That female drove me insane with need. . .

Ethan relaxed in his chair, trying to restore some semblance of order in his muddled mind. The effect she had on him was utterly devastating. One whiff of her scent and he was in a state of arousal.

Christ.

Even at a crucial time like this, his dick insisted on doing all the thinking. Lunar Manor was under attack and all he could think of was how luscious his new wife was. His cousin didn’t even wait for the party to be over before his true malice was uncovered. Or perhaps Cain didn’t think that Sookie could keep his secret for long. One hour after he decided to lay down next his new bride, Graystone woke him up with the news that the Lunar Manor’s security was compromised. Half of the guests had already left. And those who stayed faced an ambush assault from Cain’s men and sympathizers.

Cain has guessed that his preemptive attack would catch him unaware. But Ethan had readied his men long before that. Actually, he had been ready since Graystone retrieved him from the airplane wreckage. Half of his men were in battle-ready condition during the celebration and the rest were on call for reinforcement. Ethan didn’t put his whole force in Lunar Manor to give the illusion that he wasn’t aware of what was going on. He wasn’t sure which house would conspire with his cousin to topple his rule but now he knew. Out of the thirteen houses under his command, three of them, all of which happened to be the biggest packs with large followers, decided to revolt. House Macari that ruled the North, House Lubbock from the South, and House Barat that commanded werewolves in the East had shown him their true colors. He didn’t know what Cain had promised them but such disloyalty must be awarded accordingly. He had left Graystone with instructions to crush the renegades. He then would personally deal with Cain and the pack leaders of those three houses.

But first, he would deal with Sookie.

When he heard that she finally finished with her shower, he got up and waited for her in the bedroom. He lounged on a loveseat in front of the fireplace.

Sookie came out from the shower wrapped in a terry cloth robe and nothing else. The clothes that she picked from the wardrobe were left out on the bed.

Perfect.

Just perfect.

She looked surprised when she saw him in the bedroom. Why you little minx! You didn’t think I would let you off that easily, did you? From where he was sitting, he could smell the soap and shampoo she was using and beneath those her unique scent that drove him wild. Her hair was damp but she looked livelier than before. No trace of drunkenness lingered.

Fuck. Seeing her like that made his cock even harder.

“Nice shower?” he asked.

Her eyes widened and she instinctively nodded.

“Good. Now come here,” he beckoned her with his fingers.

She looked hesitant at first but then she obeyed him like a good girl.

“Sit on my lap,” he patted his thigh.

Without a word, she did what he asked.

“Aren’t you tired?” she inquired.

“Tired? Not at all. Especially when I want to get to know my wife.”

She flinched a little on the words “my wife.” Ethan expertly concealed his amusement. She surely didn’t think that he’d let her go without appropriate punishment, did she? Before this night ended, he’d make her spill all her devious little secrets. He then would fuck her brains out until she couldn’t remember her own name. After all, she was his woman.

She is my true mate, damn it.

“I need to ask you something…” Sookie said.

“Hmm?”

“Did something happen in the Manor? I don’t understand why we must leave in the middle of the night. I thought…” she faltered.

“You thought what?”

She looked uncomfortable. “Are we running from someone?”

“What makes you think we’re running from someone?”

She narrowed her eyes, clearly annoyed. “Why can’t you give me a straight answer?”

“Did you forget I have amnesia?”

“Oh.” She blushed prettily. “But still. . .”

He growled low. “I’m more interested in learning all about you. Tell me again what I did after I bought you a drink.” Ethan could tell that her heartbeat raced and her blood pressure was rising, a telltale sign that someone was lying. It was amazing that she was able to keep a poker face this far. But his intuition was sharper than any lie detector machine man could make.

“I don’t remember much, I’m sorry. I already had a few drinks before I saw you.”

“Are you sure about that? I don’t buy women I meet in bars drinks quite often.” He groped her thighs under the robe. Her skin was as smooth as silk. He couldn’t wait to put his hands all over her. She fidgeted. She didn’t dare move too much. By this time, she must know that he was full-blown aroused. His cock was as hard as a rock. “If I did, I want to be able to remember.”

“Ethan…” She looked uncomfortable. “I-I’m sorry. I can’t recall…”

“Are you sure?” He groped her thigh and stroked it lazily. “Jog my memory, Susan. What kind of dress were you wearing that night?”

“My dress?” She looked surprised. “It—it was just a regular dress. Dark blue with a flower print. Nothing special.”

“Dark blue?” Ethan inched his hand higher. He could hear her heartbeat accelerate and her body responded to his touch. Her fear clung like an opium haze, lingering and stubborn. At least she didn’t recoil from his stimulation. That was a good thing. She was his mate; they said a pair bonded always felt their connection no matter their circumstances. “Blue must look lovely on your skin. I’m quite partial to blue. Tell me, how did you wear your hair?”

“Like I always do—in a ponytail.”

He shifted his gaze upward, admiring her thick and glossy hair that she bound rather carelessly. With one tug, he undid the knot, causing her hair to tumble down her back like a curtain of silk. He twirled a finger around a lock of her hair and sniffed it. She smelled clean and fresh. Just the way he liked it. “Wear your hair down from now on,” he said thickly. “I like it that way.”

Her gaze found him. A tiny defiance. Uncertainty. Compliance. “Okay,” she said. “You always this bossy?”

He tapped the tip of her nose. “Do you forget who I am?”

“How could I? With you constantly reminding me of it.”

She had spunk. He liked it.

“Hmm. You got a little sass in you. Tell me, what kind of drink did I have that night?”

“Bourbon on the rocks. It’s your favorite drink,” she answered without a pause.

Ethan smiled. She guessed fast as if she’d recited it from a script.

“What’s my favorite color?”

“Black.”

“My favorite food?”

“Steaks. Medium rare.”

“My favorite movies?”

“Silent movies. Buster Keaton. Laurel and Hardy.”

“You know an awful lot about me, considering we only spent a night together. I find that rather curious. Judging from what you told me, I thought we were busy doing the deed all night long.”

A blush colored her face. “We had some ‘Hallmark moments’ together. You were quite chatty that night.”

“Was I?”

“Yeah.”

Little liar. Ethan growled triumphantly. He pulled the robe free and feasted his eyes on the sumptuous banquet that was her body. But what he found made him frown. He saw bruises on her lower torso and upper thighs. Some of them yellowed, as if those cruel beatings had been inflicted over some period of times. She couldn’t claim that she fell from the stairs or walked into a door or something.

“Who did this to you, Susan?” Ethan asked, his anger rising.

She didn’t answer. She averted his gaze and stayed mum.

“Susan!”

She startled. “It was nothing, really.” She tried to pull the robe up to cover her nakedness. It was a vain attempt.

“Who hurt you?”

She continued to refuse to answer.

“Cain did this, didn’t he?”

She flinched. Ethan got what he needed.

Damn. Damn him. Ethan held back his anger. The last piece of the puzzle fell into place. Susan wasn’t just Cain’s accomplice—she was forced into it. Unwillingly.

This revelation changed everything.

“I never had amnesia. I pretended to have it so I could buy some time to find the son of a bitch who tried to smoke me. And what do you know, Cain came forward the day after the rescuers called off the search. He announced that I had been survived by my young wife—you. A wife that I allegedly married the night before my accident. Very convenient isn’t it? But Cain miscalculated my survival. Imagine his surprise when Graystone fished me out of the lake. Barely alive, but alive nevertheless. Even then, Cain kept playing his charade. I must admire his guts, though. Ballsy.”

Ethan studied her expression. She couldn’t be more pale if she tried.

“Susan, he played you to lose. Do you think he would contact you when the last domino piece of his game fell?”

She looked terrified. Absolutely terrified. “Are you going to kill me?”

The jig was up and she knew that. “If I want to do that, I would have already done it.”

“I guess you want some dirt on your cousin.”

“I couldn’t care less about that. His days are numbered, and so are those who betrayed me. You’re by my side because you are my mate.”

“Say again?”

“You, my dear, are my mate.” Ethan stroked her hair fondly. “Unlike humans who can spend their entire lives with several partners, we wolves only bond with one—our mates. The moment I laid my eyes on you for the very first time, I knew you were the one. My mate—the only woman for me. Once we establish the bond between us, you will not want any other men for the rest of your life. You will go crazy for me. You will crave my touch when you spend the night out of my bed.” Ethan lowered his head as he whispered in a throaty, husky voice. The beast within him was overly excited. “You can’t live without me, Susan, because you and I are bound together.”

She looked puzzled and blinked in disbelief. Then a little shake of her head. “You’re wrong...”

“So this is how you’re going to be...”

He held her face and kissed her hungrily.

At that very moment, Ethan felt as if he had been enlightened about the biggest mystery of his life. His instinct was correct. This woman was his true mate—the only one who would make his life complete. And this first kiss between them acted as a sealing bond. If somehow, along the way, they chose to forsake it, they would be forever cursed, languishing in unhappiness until they day they died.

He studied her face as if he saw her for the very first time. Her lips were soft, a blooming petal, fragile and divine. She tasted so indelibly sweet, like ripened honeydew before the frost where its nectar was exquisite, ambrosial, and yet, fleeting. Suddenly, he found himself ravenous. Lust–filled blood rushed in his every vein as his own alpha-beast demanded that he claim his mate properly. She was his from here to eternity.

Judging from her reaction, she was also surprised. Shocked even. Her eyes were wide, a soft gasp frozen in her throat. He couldn’t tear his eyes from her. He noticed that her thick, long lashes were actually natural, beautiful perfection without the aid of mascara or false lashes women usually wore. She was a natural beauty. Her mouth opened, calling his name, but the word was only a faint mewl, curling out her throat like a bride’s gentlest whisper.

Ethan ran his tongue along her inner lip as they gazed into each other’s eyes. The window of their souls spoke louder than words could ever do. With his thumb, he caressed that soft alabaster skin of her cheek.

“Do you feel it?” His voice was nothing but a growl. The wolf-beast of his shimmied to the surface. “Our bond?”

She blinked. She looked as if she tried to deny it but couldn’t.

“I know it’s hard to comprehend with the mere logic you humans are accustomed to, but this is a gift. A gift that can only be explained by feeling it. Experiencing it.” Ethan closed his eyes and kissed her slowly, tongue sweeping inside her, feasting on the sweet dew-frost of her mouth. She responded to his kiss. Only briefly though. It was as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn’t.

Ethan’s eyes snapped open. “I don’t know how many lovers you’ve had in the past but let me assure you, they can’t compete with me, nor will they be able to give you what you crave most. You belong to me, Susan, and me to you. And don’t you forget that I’m the only one who can protect you from Cain.”

Her expression began to change. She went from a dreamy princess awakened from a thousand-year slumber to a maiden who just found out that she was about to be married off to an evil ogre.

Ethan pulled himself back, examining her reaction. The spell had been broken and now it forced her to face the harsh reality. “Choose a side, Susan. Choose wisely. War is coming to the underworld and no one will be spared. I’m sorry that you were caught as a pawn, but at the same time, I’m glad that I got to meet you. Now, it is time for you to decide.”

He got up from the bed then smoothed the front of his clothes. His inner wolf protested with the sudden change of events. His dick tented the front of his trousers. He willed himself to ignore his second brain. He wouldn’t be dictated by the state of his testicles. A man’s leading cause of downfall that had been documented over and over throughout the history.

She wouldn’t reject him. He was sure of it. He needed to give her time to decide. Fuck. His erection was so hard it gave him major discomfort. He ignored it and headed toward the door. “Choose well, Susan,” he said one more time before he quietly closed the door.