The silence in the car was slowly killing Olive. Not because she wanted to have a conversation with Wayne, but because she was curious about where he was taking her. He had his back resting on the seat, his face to the ceiling of the car and his eyes closed.
He seemed to be thinking, but looking at him closely, he looked tired. Olive felt bad immediately. He had been away on a hectic mission for one whole week. And he returned just this noon.
He didn’t even rest at all. He took a long bath with her, took her on her evening stroll where they raced each other’s wolves for an hour, then they returned and he ran off with his men for an emergency.
Now he was taking her on a date. Was he some sort of superman or what? He should rest.
Olive sighed silently and looked down at their intertwined hands. Her fingers looked so small in his. She felt secure just by holding his hands. Slowly and gently, she rubbed her thumb across the back of his palm soothingly. She wished she had let him rest instead of running around with her.
Wayne’s eyes fluttered open as he felt her thumb circulating his palm. He gently looked at her with tired eyes.
“You must be tired, Wayne,” she said in a calm and low voice.
“I am,” he acknowledged. His voice was husky and low, so he cleared his throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
Olive drew closer to him and placed her arm on his chest. She brought her index finger to his neck and trailed it over his Adam’s apple. She was so careful and gentle that Wayne almost didn’t feel her finger against his skin. She let go of his hand and he wrapped that arm around her waist.
Their faces were so close now. He let her run her finger over his Adam’s apple as he watched her from below his eyes. He also had the urge to trail her face with his finger. He gulped when he felt her hand right over his Adam’s apple. It bobbed down then up, carrying her finger along. She giggled excitedly at that and he couldn’t hide his grin too.
“You are so perfect, Wayne. I didn’t think you would look so handsome when I used to hear about you,” Olive confessed as she resumed her slow ministrations. Wayne’s strong arm pulled her closer to himself.
“I am good looking. The ladies use to kill themselves over me back when I was younger,” he chuckled deeply and closed his eyes, enjoying her touch. He unfortunately, didn’t see Olive frowning.
“And now? Do they still kill themselves over you?” she asked with jealousy laden in her voice. Wayne opened just one eye and peered at her through it.
“I don’t know. They stopped coming around me freely ever since I…” he trailed off and shut his eye.
“Ever since you…?” Olive demanded him to continue. He gulped again, this time Olive’s finger wasn’t there.
“Ever since I became bad. They’re scared to death of me now,” he completed. Olive was quiet and he thought she was acknowledging what he had said.
“So, you’re trying to say no woman at all had come near you ever since you turned bad?”
“They don’t come near me to please me and make me their boyfriend anymore. We just sleep with each other if they’re lucky enough. And they won’t dare come back for anything else. Because I only demand them, not the other way round.”
Olive scoffed and withdrew her hand from him. She would have shifted from him too but his strong arm held her in place. He opened his eyes and sat up. Then leaned in unto her.
“However, I found someone who doesn’t need to wait for my permission to come to me. And she can have me whichever way she wants and anytime she likes,” he said slowly that each word sunk into Olive’s head.
“Wh-who?” she found herself asking even though her wolf had already told her the answer.
“You,” he stated while looking sweetly into her eyes. He stared at them for a few seconds and loved the way she was frozen at his words. His eyes moved down to her lips and he almost bit his. Wasn’t this the right time to kiss a woman?
He wanted to kiss his woman, his mate. But he couldn’t yet. He didn’t feel like it was the right time to do so.
“So, I can do whatever I want with you? Whenever I want?” she asked, as if she couldn’t believe him.
“I’m your mate, Olive. Do you even know what that means?”
Their faces were still inches apart. Any little leaning forward would make them hit each other in the nose.
“From what I heard, it means you’re my other half. You’re supposed to complete me. I’m supposed to be nothing if you leave me,” she said in a voice a little higher than a whisper. She was talking more to herself than answering Wayne’s question.
“This thing goes both ways, Olive. You’re my other half too. You’re meant to complete me. I’m supposed to be nothing if you leave me,” he repeated her words.
Wayne got so scared all of a sudden. He quickly realized something very important.
He just got a weakness.
He shut his eyes and clenched his jaws tight. Olive could be the downfall of him. But… she could also be his strength. He could be stronger with his mate by his side. This thing… this mating thing was two sides of a coin.
“But then, what if something happens to one of us? I… I don’t want anything to happen to you. I got so scared earlier when you left with your men. I was so worried I thought my heart was going to drop from my body,” she explained with worry laden in her voice and on her face. Wayne gave a short laugh.
“You care about me,” he said in a low voice. She bit her lips and looked away. He brought her face back to look at him with his index finger.
“I care about you, too,” he confessed. There was silence. A silence that was yet filled with words. Unspoken words.
“Don’t leave me, Wayne. I’ll be doomed if you do. Forget about the mate bond first. In real essence, you’re-,” she choked on her words and cleared her throat. Her eyes were already turning misty with tears and Wayne’s eyes darkened.
“You’re the only one I’ve got. I don’t have family. I don’t even have a life. If I hadn’t found you, I would have still been an empty vessel,” she confessed and this time, she couldn’t hold back the tears. They fell freely.
All those years of torment and lifelessness fell with those tears. How she had longed to find her mate and be free also accompanied the tears. Now that she found him, she was so grateful. It didn’t matter if he was as dark as coal. He was her mate. Made just for her. And she wanted to stay with him.
Wayne couldn’t stand her tears. They were like hot lava to him and he wanted to quench them and shove them off the face of his mate. Olive felt his thumbs gently wiping away those tears. She felt his care for her. It radiated like heat… or was it the reason for the sudden heat in the car?
“Don’t cry, baby. Alpha hates your tears,” he gently cooed.
“Promise me you won’t leave me first. Tell me you’ll always be by my side against this world no matter what,” she cried.
She remembered Gia and how she had quickly turned into an enemy to her. She also remembered what she said to her that night. About Wayne using her. She wanted to be fully assured that Wayne would not hurt her. She hated the world but wanted to find solace in him.
Wayne’s eyes turned blue and began to glow gently, tiny tendrils of gold light began to swirl in them. Then in a voice that sounded like his mixed with that of his wolf, he said,
“I promise, I would never leave you.”
Before Olive could comprehend anything, hecovered the distance between their faces, stared sensually at her lips, looked her in the eye then captured her lips with his in one swift move.