A Howling Heart
Chapter forty-eight

"Fae!"

I'm jerked back into reality when Matias gently shakes me, his hands on my arms, rubbing them reassuringly.

"He will not hurt you. I will not let him." The seriousness in his tone should have knocked me out of my panic attack, but the uncertainty of everything strengthened the anxiety that held me.

"But what if he hurts you? You can't change yet... not until the blue moon." If Esai has shifted, he will probably be ten times more powerful than he was before. Maybe Matias is still stronger than him, but I know I, if what I believe to be true is true, am much weaker than him.

Frustration makes my cheeks flush. What if it's ruined because of everything going on? What if we don't get to mate? The curse has already taken a small toll on me. The pain I've felt when I've been away from him has been unbearable. I feel his hands cupping my cheeks. His thumbs stroke my sensitive skin. The feathery touch brings warmth across my face and makes me shiver in his embrace. Those stormy eyes soften a fraction as he attempts to calm me down. "Anima mea, stop worrying. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will stop me from claiming you." He growls, and the sound heightens my longing. "It is my destiny. You are my future, not Esai. His chance is over. It is the way fate has made things. If he won't accept it, I will do what I must."

He cups my chin, rubbing his thumb along my bottom lip, before he leans forward and captures my mouth with his. The kiss is needy and possessive. It makes me weak in the knees, but I'm thankful the jeep is beside me.

I press my hand against his chest, trailing it to the back of his neck, where my fingers admiringly stroke the corded muscle.

"I will make you mine tomorrow. And you will turn, and we will be one. Okay?" He says it so calmly and assuringly that it's contagious.

I nod slowly, breathless and wordless.

He's always so intense...

So sure of his future.

It's comforting and alarming.

This mighty man will be mine after tomorrow. Our fate will be sealed. Whatever we go through, we will go through it together. It's so comforting. I clung to that comfort for a moment before an intrusive thought entered my mind sharply. And I'll transition... which scares me to my very core, especially after seeing what my mother had just gone through.

"Don't let it. Now, let's go. I want you in the mansion. Where it's safe."

Hm... safe... is he sure about that? I question the motives of some of the pack members. I mean, can he blame me? Nate kidnapped me and was going to kill us both! Tonya has a vendetta against me.

"I will carry you there if I have to, so you feel safe."

A bark of uncomfortable laughter leaves my lips. "No," I say, feeling as if that's absurd.

He grins and arches an eyebrow. "I'm glad I can amuse you. Then get in the jeep so I can check that it's safe."

"The jeep? Alone?" I swallow the lump in my throat.

His expression falls. "This was the reason I made the offer I made. Get in, or let me carry you. No one will harm you while you are in the arms of the Alpha. Even Esai isn't dumb enough to."

I feel myself open to the idea. "Carry me please. I want to stay with you."

He lifts me up quickly and effortlessly like I weigh nothing. I cling to him with my arm, resting my head on his chest where I hear that steady heartbeat I've come to adore.

If my mother has changed, I wonder if Esai has...I hope not.

Matias tenses as he carries me but doesn't comment on my thoughts. He appears engrained in something else, but I don't know what. I don't have the senses of a wolf, so I'm unaware of most around me, whereas he can probably hear the closest animal within 100 yards.

And when I turn, that's what it will be like for me.

Oh my...I wish my mother had told me so I would've been able to prepare.

Knowing it's tomorrow scares me.

I've spent my whole life thinking werewolves were just a figment of imagination, and now I learn that I am a part of that world.

"You were created for me, Anima Mea. Pure perfection. Innocence. You'll stand by my side and rule with me."

"I-I don't know how to rule. I've never been in charge of anyone..."

Anyone but myself.

Matias sighs with a slight smile on his lips. "That will change. You will be in charge of the children you bear for me."

I inhale a sharp breath and blink rapidly.

Did he just say -

Children?

"What?"

"You will bear my child, Fae. And he will become Alpha when the time is right."

"I- I -" The words evaporate on my tongue. I feel my face warming and sweat beading my skin at his words. I've only known him for a little while, and now he's talking about impregnating me.

I never thought about if I wanted children.

"What if I don't want kids?"

He tightens his grip on me, and despite the darkness around us, with the small streaks of moonlight, I notice him shaking his head.

"You will bear my children." His eyes flash with longing and admiration as if he can picture me pregnant and glowing with his heir.

"Matias," I say his name more firmly, annoyed that he's not listening to me, only stating what he wants and believes will be true. "You're not listening to me. We are so immersed in the chaos that I hadn't imagined that yet. I'm a little overwhelmed."

He sighs, eyes jaw ticking and a serious and confident tone of voice in his next words. "It is prophesied. You will be the mother of my children. Come tomorrow night, when I take you in front of the pack, I will plant my seed in you, and nine months from now, you will bear my child. It is what will be."