Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33372 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33372 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
There was no choice in this. He felt the compulsion to protect her, take care of her, and make sure she never experienced pain again. Karina would belong to him.
Chapter Four
“Why bother? Why put him through this?” Karina asked, looking between her parents. She knew her brothers and sister were in the sitting room, listening in on the conversation but pretending not to be paying attention.
They always listened to each other’s intervention with their parents. Karina was the only one who had to rely on their good hearing.
“Karina, Rage is … you are his mate.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
Her mother put a hand on her arm. “I know this is stressful right now—”
She pulled her arm away from her mother. “No, it’s not that this is stressful. I can handle that kind of stuff. This is something different. You’re asking me to give Rage a chance. To make him believe that we can be something we all know we cannot.”
“We don’t know that, Karina,” William said.
She opened her mouth and closed it. What could she say?
“Your father is right,” Patricia said. “We never for a million years thought you would be able to find a mate, and yet, here is Rage. He is drawn to you. The same draw that brings mates together.”
“Don’t you think that’s cruel?” Karina asked. “We don’t know anything about all this.” She pointed at herself. “None of us know the truth, and yet we don’t know if I’d even be able to give him children, or to stay with him for as long as everyone stays with their mates.” She held her hands up. “This is not fair.”
“Karina, please,” Patricia said.
“No, I can’t—”
“Think about him,” Rose said, coming into the room, raising her voice to be heard.
None of her siblings had ever interfered before, and Karina didn’t know what to say.
“Rose, this isn’t your place.”
“It’s not like you’re even trying to be quiet. I’m not even here because I’m thinking about what this union would mean for the packs. I’m thinking about Karina and I’m thinking about Rage.” Rose stopped and took a breath. “He chose you from a lineup of women, and you’ve got to admit, Karina, there were quite a few women. I know he came to eat dinner with you today, and he even stayed and helped to clear the tables. He’s an alpha and a guest. He shouldn’t be cleaning tables, but he did. Then, he followed you to the florist, grabbed an apron, and got stuck working. Admittedly, Susan was there picking up some roses for her mother, and she said he packaged the most awful bouquet she’d ever seen.”
Karina turned to her dad. “I fixed it. You don’t have to worry.”
William nodded.
As pack alpha, William had to deal with all kinds of complaints, even those that appeared to be mundane and not worth his time or effort.
“He even followed you to the DIY store to help. Rage followed you around, and I even heard reports from the locals that he made you laugh. He came to help Dad.”
“He came to find a mate,” Karina said, not wanting to give in.
“And he picked you. He has told you, you’re his mate.”
“I don’t feel it,” Karina said. She wanted to burst into tears. For as long as she could remember, she has watched couples come together. Not the sex, but realizing they were mates.
It was special and rare, especially when they stayed within a pack. There was a high chance that there were no mates within a pack. It was how a pack grew. Some men and women had gone out exploring, and come back with mates. Those mates, either male or female, had then sworn loyalty to William Westblood and settled down within the pack. It was always so beautiful.
Karina loved it, but she’d also known there was a chance she would never experience such beauty herself, and she accepted that. She hated it, but she accepted it, as there was no other choice. It had never stopped her from wanting it.
She never told anyone about her desire to feel that close to someone. To know they wanted her as much as she wanted them. This was her secret.
And part of her was so upset that Rage felt that way about her, but she didn’t feel anything for him. Nothing.
She did feel sad, because it confirmed to her that the tiniest desire she did have would never happen. Karina would never feel or understand what it was like to be mated.
“So?” Rose said, shrugging. “That doesn’t mean you can’t fall in love, Karina. It doesn’t mean you can’t give Rage a chance. He’s here. He wants to get to know you. Don’t see it as some kind of duty. If you’d had the ability to feel his connection, we all know it would be sexy time right now.”