Her Loving Captor

14

Dani

How had she marked him?

Her wolf had nearly vanished, leaving nothing but a faint sensation at the edges of her awareness. So, how did her canines grow longer, allowing her to mark Eric as her mate?

Why had she chosen to mark him?

She wasn't ready to be mated to him! There should have been little chance of mating in the werewolf manner. Nonetheless, her teeth had sunk into his flesh, leaving that telltale mark at the junction of his neck and shoulder. A mark that any werewolf could detect even if it was hidden. She, too, now had one.

How the heck had he managed to mark her?

Dragons, as far as she knew, did not leave mating marks. So how had he been able to mark her? Why did she now feel him in the same way that a wolf senses her mate? His need for her was a compelling force that drew her to reach out and comfort him. How could she when she was so confused?

None of this had been in her plans. He may have bound them together with dragon blood, but that should not have resulted in a werewolf mating. It shouldn't have triggered her nearly-dead wolf. After all, if the bond meant so much for her, shouldn't it have healed her wolf?

It made no sense! None of it did.

Closing her eyes in despair, she confronted the one question her mind had been avoiding. The one she'd pushed away as she ran away from him, the reason she'd fled. It was the panic that allowed her to access the castle's magic when she had previously avoided trying to do so.

Was her wolf gone for good now that she'd been cut off from her people?

Wolves were pack animals that needed the company of other wolves to thrive, but dragons were solitary in nature despite living in a city. Dani would have no choice but to stay here now that her wolf nature had accepted him as her mate, and the agony was too much to bear.

It pierced her skin with the precision of a lightning bolt. Its brutality was merciless and excruciatingly painful. She fell to her knees, clutching the open shirt she had thrown on over her breast, her mouth open in a soundless scream.

Dani felt empty, her soul desperately searching for the wolf spirit that should have been at its core. The flutter had become even more subtle. A sob escaped her as she realised her wolf was hanging on by a thread, even more so than it had been just that morning.

Had her wolf sacrificed herself up so Dani could have a mate and possibly a chance? Would being mated to a dragon keep her alive in the absence of her wolf? But how could she possibly survive without her wolf? It was so much a part of her that being without it would tear her soul apart.

'Please don't leave me!' she begged her wolf but there was no sense that the beast even heard her, no shift in the feelings of her wolf.

She broke down. Pain tore through her with ruthless disregard as the reality of living without her wolf settled in. She couldn't, she just couldn't. How would she be able to handle being so alone? Her wolf had been there throughout her life, reaching out when she was scared, hurt or confused. How was she going to go on?

'I'm here for you Dani,' For a split second her heart lept with joy at the thought that she was wrong and her wolf was still with her. Until she recognised the voice and her heart became a chilled lump inside her chest.

Her tears dried as a chill took over every inch of her being, as she became paralysed. Shock held her still, her mouth becoming dry as her terrified eyes searched the room for the person who had reached out to her. It was impossible that he should be able to mind speak to her, yet she heard him as clear as day.