Anger pulsed through Calder. Not because of Daisy’s admission—because she’d been treated like shit in the past, by complete assholes who he’d like to find and slaughter for hurting his mate. How a guy, any guy, could look at her and think she was anything but absolutely stunning was beyond him.

She had to know there was nothing wrong with her, right? But one look at the depth of the sadness in her eyes spoke volumes. His beautiful Daisy had believed every fucking hurtful word those morons had ever said. That just wouldn’t do.

“I strongly believe that we go through life meeting a series of people who are horribly wrong for us, because we’re caught up in the age-old struggle of wanting to find our soulmate. So we spend our lives with someone, forcing a warped and twisted relationship on ourselves for the sake of not being alone and we’re surprised when it blows up.”

Calder combed his fingers through his hair, praying what he’d said made sense to Daisy. He needed her to know the guys in her past would never have been right for her, not because there was anything wrong with her, but because she was his mate, destined for him and him alone. “When that one special person comes along—the one you’re meant to be with—he’ll never make you feel the way those losers did.”

“I suppose you’re right. It just hasn’t made my life any easier.”

He didn’t like the fact that he’d made her sad.

His wolf whined in his head. “Cheer her up, asshole.”

“Enough with the heavy talk, let’s lighten the mood back up. I believe you had a few more questions for me?” Maybe if he could get her talking, he could get her smiling again—at least, that was his short-term goal when it came to his beautiful mate.

Calder held his breath, waiting to see if Daisy would shake off the shame she felt and open up to him again. Just when he was ready to give up and call it a night, she spoke.

“Does the transformation hurt? You know, when you shift?”

“Not usually. When I choose to shift there is no pain involved, but if I’m forced to shift because of an injury it can be excruciating.”

“What types of injuries would cause you to shift like you described?” The doctor in her couldn’t help herself, she just had to ask.

“Any severe or life threatening injury, really. Granted we heal faster than humans but we still have our vulnerabilities. Daisy seemed to mull over his answer before asking her next question. “Are you afraid of getting stuck in wolf form?”

That question made him smile—not because it was a silly question, but because she glanced away shyly as the words left her mouth, almost as if getting trapped in an animal form would be her greatest fear. “Not at all. My wolf and I work together to accomplish any task thrown at us. He would never try to take on the human tasks, and I would never try to take over his. Does that make sense?”

“Sort of.”

Daisy brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face, not knowing how such a simple act left Calder wanting to pull her into his arms and never let go. It took every ounce of strength he possessed not to scoop her up, toss her in his bed and pound his cock so deep into her that she forgot all about the guys who’d wronged her in the past.

“Wait, can you and your wolf… er… talk to each other?”

“Yes, all the time.”

“Huh. That’s pretty interesting. What does your wolf think about me?”

“Will you let me show you?” Calder pushed his chair away from the table and stood, holding his hand out to Daisy. He could’ve easily told her that his wolf wanted nothing more than to kiss and touch every inch of her body, but he didn’t want to say it with words that might fall on deaf ears. He wanted to show her that his wolf had only one thing on his mind since the very second he’d picked up her scent.

 

***

 

Daisy looked at Calder’s outstretched hand, not knowing exactly what he was asking, or what he wanted to show her. But he had managed to once again spark her curiosity. The man fascinated her on every level. She’d dated plenty of guys in the past and not one of them had ever managed to break through the walls she so carefully constructed within the first few hours of meeting them. Calder, on the other hand, was like a sledgehammer, smashing through her barriers with record speed and grace.

It would take a leap of faith on her part to accept his hand, blindly trusting him not to hurt her—one that she wasn’t sure she was capable of making. Her mind told her to stop, that he would end up being just like all the other losers she’d dated in the past, while her intuition asked her what the hell she was waiting for and reminded her with every breath that Calder was different from any man she’d ever met.

That was exactly what scared the shit out of her.

She could see herself easily falling head over heels for the man who stood before her, offering something no normal man could—a life filled with uncertainty and adventures she’d never know as a human. Her conversation with Gerri replayed in her mind: “Shifters are much different from humans when they first meet their mate. They know immediately that she’s the woman they’ve waited their entire life for. The entirety of their world changes with one scent.”

“What does that mean?” she’d asked Gerri.

“Oh, sweet girl.” Gerri had smiled at her. “Think of it this way. When a shifter male finds his mate, his life is no longer about just him. His life becomes about loving and protecting his mate, knowing that she is safe, well loved, and happy.”

“That sounds pretty fantastic. Do these relationships tend to last long?” Daisy had asked.

“Forever. There are very few divorces in the shifter world.”

But it was the last thing that Gerri had said to her that stuck in her mind more than anything else: “Does having a mate who is one hundred percent committed to you sound like such a bad thing? Is it bad to know that your mate will never speak unkindly to you or stray? Think of how free the love between mates can be when there is an absolute and unwavering commitment.”

Before she said yes or no to his question, she had to know one thing. “Am I your mate?”

She watched as he sucked in a deep breath, his amber eyes glowing as he spoke. “Yes.”

All she had to do was take his hand.

Gerri’s words replayed again in her mind. “Does unconditional love sound like such a bad thing?” Daisy drew in a deep breath and stood, placing her hand in his. “Don’t make me regret this.”

“Never.”