Chapter 6

• Azrael's POV:
• I sat in my office, a satisfied smile playing on my lips as I thought about my little mate...yes, my mate. I had finally found her, the other half of my soul that the Moon Goddess had reserved for me.
• But why had she immediately thought about rejecting me? That stung, more than I cared to admit. Surely she had felt the cosmic explosion when our lips met, the way our very essences seemed to converge and intertwine in that searing moment.
• Speaking of her luscious lips...I found myself unconsciously trailing a finger over my own mouth, chasing the lingering memory of how soft and sweet she had tasted. Raven was, without a doubt, the most strikingly beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes upon.
• "You should have taken her, marked her in that very moment," my wolf Nightshade growled insistently in the back of my mind.
• "We should take things slow," I cautioned him. "She doesn't have a wolf; she's a half-breed. I'm sure she doesn't feel the mate bond as strongly as we do. And I don't want us to do something she won't be happy about."
• "Out of all the females we've had fun with, our mate is the most exquisite creature I've ever seen," Nightshade conceded with a rumble of begrudging appreciation.
• I couldn't argue with that. Raven's bewitching beauty was of another realm entirely.
• My internal conversation with my wolf was interrupted by Otticus striding into the office, always so attuned to my needs. He arched one dark brow at me. "So, Miss Wildheart is your mate?"
• I gave a solemn nod of confirmation.
• "My King, your father will be very happy about the news. You should inform him," he suggested.
• A flicker of unease rippled through me at the thought of the former Alpha King's potential reaction. "Not now, Otticus. I still have to find a way into her heart...she tried to reject me."
• Otticus's eyes widened in disbelief. "Reject you? Is she...?" He trailed off, seeming almost too stunned to finish the question.
• "She's a half-breed, but she's never actually shifted into a wolf before. That's why we couldn't identify her as one of us right away." I raked one hand through my tousled hair, feeling the stirrings of a tension headache brewing.
• Otticus nodded slowly in understanding. "Even better, then. Your father will be happy she's not a full human, at least. She has wolf blood in her."
• Relief washed over me at his pragmatic point of view. Perhaps having Raven as my mate wouldn't be so unacceptable to the packs, after all. Tilting my head, I asked, "Did she give you her address?"
• "Oh, yes, she did. I almost forgot." Otticus retrieved a small notecard from the inner pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to me. "Thinking about marking her tonight?" He gave me a sly wink.
• I shot him a withering glance, unable to completely mask the flare of raw possessiveness that surged through me at the thought. "No, I'm taking her out to dinner first. I want to know why the first thing she thought about was rejecting me." My brow furrowed as I replayed the pained vulnerability that had flickered across her striking features. "I could see something in her eyes...pain and sadness."
• Tucking the notecard safely into my pocket, I resolved to uncover the source of the shadows haunting my mate's gaze. Was it merely the inner turmoil of being a half-breed who hadn't shifted? Or did it stem from something...darker? Something that made her instinctively recoil from our fated bond?
• Either way, I intended to show her the truth—that our union was ordained by the Moon Goddess Herself. And I would accept nothing less than Raven's full acceptance and devotion as my mate, my eternal partner to rule Supernatural Society by my side.
• No matter what obstacles I had to obliterate to make it so.
• Nodding to myself, I rose from my chair with renewed determination. "Clear my schedule for this evening, Otticus. I'm going to take Raven to the finest restaurant in the city."
• "Of course, my King." Ever efficient, Otticus whipped out his tablet and began adjusting my agenda with a few deft strokes. "May I make a recommendation?"
• I waved a permissive hand for him to continue. Otticus had been my closest friend and confidant for years; I valued his counsel, even when it came to the delicate matter of handling my newly discovered fated mate.
• "With all due respect, an overly extravagant setting for this first courtship outing may intimidate Miss Wildheart more than impress her," he said carefully. "From what we've gathered, she seems to appreciate the finer things in life, but also values simplicity and authenticity."
• I mulled over his astute observations, a slight frown creasing my brow. As much as I wanted to shower Raven with the most lavish luxuries as befitted the prospective partner of the CEO of A.D. Group, perhaps Otticus had a point. Pushing her too far out of her comfort zone could backfire spectacularly.
• "Very well, something more...intimate, then," I conceded with a nod. "Somewhere quiet and elegant, but not ostentatious. Make the arrangements; you know what I prefer."
• "Of course. I'll have a private driver ready to depart within the hour, if that works for you?"
• "Perfectly. That will give me a little time to...prepare accordingly." I smirked at the thought of how I intended to present myself to my mate this evening. If she thought the casual tailored suit from earlier had been enticing, she hadn't seen anything yet.
• Otticus matched my wolfish grin with one of his own, intuiting my intentions. With a subtle nod, he excused himself to make the dinner arrangements, leaving me to my momentary privacy.
• As soon as he departed, I pulled out the notecard with Raven's address scrawled on it, committing the details to memory. Just the thought of surprising her at her home, of having her all to myself without prying eyes, had my blood thrumming with visceral need.
• Getting her to open up to me this evening suddenly felt even more imperative. Because for the first time since building my business empire, I had a true, all-consuming purpose—winning over the heart and undying allegiance of the woman fated to be my eternal partner.
• And no minor distractions in the human corporate world would deter me from that quest. Not when the ultimate prize was dangling just within my grasp. Soon, Raven would be mine in every sense of the word, bound to me for eternity.
• Whether she was ready to accept it yet or not.