by Terri L Vest
Silas studied his daughter, remembering the threat she'd been under and knowing he could have lost her for good. It went against his wishes to separate from her now, but he knew that it had been hard on her as well and she deserved a few moments to herself. "Alright, sweetheart. I will give you a bit of time, but I will expect to see you home shortly! Your mother will be frantic in her need to see personally that you're ok! Deal?"
Reika smiled and nodded in agreement. "Tell mother I'm fine and will see her shortly. And daddy . . . " She threw herself into his protective embrace . . . "thank you for coming to get me", she whispered into his ear.
"Always, my sweet little flower, ALWAYS!" he said, his voice gruff with his emotions. He hugged her fiercely, then released her as, shifting to his wolf, he turned towards home.
She stood and watched him go, her heart swelling with pride and love for her father. He had always been her hero, but after today - there was no question to the depth of his love for her and the lengths he'd go for her! Even so far as joining forces with a wolf he considered his rival! Remembering that Foster was behind her, she turned to face him.
They stared at each other for a moment, then suddenly, quickly closed the distance and fell into each others arms. Foster pulled her to him so fiercely, she wasn't sure if he'd break her. He trembled slightly as he held her and she knew he needed this as much as she did! Though her life had been on the line, he'd been left wondering if she was safe or whether he'd get to her in time. She wasn't sure which would've been more difficult.
"Reika, my love, . . . I thought I would lose you today and I wasn't sure I'd be able to control my rage or heart break! When I saw them holding you to the ground, and when he struck you, I wanted to rip him apart, no matter the risk to myself. However, knowing that we needed to keep from alerting the camp to keep it to a minimal risk to you, was the only reason I was able to stay in control. I swear to you now, my love, that we will be united as soon as possible. . . " he pulled away to look at her as he asked, "if that is acceptable to you, of course!?"
She gazed at him, standing there strong yet vulnerable, the man of her dreams and the only one she'll consider mating. "Of course that's acceptable to me, silly. The only thing that kept me going and gave me strength was knowing that you were coming to save me. Such sadness overwhelmed me when I allowed myself to think I may not get the chance to see you again."
With the confessions of their fears spoken, they drew together once again, holding each other tightly and reveling in the joy of being together again, they both secretly vowed they'd never be parted again!
After they'd clung to each other for a while, Foster reluctantly pulled back. "We need to get you home, my love. Your mother needs the reassurance that we are enjoying at this moment. She was there when I told your father you'd been taken and she'd become quite upset with the news. Let's not allow her to suffer any more. I will walk you home, then I'll return to my own home to see to a few details. We can meet in the meadow tomorrow if you'd like. I'm sure your father will be summoning me at some point, so either way it's pretty certain we will see each other tomorrow!" They both chuckled as they released their hold, only to interlock their hands as they turned towards home, both seeming reluctant to let go!
As they neared the border of her home territory, she wondered if she should tell him she'd go the rest of the way alone, that he should head home. However, she didn't recall hearing her father rescind the truce they must have agreed to for the rescue, so she took it as a loophole they could enjoy. He must have been thinking the same, for when they crossed the border, he didn't slow or hesitate.
When they reached her outer property however, they stopped, neither wanting to push things too far. Foster turned toward her and pulled her in for another tight embrace. "For now I say goodnight, my love. Know that I will be thinking of you until we meet again and hope to see you in my dreams!" He reached down to capture her lips in a soft kiss full of longing, appreciation and love. He savored the taste of her and committed it to a memory he'd draw on until he could see her again. She clung to him, leaning into his embrace and willing the kiss to never end! With a soft moan, he reluctantly pulled away and turned her towards home. "Go now my love, before I lose the strength to let you go!"
Not wanting to make things any more difficult, she began to walk towards the house, looking back to see if he'd started his journey home. At first he'd hesitated, watching to be sure she was safe. As she reached her door, she looked one last time to find him gone and a sadness gripped her heart like none she'd ever known.
Before she could open the door, it flew open and her mother rushed out to take her into her arms as she cried out her relief to see her youngest returned home safely!! "Reika, my dearest, you're finally home, safe and sound. Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" She felt her mother's hands skimming over her arms and back as if searching for any injuries she would need to tend to for her. She wanted to say she was fine, and ask her to stop her search, but she knew that her mother must have been terrified by the news. This was her way to assure herself that Reika was safe and uninjured. Once she seemed satisfied that she wasn't hurt, she once again took her in her arms as she let go of the fear she'd been holding and softly cried with the relief of it all.
"It's ok mom... I'm ok and it's over. Father and Foster got there just in time and saved the day!" She gave her mom one last tight squeeze then pulled away so they could go inside. Her father was waiting inside and he smiled to see his daughter wrapped in the protective arms of her mother. He wondered how long Reika would have to wait for Claire to feel comfortable enough to let he out of her sight!
When he'd gotten home, she had come running to him expecting to see Reika with him. It had taken some doing to assure her that their daughter was just fine and would be returning home shortly. Claire had paced incessantly until she'd heard her talking outside. Reika was lucky that he'd convinced her mother to at least wait until she got to the door!
They all went to the library since it was the calmest and coziest room in the house and all three sat on the couch, sandwiching Reika between them. Silas had sent her a mental message asking her to please be patient with her mom, and allow her whatever she needed to feel that her family was back together and safe once more.
Silas turned to his daughter and seeing that she seemed calm, he asked, "Reika, do you think you could give us some details of how this all came to be? HOW did they manage to get their hands on you in the first place??"
She began her story with her departure from the meadow and confessed that she'd let her guard down and didn't pay attention to her precise location. By the time she'd noticed she was out of the safe zone, it was too late. She was already being watched. She shared the following events and finished with her relief when they had arrived to save her.
Claire had listened, showing her fear, worry and final relief at seeing her safely rescued and now home. Now, it was time for Reika to ask for the details of how her father found out, and what happened up to the point of arriving at the camp to rescue her. He told her of his first reaction and desire to cause bodily harm to this young wolf claiming to love his daughter. He relayed how Foster had sent an urgent request to meet with him, of Claire pulling him aside before the meeting to inform him of something he should have already known about his daughter being in love (while giving a stern look directed to his daughter) and how they agreed to a truce so they could rescue her. He had to admit that Foster proved to be a resourceful, brave and very intelligent young wolf.
Once everyone had relayed the details they knew, Silas turned to Reika and looked at her for a moment before continuing. "We have to talk about this supposed "imprinting" that you believe yourself to have fallen upon. I'm sure that you know it's not believed to be a real event by some of the pack, yet, there are those who know it to be true. I am one of the latter. I also know of the repercussions of pulling two imprinted wolves apart against their will. Having said that, you can not just run off and be mated to him.
Working with Foster, I found that I like him and believe him to be quite capable to be your mate. I believe he'll be very beneficial to this pack as well. I saw how he handles himself and how his pack respects and obeys him without question. Only a good leader could accomplish that.
So, to avoid causing trouble in both packs, this must be handled delicately and properly. You can quietly and discreetly see each other until a few old laws are changed and it can be done in the open without causing any charges of law breaking or treason to be raised." He suddenly realized that his usually pouting and defiant daughter was sitting quietly, staring at him with what appeared to be shock. He couldn't help but chuckle as he wrapped his arm around his mate and pulled her close to reassure her that there was no anger towards her and he was accepting of their daughters choice in mates.
Reika had fallen back, silent and stunned. Could she be hearing correctly? Had her father just given his permission to mate with one outside the pack? She had to wonder if she had fallen and struck her head and was now hallucinating.
Finally realizing that her father had stopped talking and was now in fact chuckling, she turned in her seat and fell into her fathers arms. "Oh Daddy! Thank you for understanding and being so accepting of what must have been a difficult situation for you. I'm terribly sorry for keeping secrets from you. I swear we planned to tell you, once we felt it would be safe for Foster in your presence."
Silas smiled warmly down on his daughter, holding her closely to his chest. He knew her words held truth, and regret. She rarely called him daddy anymore and when she did, she was usually overwhelmed with her emotions. He'd heard it twice in one day now. Recalling the events preceding this moment, it stung his heart to know he'd come so close to losing her. His pride in her however, shined brightly over the sadness as he remembered the brave way she'd fought off her attackers and had kept her head through it all. He now knew her to be an intelligent, strong and brave young woman. His little flower petal was gone, replaced by the bloom and beauty of this new rose. A 'rose' fit her appropriately. She had the softness and beauty of the petals, but had the threat of a wicked sting of it's thorns. Yup, Foster was in for quite a ride with Reika as his mate!
Silas noted that Claire had been watching what played out between himself and their daughter. He knew she had 'tuned in' to his thoughts as any mate could do.
A smile played across her lips, and her eyes sparkled with tears as the love she held for them both overwhelmed her. Life didn't get any better than this he thought.
Author Terri L Vest - (AKA Terri L Smith)
See all of Terri's works at: www.terrilvest.com
Children:
The Adventures of Sunny the Mouse
Stormer, The White Shepherd
Coming Soon: Jenny's Magic Spell
Young Adult paranormal:
The Evil Within
The Beast Within
The Sweetwater pack series:
Traditions
The Alliance - Traditions, Book 2