Darla tilted her head and then shook it. The werewolf wouldn't stop now and she knew it very well. "It is going to take you a week to get out of Sgiath Biò. Aidan and I are also coming with you." She turned to leave. "And oh, that reminds me, the king will send his best fae warriors to protect you through Sgiath Biò."

"I will go alone!" he growled. 

Darla narrowed her eyes, put her hands on her hips and said, "Not a chance, buddy!" 

However, the moment they were out of Sgiath Biò, the tricky werewolf left all of them and loped off to find his wife. For a week he ran in his werewolf form to catch up with them. 

--- 

Anastasia had dived in the water and when she resurfaced, she smoothed her hair back. An acute awareness of being watched washed over her. She rubbed the back of her neck.  She glanced over her shoulder and thought she saw a pair of golden eyes. But they flashed for a second and then vanished. She wondered if it was just a hallucination. Or was she overreacting because those eyes haunted her… every night. She shook her head. Her ears twitched and her wings rustled on their own. Her instincts flared and she glanced up at the trees and spied a movement from the corner of her eyes. Something was glinting in the sun. 

Those golden eyes. Perched on the branch high up, he was watching her intently. A tall and handsome male. He slung his satchel over his shoulder and hopped to a lower branch. Was there blood on his shoulders and forearm?

Anastasia rushed to the far end of the pool where her clothes were lying. She was naked and not armed. In a moment she bared her fangs and flapped her wings in water to ward him off, but the man—his expression turned dark as he shook his head. 

Anastasia was ready to pounce him even as she found him… sexy as hell? 

The man had already started coming down from the tree, his beautiful massive body moving like a tiger. 

She swallowed. Who the hell was he? But before she could comprehend and lunge for her clothes, he landed right in the pool, his satchel discarded on the boulders on the side. 

After hearing the massive splash of water, she saw him in the pool, completely wet, water sluicing on his face, staring at her… hungrily. She stared back at him as if ensnared. 

And then she remembered herself. She swirled in the water and then swung her leg to his head. But the man was super fast. He snatched her feet with his left hand, lowered it and pushed her firmly against a rock, but not before she curled a wing in front of her. In a swift movement, he sprang next to her and pinned her arms over her head on the rock. "So feisty, as always, sweetheart!" He loved it when she played hard to catch, her other wing curled around him. 

Anastasia was dumbstruck. An angry, wet and massive man was spread all over her, caged her completely with his muscular body and gods… they were so tight and firm. She tried to free herself, but it was a weak effort in front of his brute strength. 

The twin golden eyes stared at her with ferocity, with hunger, with passion. What would he do? She wanted to thrash him. How dare he cage her when she didn't even know who he was? Which man does that except a loose character? She lifted her knee to hit it in his groin but he pinned her legs too. "That's not a very nice thing to do, love," he said in a deep voice with a heated breath over her pointy ears that twitched more. He was looking at every feature of her face as if learning them and Anastasia—she was confused. She felt this crazy, stupid, unnatural attraction for him, but he was a stranger. 

She hissed, "How dare you?" 

"And this is how you greet your mate?" he said, lowering his lips to her ears. 

Gods, he did have blood splattered on his shoulder. His woodsy, spicy scent was driving her crazy and now it was mixed with his blood and sweat. 

She pushed against him and said, "You are not my mate and let me go. I am bloody naked." 

He frowned when she said that. He didn't let her go and continued to pin her. "I missed you crazily these past days. But this will never happen again, love!" 

"Missed me? Who are you?" she asked, befuddled. Was this man mad? She had just met him. "Are you mistaking me for someone else, you bloody rake!" She had to leave him and report Kaizan. Kaizan was going to take good care of this bastard. "Leave me!" 

His eyes narrowed for a second. Her behavior was odd. 

Anastasia struggled against him and gods—the man's shaft was hardening at a rapid speed. 

"You can't get away from me Anastasia. Not again!" he said in a voice so calm that it was almost lethal. 

"Get off me, you bastard!" she snapped. 

Why was she so angry? He was getting erect so fast for her that even in that pair of pants of his, even under the water, she could feel its heat and felt the heat pooling in her belly. "Are you sure you want me to leave?" he asked. Gods, his Anastasia was such a lovely sight to behold. She was blushing like a thousand shades of sun and lips were parted. He wanted to close his mouth over hers like now. 

"Yes!" 

"Do you know how long I have searched and searched for you? Do you know that I just killed a bear who was prowling around to eat you alive a while back? And why would I leave you?" Moments back he had met Kaizan on the way and he had mentioned that she didn't remember him at all. He didn't pay heed to the joke. In a frenzy to meet her, to be with her, to feel her body next to her, he had dashed up and found a bear prowling. The bear had attacked to kill him. He had killed it instead. Now she was safe and secure in his arms and he craved to embrace her tightly in his arms, take her to the safety she belonged to and just be there with her… He lowered his head to smell her. And knew that she was still pregnant. His lips tugged up. 

Anastasia should have felt triggered, she should have killed him, but what was wrong with her? Why was she titillated at this gesture? 

He had closed his eyes when suddenly she crashed her skull in his and he staggered behind with a cut above his brow. 

"That's your punishment for not letting me wear my clothes!" She jumped out of the pool to the place where her clothes were. 

Shocked as hell, Ileus stared at her as she shimmied into her clothes and ruffled her wings to remove extra water. She had really forgotten… 

He followed her all the way to the cave and sat at its mouth, watching her, lusting for her, and confused as hell. Did he have to make her fall in love with him… again?

Kaizan arrived. 

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