Chapter Four
Ana took a deep breath as she woke, and froze at the scent that surrounded her. The unique blend of man, earth, and spice, with a heavy thread of wild sparked her arousal and her memories at the same time. Ana sat up with a gasp, crying out at the pain crashing through her at the sudden move.
“Shh, lie still,” a male’s voice grumped, and she looked frantically around her for the source. Her gaze landed on the figure of a man dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt, slumped in a chair against the wall next to the bed she was lying in. Despite the lack of light in the room, her shifter abilities enabled her to see the man clearly in the muted predawn light.
It was her mate. The Razorback Demon. She was immediately filled with fear and caught the acrid scent of it in the air. The scent intensified when the man growled low and leaned to prop his elbows on his knees.
“For fuck’s sake, Ana,” Demon grumbled. “I’m not going to fucking hurt you. Stop being scared of me.”
“How do you know my name?” Her voice sounded raspier than normal.
“I heard him call you that in the bunker.”
Images of the moment he exploded into his boar flashed through her mind. Ana took a few rapid breaths in an attempt to hold off the panic that was building steadily, and to keep from passing out.
“Calm. The hell. Down. All this fear is fucking with my beast. Stop being scared.”
Ana flinched at the anger in his tone. She took a few deep breaths, employing the tactic her mother had encouraged her to use when the fear became crippling. When she was able to breathe without whimpering, she slid back on the bed until her back was pressed against the wall. The slight ache in her right arm reminded her of Jasper’s attack and she pushed back the sleeve of the shirt she wore to look at it. The scars were still pink, but it looked relatively healed.
“He did a number on your arm,” Demon said. “You being a shifter and my blood are healing it fast.”
Ana frowned as she looked up at him. “Your blood? What does that mean?”
Demon scowled like he hated the question. “The wolf not only broke your arm, he managed to get your throat before I got to him.” Ana lifted a hand to her throat and her fingers slid along the puckered skin of scar tissue right over her carotid artery. “You were bleeding out too damn fast. I had to seal the wound, and the only thing I had that could do that was my blood. I forced you to take my blood before you could die. I have bound you to me.”
Ana nodded like she understood when really, she had no clue. “Okay, thank you.”
There was a pause before Demon threw his hands up in frustration, making her flinch once more. “Really? Thank you? Is that all you can fucking say?”
Ana felt a tendril of emotion she couldn’t recognize unfurl within her. “Well, yes. I would think that when a person saves the life of another, they would say thank you.”
Demon leaned forward once more and glared, and that unknown emotion within her swelled. “I’ve just told you that I forced you to take my fucking blood and bound you to me for life and you fucking thank me for it!” Demon slammed his arm out to the side, punching a hole in the wall beside him, and fear spiked within her. “What the ever loving hell is that all about? And I told you to stop. Being. Scared. Of. Me!”
Ana’s heart began to thump a little louder and she suddenly knew what that emotion was within her. For the first time in her submissive existence, she was pissed. “Firstly, you arrogant pig, and yes that damn pun was intended, I was being fucking polite. Something I am sure is completely foreign to you. Secondly, I do have an issue with being bound to you. I am a submissive wolf shifter who has always imagined she would find a submissive mate and the two of us would live a quiet life together. I would serve my mate and he would love me for who I am. I knew that dream was lost to me the moment I caught your scent in that hideous arena. Thirdly, you can’t simply demand that I not be scared of you when you sit in that chair and do nothing but scowl, snarl, swear, and yell at me. Your dominance rolls off you in waves and I am simply amazed that I haven’t just keeled over and passed out from the power of it. So, if I am scared of you for the moment, pull your big boy panties up and accept it. I’m not sure when it’s going to change, and in the meantime, you are going to have to live with it!”
At the end of her outburst, Ana breathed heavily, in shock that she had spoken so brazenly. Demon’s jaw had dropped and he sat staring at her like she’d suddenly grown a second head. From the way she had just yelled at the Razorback Demon, like some kind of demented fish wife, she thought perhaps she had.
Demon sat back with a slow grin, and Ana stared in amazement at the transformation. There was no mistaking the fact he was gorgeous, but when he smiled at her like that, he was simply breathtaking.
“Damn, Ana,” he drawled in a voice that had heat pooling low in her abdomen, “you sure act more dominant than any submissive I have ever met. I don’t think I have ever been told off before in my life.”
Ana blushed at his words. “Yeah, well, you deserved them. Perhaps if your parents had disciplined you with a scolding or two you wouldn’t be so arrogant.”
Demon’s expression blanked in a heartbeat. “My parents would have been more likely to beat the shit out of me.”
Ana frowned at the dispassionate tone he used. “Your parents mistreated you, Demon?”
Demon flinched slightly when she used his name, but she remained silent, awaiting his answer. “They were both dominant razorbacks. They fought and bled each other more often than not. In fact, the two of them killed each other when I was seven.”
Ana frowned. “I’ve never heard of mates capable of physically hurting each other to the point of death.”
Demon frowned. “They weren’t mates.”
Ana tilted her head at the tone Demon used. “There’s more to that isn’t there?”
Demon stood up abruptly from the chair and moved toward the bedroom door. “You’re too skinny. Come get something to eat.”
Demon slipped from the room, and Ana gnawed at her bottom lip. She had seen the spark of hurt that crossed his face, and it pained her to think she might have caused him pain. She stepped out of the bedroom and came to a sudden stop. The floor-to-ceiling windows across from her gave her the most magnificent views of the mountains that took her breath way. She walked slowly through the living area, noting the furniture in the room screamed taste and expense.
She crossed the room, more confused than ever, and moved toward the kitchen area of the open-plan room. Demon was pulling sandwich fixings from the pantry and fridge and her tummy growled at the sight.
Demon looked up with that intense look on his face and her heart stuttered. “I guess you’re hungry. Sit down and let me feed you. The thought of you being hungry makes my boar anxious and concerned. Two emotions I would have never thought I would use when referring to my beast.”
Ana offered a small smile and moved to take a seat at the breakfast bar. The two of them ate in companionable silence, and Ana found herself relaxing. She even caught herself snatching sneak peeks of the man who scared her and excited her at the same time. On more than one occasion, she caught him staring back at her and that sparked flutters of excitement within her.
“You know,” she said in a quiet voice as she wiped her fingers on the napkin he handed her, “I don’t like you referring to your boar as a beast.”
Demon looked up at her in surprise.
“He saved my life. I’d be willing to bet money that he’s saved yours, too. He is no beast. He’s a big, proud, dominant Alpha boar.” She bit her bottom lip and noticed that his gaze latched onto the move and darkened. “And he’s my mate.”
Demon leaned forward, the scent of him thickening the air around her. “And what about me? Am I your mate, too?”
Ana felt herself caught in Demon’s gaze. “What do you think?” she whispered.
Demon frowned. “I don’t have to think, I know I am. But what I don’t know is whether or not I can keep you.”
Ana tilted her head to the side. “Keep me?”
“You’re mine. Mine to protect,” Demon’s whisper rolled over her, making her shiver. “But I don’t know how to do that when I scare you so damn much. I saw the fear in your eyes when I shifted. I can’t be anything other than what I am, and what I am scares the shit out of you. How can that work?”