by V. A. Dold
Rose could handle any challenge, but her lack of family was her kryptonite. Her reaction to others finding out about her childhood could seem unreasonable but it was something she couldn’t seem to help. To change the subject, she said, “Thank you Emma, I’d like that. I hope you have lots of pictures of Simon when he was a boy. I’d love to see what he was like. I imagine he was a hand full.”
Emma clapped her hands gleefully. “He was!” She raised her voice. “Isaac. Would you please bring me the family album?”
“Awww. Mom,” Simon groaned “Do you have to do that to me?”
“Great idea, Emma,” Isaac said cheerfully. “I bet Anna would enjoy seeing it too.” He went to a large bookcase and removed a leather bound album.
“Mom! Not the pictures,” Cade whined.
“I would!” Anna said.
Rose leaned in for a better look; there was a picture of a happy baby splashing excitedly in an old fashioned washtub. A few pages and he had aged to about one year old. Simon sat with his toys, waving chubby arms, hair falling into his face. Every few pages he aged a year or so. It was an incredible record of his happy childhood. It occurred to her that all of the pictures had period clothing and toys. The furniture and other things in the background were turn of the century. And they were old-fashioned black and white photos. What the heck was that all about?
Both Anna and Rose sat in rapt attention as Emma told story after story of Cade’s and Simon’s exploits.
The men sat quietly and took it like the big strong men that they were. Groaning in agony on the inside.
Simon sent her his quick, easy grin when the photo session ended. He felt her sadness increasing with each turn of the page. She covered her sadness surprisingly well. But the level of her anxiety was becoming alarming to him.
Simon had the family Rose had always dreamt of while growing up. They loved one another, teased each other horribly, and treated each other affectionately. It surprised her how much she still craved that. She thought she’d left that behind her years ago. Now that she’d had a taste of what it was like to be a part of this family, it would destroy her when she had to go back to her lonely life in Denver.
When the album had been returned to the shelf, Rose waited for the chance to sneak from the house unnoticed. Her heart was breaking just thinking about the day she would have to pack her bags and return home. Alone. With no family. No Simon. All her life she had been an outsider. Never good enough. Never what others wanted her to be. It was a lonely place to live. The tears were threatening to spill from her eyes any second and she needed to escape.
Simon was watching her out of the corner of his eye, she was very upset and trying to hide it. Her agony tore at him. The entire situation confused him; he couldn’t fix it if he didn’t understand it.
Rose walked away from him, from the dream family she would never have, with a lump in her throat and tears burning behind her eyes, away from his smiling mother and his loving father. She ran from the house and rushed to reach the safety of her bedroom at Anna’s.
“Hey!” Simon came up behind her and put his arm around her shoulders. “You all right? I thought we were having fun? What happened?”
She wouldn’t cry in front of him. If she had any sense she’d go home tomorrow. Maybe it would be less painful if she left now before it got any harder to leave. Before she fell even deeper in love with Simon and his family. She really didn’t see any reason in prolonging the agony. She would only be here a few months and then she would have to go home. She didn’t have silly hopes that Simon would fall in love with her and ask her to marry him. Men like him didn’t marry women like her. Better to rip the Band-Aid off quickly.
Rose shrugged Simon off and walked more quickly, practically running down the hall. It was a cowardly thing to do, but she had to get away before the tears started. She didn’t owe him an explanation. Hell, she didn’t know how to explain it. What she did know was that if she spent one more minute with him she’d be sobbing on his shoulder. The door had barely closed and the lock turned when Simon crashed into it.
“Rose, baby, please talk to me. Whatever it is, let me make it better.” The desperation in his voice was growing.
Rose lay on the bed with her face buried in the pillow weeping as her heart shattered.
Hearing her sobs and feeling her heart break was too much. Taking a step back he rammed the door knocking it off its hinges. He hadn’t even realized what he was doing until he was standing on the other side of the door.
Rose screamed and bolted from the bed.
In two steps Simon was on her. He grabbed her up in his arms, burying his face in her neck. His entire body was shaking so badly he wasn’t able to stand. With a slight turn of their bodies, he tumbled them to the bed.
The family came running as they heard the crash of the door from across the yard to find Rose wrapped in Simon’s arms weeping heart-wrenching tears.
Isaac waved everyone away. They needed privacy. He would speak with Simon once everyone settled down.
It was a long time before Rose quieted. Simon wanted to get her tissues but he was terrified of letting go of her. A few minutes later she lifted her head. Her mascara ran down her face, her nose and eyes were red, she’d never been more beautiful to him.
“Will you please tell me what’s wrong? Did I do or say something?” His wolf was howling in agony feeling its mate’s pain.
“I can’t stay here, Simon. I don’t belong. I’m not part of the family. If I stay any longer, my heart will shatter when I need to go back to Denver. You’re having fun now but you’re going to get bored with me like the others. I need to leave now, before it’s too late.”
“NO!” It came out as a sharp command. His wolf leapt to the surface. He struggled to soften his tone. “Please don’t leave me, Rose. I’m begging you. Please stay.” His voice broke and a tear ran down his cheek
At that she lifted her head and looked at him. “Why? Why is it so important to you that I stay?” This didn’t make sense to her, yes, she had slept with him, but that didn’t mean much to men.
“You may not believe me but I love you, baby. You’re my mate, there is literally no other woman for me.”
“Everyone keeps calling me your mate. What the hell does that even mean?” She was frustrated now.
“For every shifter there is only one woman, one mate. You search all your life for the special woman meant for only you. When a shifter is born, he has half a soul, his mate has the other half. There’s a mating ritual that binds the two pieces of the soul together. Once a shifter finds his mate, she’s everything to him. He has no interest in any other woman, no desire for any other woman. You are literally my other half, my everything. I’ll never leave you, never cheat on you. I only want to protect you, love you, and make you happy.”
She sighed. “That sounds like the perfect fairy tale. How can you be so sure I’m your mate? You could be with me for a while and then decide someone else is your mate.”
He shook his head. “There are specific signs. You’ll be unnaturally drawn to the person and once you are close enough you will smell the most delicious scent you’ve ever smelled.”
Her head came up and she started listening intently.
“Then when you hear her voice it’s like the world becomes brighter, more colorful. I can’t even begin to describe it properly. Finally, the unmistakable sign is you’ll be able to talk telepathically to your mate.”
“And you’ve had all these signs?”
“Yes, I’m sure you have too. When I’m near you do you smell anything special?”
She looked at the floor again, afraid to say it in case it wasn’t real.
He bent way down so he could force her to look at him. “Rose?”
“Yes, I smell fresh linen, like freshly washed sheets,” she whispered.
I smell the most exquisite combination of coffee and cinnamon rolls. He grinned and waited for her to react to hearing him telepathically.
Sh
e smiled, as she looked him in the eye. “I smell like breakfast?” She laughed.
“The best breakfast in the world.”
“So, you really can’t ever leave me?”
“Nope, I wouldn’t want to anyway. You’re beautiful and the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. You’re everything to me, baby. I love you so much, it hurts.”
“But what happens if you don’t do this mating ritual you mentioned?”
“Then our souls won’t be complete, and you won’t get your wolf soul and your magic.”
“Back up the bus. What wolf soul and magic?”
“When we do the ritual, you’ll receive a wolf soul and be able to shift like me. You also get magic so you can put on clothes with a thought, heal and move super fast. Stuff like that.”
“That’s the special abilities you talked about at the diner right?”
“Exactly.” He was beginning to breathe easier and the knot in his stomach eased.
“What’s the ritual?”
“First there is the request. I’ll ask you formally if you’ll give yourself to me to make me complete. I ask you, will you give yourself, body and soul, to complete this man and his wolf? Will you unite your life with mine, bond your future with mine, and merge your half of our soul to mine, and in doing so complete the mating ritual?
“The second part is your formal response, which is: I will give myself, body and soul, to complete you as a man and a wolf. I will unite my life with yours, bond my future to yours, and merge my half of our soul with yours. I will complete the mating ritual with you.
“Then as we join our bodies together and while we make love, I make my vow to you, which is: I claim you as my mate. I belong to you as you belong to me. I give you my heart and my body. I will protect you with my life. I give you all I am. I share my half of our soul to complete you. I share my magic with you. I beseech the great Luna goddess to bless you and your wolf guardian. You are my mate to cherish today and for all time. I claim you as my mate.
“At the part where I say I share my magic with you, I bite you right here, where your neck and shoulder meet. But don’t worry, I’m told it isn’t painful and you’ll enjoy it. Then you say those same words to me and bite me in the same manner. That’s the complete ritual.”
“You’re not playin’ me? That actually works?”
“Yes, it does, if you don’t believe me ask Anna.”
She gasped. “She did it? She is a shifter too?” She jumped up and ran to ask Anna. She found her in the kitchen. “Anna, did you do the ritual?”
Simon leaned against the kitchen island chuckling at the look on Anna’s face.
Anna looked from Rose to Simon and back again. She turned to Simon before she responded to Rose. “Did you explain it all to her?”
“Yes, I told her about the entire ritual.”
“CADE!” she called.
He came from the great room. “Cher? Is something wrong?”
She turned to Rose. “Yes, I have done the ritual with Cade.”
“So, you can shift and have magic and stuff?”
“Yes, and there is something else you both need to know. Rose, you’ll regress in age until you look like you did when you were about twenty five.” She raised an eyebrow at Cade and suddenly she looked twenty five again.
Rose’s hand flew to her mouth and her eyes became huge. She reached for a bar stool and sat.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just give me a minute.”
While she was recovering, Cade tapped Simon on the shoulder. “We all need to talk about the conversion. When she’s ready, come into the great room.” He and Anna left them to talk in the kitchen.
“Rose, are you sure you’re okay? You look really pale.”
“I just need to wrap my head around seeing my best friend do that before my eyes.” She waved her hand around. “So, I’ll do that too. Look all…young again.”
“Yes.” He hesitated. “Um, Rose?”
She gave him a questioning look.
“Please tell me you weren’t a skinny stick of a woman at twenty five. I mean I’ll love you no matter what, but damn girl, I like your soft curves.”
Her eyebrows went up and she laughed at his pained expression. “No, Simon, I’ve always been plus sized.”
“Thank Goddess.”
She shook her head at him. “Let’s find out what other bombs they are going to drop on me today.”
Once everyone was settled in the great room, Cade look them both in the eyes. “After the ritual, within a few minutes, Rose will begin to regress. Simon, there won’t be much you can do but stay with her and keep your mouth shut.”
Anna took her friend’s hand. “It’s not terribly painful. Your body will go through changes to anti-age for lack of a better word. Your skin will tighten, wrinkles will smooth out, and everything turns back the clock, even your ovaries. That’s why I can have a baby again.” She grinned and rubbed her tummy. “My best advice is to watch a Lamaze video with me and practice breathing before you do the ritual. It’ll help you a lot.”
“Is there a time limit we need to do the ritual by?” she asked.
Cade answered for Simon. “No, but the longer you wait, the harder it is on Simon.”
Simon growled at Cade. He didn’t want anyone pressuring his mate.
“Cool it, Cujo. I need to know the truth.” She looked to Anna. “Want to watch a video with me this afternoon?”
“I’d love to. I even have popcorn,” she said happily.
Chapter 11
Rose Moves In
How could the past two weeks have been any more perfect?
Oh, wait, they couldn’t. He smiled as he imagined waking next to Rose every morning in his bed.
Rose had finally agreed to move her belongings from Anna’s house to his. Both his wolf’s soul and the man thanked Goddess for this woman. She was a gift more precious than he deserved but he was honored that he’d been blessed with her as his mate.
He paced the deck as she unpacked. When he’d tried to help she’d swatted him and shooed him away. He didn’t understand what was taking so long. She only had a few suitcases of clothes.
A faint scent of panic struck him the moment he passed the screen door. Her anxiety caused his own to spike. Had Travis come back for her?
“Rose?” No answer. “Rose!” he yelled as he burst through the door, sending bits of doorjamb flying in all directions. “Rose? Where are you?” Hers was the only scent in the house, so what had caused her to panic?
Then he heard her cursing in the walk in closet.
“I’m trying to fix the closet rod, it fell as I was hanging my clothes!” she yelled back. “The rod let loose on one end and all of my clothes are trying to slide off.”
He ran to help her, relieved there was no threat lurking. Why did I build the bedrooms way back here? He snarled as he rushed through the house.
A thud sounded, followed by a louder curse and low whimper. As he entered the bedroom, he saw Rose struggling to push one end of the closet rod back into place while blood trickled to her elbow.
He took the sagging rod from her. “There is a length of 2x4 in the coat closet by the back door, could you get that?” She ran to get it and he wedged it under the rod. “I’ll get a new bracket from the hardware store later and fix it properly,” waving toward the board, “that should hold for now. Are you all right?” he asked as he tried to assess her injury.
“I’m fine. The rod just slipped and scraped down my arm.” She raised it for him to see.
Over the past two weeks Simon had dedicated himself to courting Rose. It had been a slow process convincing her she was the only woman in the world for him. But, persistence paid off. She now believed he thought she was beautiful, sexy, and he’d never want anyone else. And now he had her living in his home, life was good.
Simon set her coffee in front of her as they relaxed to plan their day. “Cher, would you like to go dancing tonight?”
“Ther
e’s a club around here?” Her brows disappeared into the hair across her forehead.
“My cousin Julia has a place in the bayou, you can only get to it by boat. She jokingly named it the Backwater to annoy her parents. She has a live band on Saturday nights. I’m told the music is usually pretty good.”
“Sounds like fun. What time should I be ready?”
“We can go after dinner, whenever we’re ready.”
“Okay, I better get moving. I promised to help Anna paint the baby’s room today.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and left with her coffee.
This new comfortable relationship feels like we’re a mated couple, he mused. I like it.
Rose placed the last of the dinner dishes in the washer when she felt the air behind her stir. Without turning her head, she knew it was Simon. She felt his presence like a tangible touch.
She looked at him over her shoulder. His blue eyes seared her with heat. The intensity of his stare made her shiver. Lifting one hand, he laid his fingers against the blush of her cheek. Then he wrapped his arms around her from behind. He buried his nose in her hair and let his wolf rumble in satisfaction. “I’m ready to show you off at Julia’s whenever you are ready to go.”
“Let me check my face and hair. It’ll only take a minute.” She returned a few minutes later looking amazing.
Her hair was pulled back in a fashionable messy bun. A single strand was left loose to fall down the side of her face to the tip of her breast. He longed to follow that strand to its destination, scrape his teeth against her nipple and inhale her precious scent.
She was without a doubt the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen in his life. Rose placed her arms around his neck, and he relished how her warmth seeped into his body.
“I may have to change my mind, you look too good, and I’ll be forced to kill some idiot who tries to dance with you.”