Golden: A Paranormal Romance

by Ellis Marie

  A feeling rises in me that I don’t think I would feel so soon. I quickly push it down, not ready to admit it quite yet, but it does tell me that I can’t turn my back on him or the problems that are going to come.

  He’s waited for me; he’s watched and cared for me. He’s taken on my problems like they are his own.

  Now, it’s my turn.

  I’m his luna.

  “We’ll handle it,” I whisper to him, closing my eyes as I try to project every feeling of calm and support that I can muster in the hopes that he feels it as strongly as I do. “We can handle anything.”

  And I mean it. With him beside me, I feel the strongest I can ever be.

  Later, the packhouse at dinner time is a completely different place. Even though the day started with a funeral, it’s ending in celebration. Celebration of not only Mrs. Grenway’s life, but also of Cole waking up too. Apparently, it calls for a bit of a party and the energy of the house is full.

  As the weather is so lovely outside, the house decided to cook outdoors, which is something they did often, according to Trent.

  I suppose they are all outdoor animals.

  The pyre is further down at one end of the garden and has been blocked off for the evening. Trent explains that tomorrow they will collect the ashes and clear up the rest of the area. Witches, apparently, do not like their ashes being kept, and so the plan is to let them go into the lake; she would have wanted to be returned to nature.

  I’m so appreciative of his help and knowledge of the world that, I don’t know, without him, I wouldn’t have been able to give her the send-off that she deserved; he made sure that it was perfect.

  Everyone has changed out of their clothes from earlier and are now all in casual ones. I kind of felt bad that Kristie had left earlier with Cam, considering the sight that she is missing out on. She probably would have died at the number of shirtless men and muscles that are accompanying dinner.

  “Honestly . . .” I chuckle, watching another pair of shirtless guys walk past my chair and say hello. “Do you not ever just sit and stare at them all?”

  Scarlette laughs at my comment and shrugs, biting into the burger that she’s spent the last couple minutes loading with every available topping.

  “Honestly, I grew up with everyone. I feel like I’m related to them.” She swallows the food in her mouth and winces. “Actually, I am related to quite a few of them.”

  “Did I hear my name, darling sister?” a voice calls from behind us as they jump over the back of the bench and take the space next to Scarlette, stealing her burger from her plate.

  “Hello, Lee. Go away, Lee. Get your own food, Lee,” she replies, snatching it back from him while elbowing his side. He whimpers in response before deciding to settle on the chips on her plate instead.

  “But it’s so far away,” he complains before his eyes land on me. “Hi Elle.” He grins, sending me a wink. “Nice to see you again.”

  I smile fondly at the teenager sitting with us, my memory from our previous encounter making me laugh at his confidence. With the two of them sitting next to each other, it’s easy to see the resemblance, not only is it the sparkling green eyes that I recognised myself, but their expressions are identical.

  I can’t help but laugh at the way Scarlette keeps pushing him back from her and putting her plate out of his reach.

  “Hi, Lee.” I chuckle, passing him a hotdog from my own plate. “Nice to see you again.”

  Lee’s eyes light up as he reaches and takes it from me, grinning ear to ear while Scarlette scolds me.

  “Don’t give in to him. He needs to stop being such a lazy sh*t,” she complains as he stuffs half of it in his mouth. “You didn’t even say thank you.”

  Lee grins sheepishly at me through his mouthful of food and thanks me before continuing to devour the item. I can only shake my head and laugh.

  “It’s fine. Trent filled my plate and got me far too much, so I wasn’t going to eat it.”

  Lee snorts and his chest vibrates with laughter, even Scarlette is grinning at my comment. “Mother hen alpha at it again, making sure you’re all fed and happy?” he teases, his tone mocking while I blush and roll my eyes, trying not to show how giddy it makes me feel to know that I’m special to him. “Oh, how I would love to see that caring side of Trent Night!”

  My blush increases as golden eyes meet mine. My heart pounds in my chest as a shadow creeps across the teenagers back.

  “Is that so?”

  It’s hard to not stare at Trent and his glorious body that’s visible. The lines of his muscles are prominent, even with the sun glaring against them. I swear I can feel them beneath my fingers if I focus hard enough. The rest of the boys that have walked past me have nothing on him; it’s as if he has been plucked out of the skies.

  Scarlette begins to snigger as Lee chokes, widening his eyes in shock at the voice from behind him and a large hand clamps down on his shoulder.

  “I can show you, if you like?”

  I don’t miss the humour glinting in Trent’s eyes as the poor teenage boy goes pale and shakes his head below him, coughing on the food in his throat.

  “Are you sure?” he asks as he smacks his back, twitching his lips with a grin. Lee’s head moves quicker, raising his hands in accompaniment. “If you’re sure.”

  Trent shrugs easily and walks round to sit beside me, spreading his legs out in front of us as his arm circles around me. I smack his chest once he’s comfortable.

  Oh, that definitely feels like pure muscle.

  “That was mean,” I state, clearing my throat and trying not to look down, but the smile on his face is contagious as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “You’ll scar the poor boy.”

  Trent shrugs again and looks out into the garden, scanning across the rest of his pack. I shake my head, turning back to the siblings beside me who are still arguing over food, trying to forget the deep feelings that are swirling in me. It’s kind of lovely seeing them together. I’ve never seen Scarlette in a big sister role, but it’s quite hilarious and distracts me pretty quickly.

  “So, Scarlette, you never told me you had a brother,” I state, digging into my pasta as she gives into the boy beside her and hands him her plate, making him howl in victory.

  Yes, think of the pasta and nothing else.

  “I like to pretend I don’t,” she growls. “He’s a pain in my ass.”

  “This pain in the ass stopped you from getting killed recently,” Lee retorts snarkily, shovelling food down. “So you’re welcome.”

  “I was not almost killed,” Scarlette hisses, punching him in the arm while furrowing her eyebrows in annoyance. “I had it under control.”

  Trent scoffs from beside me but pretends to cough as soon as Scarlette’s glare rounds to him. I hold in my own laughter when I see her expression.

  “I did!” she whines before letting out a huff and folding her arms across her chest, a pout making its way onto her lips. “Whatever, you guys suck.”

  “What happened?” I ask, elbowing Trent as he tries to stifle more laughter at his cousin.

  “Scarlette tried to go after some rogue wolves on her own,” Lee teases, dodging his sister’s attacking arm. “And she got her foot stuck in a bear trap and almost got killed by them.”

  It seems like I’m the only person to not be shocked and concerned by the story. The two boys with us can’t control their laughter, and Scarlette is just whining in response about how it isn’t fair and she could have gnawed her leg out if she had to.

  “Was that not really painful?” I ask after a couple of minutes. Scarlette shrugs.

  “It stung like a b*tch, but I could have still knocked them out even with one leg stuck.”

  “Sure,” Lee agrees sarcastically. “That’s why I had to come along and fight them back from you with Trent, plus you spent a week in bed not able to walk on it.”

  “If you hadn’t been in my head shouting about waiting for you, then I would have been payin
g more attention to the ground and wouldn’t have stepped in it!” she screeches back, flipping the plate of food out of his hand. Lee watches it fall to the ground, his mouth open in shock.

  “I was eating that,” he whines while standing up. “That’s not fair!”

  “Life’s not fair!” Scarlette mocks, shoving his chest. Lee shoves her right back.

  “Do you want to do this?” Lee laughs, circling away from her. “I don’t want to embarrass you in front of our new luna by beating you.”

  “I would like to remind you that I’m your big sister, and I could kick your ass blindfolded, you shrimp.”

  The two of them start shouting at each other with illegible insults while people around us begin to listen in and cheer, watching the fight with eager eyes.

  “Um . . .” I look at Trent, expecting him to be concerned by what is happening to the side of him, but he’s looking down at the phone in his hands with a grin on his face. “Should you not be doing something about this?” I ask, motioning to the two siblings who have begun to roll about the grass, their screams muffled by the laughter of the crowd.

  “Scarlette can take him easy,” Trent says with a chuckle. “Plus he’s my cousin but he needs to be taken down a peg or two. He’s been insufferable since we helped Scar out. Fight away from the food guys!” he calls over his shoulder.

  I look over to see what’s going on, but the pair are now blocked by the crowd of people who are slowly moving away and further down the garden. I sigh and shake my head, focusing again on the man beside me who hasn’t taken his eyes away from the screen in his hand while listening to the calls of people get quieter as they move away.

  “What’s so interesting about that?” I ask, curiosity peaking as he tilts it away from me like a shy kid. “Something funny?”

  “A little.” He smirks, turning the phone around to let me see. “Your reactions really are priceless sometimes.”

  The picture contains Trent and I, but while he’s smiling at the camera with his face full of laughter, I am sitting unaware with a look of complete horror and shock on my features as I watch the siblings fight. Trent, of course, looks like he’s just been plucked out of a magazine whereas my face is scrunched up in a very unattractive way and my mouth is hanging open so much that it could catch flies.

  “Trent!” I complain, trying to reach for the phone, but he holds it behind his head, raising his other hand up to waggle a finger at me.

  “I like it,” he half sings, the teasing tone not being missed as he holds me back with one hand. “I might get it framed.”

  “Stop it!” I try to be serious but can’t help laughing as I push against him, getting up on my knees until I’m stretching above him, my fingers scraping up his arm. “That can’t be our first picture; I don’t look nice!”

  Trent stops laughing and pulls the phone down and behind his back, causing me to huff and sit back on my feet as I realise how close his face is to my chest, a pout coming onto my lips while he studies me. I try to not look frazzled.

  “Is that why you don’t like it? Because it’s our first one?” he asks, smirking a little at my blushing face.

  “Maybe . . .” I mumble like a child, not wanting to admit that I’m a complete teenage girl and want a cute photo with the guy I like. “It’s the only photo we have.”

  Trent shakes his head at me and pulls me into him before I can blink, a squeal leaving my lips as my body becomes flushed against his. His face ends up just centimetres from my own.

  “You are adorable, Moya Solnishka.” He chuckles, his lips brushing a kiss to my cheeks. “All you had to do was say that you wanted another one.”

  My insides erupt in butterflies as he holds his hand out in front of us, his phone sitting in it waiting for a picture. I don’t expect him to be so okay with taking a photo; it’s not like we are officially a couple . . . or are we?

  Are mates a step up from a boyfriend? Is being someone’s soulmate pretty much the highest level of a relationship you can get?

  Calm down. It’s just a photo.

  Trent lowers his arm and looks at me with a charming smile, watching me with his soft gaze. “What’s on your mind?”

  I feel my face heat up at his knowing look. I shrug as I clear my throat, the words stuck in them struggling to be heard.

  “I just . . . um . . .” I mull over what to say as his lips twitch knowingly. “Having a mate is a big thing. I just wondered what the human equivalent was?”

  He pretends to think for a moment, and I honestly believe that he’s just doing it to tease me and draw out my agony because he seems to be struggling to control the tilt of his lips from breaking out into a full-blown grin.

  “Hmm,” he hums, scratching the stubble on his chin. I poke his arm with a frown. “Okay.” He laughs, his arm coming up from resting on the chair behind me as his fingers run through my hair, twisting it at the end. “How about dating?”

  “Dating?” I respond, the nerves in my stomach unfurling at his relaxed pose, his gaze unwavering as his hair ruffles slightly in the wind.

  “Elle, I told you that I would take this as slow as you wanted, and I meant it. How about first I take you on a date before we start putting labels on things. Would that make you feel more comfortable?”

  He really is perfect, isn’t he?

  I nod in reply, my heart throbbing with how much I feel for him and his understanding nature. I don’t have to explain myself to him like I always had to in the past. He just lets me be myself and gives me the opportunity to grow in confidence beside him.

  “I’d love that.” I blush, leaning closer into him as my hands touch his bare chest. I swallow the bubble of excitement that catches in my throat.

  I can feel his heartbeat picking up underneath my fingers.

  When he’s this close to me, I can barely think straight let alone get around the idea that I’ve just told him I want to take things slow.

  “A date,” I whisper, trailing my finger across his peck. His body stiffens at the contact. I stop myself from continuing, the heat firing through me enough to make me sweat. He curls his hand around me and grips me to him, his breath erratic as it brushes my lips. When I look away from his body and to his eyes, I’m surprised to see them shut with a line across his forehead indicating that it isn’t just his hand that’s tense.

  “I’ll make sure to wear more clothes on the date,” he growls almost silently. I nod without realising.

  “That’s probably a good idea.”

  It takes a second for me to realise that the words have come out of my mouth. It seems to surprise Trent, too, whose eyes open in shock. This combined with the nerves I’m feeling plus my, no doubt, hilarious expression causes both of us to burst out in laughter, our foreheads leaning into each other as I try to get a handle on it.

  Trent’s deep baritone laugh should sound funny with my own, which must be at least a few octaves higher, but it doesn’t to me; it’s like it accompanies it perfectly—grounding and echoing it.

  “I didn’t mean to say that,” I sigh, wrapping my arms around his neck. “You just make me say whatever I’m feeling.”

  “Well, I’m glad,” he murmurs, rubbing his nose across mine as his fingers draw tiny circles at the side of my waist. “I don’t ever want you to hide anything from me.”

  It’s as if the world around us has disappeared for the moment, our eyes interlocked and held together by some magnetic force that I feel pulsing through me.

  Desire.

  “What if I wanted to kiss you right now?” I whisper, glancing down to his lips that are just barely touching my own. “Do I have to ask you every time?”

  His chest rumbles with amusement. I smile cheekily at him, remembering the torture he put me through every time he almost kissed me but pulled away.

  “Maybe just once more, mia dea,” he answers, curling his hand around my jaw. Without having to say anything, he sees the questions swirling in my eyes and his own ignite with something new. “It means
‘my goddess’.”

  I’m really falling for him, aren’t I?

  “Kiss me, Trent,” I mumble, my constricted lungs feeling like they’re going to burst. He doesn’t wait for a second before closing the tiny gap between our lips. The feeling of them make my toes curl underneath me as I pull myself into him, getting lost in the feeling of his skin against my own.

  His lips are soft at first, hesitant, like he’s still waiting for me to change my mind, but I quickly make that thought leave as I wrap my fingers into his hair and open my mouth, asking him to kiss me deeper. He obliges, a groan echoing between us as his tongue finds mine and electrifies it with one simple graze, turning my legs to mush.

  There’s a creak underneath us. I pull away from him slightly, panic flitting through me at the noise and the thought of the bench underneath us breaking. It’s only when I do this that I notice how much I’ve pushed myself onto Trent and how my leg is beginning to go over his.

  As if I’m planning to straddle him.

  Before I can even begin to move back or start apologising, Trent shakes his head and presses a gentle kiss to my lips, manoeuvring me down so that I’m back in my own space.

  “A date,” he repeats, his words shaking slightly as he tries to flatten out his breathing. I nod in agreement, biting my lips so that they don’t break out into a smile.

  Trent watches me do this and then he smiles too, raising his arm beside us.

  “This is how I want a picture of you—happy, flushed, and glowing.” He presses his lips to mine one more time. “And me knowing that I made you look like that.”

  I can only feel the blush light up my face even more as I turn and smile at the camera, my heart soaring as the screen lights up and takes a picture of our completely smitten grins and pounding hearts.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The next couple of days are spent with me getting more settled into the house and learning the ropes of a pack. It’s safe to say that I quickly realise that I’m the only human living in the house after I witness Cole telling off a couple of the younger boys for almost knocking me over while play fighting, although it definitely looks like real fighting to me.