by Dold, V. A.
Her heart skipped a beat. She had always wanted more children. Now she would have the chance to love another baby and watch him or her grow up. Cade’s baby!
“Would you please explain to me exactly what the ritual is? I mean what do we have to do?” She was a bit worried the process of changing might really hurt. Like, hurt a lot. In some of those werewolf movies, shifting seemed really painful.
“There are actually several parts to the ritual. First there is the request, where I ask you formally if you will give yourself to me to make me complete. The mating goes like this:
“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 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 even 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, this won’t be painful. I’m told my bite will be quite erotic.
Then you say those same words to me and bite me in the same manner.
That’s the complete ritual.”
She gazed at him, wonder in her eyes. “So there won’t be anything painful?”
He broke out laughing. “No, Cher, there’s no pain.”
Standing he took her by the hand and led her to the bedroom.
“We’ve both had a tough night, may I hold you? I will remain fully clothed if that makes you more comfortable.” As he searched her eyes, he reached out and caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers, drinking her in.
“Stay with me. I feel safe when you’re with me. I don’t want to be alone,” she said quietly.
They snuggled on the bed fully clothed. Completely relaxed, he wrapped his arms around her. Tucked her as close as he could get her, and just cuddled.
Within minutes he heard a soft snore, he lifted his head to find she was fast asleep.
Chapter 6
Cade thought he was dreaming as he slowly woke with his mate in his arms. Smiling to himself, he pulled her close. He relished the feel of her curves pressed against him.
Yawning, she started to wake. He felt her wiggle as she rose from her sleepy haze. No doubt, unaware the thing that hindered her movement was him.
He loosened his hold so she could see him and get her bearings.
He knew the moment she was fully awake. Her eyes became as large as saucers and she ran her hand down her body verifying she was fully dress. Her sigh of relief had him chuckling.
“Good morning, sunshine,” he whispered as he kissed her thoroughly.
Breathing heavily, “Good morning,” she said back as she yawned again. “Did last night really happen?”
“Sadly, yes it did. Your restraining order will be delivered today.”
“How did you manage that?” she asked frowning.
“I know the judge, he’s rushing the process for me as a favor.” He winked at her.
“Do you know every single person who lives in this town?” She laughed.
“I’m sure there are one or two I haven’t met yet,” he teased. “I’ll start the coffee, see you in a minute.”
In the kitchenette, he started the pot and texted his brother, he needed clothes if he was going to stay with his mate and protect her.
Anna walked into the room wearing her bathrobe as she went for the first batch of coffee then shuffled toward the couch.
Picking up his cup, he joined her in the living room to plan their day.
“I made sure when you were packing last night, your laptop was included. You said you had some work to do this morning,” he mentioned.
She sighed. “Thank you, I was so stressed I’m sure I would have forgotten it.”
“I have my meeting in an hour, once you’re done working please call me and I’ll finish up the meeting if it hasn’t ended already. We have a date,” he reminded her with a wink.
She smiled as she finished her cup and rose to get ready for the day.
Stefan arrived loaded with luggage as Cade heard the shower start in the next room. “How is she doing this morning?” he asked.
“Better than you would expect. She’s handling everything extremely well.”
“Does she know about you yet?”
He grinned to himself. “Yes, I told her last night.”
“So, have you completed the ritual already?” Stefan’s eyebrows disappeared into his hair line.
“No, I am giving her time to process everything.”
“Understandable. I have to go, I’m running late. Have a great day.” He grinned at his brother as he walked out the door.
“Thanks again, Stefan, for everything.”
They were both ready for the day and reluctantly he had to get going if he was to make the meeting on time. Taking her lovely face in his hands he gave her a light kiss. “I need to go, have a great morning, cher.” He gave her one last quick kiss on the way out the door.
The sun felt wonderful as he walked the three blocks to his appointment.
He checked his phone for the hundredth time, did time suddenly slow to a crawl? The past three hours had taken a week of his life. He was ready to call Anna, unable to wait any longer when his phone rang. Thank god.
A thrill rushed through his chest. “Hello, cher.”
“Hi, I’m finished for the day.”
“Perfect, I will be right there,” he said.
He ran the three blocks to the hotel.
Within minutes he had her in the sunshine strolling down the block.
She smiled brightly at him as he took her hand. Having her hand in his made his heart race. The foot traffic was light today making it easy to walk side by side. Most days there were so many people, you had to dodge others constantly. Her eyes were a bright happy green today and sparkled each time he glanced her way.
He raised her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it as they walked.
She gave him a sweet smile in return. “I really like it when you do that. No one has ever kissed my hand before.”
“Then I shall endeavor to kiss it more often,” he teased.
“How did your meeting go?” she asked.
“Excellent, I’m reviewing one of our businesses. I needed to decide if we will retain it or sell. I was able to make some logistical adjustments. We should see the profits in about six months. How was your morning?”
“Great, I pitched my campaign to the board. They agreed to my plan as a whole so I will move forward with the project next week.”
“I would love to see your work. I find your mind fascinating.” Giving her hand a little squeeze, he was so proud of her. “Yesterday, you mentioned your sons, have they come to visit since you moved here?”
“Not yet, we’ve talked about it but they are staying so busy with new cases they haven’t been able to spare the time,” she said quietly.
“You must miss them.” He brushed his thumb across the back of her hand.
“Terribly.” She gave him a small smile.
“Well, I hope they can visit soon,” he said. “What would you l
ike to do today?”
“I haven’t been to the Frenchman’s Market in a while, would you like to walk there and stroll the booths? There are a few things I need to look for.”
“I would love to.” He would go anywhere with her.
His phone vibrated announcing a new email. Glancing he saw it was from the courthouse. “Excuse me, I think I should check this.”
Tim had been released after being visited by every officer on duty. They told Tim he was being watched and he would not fare as well next time. The restraining order was attached.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
He took a deep breath. “Tim has been released and I have a copy of your restraining order.” He heard her heart rate increase.
She sucked in a breath. “I knew this was coming, it shouldn’t surprise me.” She sighed.
“You’re safe, cher. He can’t get near you as long as you’re with me.”
She nodded, trembling.
His wolf snarled, no one was allowed to terrorize their mate. Cade remained quiet, waiting for her to initiate more conversation.
She took a deep breath. “I won’t let him dictate my life again. Thank you for taking care of the police and judge.”
“My pleasure,” he said forcefully.
Flowing with the other pedestrians on the sidewalk, they strode along. There was no rush, and she savored the feel of his hand holding hers. She felt like she could absorb his warmth and strength through that link.
The breeze ruffled her hair sending wisps into her eyes as they moved from one merchant to the next. Brushing it back she looked through the purses on display.
A rack of leather belts caught her eye. “I could use a new brown belt,” she told him as she looked through the different styles and lengths.
He joined her at the booth. “I think this one would be attractive on you,” he said as he held it up for her.
She took it from him, turning it over in her hands and testing the length for fit. “I love it,” she said smiling at him.
“Then it’s yours,” he grinned.
She worked her way from one end of the market to the other sharing an occasional find with Cade. Standing at the exit she checked her watch. “Holy cow, we spent two hours here.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” he laughed.
She yawned. “I must not have slept well last night. Do you mind if we go back to the hotel? I’d like a quick nap.”
“Your wish is my command.” He gave her a dramatic bow.
She laughed at him. “Come on, silly man.”
“Let’s hire one of the rickshaw bikers to take us back, it’s a long walk,” he suggested.
“Great idea.” She was really dragging and a ride would be welcome.
The biker flew like the wind. She was surprised how fast he got them to the hotel. As she reached the bedroom she literally fell into the bed and was asleep instantly.
Refreshed from her nap she walked to the living room to find Cade working on his laptop.
“How are you feeling?” he asked holding his hand out to her.
“Much better, the stress really wiped me out.” She checked the time uncertain how long she slept. “Wow, I must have been really tired, I was out hours,” she exclaimed.
“You needed it, cher,” he said has he pulled her into his lap.
They sat on the couch. “Babe, can I ask you something that’s been nagging at me?” she asked.
“You can ask me anything.”
She turned to him. “You said you live fourteen hundred years. How do people not notice that?”
“It’s a combination of the magic which allows us to appear to age for the benefit of humans as well as making people believe we are our own descendants. After a normal human lifetime, a descendent inherits the property and investments we have. Of course, this person is actually just us pretending to be our own relatives.”
She thought about Cade pretending to be someone else. “So, have you had to change your name to be this ’new relative’?”
He smiled, his eyes showing his pride and approval of her. “I knew you were a bright lady. The last name I used was Herbert.”
She busted out laughing. “You don’t look like a Herbert.”
He laughed right along with her. “We can also move away for two or three decades and then come back. By that time anyone who’d recognize our younger selves easily believes we are a child or nephew of the person they knew long ago.”
She became very quiet and then asked in barely a whisper, “What do I do about my boys? I can’t leave them and never see them again. I don’t know if I can bear to watch them die.”
His heart was breaking. He couldn’t make this better for her with his magic. There were only two ways for her sons to join her in this new life, and both were very slim chances.
“I’m sorry to tell you the odds are great you’ll outlive your human children. Without a shifter mate to share her magic with them, they’ll only have a normal lifespan. The only positive to the situation is you would normally die when they are sixty or so, but now even though you will outlive them, you’ll be able to see them in their golden years.”
He paused trying to decide if he wanted to tell her about the other slim-to-none option. He didn’t want to raise her hopes just to have her heart shattered later. His head dropped in defeat, as her mate he couldn’t keep anything from her. Without looking up, he spoke so softly she almost didn’t hear him. “There is one other possibility. The chances of it happening are about the same as winning the lottery.”
He felt her hand take his, and could tell by her lack of exhale that she was holding her breath.
“My mother is a powerful voodoo priestess, she is known to speak with the wolf-goddess on occasion. The goddess is the original creator of the wolf shifters. Long ago she blessed a village of humans with wolf souls. They were the first shifters. Since then she has only blessed a handful of humans that were not mated to a born shifter. I could ask my mother to petition the goddess on behalf of your sons. There’s only a slim chance she would honor the request.”
With a tear sliding down her cheek, she lifted her chin, expressing a strength he knew would always astonish him.
“Thank you for being honest with me. I’ll think about the petition. I can’t make a decision like that for them. That’s something they would have to want.”
They snuggled on the couch. The ease she felt with him was what you would expect from two people who had been together a long time, they were so comfortable with each other. She almost giggled and she thought, apparently we have been, through our freaky connection.
She reached out, taking his hand into hers and stroked his knuckles with her thumb. After a minute or two, she gazed up at him and leaned in, inviting him to kiss her with her body language. He took the hint, gently brushing her lips with his. The kiss started soft and slow but the heat built quickly. Cade pulled her closer tasting her with his tongue. She mimicked his every move, all the while her fingertips stroked and explored his torso and chest. The kiss deepened, tongues tangled and slid seductively across each other.
His left palm went up to cradle her head as his right stroked up her ribcage over her shirt. He gently cupped her breast, rubbing his thumb back and forth across her hardened nipple. Both breathed heavily as their hands roamed freely.
Like a driver slamming on the brakes, Anna sighed happily and got up, giving him a bit of a sassy grin. His agonized expression almost made her giggle. She had to keep a straight face if this was going to work. The plan was to get him to take their real life affair to the next level and the shower was as good a place to do it.
“I think I’ll take a shower now and wash this day off. Too bad you already took one.” She let her comment hang in the air. As she left the room she stole a come-hither glance at him over her shoulder. I wonder if I gave a strong enough hint.
Pulling back the shower curtain, she turned on the water, testing the temperature with her fingerti
ps. She let out a groan of pleasure as the water beat down on her sore muscles and washed away the stress and tension of the day. Maybe he isn’t coming. I must not do sexy innuendos very well. She sighed.
So, my mate can be playful and tease. Hmmm, I like it, he thought.
He gave her a minute to get settled into the shower, following her silently with a sly grin on his face. Time to test the waters so to speak with his mate. He quietly walked into the bathroom and reached into the shower stealing away her shampoo. Now all he had to do was wait.
She had her eyes closed as she wet her hair in preparation. She reached out for the bottle she set on the ledge right before closing the curtain. Nothing. Anna patted around looking for the errant bottle with her fingers. Failing to find her shampoo, she cracked one eye open to see why. She let out a squeak in surprise.
As she tried to cover herself, he sensed her sudden, irrational, insecurity. It made no sense, but there it was, rearing its ugly head.
Peeking around the curtain with the missing shampoo in his hand, he waggled the bottle back and forth just out of her reach with a hunger in his eyes. “I can help you with that.” He ignored her thoughts for now, he would deal with her insecurities in a minute.
She giggled at the boyish expression on his face. He looked so hopeful. She hesitantly nodded her head and made room for him.
He didn’t need to be invited twice, he zapped off his clothes and joined his mate so fast she almost stumbled backwards into the faucet handles. His hands whipped out to steady her before she was bruised in anyway.
Her eyes almost popped out of her head! “How the heck did you do that?!”
“All you have to do is think it and it happens. With a little practice you’ll be able to do it too, once we are mated and I share my magic with you.”
He leaned her back into the warm spray from the shower head to re-dampen her hair and massaged in her favorite shampoo. After rinsing her hair completely and applying the conditioner she used, he picked up the bar of Dove soap she preferred and lathered his hands. His wolf was giddy with the anticipation of sliding soapy hands all over his mate.
Anna stood with the warm spray to her back as he started at her shoulders soaping and massaging, making sure to clean every inch of her. He slowly washed her breasts, kneading and caressing. He licked his lips as he rubbed his thumbs across her hardened nipples. Reluctantly, he left her breasts, proceeded over her stomach to her thighs not missing a single bit of her succulent flesh. Relishing every bit of her.