For the whole week, Hunter avoided the topic with River. If she ever broached the subject, he would circumvent the conversation and bring it back to square one where he would say that he would wait for Mia to find out her mate. At the same time, Hunter sent at least two theme decorators to Mia to keep her occupied. Mia was so thrilled that she took a day’s holiday from the school and worked with the decorators. Finally she chose a pirate theme for her birthday.
River wanted to tell Mia what she had thought about her birthday celebrations, but she kept quiet because she didn’t want to put a wedge between the brother-sister relationship. In the end, she too waited for her birthday. “What are we going to do, brother?” Mia said excitedly. She had called her designer in the castle and they were in a trial room where she was trying out her dresses. Elijah was also present. He had disapproved of a beige gown that Hunter had approved and so Mia had also rejected it. “Will you take me to the forest? I want all of you to be around me when I shift for the first time!”
“I am going to be there for your smooth transition, Mia,” Elijah said before Hunter could open his m*outh. “And I am going to stay beside you.”
Hunter gritted his teeth. “Mia,” he said, “I am also going to be there. In fact, I have to explain to you what all you might experience during the transformation.”
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“Okay…” she breathed as she stole a glance at Elijah after wearing a pale green floral dress. “This looks wonderful!” Hunter’s face lit up with a smile.
Elijah, who was standing at the back of the room, leaned against the window glass, shook his head slightly, once again disapproving of the dress.
Mia’s face was pink and she coyly looked down. She instructed her designer to get a dark green dress. “Why Mia?” Hunter said, jerking his head back. “That gown was perfect!”
River sauntered in the room with an apple in her h*and. She came to sit next to Hunter. “Why don’t you come with me outside, Hunter?” she said. “It’s a lovely evening and I would like to stroll in the garden with you.” Hunter shot a glare at her knowing fully well what she meant. She wanted him to leave Mia alone with Elijah. But how could he? It was evening and by midnight, she would shift in her Lycan form. He didn’t want her to hold dreams about Elijah. That’s why he wanted to stay with her all the time. If Elijah wasn’t her mate, he wanted to be there with her to hold her h*and and offer his shoulder to cry on.
River frowned at him and realized that he was hesitating. “Only for an hour Hunter. You can come back to Mia after that.”
Hunter couldn’t say no to her request when she said so sweetly. “Okay…” He sighed. “Where do you want to go?”
She got up immediately. “To the gardens in the west! I love the fragrance of the roses out there.” He chuckled. “Okay. But don’t get up and down so fast. It’s not right for you.”
She grinned and grabbed his h*and. When she pulled him out of the door, she turned her head over the shoulder and winked at Mia.
Mia giggled and glanced at Elijah who had eyes only for her. It was as if he was gravitating to her only. She walked to the changing room and closed the door behind her to change the dress that the designer gave her next. Over the past few days, Elijah was unable to sleep. It was because his Lycan wanted him to come to Mia every damn minute of the day. He was the Beta of his pack and he was unable to carry out his duties properly. His thoughts were consumed by Mia and whenever he would see a potential male in front of her or around her, his Lycan would clamor him from the inside to k*ill that male.
Generally, Elijah was an extremely calm and patient Lycan, but from the last few days, he was burning with impatience. He had started having wild fantasies about Mia. The other day when Hunter refused to let her go to the creek, he was unable to sleep. It was at midnight that he received a text from Mia that she was waiting for him to meet in the front gardens because she wanted to go to the creek with him. He had jumped out of his bed and had dragged the jeans and boots on his way out. When he reached the front gardens, he realized that he had forgotten to wear his shirt.
Mia’s cheeks heated when she saw him like that but she didn’t pull away. It was as if she wanted to feel him. Elijah had become hyper aware and with his breath locked in his t*hroat, he padded his way carefully to her. “Creek?” he managed to say in a hoarse voice.
Mia gulped, her eyes fixed on his c*hest. She brought her trembling f*ingers to his c*hest and the moment she t*ouched him, he felt like she had branded him. Elijah knew that if she trailed her h*and down his c*hest even an inch, he was going to lose all control and pin her down at this moment and claim her. He used every ounce of his willpower to tamper his beast who was clamoring inside him to break out from his skin. In a guttural voice that was half beastly, he said, “Mia, we are getting late.”
Mia gasped, realizing what she was doing. She retracted her h*and immediately and then nodded. She blushed like a puddle of tomatoes.
That night at the creek, Mia enjoyed to the hilt. She danced and dined and whenever she wanted to drink wine, he would take it away from her, saying that she hadn’t come of age. They returned just before the dawn broke. Right now, Elijah closed his eyes, remembering that night and tipped his head up. He smoothed his hair back and took deep breaths to settle his beast. When Mia emerged from the dressing room, his breath lodged in his t*hroat. She was wearing a beautiful silk gown that matched her green eyes. It hugged every part of her b*ody like a second skin. He found himself going to Mia as if entranced.
Mia’s heart thundered in her ribcage. Her cheeks heated again and every part of her b*ody felt like a strong magnet that was attracted to Elijah. She couldn’t focus on what the designer was telling her to do. When Elijah was merely a few feet away from her, she asked in a low, breathy voice, “How is this dress?”
“Perfect,” he said and stopped in front of her. “You are so beautiful, Mia…” He brought his h*ands to her cheeks and cupped them. The world faded around them. “You are so beautiful that I forget to breathe.” And those were the first words of declaration of his love towards her.
“Elijah-”
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