"So what brings you to see me?" my uncle asked as he poured Hunter a cup of coffee.
Hunter turned to look at all the books Creed had on his shelves. There were books of all sorts everywhere. He didn't look back at us before he took a deep breath and said, "I have questions about mates."
Creed gave me a wink. "My boy, you're not the first to have to wait longer than others for a mate. Kane's right behind you on that. Not to mention your great, great-grandfather waited until he was your age to meet his mate, and I'll tell you boys a huge secret...," he paused for effect. "She was a human."
I gasped deeply, in complete shock. I never knew it was possible. Did that mean this woman in my dreams was a human too?
Hunter was just as confused and curious as me. "So how come I'm just learning about this? Shouldn't we all know about it?" he asked my uncle in frustration.
"A big reason for the silence is that he wanted it kept a secret, and they pretended she came from a different pack from the North. After that, we had the great fire that killed many of the elders and most of the historical records perished. Tales of her existence seemed to disappear from our history and it only became a legend. Those who knew the truth kept her history from the rest of the packs because there was too much tension between them. Besides, after their first litter, she became a shifter as well."
"So she wasn't human after all," Hunter whispered. He looked upset. I didn't like where this was going. My great-uncle was beating around the bush about it.
"No, she was human. Her parents and the descendants all down her line had been human. It's one of the interesting things about human mates. They shift after they birth their first pups." He paused and took a drink of his coffee. "Only an Alpha can possess a human mate. He is the strongest, and it takes the most powerful Alpha to consummate the bond."
"Why?" It was peculiar because humans were weaker than us. Why would they be our mates? Alphas are the strongest, most capable leaders of the packs.
"Because until she had borne him his first pups, she possessed no special abilities. She was extremely vulnerable, and it took a strong mate that could handle an attack on her and their unborn. Before she changed, they had no idea that she would ever grow to have the ability," he informed us.
Fear started to course through me. My dream woman could be in danger just for being with me. Hunter was looking at me suspiciously, and I knew he could sense the tension that was rolling off me. My heart was racing and my need to shift was building. Thoughts of her hating me for not protecting her crossed my mind.
Creed tapped Hunter's shoulder as he examined me intently. "You look lost in thought. I knew one day you'd come for these answers."
"What do you mean?" he asked earnestly. I raised my brow at my great-uncle, too.
He knowingly smiled, then asked, "You've found her, haven't you?"
"I have, but please don't tell anyone," Hunter pleaded. I understood his concern to protect his mate. I felt the same way. She was mine and I needed to sort this shit out.
"Hunter, I look to you as one of my own. There is no way I would tell a soul about her, but I'm afraid there will be no way to hide it. You must mark her as yours as soon as possible. The only problem is she has to agree to the pairing."
"Is it because she's human that I have been dreaming of her for the past six months. Dreams about mating and marking her?" The instant he said that I turned to him with my eyes bulging out. Six fucking months? I couldn't continue living like I was. I shredded my sheets last night, so I knew I was in trouble and needed to stock up on bedding soon.
"Yes. Since she is not one of us, she doesn't feel the pull like you do. She doesn't crave you like you crave her, but dreaming of her for the past six months may make her more receptive to you," Creed added, which alarmed Hunter but soothed me. She hated me. If I had a chance to make her love me, I would do anything to make it happen.
"Damn it, I have to make her want me. How am I supposed to do that? I've never had the urge to mate before, so I've never tried to charm a woman into anything." Ha, he had no idea how lucky he had it. My mate hated me.
"Hunter, it will come naturally. You mustn't worry. No male knows what to do with a woman before they begin the mating dance. It comes to them naturally, and the mate is meant for them so they could never not please them. You're fated to each other."
"But she's different." Doubt entered my mind as well.
"Are you afraid that you won't feel as strongly towards her?" he asked Hunter.
He guffawed with a shake of his head. "No, if anyone feels like I do at the moment, I would grieve with them. I feel like I'm in a perpetual state of longing to be at her side. I want to please her, and I don't even know who she is. My heart is pounding just at the thought of seeing her."
"Your bond will be the strongest of all. It will bring resentment from others, and that's why the Alpha is the only one to possess a human mate." I will need to be strong for my mate when I meet her. There will never come a time where I'd let a hair on her head be harmed.
"How many have there been?" I asked.
"Only a handful throughout our five thousand years. It's so rare because it takes a supreme Alpha to handle a human mate."
"Because some may want to hurt her?" I interjected.
"Not just that, but also the human tendencies. They possess free will. She doesn't have to choose you. You may fuck her, but she may not accept you as her mate for life," Creed explained.
Hunter and I snarled as he stood up and asked in outrage, "What do you mean?"
"Just as I said. Unlike us, most humans take more than one lover. Many human females get divorced and have children with more than one man." Rage was building in me again and I could feel my wolf at the surface, ready to make an appearance.
"That's not happening. She's mine," Hunter roared.
"Then you must make her love you as you love her. How is she in your dreams? Does she fear you or does she welcome you?"
"She welcomes me," Hunter said with relief. I growled and rushed to the front door. Fuck. If it took him six months and she let him in, what would it be like for me? She hated me. Running outside, I high-tailed it back home. Shifting again, I went for another run.
Chapter Three
I rushed back into my house breathing heavily, and locking the door in a hurry before the cameras snapped one more picture. I hated the paparazzi more and more with every new film project they wanted to ask about. Tearing off my hat, I plopped down on my sofa with a sigh. It was getting to be too much. I just wanted them to go away. I was already frazzled by what happened last night with that weird, angry dream. Dealing with their questions made me want to snap.
Everything was normal until I went to bed the night before. I hadn't been asleep more than a few minutes before the most attractive man entered. He was deliciously handsome and rugged. The crazy thing was, I spewed out in pain and anger that I hated him. Being cruel was never in my personality. I couldn't be mean if I tried, so why I dreamed of someone I never met and was mad at didn't make any sense to me.
Tossing my head back, I thought about his face. What a face! He was scruffy looking with a short beard and wild dark brown hair. His jaw was taut... in anger? He exuded power with that strong, manly face. Even though I couldn't make out his whole body, I saw his shoulders in a suit. He was broad and powerful, which also showed in his jawline. Then his eyes... they were a brown color but a light brown, almost the color of honey. I stared into those pools of beauty and hated him, but at the same moment wanting him like no one else.
Still daydreaming on my sofa, I fell asleep. Again, he was in my dreams. It was the exact same one as before and I again woke up in a daze and completely frustrated. I threw the accent pillow across the room angrily. Why was I so mad? It wasn't like me, and why did it have to be this man?
I walked into my special art room and began painting scenery until an image developed in my head. Of course, his face was the first image I could think of and before the day was over, it was the only image I had painted. The clean lines of his chiseled jaw forced me to stare at the painting for over an hour. It was already after midnight before I managed to fall asleep.
I woke up that morning having slept through the night without him. I sat on my bed and cried. I didn't understand why I broke down because I didn't get to see him. It was nonsense and I was being a little overdramatic.