahead. Settle yourself into my body, nestle yourself into my heart chambers, let’s see what’s going to happen to you once I sever the connection by killing her.

Our whole frozen interaction as we both stared at each other, both feeling the mate bond starting to root itself inside both of us, took no longer than three minutes before I snapped out of it; alone without my wolf who was still relishing in his own feelings.

She was still struggling with her bond more than me because as I moved and stopped right in front of her in a matter of seconds, I saw her magical violet blue eyes widen in sheer shock, as I called upon my wolf’s power without his consent, and before she even had time to react or block me, I drove my clawed right hand straight into the middle of her chest, aiming directly for her heart.