THIS CAN NEVER BE

ZARA

I nodded, "yes I came, I had to because I was losing it. You must have also realized that we are mates, that is certainly why I can't get you out of my head."

He nodded, "me too. I keep seeing your face everywhere."

Hearing him admit that he was going through the same thing I was, gave me a feeling I could not describe. I could feel my wolf, Viola come out of her shell once again and she was so excited. She kept telling me how amazing it would feel to be held in his strong arms but I shushed her. His gaze was fixed directly on me as his eyes held mine.

I wondered briefly what was going through his head before turning my attention back to what was most important and I said to him, "we both know that we are sworn enemies so this is impossible. The right thing to do is reject each other and go our separate ways."

Despite how confident I sounded, my heart was thumping loudly, so loud that I feared he could hear it. I was fighting against every urge in my body to run to him, especially since Viola wouldn't sit still. I waited for him to respond to what I had just said but he didn't, not immediately.

He stared at me for what seemed like an eternity before taking a step closer to me. "What is your name?" He asked as though it was the most natural thing to do.

"My name is Zara," I replied as I took a step closer, "yours?"

"I am Anders," he said and took one more step toward me. At this point, I could hear his heartbeat just as I was sure he could hear mine. He was fighting the pull just as I was. Obviously, he realized rejecting each other was for the best. If we worked together, we could end this and walk away tonight and we if met each other some other time, we would be bound by our duties and do whatever is necessary.

This was easier said than done, at least for me. I was one of the few people in my pack who could boast of strong willpower but it was almost useless in front of my fated mate.

"You are right, Zara," he finally said. Making me sigh in relief. Even though a bigger part of me wished otherwise, I forced myself to say, "go ahead and reject me and if we meet after today, our duty to our packs will come first."

"No, you do it," he said, kicking the ball over to my court

This was difficult, way more difficult than I had ever imagined. I tried to remind myself of a hundred and one reasons why it was necessary for me to reject him and that bolstered me so I began, "I, Zara Wright, future luna of the Black Arrow Pack...." I had not completed my words when Viola became agitated. Ander's alluring scent wafted into my nostrils with a force I could not explain and I began to feel weak in the knees.

"Yes, go on," Anders said, his eyes regarding mine as though this was the most important moment of his life. I opened my mouth to continue but I felt more weak and knew at this point that having Anders so close to me was giving Viola the power to dominate me.

I decided to create some distance between us and tried to move back but my legs buckled and Anders did what he thought was the appropriate thing to do, he held my waist and steadied me but that was it, the moment my life spiraled out of control. Ander's touch sent waves of electricity through my body and I knew he could feel it too.

He stared at me with unrestrained desire in his eyes just as I couldn't take my eyes away from his. His hands on my waist were firm and as we both moved closer until we were only a breath apart, I realized that I would never be able to say goodbye to Anders, I was weaker than I thought.

It turned out to be the same for him as his hands left my waist and cupped my cheeks, "Zara," he breathed.

"Anders," I whispered. Those were the only words we could manage before his lips claimed mine in a passionate kiss. There was no enmity, no distinction, no barrier. All that was left was our longing for each other, our primal urges fueled by the bond forged by a force greater than our will.

I closed my eyes as I felt a rush of emotions, my hands found their way to his shoulders and ended up clasped around his neck. I wanted him, more than I had ever wanted anything in my life. Somewhere at the back of my mind was a tiny voice trying to pull me back to sanity and reminding me of my duty and the consequences of my actions.

I ignored it, I was in a state of pure bliss and didn't want the kiss to end. I moaned when his lips trailed kisses down my neck and paused at my collarbone.

My eyes shot open when I felt a sting on my clavicle, not from pain but from the realization of what had happened. I felt as though my entire body had been doused with ice water and instantly pulled away from his grasp as I tried to catch my breath.

He seemed surprised as well by what he had just done and wore an apologetic expression on his face."

"What did you just do?" I asked in horror even though I knew very well what had happened.

"I did not intend to mark you, Zara. I got carried away."

I shook my head as I slowly retreated, "no, this is wrong, this can never be."

I turned my back and began to run. I heard him say, "Zara, wait," but I was too frightened to stop. I couldn't be around him any longer. I could feel Viola's happiness but I couldn't share it. I kept running until I got to our pack gate. I touched my clavicle and felt the spot where Anders had bitten me and left his mark on me. I could not let anyone see it.

What was I going to do? It was already so hard for me to go a minute without thinking about him. I knew that after marking, it was almost impossible to stay away from one's mate, why did I let this happen to me? Why had I become so weak?

I suddenly felt like a traitor. How would I face my father and everyone else? No, I could not betray them. I was going to fight this. I had gone to the neutral grounds to reject Anders and that was how he got the opportunity to mark me.

All I had to do was avoid him. Yes, it was going to be hard, probably the hardest thing I would ever do but it was for the best. After making up my mind, I ran to the back of my pack gate and spent the next hour tattooing the spot where he had bitten me. I drew a big flower on it and when I was convinced that no one would be able to figure out what it was, I went back home and quietly made my way back into my room.

As I lay on my bed, all I could think about was Anders and the brief moment I had spent with him. Merely thinking about the kiss we shared brought out goosebumps from my body.

I kept on turning on my bed as I struggled to get some sleep but my heart yearned for him, to feel his firm hands on my body and get a taste of his lips once again. These feelings were foreign to me and despite how much I promised myself that I would never appear in front of him, I found myself at the boundary before the sun rose in the morning.

The previous night had been the most difficult of my life as my heart was in tumult. I tried so hard to will thoughts of Anders away and fight the longing I felt for him but it was futile. How I was finally able to fall asleep is still a mystery to me and when my eyes opened in the morning, I was lovesick. I wanted to see him even if it was from a distance.

I forgot about everything else and quickly freshened up before running to the boundary. He was there, just as I'd desperately hoped.

From the look in his eyes, I could tell that he had been waiting for me. He had an attractive smile on his face as he said, "Hi Zara,"

"Hi Anders," I greeted and smiled back at him.

I don't know how long we both stood on either side of the boundary, staring at each other. I drank in his features and could not deny that he was distinctively handsome. Perhaps my perception was distorted because he was my fated mate but he was the hottest guy I'd ever seen.

He was almost seven feet tall with broad spartan shoulders. He had dark brown hair, thick brows, and sea-green eyes shaped like almonds.

He had well-defined cheekbones, flinty jaws, and alluring lips. I could say unequivocally that his face was perfectly chiseled and don't even get me started on his well-toned muscles. It made me wonder if the girls in his pack swooned each time he walked past them.

Minutes and hours ticked by but we could not get enough. We could have stared at each other forever if we didn't suddenly hear footsteps approaching.

I became alarmed as I realized that they were warriors in my pack coming to the boundary to make sure no lycan was trespassing. I knew without a doubt that they would aim their arrows at Anders the moment they saw him. I felt a strong need to protect him and quickly turned as I thought of a way to distract them.

However, I felt a strange emotion and when I turned back to stare at the lycans' part of the boundary, Anders was gone. I suddenly felt an emptiness I could not explain, as though my heart had been pulled out of me.

"Are you okay?" One of the warriors asked when the five of them were finally standing beside me. "Colour seems to have drained from your face."

I forced myself to smile, "I couldn't get any sleep last night and it's taking a toll on me. Perhaps a brief period of rest in my favorite spot in this forest will improve me."

They all agreed and said goodbye to me before I walked away from the boundary. I had a strong feeling that Anders had gone to the neutral grounds and without second thoughts I began running to meet up with him. I did not stop, not even once until I finally arrived at my destination.

I placed my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath. Anders arrived right at that moment and I quickly lifted my face. We stared at each other and nothing else mattered. I ran into his arms just as he opened them and enveloped me in a passionate hug.