The Wolf Lord's Mate

Chapter Fourteen

Nathaniel

I had beaten my damned cock so many times that week that it was a miracle it hadn't fallen off.

No matter what I did, I couldn't keep myself from getting hard, not when her scent had permeated every square inch of air within the manor.

Her voice mixing with Isa's in the hall, her careful footsteps, the way she hummed to herself while she worked. Mira was the finest portrait, the sweetest flower, the most entrancing melody I had ever known, and I could not claim her. Not yet, at least, though I did now know how much longer I could wait.

I wanted to wrap her up in my arms, and hide her away in my bed forever where I knew that she would be safe. Where she would be mine and mine alone.

I wanted to bury myself so deep inside of her that it would ruin her for any other mortal man. I wanted her to be addicted to me. To my touch, my kiss, my voice, my cock. To make her feel even an ounce of the obsession I already had for her.

My position as a Lord was my only salvation in how I was able to keep my control. If I had been a lesser Wolf, I would have lost the reigns on my beast long ago, but I knew patience well. It would all be worth it in the end, once I knew that she was safe.

Still, I was at the end of a very thin rope, one that was likely to snap any minute. Anything could set me off, and I knew that once the rope snapped, I would not be able to stop myself from claiming Mira as my own, once and for all.

Leo met me in my study the morning before I was supposed to meet with Mira, presenting me with his new findings on Walton. We knew that he had spies in town, but sifting through general agitators and troublemakers versus those who actually wished to do great harm was no simple task. Every time I got close to sniffing out a ringleader, there was some other detail added, some string missing that killed the lead. But I would find them, whoever they were. I had an even greater purpose for victory now, a far greater reward awaiting me at the end of it all.

Mira.

"We've narrowed it down to a group of merchants operating out of Hillside," Leo explained, pinning darts in a map we'd laid out on the table, "There have been an excess of shipments in and out between your lands and Walton's. Mostly grain, nothing too suspicious, but while the shipments have increased in the past few months, there was been no increase in goods being sold."

"So they're hiding something in the shipments? Claiming they're all grain, but with the bulk there's no way to check them all when they're being brought in and out." I said, and Leo nodded in agreement, "They're passing something back and forth, but what? Weapons?"

"They would be easy to hide, and the grain would disguise any weight and muffle any sound." Leo's mouth held a firm line as he traced his fingers across the map. "But it could be anything."

"I want every shipment checked that's going in and out of Walton's lands—I don't care how large it is, and I don't care how long it takes." Leo nodded, but I wasn't finished, "I want you to spread word of the possibility on a shipment limit for goods crossing the borders. If the threat of losing money won't scare the merchants into letting go off their little plot, nothing will."

"I'll do it first thing." Leo nodded again, but there was something in his expression, the smallest hesitation.

"If you have something to say, say it." I said, gathering up the papers, a collection of information on the merchants we suspected were working with Walton.

"The cabin." I paused, glancing up at Leo from under my brow.

"What about the cabin?"

"It's true, isn't it? You've found her?"

"Yes," I sighed, setting the papers down, "After looking for her for all these years, she just fell into my arms."

"The girl from the Alleys?" Leo asked, crossing his arms over his chest, "I did wonder why you seemed so interested."

"Interested is by no means a big enough word," I sat back in my chair, the wood creaking beneath my frame, "You can hear about the mate bond your whole life—see the effects of it for yourself, but nothing prepares you for experiencing it. It's as if the whole world has rearranged itself around her. Nothing else matters except for her. Nothing in this life will be worth living if she is not in it. I hardly know her, and already know that I would go to war for her. I would do anything she asked, just to see her smile."

"But you haven't claimed her?" Leo asked tentatively.

"I don't want to risk her safety," I explained, "Outing her would put her in danger."

"Surely you could claim her without announcing it," Leo shrugged, his brow furrowed, "It could be beneficial, being able to give her time to adjust before going public."

"Perhaps," I cracked my knuckles, "My willpower is slipping by the day—it's only a matter of time before I end up telling her. It's driving me mad watching her walk around without my claim on her, I only wish that I could have a bit more time."

"Wishes and reality are not the same," Leo said, "I just know that if it were me, I would have already claimed her. Think about it, Nathaniel. There is such a thing as being too careful."

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