His Inescapable Mate novel Chapter 35

He kept a grip on my hand and ran over to the river, dragging me behind. When we reached it, he let go of me and walked over to the water, shoving his head under and shaking it from side to side to get the blood off. At least he's starting to understand.

I knelt down in front of the water and began to scoop some into my hands to bring to my face to wash off the blood that Vincent had rubbed on there. Once I was sure I was all clean, I looked over at Vincent, who had his gaze locked on me. When he saw me catch him staring, he smiled and scooted closer to me. His hair was soaked and sticking to his head. He shook to dry himself, spraying the water all over.

I held up my hands to try to keep dry.

Once again, Vincent laughed. Well, I'm glad to know that his wolf has a sense of humor at least. Once I had wiped all the water droplets from my face with my hand, Vincent scooted even closer to me.

He wrapped one of his arms around my shoulder and leaned in close. "Vincent love Mate," he said. With that, he leaned in and licked the side of my face again. I fought to hide the look of disgust, and surprisingly managed to.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"Mate love Vincent?" he asked, nudging me with his head.

Now, here's a man who ruined my life beyond repair asking me if I loved him. He forced me to be bound to a dog for the rest of my life. He made me get kicked out of my house. He's made it so that I'm unable to ever leave this Godforsaken wasteland he calls the territory. My life isn't mine anymore, it's his.

I didn't answer. Instead I submerged my feet in the river, a little shocked at how warm the water was. I always picked the water here being freezing cold, but this one was warm. It reminded me a little bit of the beach at Florida. That water is nice and warm, almost as if it's heated, just for my comfort.

Vincent huffed. I felt myself being thrown on my back. Vincent positioned himself on top of me, both arms on either side of me. "Mate love Vincent?" he asked again.

This man on top of me, he tries to get me to love him on an hourly basis. I insult him, fight him, berate him, and ignore him every chance I get. Yet, he still comes back and claims to be in love with me. I wear skimpy clothes around his friends and pack members, and he teaches me how to swim. I choose his best friend over him to go to the bathroom with me, and he claims to want to give the world to me. I get him demoted to the lowest rank in werewolf hierarchy, and he claims that he'll be happy as long as I'm by his side. I refuse to eat the deer he killed just for me, and he brings me to this field where the grass is green and the water is Florida-warm.

I shrugged. I know that I should feel something for Vincent, something good. However, all I can summon in his company is anger.

"I'm afraid of Jason," I murmured. Maybe it wasn't the right thing to say at the time, but it was true. I'm afraid of Jason and Vincent. At least I was telling half the truth.

Vincent growled. "Vincent protect Ma-" he stopped for a brief second and cleared his throat. "Vincent protect Nora. Vincent love Nora."

Well damn.

"Thank you," I mumbled again, unsure how to react at this. Vincent was finally calling me by my name, as if I wasn't just a possession, but an actual person. Then again, he's most likely doing this to get on my good side.

I heard him whimper again.

"What?" I asked. Here's my logic: I'm under a werewolf who could kill me at any second, so therefore I'd want him to be as comfortable as possible. I do not, I repeat, do not, care for him in the least.