CADEN'S P.O.V
“I’m shifting.” I can feel my wolf clawing in my body. He wants out and I’m afraid I can’t control it. I guess having marked Arabella released a surge of power I’ve never experienced before; I can’t imagine when we’re finally mated.
“Caden, you can fight it!”
“I can’t. It’s too strong.”
“Just hold on a little longer.” I hear Arabella call out as I sprint away down the street. My body is twitching and growing, it’s not safe to be near this many people. “Caden, wait!”
“Get back…all of you.” My voice comes out in a guttural growl now, barely restrained by my willpower alone. I inwardly curse when I realized that my Alpha command doesn’t work on humans. Just then, Arabella darts between me and the group of people around me, shielding both sides with her tiny body.
“Get back…applies to you too. I don’t want to hurt you.” It’s funny how I make her out to be a damsel in distress given the fact she already shifted and she way more powerful than she thinks she is but it’s my duty as her mate to protect her from harm’s way. Even from me.
“I can take it. They can’t.” She says. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot one of the stragglers still standing around stepping closer towards us.
“Is everything all right? If there’s any way I can help…” I couldn’t stop my growls when the stranger came near Arabella. It’s always normal for a wolf to act primal when we see another man near our mate.
“Those eyes of his don’t look right.” The man places a friendly hand on Arabella’s shoulder. “If you want me to call a doctor, I…” Before the man can finish speaking, I lunge towards him in matter of seconds. With feral strength I never knew I had, I hoist the man by the collar and slam him up against a nearby wall making him groan in pain.
“Don’t. Touch. My. Mate.” I growl at the stranger in my hold. The crowd around us begins to close in now, a few taking out cell phones to record the interaction but I could care less at this point.
“She’s mine. I won’t allow anyone to touch her.” I can feel my eyes glow brighter, my grip on the man tightening to the point he’s turning purple.
“Caden…” I loosen my grip just little bit when Arabella slowly approaches me step by step until we’re chest to chest. The warmth between us flaring like a beacon. My eyes snap to her, wild and enraged.
“You have to calm down, Caden. Okay?” She ever so gently flattens her palm against my chest and over my heart. “I’m right here, Caden. Nothing happened to me.”
“You…you are.” I struggle to say.
“I’m right here. I’m fine.” She says. I lower my head to her shoulder, breathing slowing, letting her intoxicating scent calm me. I let my weight fall onto her, not all of it because I could crush her. My grip on the man who dared to touch my mate still tight. Just thinking of it has my wolf letting out low growls.
“Say you’re mine, Arabella.” It’s not just for me, my wolf needs to hear it to keep itself intact.
“Caden, I--” She begins but some sick fuck shouts out.
Before I could lunge for the guy, Arabella quickly put her delicate hands on each side of my face, running her fingers over my jaw, forcing me to look at her.
“What are you…?” Before I can get a chance to react, she presses her plump lips against mine in an urgent kiss. My reaction couldn’t be more instinctive as my fingernails extended into claws, gripping onto her for dear life.
“Arabella.” At some point, her name slips out of my mouth and she jolts just a bit but I’ll be damned if I’ll let her go. “Arabella… You’re mine.”
The mate bond ignites like fire, burning through the both of us, even as I release my grip on the bystander.
“You are mine. Say it. You are mine. Please.”
“Yes. I’m yours.” As soon as the words spill out of her, my grip on the man immediately loosened, staggering as his feet hit the ground.
“What the hell is your problem?” The man speaks through a fit of coughs.
“Get out of here!” Arabella yells at him. The man doesn’t waste any more time, rushing off. She quickly pulls me away from the crowded streets into a nearby alley. My wolf is still fighting for control, a clear indication that the power of the half complete mate bond is overwhelming the both of us but I’m able to stay in control. Thanks to Arabella. Who knows what I would’ve done to that guy if she wasn’t by my side.
“The man. I almost…and to an innocent person.” It’s a known fact that an Alpha is protective when it comes to their mate but I was way out of control.
“You stopped me.” I let my shoulders slump forward in relief. “Thank you.” I say, staggering backwards, nearly collapsing against the alleyway wall. “Shit, I…It’s been a long time since I’ve lost control like that.”
“It’s okay, it’s—“
“Damn it!” I curse as I throw a fist into the wall behind me, leaving a sharp crack in the concrete. “It’s not okay. What is I could’ve hurt that guy back there. Or even worse, you? I’m supposed to be acting like an Alpha, not some newborn pup who can’t keep himself under control.”
“Caden, this wasn’t your fault. You just lost control.”
“If I was stronger, I wouldn’t.”
“Everyone has limits, Caden. We need to focus on one thing at a time.” I couldn’t for the life of me get what she meant. She instead glances down at my clothes. “If we want to avoid attracting even more attention, you’re going to need something else to wear.” I give myself a once over look and look at her, confused.
“What’s wrong with the ones I’m wearing now?”
“Just come on.” Without another word, she grabs my hand and drags me with her. It doesn’t take long to find an open clothing store. I let her drag me through it, pulling a few options of men clothing, not of which are my style.
“Some of these should help you blend in while we’re here.” She explains.
“Hey, these are not half bad.” I say, holding up a light colored coat on one hand and a brown trench like coat on the other.
“Well, I bet you’d look good in them.”
“You think so? I gotta say, it’s a nice material.” I run my hands over the fabric then look up at her with a challenge in eyes. “Well, human expert, what do you think? Pick the one you like best on me.” I take a step towards her, a smirk plastered on my lips. “Pick the one you want to see me in.”
“Mmh! Let’s see…In that case, let’s go with the brown trench like coat. It brings out the color of your eyes. After two or so minutes, Caden emerges from the dressing room with a wide smile.
“Your wish is my command.”
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“Not bad.” After two or so minutes, I walk out of the dressing room wearing what my mate chose for me.
“You like it?” She asks looking me over. God, I’d give anything to know what she’s thinking in that pretty head of hers
“I should be asking you that. Do you like what you see?” I can’t help the smirk on my lips.
“Shut up.” She dismisses me with a playful shove and I chuckle.
“You actually have good taste in clothes. You know, for a wolfy mountain man.”
“ Well, I do operate as a fashion consultant on the side.”
“You don’t say…”
“No. I’m just messing with you.” She lets out a startled laugh at my attempt to lighten the mood.
“Come on, let’s go. We can’t stay in here forever.” We exit the store after making the payment and we’re almost immediately confronted with the sound of ringing music and the distinct mingling scent of peanuts and cotton candy.
“What’s going on? Is this some kind of party?” I’m rarely away from the pack territory, and the times that I am away, the town is strictly off limits, so I gotta ask.
“Oh man, with everything going on, I totally forgot. Today’s the first day of the summer festival.”
“Summer festival? Like a human religious ceremony?” I ask, obviously clueless. Sue me.
“Uh…you’ve never been to a carnival? It’s more like a big party.”
“We don’t have anything that resembles that. The city is strictly off limits.”
“Didn’t stop you from breaking the rule.”
“I came to town because of you, Arabella.”
“Well, they’re a ton of fun. I think you’d like it.”
“Really?” It’s hard to impress me but sure, let’s give this a try.
“I’d love to show you around, but I can’t imagine it will be safe here. After all, Damon’s probably still looking for us.” She’s right, but it’s part of her world. Well, part of the world she grew up in so what’s the harm in that. I mean as long as we’re in a crowded place, it’s difficult for Damon and his goons to sort out our scents.
“Actually, something like a festival could be perfect. The smells, the sounds, the people…there’s no way he’d be able to track us there.”
“Really? Well, in that case… I guess it’s time for me to show you a few things.” She says, reaching out to grab my hand. She tugs me down the street, following the growing crowd and the sounds of laughter, until we reach the festival where countless people roam food stalls and game booths.
“Whoa.” Having not seen something like this my entire life, I probably look like a kid on Christmas.. “This is amazing. What are we checking out?”
“Well, let’s start with the roller coaster.” I let her take the lead in showing me her part of the world. It doesn’t take long for us to find the roller…whatever it is and the two of us are at the top of the ride ready for the descend.
“So, what do we do now?”
“Now? Hold on tight!” She says as the ride dips down fast, catching me off guard.
“Whoa!!” I hold onto my mate for dear life as we whip around tight corners and flip upside down making her laugh out loud with amusement.
“That was awesome.” When the ride finally comes to a stop, I turn to her with a wide, unadulterated smile.
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As we make our way through the festival, one of the booth workers calls out to us.
“Step right up! Try your hand and win a prize.”
“What is he talking about, Arabella?”
“Oh, booth games. Those are kind of like competitions for prize.”
“Competitions, huh?” The word strikes my nerves. I’m always up for a good challenge. As we approach the booth, I notice a beaming couple ahead of us. A young man hands his girlfriend a small plush prize with a smile and the girl flushes and I immediately imagine being the one making Arabella smile that brightly. I eye the prize, then my eyes move to the much larger grand prizes lining the top of the booth.
“I bet I can win you one of those.” Anything for all I care just to make you happy.
“Oh? Give it your best shot. I mean, if anyone can do it, it’s you.”
“Damn right I can.” I make way to the front of the booth, handing the man a few dollars and being handed a hacky sack in return.
“All you need to do is use that hacky sack to knock over the stack of bottles we’ve just set up.” The booth worker instructs.
“That sounds easy.” I wind back, and with perfect aim tosses the sack with a resounding thwack into the center of the bottles, however, the bottles stand firm.
I pull a few more dollars out, once more handing them to the booth worker.
“Again.” I firmly say.
“Caden, I think this game is rigged.” Arabella in hushed voice tone, quiet enough to not let the booth worker overhear.
“Rigged? But the couple ahead of us…”I match her quiet tone.
“They’ll switch out the bottles so they don’t lose too often. But I’m pretty sure those are firmly stuck in place.” She says and I shakes his head.
“Every contest is winnable, Arabella. You just have to put in a little bit of effort.”
“Prove it then.” She retorts and I smirk at her words.
“I thought you’d never ask.” Once again, I try and this time with more force, and again the hacky sack bounces off.
“One more try.” This time, I wind back, concentrate for just a moment then I unleash.
“Yah!” The hacky sack sails through the air with blistering speed, shattering the bottles and ramming through the back of the booth.
“Holy shit.” The booth owner exclaims in surprise.
“Did I win?”
“I uh… I suppose you did.” The booth worker answers, still surprised as he reaches up, pulling down the largest teddy bear available. Of course I did. I take it with a smirk before turning to Arabella.
“Here, for you.”
“For me?”
“Yeah. I won it for you. After the day we’ve had, I just…I don’t want you leaving here empty-handed.”
“It’s perfect, Caden. Really.” She reaches for the stuffed animal with a bright smile.
“I’m glad you like it.” I say, returning a smile of my own.
“You know, being a part of your pack, getting to know you through all this… It’s been great. I mean…minus the Raphael stuff and the you kidnapping me bit.”
“That’s been most of it, hasn’t it?”
“You know what I mean. Actually getting to know all of you has been nice. Still, it’s nice to have a reminder like this that my old world is still here too.” She says. I look at her for a moment before I reach out to tuck a stray hair behind her ear.
“Just because you’re joining my world doesn’t mean you have to give up on your old one.” I assure her.
“Yeah, I get that now. And gifts like this are a nice way of remembering that. Come on. Let’s get some food.” We make our way back to the heart of the festival, navigating past a few different food vendors.
“So, what strikes your interest?” I glance around, clearly out of my element.
“Truth be told, I don’t recognize any of these. Are they good?”
“You’ve really never tried any of this stuff?” She asks and I innocently shake my head.
“In that case, you’ve got to try a hot dog.” She suggests.
“A hot…dog? That doesn’t sound right.” I mean, who in their right minds would name food hot dog!?
“Not like that…just…you’ll have to try it.” It doesn’t take long before she hands me one of the hot dogs. I sniff it suspiciously before finally taking a bite and let’s just say, it’s worth every bite.
“Okay, this isn’t half bad.”
“Told you!” It doesn’t take long for me to chew away my food, thanks to the animal part of me.
I take my time to just really look at Arabella. She’s grown into a beautiful woman that has men fall on their feet and I can tell by how many heads she’s turned all the way from the store.
“Hey, is everything okay?” My staring must’ve made her uncomfortable. God, I need to pull myself together, although, it’s proven to be difficult now that we’ve completed half of the bond.
“What? Yeah, of course. I’m fine. I just…” Before she can press further for the truth, I grab her hand. “I just want to know what that big circle light machine is over there. Come on! Let’s go.”
I don’t know if it’s because I found her again or it’s because of the overwhelming power we now seem to share but my feelings for her are now heightened tenfold and I’m not sure she’s ready for that yet.
We buy tickets for the ride I first saw when we entered the festival just as the moon starts to rise.
“I…” She starts but before she can finish her thought, the ride begins to move. We take our seats as we’re hoisted into the air. I try my best to avoid eye contact, shuffling slightly in my seat, gazing out at the brimming sunset.
“Caden, how did you like the festival?”
“It was fun. I’m surprised how much I liked it, actually.” I force out a smile that seem to keep her wondering about my change of mood as we sit in silence as the ride takes us higher and higher.
“Caden…about what I saw in that memory…What happened after I left?” She asks and I stiffen for a moment before I shrug it off, trying to keep my tone casual.
“Raphael found me pretty quick. He punished me then branded me as an outcast. I wasn’t the only one, of course. A few others were cast out too, over time. That was the start of our own pack.” It’s really hard for me to talk about my past, especially if she’s gonna blame herself for it.
“So…You led the charge.”
“Hardly. I wasn’t the first person to ever be banished. And I was only a kid.”
“So this whole time…this whole time you’ve known me?” Her question is punctuated by a loud pop from outside the ride, slightly startling her as fireworks color the evening sky. But I’m undistracted, my gaze steady and trained directly on her.
“Yeah. I’ve known you this whole time.” I confess.
“And you knew about my memory? About what James did?”
“James told me what he did a long time ago. He helped get you out of the forest and to safety. He’s been like a second father to me ever since.” I trail off, just remembering what happened has my throat tightening.
“You have been through so much.”
“So have you.” I can feel my eyes darken as I look at her, something guttural and primal coming from inside me. “You’ve been through far worse than me. Not knowing your family, not knowing yourself. But I won’t let anything like that happen to you again.” “I’ll always protect you.” I say, hoping she can hear the sheer determination, the loyalty in my voice because I’ll do everything in my power to keep her by my side even if it could kill me.
“I’ll do the same for you.”
“What?” I exhale sharply at her admission.
“I didn’t know you were out there watching over me. Protecting me from afar. But now that I do…now that I know you…” She looks at me before going on… “I’ll protect you, too. Always.”
That’s it. All my sanity is gone. I’ve waited long enough.
“Arabella.” I slip my hands into her hair, pulling her closer to me and press my lips against hers. The kiss is gentle but deep as I hold her close, making her clutch onto my shirt.
It is a long time before we part, and when we do, I press my forehead against hers.
“I’ll do my best to make sure you never have to make good in this promise.”
“Caden, I’ll do the same for you.”
“You shouldn’t have to. I’m the Alpha. I’m your mate. Protecting you and my pack is all I’m born to do.”
“Well, you’d better get used to it.” I smile at her attempted way of saying we’re in this together, tracing my thumb at the corner of her mouth, savoring the taste of her lips on mine.
“Caden…Why?”
“Why what?” I ask, confused by her question.
“Why would you do all this for me?” My smile falters. I look at her with all seriousness before I stand and pull her on her feet.
“Caden? What are you--?” As our ride reaches the highest point of the wheel, I open the door and pull her close.
“Hold on tight.” I make a jump for it, holding her tight we soar through the air and away from the ride.
“Whoa…put me down, Caden!” We crash down onto an adjacent rooftop, I can feel her heart beating at hundred miles per second but I don’t let her go just yet. “Caden what the fu--” Before she can finish her thought, I leap again over a sheer drop to another rooftop, away from prying eyes and ears that’s when I release her.
“What the hell was that?” Instead of responding, I close the gap between us, pressing her down against the shingles of the roof. I push up against her neck, my lips trailing her throat, the urge to inhale her scent, the urge to touch her, kiss her and claim her all together is so overwhelming to ignore. Our bond ignites like fire, a deep swirling sense inside of me as I pull her towards me.
“Caden, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry. I just…I need your scent. More than anything.” I pull back for just a moment.
“My scent?”
“Yeah. After everything we went through last night…after shifting against my will…I don’t know if I can hold myself back as much as I normally do around you.” “I just need your scent, Arabella. I have to.” Her scent is the only thing keeping me from tearing her clothes and make love to her and claim her right here.
“I know you feel it too. Don’t fight it.” My voice comes out husky and filled with emotions I have for this woman in front of me as I rock my visible hard on against her, dragging my lips to her ear. “Let me have you, Arabella. Please. I need you.”
“I’m not fighting anything, Caden.” She says, drawing me in against her, letting both of us give way to our driving need.
“Yes.” That’s all I needed to hear before my lips trail over hers with teasing, gentle movements as I deeply inhale her scent. “Mine. All mine.” I growl before I bury his face in her neck, nuzzling hard just enough to make her gasp out my name. I can smell her arousal puts my wolf on high alert as I let out a low grow. I graze her neck with my fangs, sinking down just enough to make her feel good. Somehow, after her shifting, her scent is even more powerful to me. God, it’s like I’m high on drugs and I don’t know when my next fill will be.
“Thank you, Arabella.” I tear myself away, tangling his hands in my hair as he looks down at me. “I needed that. More than you know.”
“Caden, you still haven’t answered my question. So many years watching over me. Protecting me. Why?” I wasn’t sure if she was ready to hear my feelings for her, that I’ve loved her ever since we were kids but the way she responded to the make out session a second ago tells me she’s more than ready. But before I can utter the three magical words, my phone rings.
I take a moment, shaking off the heat that’s overwhelmed me before pulling out my phone.
“Who is that?” She asks, her unmistakable concern lacing her voice.
“It’s the pack. They wouldn’t be calling me unless…” He I answer the phone and the sound coming from the other line has me on high alert.
“The pack is under attack. We need to move. Now.” Is all I can say before we storm for the pack house.