A MAZE OF GREED

"Then why didn't you tell me it before?" Elsie asked in confusion.

Sighing he answered, "You are too sweet and naive Elsie. You are too precious for me that I wanted to protect you all the time. I was afraid that if... if you reject me then..." He couldn't complete his sentence as the possibility of getting rejected by his mate made his heart shatter.

The Moon Goddess, who had created these supernatural creatures, the werewolves, ages ago, had bounded every one of them with a special soul by an unbreakable bond. And that special someone was known as 'mate'.

In many cases, the mate of a werewolf was another werewolf. But there were some examples where the Moon Goddess had changed her mind to bound a werewolf with a human or another supernatural creature.

Rees was among those special cases, he was bounded with Thea as she was his fated mate.

If the mate rejects a werewolf then he or she couldn't bear the pain of the rejection and it drives them to the boundary of insanity. Some turned into rouges and some even embraced death.

There were ample examples over the ages of the history of werewolves where fate had tricked some unfortunate ones with this evil trick. And that was why no werewolf wanted to go through that pain of rejection and Lester was no exception to that.

Putting her hands slowly on his barrel chest, Elsie closed the gap between them till their bodies touched. The brave move was a total contrast to her timid nature. But for once she wanted to act brave and on the command of her heart because this time it was about her mate.

"I would have never made you go through the pain of rejection, Lester. Never! I love you and I want to be with you till death do us apart."

Her sincere words stirred his beast uncontrollably as his eyes turned a darker shade of green. His wolf was making his presence known to her and so did hers. Elsie's eyes also turned darker as her wolf purred in delight at the fact that she had finally had her mate with her.

"Oh, Elsie..."

Lester dipped down and instantly caught her lips in his when the overwhelming surge of suppressed emotions broke the dam of patience. He was already on the verge of losing control and her sweet voice, intoxicating fragrance, her watery eyes, everything about her served a push that he needed.

Elsie's hand on his chest clutched the fabric of his shirt into fists as the sudden touch of his lips ignited the raw passion into hers. She was shy and timid but her wolf was a total contrast to that.

Her wolf was confident and strong. As soon as Lester's lips touched hers, she took partial control of Elsie's human form.

Lester moved his lips slowly and tenderly with every ounce of control to keep his wolf at bay. He felt Elsie's wolf had made her appearance. But he didn't want to frighten her with the hunger and lust that his heart had harboured for her all these years.

Elsie matched his pace moving her lips with his in sync. Her wolf demanded more from her mate and was ready to accept whatever he was willing to offer.

Even in that exhilarating situation, her conscious tried to suppress her wolf because she knew that Lester was doing the same. But her wolf was not ready for that. It was not every day that she got to make an appearance and do whatever she pleased.

Unable to control her wolf anymore, Elsie let her take control for this time and deepened the kiss. She opened her mouth invitingly and that was where the last thread of constraint broke for Lester.

His wolf growled in victory and his warm tongue darted inside her little mouth hungrily moving to explore every corner of it. Her sweet taste drove him crazy and his hold around her waist tightened that she felt his elongated nails digging into her skin through the fabric of her dress.

They both could feel each other's every feeling, every memory and every thought through their mind links. Their wolves purred in delight knowing that the other one shared the same feelings as theirs.

The feeling of acceptance by the mate was indescribable and felt unearthly. It was a grace bestowed upon them by their goddess and they would respect it with their lives.

The tension started building in Elsie's body. Lester's hand twitched to run as if they had their mind. A sweet moan left Elsie's throat bringing back Lester from the depths of passion and he suddenly got aware of the situation.

Before they could step onto the new and anonymous territory, Lester pulled away unwillingly.

A whimper mixed with protest and disappointment left Elsie's mouth as she opened her eyes to look at him. It took her some moments to stable her vision by clearing the clouds of need.

'Did he not like it?' An instant thought crossed her mind and Lester heard it loud and clear.

Lester didn't let go of her instead pulled her, even more, closer to him if that was possible. He rested his forehead on hers, their breaths came out ragged and hot then got mixed in each other to be one.

"We should stop, for now, Elsie or I would not be able to control myself." His words came out in a breathy whisper.

"But-"

"Shhh... I know what you want, my darling! I can hear your heartbeats and smell your sweet arousal, my dear mate."

"Lester!" Her cheeks turned crimson as she was not used to hearing such words. And them coming from Lester affected her in a different way.

"Trust me when I say that I want to mark you as mine right now and here. You drive me crazy, Elsie. Only you can make me and my wolf go this crazy!"

Shocks of passion electrocuted her heart upon hearing him say that. And suddenly she felt as confident as her wolf.

Lester brought his hands up to hold her face in his palms and pulled back to look into her beautiful eyes.

"I promise I won't give you a chance to complain next time!" There was a hidden commitment in his words that made Elsie suck a deep breath, her eyes fluttered in nervousness.

But soon she realised something. "Next time? What does it suppose to mean?"

The way he pried his eyes away from her face made her gulp nervously.

"Answer me, Lester. Please!" Her voice shook in fear at his silence.

After a moment, he said, "Elsie, my mother fell down the stairs and needs me and my father. I... I am leaving for my home today."

A minute passed in silence for Lester didn't dare to say another word and let Elsie have a moment for herself.

He could imagine how hard it must be for her to accept that he was leaving her when they have just admitted their feelings to each other because it was not easy for him too.

"When are you leaving?"

"In half an hour to be precise." He answered while gauging her face because she had closed her mind link and he couldn't read her thoughts anymore.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Lester looked at her again with narrowed eyes.

But he was met by a smile on Elsie's face. "Yes. I understand that you have your responsibilities at your home. And your mother needs you right now. Don't worry about me. I will be waiting for you."

Lester was too stunned that he didn't expect her to take the news this maturely. In his eyes, she was like a small girl who cries and throws tantrums when she didn't get something and Elsie knew that. But he didn't mind that though!

"Are you sure, Elsie?" He asked still not believing her words and that somewhere hurt her but she masked it with a smile and nodded her head.

"Yes! I now have enough memories of us to let me peacefully sleep at night and now that I know that we are mates, it will make things easier for me. And I know that you will come back soon because there is no way that you would let brother Edwin deal with all of the problems alone."

"Oh, Elsie!" Lester pulled her into a tight embrace and Elsie's heart sighed in bliss hearing his wildly beating heart.

"I promise I will come back as soon as possible. Till then miss me!"

Elsie giggled at his words. "I will! And same goes for you, Mr Wright." She wrapped her hands around his torso and closed her eyes to relish that moment in her mate's warm embrace.

"Yes, my dear mate. Every day without you is going to torture me painfully. I love you, Elsie and I can't ask more than this to the Moon Goddess. I love you!" He chanted the last words repeatedly as he buried his face in her silky hair.

And they stood in each other's arms losing the knowledge of time till the time for Lester's departure came.