Craving her

Craving her

BERNARD’S POV

“If I have to fish you out myself, you will regret ever doing this!” Serena howled.

One thing about her howl was that it had the ability to shake trees. I remained behind the tree, and it was safe to say that I wasn’t moved by her threats.

Somehow, she had found out that someone was tailing her. I had been extra careful while at it, but I still ended up getting caught. It could be thanks to her heightened senses.

My ears hadn’t caught any footsteps, which meant that she still remained on the spot. She refused to move and might not do so until she set her eyes on the culprit, me.

“Why are you even doing this?” my wolf demanded to know.

“The mate bond, I guess,” I cooed.

The back of my head rested against the tree as I held my breath. I hoped she wouldn’t find me, or I might actually regret doing this.

She had left the training ground some minutes ago and was heading back to the mansion. She had no idea that I followed her from the mansion to the training ground.

I had watched her train, and her skills were a beauty to behold. I had things to do in the mansion, but I chose to do this because I wanted to.

Ever since she visited the Witch Queen, she had been training more. I could tell she was preparing for war, and it simply meant that the meeting with the Witch Queen hadn’t gone well.

“You know you can fight the mate bond if you want to, right?”

“I know, and I don’t want to,” I replied.

“Why?”

“I’ve been fighting it for the longest time, but I couldn’t anymore. I’m done acting and pretending to be who I’m not,” I responded.

As each day passed, I found myself longing for her presence and not just that, her touch also. I didn’t plan for things to turn out this way, but it just happened.

It wasn’t the same with Basil. He had ulterior motives, and that was why he acted as though he was in love with her for some time before he stopped.

Serena believed I loved Willow so much, but that wasn’t true. I spent so much time with Willow because I was trying to get Serena off my mind. I thought it would help.

“This feeling all began the moment I set my eyes on her after she had been gone for ten years. I’ve tried so hard to suppress it, but I just can’t,” I told Fred, my wolf.

“I tried to stay away, Serena,” I murmured, my voice trembling for no good reason.

“But I can still taste you when I breathe.”

I spoke in a low tone, so I wasn’t scared of her hearing those words. She wasn’t close to me anyway, and I believed she still stood on the spot.

“What has she done to me?” I asked my wolf.

He didn’t respond, and I couldn’t be offended. The pack was going through a hard time, yet here I was, frolicking around when I ought to be thinking of a way out.

I took a deep breath, and it made me realize she was closer to me than I thought. Her scent filled my nostrils the minute I inhaled.

Just like that, I became fixated on her scent. It was the only thing that calmed the burn in my chest. Whenever she was gone or out of my sight, I lost control until she was near again.

“Get something that belongs to her. It’ll really help,” Fred suggested.

“Like what?” I inquired.

“Her scarf, her shoes, something you can sniff for her scent when she’s away,” he replied.

That could work. Getting something that belonged to her didn’t sound difficult. I had a way of getting whatever I wanted, except Serena herself.

“I don’t want to continue like this,” I lamented.

The mate bond felt like a curse upon my life. If I didn’t mark her as mine, I might remain a simp forever, and I didn’t want that for myself.

“What about the dreams? What do I do? I see her, touch her, and even feel her warmth,” I poured my heart out to Fred. He was the only one I could speak to about this.

In my wolf form, I once woke up somewhere near her room without remembering how I got there. The guards even whispered about my roaming.

“The Alpha who roams the hall like a wolf without a leash,” one of them had said.

Basil thought I had gone crazy overnight. He even said Serena had bewitched me. It made me wonder if the mate bond did nothing to him or if he had found a way around it.

“I warned you, but you refused to listen,” Serena’s voice said. She was on the other side of the tree.

Her soft hands landed on my neck before she spoke those words. She kept choking me, and I didn’t scream because I was enjoying it. I got aroused and moaned instead.

Willow did worse things to me in bed whenever we were about to have intercourse. I also did terrible things to her just to get her in the mood.

“What do you want from me, and who are you?”

“It’s me!” I screamed. She applied more pressure, and I stopped enjoying it. My hands were already on hers.

“Yes, it’s Alpha Bernard,” I cooed, still refusing to let go of her hand.

My scent didn’t fill her nostrils, or maybe she wasn’t paying attention. It could also be that my scent wasn’t yet registered in her mind.

“What exactly is going on?” she asked after making me let go of her hand.

She literally hugged the tree just so she could have her hands on my neck from behind. If I hadn’t spoken on time, she might have strangled me.

“Why are you here?” she asked once our eyes met.

“Your absence feels like suffocation, so I thought to go with you to the training ground,” I responded inwardly.

Looking straight into her eyes made me short of words. She raised an eyebrow, and I must say, she looked so good whenever she did that.

“Three days ago, you almost killed the guard I was training with because he got the upper hand for a few minutes. What exactly is going on?”

She wasn’t lying. I had almost killed the guard in question. She only put her guard down for a few minutes, and he thought to prey on it, forgetting that she was just a girl.

“It’s important that I keep an eye on you. You met with the Witch Queen because she picked interest in you. I can’t be sure she isn’t after your life,” I lied. It was the only thing I could think of. My wolf believed I could have done better.

“I can protect myself,” she roared. I saw that coming.

The only werewolf she wanted around her was Dean. Even if she was dying, she wouldn’t allow me or my twin brother to rescue her. It was that bad.

From head to toe, she scanned me with her eyes. It might have been obvious to her that I lied. I had always been a terrible liar.

“You still haven’t told me what she said to you, the Witch Queen,” I broke the silence. I didn’t want things to get awkward.

“That’s because it’s none of your business,” she spat.

She resumed walking, and I did the same. I was literally walking her to the mansion against her will, but she had no other choice.

“Why do I feel like you’re stalking me?” she asked, pausing.

“I wouldn’t do that. Why would I even do a thing like that?” I cleared my throat before responding.

“It can’t be,” I said to Fred after she continued sauntering.

“What?” he asked.

“Do you think Serena heard all the words I muttered and is only pretending not to?”

“I don’t know about that,” he howled. He obviously wasn’t in the mood for a conversation.

Perhaps she had been behind the tree for some time, listening to what I had said. I couldn’t afford to let her know that I felt something for her.

“Serena!”

I went down with her, and her head was in my hands. She collapsed suddenly, and this had better have nothing to do with her meeting with the Witch Queen days ago.