The Amber Shift

Exclusive Chapter: Chapter Twenty-Nine (Elijah's POV)

I can't believe I let Asher get so many fucking punches in, and on my face no less. It looks like someone took a mallet and whacked me with it a few times, then cut my eyebrow for good measure. Granted, Asher didn't look much better, but Noelle was healing his wounds when I left the clearing.

And it makes me sick to think about, but he's probably balls deep inside her right now. Inside my mate. Her body pressed into the mattress, his hands running over every one of her flawless curves, her fingers tangled in his hair.

As the thought slides through my brain, I grip the edge of the bathroom sink so hard my knuckles turn white, the blood boiling hot in my veins. She feels the draw to me, and the ache between her legs could be mine to satisfy. I made my choice where Noelle is concerned. Even if it sometimes feels like not a choice at all. I can't blame her for needing physical attention, but I also can't help hating that it's not me. If tonight were a full moon, I'd be outside howling under it right now.

Snatching the washcloth from the rack on the wall, I wet it and the cut over my eyebrow. "Fuck," I mumble, wincing at the sting. All of us have been trained in hand-to-hand combat, but Asher was fighting dirty today. And my fucked-up face proves it.

There's a sound from my bedroom, but I just keep dabbing at the cut, ensuring it's clean before I move on to the next wound. But when the sensation of soft fur against my skin invades my senses, I glance down to see a white and caramel wolf at my feet, looking up at me with expectant eyes.

I want to fall to my knees and bury my face in her soft fur, but I hold my ground. If I keep giving in, I'll put her at risk, and I can't that. I won't chance that. She deserves so much more than I can give her. The only thing I have to offer is the connection with a mate. She won't feel safe, won't know a worry-free moment ever again. We will simply be waiting for the day we are ripped apart.

Noelle nudges me toward the toilet, and I say, "That's not necessary."

Of course she doesn't back down. I've never met a woman so stubborn. Her sharp teeth grip my shorts and she pulls. Cool air brushes over my bare ass, and I dart my hand behind me. She is going to strip me. Not that being naked with her doesn't have possibilities. But it doesn't help our cause either.

I drop onto the closed toilet seat, and my shoulders sag as a long breath flows out of me.

Noelle lifts her two hind legs and places her front paws on my knees. When she bends her head toward mine, I lean in just a bit, intending to help her reach the cut on my forehead I know she'll probably want to heal first.

But she just nuzzles her head against me, tucking it under my chin, and my chest threatens to explode, obliterating the traitorous organ inside it. Her head nestled against me like that is just another reminder of how perfectly we fit together, of the fact that she is my fucking mate—the one who is literally created for me, and I for her. The thought makes my breath catch in my throat.

She moves back then, and all I want to do is pull her against me and never let her go, but I don't. My eyes track her movements as she positions herself to lap at the wounds on my face. And as soon as her tongue hits the gash above my eyebrow, I could cry with the relief it brings. She is touching me freely, sweetly, like she owns me. And she does...fuck.

Deep in her gut, she knows I belong to her. If she grew up around our people, she would have heard the stories of mates. The signs that point to us belonging to each other would have been so clear to her. Her wolf knows. It senses that line that tethers her soul and heart to mine.

"It all feels easier as a wolf, doesn't it?" I ask, hoping it sparks the truth to come alive inside her.

Her head moves against mine in a gesture that looks like a nod as she transfers her attention from my brow to my jaw.