As Mina and Tabitha walked off, the wolf came forward to stare up at her.
"You are beautiful, aren't you?" she asked, reaching down to stroke his ears again. He licked her hand before he rubbed himself against her legs much like a cat might.
"C'mon," she said, indicating the courtyard with a nod of her head. "I don't really want to be alone tonight and you look like you might appreciate somewhere warm and dry to sleep."
He padded inside the gate while she locked the door and made her way over to the renovated stable/apartment.
Her heart heavy, Bride was grateful that she had this one tiny place left, otherwise she would be in a hotel room tonight. Or worse, her parents' house.
She loved them dearly, but she wasn't in the mood to answer their questions or see the look of disappointment on her mother's face as she lamented the fact that if Bride didn't get married, she'd never have any more grandchildren.
At least here in her own place she had some comfort.
Maybe.
She opened the door and switched on the lights. Luckily, the water and electricity for this apartment was turned on since it ran off the same line that provided the water and electricity for her store.
The wolf hesitated as he looked around the three hundred square feet of boxes and artwork.
"Oh," she said playfully, "you feeling picky, huh?"
If she didn't know better, she would swear he shook his head no before he came in and started nosing around her boxes.
After locking the door, Bride went to the dusty desk and dropped her keys on top of it. Then she pulled the cover from the couch and coughed as she unearthed a dust bunny farm of death.
"I really hate you, Taylor," she said quietly as she sniffed. "I hope you choke on your skinny new girlfriend's thong."
As if he sensed her sadness, the wolf came over and rubbed against her side.
Bride sank down to the floor to pull him into a tight hug.
The wolf didn't complain at all as she let her tears fall into his snowy fur. He sat there quietly with his head on her shoulder as pain flooded her. How could she have been so stupid as to think for a minute that she loved Taylor? Why had she given him so much of her life and time when he'd only been using her?
Was she really so desperate for love that she would lie to herself about him? "I just wanted someone to love me for me," she whispered to the wolf. "Is that so wrong?"
Vane couldn't breathe as Bride held him in a death grip and her words tore through him. Worse, he understood exactly what she meant. Rejected by everyone except his brother and sister, he knew that the only thing that had saved him from being the omega wolf in his pack had been his willingness to kill anyone who tried to make him or Fang a scapegoat.
Every time they had tried to pick on them, Vane had fought back, and with maturity, he'd grown to such a size that no one dared challenge him again.
Not even his father.
How could anyone hurt Bride like this? His heart pounded wildly as the wolf in him craved blood from the man who made her cry.
He didn't understand what kind of man could voluntarily let her go. Once his kind mated, it was eternal. Unbreakable.
And now that he had confirmation that she was in fact his predestined mate, he was honor bound to protect her until she either finished their mating ritual by accepting him or they parted ways.
The latter wouldn't affect her at all. But as a wolf, he would never be able to have sex with another female so long as Bride lived.
That was completely unacceptable to him. Vane Kattalakis wasn't meant for enforced celibacy. The idea of spending the next few decades impotent was enough to make him do someone damage.
But how could a human ever accept an animal as her mate?
Damn the Fates for this. They were evil bitches who lived for no other purpose than to make others suffer.
The phone rang. Bride released him and went to answer it while Vane nosed around the small, cramped room. It was a dismal place.
"Hey, Tabby." Bride pulled a sheet away from a table and sent a box falling.