13.

"Jessica...Can I please talk to you for a moment?"

I uncontrollably shivered at the sound of his sexy voice calling out my name like that and almost mewled out loud too, surprising the hell out of myself. Holy sweet skies! What in the absolute fuck?!? I mentally cursed my body's reaction to the sacred Moon and back and firmly denied myself another glance at him no matter how much I desired to, shoving myself closer to Carrie instead.
No. *I don't want to.* I didn't want to talk to him, I didn't want to go anywhere near him!

The warriors continued to growl at him in warning, openly defying his pack status and making me almost gasp in surprise in return. I honestly had no idea why they were doing this. I wasn't even part of their pack!

"Go away you big beast, you're scaring the little wolf. Go and pick on someone of your own size," Zara's voice came out a little more gravelly and threatening as she stared up at him, not bothering to hide the fact that her wolf was close to the surface.

*Holy shit. They're fucking crazy.* Why in the hell were they openly trying so hard to rile up their own freaking commander for Goddess' sake? Did they actually have no clue what a lone wolf was? That I wasn't worth it?

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," My mate's gentle voice caressed my hearing like a sensual touch as he softly spoke again after a moment, clearly determined to say whatever he had to say to me whether I wanted to hear it or not whilst completely disregarding his warriors' growls or threats as he kept acting like they weren't even there, despite their blatantly disrespecting behavior.

Wow. Either he could really control his wolf very well or maybe he was actually afraid that they could take him on.

*Don't be silly, Jess,* I mentally snorted to myself, immediately dismissing that last thought. *I mean, look at that body, not to mention that his wolf is also big as fuck.*

"You're my mate and I care for you, very much so, even if we've just found each other," I stupidly blinked and let my gaze trail up to his face, lastly realizing that I've been openly staring at the visible lines of his hard muscles hiding underneath that thin shirt, my cheeks immediately heating up with embarrassment.

Sweet Gods. What the hell was going on with me?

"I just wanted you to know that I would never hurt you, no matter what. I know that Nathan told you about my wolf," I continued to listen to his warm and alluring voice, my lips parting as I lastly registered what he just said.
"But I want you to know that he'd never hurt you either. You're his mate too, no matter how small or unimportant you think you are,"

I simply stared back into those beautiful chocolate eyes, my own rapidly filling with unshed tears as I could see that raw emotion glinting in them, his words echoing in my head like a catchy tune.

No. Oh dear Gods, no.

"I'm actually very happy that I found you, and so is he. The only difference is that he just got a little too excited," His clean-shaven cheeks quickly gained a pink tint as he said that, watching him nervously rub a hand against the back of his neck like a shy little boy whilst his gaze lowered to the ground.

*Oh my Goddess.*

"But I promise, I swear that I would never hurt you. I'd rather rip my heart out with my bare hands and offer it to you, just to prove how much you mean to me and how badly I want to just protect you and love you, the way you deserve,"

Oh crap no.

I'd barely realized that I had already started to cry as my vision blurred over and over again, small sobs wracking throughout my body as I held onto Carrie's with all I had.

*Oh sweet Moon you are utterly cruel.*

I heard the warriors dreamily sigh at the sound of his words, even receiving a thumbs up of encouragement from Carrie which made him chuckle and lightly shake his head before his gaze found my own again, quickly sobering back up.

"I just want you to give me a chance, nothing more. One small, single chance to prove myself to you. To prove you that I am worthy of your love and that I will never stop trying to protect you and cherish you as you are, little lone wolf, for the rest of my life,"

My own wolf whined within me at the sound of that, tormenting me with that desperate need to have ourselves closer to him and soothe his longing like the bond demanded of us, her fear of him long forgotten as I sat there and stared up at him, entirely speechless.

Fuck.

"Okay, if you don't give him a chance right now I swear I will," My lips parted with surprise and a little bit of amusement too, lowering my gaze to find Carrie's.
The warriors and my mate laughed a little at the sound of her goofiness, even making me forget all about those ugly tears now drying up on my face.

"So what if his wolf is a little bit of a freak in the sheets?"

He's...what?

Wait...S-she knew all about this? Wait, what am I even saying, of course she did! Her mate was the freaking Alpha!

"Maybe that's actually a good thing! I know that I wouldn't mind," She suggestively wiggled her eyebrows, making my cheeks heat up a little.
I let out a small giggle, consciously avoiding to look back at David as I kinda felt a little embarrassed after what she just said.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you should take this chance. See how it works. Maybe I don't know how this bond thingy, or mating or whatever it's called works but I'm telling you, don't run away from this. Don't turn him down. I don't know anything of your wolfy background, your history or whatever you have going on between pack wolves and lone wolves or whatever but I'm telling you, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to try," She offered me a kind smile and placed her hand over mine.

Shit. What if I was actually too afraid to do just that?