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“To say I haven’t been as present with my pack lately would be a gross understatement.” He sighs, running his fingers through his hair so that it sticks up along the top. “As their alpha, I shouldn’t be hiding away in my house. I’m supposed to be managing things — taking care of my wolves. Only, these last few months, I’ve barely been able to take care of myself.”
I raise my eyebrows. Not only does Dimitri have a pack, but Dimitri is their alpha?
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised — not with the way he commands a room with nothing but his presence.
“Wolves are pack animals,” he continues. “And we shifters are no exception.”
“So that’s what you meant by denying your wolf,” I say slowly. “You need to spend more time with your pack?”
“That’s part of it.” Dimitri looks suddenly cagey, and I wonder what more he could possibly have to tell me.
“There’s . . . a myth among shifters. At least, I thought it was a myth.” He takes a deep breath and presses the tips of his fingers together, staring down at his own hands. “Every wolf has a fated mate — another individual somewhere in the world who is made for them in every way.”
My heartbeat quickens, and my blood runs hot. “Like a soul mate?”
Dimitri shakes his head. “It’s more than that. Fated mates are bonded in a way that’s . . . undeniable. They say the strength of the bond is such that a wolf would be driven insane trying to resist it.”
I take a deep breath, my heart sinking. “So . . . your wolf needs to find his mate.”
There’s a long pause as Dimitri studies me, and the air between us seems to electrify. “I’ve already found her.”
“Oh.” My breath hitches, and I can’t seem to fill my lungs. What is he saying? That he’s supernaturally bound to some other girl, or . . .
“You’re my fated mate,” he says in a rough voice, his eyes swirling with amber. “I knew it the moment we first met, but all this time . . . I’ve tried to deny it.”
A sudden warmth blossoms in my chest, growing and growing until it snuffs out all the doubts and apprehension I’ve been feeling.
So I haven’t been imagining this strange connection between me and Dimitri. In the beginning, I thought it was just a mutual attraction, but when we fought after the gala, I knew it was something more. Sending him away caused me physical pain — a soul-deep ache I’d never felt before.
Hot tears sting my eyes, and I don’t realize how close we’ve gotten until Dimitri swipes one away with the pad of his thumb. His touch is featherlight along my cheek, and I find myself craving more.
“I shouldn’t have told you all of this,” he growls, clearly angry with himself. “It’s too much.”
“N-no,” I choke, shaking my head. “I’m glad you told me.” I drag in a shuddering breath, trying to get it together, but I can’t seem to stop the flow of tears. “I just don’t understand . . .”
“Understand what?”
Despite my efforts to be strong, I feel suddenly vulnerable. Exposed. “Would it really be so bad?”
Dimitri’s forehead scrunches in confusion.
“To be with a human, I mean. That’s why you’re denying your wolf, right?” My bottom lip quivers as I fight the swell of emotion threatening to overtake me. “That’s why we can’t be together?”
A thousand tiny expressions flit through Dimitri’s eyes — understanding, hope, relief, elation.
“No,” he says, shaking his head as he scoops my hands into his. My chest pinches as he brings my fingers to his lips, holding them tenderly as he plants a quick kiss on my knuckles. “No.” Another kiss. “There is nothing wrong with you, Jules — and no one else I want to be with.”
“Then what is it?” I ask, my voice cracking. “I know I’m just your maid, but —”
Dimitri gives a hard shake of his head, and a steely look comes over him. “Jules, you were never just my maid.” He drops his gaze, voice quivering. “You are everything to me.”
At those words, my heart cracks open, and I’m overcome with the urge to touch him — to crawl into his lap and wrap myself around him. To never let him go.
But there’s still something he’s not telling me — some reason we can never be. “Then what is it?” I ask, not caring that I sound desperate. “Why can’t we be together?”
Dimitri’s expression hardens. He drops our joined hands to his lap, though he doesn’t let me go. “You don’t know what you’re asking,” he growls. “What it would mean to be with me.”
“So tell me!” I demand, fed up with all the secrets. “Is it shifting every full moon? Bringing back dead animal carcasses after a hunt? What could be so bad that you won’t just tell me?”
