Chapter 9 – Mate Bond Reawakes

Selena

"Taken? By who?" Enzo's voice dropped intimidatingly low.

"We...we don't know yet, sir," Marco admitted uneasily.

"Then where the hell is Yuri?" Enzo demanded. "I want that stronzo here now to explain this!"

A tense silence fell over the room. I could practically feel the waves of fury rolling off Enzo. When he finally spoke, his tone was even more terrifying.

"I said, bring me Yuri. Now."

The soldier shifted uneasily. "That's just it, sir. He hasn't reported back yet, after the ..."

Enzo's hand clenched into a fist and he stepped forward, his presence suddenly looming over the shorter Marco.

"Find out who dare cross me!" He yelled making the gang stiff, and making me wonder.

"Is either he's killed by the gang who take the shipment, or went AWOL?" Each word was bitten off with barely restrained rage.

"I-I'll get a search team assembled right away-" Marco stammered out.

But Enzo cut him off with a sharp gesture. "Don't bother. That useless mutt knew the price for disloyalty so I doubt that."

His gaze swept over the assembled men, eyes glittering with an almost feral promise.

His furious gaze swept over the assembled members, who shrank back from the intensity.

"Listen up, all of you," Enzo stated with lethal calm. "I am your lord and ruler here. My word is law in this family. Defy me, abandon your duties..." He let the threat hang in the air.

"And you sign your own death sentence," I finished firmly, showing my solidarity.

The men remained in petrified silence, seeming to shrink smaller under Enzo's dominating presence. Finally satisfied, he turned and gently took my arm again.

"Come, my queen. We're done dealing with this incompetence tonight," he stated, all simmering fury once more.

As we departed, I couldn't help feeling that familiar shiver of both fear and arousal at witnessing Enzo's dominance. This was the man who kept me safe, who would demolish any threats to our reign without mercy.

he led me away, his hand on the small of my back was almost tender again. But there was no missing the promise of savagery in those ocean blue eyes if any dared cross him.

This was the Enzo I loved and feared in equal measure - my ruthlessly protective Mafia Lord willing to shred anyone who threatened our family. And I knew with every fiber of my being, I would never want for anything under his watch.

Whatever ghosts lingered, Enzo was the only man for me. He kept me safe, satisfied my every need. Blaze and his self-pitying act could never compare to the all-consuming force of nature at my side.

Enzo pulled me close and captured my lips in a searing kiss, I surrendered to his intoxicating aura, banishing all thought of that ghost from my past. This was my life, my world now - and no one would ever make me feel weak or ashamed again.

He scooped me up into his arms, carrying me bridal-style through the mansion doors like a pair of smitten newlyweds. I couldn't help but giggle at the cheesy romantic gesture, savoring his playful kisses along my neck and jaw.

"You're ridiculous," I teased breathlessly as he kicked open the bedroom door. "What's gotten into you?"

"Can't a husband dote on his gorgeous wife?" Enzo replied with a wolfish grin, dropping me onto the plush bed covers.

"We aren't married yet," I pouted.

"Soon, my love soon;" he reassured.

He loomed over me, that burning stare intensity in his eyes making my pulse quicken. "And I'm feeling very doting right about now..." He added.

His lips crashed into mine with smoldering heat. I melted against him, arching into his firm caresses. But then, without warning, a strange dizziness overcame me. My wolf instincts stirred restlessly, almost frantic.

Mate...mate...

The phantom words echoed through my mind, a faint but persistent yearning I couldn't place. I tensed involuntarily, a wave of nausea passing through me.

Enzo immediately sensed the shift, concern flooding his features as he pulled back. "Selena? What's wrong, are you okay?"

I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting back the disconcerting sensations as that urge came again - Mate...mate...

It was like a long-buried part of me was trying to claw its way free.

It's been 5 years, and my wolf had been asleep did Blaze returns woken her?

"I...I don't know," I stutter, my he'd still spinning. "I just feel really strange all of a sudden."

Enzo cupped my face worriedly, those azure eyes filled with tender concern. "Do you need me to call Dr. Daniel? You know he's on standby whenever we need."

I shook my head, swallowing hard against the lingering queasiness. "No, no I'll be alright. It's probably just stress from dealing with that lunatic back at the warehouse."

Not fully believing me, Enzo still brushed the hair from my face soothingly. "Are you sure, my queen? You know I'll move heaven and earth for you if something's wrong."

A small smile tugged at my lips at his devotion. No matter how powerful Enzo was in our underworld, he still looked at me with such pure adoration. Like I was the center of his entire universe.

"I know, babe," I assured him, leaning into his caress. The disorienting sensations were already starting to fade, at least for now. "I'm sure it's nothing serious, just a random dizzy spell."

Even so, Enzo stayed plastered to my side, those strong arms enveloping me protectively as we settled onto the bed. His lips brushed over my hair and temple in a sweetly reverential gesture.

"Just take it easy tonight," he murmured gruffly. "Whatever you need, I'm right here."

Nodding, I nuzzled into his solid warmth and closed my eyes, forcing the lingering turmoil in my psyche into silence. Enzo was right - he was all I needed. Whatever confusing new impulses were stirring, I could ignore them just like before.

Nestled in my fiance's embrace, I was safe, cherished, the sole recipient of his intense focus and devotion. This was my haven, my kingdom we had built together through blood and sacrifice. I was home.

....

The next morning, I woke up with a migraine, still shaken by yesterday night drink.

I blinked several time and Enzo's handsome face came into view, his eyes filled with care. "Morning, beautiful," he murmured huskily, leaning in to capture my lips.

But the instant his mouth met mine, that restless ache resurfaced like a tidal wave. Mate...mate...mate...

The mantra pounded through my mind, an insistent yearning I couldn't silence no matter how hard I tried. Instinctively, I flinched away from Enzo's kiss, earning a confused look.

"Selena? What's wrong, did I do something?" His brow furrowed with concern.

I inhaled shakily, struggling to tamp down the disorienting cravings washing over me. "I...I'm not sure. I just feel really off again, like last night."

Enzo cupped my face, those ocean eyes searching mine intently. "Tell me what you need, love. Whatever it is, you know I'll make it happen."

Part of me wanted to confess the bizarre urges nagging at me - the inexplicable desire for something, someone, that my wolf instincts insisted was my mate. But the very notion seemed absurd after all this time.

Wasn't Enzo my true mate, in every way that mattered? He had given me a life of luxury and respect, treating me like his revered queen. Why would I crave anything or anyone else?

"It's probably just stress," I lied with a tight smile, pushing the restless sensations down again. "I'm sure I'll feel better after I get some food and fresh air."

Though his frown conveyed he didn't fully buy that excuse, Enzo nodded and pulled me close, burying his face in the crook of my neck.

"Alright, we'll go for a nice drive then, just you and me," he mumured against my skin, pressing kisses along my pulse point. "Get your mind off whatever's troubling my queen."

His roaming hands grew more amorous, but the stirrings only reignited that maddening inner conflict. Mate! My wolf cried out insistently, as if chorusing its objection to Enzo's touch.

I grit my teeth, willing away the distraction. This was my life now, my reality. Not some phantom yearning based in the past I had clawed my way out of.

Forcing myself to reciprocate, I met Enzo's hungry kisses with equal fervor, determined to lose myself in his attention. For a while, it seemed to work, his familiar masculine scent and caresses lulling me into the usual heady lust.

Until, without warning, a wave of revulsion slammed into me. An inexplicable yet overwhelming rejection at being so intimate with this man who was supposed to be my partner, my heart.

I tore myself out of Enzo's embrace, chest heaving as I fought the compounding inner discord threatening to split me apart. What was happening to me?

"Selena?" Enzo looked utterly dumbfounded, the hurt and rejection naked on his chiseled features.

Shame burned through me at the anguish I had caused him due to my own bizarre impulses. This man loved me desperately. So why did some part of me seem to rebel against that?

"I...I'm don't know what happening to me," I gasped out, raking a hand through my now scattered hair. "I really think something is happening to me, and I don't know what! Can we continue this another time... it's just we can't...I just can't right now."

Despite his clear bewilderment and hurt, Enzo held himself tightly in check, simply nodding solemnly. "Okay, love. We'll take that drive then, get some air."

His understanding only made the guilt twist in my gut more viciously. What the hell was going on inside me that had me so at war against my alpha's intimate affections?

As we dressed in strained silence, I felt the worrying fractures growing wider. Some insistent inner demon was trying to claw free, disrupting the perfect life I had sacrificed so much to build.

And for the first time since leaving my tormenter Blaze behind, I found myself wondering if I can continue living without my mate?