Taken by my mate
Chapter twenty-three

Covyn

Jealousy. Every person in the room looked at us with jealousy, not the pure lust I expected with her in that tight dress, no bra, in my lap. I didn’t know how she knew, but she was right. Most humans would have been too terrified to even leave their rooms let alone successfully fight back.

Someone was bringing around drinks and Evadiene propped her head on her elbow to smirk at me. I leaned over and took her glass, moving it in front of me. She picked up her water, and I was sure she purposely let some trickle down her chin and between her breasts. This woman…

She heard me growl at her and gave me a sideways glance with a smirk. Evadiene knew what she was doing, knew the power of her body on me.

Spencer said something to her and she gave her response before he left. I watched her start eating, and then he returned with a glass of, apparently, whiskey for her.

“Thanks sweetie,” she breathed, accepting the glass and taking a large sip. “Something to say, love?”

I shook my head, filling my own mouth with food. In the least, her tight dress showed off both of her marks, though they both looked equally red and sore which shouldn’t have been possible.

I could see her trying to avoid touching them as her hair brushed over them whenever she moved. After a few minutes of this, Spencer pulled his hair tie out and handed it to her, not turning to her as he did. I seriously looked for the pull of attraction in Evadiene, and the moment I did I regretted it. She felt nothing but gratitude and tied her hair out of the way before returning to her food.

I don’t deserve her.

She finished what she could eat, and I noticed that she ate less then even the female shifters. Yet I wouldn’t call her thin, nor was she built.

She had strong thighs, arms, and core muscles but they didn’t appear toned when they weren’t in use. She had also handled herself well with everything earlier, but I needed to be the strong one.

Her cup emptied and Spencer took it to refill when it had barely been set down.

“Trained him already?” I chuckled.

Her eyes drifted to me. “What?” Her tone was too casual for my joke. “I won’t spare you the entertainment, you can ask Spencer.” He returned with her drink and she stood and announced, “I’m going to see Daley and meet the other women.”

Spencer stopped to look at me. “Do you want me to follow her when you’re around, Alpha?”

I groaned, clearly the correct answer was, “Not tonight, I’ve got my eyes on her. Anyone stupid enough to touch her in front of me would be dead before the sun came up.”

He nodded and settled into his seat, finally touching his own beer. After his first sip his eyes still darted toward Evadiene’s laugh.

“I’d guess you’d had this job all your life and not just a few hours with your chain so taught,” I chuckled at him.

He also looked at me just as slowly. “I take all my jobs seriously, but I’m surprised you can’t feel her. Her hands were shaking so bad just coming to dinner that she almost went back to bed. When you took her beer I asked if there was something better to calm her nerves and she said whiskey.

Alpha, is she blocking you that well?-“ he shook his head. “-well I guess anyone the Goddess matched to you would need to be incredibly strong willed. She was uncomfortable just sitting in your lap wearing your giant clothes yesterday, how do you think she went from that to this?”

He gestured over to her, hovering her hand above a mated males arm and laughing at some joke he’d apparently made. Another male joined the group and she shifted around Daley between her and Ellion casually and whispered in her ear.

“She’s doing it for you,” he continued. “I’m sure it’s a little to torture you, but it’s mostly to show she belongs here. She knows as well as you do that biting of his finger shows her strength here as much as it dishonours his family.

“That’s why she offered to accept compensation over further visual punishment, dishonouring his family more.”

“It’s too late for that,” I snarled. “I dished out their punishment before coming here.”

He shrugged. “Then the bed is made, but your mate is right there. Strong, confident, and trying to get you to pay attention. Don’t take her just living through that for granted, I know better than most just how fragile life can be.”

He walked away with that, went to talk to McLain who was near Ellion. Evadiene didn’t turn to me despite me knowing she could feel my gaze.

Stubborn minx

I got up, taking my coat with me and placed it over her shoulders. Her hand reached up to touch mine there but she was deep in a story.

“… absolutely not was I okay,” she laughed. “I broke my arm in two places and needed a cast for two weeks. On top of that by father said I couldn’t go swimming again. I moved out soon after that for a time.”

“And this is when you were just a kid?” Saris asked, gasping in surprise.

Evadiene shrugged. “That’s how it is in my family. I’m the eldest, so I left first.”

I kissed her ear and whispered, “I’m sorry, can we stop fighting and talk about it later?”

She spun in my arms and hugged me. “…. That must be why me and Covyn matched,” she smiled, but she seemed to be pleading for something from me.

I bent down and kissed her. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

I couldn’t tell if she did but she gestured for me to lead the way and hugged the women goodbye.

I led her outside, watching her smile to those we passed like she knew them. When we were finally outside she turned to me but I didn’t give her time to speak, pressing my lips to hers quickly.

I could feel she was still angry but the longer I touched her the more willing she was to hear me out.

“What was that for?” She asked when I finally released her.

“Spencer mentioned that you were nervous about coming to dinner,” I began.

“He said I was nervous?” She gasped, “but I…”

“He told me your hands were shaking, and you wanted to go back to bed. It’s okay.

You have every right to be, and if you asked I would have excused you from coming. You don’t need to put yourself through anything for image. It’s only dinner,” I assured.

She looked up at me. “Is that all you had to say?”

“And I thought you could use a break.” A leaned against the wall behind me, bending my knees slightly to be on eye level. “I want you to enjoy being here, not just endure it.”

She came into my arms and I ran my hands over the back of her dress.

“I’m tired,” she replied after a minute and I could tell she meant of people.

“We don’t need to go back inside. We can walk around the outside of the house to my balcony,” I offered and she nodded against my chest

I took her hand in mine and led her to the path. The air was warm and comfortable, a slight breeze rolling through to sway her hair.

“I love summer nights more than anything,” she breathed. “I would camp outside every night if I ever trusted people enough to be so out in the open.”

I squeezed her hand. “I know we can replace a solution for that.”

“By the way how did your meeting go?” She asked suddenly, swinging our joined arms.

“Well, I suppose, despite the bad business. A lot of our own goals are in sight, and that’s a positive,” I told her, bringing her in close to my side, smelling her scent deeply.

“And what are your goals?” Evadiene asked, looking behind us as other’s came out side.

“To be the best,” I told her vaguely, it wasn’t important and definitely nothing to make her worry about now. “We are known for our strength. But with how Garett acted today,.. I hope you understand why I had to act swift and severe towards him and his people.”

She stiffened against me and I urged her to keep walking. “I don’t really want to talk about that.”

“Evadiene, I think it’s important that we do talk about it…”

“I thought it was you! I was cozy in bed and heard the door open so gently… I don’t have amazing hearing or smelling, so I felt his touch that didn’t give me any sparks and then I saw his face inches from mine.” She had stopped and moved in front of me now.

“I have been through a lot of hardships; fought off attackers, been robbed, mugged been present during hold-ups… so believe me when I say I’ve been through it.” She took a deep breath but I was in no position to interrupt her with my jaw on the ground. “But I have never been asleep, in my bed.

“I have never been in my house when the space was violated, and if my house was ever broken into I moved. Now Covyn? What am I supposed to do now? You won’t exactly let me move away, will you? So should I not sleep again?”

My eyebrows pulled together. “You went back to sleep. I would have gladly moved you to any other room but you seemed so adamant on that bed. I… “

“I was exhausted. You weren’t listening, I had a room full of men staring at me, and the only thing that matched how sure you were that you were right was how sure I was that I needed sleep.- Owe,” she winced, backing up from me when I tried to bring her towards me, but grazed my wolf’s mark.

“They ache,” she whined. “I don’t know why I thought they would heal magically or something, but every time I move I get shooting pains. Navi’s is a little better, maybe you hit a nerve that his wider bite missed.”

I moved to touch it but she swatted my hand away. “It shouldn’t be this irritated, how are the wounds Navi treated on your legs?”

She blushed at the memory but Navi was howling in my head at having snuck a taste of her before me.

“They’re fine, just a little raw now.” she admitted, looking away.

“So something is wrong with your marks, it doesn’t make sense.” Not a single part of me was wiling to suggest it was because we hadn’t had sex to complete the bond. This kind of reaction hadn’t happened so quickly before, and shouldn’t have gotten worse with me staying close and tending to them.

We were climbing up the stairs to my balcony now, and I pick her up the last few steps, cradling her in my arms. “I will tend to them all night if I have to to get you some relief.”

She squirmed in my arms. “Covyn, you know what that will do to me.”

I smirked and kissed her head. “Nothing is going to happen tonight, I promise. Just taking care of you.”

Before she could protest further I started kissing her, then moved my kisses across her jaw and down to her neck. She moaned into my ear but I ignored the sound, entering the bedroom and bringing her to the freshly made bed.

Laying her down I went to close and lock the other doors, sliding a few metal bars through latches on the main door. They were installed while the room was being cleaned, and it would be replaced this week, but lifting it into place with the bars would hold it for now.

When I turned back, Evadiene was sitting up to take off her shoes and I knelt in front of her to help.

“I’m fine,” she mumbled, kicking the first one to the floor.

“I know you can do it yourself, but let me treat you like the queen you are.”