Forgotten Wolf

10 Satisfaction

Chris POV

Chris POV

I stretch out on the couch with a stupid grin plastered on my face.

What a difference a night can make!

Before tonight, she had done nothing but run away and avoid me when she could, and now she's curled up in my bed. It would be better if I wasn't on the couch, but I'll still take this as a win.

'Our mate is perfect. You made her run before,' my wolf, Cyrus, chides.

How was I supposed to know she wouldn't feel the mate bond?

I think about the day I found her by her truck. I had followed the most delicious scent of cinnamon and cherry blossoms, but when I found her, she tried to run away. I got so angry, thinking she was rejecting me, that I lost my temper and yelled at her.

'She ran from us! And you hurt her,' Cyrus growls.

I wasn't trying to hurt her. I didn't know how scared she was of people touching her.

I frown, remembering her wide-eyed panic when I held her wrist. I could smell her fear, but also Jace all over her and it just fed my anger.

The following month was rough. Cyrus had stopped talking to me and I used the current rogue threat as a distraction to keep me occupied. I pushed training harder and harder and, unfortunately, Jace took the brunt of my frustrations.

The day she called Jace to pick up Ethan, I was in a bear of a mood. Everyone walked on eggshells. So I jumped at the chance and since I knew she didn't want to see me, I ordered Jace not to warn her.

When I walked in and was surrounded by her scent, I almost lost my nerve but my wolf pushed me on. She was showering, and it took everything to not go in. When she spoke so openly and friendly, it was completely different than the last time I had seen her and Cyrus leapt in joy. But it was short-lived when I realized she was just doing that because she thought I was Jace; my mood darkened instantly.

I was mad that my mate only found comfort with my best friend, so I toyed with her.

When she didn't take the bait, but instead made dinner as she promised, I was both surprised and confused. I didn't know much about her. All I had seen was that she was timid and flighty, not ideal characteristics for an alpha's mate.

'She is strong and fierce,' Cyrus cuts in.

That she is. I chuckle as I recall the fire in her eyes as she chewed me out for thinking that she was involved with Jace. The relief I felt when she admitted she was single was immense. I still don't understand her relationship with the rogue Jude, but apparently, it's not romantic, at least not on her end.

'She's hiding something from us,' Cyrus points out.

I know. I frown. I don't know what it is. She won't let anyone in but I see it in her eyes sometimes.

She spoke of troubled dreams and that panic when someone touches her... that doesn't just start out of the blue.

But is it a current threat? Or something in her past?

The night I fought with Jude was surprising, to say the least. I never expected him to be able to hold his own like that. But when she threw herself in the middle and took command... Her eyes were like fire. I never expected to see that side of her–she was always so timid before.

'I told you she was strong.' He's in his glory now.

Yes, Cyrus, there's more to her than I first thought. I'll admit that.