I hurried with the rest of my meal. When I was done, he poured me a large glass of wine and ushered me to the couch. His hand brushed my side and the same electric current from before shot through my veins. It took my breath away.

“Don’t worry, the same thing happens to me,” he confessed, sitting beside me.

“Will it always be like that?”

“Not always. Only until we complete the bond. It’s one of nature’s ways of making sure we know who our mate is. What I want to know is, why didn’t your parents tell you about true mates?”

“I don’t know, but that’s a damn good question. Tyla told me a little bit, but she left most of the explaining to you. She mentioned something about old magic.”

Leaning over on his elbows, he looked down at his hands, and then over at mine. I could tell he wanted to touch me, but resisted. “It’s called old magic because no one has seen it recently, except with me and you. There have been a handful of wolves over the past few decades who’ve found their true mates, but it’s not common. The first time I met you, I was ten years old, which would’ve made you around seven. You had gotten lost in the woods and stumbled your way into our territory. You were scared and upset, so I brought you back to my pack and we watched over you for a time.”

I put a hand over my mouth. “You lived in Canada? Can you tell me why I don’t remember this? Surely I would’ve remembered meeting you.”

“That’s what I thought too when I came to your school. When you stayed away from me, I knew something was wrong. Someone must’ve erased your memories.”

“And I don’t remember our second meeting either. None of it makes any sense. I didn’t even know there was another white wolf pack other than mine and the Yukon’s.”

He lifted his gaze to mine. “There’s not. I was part of the Yukon pack, until my family was banished. I never found out why because on the way out of Canada my mother and I were attacked and she was murdered. My father was killed before we even left. I barely escaped, but I crossed the border into the states and was saved by another wolf pack who took me in.”

“And now you’re their alpha.”

He nodded. “And you will be too . . . as my mate. Surely, you have no doubts about that, right? The signs are all there. I think I’ve proved them to you. You can’t deny you feel it, can you?”

“I’m not going to lie, I feel things when you’re around, but I have choices too. I’m not just going to spread my legs because I get all tingly when you touch me.”

His lips spread into a mischievous smile. “Tingly, huh?”

“Get over yourself,” I said, rolling my eyes. “What I do want to know is, how you can hear my thoughts but I can’t hear yours? I don’t like that.”

“Don’t worry, it won’t stay that way for long. As soon as you taste my blood, you’ll be linked to me and be able to hear whatever the hell you want.”

“How did you get a taste of my blood? I don’t remember offering up a vein.”

Sighing, he bit his lip and licked it, as if he could still taste me on his tongue. “When I subdued you in the forest, I had to bite you to calm you down. At that point, I swallowed your blood and the connection opened. Did you not have any friends who were mated in your pack?”

I shook my head, lowering my gaze. “No, all of my friends were human, except Sebastian, the one who was with me the day I left college. Everyone else stayed away from me like they were afraid, or maybe even told to. I’m not sure. I don’t know why my parents didn’t tell me any of this.”

“I’d like to know too. The legend of mates is more like a folktale of sorts, a bedtime story; except everything about it is true. The magic of the wolf binds us to the moon, and also to our other half. Obviously, the first sign of finding your mate is that feeling in your gut which draws you to the other, almost like magnets. It’s stronger in the males. The need to claim can be almost unbearable. That’s why we’re more violent the older we get without a mate. Did you feel me close by?”

I nodded. “All the time, but I just thought you were a rogue. What else happens when you meet your mate?”

He paused and cleared his throat. “I’m sure you remember the visions?”

My heart sped and my body tightened between my legs. I crossed them to help suppress the ache. “Are the visions always like that?”

“No. From what I’ve heard, they vary. Sometimes they’ll be from a hundred years in the future, where you’re holding your grandkids, or ones like ours that were recent.”

“Does that make a difference?”

He closed his eyes, releasing a heavy sigh. “It does.”

“What does it mean?”

“Visions can always change though, depending on the choices we make.”

“What aren’t you telling me?”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, hesitating before responding. “You read me well, angel. If you want to know the truth, usually when the visions aren’t of our extended future, it means something will separate us; whether it be running away, death, or another tragedy.”

“Or someone else,” I whispered.

His temper spiked, his eyes flashing green. “That’s not going to happen. No one will take you away from me. Again, the visions can change. The future isn’t always set.”

“How many times do the visions occur?”

“Every time blood is exchanged. The females are usually the ones who experience them, but the males see them through the bond.”

I leaned my head against the couch. “I see. So if we want to know our future, we just have to bite each other. How messed up is that? Not to mention you can control my emotions.”

Ryker moved closer. “It’s used to help the other, not control them. I’ve deliberately not tried to calm you down because I know you don’t like it. Believe me, it hasn’t been easy. But as far as the biting, I think we could both enjoy that.”

I elbowed him in the side. “Not if I’m biting off your ear.”

He chuckled. “You can’t hide the truth from me, angel.”

I’d never bitten another wolf out of pleasure, only pain. I was curious to know what it’d be like, drinking his blood and feeling him inside me. The vision said it all though; we would complete the bond, even if it was short-lived. Gazing out the window, the sky was gray, with sheets of snow blanketing the ground and mountains in the distance. It was beautiful, but I knew I couldn’t stay there, even if Ryker was my mate. Eventually, I would be hunted down and I couldn’t bring that kind of war to him and his pack.

“All I want was to be normal, to live my life by my own choices, making my own decisions. What’s the point of being an alpha if I can’t do that?”

Turning my face toward him, he looked straight into my eyes. “You do have choices, Bailey. I’m not going to make them for you, unless I absolutely have to. You’re my equal and I know that.” He moved closer, his lips so close to mine. I didn’t even want to move away. “However, I can’t promise I won’t be the alpha in the bedroom.”

I leaned into his touch and let him comfort me. “If we complete the bond, will I be able to alter your emotions as well?”

“Yes. But I’m not in a hurry. Right now your mind is everywhere, you’re not ready. I only want you to come to me when you’re absolutely sure this is what you want.” He brushed the hair off my face, placing his forehead to mine. “We have time.”

Sighing, I held onto his hands and closed my eyes before pulling them away. Why couldn’t my life be simple? With furrowed brows, he stared down at me with those emerald green eyes of his. I couldn’t believe the amount of power coming off of him; it was exhilarating and more powerful than any other alpha I’d encountered. My wolf stirred and I knew what she was thinking. Mine.

I swallowed hard, dreading my next words. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What is it?”

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly, lowering my gaze to the fists clutched in my lap. “I was never happy with my pack. I always dreamt of something more—something else for my life. When they let me go to school, it was the best time in my life. But my parents had made me promise that when I turned twenty-three, I would come back to the pack and fulfill my duties. I was willing to do that; at least until a week ago.”