The Unlikely Mate

Chapter 22

When Jennifer's wolf heard those words, there was no holding her back. She leaped inside and Jennifer leaned into Lennox and began to kiss him. She had never felt this type of attraction or need before. She needed to feel Lennox in her arms, she needed to kiss his lips and her wolf needed to feel his hands on her.

Jennifer climbed onto Lennox's lap, straddling him as he sat in the chair, and wrapped her arms around his neck, never taking her lips from his. He was startled by her sudden movement, but for reasons he couldn't explain, he felt he needed her in his arms, and welcomed her touch.

Jennifer kissed along Lennox's jawline, inhaling his scent as she nipped her way to his earlobe. The tingles for both of them, dancing along their skin. She could feel Lennox's strong arms pulling her in closer to him, one arm around her waist and the other hand moving into her hair. He gasped lightly as she kissed him, and he could have sworn that her scent was both intoxicating and calming at the same time.

As Jennifer kissed him, she began to involuntarily grind her hips as her body seemed to move on instinct, demanding she continue to chase the pleasure she felt. Then Lennox gently pulled her head back, his fingers interlaced through her long blond hair, and without pause he began to kiss her, his lips ravishing hers, his tongue making its way into her mouth as they kissed each other passionately, their hands and arms caressing each other's bodies, learning the curves and angles.

Lennox stood up, and Jennifer wrapped her legs completely around him, as he moved over to the couch, setting Jennifer onto her back, as he leaned on top of her, neither one stopping the kisses that continued as they moved together in a heated rhythm.

Jennifer moved her lips along Lennox's neck, gently licking where it met his shoulder, and as she did the tingles they both felt intensified. Jennifer's wolf was pushing to the surface, wanting to claim her mate. Jennifer's teeth began to slowly elongate as she gently ran them along Lennox's neck, sending shivers down his spine.

Suddenly, with an unexpected force, Jennifer placed both her hands on Lennox's chest and shoved him back. She quickly jumped to her feet and moved across the room, trying to catch her breath as she moved away. It was only through sheer determination that she had been able to stop her wolf from presenting her sharp canines and biting into her mate's neck.

"Whoa..." Lennox said, as his breathing slowed down and he slowly stood to his feet, trying to understand what had just happened.

"What did you do to me?" He asked her, confused by why he continued to be so helpless around her, even now, wanting to have her back in his arms. "Did you put a spell on me?"

"No, it's not like that" Jennifer said, leaning her head back against the wall.

"I almost marked you" she said, looking up at the ceiling in order to avoid any eye contact.

"You what?" He asked, now for the first time recognizing a shred of fear beginning to creep into the back of his mind. "What is going on, please! I need to know what is happening to me" he pleaded with her.

"Sit down" Jennifer said, making her way back over to the couch. "I'll try to explain."

"No" Lennox said defiantly. "I'm not sitting, I'm not getting anywhere near you until I know why I can't keep my hands off of you."

"Werewolves are very much like humans, but also very much like wolves. We live in packs, we have Alpha's who are the leaders of our packs and we follow their rules. But we also live like people, we work, we're educated, we participate in normal everyday activities. But, because of our wolf side, we are blessed by the Moon Goddess with a specific mate. Someone she chooses to be our mate. We are connected through a mate-bond, something that draws us toward each other, and compels us to be together. She has her reasons for who she chooses to pair wolves to, and most of the time it makes sense."

Lennox watched her intently as she spoke, and began to pace back and forth. He was tense and nervous, but also wanted desperately to kiss Jennifer again. He watched her lips as she spoke, and felt like he had to keep moving just to maintain any semblance of control over his actions.

"Often, and Alpha is mated with someone who comes from Alpha or Beta, that's a second in command, lineage. For example, the Alpha of my pack was mated to his Luna, who was the daughter of an Alpha from another pack." Jennifer paused as she watched Lennox pacing back and forth.

"So, is that powerful werewolf you're running from your mate?" Lennox asked, trying to understand the jealousy that was bubbling up inside of him, thinking of her being mated to someone she felt she needed to run from.

"No" Jennifer said softly, trying to decide how to continue. "I had a mate, I met him when I was very young, but he rejected me."

"He rejected you?" Lennox turned his head quickly to look at her when she said that, anger flashing in his eyes, and he moved over toward her, but stopped himself before he had fully crossed the room. "How does that work? What happened?"

"It was one of the most painful experiences of my life" Jennifer said, gulping back the tears that pricked at her eyes.

"He was a fool" Lennox said, not even knowing why he thought so.

"He was, but he was also incredibly cruel and vicious, as I later found out. I still can't understand why the Moon Goddess had chosen him as my mate."

"You said that was one of the most painful experiences of your life" Lennox said tenderly, slowing moving closer to her. He couldn't stop the ache in his own heart, as his concern about what other tragedies she had been through directed his question, even though it didn't seem to have anything to do with answering his original line of questions. "What was worse than that?"

"The day he died" Jennifer said, holding her head up proudly. "It almost killed me. I was in and out of a comatose state for a few days."

"You loved him?" Lennox asked, his heart sinking as he thought of her loving someone that had rejected her.

"No!" Jennifer replied emphatically. "He was horrible, but we were still connected. He had rejected me and broken the bond, but neither of us had moved on to mate with someone else, so there was still a connection. And when he died, it wasn't my heart breaking from losing him, but the shattering of that connection is what almost killed my wolf inside. He deserved to die!" She said with conviction. "Then, it was through that experience that I was confronted with what a horrible person I had let the rejection do to me. I let something that happened to me, define me, but it's not who I am, not anymore."

Lennox and Jennifer sat in silence for a few minutes. Jennifer was trying to figure out how to tell Lennox that he was her mate. To her, it was obvious. She had grown up with the stories about the mate bond, what it was like, what it felt like and she had experienced some of that when she was drawn to Luther so many years ago. She knew without any shadow of a doubt that Lennox was her mate. But she had no idea how to convey that to a human who knew so little about her kind, and what he did know was mostly about those she wouldn't even want to associate with.

Lennox was trying to process everything Jennifer had just told him, and his mind was reeling. What he had learned about werewolves was completely centered on their viciousness. Those who had killed his fiancée and he had tracked down were nothing like the type of werewolf this woman seemed to be, or anything like the type she described growing up with. He wasn't sure what to believe, it all seemed so fantastic. He also didn't know why he felt like he could or should trust her. She had said she hadn't put a spell on him, but aside from that he was having a hard time trying to understand the situation he found himself in, and that pang of fear resurfaced again.

"You said you almost marked me..." He said to her, backing away again. "What did you mean by that? Did you bring me out here to try and kill me, or turn me into one of you?"

Jennifer smirked a little at the idea of 'turning' him as he suggested.

"It doesn't work like that. That's just a fairytale" she said. "Getting bit by a werewolf hurts like hell, but that's about it. You won't be turned into one."

"Ok" he Lennox said, still guarded in his tone. "Then what did you mean by that?"

Jennifer stood to her feet and sighed. "I almost marked you, because the Moon Goddess gave me a new mate. It's you, you're my second chance."