My Secret Lover by ARIE78 (Completed)

Chapter 4

Hearing Forth's soft, but decisive words was like having the promise of heaven within his grasp, so close, yet so far away. Phana snapped his teeth—now fangs— together to choke his howl in his throat. He released the scratched table and buried his claws into his own flesh, hoping that the slight pain would give him an anchor. Predictably, it didn't work in the slightest, and his dick persisted in throbbing between his legs. His inability to speak made Forth's shy smile fade into an uncertain frown, which ironically reawakened Phana's human vocal cords.

"If you're sure," he said, "there's nothing I want more."

Getting up, he retrieved a couple of bills from his wallet and left them on the table to pay for their drinks and waffles. He'd probably overpaid with about double of what the meal cost, but he couldn't have cared less.

Interestingly, Forth seemed both put out and touched at the gesture.

"We can share the bill, P'Pha" he said quickly. "I should pay for my part."

"Don't worry about it," Phana said, offering his hand to the other man. "It's my treat. And I think that we have more interesting things to worry about than a bill. Don't you agree, nong?"

Forth blushed, but nodded and took Phana's hand without further protest. As Phana guided Forth out of the diner, he marveled at how right it felt to be close to Forth. He couldn't help but wrap an arm around Forth's shoulders, and Forth leaned close to him naturally, like they were longtime lovers, not strangers who'd met in a club an hour before.

It seemed that even if Forth was human, he still felt their mate bond at some level. That encouraged Phana, because he had no intentions of abandoning his other half now that he'd finally found him. Of course, convincing his pack to accept it wouldn't be easy, but for Forth, Phana would do anything—even being a lone wolf if that was necessary.

One particularly unwise human decided to test Phana's resolve. As Phana and Forth exited the diner, an intoxicated man stumbled past them and sneered.

"Faggots."

Normally, Phana would have ignored it. He didn't care about what humans thought of him, and if they tried anything other than an insult, he could handle it with ease. Besides, werewolves were required to keep a low profile so that they could preserve the secrecy of their species.

But Forth tensed, and Phana could sense that the word had bothered his mate. His wolf reared out angrily, and in mere instants, he leapt on the bigot and pinned him to a nearby wall. Easily lifting the human in the air with one single hand, he growled.

"Say that again. To my face."

He bared his teeth, displaying his elongated canines and not bothering to hide the golden glow of his eyes. The stench of urine hit his nostrils as the human pissed himself.

"I'm sorry. I d-didn't mean it. So sorry."

Phana might have done something very stupid—like reminding the bigot of the consequences of his actions by clawing him—but Forth pressed a hand to his shoulder.

"It's all right, P'Pha. He's not worth it."

Just like that, Phana started to calm down. His canines receded and his vision cleared, turning human once more. He dropped the asshole to the ground and left him there. The human was so drunk he wouldn't remember a thing anyway. Phana turned toward Forth and brushed a kiss over his mate's forehead.

"You're right. Let's not allow him spoil our evening. "Did you drive here?"

Forth shook his head.

"I took a taxi. I don't know this neighborhood very well."

That actually worked better, because Phana wouldn't have to worry about vehicles and could just focus on his new-found mate.

Wrapping his arm around Forth, he suggested, "My place?"

Forth smiled anxiously, now trembling ever so slightly in Phana's hold. His reaction triggered Phana's naturally protective instincts and he rushed to reassure the younger man.

"Hey... You can still back out of this if you change your mind. No

pressure. We can—"

"No!" Forth interrupted him. "I want this, I do. I'm just... I'm worried I'll disappoint you, P'Pha" with his worried face looking down on his feet.

"Oh, baby, you'd never disappoint me." When Forth didn't acknowledge his words in any way, Phana stopped walking and forced Forth to face him.

"Someone hurt you. I can tell. You don't have to tell me about it, but just believe me that I would never do what that person did."

Forth's eyes filled with tears.

"It was my ex, Beam Baramee. He told me he could wait, but he was cheating on me the whole time. He told me I was frigid and couldn't fulfill his needs.

" He turned away from Phana, furiously wiping his eyes. "God, I can't believe I'm making such a mess of things. Here I am, with the hottest guy I've ever met, and all I can do is cry. You must think I'm so pathetic."

Phana wanted to hunt down this Beam Baramee guy and tear him apart, slowly.

Instead, he hugged Forth and whispered in his ear, "You think I'm hot?"

The unexpected question drew a small chuckle out of Forth. "You know you are."

"Well, I think you're a hundred times hotter than I could ever be. And I want to prove to you tonight that you're anything but frigid or pathetic. Remember, baby, that cheaters and bullies always blame their own mistakes and failures on other people. There's nothing wrong with you."

At last, Forth faced him and Phana was happy to see he'd stopped crying. His next words shocked Phana to the core.

"Who are you really, P'Pha? I feel like I've known you forever, and I'm trusting you with things I'd only ever tell to my best friend. What is this thing between us?"

It's a mate bond, Phana wanted to reply. He held those words back, because he didn't think he could explain being a werewolf to his mate.

"Why don't we find out together?"

ARIE78: I'm back, sorry for the late update due need to finished the other ff. Now i will focus on this ff. I feel excited due to weddingmagazine event. Finally Gxxod & Tae Darvid meet again. My power boost.
Make me wanna continue this ff.