Because his mate was kind, she was loving, but she was holding onto a piece of her heart. It had only been two months, so he wasn’t actually surprised or anything that she hadn’t given him hers, but he was still hopeful. One day—and, hell, he really hoped it was soon—he’d earn it, and then he would know that she would be his forever.
And now he realized that the reason she was so hesitant to fall prey to his wiles and his charms was because she never expected their relationship to actually last.
Because he was the fucking idiot who kept the truth from her way longer than he should have.
Maddox vowed then and there that he wouldn’t give up until Evangeline understood that he meant it wholeheartedly when he said she was his mate—the one woman meant for him, and the only woman he would ever want.
Until then, he could only work to erase the tiny furrows in her brow. A kiss might make her feel better for a heartbeat, but she needed more from him than that.
She needed reassurance. She needed her mind at ease. And Maddox, though he’d never been the best with words, struggled to make her understand that—for him—this already was forever.
“I can’t force a bond,” he said when she still hadn’t said a word. “When I claim you—and I hope to Alpha you let me claim you for me and my wolf’s sake—but when I claim you, it’ll be because the bond goes both ways. You have to want me, too. You have to feel the tie between us just like I do. As a Para, it’s easier for me to recognize it. But, before long, when you decide this is what’s right for you, you’ll know it. I promise you that. Until then, I’ll be here. I’ll be waiting. No more lies. You knew I’m a shifter? Then you know everything about me. And I’m not going anywhere, my sweet Evangeline. I love you.”
They were the words he had longed to say since the first moment he drew her scent into his lungs. Fate said that this woman was meant to be his, the one he spent his life with, raised his pups with, and damn if fate didn’t have amazing taste. Because he liked Evangeline as much as he loved her, and he’d wait a lifetime for her to accept him as her mate.
She had the choice now that she knew what he was offering her.
But what would she do?
Maddox held his breath. His wolf got up and padded anxiously around inside of him
Evangeline still didn’t say a thing. At least, not right away.
Instead, she reached out, placing her palm against his chest; her touch immediately calmed his wolf, putting the beast back to sleep. Flesh to flesh, it was as if she was trying to get to his heart. It started to thump wildly, as if trying to beat its way out of his chest so that he could hand it to her already.
Not as if she didn’t already hold it in the palms of her hands.
“Thank you, Maddox. You… I believe you. And it doesn’t matter to me that you’re a Para. I’ve known for months now. The truth about you and your… your wolf won’t changed a thing about what we have between us. ”
“What about being my mate?”
She smiled, one part hopeful, one part wistful. “That changes everything.”
“In a good way?”
“In a very good way.”
He raised his hand, laying it gently over hers, savoring the feel of her soft skin against his coarse palm as he allowed her to feel the thump-thump-thump of his heartbeat.
It wasn’t an I love you in return, but it was good enough for Maddox.
For now.
6
Three months later, and Maddox was beginning to think he’d burst if he didn’t get inside of his mate and soon.
He knew how important it was not to rush Evangeline. She wasn’t so skittish these days, and there was no denying the spark of attraction that existed between them, but she seemed hesitant to take their fledgling relationship any further than sharing a few stolen kisses.
Even after she learned the truth about actually being his fated mate.
It was a good thing that Maddox loved those kisses. Her taste was like coming home to him and, for the first few months, he was content with letting her set the pace. Just being able to touch her, hold her, talk to her… it was enough. Until her scent started to deepen, the hint of vanilla developing a rich musk as his acute shifter senses started to pick up on her undeniable arousal.
She wanted him. Maddox could tell that she did. It was obvious—only Evangeline was continuing to hold back. So he waited and he hoped that she’d take pity on him and finally become his mate in all ways.
And it wasn’t as if sex was the only thing that mattered to him. Claiming her, making her his forever so that no one could ever take her away from him—that was his goal. Everything he did got him one step closer to his forever.
He would wait because it needed to be Evangeline’s decision as much as his, but he was so desperately in love with her that he did everything he could to make her feel the same.
He was making headway. Four months into their relationship, he finally received that elusive “I love you.” Six weeks later, she brought him to meet her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis made no secret that they wanted a nice human husband for their daughter, but Evangeline went home with him that night and that was all that mattered. He was used to humans treating him like a mangy mutt because he was a shifter. So long as Evangeline didn’t care, the rest of the world could go scratch themselves.
She went home with him more often than not lately. His house was more comfortable than hers, she told him, and that worked for him since it soothed his wolf to have her scent lingering even when she was gone.
Before long, he planned on asking her to move in with him; careful as ever, he didn’t want to push her or scare her off. As time passed, his possessive instincts would only grow stronger and he would have a much harder time in letting her out of his sight without the claiming. Moving in together seemed like a logical next step in their mating dance.
An actual mating—the physical act of sex without the claiming bite—would bring some satisfaction, too. He wanted to cement his bond with her, he wanted to claim her, but he’d happily give up his position in the pack for one chance to know what it was like to be with his woman.
Six months into their relationship, he decided he had to bring it up to her. If Evangeline needed more time, he respected that and he would wait. She was worth waiting for all of the time in the world if that’s what she wanted from him. He just… he just wanted to know what she wanted.
They were together. Whenever he called her his mate, she smiled indulgently. He hadn’t scented any fear coming from her since the first time he saw her in the park. She slept in his bed, letting him hold her near, and allowed him to feed her, pet her, and protect her.
She absolutely was his mate.
Evangeline still called him her boyfriend, mainly because she argued that mate sounded weird coming from her since she was a human, and Maddox decided that what she called him wasn’t the hill to die on; he just needed the my part in front of it. So long as she didn’t deny that they were a bonded pair, that was fine by him.
And, he assured his wolf, once she finally consented to mate with him, she would be his mate in truth.
Only, after six months of growing closer, learning everything about his human, falling deeper for her every day… after six months of fantasizing what it would be like when she opened her heart to him, then opened her body for him… after six months of the worst case of blue balls in history, Evangeline still showed no signs of taking their relationship to the next level.
So, one evening after dinner, when they were sitting on the couch together, watching television, Maddox decided it was time to make his move. The next time she turned into him, cuddling close before she stole a kiss along the edge of his jaw, Maddox grabbed her hand. Instead of holding it chastely, though, he circled her palm with his rough thumb, took a deep breath, then placed her fingers along the edge of his very obvious, very noticeable erection.
Evangeline jerked her hand back, her eyes wide and staring. She didn’t say a single word, just ga
ped up at him.
And Maddox realized he might have made a huge fucking mistake.
With an apologetic grimace, his eyes gone gold with regret for upsetting his mate, he picked up her hand and tucked it into her lap again.
Hesitantly, as if she could hardly believe she was doing it, Evangeline put it back.
He exhaled softly, going stiff—well, stiffer—under her soft touch. He groaned. He couldn’t help it.
She gave his length a single, tantalizing, erotic stroke.
“I’ve never done this before,” she blurted out. “Any of this.”
Maddox was stunned. He never would have guessed that she was as unpracticed as he was. Evangeline was a human, and she’d confessed he wasn’t her first boyfriend. As jealous and possessive as he could be, he refused to let her elaborate. Who or what Evangeline did before they met was her past and he was totally good with leaving it behind them.
She was gorgeous. She didn’t have a weird biological quirk that kept her from exploring her sexuality. If Maddox hadn’t been a shifter, he would’ve been humping everything in sight from the time he turned fifteen. It never occurred to him that Evangeline hadn’t.
He just thought she was getting to know him, making him wait until she was sure before she went all in on being his mate.
But if she was also a virgin—
He realized a moment too late that he’d been silent longer than he should have been.
Evangeline’s fingers curled up against his cock, drawing away from his jeans before pulling back. She settled her hand in her lap again.
Maddox missed her touch immediately.
“I know,” she said, a bit of deprecative laugh in her tone. “My friends used to make fun of me for it all the time. And it wasn’t that I was waiting for any big reason or anything, it’s just… I don’t know. It never felt right.”
Maddox hated that she felt like she needed to move away from him, or explain anything at all to him. He belonged to her, now and forever. She could touch him however and whenever she wanted to.
He only hoped she didn’t mind when he did the same to her.
Quick as a flash, he took her tiny, tiny hand in his massive paw, pulling her closer, pressing their entwined hands against his heart. His silence had her babbling—and, fuck, he loved the way she had no filter, spilling her secrets to him as if he was worthy of them—but he never wanted her to be uncertain.
Not of him.
Not of where they stood, either.
She was his mate. And he loved her more than anything in this world.
“No offense, babe, but your friends are fucking idiots.”
Evangeline laughed again, some real humor in the sound this time.
“Seriously. I never asked because it wasn’t my business, and it wouldn’t have changed a thing about how I feel about you, but you don’t know what it does to me to hear that you won’t have anyone to compare me to. You know that I’m a male shifter. Do you know what that means?”
A strange look flashed across her face. “Yeah. That you had no choice. You can’t have sex until you meet your mate.”
“That’s right. But that’s only biology. It just means that you’re the one woman who could give me pups, help me build a family. It didn’t mean I had to fall in love with you.” That she was his fated mate gave him a hand when it came to that, he couldn’t deny it, but there were a few rare cases where even fate wasn’t strong enough. “Do you know why I think about you naked 24/7?”
She huffed. “Because you’re a guy?”
“Well, yeah, but also because you’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever met. More than that, I like you. I could want you and that was it. Fine. Whatever. But I like you. Shit, I love you. Screw what my cock says. It’s not the smartest part of me. You’re my mate, not because I want to fuck you… and I do, just making that clear, I totally do… but because I can’t imagine having any other woman sitting next to me, even if all we do is watch cheesy sitcoms together.”
It was Evangeline’s turn to stay silent. She nibbled on her bottom lip—Maddox bit back a heated groan—before she said softly, “Because your instincts say so, right?”
Hell, no. “Because you’re Angie, and you’re mine.”
“No one’s ever called me Angie before,” she whispered.
He… he didn’t know that. She mentioned once that some of her friends called her Eva when they wanted to shorten her name but that she didn’t really like it all that much. Calling her Angie, it just slipped out.
“Do you mind?”
“I’ve always wanted to be an Angie. My mom hated it and it wasn’t worth the argument.” His mate looked up at him through the fringe of her dark eyelashes, her forest green eyes vibrant and stunning. “Angie Lewis. It’s got such a nice ring to it.”
Angie Wolfe sounded even better.
Evangeline grinned and that sealed it. Maddox vowed then and there that he would never use any other name when he was talking to her. And why not? It made sense that he’d have this to share with her.
He wanted to be her first in everything. The man who called her Angie, the man who became her lover, the man who became her mate forever and for always.
Maddox tapped his chest with their joined hands. “You’re not a Para, Angie, so you weren’t waiting to find your mate. But you were. I know you were. That’s why it never felt right for you. You were waiting for me. So, whenever you’re ready, I’ll be waiting for you. Then we’ll mate, and I’ll claim you, and then we’ll be bonded mates that no one will separate. I’m playing for keeps, babe, but you figured that out as soon as you caught onto me being a wolf and I told you that you were my mate. I’m just like my beast. Nothing will ever take you away from me. Only you have the power to do that.”
And that was true. Maddox was an alpha wolf shifter, with all of the power and the strength that came with it. When it came to his future, though, when it came to his forever… Evangeline held it in the palms of her delicate hands.
“I like the idea of being with you, too,” she said to his never-ending relief. “I’m not saying no. I’m not even saying later on. It’s just… what would that mean? Bonded mates… how is that different from what we have now?”
“We have a bond. It’s strong as hell already, but as soon as I bite you—as soon as I claim you—it will be damn near unbreakable.”
Evangeline paled. “Bite me? Did you just say bite me?”
“I know you’re mine. And I’m yours. But the claiming bite? Think of it as a kiss from my wolf, its way of showing the rest of the world that we’re in this together, you and me.”
She turned her head. “There’s not going back after that, is there?”
His wolf yelped inside of him. For her to even ask that… “No. But I’m hoping by now that you wouldn’t ever want to go anywhere else.”
“And you have to bite me to make it final.”
He gritted his teeth, barely managing to get the single word out: “Yes.”
Evangeline stayed quiet. She was silent so long that Maddox’s head started to spin. He needed to think of something to say, some way to convince her. It wasn’t about mating, not anymore. He could stay celibate for as long as he needed to if only she would stay—
“Okay. Okay, I can do that. But I want to be married first before you bite me. Maybe it’s old-fashioned—”
Relief was sudden and quick. Maddox was almost giddy with it… and that was his ultimate mistake.
“Married? That’s ridiculous,” he snorted. “What’s a piece of paper got to do with us being together forever? The claiming bite is more than enough. You don’t understand. You’ll learn.”
Sudden fury flashed in Evangeline’s eyes. “Will I?”
Uh oh. Maddox knew that tone. Evangeline didn’t get angry often, but when she did? Her temper was quick, her tone biting.
He should’ve kept his damn mouth shut.
He didn’t.
“Well, yeah. It’s okay. I’ll show you.”
Her eyebrows winged up. “Really? Are you sure you even want a stupid human as your mate? I don’t have an animal inside of me, Maddox. It might prove harder to train me.”
Maddox knew that he went too far in that moment, but he didn’t exactly regret it. He meant what he said. It still wasn’t even about the sex, either. It was about the claiming.
Their bond was already there, growing stronger and stronger every day. All his bite would do would be to prove that she was his to everyone else. All Paras would respect his marking. Even Ants knew better than to get between a bonded shifter and their mate.
It was the whole damn reason behind the Claws Clause, after all.
Still, she was obviously angry. He had to try to make her see things his way.
“That’s not what I meant—”
“Oh, really? Could’ve fooled me. Just because I don’t want you to bite me the first time we make love, I suddenly don’t understand?”
“It doesn’t hurt,” he argued. He’d make sure of it. He’d give her so much pleasure, she wouldn’t even feel it when his fangs slid into her flesh.
“Yeah?” she shot back. “How do you know?”
Were they really having this argument? Hadn’t she already agreed?
What was going on?
His beast was snarling deep in his chest. It didn’t understand why Evangeline was refusing him.
And then she snapped, “And what’s the matter with getting married like a human? You’ve told me it didn’t matter that I’m not a Para. Is it wrong that I’d like to have a marriage license? Isn’t that what your precious bonding license is? A piece of paper?”
Maddox went absolutely still at the mention of the bonding license.
“Hang on. What are you talking about?”
He knew what a bonding license was. That wasn’t what he meant when he asked her that. Every Para knew every single letter of the damn Claws Clause. A claiming bite was all he needed to prove she was his mate—to another Para.
To the government, though? He needed a bonding license.
But how did she know that?
Mates: Prequel (Claws Clause Book 0) Page 5