" The human buried within the wolf’s skin exerted every ounce of
control he had and forced his wolf to move back, lest he frighten his
best friend. Zev raised himself off Jonah on shaky legs and backed
away into the corner. He rolled himself into a ball and whimpered
quietly. He hurt. Every nerve ending in his body wanted to touch Jonah.
He needed to claim his mate, but he couldn’t because Jonah was male
and human. Zev had never known pain as intense as that which coursed
through him as a result of the denied need to be with his mate, to tie
together and join with him in all ways possible.
“What’s wrong, Pup?” Jonah approached Zev with his hand out,
palm up. He squatted down by the huge wolf and looked at him with
concern. “Are you sick?”
Jonah’s position brought his crotch dangerously close to Zev’s
face. The young man’s enticing scent was strongest in that part of his
body, and Zev couldn’t stop himself from raising his head and resting it
in Jonah’s lap, sniffing at him and burrowing as close as he could
through the protective barrier of his mate’s pajama pants. He rolled
onto his stomach, hiding an arousal that he knew would frighten and
repulse the human, but kept his head in place on Jonah’s thigh with his
nose close to Jonah’s sex.
With his mate near, he could feel Jonah’s heat, smell Jonah’s
scent. They were together. It was enough. It had to be enough. For now.
The last thought—an internal promise from Zev’s human to his wolf
that the separation from Jonah’s body was only temporary—was what
Zev’s body needed to soothe out the cramping that had taken over his
intestines. "
― Cardeno C. , Wake Me Up Inside (Mates, #1)