Of course, that made Costin want to jump up and down like a teenage boy who had just landed a date with the girl of his dreams – which, to some degree, was exactly what had happened. Only this date was going to last a lifetime. He had no problem with that, but he had known his whole life that he would be mated to someone the Great Luna had made just for him. Sally wasn't from his world, despite having lived in it for nearly six months. Humans chose their mates; Canis lupis had one perfect mate out there that carried the other half of their soul.

With those thoughts running through his mind, he decided to give her some time.Well, until her party started. Then she had to face him. A wicked grin spread across Costin's face as he pulled a deep green dress shirt over his head and buttoned it up, leaving it untucked. He rolled the sleeves halfway up his forearms. Then he slipped on a faded pair of well-worn, loose jeans and grabbed his brown steel toe boots.

He looked in the mirror one last time and ran his fingers through his dark, messy hair. Shrugging, he thought that for a bartender he looked pretty good.

Good enough.

Finally, whistling a random tune, he headed out of his room – dimpled grin and all – to hunt down his mate.

Sally tensed at the sound of the knock on her door.

She had tried to leave her room with her two best friends, but they'd insisted she wait for Costin. Her response was, “What if he doesn't come and get me? How dumb would I look?”

Jen and Jacque's responses were identical, with a snort, rolled eyes, and a, "Yeah, good luck with thinking that your mate won't always come find you."

She walked over to the door and smoothed the simple black dress she wore. It was knee-length, and flared out from the empire waist; just below the bottom hemline was one inch of black lace – a small black bow was tied at her left hip. It was the dress that she had planned to wear to her senior prom. It had a small V back that ended just between her shoulder blades. If her hair was down, it covered the markings on her back, which Jen and Jacque had been adamant about. Covering them in public was important, but it was actually good that the dress showed a little of the marks. Sally had asked why and Jacque had explained how important the markings were to the males and that Costin would want to look at them.

Sally knew that she was safe with Costin, but she had never really had a boyfriend. She didn't figure that Steven Mathews attempting to kiss her by shoving his tongue in her mouth after school in the seventh grade counted. Everything with the whole true mate stuff seemed so intimate in comparison with anything she knew about relationships.

Another knock brought her out of her thoughts. Apprehensively, she grasped the door knob and pulled it open.

Costin's contagious, dimpled smile was positively breathtaking on his handsome face. She took in his appearance and liked how hehadn't changed who he was for her party. He didn't try to look fancy or be something he wasn't; his untucked dress shirt and jeans fit him perfectly and a little voice inside her whispered that he was freaking hot. She called that voice her “inner Jen”.

Jacque and Jen did not know about her inner Jen  – it was her little secret when she needed a boost of confidence.

Sally smiled back and stepped aside to let him into the room.

"You look beautiful," Costin told her as he stepped close. Sally noted, not for the first time, that he had no sense of personal space boundaries – at least not when it came to her.

"Thank you." She felt the blush creep up her neck. "You look handsome."

He winked at her. "Pretty spiffy for a bartender in Romania."

Sally let out a small laugh. "I prefer it to a suit."

"Excellent." Costin smiled. He began to circle her slowly and his smile turned intense and there was a wicked gleam in his hazel eyes. Sally took in a short gasp when she noticed they were glowing.

"Do you have something to show me, Sally mine?"

It was then that Sally noticed the markings climbing up the right side of his neck and the ones that crawled down his right arm from underneath his rolled-back sleeve.

"Umm," Sally stalled.

"My markings have changed. Surely you noticed." He was teasing her and the tone of his voice helped her relax.

She slipped her hand under her brown hair and swept it over her shoulder to reveal her back to him.

A low growl came from him as he stood behind her. She nearly jumped away when she felt his fingers like a whisper of silk against her skin. Starting at the top of her neck, his fingers traced the marks until the dress halted his progression.

"Easy," he whispered to her when she jumped.

Sally swore she could feel the oxygen being sucked from the room as Costin's dominance filled the space.

"Umm, Costin," Sally squeezed out through her tight lungs. "Sort of short of breath here."

Costin immediately reigned in his possessiveness at the sight of the beautiful markings, which climbed up her spine like a vine. He pulled her hair back over her shoulder to cover them.

His hand rested on her waist and followed around as he circled back to stand in front of her. "Your friends explained what the markings mean?" The question was gentle.

Sally nodded. "They mean that I'm your mate."

Costin grinned. "Yes, gypsy lady, you are indeed mine. But those markings are for my eyes only." His voice was still gentle, but there was an underlying darkness to them. It was clear that he, like Fane and Decebel, was going to be very possessive and obsessive about the markings.