“Nicu, do not come near her,” Vasile said coolly, not raising his voice, not snapping his teeth but with completely composed wrath that promised reprisal if not obeyed instantly.

Nicu must have submitted because the Alpha’s attention was once again on her. Fabulous, she thought.

“You will not deny me, Mina. I have waited a century for you. You are young, but not so young that you do not know what is happening. Sixteen? Many human females are married with a babe on the way at this age.” Her eyes widened in surprise at his bluntness. “However, we are not human are we? We are Canis lupis; we have one true mate designed solely for us. Some of us wait hundreds of years before they find their mate. I can wait a little longer if I must. Do not use your age as an excuse to avoid what is. You are mine. Something tells me you are not a fool, but if you think that I will let you go, then a fool you have become.”

“You certainly know how to make a woman feel revered,” Alina bit out. Her tone of voice shocked him, and it gave her the opportunity to knock his hand away and step out of his reach. He started for her but stopped when her father’s voice boomed through the air.

“Alpha! Welcome.” Petre and his wife walked over to where Alina and Vasile stood. They both bared their neck to him and then were careful to keep their eyes anywhere but on his. “I see you have met our daughter, Alina.” When Vasile did not answer, her father glanced up to his face, blanched, and quickly looked away. “Perhaps, we will take your warriors in and give them a drink.”

Alina started to call out to her father but her mother caught her eyes and shook her head one time. The stern look and tight lips told her that her mother meant business. As she watched her only hope of getting away from the wolf at her door, so to speak, moving further and further away, she bit her lip trying to think of an excuse to follow them. Her thoughts were interrupted when a large, warm hand enveloped hers. She looked down and saw her fingers interlaced with Vasile’s, and it felt so good, so right. He pulled her over to a bench where she and her mother often sat to talk after the day’s work was done. He sat and nodded for her to sit next to him. So she sat; what else could she do?

“Tell me why you do not want me,” he said bluntly.

Her brow drew together as she looked up at him. “I never said I did not want you. I am just young.”

“That is not enough of a reason to turn your mate away. Tell me the true reason you deny me?”

She looked away, not wanting him to see the shame on her face. She wished desperately that it was not there. “We are not the same,” she finally admitted.

“I would hope not,” he chuckled. “I very much like our differences and hope to enjoy them more in the future.”

She blushed at his insinuation. It was as improper as it was bold.

“It is not improper for me to desire my true mate,” he told her hearing her thoughts. “Bold, perhaps, but not improper.”

“You should not say such things to me.”

“I assureyou that it is better at this point that I say such things instead of do such things,” Vasile said smoothly.

“Are you always so brazen with females?” She glared up at him attempting to use her anger to cover up her embarrassment at having such an Adonis of a male so very interested in her.

“Would it make you jealous if I was?” He grinned wolfishly at her.

She wanted to scream yes. She wanted to tell him that if he ever looked at another female again she would―

“You would what?” he purred.

Somehow he had moved without her noticing. He bent down closer to her face with his lips only inches from her own. He was reading her thoughts again.

“What would you do to a she-wolf, if I looked at another female?”

Alina’s eyes dropped to his full, sensual lips and clamped her own together to keep from leaning forward and seeing if his were as soft as they appeared. She looked away quickly out into the forest where there was not a desirable male staring back at her. She cleared her throat before she answered. “Nothing, I would do nothing. You are free to look at whom you wish. There are no mate marks on you.”

Vasile gazed at the beautiful steel eyed beauty sitting beside him. She didn’t know it but he had seen her before in the market place about a year ago. He had been drawn to her, but he had chalked it up to the fact that she was exceptionally beautiful. She had been arguing with a merchant, her fierce eyes flashing as she demanded the merchant give a fair price to the older woman who had been trying to buy fruit. He could tell she was still fairly young so he had not allowed himself to dwell on her too long. Now, a year later, she had matured quite a bit. She was perfect with shiny brown hair, fine delicate features, and a mouth that called to him as a siren called for her next victim. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and carry her off to a den and bed down with her and make her his, blood, body, and soul. His wolf was pacing inside of him snarling at him to claim her, she was right there, just claim her. Age did not matter to the wolf; as far he could tell she was no longer a child. A child could not bear children, a child would not stir the man in him, and she definitely did not act like a child. The only thing that stopped him from taking her then was the look in her eyes. It was one of longing but also of doubt. She truly did not believe she was his mate, and he did not think it had anything to do with her age. Despite the mental bond, she continued to deny him. He released her hand and did not miss the slight drop in her shoulders that revealed to him her disappointment. She need not have worried. He reached up and brushed her hair over her shoulder revealing the elegant line of her neck. As he leaned closer Alina stilled; even her breathing stopped. His lips paused only centimeters from her ear and he took in a deep breath. Her scent hit him like a runaway carriage, and his hand slipped under her hair and wrapped around the back of her neck.. The skin to skin contact steadied and grounded him and kept him from doing something rash, like sinking his teeth into her.