Werewolf and Vampire Mate [Book 1 Complete]

chapter sixteen.

Orson

April is quiet as we drive back toward Yale University.

Her hands fiddle in her lap, her beautiful hair swept back from her face. Lark lent her a hair tie and some clothes, so she's not wearing my shirt anymore. I fucking hate it.

I hate all of this. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to turn around, take her back to the pack and never, ever let her out of my sight. Or out of my arms.

The memory of her moaning and writhing with pleasure last night is my constant companion, a blessing and a curse. If I pulled over on the side of the road right now and bent her over, would she let me?

I glance over at her again, unable to keep my eyes off her for more than a minute or so at a time. She looks pensive, so I'm going to go ahead and guess roadside sex is off the table. We couldn't go all the way anyway, not until the mating ceremony. But there are so many other things I could do to her with my mouth and fingers...

Fuck. Now I'm hard. I divert my thoughts to what it was like waking up with her in my arms this morning. Heavenly is the only word I can think of to describe it. I want to spend the rest of my life waking up to her face tucked against my chest, her legs draped over me. But I may never experience it again.

"April," I say. "Are you alright?"

She nods wordlessly, still staring out the window. Maybe last night was too much for her, maybe she felt like I pressured her into letting me touch her.

My knuckles go white as I grip the steering wheel hard, until I feel it start to bend beneath my strength. I force myself to ease up.

"Was it too much? Last night?" I ask quietly and she looks at me sharply.

"What?" She shakes her head. "That's not....No. I'm fine. Everything's fine."

I don't want to pry further. She deserves my respect and this is how I show it; by letting her live her life as she chooses. Even if that means she is far away from me.

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April

We're close now. Another twenty minutes and we'll be on campus.

I should be excited to get home and put this entire nightmare behind me. So why am I so completely filled with dread? The thought of leaving Reed is agonizing. I'm beginning to understand why Lark was so melodramatic regarding the mate bond. Maybe it really is as strong as she described.

Behind us, following in a separate car, is North and another werewolf that I don't know. They're to be my protection for...I don't know how long, exactly. Reed said that he didn't trust anyone with my safety except for his closest friend, North. I'm not sure North would be my number one pick, but I don't know enough to have a say.

We don't have long till Reed and I are parting ways and there's still something I want to ask him.

"Reed." I turn toward him, tucking my legs up beneath me on the car seat.

"Yeah?"

"Lark mentioned something but she said you should explain it to me."

His eyebrows pull down. "What?"

"A mating ceremony."

His jaw clenches and he is quiet for a long moment. "She shouldn't have said anything."

"I'm not trying to get her in trouble," I say quickly. "I'm just curious."

He shakes his head, shifting his hands on the steering wheel. "Don't worry about it, ok?"