Not to Claim

Chapter 16

After Rowan was sure that Zach was gone and that there weren't any other Wolf's nearby, he started to relax, that was, until he got a glimpse of my back and shoulder. He gently spun me around and stared at the bruises I felt on my back, and the bite mark that covered my entire shoulder. 

"Who- who did this?" His voice was soft, and that scared me more than if he would have yelled. I shook my head, 

"Does it matter?" He let out a growl and spun me back around so fast it was dizzying. 

"Who the hell did this to you?" He yelled so loud I let out a whimper and flinched back. His eyes instantly softened and he took a step forward, reaching towards me. 

"I'm sorry I didn't mean-" 

"Don't." I said softly holding out a hand to keep him away. He gently grabbed it and pulled me against his chest. 

"I'm sorry." He whispered in my ear, carefully rubbing my back. 

"Does it hurt?"

 "What? The bite?" 

"No, not the bite, I can tell it still hurts you a bit. I meant what I did to you, your back, its already bruising." He softly ran his fingertips over my back, the feeling was quite pleasant, and it tickled. I closed my eyes and shook my head. 

"I'm really sorry." He whispered again, still running his fingertips over my back slowly. 

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault." He gently set his chin on top of my head, I could tell he was upset, but didn't know what to do about it. I took a step back and looked up at him, biting my lip. 

"What's bugging you?" He shook his head but I gave him a look and he sighed. 

"I hurt you, and... I swore to myself I never would." I tilted my head to the side and frowned. 

"You didn't hurt me, you- you were protecting me." He turned away from me and I grabbed his hand. 

"Hey, Rowan, don't do this to me, not already." He looked at me, his eyes lighting up a little bit. 

"Not already? You mean to say that you're going to be around for a long time?" I looked down and bit my lip. 

"I-I- well I." He grinned and leaned down, his face so close we were breathing the same air. This time when I was backed against the tree, it was gently and he trapped me against it with his hands next to my head. 

My breath hitched and he grinned. "Do I make you nervous, Luna?" He asked softly, pressing his forehead against mine and closing his eyes. I couldn't help but swallow and close mine as well. 

"N-no. You don't make me nervous... Alpha." 

"Well, that's too bad, because now I'll just have to make you; just so nervous that you can't see straight, can't stand up, can barely even breathe right." He said, grinning so much it must have hurt, and his lips were so close, so damn close that he and I were breathing the same air. 

"Rowan." I whispered and he lightly put a finger to my lips. 

"Shh, just, let me have this, please." I pressed my lips together and held my breath. 

"Hey, don't go passing out on me." I could feel the smile in his voice and I smiled too. Oh Rowan, you're killing me. What am I going to do with you? I let out a soft sigh and he took a deep breath, slowly moving so that his face was pressed against my neck, and he inhaled again. 

"I can't get enough of your scent." He mumbled and moved his hands so they were sitting on my waist. And we stood like that for quite a while. 

"I think we should move somewhere else, we've been here for a while." He mumbled against my skin. 

"Okay." I said softly and looked up into the sky. 

After a while of walking with his arm wrapped protectively around me, we stopped and I sat down, leaning against the trunk of a huge pine tree. We were closer to water, because I could hear the steady hum of it running at a calm pace, like it had all the time in the world to go where ever it was going. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, resting my head back against the tree trunk.

 All the sudden I felt something very soft and warm against the exposed skin of my neck, and it took me a minute to realize that the heavenly feelings that were running across my skin was that sparks from the Mate bond; Rowan was kissing my neck. And at that moment, the feeling was so calming and reassuring, that I didn't mind it. 

I started to relax as he left soft butterfly kisses on the left side of my neck, slowly moving from under my jaw down to the base of my neck. There was only one way to describe the feeling those kisses gave me- pure bliss. Undeniable, irrevocable, reputable bliss.