My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 179: Pretty Eyes

Rowan

I broke the kiss, pulling back with a shuddering breath.

My body was humming, and my heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it might break free. I struggled to control myself and think past the overwhelming need coursing through me.

Not here. Not like this.

Her lips were swollen and wet, her eyes glazed over, and she was breathing just as hard as I was. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, and I could see the flush spreading down her neck, disappearing beneath her neckline.

"Your eyes," she whispered.

I struggled to focus on her words through the roar of blood in my ears. "What?"

"Your eyes are very pretty," she said softly, "Like a gentle, beautiful forest."

"Yours are prettier," I whispered back, my voice hoarse.

And it was true.

By the moon, it was so true.

I had never forgotten hers the moment I’d first seen them.

She smiled.

It was fond and sweet and utterly unguarded. The kind of smile she never would have given me if she was aware enough.

The soaring feeling in my chest deflated almost immediately at that reality.

I wanted to kiss her again, but I held back, fighting the urge to do so.

She would hate me if she knew what happened when she came to her senses.

I cradled her against my chest, shifting us so that I was lying back on the ground with her tucked safely on top of me. Her body was warm and soft against mine, and I could feel her heartbeat gradually slowing as the excitement faded.

We were at the edge of the road, away from the main flow of foot traffic, but I could still feel the pointed stares of wolves passing by. Curious glances. Knowing smirks. Whispered comments I chose not to hear.

I ignored all of it.

Let them look.

Violet was nestled against my chest, her cheek pressed over my heart, and as I held her there, she turned her head lazily to look up at the sky.

The fireworks were still going. Brilliant explosions of colour that painted the darkness in various shades.

I watched them too, one hand stroking slowly through her hair as my body gradually calmed to a gentle rhythm.

Kael...

Or maybe it was a good thing he still hadn’t marked her.

He could have avoided all this. Announced her as his mate from the very start. Claimed her openly and made sure no one else could ever touch her.

But he hadn’t.

He had the power, why did he wait?

I would never have done that.

I looked down at the woman curled against my chest.

She was already drifting, her breathing evening out as sleep began to pull her under. Her fingers had loosened their grip on my shirt, and her body had gone soft and heavy with exhaustion.

She looked peaceful.

If she were mine, she wouldn’t have had to go through all this.

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, breathing in her scent, and hoping she wouldn’t remember this in the morning.

Still, the thought of it alone made me sad.

Even if she were furious with me, it was painful.

She wouldn’t remember the way she’d touched me, the way she’d returned my kiss, and the way she’d smiled at me like I was something precious.

And that was if she didn’t remember.

Or maybe it would be best if she didn’t, but I had no way of knowing until morning rolled by.

[ - ]

I woke with a start and the vivid memory of last night came rushing back to me in full force.

The festival. The fireworks. Violet sprawled across my chest, her fingers tracing paths across my skin.

The kiss.

I sat up too fast, and my head spun. The strange cushioned chair I had fallen asleep on creaked beneath me as I shifted. I pressed the heels of my palms against my eyes, trying to steady myself.

When I dropped them, my gaze immediately went to her door.

It was still closed. Silent. And I could tell she was still sleeping.

I had carried her back after she’d fallen asleep in my arms. She had been so warm and soft, murmuring nonsense against my neck as I made my way back to the inn.

When I put her to bed, she had just curled onto her side and sighed, and I had stood there watching her for far too long before forcing myself to leave the room.

And now...

I dropped my head into my hands and groaned.

"What have I done?"

"You kissed your mate," my wolf reared his head, sounding far too pleased with himself. "I fail to see the problem."

"She wasn’t herself," I hissed under my breath. "She didn’t know what she was doing. I knew she didn’t know what she was doing, and I still—"

"She returned the gesture, did she not?"

"It’s still..."

Silence from my wolf. Then, with a tone that bordered on his usual cunning, "That other one... seems undeserving of her. You know you can still have her."

I said nothing.

"I am well aware." I then laughed bitterly, unable to look past what happened. "I shouldn’t have done that. The incident with her friends alone was hard enough, and now I had done this again."

I leaned back, wrapping my arms against the backrest.

If she knew about what had happened, she would be even more furious with me.

On my way back to the inn, I retraced our steps through the festival. The stall where she had gotten that drink had been closed. I could have still tracked the vendor down, but bringing her here had been my top priority.

But from asking around that particular spot, I had come to learn the drinks weren’t alcoholic, but rather liquid psychedelic substances that lowered inhibitions and heightened sensations.

While it was meant to be taken in small doses, she had taken a lot more.

I dragged my hands down my face and stared at her door again.

"Do you really want to leave her in the hands of someone who could have prevented all of this?" my wolf asked quietly.

I didn’t have an answer.

All I had was the memory of her lips against mine, the taste of her still lingering on my tongue, and the desperate, shameful hope that when she woke up, she wouldn’t remember any of it.

However...

I tilted my head back to eye the ceiling.

I did want her, and I don’t intend to let her go so easily.