Free Hunger of the Heart (Wolves of Ravenwillow Book 1) by Magenta Phoenix

envy, once he found out.
     
    * ~ * ~ *
     
    Pacing back and forth across his office, Eric was unable to take his eyes off the phone that sat untouched on the cluttered desk. There was no lie he could tell himself for the reason why he’d dialed Rebecca’s number. After their encounter last night, his wolf was unreasonable, causing him to crave her even more than usual. He was beyond restless, feeling as though he’d destroy anything he’d touch if he couldn’t have her in his presence.
    Hours earlier; in a moment of desperation, he’d called her. The sound of her irritated voice had startled him, but just hearing her still felt like a soothing balm for the worst of his tight, burning skin. She may just be a mortal, but she had the temper of a she-wolf, with jaws snapping at him for insulting her and God help him it made him want her more.
    Never before had he been so connected to his wolf aside from shifting when their souls joined as one. Now he could hear his wolf’s thoughts, his feelings and desires as his own, a torn part of him had begun to mend back together. What had caused this change in him, in his wolf?
    Mate… the familiar deep rumbling voice echoed in the walls of Eric’s mind.
    He knew now that it was his inner wolf and the realization terrified him. The only reason a shifter’s inner beast fully emerged was when their beast sensed their true mate near. She was the one person in the world that completed both man and beast, his true mate. A mate beyond worth or description. Could this explain his unexplainable mood swings? Was this what the mated wolves had meant? Had the feeling of completeness and other stronger, indescribable emotions mean not just the finding of his destined female, but becoming whole with the wolf inside him?
    Mate. The voice now growled through his mind once more.
    What mate? Eric finally asked. Every second the thoughts of his wolf sounded— felt more as his own.
    Our mate; Find her and claim her now. I do not want to be apart from our mate. His wolf whispered with a beseeching tone before a growl rumbled out.   Find her.
    Eric found himself scoffing, his head shaking with disbelief. This was ridiculous. He didn’t have a mate and it certainly wasn’t Rebecca, the forbidden mortal. Why would the fates be so cruel to him? Forcing him to wait for his true mate and then to present a fragile mortal to him, a woman that he would forever long for but would never possess.
    She is ours…
    She is not ours. Eric responded adamantly to his inner beast. Communicating with his beast felt strange, but a freeing rush coursed through him at the same time. It is forbidden to claim a human as a mate and even if it weren’t you know the pack laws as much as I do.
    Others have taken a human mate before, it is only impossible because you allow your stubbornness to cloud your mind. His wolf argued.
    We are not bears! Eric yelled through his thoughts.
    He refused to believe it. He would prove to his stubborn wolf that she wasn’t his mate that was causing his basic instincts to go haywire, but the lustful idea of tasting the forbidden fruit that he was denied.
    Snatching up the phone, he quickly redialed her number; after he saw her in person he’d be able to put all this disputable nonsense to rest.
     
    * ~ * ~ *
     
    Where the hell is it?
    In a panicked rush, Rebecca dumped the contents of her makeup bag into the porcelain sink, each item making a loud crashing sound on impact. Sifting through the pile, she searched desperately for her lipstick. Go three years without a date and no use for makeup, much less lipstick and when you really need it, it’s gone.
    After Eric and Damon’s calls, she had enjoyed her day off thoroughly, first with a long hot bubble bath and then by curling up on her couch with a romance novel and her favorite soap opera playing in the background, Then spending two precious hours making herself presentable for her date tonight, saving makeup for last.
    Releasing a