The Call of the Lycan

Chapter Six

Dusk is falling as I near my cottage. I want to get home because I can't shake a bad feeling I am being followed. 'Probably alphas guard is watching you to make sure we aren't attacked again' Inaya says to me at one point to ease my nerves. I also want to get home to my cozy bed & be alone to think over the day. When we round the last corner to my cottage Inaya suddenly urges me to let her out. I think back to the last time I wasn't shifted when I needed to be, when Jennifer poisoned me. I will Inaya to take over. We shift quickly & clothes explode into a thousand little shreds. Inaya sniffs the air delicately. I smell it at the same time she does. The intoxicating scent is faint. He was here, at our home. 'Mmm, our mate is near Clara!' She says excitedly. She starts off at a brisk pace into the woods. I panic as I realize she is going to find him. It's an incredibly odd feeling to not be in control of your body. Part of me wants to throw caution to the wind to see him, but I also do not want to die. We had no guarantee he wouldn't attack us. 'Inaya, please, this might be dangerous!' I plead with her. Inaya rolls her eyes & shuts me out. I hate this. I'm trapped in her mind. Inaya starts running at full speed through the woods like an excited puppy. I feel embarrassed & hope no one sees us. Suddenly she scoots to a halt. She sniffs the air deeply. I smell it too. Pine & fresh rain, getting stronger. It's him. Her nose turns to the scent & she steps in the direction. We follow the scent to a small clearing where is a large lake. The moonlight pours down on the lake & I feel comforted by the moon goddess blessing the lake. 'If her light is present so is she' I try to tell Inaya. I know I want to see him... I need to see him. I can't ignore the overwhelming urge that I need to find out more about my mate. I need to trust the dream. Inaya plunges into the lake & we suddenly are swimming across the lake. I gasp in surprise but she keeps going. When we are close to shore I see him in the tree line by the lake watching us with an amused look on his face. He's just as tall & handsome as I remember, if not more. I melt inside when I see him. How did I get such a gorgeous man fated to me? He approaches me on the rocks on the shoreline, waiting for me. Inaya shifts back without any warning leaving me in full control. I flounder for a second forgetting how to swim in my human body & questioning if I should turn around. I know Inaya is testing me right now to see if I trust her or not. I choose to follow her lead & I make it to shore. I swim up to a big rock closest to him & stay in the water, hanging on to the rock. I want to stay in the moonlight to keep the moon goddesses blessing on me. I stare at him intensely, appreciating how incredible his scent is & how unbelievably handsome he is. My heart is pounding fiercely. I'm completely vulnerable in front of him. I can feel his eyes on me, almost like they're burning a whole in me. Inaya is heavy breathing & purring in my head because she's so turned on by him. 'His wolf wants to claim us' she tells me excitedly, 'but his human counterpart does not agree' she says sadly. He takes a step towards us & I can see his wolf is trying to take control by his eyes changing from blue to bright red every few seconds. He keeps eye contact with me as his hand snaps up to his chest & he unbuttons his shirt. He pulls it off & steps forward handing it to me. I accept the shirt while taking in all the tattoos covering him. He's even more muscular than I thought with a defined 8 pack, & incredible tattoos covering most of his chest. His beautiful blue eyes are dark with lust & I realize me being naked- even though I'm underwater- is affecting him. Inaya urges me to refuse the shirt but instead I pull myself up slowly & stand in front of him, never breaking eye contact. His eye contact breaks & he looks at my body. His fists clench & he closes his eyes for a moment. I love knowing I'm affecting him this much. I slowly put on the shirt as he watches me. It goes down to the middle of my thighs, being huge on me. I decide to leave it unbuttoned to tease him. I've never allowed any man to see me naked so I didn't know where I found the confidence to do this, but Inaya assured me it was the bare minimum. His smell is almost intoxicating when I have his shirt on. Our eyes meet again. "Mate" he growls at me finally, his wolf glowing in his eyes. "Mate" I murmer. My heart is beating so hard I don't think I can tolerate it any more. I had never seen such a beautiful man before. "I knew you would come" he says smugly. "I tried not too, my wolf has her own ideas" I quip. Amusement passes through his eyes. He steps closer to me & slowly reaches out, as if to test my reaction to him being close to me. I lean into his touch to show I'm not afraid. His fingers touches the mark on my neck ever so gently. My breathe catches as his hand rest on the nape of my neck, fingers still on the mark. Warm sparks explode as our skin meets. The feeling is incredible. "You've been marked by the moon goddess" he says simply. His voice is so deep and powerful. My hand reaches up & rests on top of his. The feeling of warm sparks on my skin is so wonderful I don't want to him to ever take his hands off of me. "The moon goddess came to me in a dream" I say softly while stepping closer to him. This mate bond is so damn powerful. "I was there too- both times" he mutters. My eyes widen in surprise but he stares at me so intensely I almost forget how to breathe. "You're the first person who can see it on me" I whisper. He pulls his hand back from my neck & I whimper at the loss of physical contact. His wolf keeps flashing in his eyes fighting him for control. He's standing so close to me now that I have to look up to see his face. It takes every ounce of my willpower to not touch him or kiss him. I feel surprised at his confession. I didn't think it was actually him in my dreams, just a figment of my imagination putting him there. His bare chest is so distracting to me that I can hardly keep my thoughts straight. I want to run my hands over every inch of his chest & taste him. "I know there's a prophecy about me" I say softly. He continues to stare into my eyes but I notice his jaw twitches. "Who told you that?" He asks me with a growl. "The moon goddess" I say trying not to sound defensive. She did in so many words but I'm fibbing a little. My voice is so soft It's barley above a whisper. "Why did you say you'd never have a filth like me for a mate?" I ask him. The hurt in my tone is apparent. I hadn't considered this before & now that I'd thought of it I wanted to know why he thought I was a filth. He stares into my eyes with so much intensity I forget how to breathe. His hand reaches up my neck again but this time he begins to button his shirt closed on me, slowly working his way down as if studying my skin before closing a button. "You are a Gariou. I am a Lycan. We are not... equal" he says simply when he reaches the last button.  "You are also a rogue" I say coldly. The moon goddess warned me against this path of conversation but this man cannot be serious. He smirks at me, his fingers rubbing the hem of his shirt by my thigh. "Is that what you think?" He asks almost laughing. I nod. 'Your eyes turn red' I whisper. 'You killed those girls, for no reason. I know you are a rogue, you would have no other reason to act so"  I say adamantly. His hand reaches up & pauses for a moment before he places it on my neck again slowly tracing where my mates mark would go. The warm sparks are incredible & he inhales sharply. I can tell the bond is affecting him too. "You don't know anything about who those girls are. I killed one because they were trying to kill you, as any wolf would protect his mate" he says sharply as if it should be obvious. I blink in surprise. Not very rogue like behaviour. "Would you accept me as your mate if I am a rogue? And come live the rogue way with me?" He asks me curiously. "Yes" the word falls from my lips before I can stop myself. Would I really do that? I can see my answer surprised him as removes his hand from me & lets out a sigh. He shakes his head at me. "I wouldn't want that for you. What's your name?" He asks me. "Clara" I say softly. Suddenly the moon goes under cloud cover & the moonlight is gone. Fear prickles down my spine as the breeze picks up. "What is yours?" I ask. He hesitates. "Atticus. I need you to know that I came here to reject you" he says in a matter of fact tone. My heart instantly seizes with pain waiting for him to follow through & say the words.