CHAPTER TWO

 (Aegis's Point Of View).

This night was a disaster.

I had a headache, and it was killing me.

But it did get me out of the birthday dinner early, so… maybe that’s a good thing?

I came to a giant revelation today.

Sheila had a very annoying voice.

I knew her voice was uncomfortable to the ears, but hearing her yap on and on—with her French manicured hand holding my mate—I barely made it through the party without my wolf shifting and killing her.

She just kept yapping on and on about everything.

Changing out of my dress into sweatpants and a matching crop top, I sighed in satisfaction.

My phone pinged repeatedly, but right now, I couldn’t care less. It was probably some of my followers on TikTok wishing me a happy birthday.

I downed a couple of painkillers and padded to the bathroom in my yellow and black Winnie the Pooh slippers to wash my face. No point taking a shower. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

Angel ran across the room chasing a mouse over the wooden floors in her matching slippers—except hers were black to match her shiny coat.

The Alpha got them for us last month from a trip to Paris. I could still see how Sheila’s face reddened in jealousy.

The Alpha always did have a soft spot for me.

The same, however, could not be said of my parents.

Two sets of loud knocks on my room door successfully put a pause in my musings.

Pausing, I chewed on my lip.

“W-who is it?” I asked.

“Elias.”

My eyes widened in panic and my breath caught in my throat.

What is he doing here?

“I need to talk to you.”

“Uh-uh… I-I’m not decent,” I stuttered.

“Aegis, let me in,” he sighed.

I paused, not knowing what to say.

“Aegis. Open this door. I need to speak to you.”

His Alpha voice made me shudder.

No matter how high my ranking was, I could not disobey the natural order of hierarchy. Alpha wolves could make weaker wolves submit to them with their voice alone.

Much to my dismay, I reluctantly opened the door and stepped back.

His scent enveloped me all at once, and my blood pressure shot through the roof. My wolf stood at attention, excitement vibrating through her at the scent of her mate.

He stepped into the light, and my breath stopped in my lungs.

All through the events of the night, I hadn’t had the time to look at him—really look at him.

He was beautiful.

So painfully beautiful.

Everything from his arms to the little six-o’clock shadow beard he kept appealed to me.

Or was that just the mate bond? I couldn’t decide.

I swallowed nervously as he looked me up and down.

“You left early. Are you okay?”

“Y-yes. I’m f-fine,” I stammered. “Thank you for saving me from the chandelier.”

I internally cursed myself for my stutter, which always happened when I was around someone I wasn’t comfortable with—or under pressure.

Sheila loved to tease me about it.

Looking over at the bag of Skittles on my bedside drawer, he smiled in melancholy.

“Still a sweet tooth, I see,” he muttered before looking directly at me.

“We need to talk, Aegis,” he said firmly.

“We sure do.”

“This isn’t going to work. We are not going to work,” he stated plainly.

“What are you saying? Of course it’ll work. It has to, Elias. We’re mates,” I replied, finally acknowledging the mate bond.

“I don’t want you, Aegis. I never will.”

“Yes, you might not want me… but you need me.”

“Not exactly,” he replied.

I didn’t know what to say to that. He was confusing me.

But my pathetic heart danced regardless of his words.

Why do I behave like this in his company?

I knew the mate bond was powerful, but I didn’t know the extent of it. I had never reacted to a man like this.

“Did you hear me, Aegis?” he asked.

“Yes, I did.”

“But you didn’t say anything?”

“Because I don’t know what to say.”

Silence fell once more in the room.

The air around us crackled with tension and… lust.

The fire in the clay hearth sitting in the corner suddenly became very interesting.

I needed to look at something—anything—else in the room so I wouldn’t be tempted to launch myself at him.

My wolf was eager and desperate to mark and mate with her mate.

I stared intently at the individual flames, trying my best to control my raging emotions and fight for any semblance of sanity.

“Aegis…”

His conflicted voice brought me a momentary bout of satisfaction. At least I wasn’t the only one struggling.

Being with Elias like this made me nervous.

We were the only ones in the room, and the darkness of the night didn’t help the situation.

My wolf kept yapping at me in my head, manipulating images—images of a naked Elias—into my mind.

I knew the very moment he gave up the struggle.

He took a step forward and, in one moment, claimed my lips in his.

My wolf howled in joy and satisfaction that he had given in.

No one could resist or withstand the strength of the mate bond.

When the kiss deepened, Elias pulled away.

He rested his forehead against mine while we both tried to catch our breath. Only the sound of burning wood filled the room.

“We need to stop this, or we’ll regret it later.”

My wolf took control for a split moment, sending me backstage in my own mind.

I became nothing but a helpless witness to what she was doing with my body.

I watched her reclaim his lips.

She wasn’t about to lose her mate over this stupidity.

He would stop mid-kiss for some reason, and she would pull him right back in.

“You’ll regret this in the morning,” he told me between kisses.

“Stop seducing me if you don’t want to regret this in the future,” he continued—but still kept kissing me.

“But I’m not doing anything. You’re the one who won’t stop kissing me,” I replied breathless and confused.

“So beautiful,” he said passionately. “My imagination doesn’t do justice to what’s hidden beneath your clothes.”

His hands replaced my clothes, and he didn’t stop until dawn.

We lay beside each other, exhausted and breathing desperately.

I still couldn’t believe the turn of events in our conversation.

“What are you thinking?” Elias asked, playing with a strand of my hair.

“Nothing,” I said happily, moving closer to him as I stared deeply into his eyes.

“I’m just happy. What about you?”

“Beyond happy. I think I could die from happiness.

You know, I still remember when we were eight and you ate every lipstick you could find.”

I flushed at that, and he laughed out loud.

“Come here, my lipstick monster,” he said, kissing me passionately.

I wish we could stay like this forever.

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