119 His Mate

I felt like a piece of marbled meat, waiting for him to eat because there was no fight left in me.

Eros like this made me terribly nervous.

I know I shouldn't fear him, but nothing could take off the edge of my nerves as he scrutinized my form with this gruff and feral expression on his face.

I took a deep breath into my deprived lungs and tried to make myself seem less tense and scared.

But my heart continued to pound incessantly in my chest as I waited for his approach, standing stalk still several yards away from him.

"Eros," I whispered out as a shiver wracked my entire body.

He disregarded my call, circled around my shaking body and sniffed the air with his snout lifted high.

After a while, his eyes narrowed down on my form and his head lowered until his snout was only inches from my nose.

The rough and harsh breath fluttered all the hair on my head, making me squint as I try to keep my eyes open.

What in the world was he doing?

"Eros, it's me. Emira," I whispered shakily after a minute of complete silence.

I reached a hand out to tentatively touch his fur when he shifted his face away from my touch and bared his teeth in an ugly and intimidating snarl.

At me.

His mate.

My heart stuttered a beat and my stomach turned uneasily.

I gasped sharply in shock, stumbled back and fell onto my rump.

I failed to recover after that.

My organs had jostled during the fall because I can hear the wet squelching noise accompanied by the stabbing pain.

It was enough to make me lose my breath.

With a shaky inhale, I suddenly remembered the story that Rora told me about Alpha Zander Siphe, the Northern Cardinal Alpha.

After his mate died, he had gone into an insane rage, losing most of his logical sense when his blood beast took full control.

He ended up killing a lot of werewolves in his territory and had even severely wounded his own son.

The rampage continued for weeks because any werewolf that tried to subdue him failed.

I was told that the other Cardinal Alphas had a treaty bound by blood and land.

They could not challenge him without being revoked rights as a Cardinal Alpha.

If, and only if, he crossed the boundary lines, then the Cardinal Alphas can challenge and fight him.

Since he never crossed into another territory, the hell on earth continued.

He wreaked havoc across the land and everyone who challenged him died trying.

In the end, he was forced into submission by a Female Alpha, and peace was restored to the Northern Lands.

Unfortunately for me, I was no Female Alpha.

Right now, I couldn't even stand straight.

How in the world am I going to bring Eros back to his senses?

"Eros. Eros!" I recited his name like a mantra yet there was no response.

None whatsoever.

I swallowed thickly.

My eyes trailed from his darkened eyes to his silken fur before stopping as I noted that some spots were matted down in thick and wet clusters.

It was obvious that Eros was injured, but to what extent, I am not too certain.

I didn't notice earlier because the black of his fur masked everything with its darkness.

At the heartbreaking knowledge, my eyes burned with unshed tears while my chest heaved in choked sobs that I managed to force down into the recesses of my lungs.

Before I could try to reach out to him again, Eros' head sharply whipped to the left and I was pulled out of my thoughts.

His ears perked up and swiveled at the top of his head when I noticed his massive form tense and immediately harden into a battle stance.

It was obvious that someone or something dangerous was coming because Eros' hackles raised, and he started to growl viciously to the left of where I laid.

"Get away from Eros," a rather familiar and annoying voice ordered from afar before I actually saw the tall male approach.

Zanthos.

My eyes narrowed in response to his gruff order.