#Chapter 9 Getting to Know Helen
Justin POV
I wasn’t sure why the female smelled so strongly of my mate if she wasn’t my mate.
There was none of my own scent remaining on her body which meant she had either bathed very, very thoroughly or she was telling me the truth: she was not my Diana, but, instead, Diana’s treacherous sister Helen.
I couldn’t come up with a reason why she might lie to me; her fear was palpable as she encouraged me to go to the outdoor eatery to wait on her to retrieve my mate and hers. She seemed confused about her instructions until she retrieved her cellular phone.
The call she made went to a messaging service. I was annoyed, but she seemed relieved. Again, I had no idea what to think of things. All I knew was this woman smelled so much of my mate yet not at all of me. How would that be possible?
I’d bit my mate during the mating. I remembered my teeth sinking deep into her muscles and how I’d lapped at the wound until all the edges were fully sealed by my healing saliva.
If I focused, I could still recall the exact taste of her copper–rich blood in my mouth. It’d been sickening and arousing at the same time. The beast in me had wanted to howl with his satisfaction while I’d forced him to settle for driving his cock deeper inside her spasming channel.
Thinking about sex with my mate was not appropriate for either my lack of clothing or for the public eatery I had been abandoned in.
My attention was attracted to the scent of those who’d dared to accost Helen in the street. She might be a female of questionable morals, but she was family of my family in the sense she shared blood with my fated mate.
I left my table to go over to the pair of women who were bickering at the edge of the sidewalk.
“You!” I demanded, seizing each of them by a wrist so they couldn’t escape, “You were attacking a woman in the street. Tell me what you know of her.”
“She’s—she’s your mate?”
I shook the one who questioned me roughly, “I ask the questions! Tell me what you know of her. Now!”
Stammering, the other woman offered, “Her name is Helen She’s Diana’s younger sister. She’s a nasty mongrel when she shifts. Three or even four colors in her coat. She’s barely a wolf!”
“Her mate married Diana yesterday at what was supposed to be her wedding. It was a huge deal! She deserved it though. No Alpha deserves to be saddled with a lowbreed like her.” (1
A growl was forming in my throat as the beast in me roused due to the insults to his mate. I had to force the creature down into the deep recesses of my mind by focusing on the many strange scents around me.
Who knew the world was so large? That there were so many wolfen in a village? How much had I missed chained in my bedroom for years?
“So her name is truly Helen? And she was the one to be left by her mate at the altar—she was NOT married yesterday?”
“No,” both women agreed, “Definitely not. Scott left her like a bad penny.”
I knew in that moment I had been right all along: I had saved my mate in the streets from these women. It was her scent I had smelled.
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#Chapter 9 Getting to Know Helen
These bitches had dared to threaten my mate.
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It took all my focus to release them from my grip and I wasn’t even aware of the words I let the beast mutter to them to send them on their way.
I couldn’t care about their feelings. All who mattered was my mate—and her name was Helen.
I realized she must have been afraid to tell me her name. I had a horrible temper. The beast hated being caged. Before I’d met my mate, I’d done—awful things to the female offerings sent to me.
Helen was right to be cautious. She was smart. Clever. I was a lucky, lucky Lycan to have such a clever mate.
I waited at the table until she returned to me.
Her odor was changed drastically, but I knew she must have done something to make it change. I had no experience with the outside world as an adult, but I wasn’t completely ignorant. I could tell when someone was trying to fool me.
My father had scented females with all sorts of potions to try to seduce my beast over the years.
“Hello, Helen. Is Diana on her way?”
“I wasn’t able to convince her to come,” she whispered.
Pushing the chair across from me out with my foot, I gestured for her to sit, “Then you will sit with me. We will get to know one another and then you will take me to your home where I will meet my mate in privacy.”
I didn’t want to scare her by letting her know I was very well aware she was my mate; I could play along with this game for a while if it pleased her.
What wouldn’t I do to please my mate?
The question was one I would explore later when I had more leisure. For now, I’d humor my Helen, my mate, and learn all I could of her before revealing I was aware of our connection all along.
Helen POV
Justin was interested in talking with me for who knew what reason; he had accepted the shift in my scent without comment. I was trying very hard not to do anything to mention it myself though the urge was strong.
He scared me on a deeper level than I was comfortable examining.
Was it because he was such a powerful Alpha? Because he was the last Lycan? Because he was a prince?
There were so many reasons for Justin to be more impressive than me, more fearsome than me, just plain more
than me.
I didn’t know how to relate to him.
“May I bring you refreshments now?”
Justin and I both jerked at the sudden appearance of the waiter. I’d forgotten we were even in The Patio! Who knew what we would do if we actually ordered something more than a small bite? Justin certainly had no money on him though he did appear to have my necklace in the pocket of his shorts.
A sudden idea struck me and I asked, “Are you still offering the wine tower challenge?”
The waiter raised his eyebrows as he looked me over -I knew I was far, far too small and slight to be taking on a
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#Chapter 9 Getting to know Helen
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drinking challenge- before glancing at Justin who was a much more imposing figure. He seemed to believe Justin was masculine enough to want to try the cafe’s ridiculous game.
“We are! Have you attempted the challenge before?”
I quickly said, “No, not me! I am interested in treating my friend here. He has never had your wine and he’s very proud of his stamina so I thought he would relish the chance to face the challenge.”
Alphas did love a good challenge. Or any challenge depending on the Alpha. I didn’t know whether Justin was the type to want to prove himself or not, but I did know it was unlikely he’d drank often in his experiences while trapped in one room of his father’s mansion.
“Are you familiar with the rules?”
Justin shook his head, curiosity coloring his features, “What kind of challenge are we talking of? Is this eating? Or drinking?”
“Drinking,” the waiter assured, “The rules are quite simple: we bring forth a dozen glasses which are stacked into a wine fountain. We fill the glasses with the contents of three bottles of wine. If you are able to drink all twelve glasses, you win the game and the wine is free as is your next meal here at The Patio. Once you have started the challenge, you must either finish or forfeit. If you forfeit, you must pay for all three bottles of wine. Do you accept the challenge?”
Justin looked from the waiter to me and back again before asking, “Would I be drinking alone?”
“Yes,” I said at the same time as the waiter.
“You must finish the bottles on your own with no help from anyone else. Would you like to undertake the challenge?”
Justin gave me a shrewd look before saying, “I will take the challenge on if you will agree to drink one glass of wine for every four I drink. That would mean—twelve for me and three for you. Do you agree?”
I had never drank more than two glasses of wine in a single sitting in my life, but I knew better options wouldn’t be coming my way.
Nodding, I agreed, “Yes. I agree.”
“Let’s drink!” Justin crowed, slamming a huge fist onto the table to make it shake almost as much as I was on the inside.
