With Everything I Am (12 page)

“You didn’t see you.”

“What does that mean?”

“That means you’re not doing it alone,” he stated implacably.

“This is ridiculous!” she snapped, trying to push away only for him to pull her back, this time even closer.

“You could barely stay standing,” he told her, head still tipped down but his eyes had gone tawny.

Well, she learned something. His eyes went gold for a lot of reasons, including anger.

Good to know.

In the face of his anger, she still retorted, “I’ll repeat, I’ve been doing this for twenty-six years.”

“And
I’ll
repeat, you’re not doing it alone any longer. I’m giving you the fucking injection.”

Sonia glared.

Callum scowled.

His scowl, she reckoned, was a lot better than her glare.

She reckoned this because he didn’t back down, she did.

“You know,” she started tartly, “for a brief second there I thought you were nice, even sweet. You’re not. You’re a big, bossy
jerk
.”

His face began to soften and she saw the blue start to seep back into the gold of his irises before he started, “Sonia –”

She cut him off and shoved at his chest (to no avail) before demanding, “Can I have tea now?”

Callum sighed the sigh of a man beleaguered, which irritated her even more.

He
hadn’t been kidnapped.
He
hadn’t been bossed around.
He
hadn’t been forced to receive an injection from some woman
he
barely knew.

Why
he
sounded beleaguered
she’d
never know!

He
cut into her thoughts. “I’ll get you some tea then we’re talking about what happened earlier when Waring was here.”

She pushed up and managed to get on an elbow. “Don’t do me any favors,
wolf
, I’ll get my own tea and I don’t want to talk about –”

She stopped speaking because all of a sudden she wasn’t on an elbow.

She was flat on her back and most of his weight was pinning her to the couch.

And, it should be noted, the tawny had beaten back the blue in his eyes and his face was so far away from soft, it wasn’t funny.

“Callum –”

“You call me ‘wolf’ when you want me near you, when you want me to hold you and when you want me to fuck you. You
don’t
call me ‘wolf’ when you’re pissed at me, is that understood?”

Sonia didn’t know what came over her, she’d never felt anything like it before.

Further, it wasn’t smart. It wasn’t cautious. It wasn’t treading carefully with a kidnapping madman.

But she also didn’t care.

In the face of what appeared to be his rage, she didn’t back down. No matter that he was way bigger and way,
way
stronger than she. No matter that he told her he’d executed two men last night because they’d touched her.

She was just that tired of this whole situation.

“Let me see if I’ve got this right,” she snapped back. “You’ve told me what to eat. You’ve made me be somewhere I don’t want to be. Now, you’re telling me what
to say?
”

“You got it right,” he ground out.

“Oh, you’re right I got it right,” she bit out then yelled. “You
are
a big, bossy
jerk!
”

His eyes narrowed and he clipped, “I asked, is that understood?”

“I speak English, Callum, it’s
understood,
” she retorted. “I also heard you say I could use that word when I wanted you near me, when I wanted you to hold me and when I wanted you to fuck me so don’t hold your breath because you’ll
never
hear me call you ‘wolf’
again!
”

She was panting when she was finished, her chest rising and falling with her breaths.

His voice dipped lower just as his face dipped to hers when he warned, “I’ve a mind to test that threat.”

Her breathing escalated, as did her pulse, but she still invited, “Have at it. Let’s see if you can make today a grand slam in demonstrating
all
the ways to make your supposed mate
hate
you!”

He scowled at her.

She glared at him.

And she felt no triumph whatsoever when he broke the staring contest, did a push up, knifed away from her getting to his feet but leaned low over her. “I’m getting you tea. You move from that couch, Sonia, this farce ends now.”

Her breath stopped.

There it was.

“What farce?” she whispered.

He stayed leaned over her but threw out an arm and answered, “This one. Me giving you this ludicrous courtship. Waring called you queen and bowed to you out of deference to me and who you’ll become. You defy me again, I’ll take you to that bed and make you my queen right… fucking…
now
.”

“Wh… what?” Sonia stammered in confusion (and, a great deal of fear) as she lifted up on an elbow.

“My people don’t need ceremonies and rituals even though we have them. But if I fuck you and claim you, the deed is done. You’re bound to me. That’s all there is for my culture that makes one bit of difference. I fuck you, you’re officially my queen.”

“You’re… you’re…
courting
me?” she whispered.

“Did you hear a word I said this morning?”

She
thought
she heard all of them.

With a swift movement, he straightened and tore his fingers through his hair, leaving his hand at his neck before looking up to the ceiling and asking, “Who would fucking believe I’d rather be on a battlefield?”

Sonia wouldn’t believe it.

At that moment, Sonia didn’t believe
anything
.

Except the heartbreaking fact that he was crazy as a loon.

His head tipped down and he scowled at her. “Now stay there, don’t move and I’ll bring you your goddamned tea.”

Then he stalked away and she did what she was told.

She had no earthly idea what was going on and she was getting more confused by the minute.

What she
did
know, considering the consequences, was that she wasn’t going to move from the couch.

Also, she was
never
going to call him “wolf”
ever
again.

Lastly, because of that, she would always hate him,
always
.

And she would hate him because he forever took her beloved, handsome wolf away.

* * * * *

Callum fucked up.

He knew it and he could kick himself for it.

He’d lost his patience and his formidable temper and further, and most regrettably, forgotten that Sonia had no idea what was going on.

He’d told her some of it but she couldn’t possibly understand his mind was on a plot hatched to abduct her, debase her and maybe even murder her. A plot which meant his people were at war, people he was responsible for and a war he
had
to win.

He’d had her a day.

Only a day.

For over well over three hundred years, he knew he’d find his mate and be bound to her. He’d always hoped she wouldn’t be his queen which would mean his father’s death but, like every wolf, he anticipated with great relish finding his mate.

Now he had her not even twenty-four hours and he’d fucked it up with her.

Ryon had warned him, even so far as pleaded with him, that he needed to be gentle and tolerant with Sonia.

It wasn’t simply that Callum didn’t have time for this ridiculousness (which he didn’t). Callum didn’t date. He didn’t court. He
seized
. Even if his mate wasn’t under threat and his people weren’t at war, he had little patience for courting and furthermore didn’t like it.

And, obviously, he wasn’t very good at it.

He was now king but he’d always been a prince. No one questioned him. Only a scarce few, all blood and all in his inner circle, talked back. People followed his orders and understood his position and he expected this, was entitled to it.

But Sonia didn’t know that.

Any of it.

In her world, men asked women on dates. They went to dinners, movies, got to know each other through conversations.

With female humans, if he wanted them, Callum might buy them a drink then he’d find an opportunity to kiss them and that was all he had to do,
always
all he had to do. Then he’d take them to bed.

With female wolves, he never bothered with the drink.
 

And he’d been wrong about her.

She was fiery and spirited and whatever led her to lead her colorless life was lost here in this cabin.

Sonia, his mate, the woman fate had bound him to woke in his bed this morning.

Then she’d become naturally confused to be where she was, and with a stranger no less, after what had happened to her last night.

Then he’d freaked her out. She’d retreated into her shell. He’d foolishly lamented his fate but only to find she came out of that shell blazing and he had
more
fire and spirit than he knew what to do with.

His only excuse for tonight’s behavior was watching her endure the torture of her injection and he wasn’t even thinking about her need to take the injection in the first fucking place.

How she could do that every night of her life was a mystery.

How
he’d
endure giving her that pain, he had no clue.

All he knew was that he would find a way and she would never endure it alone again.

The thought that she had for decades tore at him.

He made her tea, poured himself a whisky and determined that he was going to rectify the situation as he walked back to the couch. She was lying on her side, pillow under her cheek, eyes on the fire, noticeably back in her shell.

Fuck,
Callum thought.

He placed the drinks on the coffee table and bent to pull her up. He maneuvered himself behind her, his back up against the corner of the couch, one leg cocked against the couch’s back. Sonia’s back was resting against his chest and stomach, her hips tucked in his crotch, her bottom in the seat and he tangled his remaining leg with both of hers.

She held herself stiff. As she would.

“Grab the drinks, will you, honey?” he asked softly and without hesitation she leaned forward, got their drinks and handed him his whisky over her shoulder without looking at him.

Yes, totally fucked it up.

He initiated damage control.

“I didn’t like watching you suffer that injection,” he admitted.

She hesitated only a moment before replying quietly, “Yes, I noticed that.”

Callum continued, “But, this morning, I
did
like it when you called me ‘wolf’.”

She remained silent but her body tensed further.

Callum carried on, “So much so, when you said it in anger, it pissed me off.”

She took a sip of her tea before saying, “I noticed that too.”

He slid his arm around her belly and gave her a squeeze.

He sipped his whisky.

Then he said, “You need to know what’s going on and you need to know who I am which will explain why I behave the way I do.”

More silence.

Callum sighed.

Then he spoke. “I’ve mentioned ‘my people’ and ‘my culture’. What I mean when I say that is, my people are different from your people. We’re a secret sect of society who has been living alongside humans since recorded history.”

As he spoke, her body grew even tenser and he sensed her accelerated breathing.

She thought he was a nut.

He leaned forward, taking her with him and set his glass on the coffee table. He took away her tea and did the same. Then he brought them both back and wrapped both arms around her, one at her belly, one at her chest, fingers curled around her shoulder where he stroked her.

“Rest your head on my chest,” he commanded and again without delay, she did as she was told.

She was giving in.

Immediately.

Callum felt his jaw get tight as his eyes rolled heavenward.

He decided to pull out the heavy artillery.

His arms grew tighter when he told her, “Your father was a friend to my people.”

He body went rock-solid before she turned in his arms and tipped her face up to look at him.

“What?” she whispered but he saw her face was filled with wonder.

Callum could do nothing but stare.

Fuck, she was pretty but looking like that…

Unbelievable.

He lifted a hand to trail the backs of his fingers against the soft skin of her cheek which she allowed, fortunately, while he answered, “Senator Arlington was a friend to our people. He was a liaison between the cultures. He was a good man. A respected man. And he was a friend of my father’s.”

“Really?” she breathed.

“Really, baby doll,” he replied gently.

Heavy artillery was a good call apparently as she didn’t pull away. Her body had relaxed into his and her face was still filled with wonder.

He shifted her thick hair away from her temple and tucked it behind her ear before he continued, “My father was king for many years. Five years ago, he was killed in battle.” His eyes caught hers as she gasped and he finished, “Now, I’m king.”

Her lips parted but she remained silent.

Callum went on, “The evening the future king is born, at midnight, the oracles speak. Just by speaking, they herald the future king but mostly they talk of his bride.”

“Let’s go back to your father,” she said quietly.

“This is an important part, little one,” he told her.

She ignored him and asked, “Were you close?”

He nodded.

“Very?” she enquired.

Callum continued to nod.

The wonder slid from her features as they grew soft with unconcealed compassion.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know how that feels.”

All right.

To pretty, fiery and spirited, he could add sweet.

Sonia Arlington could be incredibly sweet.

In order not to give into his sudden, forceful urge to take her to his bed and discover just how sweet she could be, he shifted some of her hair over her shoulder. He ran his fingers through it, never taking his eyes from hers while he said, “I know you do. Senator Arlington was a fine man and my father told me he loved you very much.”

Pain sliced through her eyes briefly and his arms gave her a squeeze.