Kieran POV
"You bite me," I repeat myself as I climb off of Mae.
Mae's eyes are filling with tears as she watches me pace back and forth across the bedroom. I want to console her and tell her that she has done nothing wrong, but I am still shocked over the fact that she actually marked me.
Wait. Did she mark me? Is it possible?
Leaving Mae sitting on the bed, I race to the bathroom. Tilting my head to the side, I inspect the bite mark on my neck. Only it isn't a bite mark at all. It rose twisted around a full moon. She did it. She marked me.
My fingers trail along the outside of the mark. I am too shocked to move. But the subtle crying coming from my bedroom breaks me from my trance.
I step away from the mirror and look into my bedroom. Mae is curled up on my bed with the sheets bundled around her. She is resting her head on her legs, sobbing.
I rush to her side and wrap my arms around her. "Why are you crying?"
"You are angry," she chokes out between sobs.
"What? No way," I whisper. "I am just shocked."
"Was I not supposed to bite you?" She whimpers.
"You were," I tell her gently. "I just didn't expect that it was something you could do."
Mae wipes the tears from her cheeks. "I don't know what came over me. It was like my teeth had a mind of their own."
"Let me see," I ask her.
She curls her lips back and bares her teeth at me. Her canines are no longer pointed, but she looks so cute with her teeth bared to me. I lean forward and press my lips to her mouth. She squeals loudly and backs away from me.
"You tried to kiss my teeth!" She laughs.
"You just looked so cute," I tell her.
Tilting her chin up with my thumb, I place a gentle kiss on her lips.
"What do you think it means?" Mae whispers. "Am I a werewolf?"
"I don't know," I answer her honestly. "But I think I might know who might."
"Who?" She asks meekly.
"Your mother," I tell her.
Mae visibly cringes when I mention her mother, and she pulls away from me. "I don't want to speak to her."
"Why not?"
"She hasn't exactly been the best mother," Mae admits.
"I don't think that was her fault," I try to explain to Mae. "Being a rogue is hard."
Mae cocks her head curiously to the side. "I don't understand."
I release a long sigh. "Even regular wolves aren't solitary creatures. They live in packs. A werewolf is no different. A pack keeps you safe and makes you stronger. A rogue is a wolf without a pack. Without a pack to support them, the more feral side of their wolf can take over. They can become more animal than human."
"Why do you think she is a rogue?" Mae asks softly.
"That is a question only she can answer," I tell Mae.
Mae shuffles uncomfortably on the bed. "I don't know what to say to her. You heard her. She was speaking in gibberish."
I pull my bottom lip in between my teeth while I think. "I don't think she was."
"What do you mean?"
"She said a bite would set you free," I remind her. "Maybe she meant your wolf would be set free."
"How would I know if I had a wolf?" Mae wonders aloud.
"You would sense her in your mind," I explain, "like a presence that is there. She will be a part of you but also separate. It is difficult to explain."
"Will she speak to me?" She asks.
"She will be your best friend," I tell her.
"That sounds… nice," Mae says softly.
"It is," I chuckle. "But they can also be a pain in the ass."
'Hey,' Karr growls.
"Why do your eyes do that thing?" Mae interrupts my conversation with Karr.
"Why do they do what?"
Mae reaches out and touches the corner of my eye gently. "They kind of glaze over."
"That happens when my wolf is speaking to me," I explain.
"Can I meet your wolf?" Mae whispers.
"You want to meet Karr?"
"Will he hurt me?" She asks quietly.
"He would never hurt you," I tell her. "He loves you as much as I love you."
"Can I meet him now?" She asks.
"Like, now, now?" I ask.
Mae nods her head eagerly. "Please," she whines.
"It is too late or too early," I respond nervously. "You really need your rest."
"That's funny," Mae giggles. "You weren't worried about my rest an hour ago."
"Mae," I sigh. "I think you need some rest. You are still healing."
I hold out my arm for him to see. You can barely see where the rogue attacked me. The wound is almost healed, and it no longer hurts. "You worry too much."
"I don't think tonight is the right night," I respond.
'Why won't you let me meet mate?' Karr huffs.
Karr is growling in my mind, and Mae is looking at me with pleading eyes. It doesn't look like I am getting out of this tonight.
"Okay," I groan. It isn't that I don't want her to meet Karr. Shifting can look alarming to an outsider and I don't want to scare Mae away.
Mae jumps up from the bed and races toward the door, forgetting that she is naked. I grab her by the arm and pull her back.
"You have to get dressed first."
Mae looks down at her body and blushes a bright shade of red. She hustles into the closet and comes back out, pulling on a pair of my sweats and a t-shirt. She is tying the sweats around her waist as she makes her way toward the door.
'I guess we are doing this,' I say to Karr as I chase Mae out of my room.
Karr is bouncing around in my head like a playful puppy. He is ready to meet his mate face to face.
Mae flings the door open and rushes out onto the front lawn. She spins around in the grass and gestures for me to join her.
"Okay," she squeals.
"You might want to turn around," I warn her. "It can be kind of gruesome to watch."
Mae pushes her lip out in a little pout and crosses her arms over her chest. She refuses to turn around and taps her foot impatiently. "Just do it."
I groan loudly and take off my shirt, tossing it to Mae. Her eyebrows raise when I take off my gym shorts. I make a production of taking them off, shaking my ass at her. She tries to stifle her giggle, but she is failing miserably.
"Here goes nothing," I say aloud to no one.