We ran for a bit, side by side, in our wolf forms. The breeze felt nice in my fur, and being able to stretch Arya's legs was an added bonus. She hasn't been able to get out so much lately, and I could always tell when she was grateful for being able to get some exercise.
We slowed to a stop near a small lake at the bottom of a gentle waterfall. We both changed back into our human forms and looked at each other as we stood at the edge of the water.
"Swim?" he asked me, and moved to pull his shirt off over his head. My cheeks instantly burned as I watched him strip off in front of me with no shame, and wade into the lake butt-naked. I didn't think I had ever been so embarrassed in my life.
"You coming in or what?" he called, and dunked his head under for a few moments. I blushed furiously, trying to remove the image of his perfectly sculpted ass from my mind with no success. I couldn't just get naked in front of him! I knew he was taunting me, but there was no way I was actually going to buy into it. He knew that, right?
But I did want to prove him wrong...
Biting back a curse, I glared at James, who had since resurfaced, and he laughed before turning around so he wasn't facing me. I tugged my shirt off, and my pants and boots soon followed. As I was a werewolf, the cold never affected me so I barely shivered as I hurriedly strode into the lake and dove forward as soon as I was safe from breaking my wrists on the bottom of the lake. I resurfaced moments later, pushing my hair back out of my face and taking a breath of fresh air, blinking the water from my eyes. I looked over at James, who was trying to hide a smug grin, and splashed water at him in response.
"What?" he protested, laughing at my expression.
"That was for antagonizing me," I shot back, but couldn't stop the smile from spreading on my lips as he smiled goofily back at me, swimming forward so he was at eye level with me. My shoulders were above the water, but I dropped down to my neck as he inched forward, hoping he wasn't trying to look below the surface. It wasn't sparkling clean, but I could still see our bodies floating beneath the surface.
"Are you nervous?" he asked me as he came closer and closer. I shook my head, but didn't say anything as I dropped even lower, so my mouth was almost underwater. I looked up at him through my wet eyelashes innocently, but I could tell his mind was elsewhere.
To my surprise, when his hands found my face, I didn't pull back. I let him pull my head up out of the water, until my shoulders were once again exposed to the fresh air and his hovering gaze. I could feel every part of my skin that fell beneath his gaze searing like it was being grazed by a hot iron, making me shiver as it trailed along. He slid his hands down my face slowly, dropping them to my shoulders, his eyes now locked in mine. They were so vivid, so full of emotion, and yet he looked calm as he let his hands drop even lower, sliding down my arms and down towards my hands. His fingertips lingered on mine momentarily, and then they continued their perusal of my flesh, this time moving backward. I almost jerked in response when his fingers met the sides of my hips, but I still didn't stop him, instead staring into his eyes as my breath quickened, anticipating his next moves.
Suddenly, his hands gripped onto my hips and pulled me ever so closer, until there was nowhere else to go but up. He lifted me up, my breasts surfacing the water momentarily as my legs came up to wrap around his waist, but neither of us seemed to give it much notice, as our eyes were still locked onto each other's. My breath hitched in my throat at the sudden closeness of us, and our positions. I was on top of him. Naked. If I lowered myself any more, I was sure I would be able to feel his length pressing up against my entrance, and the thought sent shivers racing up and down my spine.
I leant in first. I didn't know how I mustered up the courage, but I didn't argue with myself as I smashed my lips into his, capturing his mouth completely. He replied with ease, giving me his all and more as I pressed my body harder against him. Our tongues happily explored each other's mouths, dancing with each other in an ancient rhythm we had somehow perfected between the two of us. I couldn't believe how good he tasted, and felt. It was like we were made for each other. And we were. The Moon Goddess had given me a second chance with James, and he was not like Ethan. Not one bit. And he never would be. He was a King. And he wanted me.
I pulled back abruptly, breathing hard and looking down quickly, not wanting to make eye contact. The mate bond was at its strongest pull right now, and it would be impossible to stop if I didn't do something now. I felt his hands gripping my hips tightly, but he didn't move away.
"I'm sorry," I whispered finally, not sure what was wrong with me. We could have sealed our bond right then and there, and we would be able to be together forever. But something kept stopping me. He was a King, and he loved me. I couldn't be a queen. I was raised as a slave my whole life, regardless of whether that was in my blood or not. I didn't know how to act like royalty, or run a pack, let alone a whole kingdom of packs. Was this really what I was fated to do?
"Please don't be sorry," James murmured back to me, trying to get me to look into his eyes. "Never be sorry. I'm not going anywhere, okay? I will wait for you. However long it takes."
"Why?"
"You already know."
I had to physically pull myself away from him to stop myself from kissing him again, and something in his expression told me he knew this because all he did was smirk as he let me go, drifting backwards in the water slightly to put some distance between us before I let him take me right then and there.
"Let's go home for some food and a sleep," he announced finally, gesturing with his head to our pile of clothes by the shore of the lake. I nodded shyly and watched him climb out just as shamelessly as he walked in, almost as if he was doing it on purpose. I let my eyes drift up and down his muscular, tanned skin, but made no move to follow him until he was fully dressed and facing away from me to give me some privacy. I almost slipped trying to hurry out of the water and get changed, which made me laugh nervously, but if James was wondering what was going on, he didn't voice it.
When we were both dressed and ready to go, James reached out and took my hand, leading me back through the woods slowly.
"Are you allowed to go out and spend your days away from the pack often?" I asked as we walked, feeling like I needed to fill the silence with something.
"I can do whatever I want," he admitted with a sly smile directed at me. "I don't often, however. I've never really had reason to, before now."
I blushed. "What will your people think? Do they not need you?"
"They can function quite perfectly without me," he replied. "Sometimes, I think they prefer it if I am not around so they don't have to act."
"Do they all think you're some big, scary monster?" I joked, laughing at the thought.
"Apparently," he laughed back, his eyes glinting with humor. "They aren't all scared of me, you know. Just the ones that don't know me."
"So that woman... she knows you, then?"
James hesitated, and I swallowed the fear that rose up in my throat at the thought of his answer.
"I hate how she makes you feel," he announced with a sigh, and I averted my gaze to my feet. "Noble wolves can be... well, stuck up, I guess. She does not know your blood, or where you came from."
"She thinks you should be with someone like her, not a slave like me," I muttered.
"You are not a slave, Rhea."
"I'm not a princess, or a queen," I shot back with a scowl. "I was raised a slave, and that's who I am, no matter what my blood says. She's right. I could never wear a gown how she does, or braid my hair how she does, or even hold my posture how she does. I'm not good enough for you."
"Stop talking nonsense," he growled, and I felt the heat of his glare on my skin as I kept my eyes down. "She is nothing compared to you. I have never known anyone how I know you, Rhea. I wish you could just see yourself how I see you."
"Me too," I murmured under my breath. It would be a dream.
We arrived back at the castle to find much time had actually passed since we left earlier in the day, and it was just about nightfall. We ate together in silence, away from the dining room, and then he led me down the hallways back to my bedroom.
"I've just got some things to take care of with my advisors," he said as we slowed outside my door. "I'll bring you to meet them tomorrow, if you like? But there's some matters I need to discuss with them before I can do anything else."
"About Anthony?"
He blinked. "How did you know that?"
I smiled in return, feeling pleased with myself for being able to tap into our bond enough to figure out where his thoughts were at. "Lucky guess," I replied finally, shrugging my shoulders lightly. "I guess I will see you tomorrow, then."
"I'll come find you when you wake," he promised, leaning down to kiss my cheek. "Get some rest, okay? And please don't worry about my brother. I have the castle under stern protection. No one is going anywhere near you."
"Thank you, James," I murmured, ducking my head so he wouldn't see my cheeks flushing. "For today. And for everything."
"I would do anything for you," he said simply, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Butterflies danced in my stomach, but I ignored them as I nodded subconsciously and turned to open the door to my room. I pushed it closed slowly behind me, keeping my eyes on James for as long as I could until he was gone from my sight. I let out a long, heavy sigh before I turned around and trudged over to my bed and threw myself on it.
Why did I keep forcing myself away from him? He was clearly doing everything in his power to be patient with me and show me he cared, and I kept pushing him away. I knew I was scared, but I had to let it go. He was my mate. How much longer could I refuse him until I couldn't resist any longer?
It didn't take long for me to drift off to sleep, tossing and turning in the sheets. And then came the dreams.
Someone was screaming. I whipped my head around frantically, seeing fire and blood everywhere my eyes fell. Panic and fear fueled the pain, making it harder to see or hear anything.
A baby lay on the ground, crying. A woman ran up to it, screaming something over her shoulder as she scooped the small bundle into her arms and took off running. I followed her, feeling I had to protect her, or do something. All the buildings were burning, whoever hadn't yet died were running around frantically trying to escape the attack. Wolves streaked past, wiping people out in a matter of seconds, leaving the smell of blood trailing after them.
I followed the woman as she ran quickly through the woods, dodging trees and not looking back. She came to a stop after a while, and lay the baby down in the shrubs of a bush where it was out of sight, leaning down to whisper something in its little ears first. Then she took a step back, and she transformed right before my eyes into a huge, white wolf, its teeth already snapping angrily as she completed her transformation. The wolf then turned and jumped straight at me, teeth bared viciously. I cried out and dodged out the way, only to hear another wolf howl in pain as the sound of teeth in flesh erupted from behind me. I stumbled sideways and whipped my head around to see the wolf had defended itself just in time to avoid getting killed, instead ending its attacker's life. And then an arrow soared through the air and struck the white wolf directly in the throat. It transformed back into the woman in an instant, and she fell to her knees, gurgling as blood splattered from the wound in her neck. She reached out to me, her hands covered in blood, but fell face down before I could make a move to help her.
I turned slowly, in the direction the arrow came from, to find a man standing in the woods some distance away from me. I couldn't make out his features, but I could feel his eyes, glaring through my soul, searing holes in my head. I heard him growl, and as his eyes flashed red, he leapt forward with a snarl, and I screamed.
I tore myself out of the dream with another loud cry, panting hard as my head flicked around to scan my surroundings. It took me a moment to realize where I was, and that I was alone, before the door to the room opened quickly. A small squeak escaped my lips, as the dream I just woke from was still fresh in my mind, but when I saw it was only James, a deep breath of relief filled the air, and I sagged down in the bed.
"I heard you scream..." James said as he stalked over to me, his eyes scanning the corners of the room as he moved. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
My dazed eyes followed his movements, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him what I had dreamt. It was his brother, there was no doubt about that, and I knew James was already on edge from the last time Anthony paid us a visit.
"Rhea?" He dropped to his knees in front of the bed, taking my hands in his and gripping them tightly as he stared into my eyes with worry and concern laced all over his features.
"I'm... I'm okay," I whispered finally, my eyes wide as if I was almost too scared to close them again. I tried to lose myself in James' stormy eyes and forget, but it was hard when the one thing I was scared of shared a face with my mate.
"Talk to me," he begged, holding onto my hands tighter. "Please. What happened?"
"It was just a nightmare," I managed to say quietly, blinking heavily. My body wanted me to go back to sleep, but my mind wouldn't let me. Not yet.
"Are you sure? Can I do anything?"
I hesitated. "Stay with me?" I asked finally, my voice soft as our eyes stayed locked onto one another. He swallowed visibly at my words, but before I could tell him to forget about it, he pushed himself up from the floor and lowered himself awkwardly onto the bed beside me. I shuffled over to let him in and lifted the covers for him too. It took a little while for him to get comfortable, but once he did, all the fears that were swirling around in my head seemed to vanish. I let myself bask in his warmth and comfort, and felt safe enough to close my eyes once more.