Rafe swallowed hard. “Yes, but that would have meant that I would have claimed you. I would never force that on you, even if we are mates. I had to give you a chance to live. Even if it meant you hated me. Even if it meant we never spoke again or you went to another pack. Even if it meant you going on dates with other wolves and trying to get away from me. You hadn’t felt our mate bond snap into place yet and,” He stopped. “You still haven’t felt it, have you?”
I ran my tongue over my teeth before I shook my head. I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel. I didn’t know how I was supposed to know. How had Vivian known? She was a witch.Human.
Rafe sighed. “That’s okay, it can take a while before you feel completely connected to your wolf. You need to be in harmony with her.”
I thought we were doing pretty well. Nalia perked up in my mind.We are doing fantastic. Don’t worry about a thing.
“Why did you treat me the way you did after you changed me?”
He leaned back in the booth and tucked his hands behind his head. “Would you have preferred to have me as the villain in your story? Did you want me to be the good guy that just made a weird mistake? It was easier to play the villain. My wolf preferred it. He didn’t want me to play nice. He wanted me to hunt you and honestly, I liked it better that way because it meant I didn’t have to feel remorse over how much I knew you hated me.”
My head spun with all the new information. I couldn’t believe what he had told me. I pressed my palms into my eyes. “Yes, it was easier to hate you.”
“That’s what I thought,” he muttered softly. I almost missed what he said because his voice was so low. “This wasn’t the date I had imagined but I’m glad you asked. I’ve been meaning to get that off my chest for a while now. I didn’t know how to approach you with it.”
“Now what?” I felt defeated but at the same time, closure. I hadn’t realized just how much I had needed to hear that confession from him. How much I needed the truth.
“Now you let me prove to you just how sorry I am for the way I treated you. You allow me to redeem myself and hopefully, eventually, claim you. But first, I want to show you all the reasons why you should let me. I want to be worthy of your claim marks.”
“What if I’m not worthy of yours? Don’t I need to prove that to you?” Rafe’s lips twitched into a little smile.
“You proved that to me the day I ran into you. I see your kindness. I see how thoughtful and loving you are. There is nothing more you need to do.” He leaned forward and captured my lips with his own. Only, after a few seconds, my stomach grumbled again. He pulled away with a laugh and slid my food back in front of me.
