Chapter 3: Chapter 3

EVERLEE

Harlan’s mouth was the devil’s temptation.

It was full, pink, with a small line down the middle of his bottom lip. His cupid’s bow was prominent and forced me to clench my thighs together. My wolf purred as if she were a cat, begging for his touch, his attention, but my rational human brain screamed for me to do as the man asked.

I knew it was dangerous to indulge in a taste from him.

I knew it was a disaster waiting to happen.

I don’t really know why I did it, besides the gut full of hormones tracing my veins, and making my body go haywire. But I reached out and touched his bare chest, my flat palm rested against his tanned pecs, and I saw the moment he failed.

The moment his wolf took control, and his eyes turned red.

It snapped, like a faulty dam, and Harlan broke free. Tangling his fingers into the roots of my hair, he angled my face and devoured my mouth. He tasted better than I ever remembered any of my boyfriends from school. His experienced tongue delved past the barrier of my lips and slipped into my mouth, dominating me.

It was all a she-wolf ever wanted.

To be dominated by her mate.

To be under his control.

It spun my head around in circles, and I couldn’t stop myself from slipping my arms around his neck and pulling him closer. His deep growl vibrated against my chest as he unhooked his fingers from my hair, slid them down the curve of my body, and hauled me up to his hips with his palms underneath my thighs.

“Dammit,” he groaned into our kiss. Pressing me against the wall, he kept me there with his hips. “I told you to wait,” he whispered, kissing a hot path down my throat that strangled any words from my mouth.

His palm tightened against my ass, and I moaned louder than I meant to.

Harlan cursed beneath his breath and stalled against my collarbone. “I promised your dad I would wait.”

My eyes flew open. ~Had he mentioned that before? Something about my dad? I’d been daydreaming about him kissing me~. “My dad?” I asked. “My dad knows?”

Harlan dropped me so I could stand, which proved more difficult than before. Harlan’s gaze lowered back to my mouth, and he chuckled to himself. “Yes. He sensed it yesterday. God,” he said, wiping his bottom lip with his thumb. “I’m begging you, please go. You’re in that damn skirt and you’re…just go.”

I knew exactly what he meant, because I felt just as out of control. The party was the next day. I knew I could wait until then if I really tried. I could fight off my wolf and make it. I just needed to put some distance between us.

I backtracked out of the room, our gaze tight on one another until I made it out into the empty hallway and back down the steps. Vaguely in the distance, I heard Bryiar’s voice, but I couldn’t make out anything she said.

I needed to go take a cold shower, rid myself of his scent because my dad knew. My dad knew that we were mates, and he’d know Harlan went against his wishes of being near me before the party if he was anywhere near us right now.

“Hey!”

Bryiar shoved me from behind, and I stumbled to catch myself. “Geez,” I shrieked, turning to face her. “What. Is. It?”

“I’ve been yelling your name, Ever. What’s the mat—” She stopped, and a slow grin crawled up her face. “You kissed him, you hussy!”

“Keep it down, Gabby Big Mouth,” I hissed, rubbing my arm that still held goosebumps.

Bryiar grinned ear to ear and shook her head. “You’re such a floozy. Kissing your mate before your party.” She put her hand to her mouth in mock innocence. “Did he touch your booty, Everlee?”

“~Stop it~,” I said, marching toward the castle steps. “My dad knows and told Harlan to stay away from me until the party. And obviously, I didn’t know either of them realized I was his mate, and I went to check on him. And one thing led to another…”

Bryiar folded her arms over her chest before her gaze moved toward the castle doors. I sensed my dad, so I quickly descended the steps and crouched down beside them. “Just tell the two guards to switch shifts. I’d never want someone to miss the birth of their pup.”

Dad stopped on the bottom step of the stairs and glanced at Bryiar, who hadn’t moved from her spot, smiling at him like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

His back was to me, but I sensed his curiosity. “Is everything okay, Bryiar?”

“Yup!” she said. “Just waiting around for Everlee. Have you seen her today?”

Dad glanced around, and I pressed my eyes closed as if that would make me invisible to him. “Not since breakfast. Keep looking. I’m sure she’s around here somewhere.”

Bryiar saluted him like an idiot, and I watched him walk off shaking his head, probably questioning my choice in friends. “You’re a terrible liar,” I said, walking around the steps.

She shrugged and pushed a stray blonde hair from her head. “What can I say? I’m not myself if I’m not brutally honest. And to be honest, you smell like you’re two seconds away from stripping down and going to ride Harlan like a cowgirl.”

“Oh my God,” I said, lifting up my palm. “I’m going to shower now. Why don’t you go pack your bags or something? Pick out a dress for tomorrow and prepare to find your alpha mate.”

Bryiar scoffed. “I’ve had my dress picked out. Plus, I’m not going to mate with some college boy.”

Here we go again. “Bryiar, you know the idea of your mating with an alpha king is ridiculous, right? What are the chances of one showing up at Werewolf University and carrying you away to his castle in the woods?”

She stuck her tongue out at me. “The same of you being able to go the night without sneaking over to Harlan’s room. ~Hussy~.”

***

I was positive that someone had plucked me from Earth and shoved me into an eternal hell. If someone had asked me a week ago what my idea of hell would be, I wouldn’t have answered sitting across from Harlan, imagining the taste of his mouth while he took each article of my clothes off mentally—and us not being able to do anything about it.

“Everlee,” Mom said, resting her hand over mine.

I glanced over with a plastic smile.

“You’ve hardly eaten your steak, and I know it’s your favorite.”

I looked down at my half-eaten plate, and sat up straighter, using my knife to cut off another piece. “Just a lot on my mind,” I said, taking a slow bite, my gaze lifting toward Harlan’s dark one from across the table.

His tongue snaked out across his bottom lip so quickly I wasn’t sure it was meant for me, but with Dad staring daggers at him, I figured it was a good idea to ignore the burst of tingles it formed in my gut.

“I’m nervous about the party,” I lied. I’d never been more ready for anything in my life. Tomorrow I’d know if Harlan was my mate or not. I could start Werewolf U knowing who my mate was and spend the next four years learning about pack rules rather than wondering who I would spend the rest of my life with.

It was drama-less.

No turmoil like my parents.

Just blissful nights together.

Shivers danced on my skin, and I took a bite to keep back my smile.

Mom smiled. “It’ll be fine. I’m sure you’re curious if you’ll find your mate, and you may not, but there is a great chance you will once you start school. Don’t worry about it. It will all fall into place.”

I smiled at her. Seeing my dad giving me a narrowed look, I tossed him my best “I love you, Dad” smile and finished my plate.

Now, I just needed to get through a night down the hallway from Harlan, and make it to the party, to seal my fate.

My cell phone clock read one in the morning, and I hadn’t been able to close my eyes but for a few seconds at a time. The rain sound playing on my speaker did little to block out any noise, and every creak sent me on high alert.

The light footsteps down the hallway drew me to a sitting position, and a bead of sweat dripped down my neck to soak into my white tank top. They stopped near my door, and I waited patiently for Harlan to open it, but he didn’t.

A white folded-up piece of paper slid beneath the floor and the bottom of the door, and a smile tugged at my mouth.

Harlan and I spent hours passing notes as kids.

It’d been years, but it never made my heart race like this.

I crawled over the hardwood, grabbing the note and unfolding it. His small cursive handwriting made me smile.

~Can’t sleep, you?~

I crawled over to my nightstand and grabbed a pen from the depths of my junk.

~If I were sleeping, this note would be sad tomorrow morning.~

I slipped it back underneath and pressed my heels against the hardwood, the moonlight brightening my legs from my balcony window.

Harlan slipped the note partly underneath, and when I went to grab it, his finger brushed my own. Shocks of electricity raced up my spine.

~I could hear you breathing. I knew you weren’t asleep.~

I tapped my pen against my mouth, gnawing on my lip, debating on whether to put myself out of my misery and open the door.

Harlan asked me nicely to wait.

I would wait.

~Are you nervous about tomorrow?~

Harlan slipped a finger slightly underneath the door and pulled the note outside. I listened to him chuckle, and I imagined that smug smirk on his face.

~No.~

Of course he wasn’t nervous.

~Why?~ I scribbled back.

~Because I know this feeling isn’t some sudden burst of lust. It’s growing stronger, and I want you even more than I did before. Tomorrow night, we’ll find out that we’re mates. Then we’ll have forever.~

I smiled, my heart thumping an extra beat at the thought of being Harlan’s mate forever. The love between my parents had been my standard my entire life. Knowing Harlan was raised seeing that same love meant he would know how to love.

Not wanting to ruin the moment, I scribbled down, ~See you tomorrow. I’ll be the one in red.~, and walked toward my bed, sliding beneath the covers, and into the warmth.

I imagined Harlan’s strong arms around me, and suddenly sleep came easy.