Elora splashed cold water on her face as she stood in the bathroom in her brother's apartment. She squeezed her eyes closed tight as the air cooled her wet skin. When she opened them again and looked at herself in the mirror, she tried to see if she appeared different. Did being someone’s Chosen make you look different? She felt different; she felt claimed even though he hadn’t so much as denied or confirmed her pronouncement. She felt like she belonged to him and worse, she liked it.

“Argh! Pull yourself together, Elora.” She groaned to herself as she toweled off her hands and face. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she opened the bathroom door. As she pulled the door open, she nearly ran into a solid wall of chest. A very nice chest she might add.

“Hello there,” her voice was smooth and sultry as she looked up at the warrior who currently occupied most of her thoughts.

“Are you alright?” Cush asked her as he stared down at her.

Elora didn’t know how to answer his question. Did he really want to know? Because if he did, then she might as well start off with a big fat hell no she wasn’t alright. She’d follow it up with a would he please just wrap her in his arms and tell her that he wanted her and needed her as much as she did him. And if he didn’t really want to know—if he was just asking out of some weird sense of duty because it was the polite thing to do, then she would knee him in the crotch. She watched as his brow drew together and his lips tightened, and on her final thought he shifted his stance. He was moving like he had heard her thoughts. It was in that moment that she noticed his arm was touching hers. She nearly closed her eyes and groaned again as she remembered all she knew about Cassie being Trik’s Chosen. When they touched skin to skin, he could read her mind and vice versa.

“Crap,” she muttered under her breath.

“I really want to know,” his deep voice drew her attention from her thoughts and she looked at his amused face, “not because I’m being polite. I don’t really care about being polite,” he added.

“Well you caught all that stuff that just went through my head, so that’s how I’m doing,” she told him without looking away. She wasn’t about to be ashamed or embarrassed about wanting him, and if he had a problem with it he could kiss her butt.

“I do have a problem with it,” he answered her thoughts.

She jerked her arm back with a frustrated growl. “No worries, I won’t force you to marry me. I’ll get over you,” she told him and then mentally kicked herself because she knew there was no way in hell she would ever get over him. “There are plenty of fish in the sea and all that jazz.”

She pushed past him, no longer having the energy to verbally spar with him. Instead she just wanted to lie down and sleep for…like…ever.

Cush watchedElora walk down the hall away from him toward the living room. He had gotten the message loud and clear. She wanted him, but she wouldn’t beg. He was telling himself it was a good thing that she was able to resign herself to the fact that they wouldn’t be completing their mating. He didn’t have room for a woman in his life and he wouldn’t be able to make her happy. In fact, he would just drive her crazy. Because once he claimed her, once he made her his, he would never let her go. He knew the type of male he was: possessive, jealous, selfish, alpha. He wouldn’t want her around any other males. He would cage her to protect her and that would break her. See it’s better this way, he thought to himself as he followed the direction she had just taken to the small living room in her brother’s apartment.

Cush’s feet and thoughts froze in place the second he entered the living room and saw Elora standing wrapped in the arms of a male he’d never seen before. He felt his muscles grow rigid and his jaw tightened as he ground his teeth together. He forced himself to lean casually against the wall because if he didn’t he was going to rip the arms off of the human male who was still touching his Little Raven. He watched as Elora, her brother, the unknown male, and Lisa talked and laughed. They were obviously friends. Friends, he told himself, that is all. But then the idiot had to go and smack his mate on the ass—stupid human.

Cush saw red as that hand made contact with Elora’s very tempting backside and he was across the room with his forearm pressed to the human male's throat before the idea had even crossed his mind.

“CUSH!” He heard Elora’s gasp but ignored everything but the human he had pressed to the wall.

“Give me a reason not to remove your hand from your body,” Cush said calmly.

The male’s eyes were wide and Cush could feel the pulse in his throat pounding against his forearm.

“Dude, I didn’t, I mean…Elora’s just…we’re not,” the boy stuttered stupidly.

“She doesn’t belong to you,” Cush pointed out. The boy shook his head. “Then why would you touch her in such a way?”

“I was just messing around, just playing,” he screeched.

“Cush let him go!” Elora’s voice broke through. He turned his head to look down at her as she attempted, in vain, to pull him off of the human.

“He touched you,” Cush told her unnecessarily.

“So what?” Elora snapped. “I’m single, Cush. I can let any guy I want touch me. Now let Paul go.”

For some reason, the male’s name on Elora’s lips only enraged him further. He turned back to the human. Paul, he mentally spat the name. The guy was turning blue, which indicated to Cush that he was pushing just a tad too tightly.