Tasting 181

181–In The Comfort Of His Scent

Nora:

I watched his face change colors. It was as if the reality and the intensity of the situation were slowly

dawning on him.

His eyes widened and he jumped off the bed, standing beside it with his hand on his forehead. “Did

you–did you feel that-,” he stammered, stepping back in shock.

“I did,” I uttered, discreetly adjusting the ring on my finger.

“Are you okay?” Instead of bolting out of my room like crazy, he moved back towards me.

“I’m fine now.”

“Um, are you able to transition now?” I guessed it was his way of slowly understanding the

seriousness of it. He decided to focus on my transition first.

I watched his face in silence before shaking my head slowly. “Are you in pain? Can you still feel

her?” He asked all these questions despite having just received the biggest shock of his life. I could

only imagine how many questions must be swirling in his head.

For me, it was shocking but not entirely unexpected. After feeling a mate bond with his two brothers,

this one seemed like the Moon Goddess’s way of laughing at me. She wanted me to know she

could give me many mates, yet none of them could entirely be mine due to the conditions and

situations we found ourselves in..

“No!” I felt ashamed for lying to him, but it was to protect myself. After I had told Ryker about me

and Cain, I saw how his behavior changed. His demands became unreasonable. I was still trying to

remember if I had told Cain any of my secrets. Now, I was even more secretive and wanted to take

any step after careful consideration.

“That’s too bad. What if we scared her off?” he mused aloud. Obviously, he meant me, I was the

one resisting her. But to deflect some of the blame away from me, he included his innocent self in

the mix as well.

“I’m confused,” I uttered, eager to see his reaction and hear him talk about our mate bond.

“Me too, but let’s discuss it later,” he said, lowering his head and speaking softly.

“Okay,” I conceded, sensing he wasn’t pushing to continue the conversation. I gave up.

“I’ll get you something warm. Change your clothes; you’re… wet,” he finally looked down, realizing

the situation was more awkward than we anticipated.

I nodded and watched him rush over to my closet, grabbing a black satin dress and a sweater. As

he marched my way, I noticed his eyes. repeatedly drifting to my body. He shook his head and

blinked frequently, clearly fighting some internal struggle.

I could be mistaken, but it honestly seemed like he was wrestling with something inside him. I took

the clothes from his hands and started making my way to the bathroom. Pausing briefly, I turned

around to

look at him.

“Will you still be here when I come out?” I needed to talk to him and

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101–In The Comfon Of His Scent

forbid him from telling anyone about the mate bond we’d felt. If Cain and Ryker found out, they

might do something reckless to ruin this bond for me.

“You will. I’m not the type to run away,” there was so much certainty in his eyes that I couldn’t help

but smile and slip into the bathroom.

Once inside and under the shower again, I twisted the ring to check up on Akira

“Are you okay?” I asked, filled with worry.

“I’m feeling so much better. You have no idea how grateful I am to you for letting me stay. Now that

I’ve felt a mate bond with another of my mates, new hopes have been born inside me. I’m not

hurting as much as before,” she spoke softly, causing me to feel pity and guilt for her. It wasn’t fair

to her that she had been mistreated and confined. I was keeping her caged, and her mates were

treating her poorly. She was. trying so hard to grasp onto hope, find happiness, and comfort for

herself.

“Let’s go outside and ask him not to tell anyone, okay?” I confirmed with her, ensuring she wouldn’t

feel suffocated if I kept her inside me again. The urge to transform was now gone.

I adjusted my ring and changed into the dress, stepping out of the bathroom. As Nash had

promised, he was still in the room. Though it seemed like he had been through a lot, he kept that

anxious side.

hidden from me, at least visibly.

“I’ve ordered some soup for you, and before you say you’re full, no excuses, just drink it,” he

insisted, making me blush and nod my head.

“You barely ever eat anything,” him treating me with so much care pulled my heartstrings.

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My hair was wet and draped loosely over my back and shoulders.

“Come here,” he gestured to the couch and sat down himself.

I followed his instructions and joined him on the couch.

“What happened was… out of the blue,” he began, and I let him continue.

“I…,” he paused, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before continuing, “I want to tell you that

the mate bond is a sacred thing. I’m sure it was shocking because your wolf woke up and

immediately found her mate. I can’t even imagine how she must be feeling, realizing she’s mated to

her stepbrother. I wish there was something that could have been done about it,” the way he spoke

about it gave me the impression he wasn’t going to openly discuss the mate bond with anyone. Not

that I wanted him to. In fact, I was going to say the same thing to him. I had heard Lord Atwood talk

about my mother and the deal she had made with him. Of course, Lord Atwood wouldn’t want to

break that deal, and I didn’t want him to feel pressured into making me his son’s mate and going

back on his agreement.

“I understand. Just please don’t tell anyone that my wolf woke up,” I finished, noticing the frown on

his forehead deepening.