Hearts On Fire (Book 2)

Chapter 16

Julian POV

The first time I met you, I couldn't take my eyes off your beauty. You were the most gorgeous woman I'd ever met with your jet black hair and blue green eyes. When I joked about dinner, I actually meant I would love to take you to dinner, but didn't figure I should be that forward with you. When you told me your name, Evangeline, I thought it was such a fitting name for you - a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.

Next you 'propositioned' me, and I would never admit to you that I would have actually taken you up on your offer if I hadn't promised my mom I would wait for my mate. I was so incredibly attracted to you - it was like something was pulling you to me. I never believed in love at first sight until I met you. There were so many things I wish I could do to you - with you.

Your laugh was absolutely infectious, and sometimes I pulled pranks not just to impress you but to hear you laugh. Your smile and how you enhanced everything you did, made me want to call you angel the first time - but I was afraid that using that type of term of endearment would only alert you and those around you that I was very interested in you.

The alarm clock prank was probably one of my favorites because of the look on your face and the blush on your cheeks when you saw that I slept without clothes on - and how I want you to be impressed by what you saw. I even asked you if you liked what you saw - in French of course so you wouldn't know what I was saying.

Later you were sitting in the front room sulking, I wanted to make you feel better. I just wanted to hear that infectious, angelic laugh of yours. You had told me you had gotten a call from your mom about that prick that rejected you. Inside I was fuming, but I was good at hiding those types of emotions. However we ended up staring at each other. I realized that we both had realized that we had developed feelings for one another. When you looked away and seemed kind of embarrassed by that moment, I knew you were going to respect my wishes about finding my mate. Why the hell couldn't you have been my mate - dammit! I guess keeping you as my best friend was going to be the best I was ever going to get. Internally this made me extremely upset, but what the hell was I going to do about the situation. It was also the first time I told you you were beautiful - in French of course again - because I was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

We would joke and say 'Screw you!" and "Fuck you!" but that is exactly what I wanted to do and damn if I couldn't help my fangs from descending at the most inopportune times - and since you were so observant you noticed - well you probably noticed other things too, but were nice enough not to say anything.

The day of the whipped cream prank was the day that I had finally decided that I might take a chance and kiss you - see where it might lead. Fate intervened again when Romain interrupted us. I was so upset with him at that moment, and to this day I'm not sure if it would have been a mistake to kiss you then.

One day, you announce that you are going to leave, and my heart sinks a little. I knew this day was coming. You had been having more meetings with Scarlett lately, and I knew they were talking about the threats to Blackrose by Sanguis Silence and Crimson Edge Packs. Crimson Edge Pack made me shiver a little. It was the pack where that jackass who rejected you was from. I wouldn't have rejected you if you were my mate - I can guarantee that! I knew that you planned to travel to Virginia to your mom's old pack to try let them know and to possibly try to start to form alliances between our pack and both the Tidewater and New Dawn Packs. Tidewater had some of the best trained fighters - the Warriors, they called them. Eva's mom used to be a Warrior, well I guess she still is technically, she just is part of the Silver Tide Pack as the Luna. I wonder if you get your beauty from her mom or dad or both? It ended up being both.

But regardless of all of this, I knew something else was wrong. Even though we had basically become best friends, you weren't willing to talk about it. I figured it had to do with Romain, and I wasn't willing to push it to find out. I really didn't want to hear your answer to what was wrong - I already had a feeling what the problem was.