Now that only the two of them stood on the paved path, a certain nervousness took ahold of Quinn.
She pulled her hand out of his, her eyes shifting away from his intense gaze. âSo, uh...I'll just take
you to the pack house first...I'm certain that's where you'll be staying during your time here.â
âOkay, lead the way.â
Quinn walked in front, forcing confidence in each of her steps until they made it to the marketplace.
"Our pack is small, but we grow our own food and sell it both to the people of our pack and others.
We also trade food for weapons, it is an attribute of ours, we use it to coax other packs into trusting
and forming an alliance with us. Thus, this is our marketplace and the people here are mostly
farmers.â
âNice and creative...we don't really plant on our land, like most packs, we buy food in bulk and
distribute it.â
âThat works too, but since our pack is small and a little low in the rankings, we need a selling point.â
âWell, that makes sense.â
As they walked past the stalls splayed out along the sidewalk, the people bowed to them, some
even offering Quinn various fruits, which she respectfully declined. She had enough at home.
The next stop was the place of interest, the pack house. The massive building was painted in pure
white, and it stood tall in the center of the land. âThis is our pack house. Mostly teenagers who have
yet to find their mates live here. In our pack, it's tradition for the dominant wolf to build a house for
their mate as soon as they find them.â
âYou think so?â He chuckled, the sound as dark as the night. âYou don't get to tell me what concerns
me and what doesnât, Quinn. Everything about you concerns me. Quit trying to push me away,
you're mine now, not his...at least acknowledge that fact.â
âWhat are you saying? I'm not~"
A low growl rumbled through his chest as he twisted her towards him. âFinish that statement if you
dare.â
Quinn's lips wobbled at the anger in his voice and the dark abyss behind his eyes. He moved closer
towards her, forcing her to retreat until her back was against the rough bark of a tree. He caged her
against it, hauling submission out of her with nothing but his intense gaze. âI don't think you
understand this, Quinn. Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, you are still my mate
regardless, and you're always going to be. So if I were you, I'd get used to me being around.â
âMate...? What do you mean?â
"Stop pretending to not know...you've been doing that since the very night we met while I had to be
forcing my wolf under control and trying hard to not claim you since you obviously weren't ready. I
was alright with that, but pretending that a bond doesn't exist between us is as far as my tolerance
goes.â
âI donât understand...â Quinn's eyes were wide with confusion now. What was he talking about? Her
mate? He was her mate? How and since when? âWhat bond? I will be honest, I do feel attracted to
you, but my wolf has never acknowledged you as our mate. I don't know what you're talking about.â
"Are you lying to me, Quinn?â The tone of his voice made it impossible for her to lie, did he not
know that?
Quinn shook her head. âI'm not. I swear I'm not.â
A sigh left his lips as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. âAlright, I'm not sure what's going on
with you since it's almost impossible for a wolf to not be able to scent out their mate, but I'm going
to believe you, which means that I also forgive you. But since you know now...you have no excuse. I
refuse to have you continuously running away from me when I've been waiting my whole life for
you. You're mine, Quinn...or perhaps my words alone won't assure you of that. Should I start moving
a little faster? Fast enough to leave my mark on your neck?â
He pushed himself closer to her, and a shiver wracked through Quinn as his hand reached for her
face, holding it still as he leaned down to kiss her.
His lips, they were as soft as the first time he kissed her five nights ago...but now the kiss was
rougher, carved out of dominance and possessiveness. His free hand reached around her waist,
pulling her body flush against him so his warmth and the sparks could flow freely from him to her.
When he pulled back, Quinn was panting...her legs feeling weak beneath her. âA-Alpha Zayd...?"
"Or perhaps that's taking it too far...must I show you who you belong to by different means...? After
all, there are many ways to leave my mark on you without actually leaving it, right Quinn?â
dead