Page 5 of Charisma
“I’m gonna go put this little one down. Be good, Esme.” With a swift peck to my lips, and a nod of my head, he turns on his heels, making his way back to our bungalow.
A sigh escapes me as I shake my head. Getting him to believe me was too easy. I should feel a tad ashamed for what I’m about to do, but I can’t find it in me to care.
“Charisma is as stubborn as a mule and her mate’s ten times worse. I ask for your assistance, Gaia, and force these two to look at what lies before them. Charisma needs to drink in his life essence in order to discover the match, and Baldwin must willingly offer his blood to save her, without worrying about the fact that he’ll be forcing her hand. Give them a boost and open their link to them so they may finally surrender to the call for mating. A sacrifice must be made for this personal gain, as my token to you, I will magically push love and growth into the earth’s floor. So mote it be.”
With a sigh, knowing that it’s now out of my hands, I continue walking the neighborhood in case someone needs me. It’s my daily routine. I explore, and if someone needs me to help them, I’ve made myself available.
BALDWIN
Ambling on my four paws with my snout buried into the earth’s floor, I pick up my mate’s scent and follow the path she’s previously taken. When I meet up with her, she’s sitting beside a large tree, her back flush with the trunk, her legs spread on either side of the vast, exposed roots.
“Go away, Baldwin,” she implores. Instead of obliging her wish, I plop my furry behind beside her. “What do you want? Are you here to demean me more? Did you not make me feel enough like a fool? Need to kick a girl while she’s down?”
My bones crack as my body reshapes. The sound echoing around us would have others believing the transition is a painful one, but I’ve grown used to the change in forms over time that I don’t even notice the aching when it happens anymore. It doesn’t matter to me if she sees me naked; at some point, we’ll be that way every night.
Once I’m in human form, and covered enough with the foliage lying around, I can face her, I simply say, “I’m sorry, Charisma. I could sit here all day long trying to explain why I reacted the way I did, but it doesn’t change the fact that my actions hurt your feelings. For that, I’m truly regretful. Suffice it to say, I was worried because you appeared, at least to me, to be dying. While my head knows differently since you’re a vampire, my heart didn’t understand.”
The truth. It’s all I’ve got right now, even though I stop just short of telling her who she is to me. Like I told Beast when he asked,shehas to come to the realization on her own that we’re mates. Me telling her isn’t going to miraculously open her up to our future. No, it’s all on her so I’ll exercise my patience, even though my bear grumbles daily we should just take matters into our own hands. Or paws.
Instead of yelling at me, which I likely deserve for embarrassing her the way I did in front of our friends, she lets out a deep, soul-wrenching sigh. “I came to that realization just a little while ago but was trying to come to grips with how to apologize to you for overreacting.”
“You don’t have to do that, Risma,” I gently reply. “The fault is one-hundred percent mine. Don’t take it on your shoulders.”
“I’ll try not to, Baldwin,” she says in agreement, but it’s a half-hearted attempt to appease me.
Instead of pushing the issue, oranyissue like my bear wants me to, I sit nearby in companionable silence, willing to let her set the pace as far as any talking goes. It’s not always easy being like this, but I’ve found in my lifetime that when I wait, people tend to start speaking. I want to know everything there is to know about her and will wait ten lifetimes if that’s what it takes.
“Don’t worry about Esmerelda,” she suddenly spouts. “She’s all talk, but I don’t think she’d really injure you.”
I snort at her statement. “Are you sure about that? Because I think she’s trying to figure out the best way to cure my hide so she can have a rug in front of the fireplace where she keeps her cauldron.”
Her giggles sound like a tinkling spring brook on a sunny day. When my bear chuffs inside, letting me know he’s laughing his giant furry ass off at me, I mentally thump him. Who cares if I sound like a besotted, lovesick fool? I never thought I’d have a lifemate so even though Charisma is clueless about that particular fact, I can wax poetic if I want to. Although, I won’t do it out loud because those fuckers, Maverick, and Paxton, would never let me live it down. Even though I’veseenhow they are around their own mates. Hell, Beast isn’t much better around his wacky, witchy woman!
“Yes, I’m sure. I made her promise, Baldwin. She takes her vows seriously. She might pull a prank or two, but she won’t actually harm you.”
“I’m going to have to take your word for it, sweetheart. Because I suspect she’s going to do her best to interfere in my life in any way she can.” My bear eagerly nods his snout, agreeing with my opinion.
Just as she starts to respond, I hear a terrible cracking sound then watch in absolute horror as a branch starts swaying and comes flying toward the ground before impaling itself into Charisma’s side. Her shriek of pain has the hairs on the nape of my neck standing up on end as I stand, ignoring my nudity, and rush to her side. “Charisma? Tell me what to do, sweetheart!” I feel like I’m yelling but know it’s because my heart’s pounding so fiercely, pumping blood so violently that it sounds like a roar echoing in my head.
As blood gushes in rivulet streams from her side, she grows paler than she normally is, but she doesn’t sound as panicked as I am when she acknowledges, “I need blood, Baldwin. I can heal, much slower than you shifters do, of course, but I have to have blood, or I may not survive this deep of a puncture wound.”
Give her ours!My bear bellows, standing up on his hind legs.Do it now!
I can’t, you stupid fool! If my research is correct, it will bind us together and we’ll be mated. That’s not how I want her to find out or make her eternally ours.
She’s going to die if you don’t!His pleading isn’t falling on deaf ears; I just don’t want to push her this way. Except, I know she can’t take anyone else’s life sustaining essence in or she’ll be bound to them through blood ties.
“You can have mine,” I tell her, delicately pulling her into my lap so I can cradle her in my arms. “Go ahead, Charisma,” I urge, worry now etching my face, offering her the vein beating away in my neck.
“Are… are you sure?” she murmurs, already growing weaker, drowsier as the blood continues to gush from the wound in her side.
“Positive. Now, bite me, woman!” I tease, trying to keep from utterly losing my shit.
I watch as her incisors lengthen then tilt my head so she can reach my neck. As the seconds tick by, I wait patiently, wondering if she knows the ramifications of what she’s about to do. I feel her tongue lightly lick the juncture of my neck near my shoulder then bite back a curse when I feel her piercing fangs penetrate my skin. Immediately, I can feel the mate bond establish itself as she continues to pull on my vein while she drinks from me. Already, I sense the blood that was pouring from her wound has slowed, and I send up a prayer to Mother Earth that she’ll receive some of my healing abilities by ingesting my life’s essence.
Eventually, she pulls back then licks the puncture marks once more to seal them. As I look into her beautiful eyes, I can see her skin tone has pinkened up slightly. When our gazes meet, her pupils widen and she whispers, “Mate?” before passing out in my arms.
I don’t waste any time when that happens. While I could get back to everyone who would be able to help us quicker in bear form, there’s no way to carry her since she’s unable to climb on me or hold onto me in her present state.