14.

Silence seemed to stretch between us for what felt like an eternity, neither of us daring to make a single move.

I could feel my heart pounding again, standing rooted to my spot as I stared up at him, unsure of what to do or say. He was supposed to give me my keys back so that I could take my car and go home, but for some reason he kept hesitating to do so, gazing down at me with that strange look in his eyes.

"Uhm..." I awkwardly mumbled out, finally daring to unlock my stiff limbs and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind my ear before crossing my arms over my chest. I felt so weird and uncomfortable. I didn't like the way my skin tingled, subtly yearning to close that small distance between us and nestle myself between those muscly arms, have myself feel that comforting heat of his body and the powerful beat of his heart drumming underneath my ear as I rested my head against his chest.

He eventually blew out a dejected sigh and shoved his hand into his jeans' pocket, coming out with that set of keys I was so desperately waiting for.

That tiny and glittery fairy charm attached to the keychain glinted in the sunlight as he raised his hand and dangled them on his index finger, that hint of longing still dancing in his eyes as he peered down at me, looking like he didn't really want to give them back to me.
But I took an encouraging breath and prepared myself for the feel of those magical sparks, wasting but a single moment before I raised my hand and wrapped my fingers around them, about to gently pry them off of his when his hand suddenly wrapped around my own, completely engulfing it.

I immediately let out a small gasp of surprise, hating the way my body warmed in response. I wanted pull myself away, I really wanted to but for some reason I found myself completely powerless, my insides melting like hot lava as I stared up at him with disbelief, inhaling that delicious aroma that clung to him.

"You never gave me an answer," he softly said, peering between my eyes.

I blinked with confusion for a moment, quickly realizing that he was talking about what he'd asked of me earlier today during lunch time.

A chance. A small, single chance.

I hesitated for a long stretch of time, taken by surprise by that insane idea that he might actually care about what I thought and even respect my wishes. I hadn't believed that he was serious earlier today when he'd uttered all those beautiful words to me right in front of the girls. I thought that he was maybe just trying to soften my heart and make me give in to him.

*He's a pack wolf and pack wolves don't respect silly little lone wolves. Especially those silly little lone wolves that happen to be their mates. They simply take them, mate with them and keep them underneath them, shackled for life and forced into submission.*

Yet here I was, standing before him completely unharmed -save for that dull throb in my nether regions that kept nagging me whenever he was close- and apparently holding that key decision within the palm of my hand as he peered down at me with hope and yearning, patiently waiting for me to give him that precious answer.

"W-where did you go last night?" I blurted out of the blue, avoiding to give it to him right then and there as I myself wasn't even sure about what I wanted anymore, clinging to that bout of courage instead as I looked right back into his chocolate eyes with expectance.

His expression immediately faltered, blinking as he stared between my eyes, that simple question seeming to have taken him completely unprepared as he was the one hesitating now, a light blush coating his cheeks as he fought for an answer.
"I went for a..." he visibly swallowed, looking almost embarrassed as he momentarily lowered his gaze.
"A run," he mumbled out so quietly, making me frown with wonder and confusion before realization finally dawned upon me.

Oh. *Oh!*

Now it was my turn to blush, desperately fighting with my own traitorous mind as it fought so hard to try and make me picture him in such a compromising posture, the fact that I had already laid eyes on his bare skin only making it worse for my case because now I basically had way too much material for my wild imagination!

*Holy shit,* I forcefully stifled a tiny mewl as I lamentably lost the battle, getting a mental glimpse at exactly what was hiding underneath his simple shirt and blue jeans, my body reacting with furious want for his.

So scared that he would scent me again like he did last night I took a quick step back and tugged my hand free from his hold, easily slipping away as he let me go with no objections. He even allowed me to pull my keys away from his finger in the process and I took an extra step back for good measure, crossing my arms over my chest and trying to appear as calm and unaffected as possible as I looked back at him.

"Right," I cleared out my throat, producing a sober and focused frown, not failing to also notice the way that corner of his lips mildly twitched as if fighting back a certain lick of delight. *Damn.*

"S-so you say that you want me to give you a chance, but what will happen when he gets "a little too excited" again?" My brows raised, noticing that serious look quickly taking over his features as he solemnly swore,
"He won't. I swear. I will never touch you again,"

"...unless you...want me to," he added after a moment with a gentler tone, that small glint of lust in his gaze disappearing just as quick as it came as he intently peered at me.

"How can you be so sure that it won't happen again? Y-you're a pack wolf, a very strong one and I know that wolves with such a strong lineage like yours have very little restraint when it comes to mating! I know what you do to your weaker mates!" I quickly spewed out before that dose of boldness ran out and left me voiceless and weak again, my eyes widening a little as I watched him take a step closer.

"Do you now?" His head tilted to the side, making that silvery cross pendant attached to his ear dangle a little more.

I rapidly nodded, forcing myself to stand my ground in spite of that mild sense of alarm awakening within me.

"And what is it that we do to our smaller and weaker mates?" He expressed a frown, that maddening scent of his invading me again as he stepped even closer, making me tilt my chin up to look him in the eyes.

"You-" I thickly swallowed, my eyelids fluttering as I continued to look up at him, receiving a small nod of encouragement to keep going.

"You..." Words evaded me as I lastly realized the gravity of that accusation I was about to launch at him, my cheeks warming up as I felt myself quickly deflating.

His gaze turned so tender as he let it roam over my face, the hint of a candid smile dancing on his plump and sweet-looking lips.

"Jess..." My name rolled off his tongue like a sensual whisper, making me softly sigh and close my eyes for a moment as he raised his hand and traced the back of his fingers into a gentle caress over my cheek.

"I'm not a monster," I opened my eyes again, witnessing that raw hurt and dejection swimming in his as he continued to peer at me with that same tenderness.

"I may feel this strong desire to be with you but I'm not a monster. I would never force you to do anything. You're my mate for the Moon's sake! You're my gift from the Goddess! Why would I try to ruin it, why would I ever want to desecrate our bond like that? Who in their right mind would ever wish for such thing?"

My lips parted a little, staring up at him with wonder and even a little bit of awe as he spoke with such passion.

"Look, I'm not gonna be a hypocrite and try to tell you that all pack wolves are kind and patient little angels when it comes to mating but I can't let you keep believing all those tall and over-inflated lies your family must've told you either,"

"We may be stronger or fiercer than you or whatever but we're not savages. We're not heartless monsters and we certainly do not go around raping or subjugating our mates if they happen to have lower statuses or smaller and cuter little wolves," a small smile tugged at his lips after those last three words, his demeanor becoming lighter.

"Quite the contrary. We love having cute little mates because that means that we can take over the role of protector and show off our big muscles and over-inflated egos," he wiggled his brows, earning himself an amused giggle from me.

"And yes, Nathan is an asshole because he didn't think it through before telling you all that crazy shit and I'm so very very sorry for that. I didn't mean to scare you.
I'm not twisted or psychotic. I promise," he truthfully said, peering down at me like a sad little puppy.

"That's just a stupid joke going on between us and that idiot didn't realize that you won't understand it," he frowned a little, making me blink and stare back at him, not failing to also take notice of the way he'd talked about his Alpha as if they were human buddies.

"I'm not going to turn into a big hairy savage and start humping your leg or some shit," he playfully said with a grin, making me gasp and then burst into a fit of laughter, his grin widening as he watched me with blatant delight.

"You just took us by surprise-I-I didn't expect for your scent to...affect us like that," he stuttered with a hint of embarrassment, those dimples in his cheeks dusted with a light shade of pink.

"But it's all under control now. I promise,"

"You can even start running around naked if you'd like. I won't even bat an eye at you," my eyes widened and he swore under his breath, suddenly becoming clumsy and erratic as he tried to explain himself,
"O-oh I mean, of course I'll want to because you're incredibly sexy and beautiful and I..." I gasped a little and his eyes widened too, turning downright distressed and panicky, but for some reason that didn't hinder that apparently uncontrollable influx of words coming out of his sensual mouth. If anything, it only made him talk more.

"On second thought, you might not want to do that because then I'd have to go around whooping some asses," he frowned a little as if sensing something weird.
"He just decided that he doesn't like the idea of other males seeing your uhm..." his eyes flicked downwards over my body, thickly swallowing as if he'd just done something he wasn't supposed to, his silly and rather boyish behavior making him look so incredibly sweet and innocent.
And before I could scare myself out of it I pushed myself up on my tippy toes, watching that confused frown take over his features as I offered him a smile and wrapped my arm around the back of his neck, coaxing him to lean closer before I pressed my lips against his cheek into a soft and longer than necessary kiss.