Roman Eliot

Six

Roman Eliot

            He could feel her the minute that she was in the building. He paced, anxiously in his study. The office walls were made of mahogany and there were bookshelves that lined the walls. He had his laptop set up in there and should have been answering e-mails but all he could focus on was her.

            He could hear her heartbeat pounding against her chest. She was nervous. Something about that excited him. He didn’t want her to run but the thought of her being nervous because of him left him unable to sit still. There was a knock on the door.

            “Roman?” Aion called.

            “Yes?” he asked.

            Roman wondered if Nora could hear the excitement in his voice. He hoped not. He wanted her to take him seriously, as someone that could protect her.

            “Nora Connolly is here,” he said, “and she brought a friend.”

            Roman almost chuckled. He knew that where Nora went, Winter did too. He had his own suspicions about Winter and her connection to Nora, but that wasn’t for him to sort it out. That was a whole other matter that would sort itself out in time. “Let her in, Aion. And perhaps you can show Miss Jefferies around The Stellarum.”

            He heard a low, irritated, growl from behind the door. “Do I have to?”

            “Yes,” he hissed.

            “Fine,” Aion grumbled.

            The door opened, and Nora stood there looking hesitant. She was about five foot four, with brown hair, and brown eyes. She wore a simple, grey t-shirt, jeans, and a light, grey hoodie. Her shoes were a beat-up pair of sneakers. “Um. Hi.”

            Roman rounded the desk. “Hello, Nora. I’m glad that you finally came.”

            “Thanks…is Winter okay with him?” Nora asked, gesturing in the direction of where Winter and Aion had gone. “He didn’t seem like was too happy about having an extra person here.”

            Roman chuckled. “You’ll have to excuse Aion. He’s allergic to people. But since Winter is someone important to you, and you’re my mate, rest assured that he’ll give her the due respect that she deserves.”

            “Okay, I came here. How do I get this off?” Nora asked, showing him her the wrist that had her mate mark on there.

            He walked over, and grabbed it, stroking the golden ink. “You don’t, I’m afraid. The only way that a mate mark is removed is if the mate dies. And before you even think about trying to kill me, you should know there’s a pack of wolves that live in this building that would tear you to shreds for even trying.”

            Nora’s face paled and she pulled her wrist away from him.

 He let her. For the moment.

“So, I don’t get a say in any of this?” Nora asked.

He shook his head. “Most people find being chosen as a mate an honorable thing.”

“Most people don’t have memories of their parents being torn to shreds by a rogue wolf,” Nora said, “one that was never found and brought to justice. I live in terror knowing that…well…thing is still out there.”

He grimaced at her use of the word “thing”. He hated the idea of her being terrified of werewolves, but she was right. Rogue wolves weren’t the same as them. They were wolves that thought that they were above the law. That they didn’t need a pack, and that the rules didn’t apply to them. They had been around so long that they lost sight of who they were. “I am sorry for your loss, Nora. But I do believe it was the gods that brought us together for a reason. I should have found you much sooner, but I have reason to believe someone was keeping me away.”

“Away how?” Nora asked, furrowing her brows together.

“Magically,” he answered, “I spoke to Glinda North about you when I asked her to perform the summoning to retrieve you to me. Every time I got close to you before, it was as if something interfered. You either left or didn’t see me. Glinda suspected that it was magic.”

“What, like from witches?”

He nodded. “That’s precisely right.”

“My parents weren’t witches, though. My mother was a writer and my father was a teacher. There’s no magic in my family.”

He shrugged. “Perhaps not. But there are some Powerists that lost their ability over the generations. Before social media, most of our kind lived in fear of being exposed. Now, people are able to be themselves more freely. I have heard tales of witches that hid their abilities for so long that they were forgotten about. If you do have magic, Glinda thinks that maybe a witch could have been behind the attacks on your parents. That they made it seem like a rogue wolf attacked them to keep you from me.”

Nora frowned. “Why would anyone do that?”

“Alphas are weaker when they don’t have their mates,” he said, “and witches and werewolves aren’t supposed to be together. There’s no way to know if a witch is in control or the werewolf, and people get upset by that. It’s caused a lot of trouble in the past.”

“Then why come after me?” Nora asked.

He reached out and stroked her cheek gently. “Because,” he said, “I have dreamed of you for as long as I can remember, Nora Connolly. I cannot fathom the idea of anyone else being my mate. And even if that means trouble, I will take on whatever kind of trouble that means.”

Nora blushed. “What happens now?”

“Now, you move into The Stellareum with me. And then we’ll have a binding ceremony so you can share my powers. And together, we’ll figure out the truth about you and your parents. We’ll do whatever we have to in order to bring the rogue wolf to justice. How does that sound?”

Roman could see the apprehension in her eyes. He knew this was all a lot to take in. But he needed her.

“Fine,” she said, “but there’s something I want in return.”

“Besides revenge?” he said.

She nodded. “I want Winter to move in here too.”

“What?”