No, she thought to herself sternly. It cannot be.

“Luna.” Vasile’s voice caressed her skin and she fought to keep the moan that rose up inside of her silent. “Mina.” Her eyes widened as she realized he had not said that one out loud.

She shook her head at him and started to take another step back, but the one who had helped her in the market place held up his hand to stop her. “You know better than to run from a predator.”

His warning seemed to snap her out of her flight mode, and she took a deep breath and steadied herself. For now she would just continue on as if they had shown up and nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. “My father and mother are at the neighbor’s house tending to one of the young males,” she explained making sure to keep her eyes from staying on Vasile for too long. “They should be back shortly if you want to wait.” Silently she begged them not to. “Or I can point you in the direction of the meeting place.”

“We will wait, Mina.” Vasile smiled and it was breathtaking.

Alina decided then and there that if she never saw another sunset or sunrise in her life it would be alright as long as she got to see his smile every day. The smirk that over took his lips told her that he had caught her thoughts. She tried to close the bond that had burst open between them the minute she had seen him but he was much stronger than her and he refused to be blocked. Irritated by his smugness and her inability to act unaffected by him she shrugged. “By all means, make yourselves at home.” She motioned towards their small cottage and tried not to cringe at the idea of him seeing just how slight it was, a house where she did not even have her own room. She did not hold it against her parents. They were doing the best they could and they loved her dearly. Love made up for a whole multitude of wants that could not be met. “You will have to excuse me, I am supposed to be meeting a friend in a few minutes. There is bread on the table if you are hungry.” She turned to go but had to stop abruptly to keep from slamming into the massive man who had suddenly appeared in front of her. Her head tilted back and she looked up to see a frown staring back at her. Someone so beautiful should never frown, she thought. His face smoothed immediately. Now she was frowning.

“I wish you to stay,” Vasile said softly, but she did not miss the command in it. As she stared at him―his dark hair long enough that she could see the subtle wave in it, his high cheekbones, straight nose, and strong jaw making him indescribably handsome―she wondered if anyone had ever told him no before. If not, there was a first time for everything.

“I wish to go,” she responded sweetly. She heard the chastising groans behind her from the other two males. Though it was hard, she managed not to roll her eyes.

“You know who I am,” he stated firmly.

“Yes, Alpha,” she said as she lowered her eyes and tilted her chin up revealing her neck, admitting her submission even though what she really wanted to do was stomp hisfoot as hard as she could and then run. Bearing the vulnerable places to a predator was always a risk. He darted forward and bit down on her neck not hard enough to break the skin but enough to capture her full attention. She held very still. Her wolf stirred, she smelled him, and he called to her. Alina fought her wolf for control refusing to allow her to purr at his attention or flop on her back bearing her belly like a love sick puppy.

She still was not convinced, despite the connection of their minds, that he was her mate. He was the Alpha, royalty, and lived in a whole different world, despite living in the same territory as her. How could she ever measure up to all of the grand things he had probably been exposed to all of his life? How could she compare to the she-wolfs who did not scrub their own laundry but instead hired pixies who had been shunned from their realm to do it? They did not have dry skin, or chipped nails, but she did. She could not be his; there had to be some mistake. No matter how much she had wanted this very thing, seeing him here in all his glory and power, she knew that she was not his equal and mates were always equals.

After several seconds that felt like hours passed, he released her and stepped back but was still closer than he had been. She could not look at him, not after all that she was sure he had seen in her mind. Though she was fully dressed, she had never felt so naked, so vulnerable, in all her life. His warm hand under her chin lifted her face until she had no choice but to look at him. His eyes glowed and she swallowed hard as she stared at Vasile’s wolf.

“Yes,” he growled. “I am Alpha, but I am more than that to you, Alina.” His head tilted ever so slightly to the side. “How old are you?” His eyes seemed to travel down her form and the obvious intimacy in his stare heated her cheeks.

She shook her head as much as she could with him holding her chin. “I am nearly sixteen. So you see there has been a mistake. I cannot possibly be what you are suggesting; I am not of age.”

Her experience with the males in her race had taught her that when they began to snarl, growl, and slam things around, it was best to leave them be. The dominants especially lived on the edge of violence at all times as the beast inside of him yearned to take over. But as she watched the male in front of her go very, very still, she realized that there was something worse than seeing a male lose control. She knew without a doubt that the carefully contained rage before her was much more dangerous than any growling or snarling he might do.

“Vasile,” one of the males called out. “You are frightening her. Is that what you want?” She figured he must have stepped closer because his voice was louder though he had not raised it. When Vasile’s head snapped up to pin the wolf with his gaze, Alina nearly groaned. Surely, this male knew his Alpha better than that. Surely, he understood that when the wolf is peering out of the man’s face it's typically not an invitation to have a reasonable conversation.