by Hana Blue
They swarmed out of the house, all of them mouths agape at the sight. Unsure of how to process the grey beast that stood in front of them. Unnatural and horrific.
“You love him?” I heard Dominic’s voice rip from the monster angrily.
Everyone paused at the sound of his voice. No one able to explain what was happening. I remained still and silent.
“Don’t you!?” He roared out again, taking a step closer.
Daniel whined as he struggled against Dominic’s grasp. Thrashing his body around in an attempt to free himself.
Finally, I nodded my head, morphing back down into a wolf. A moment of stillness flooding over us. Then he released Daniel to the ground. Falling down himself, taking on the enormous grey wolf I had bowed before all those nights ago. Leaving Daniels body slumped beside him for a moment.
Relief flooded over me seeing Daniel free from the clutches of that monster, and to see the familiar form of the wolf I knew Dominic to be.
Daniel rushed over to my side but was met with snarling teeth as Dominic came to tower over both of us, his eyes slowly shifting back to the bright blue they were once before. Daniel stepped back a little, but Dominic continued to bare his teeth, the snarling sound becoming more vicious as it tore from his chest. Tail between his legs, Daniel backed further.
Turning to face me, Dominic came to stand directly in front of me. I lowered my head like I had before, but he growled, lifting it back up with his nose. His eyes now completely back to normal, he looked at me, a soft look on his face. Then, he lowered his own head before me. Stunned, I took a step back.
“His death would pain you.” He linked to me, closing the distance between us again. “He will live, but from this day, I expect you to hold true to your own words.”
“My own words?” I asked him, unsure.
* * *
Dominic ~
I looked into her frightened eyes and felt my soul crush. She stared at me with confusion. I nuzzled my face against her neck, hoping to reassure her. But she remained tense.
“You said that you were mine. I want you to be faithful to that.” I finally said to her. Desperate to hear her agreement. Unsure if this moment were to ever come again, that I could control myself. I shuttered at the thought of what I had just become, unsure of what happened or how.
“Ok.” She muttered back, relaxing a little.
I turned to the audience we had acquired, growling at them until they all ushered themselves back inside, the brown wolf she called Daniel taking off into the distance as far away from us as possible. I scanned the area intently before turning back to her, making sure that there was no one there to see her once she regained human form.
“You can change back now.” I motioned to her, forcing myself back as well.
She hesitated for a moment before she did, almost like something associated shame with the return of her human form. Easily and painlessly her-body flowed with the motions of changing back. She collapsed on the ground, taking in a ragged breath.
Intently I scanned my eyes over her now bare form, my sight freezing on one spot in particular. A large marred area on her back, the most prominent and extensive of all of her scars. My chest tightened. I scooted closer over to her, placing my hand gently on the area and she flinched away. Quickly pulling away from my hand. She looked at me with a pained expression.
“I did that to you.” I stated harshly, and she jumped, pulling herself away into a seated position, tucking her body behind her knees like a shield.
“I. Did that to you.” I stated again firmly, and she nodded, tucking her face down into her knees.
Every ounce of the fierce woman who fought back tooth and nail melting away as she sat there like a frightened child. I reached out to her, but she curled away. I clenched my extended fist before pulling it back.
“Dominic!” I heard Allea’s voice call out.
I turned to my right to see Ethan, Allea and Ciri come into view before freezing in place. Taking in the sight before them. I turned to look at Aine, who kept her face buried. Allea slowly approached us, stepping right past me to crouch before Aine. She took her face her hands and lifted it from her knees.
Allea gasped as Aine’s face lifted to look at her. A smile of great pity crossed her lips, her brow furrowing tight, taking in the scars of my precious mate. Then with a slight laugh she spoke, her voice full of more respect and honor than I had ever heard it. Unlike the way she spoke to me. Her words were full of reverence, and what she said made me beam with pride.
“My luna.”
Twelve
A New World
Aine~
I felt a hand on my chin, pulling my face up. Leaving me eye to eye with a beautiful woman with long, ashen hair, pushed off to one shoulder. She had mesmerizing purple eyes that danced over my face intently. Full of shock as they followed the line of scars on my face. She squinted for a moment, furrowing her brow at me, then smiled.
“My Luna.”
I lowered my head a little, unwilling to accept the title that she just called me. She shook her head lightly, looking behind her to the people she had come with. My guess was that these people were part of Dominic’s pack. A peaceful woman came to stand next to the grey-haired one and smiled at me sweetly. Beautiful eyes, a mixture of blue and green, and warm brown hair that flowed around her shoulders gently.
“She’s beautiful.” The grey-haired woman spoke to Dominic, and for the very first time I watched a wide, joyful smile cross his face.
The sight of it sucked me in like a moth to a flame. Here in the daylight, without rage or fear, I could really see what I knew was to be true. He was a handsome man with a powerful jaw, covered in stubble. His dark brown hair flowed in loose waves, looking to be almost black. His arms and body covered in an array of large tribal tattoos, one of them being an enormous face of a wolf on his side.
“I agree.” He said warmly, forcing himself to stand.
The grey-haired woman playfully covered her eyes with her hands before turning back towards me. “Jesus Dominic, could you fucking not?” The others including Dominic laughed, and she finally uncovered her face to look at me. “Modesty is not his strong suit.” She said with a chuckle as she stood, pulling me up with her by my hand.
Once on my feet I stood like a tree next to these women, both of them no taller than five and a half feet. My height against them made me feel awkward and out of place, feeling like a giant in comparison. Quickly I watched as the white-haired man that stood next to Dominic looked at him, unsure for a minute before turning his back to me, taking a few steps away. Dominic nodded and muttered something at him. Almost looking like a ‘Thank you.’
“I’m Allea.” The gray hair woman said, smoothing out her shirt.
“And that white-haired fuck over there is my mate Ethan. Dom’s, beta.” She said thrusting her thumb behind her with an amused expression. I looked past her to the man who stood with his back to me, awkwardly shifting his weight from side to side.
“I’m Ciri.” The other woman spoke, her voice as gentle as she looked, drawing my attention back to them. “My mate is out front, his name is Dylan, you’ll meet him soon.” She said with a beaming smile. Her eyes lighting up as she said his name. Quickly, Ciri slid the long greenish sweater that she wore off her shoulders and handed it to me. “Here, put this on.”
I hesitantly took it from her, pulling it on and wrapping it in front of myself, holding it there with my arms nervously. The two women giggled, and I looked down at the sweater that had flowed down to the other woman’s knees, only flowing long enough to give a negligible amount of modesty on myself.
“Offering her the clothes we packed is definitely out of the question.” Allea laughed. Shaking her head playfully from side to side, Ciri giggling softly next to her. I smiled at them awkwardlyand pulled the surrounding sweater tighter.
Dominic left his place beside the other men, pushing himself between the women that stood in front of me. His face was soft as h
e looked down at me, still smiling from ear to ear. “Come on, let’s get you some clothes.” He said, lifting my chin with his fingertips.
“Take these,” Ethan called to him, chucking him the pair of jeans he was wearing moments before.
Dominic caught them and pulled them on, Allea giggling, wiggling her eyebrows at her mate. “I’m going to go help him retrieve clothes, Come on Ciri, let’s give them a minute.” Ciri nodded and followed Allea over to her mate, who both walked away to the front of the house.
I peaked around Dominic’s shoulder, watching the three of them walking off, talking playfully amongst themselves. Leaving me alone again with Dominic.
Silently I tuned towards the house, slowly making my way back to it. I felt his presence behind me, but he was silent. Following me back. Every nerve in my body was on fire, feeling him near me. An unfamiliar feeling. My body on high alert still, ready to take off and run if I had to, but he stayed behind me, keeping an inconsiderable amount of distance between us.
I entered the back door and saw the pack standing there in anticipation. All of their eyes as wide as saucers, taking in what they had just saw. Micheal stepped forward to me, wrapping me in his arms lightly. I felt Dominic’s aura behind me shift to one of irritation, but he remained silent. Pulling me back at arm’s length, Micheal held my forearms gently.
“What do you want us to do, Aine?” He asked, his gaze shifting over the man that stood behind me.
I swallowed hard and took a deep breath, straightening out my shoulders. “We continue with the day like this morning never happened.” I blatantly stated.
With a smile, Micheal nodded and stepped aside for us to pass.
* * *
DOMINIC ~
The Large blood born man released her arms, and I felt myself settle. Stepping aside, Aine stepped past him and through the crowd of looky-loos that had gathered. I went to follow her when I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. Halting me in place. I turned to look at Micheal, who had a serious expression plastered on his face.
“That woman is like a daughter to me, Echo. I recommend that you treat her with the utmost respect. Trying to kill her again would not be in your best interest.”
I nodded at him and shrugged my shoulder from his grasp, quickly catching up to Aine who had already ascended the staircase. Briskly she made her way down the hall, stopping at one of the enormous doors before entering it. I followed behind, slowly closing the door behind me. The minute the door closed I felt like the room was shrinking around us, the walls closing in like a vice.
I struggled to think for a moment, the back of my mind screaming at me, I may have made a mistake coming here, finding her. I shook the thought from my head and focused myself on watching her as she pulled clothes from a large antique wardrobe on the other side of the room. She quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, and I crossed the room to stand behind her. Tugging a t-shirt over her head, I stopped her, placing the palm of my hand on her back again. She froze in place, the muscles of her back growing tense under my hand. I stopped to inspect the large scar intently.
“I’m sorry” I whispered, leaning down to kiss the back of her neck.
The sight of it made my stomach churn, realizing that my anger, and stupidity left that behind. Anger built in my chest as I thought of it, taking a moment to realize that this woman who stood in front of me never deserved that, regardless of what she was. She was my mate, and instead of setting out to protect her, I set out to hurt her. I cringed at the thought, hating myself for what I had done.
She stepped away from me, pulling the shirt the rest of the way on. “What do you want from me?” She muttered with bated breath, her back still turned to me.
I swallowed hard, reaching out to her with one hand, grabbing her waist and pulling her back to me. Every inch of my body aching to feel her. I pulled her hair away from her neck, pushing it over her other shoulder and I kissed it. “You.” I said with a sigh. She took a deep breath but remained silent, tense and still in my grasp. I felt a wave of sadness rush over me as my fears that she would never trust me, or feel safe near me showed themselves to be true. “Come back to Sitka with me.” I finally said again, my voice cracking with pain.
She shook her head no, pulling away so she could turn to face me. “No. I’m not going back to Sitka right now.”
Her words triggered an irrational anger in me. Causing me to grab her arms aggressively. “Why the fuck not?” I barked at her, and her expression turned stoney. Her eyes narrowing on mine.
Quickly I pulled my hands back, staring at them for a moment. Realizing yet again, the anger that always boiled at the surface had pushed forth again. I swallowed hard and looked away from her, shoving my hands in my front pockets, hoping that caging them would prevent me from hurting her. “Look, I’m not here to kill you, I’m really not. I’d like you to come back with us.” I said with a shrug, still refusing to look at her.
Silence fell over us for a moment, but was broken by the most amazing sound. Laughter. Her laughter. I looked up to find her with a wide grin, laughing while shaking her head at me. It was contagious to listen to; it was rough, but full of life and genuine joy. She rested her hands up on her waist as the chorus came to a stop.
“Hate to bruise your ego there Echo, but I’m not here to hide from you.” I stepped back, jarring my neck lightly, taken aback. “You think I’m afraid of you?” She snorted out, the roaring laughter returning.
I paused, looking at her with confusion. If she wasn’t here hiding, what was she doing here? And if she wasn’t afraid, why did she recoil from me? Questions swarmed my mind as I watched her slowly regain composure, holding her chest as she forced her breathing to slow.
“I’m here because I had some issues to deal with, not because I was hiding from you, and I’m not leaving until what I needed to do, is done.” She barked out confidently, raising her chin up at me.
I took a step closer. “You belong in Sitka with me.” I retorted, trying my best to keep a calm tone.
She closed her eyes, swaying her head from side to side slowly. “I belong nowhere. But something has crawled up your ass, making you think you can come in here and act like we are something we’re not.”
Like knives, her words slashed into me. Like something we’re not. I clenched my jaw. My hands breaking free from my pockets, I rushed towards her, pinning her against the wardrobe she stood in front of, my hands clutching it on either side of her.
“Something we’re not? Excuse fucking me, but last I checked you are my mate, and I’m finally come to claim that. Or would you rather I kill you? Is that what you want out of a mate? You want to be hunted?” Her eyes widen at my words, looking at me like a deer stuck in the headlights. “Well? Is that what you fucking want? Do you want me to kill you?” I barked at her, and she flinched.
“No.” She muttered softly.
“I fucked up, I get it. But at the end of the day you are my mate, and I want you.” I whispered to her, watching as a slight tear escaped from the corner of her eye.
“I’m not going back to Sitka yet. If you insist on being with me, you are welcome to stay here.” She pulled away from me, leaving the room without another word.
* * *
AINE ~
My mind buzzed with his words, feeling as though they were a trap somehow. I wiped the few rogue tears that had escaped me with the back of my hand. There was no way, NO WAY, that he had some flip of a switch change of heart. That we would come here. He hates my kind; he made that very clear when he set out to kill Caireen and I over it. You can’t push hatred like that aside, mate bond or not. A fact that I could not afford to forget.
Quickly I ran down the stairs to the great room where Lilith sat reading. She looked up to me with a sad smile and patted the seat next to her. I took a deep breath and went over to her, taking her up on her invitation. “Mated to the Alpha of Sitka are we.” She asked playfully, nudging my arm with her elbow. She closed the book, and pulled the gold-rimmed glasse
s form her face, laying both of them beside her on the deep plum colored couch.
“I’m sorry Lilith.” I muttered, looking at her sorrowfully.
“No need to be sorry, Aine. These things are out of our control. We both knew that Daniel could never be your mate. I am glad he had you for the short while that he did though, you definitely changed that boy for the better.” She rested her hand on my knees, looking at it solemnly. “Micheal mentioned you and Alpha Echo have had a rough start.” I nodded. “It’s amazing the points that a bond like this can push you too. Leaving you out of control and irrational. Truly it is our wolves taking full control over us.” She sighed.
“Over time, I swear we become more human than wolf. Having been forced to take on our human forms more than not. We slowly adapted, taking on their ways, but when it comes down to this, this is all our wolves. Let her take control, stop trying to fight it and add human rationality to it, because you will never win. Let go. Your wolf knows no prejudice, knows no division and hate. Stop trying to push those notions upon it.”
Dominic descended the steps, having found a shirt somewhere. Lilith turned to him, then back to me. She picked up her book and stood, placing her hand on my chest. “She knows where she belongs, the sooner you let her take over, the sooner you can find peace.”
She walked over to Dominic who stood casually with both of his hands in his back pockets. “Patience with this one. She’s not the trusting type. Oh, and before I forget, thank you for your mercy this morning, my son has a tendency to act before he thinks.” Lilith said with a wink before leaving the room.
I smiled softly at him, trying to set aside all human fear and reservations. I lifted myself from the couch and took a step forward, only to hit the ground hard. I looked up to find Josh pinning me down, a large string of spit coming down straight for my face. Out of the corner of my eye I watched as Dominic lunged for the boy, but I out sped him, flipping Josh onto the ground beside me, holding him down with my arm over his chest. Dominic froze for a minute, confused as Josh and I broke out in a childish fit of laughter.