He's gotta be joking. Yet he doesn't look playful or amused now. His eyes are challenging me to deny his claim.

"What do you mean?" I manage to squeak out instead.

"What do you think I meant, sunshine?" he taunts me. "I mean, you're mine so I can look at you anyway, anyhow, anywhere I want to." he announces casually. His eyes watchful.

My heart flutters crazily at his words.

No! I shouldn't be happy about this. I should be getting tired of being treated like an object. Logan said that I belong to him, and treats me like garbage. I'm not having another male, treating me like that. I'm a person, damn it! A respectable, strong lady she-wolf! I have to show him that I deserve to be treated with respect. Yeah!!!

Satisfied with the pep talk I'm giving myself, I steal a glance at the lycan sitting comfortably on my bed. His biceps taut with muscles. His well defined chest and abs almost visible underneath that tight t-shirt. His hair mused sexily like he just rolled out of bed, well, he's still in bed...my bed. His eyes, his lips...but oh goddess, isn't he gorgeous?

Oh for goddess sake! Focus, Genesis!

I quickly avert my eyes. "Well, you don't own me."

"Sure I do...and you know it. You've known that for three years now."

What?

"Now put your shoes on, sunshine," he growls.

"You can't just tell me what to do," I protest. "I do what I want to do. Just because you're a lycan you can't just make me do things you want me to do." I think I'm blabbering. I do that when I get nervous.

He pushes off the bed and lithely gets to his feet. His movement so quick yet so quiet.

"You have no idea what I want to do to you," he mumbles under his breath.

"When did you become such a little spitfire, Sunshine?" his eyes narrows as he stalks closer.

I gulp nervously. The way he moves reminds me of what he is. He's a lycan, the ultimate hunter. It scares me and excites me at the same time.

"Careful, I might like it. I might enjoy bending you to my will," his breath teases my ear . My heart flutters in my chest. My head fills with the image of him "bending" me to his "will". My stomach clench and my toes curl at the image.

Oh cuddly bunnies and fuzzy slippers! When did you become such a hussy, Genesis? My cheeks turns fiery red.

"I wonder what delicious thoughts are playing in that pretty little head of yours, Sunshine," he muses wickedly. "Whatever it is, I would love to oblige, but we don't have time for that now."

He effortlessly picks me up and in a blink of an eye, sets me down on my bed.

"What are you doing?" I manage to squeak. He's kneeling down beside me. His fingers caressing my ankle, sending jolts of electricity up my leg. He easily slips my sneakers onto my feet.

He smells wonderful. All male and woodsy...somewhat sweet and reminds me of summer and and raindrops and sunshine. Like a crazy creeper that I am, I lean in and breath in his scent deeply. I could breath him in all day.

The back of his head is so close to my nose, my fingers itch to comb through the silkiness of his hair.

"Your family is waking up. I'm taking you away where nobody can interrupt us."

Interrupt us? Interrupt us doing what exactly? He turns and smiles as if he knew what I was thinking. My cheeks turn red. His smile widens, showing his straight white teeth. His amusement at my expense is back.

He's turning me into a little hussy. I blame him for all the dirty thoughts that pop into my head just now.

Before I can answer him, he grabs me by the waist and hauls both of us up, and out of the window. My arms instinctively wrap themselves tightly around his neck. His agility amazes me. We reach the ground without any sound.

As a werewolf, I've done that a few times myself. Jumping in and out of the window of my own bedroom. Never have I been as quiet or as graceful.

"Would you like to walk or do you want me to carry you there?" he asks me huskily. His breath fans my ear. Sparks shoot through me. Our bodies are flush together. My arms still wind up around his neck and his arms are wrapped tightly around my waist. His lips inches from mine. My wolf Ezra is purring at this closeness to him.

I quickly unwrap my arms from around his neck. I step back awkwardly as he slowly let go of my waist. Ezra is protesting. She wants to stay close to the lycan. I want to stay close to him. There's a wicked glint in his eyes as he observes my movement.

We walk in silence into the woods through my parents' backyard. All the werewolves' houses here have their backyards that lead into the woods. It makes it easy for us to change into our wolves' form and go out for a run or hunt. We also love nature. Having an untouched natural ground is important to us even in our human form.

Surprisingly I enjoy the walk. He seems to be careful not to be touching me.

We reach a clearing with grass and wild flowers and rocks protruding off the ground. Further ahead is a cliff of over 70 foot drop to the greenery below. From here, we get a nice view of the East side of the town. This is one of my favorite spots.

He sits on the rock, at the edge of the cliff. I sit further away from him. I need that space to be able to think clearly. He notes the distance with a small smile playing on his lips.

We sit there looking out at the scenery below. Then I feel his eyes on me. He observes me, while I look straight ahead pretending to be engrossed with the view.

"How much do you know about us, lycans?" he asks suddenly, still studying me.

"Uh..not much at all," I admit. "You guys are so full of mystery," I complaint.

"Yeah, we are a secretive bunch." he agrees. "But I bet you knew that we don't have mates given to us by the moon goddess like werewolves. We are governed by our instincts. The only way for us to have mates is when we feel the attraction...or when we meet what we call our "erasthai". It only happens once for every lycan, because when we find our erasthai, we claim them. Our erasthai could be anyone, a mated or unmated werewolf, a human, married or not, another lycan, a fae. What we don't do is we don't let them get away. Ever." His unusual silver grey eyes never leaving my face. I can feel his burning gaze.

I nod, showing that I understand, but what I don't get is why he's telling me all this. Still I refuse to look at him.

"I remember the first time I saw you," he continues. "You were so young, and sweet, and beautiful....and fascinating."

Huh? I finally turn to look at him. That's not how I remember it. That first time I saw him I was too busy staring and being stupid, so in awe of his presence, so awkward, and embarrassing.

I gulp. "Are you sure? I mean the first time you saw me was at the art store, right?" I have to be sure.

"Yes, the art supply store," he affirms with a little smile. "We just came here. I left everything in Russia. I needed all the supplies for my studio."

Okay. So hmm...that explains why he bought so much stuff that day.

"I didn't expect to meet you there. Everything about you, your looks, your voice, your scent, the way you moved...was captivating. I knew right away then. So I marked you."

What?

"What?"

"You are my erasthai."

I blink a few times. No, there must be some mistake. "Are you sure? How can you be sure? Marked me? What do you mean marked me? How?"

I must be dreaming. I'm still lying in my bed, right? I'll be laughing so hard when I wake up in the morning and remember all this.

"Oh, I'm very sure, Genesis. I've been sure for three years. When a lycan meets his erasthai, he knows," he assures me confidently. "I haven't mark you physically...not yet." He is silent for a while as if letting the word sink in. "I just marked you through your wolf. She knows me by now. I've started our bond by marking you through your scent and aura so other lycans would know right away that you're mine. You don't want fights between lycans. It'll leave a city like this in carnage and destruction within hours."

I scramble up to my feet to clear my head. This is not what I expected when I woke up this morning.

How do I feel about all this? You know, if by any slim chance that this was all real...Well, I don't know yet. This can't be real. I mean, I've been thinking and dreaming about this unattainable lycan for three years. Now he's telling me I'm his "erasthai"?

It's like when you wanted something that you thought impossible to get. You dream about it for a long time, though you resigned yourself to never get it. When you finally get it, you just don't know what to do or what to think of it.

However, I don't know how I feel about another male claiming me like a caveman. I've had enough of that with Logan so far.

Yet this is Constantine. The lycan I've been dreaming of for three years. Oh, I'm so conflicted.

I stare at the beautiful creature in front of me. I can't be his, and he can't be mine, right?

He is now standing in front of me, watching me curiously. "What are you thinking?" he asks.

"If I was your erasthai, how come you never talked to me once after that day at the store three years ago?"

"I can't bring myself to get close to you without taking you. You were too young and you were waiting for your mate."

"So if my mate had claimed me, you would have backed off?"

Constantine growls. "The thought of you being claimed by another is enough to make me want to destroy everything in my path," he mutters fiercely. "But that's what I had been telling myself to do... the right thing. Wait for you to grow up. Give you the chance to meet your mate. Lazarus and Caspian think I was being stupid. They wanted me to just claim you right away." he explains. "If I was being honest with myself, I don't think I'll ever let you go. I wouldn't have let him claim you. I've been around, waiting for you for three years...not that it's an issue now. The moment he rejected you, he lost any tiny chance he had to keep you."

"So you've marked my wolf, and you've started our bond...now all you have to do is mark me physically?" I squeak. I'm surprised my brain still works.

"Yes."

"How?"

"Almost like the way a werewolf mark his mate...by biting her neck. Only lycans can bite and mark their mate anywhere they choose to." His intense silver grey eyes roaming my body as if deciding where to mark me.

I swallow hard. My breath hitches at the thought. "So I don't have any say at all in this?"

An emotion flicker in his beautiful eyes before his thick dark eyelashes sweep down and the flash of emotion is gone.

"Sure you do...you can say yes," he stalks closer.

I take a few steps back. My heart is hammering against my rib cage by the way he is looking at me.

"Uh...can I have time to think about all this?" I don't know why I said that. Well, maybe I'm trying to buy time, because the way he's looking at me now is giving me a heart attack. Not even Logan has this effect on me.

"Of course, my sunshine. Whatever you wish," he smirks.

Why do I get the feeling that he's just saying that to humor me? Like he's just giving me the time that I want...but not too long.

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Thank you so much for your votes and comments everybody! I totally appreciate it. The next chapter is going to be soon. I hope.

Would you be running for the hills if you were Genesis? Let me know your thoughts.

Please do vote & comment. Thank you for reading!

XOXOXO

Nicole