Chapter 16 Chapter 16
Zarlia swallowed hard. Her throat felt dry, her chest rising and falling too quickly. “Wh—what do you mean… I belong to you?”, she managed, her voice trembling despite her effort to sound bold.
One corner of his mouth curved upward. “Is that your third question?”
She huffed, crossing her arms though it did little to hide the heat creeping up her neck. “This is not fair”.
His smirk deepened, slow and satisfied. “That’s what I thought”
“Just tell her already, tell her no matter how far she runs—we’ll always find her” Asher growled, his voice louder without the suppression ring that sat behind her, next to a vase.
She rolled her eyes but the act barely held. “Fine. Then here’s my third question—what’s a mate?”
The amusement in his eyes dimmed, replaced by something darker. He stepped closer, close enough for her to feel the warmth radiating off his bare skin. “A mate,” he began, voice low and deliberate, “is the other half of your soul. The one your body, your instincts, your wolf craves beyond reason”.
He paused, watching for her reaction. She couldn’t look away.
“It’s not a choice”, he went on, his words slow and rough. “It’s a bond. When we find our mate, we’d kill for them… die for them. Touching them feels like fire. Being away from them feels like starvation. And once you’ve bitten them…” His eyes flicked to her throat again, “…there’s no going back”.
Zarlia’s lips parted slightly. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. “That’s…” she whispered, her voice fading as her mind tried to piece together everything he just said. It made sense in a way. Was that why she felt the way she felt whenever he was close…like now, was that why she longed for him?
He tilted his head, studying her with a faint, knowing smile. “You’re nervous”.
She blinked and took a shaky breath. “No, I’m not”.
“Liar”. His hand rose before she could react, fingers brushing her jaw. The contact was feather-light, yet her entire body responded as if he’d set her on fire.
Her heart thudded violently. She didn’t know if she wanted to move away or closer.
Then, softly—like a question she’d been afraid to ask all along—she said, “Why me?”
The playful curve in his lips vanished, and for the first time that night, Stetson looked …uncertain. His hand froze against her cheek. His eyes softened but the storm behind them raged on.
“Because she’s the one I want” Asher said at he back of his mind.
The silence was heavy as it stretched between them, thick and heavy.
Stetson didn’t look away but he didn’t answer either. His jaw flexed once, then again, like he was fighting with himself.
Finally, in a low, tired voice, he said, “I don’t know”.
Zarlia blinked, caught off guard.
He exhaled slowly, his gaze falling somewhere past her shoulder. “You didn’t have to be… special. You just are. The moon doesn’t ask for reasons when it decides”.
Something in his words tugged at her chest—not tenderness exactly but something raw and lonely underneath his control.
She hesitated; her voice quiet. “And the mate bond? What is it really?”
His eyes shifted to her again, dark and unreadable. She didn’t notice that her gaze had already drifted lower, tracing the lines of his chest down to the towel at his waist. The sight made her pulse quicken, and he noticed.
Without warning, his fingers caught her chin, tilting her face back up until their eyes met. “Don’t,” he said softly, his tone both a warning and a plea.
Zarlia’s breath trembled. “Don’t what?”
His thumb brushed her jaw, slow and deliberate. “Don’t look at me like that when I’m trying to explain.”
Her heart was racing again, louder now.
He took a small step closer — not touching, but close enough that his scent wrapped around her, fresh and wild like the woods after rain. “The mate bond,” he said quietly, “ties two souls together. You feel what I feel. You’ll sense me even before I walk into a room. If I’m angry, you’ll know. If I’m hurt, you’ll ache.”
Her lips parted slightly. “That’s… impossible.”
He shook his head once. “No. It’s nature. It’s what we are.”
Zarlia had never heard or felt anything like that, or was it because their mate bound wasn’t strong yet? But what if it did get stronger? What then? What if she actually is stuck with a strange being? She immediately dismissed negative thought but they weren’t actually negative but the truth.
Then, after a pause, his tone deepened, rougher now. “And I’m not the only one in here.”
Her brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
His gaze didn’t waver. “Asher,” he said simply. “My wolf. He’s part of me… and he feels it too. The bond. You.” Stetson could feel the grin on Asher’s face.
Zarlia froze, her mind spinning, her pulse pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat.
She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came.
Stetson’s eyes went unfocused for a heartbeat. The air in the room thickened, his breathing roughening.
“Asher,” he said hoarsely, tapping his chest with two fingers, “he’s the other voice in here. The part that isn’t human.”
Zarlia’s gaze drifted to where he’d touched. “And he feels everything you do?”
He gave a single nod.
She couldn’t really comprehend what he was saying, so many things didn’t make sense to her and she wasn’t sure it would even if it was explained in detail especially the part about Asher. A wolf inside him?
Her hand rose almost of its own accord, pressing against his chest, over the steady thrum of his heartbeat. “Then… if I touch you, I’ll feel it too?”
He started to answer, but the words broke off when her palm settled against his skin. Heat pulsed beneath her fingers—his heat—and something else, a low ripple of longing that wasn’t entirely his.
She gasped softly. “You feel—”
“Zarlia.” His voice was unsteady, rough. “Stop.”
But she didn’t. Her other hand joined the first, curious, searching. The flicker of emotion that rushed through her wasn’t hers this time. It was his—desire tangled with restraint, fierce and trembling.
A sound caught in his throat. His hand shot up, meaning to move her away, but instead it gripped her waist. His control frayed like threads pulled too tight.
His eyes glowed gold as he stared at her like a starved man. A part of him wanted to push her away and tell her to never come back; he hated feeling this way—hypnotized. It was part of the reasons why he was okay without having a mate, he’d seen mighty alphas crumble in the hands of their mate.
Stetson could feel his wolf’s hunger and mockery because he was the only one who knew—deep down all he wants to do is ruin her, make her his.
“How do you feel?” she asked again, her voice shaking.
His breath came ragged now. “Like I’m—” He shut his eyes. “—losing it.”
“Hey there Luna”, Asher’s voice came like a whisper carried by the wind but it was firm and low which made goosebumps appear on her skin.
“Asher,” she whispered, sensing the change, the wildness gathering in him. She felt the wolf—closer, the same feeling when a real one is lurking in a corner, waiting for the perfect time to strike. The funniest part of it all was the fact she anticipated the strike.
She swallowed.
He leaned in close, every muscle taut. “Zarlia, go.”
She frowned, confused. “What?”
“Leave,” he said, the word low, almost a growl. “Now. Before I—” He stopped, forcing the rest down. His fingers trembled against her skin. “I won’t be able to control him if you stay.”
“She is ours! Not everything is about control! I want her!” Asher thrashed in Stetson’s head.
Realization hit her, wide-eyed and cold. She took a step back, then another, before turning and hurrying from the room.
The instant the door shut, Stetson staggered, chest heaving. He pressed a hand over the spot where she’d touched him, the pulse still burning beneath his skin.
“Asher,” he muttered through clenched teeth, “enough.”
Reaching near a vase, he found the silver ring and slid it onto his finger. The effect was instant — a shuddering breath, a flash of pain — then silence.
The storm inside him ebbed, leaving only the faint echo of her scent in the air and the ghost of her touch against his heartplus the arousal.
As soon as Zarlia got into the guest room, she locked the door and leaned against it. Everything she witnessed made her more curious than afraid until—
“You can’t run away from me Luna”, Asher’s voice was barely a whisper but she heard it and she froze, her legs gave out and she fell to the floor.
“A…Asher?” she managed. She suddenly felt watched, the shiver that ran down her spine hinted the wolf’s smirk.
“Mine”