“You can and you do. And his name is Wadim,” he said, attempting to keep his wolf from making an appearance. She stood, staring at him, feeling very unsure of herself. He was trying not to seem imposing, but his six foot, three-inch frame towered over her. He was too close than was considered appropriate for people who’d just met, but his wolf wouldn’t let him move back.

“Are you sure?” she asked. She was serious and that baffled him.

“Do you hear me?” he asked through the bond.

Her breath caught as she nodded.

“Do you feel me?” Wadim pictured himself running his fingers through her long tresses and he watched in utter fascination as she closed her eyes and tilted her head back as though he was physically touching her.

“How did you do that?” Zara asked him as her eyes popped open.

“That would be the true mate bond. We have a powerful mental link. If I imagine I’m touching you, you will feel it as if I really were. It’s one of the ways we find our true mates.”

“And the other ways?”

Wadim rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced around them. The corridor was empty, but it still felt like too public a place to have that conversation. “Would you, um, maybe like to come down to the archive room and talk with me?” He didn’t want to freak her out, but he didn’t want her to leave either.

“What’s the archive room?”

“It’s a room in the basement where we keep all of our records. The entire history of the werewolf race is contained there. A member of my family has acted as the pack historian for centuries, and now it is my turn,” he explained “My room is down there too. But that’s not where I’m suggesting we go,” he added quickly. “There’s a main room at the bottom of the stairs where most of the texts are kept.”

“You’re going to explain this mate business in more detail, right?” She truly wanted to know. Wadim could feel her eagerness. She longed for it to be true.

He nodded. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“Anything?”

“Yes, of course. I have no secrets from you. We are true mates. Not that I could keep anything from you anyway,” he said grinning and tapping the side of his head.

“Okay,” she said finally. “I’ll come with you to talk.”

It took everything he had not to throw his arm up in victory. He held out his hand to her, needing to touch her. After a long pause, she slipped her small hand in his. Wadim turned so that she couldn’t see his face. His eyes closed and he focused on the incredible sensation of her skin against his. Mine, his wolf growled. Indeed, he thought, she is ours.

He led her to the stairs, and then down into what all the other pack members liked to call the dungeon. It didn’t look like a dungeon, of course. It looked much more like the library of…well…an ancient supernatural being. The walls were lined with ancient leather bound books, and plush worn leather armchairs were scattered throughout the room. After a few awkward moments, he reluctantly released her hand and let her roam the room, looking at the books and then the tables with their intricate carvings. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He had to make himself stand still because his wolf wanted to follow her around like a puppy and attempt to lick any part of her he could reach. Good grief, man, pull it together, he growled at himself.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, hoping that would keep him from grabbing her and sitting her in his lap, where her neck would be positioned very close to his mouth. He felt his canines lengthen at the thought of marking her. He snapped his mouth closed and willed them to go back to normal.

Zara pulled out a chair at one of the tables and looked up at him. “Okay, so the mind link thingy is one way that you say that you know we are true mates. I assume this means no other wolf will be able to hear my thoughts.”

Wadim growled. “No, you’re mine.”

“Okay, so that was a little weird and caveman-ish,” she said and he could tell she was relaxing a bit.

“Sorry,” he grumbled.

“What are the other signs?”

“You have a scent only I can smell.” She blushed, causing her skin to heat and intensifying that smell. Wadim closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “And it’s mouthwatering.”

“Again, weird. Even a little weirder, actually. But out of curiosity, what do I smell like?”

His eyes opened and landed on her. He knew they were glowing by the way her mouth dropped open. “Caramel and toffee,” he practically moaned.

She looked a little afraid, which he didn’t like.

“Forgive me, Zara. I know this is all new to you. I’m fighting instinct and it makes my wolf edgy.”

“And no one else can smell me?”

“Well they can smell you,” Wadim responded, “but they can’t smell what I smell. Like if you stunk like body odor, then obviously they could smell that, but they couldn’t smell the toffee…I mean, not that you would ever stink…I’m just saying…it’s different…never mind.” His voice faded and he growled something to himself that Zara didn’t catch.

“What’s the other thing that confirms we’re mates?” she asked, putting the poor wolf out of his misery.

Wadim hesitated briefly before pulling his shirt over his head. Taking it on faith that his markings had indeed grown, he turned so that she could see him. He wasn’t a full dominant so his markings didn’t come all the way to the front. They ran across his back, and now, he hoped, up to the back of his neck.

“These are mate markings,” he said pointing behind him. “Every male has them. When a werewolf meets his true mate, they change. Do they go all the way up to my neck?”

“Yes,” she said a little breathlessly.

“They weren’t up to my neck this morning. They changed. These markings will match the ones on your body.”

“I don’t have any markings on my body.”

Wadim turned back around and put his shirt back on. “Maybe you didn’t yesterday, but I’d bet every priceless book in this room that somewhere on your beautiful body, you wear my markings.”

Her face fell and her eyes filled with sorrow. “You wouldn’t think my body was beautiful if you’d seen it.”

Wadim felt as if she’d kicked him in the gut. She didn’t get it, but then, why would she? She wasn’t raised with her own kind. He scooted his chair closer until his feet were nearly touching hers. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He was less than a foot from her kissable lips. “Zara, you don’t understand exactly how powerful the true mate bond is. And you shouldn’t, I guess, because you didn’t grow up learning our customs. But somehow, I will prove to you that there is nothing about you that could ever make me not want you. Nothing.”