MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION

7. SILAS: WHAT THE HELL'S HAPPENING TO ME

I stumbled down the hall towards the stairwell, panting for breath. Something was happening to me and I had no idea what it was. I've never felt it before. A snarl tore from my throat when my shoulder slammed into the wall. I stumbled and almost tripped but managed to catch myself before I tumbled down the stairs.

My skin was burning and something was clawing to get out. It hurt. It fucking hurt so bad.

A shudder raced down my spine when her breathy moan echoed in my head. I fought the urge to storm back in there and fuck her fast and hard like I wanted to—like I needed to. I burst out of the building and sucked in a deep breath, but it did nothing to help me calm down. I could still smell her scent, still feel her body pressed against mine, and taste her.

"Fuck!"

Running a shaky hand through my hair, I ran toward my car. I needed to get really fucking far away from her. I couldn't take the risk of going back—especially since I had no clue as to what the hell was happening with me.

Twenty minutes later I pulled up in front of my motel. The heat inside me was intensifying. I hurried to my room and slammed the door closed. After turning the lock, I started stripping off my clothes as I made my way towards the bathroom. By the time I reached the shower I was naked so all I had to do was open the tap and step under the icy water.

This had never happened before. I've never felt this deep attraction towards any of the other women I've ever fucked before. I never wanted to fuck anyone as badly as I wanted to fuck Lara.

I stood under the icy water until the heat died down and I could think a little more clearly. My dick was hard and pulsing, but there was no time to take care of it right now. I needed to figure out what the hell happened and I only knew of one person that could help me.

Closing the tap, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. My phone was still in my pants pocket and after pulling it out I took a seat on the edge of the bed and dialled his number. The phone rang once and then went right over to voicemail. I waited two minutes and dialled again. This time he answered almost immediately.

"What happened?"

I swallowed. "I don't know," I told him honestly. "I've never felt anything like this before."

"Explain. You need to hurry. I don't have much time left."

"I was. . .we were. . .fuck!" I ran a hand through my wet hair and blew out a breath. "I was having dinner with a woman I met. We kissed."

"Was—"

"I wanted to rip her clothes off and fuck her. I actually had to urge to bite her and nothing like that has happened before. My skin felt like it was on fire and something was clawing to get out. It fucking hurt."

"Did you hurt her?" he asked sharply.

"No! I would never fucking hurt her," I snarled at him.

"Shit. Where are you? Are you still with her?"

"No, I'm home. What's happening to me, Wrin? The other day—" I trailed off.

"What happened?"

I swallowed. "My gums were tingling."

"How many times has this happened before?" Wrin asked softly.

"It all started since I met her."

He sucked in a sharp breath. I heard him mutter something under his breath but couldn't make out what he was saying. Wrin was silent for a full minute before he spoke again.

"I'll ask around. I need you to stay away from this woman until I get some answers. You could hurt her if you go anywhere near her, Silas."

"I need to know one thing." I sucked in a breath and slowly blew it out. "Is she my mate?"

He cleared his throat. "It's a possibility. Remember what I said Silas."

***

Two weeks.

I hadn't seen her for two weeks. I ached to see her and touch her and kiss her again, but the fear of hurting her kept me from seeking her out. What if I gave into the urge and hurt her? It would kill me if I hurt her, even accidently. I couldn't take that risk, so I forced myself to stay inside my hotel room.

My days consisted of pacing and working and then getting an hour of sleep before nightmares forced me up. Wrin hasn't called me back and it worried me. Hadn't he found any answers? What if he had and it was bad news? What if he was scared of telling me what he found?

I was going over some spreadsheets on my laptop when my phone rang. One glance at the caller I.D made my heartbeat increased. Wrin's name flashed on the screen. Swallowing loudly, I picked up the phone.

"Tell me you have good news for me."

"It depends on how you look at things," Wrin said softly. "What do you want to hear? The good news or the bad news?"

My stomach clenched at his words. Good news or bad news? It wouldn't really matter what news he told me first. I've lived so long without having to worry about a thing, until recently—until Lara.

"Just tell me what you found, Wrin."

He blew out a breath and cleared his throat. "The good news is the fact that you have indeed found your mate. This would explain the sudden urges and changes you're experiencing."

"But?"

"I found some records in the library about half breeds." The word made me flinch. "While in captivity some experiments were done on half breeds. They were considered a failure but instead of killing them, the doctors took them down to the basement to conduct other test and experiments."

"Can you send it over to me?" I asked him.

"No," Wrin instantly answered. "The records don't leave the library and you know it."

"I—"

"—need to come home," Wrin said firmly. "The information I found. . ." he trailed off with a groan. "If this woman is truly your mate then she's triggering a lot of animal instincts in you."

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"I'll give it to you in simple terms, Silas." He paused. "Your instincts are going to grow worse. You're going to want to do a lot of things you don't usually do. The worst part is the fact that strong emotion might trigger a shift."