Chapter 5
Suddenly, his hand touches my jaw and tilts it up so that my eyes connect with his. My heart jumps from the electric feeling of his skin on mine as I obediently raised my head. Mate…Mate!
His hand slowly slides from my jaw to the back of my neck, and I study his emerald green eyes, the eyes of my mate. I have found him—the person that Grandmother has told me so much about, the person that is supposed to matter so much. I cannot control the sudden need to be with him. He is a stranger, yet I have an abrupt need to please him.
“What is your name?” he asks quietly, not moving his other hand while the other continues to rest on my back.
I cannot focus. His touch is distracting.
“Evangeline.” I breathe out. “I’m so sorry for what I did, but I have to go,” I say and glance away from his handsome face, landing my eyes on the wall.
Maybe if I do not look at him, I will gain back the ability to speak properly. My mind is torn apart. A part of me doesn’t want to leave his arms forever, but the other knows I have to return home as soon as possible.
“Who put you in the cell?” he asks, not fazed by my words.
“I don’t know.”
“You do,” he corrects me.
“I don’t know his name.”
The alpha makes me face him again. “Tell me, Evangeline.”
Again, I refuse to answer. Andrew did indeed lock me in a cell, forcing me to lay in the dirt, but I will not turn him in. Something tells me he will be punished.
“Why do you need to know who? They couldn’t have known.”
“Nothing will happen to them,” he assures me, though I have my doubts.
“If I tell you, can I go?”
The alpha, my mate, nods. “Okay, it was Andrew, but—” “Marina,” he calls out.
It only takes a few seconds for the doors to open, revealing a short woman with caramel colored hair. She has an apron wrapped around her body and white tennis shoes, ones that older women tend to wear, which is understandable. Her skin is tan and glowing.
“Yes, alpha?” she asks quickly.
“Take Evangeline and get her cleaned up.”
Hearing him say my name makes my lips part. Never has it sounded so beautiful, so desirable. Before I know it, I am being led out of the room by the woman, Marina. When I climb out of the trance my mate placed me in, my eyes grow wide.
“Wait. I have to go,” I tell her.
She turns around with a soft, welcoming smile. “Come on, honey.
Let’s get you cleaned up.”
“But—”
“Come.” She links my arm with hers and leads me down a hall, then unexpectedly to a room upstairs.
The room is at the end of the long hallway with two large doors. She pushes one open and pulls me in gently. My head spins when I enter the dark room as his scent is everywhere. Everything seems to hold it. In the center of it all is a bed, a bed with silky sheets peeking out from the side.
My face flushes all possible shades of red. I tear my eyes away, and they land on a doorway, which connects a bathroom. Marina is inside, folding fluffy white towels and resting them on the edge of the substantial tub. Beside the bathtub is a modern dark brown tiled shower. Everything is dark.
“I’ll leave you to shower, and I’ll grab some clothes from Fiona. They will be on the bed when you are done.” Before leaving, she smiles again.
She looks excited, and I nervously smile back.
I hear the door shut, and I know I am alone.