My breath caught at how beautiful this man actually was. He was even more breathtaking up close and it was almost too much for me to handle. My eyes voluntarily scanned every inch of his body. I gasped at what I saw next. It looked as though he’d ripped his shirt, exposing his muscular biceps and chest.
What had he been doing here?
“You need to leave.” I forced myself to say.
The hurt look that crossed his face was more painful than someone piercing my heart with a silver sword.
“Why?” He asked, his voice rough and musical at the same time. I gasped as his hand on my waist tightened before he stepped closer into my view under the bright moonlight. Our lips were inches apart now and I had to place my hands on his chest to keep from falling.
“You know why,” I whispered. “I’m getting married to Hunter. There isn’t any way for us to be together. Why must you come here? It’s not safe and it only increases the pain.”
His hands slid up my stomach and grazed my breasts before one of his hand stopped directly above my heart. “Can Hunter make your heart race like this?” He whispered, his eyes dark.
I couldn’t stop the instant arousal that spread straight from my belly to my sensitive core.
James’s nostrils flared as he gazed at me with so much heat that I was surprised I hadn’t turned into molten lava yet. I was positive he knew just what he was doing to my body, his eyes said it all. My gaze travelled to his shoulders, the muscles there flexed as he continued to grip my waist. I swallowed, I desperately wanted to run my hands over it.
“Answer me.” He growled.
I remained quiet for I already knew the answer. no one, absolutely no one could make my heart race like him. That fact only made the hurt a lot worse than before.
“I know the answer.” He whispered hoarsely. “He can’t, no one can. You’re made just for me Eden… Only for me.”
His face was inches away from mine now, his sweet breath mingling with my own. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. His eyes were on my lips, the look he gave me did unspeakable things to my body.
He leaned closer and my eyes fluttered shut as I waited almost desperately for his k**s. However, to my disappointment none came. I opened my eyes to find him gazing down at me, he looked as though he was memorizing every inch of my face.
His lips were right above my ear now. “I’ll never let him have you.” He promised. “You’re mine, only mine. The moment he touches you I’ll f*****g kill him.”
***EDEn***
I gasped as I shivered against his strong hold. I closed my eyes and tried to memorize what it felt like to have him this close to me.
I somehow knew that James meant every single word he’d just said. My beautiful mate wouldn’t sit by and let another man touch me and it warmed my heart just as much as it frightened me. I felt his fingers trace my closed eyelids, down my nose and straight to my parted lips. I felt a jolt of shock through my body at such a simple touch. It didn’t matter that it was simple, all that mattered to my body was that he was the one doing it. His fingers travelled to my neck but paused there. I heard his sharp intake of breath which forced me to open my eyes.
His shocked gaze was definitely on my neck and the look I saw there frightened me. He tilted my face gently to the side, his gaze lethal. I could sense the immediate drastic change in his mood.
I now understood what he was looking at. He must have seen the dragon tattoo on my neck where his mark for me should have been.
What was he thinking? Whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
“Did they do this to you?” He growled.
“James,” I whispered.
“Did. They. Do. This. To. You?” He repeated, much slower this time.
“Y-yes but-,” my eyes widened when he didn’t wait for me to finish.
Before I had a chance to react he had already shifted into his wolf. My heart ached at his wolf’s cry. I could hear the pain and unhappiness that shattered my heart into a million pieces.
I needed to get back to the council before he did anything crazy. I was not ready for a fight, none of us were. I didn’t want to put the people I cared about in trouble, I didn’t want to lose my family. I understood that I couldn’t rip my dress however, it would look too suspicious to the council as well as Hunter. I quickly hurried out of it and shifted into my wolf. I picked the soft material up with my mouth and raced towards the palace.
When I arrived I wasted no time in shifting back and changing back into the dress. So far, I couldn’t hear any sort of commotion happening which meant that was at least a good sign.
I hurried inside where I found Isabella waiting at the entrance for me. “Did James come here?” I asked without a second thought.
Her eyes were wide with worry. “Our brothers heard his howl and they cornered him in the woods. Austin and Lucy just left with Lucas, they plan on forcing James to go back home with them. They may have to use force, extreme force to keep him down.”
My eyes grew watery at her words. This was for the best, I had to keep telling myself those words to keep myself from running off to his side. This was the only way to protect him from himself and away from the dangers that came with the council.
I stiffened as I saw the prosecutor heading our way. “You two,” he hissed. “Come with me.”
Isabella glanced at me with worried eyes.
Did they find out something? I prayed that they didn’t.
I could feel my heartbeat increase with each step that we took closer to the room the prosecutor had just entered.
Hunter was the first person that I saw, to my surprise his eyes were on Isabella once more. Something felt extremely off about the way he looked at her, was I missing something?
“The wedding is set to take place in three weeks.” The prosecutor announced suddenly, catching my attention.
My eyes widened and it was difficult to hide my unhappiness at the dreaded news. I didn’t want it to be that soon. I didn’t want to marry Hunter, I needed time to adjust to all of this. I felt Isabella grip my hand as she squeezed gently on it. It’s something that we’ve always done for the other when we needed support. And support was something you always needed when dealing with the council. They always did something to catch you off guard.
“Why so soon?” I asked before I could stop myself. I knew that the men in the room would be pissed that I’d asked such a question. However, I couldn’t help myself.
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