by Aria Chase
Hearing him state his feelings so plainly made her feel silly for doubting him, and made own love that much more of a reality. “Don’t get caught. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Mila rushed to the window and peered through the glass, searching for any sign of Elijah. Her shoulders were so tense with anxiety that they ached when she slumped forward upon catching a glimpse of him below, padding across the grounds in wolf form.
She held her breath as he neared her window, waiting to see if anyone had noticed his presence. Her harsh exhalation shattered the silence in the room as he morphed to his naked human form and began climbing the trellis. Breaking her paralysis, she fumbled with the window, pushing it open.
Elijah slipped inside, immediately taking her into his arms. “Are you hurt?”
She put a finger to her lips and pointed to the door to signal him to be quiet. “I’m okay. Just scared. I can’t believe my parents would do this to me.” She nuzzled her face into his chest.
He tipped her chin up and looked down at her with those irresistible dark eyes. “He’s probably just as scared as you. Your rejection of Jared has widespread implications. And if he knew about me…” A frown marred his expression. “Does he know about me?”
She shook her head, clearly reading the defensiveness in his posture. “No, he doesn’t, but not for the reason you think. I’m not ashamed of you.” Mila cupped his face in her hands to keep his eyes from avoiding hers. “I want to protect you from what my father or Jared might try to do.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know.” She leaned forward, touching her forehead to his chin. “But I love you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
He caressed her back, his palm radiating warmth through her flannel shirt. “Fighting for our love won’t be easy. Challenges are inevitable in any relationship. But our situation presents some unique obstacles. I’m just an Omega. When the rest of the pack finds out, it’s going to be bloody.” His shoulder lifted in a half-shrug. “But you’re worth it. No one will be able to best me with you as my reason for fighting.”
She touched her fingers to his lips, interrupting him. “Let’s leave. Right now.”
Elijah’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?” Her finger muffled his voice, and his lips tickled.
“As sure as I’ve ever been. We’ll form our own pack. After awhile, my family will accept my decision, and we’ll tell them where we are.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to sneak around.”
“We aren’t sneaking around.” Mila sighed. “We’re starting over. We could never be happy here on D'Arcy Island. Too many pack members would always be minding our business. I want to be happy with you, and what would make me happiest is forming our own pack.”
He hesitated, his conscience clearly warring with his own desires. “Your family—”
“Will have to accept my choice.” She stroked his cheek, not missing the way his skin fluttered under her fingers. Even in the midst of the most important discussion of their lives, he still responded to her proximity as she did to his. Her nipples beaded beneath her bra, pushing against the lace insistently, seeking his fingers.
“I’m not afraid to stand up for us, if you want to stay.” Elijah’s shoulders let out a breath of relief, and he nodded. “But, if I’m being honest, I came here prepared to leave, with you, or without you. My SUV is already packed. I just needed to hear you say it, to know you wanted a fresh start, too. And I didn’t want to be the one to put the idea in your head.”
A crooked grin slashed across his lips. “Are you sure you’re willing to give up your designer shoes for department store brands?” He winked. “I’ve never seen you wear the same pair of shoes twice.”
She grinned. “I’d go barefoot for the rest of my life if it meant I got to walk alongside you, Elijah.”
His eyes darkened, and his tone grew smoky. “Barefoot and pregnant with my cubs, even?”
“Of course.” The thought of bearing his children filled Mila with warmth, and she embraced him. “I might be already, you know. We haven’t used any protection.”
Elijah cupped her stomach. “It wouldn’t be the best timing, but I can’t help hoping you are.”
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and a hint of pink tinged his cheeks. “I’ve loved you for so long, Mila. Ever since I you came home for break after your first semester at The University of Washington.” The blush deepened, but his eyes didn’t stray from hers. “I tried to deny it, to dismiss it as an infatuation, but it was more than that. Making love with you is both torture and absolute pleasure because it was even better than I had built it up to be. But I never dreamed you would choose me.”
Mila blinked, shocked by his revelation. “I didn’t realize—” she reached up, brushing her thumb against his cheek. “Why didn’t you say something?”
His brow quirked. “And you would have responded enthusiastically, right? You didn’t even know my name. A sudden declaration of love would have freaked you out.”
She nodded, acknowledging the truth in his words. “Well, it doesn’t freak me out now.”
He touched his lips to hers, but the kiss was too brief. “If we’re going to do this, we have to go.”
Mila nodded. “We are.” Mila stepped away from him to scoop up the backpack and duffel bag she had stuffed with essentials before calling him earlier. “The trellis?”
He nodded, moving to the window. He took her bags, slinging one over each shoulder, and offered her a hand. Using his grip to steady herself, she swung her leg over the casement and grasped the white wood.
As she descended, she kept her face tilted upward, watching for Elijah to join her.
As his foot appeared on the trellis, a crashing sound came from her room and voices shouted for him to stop.
Mila screamed and scrambled upward, arriving level with the window just in time to see two men from her family’s security team dragging her lover across the bedroom.
With a fierce growl, Elijah sprung up, flinging both guards from his arms. He landed a single, devastating punch to the first guard, who fell backwards, bloody and unconscious, on the bedroom floor.
“Stop!” Mila shouted as she climbed back through the window. “Elijah, behind you!”
Click.
Elijah froze as he heard the unmistakable sound of a gun safety disengaging. He raised both hands in the air and bowed into a slight crouch as he turned, slowly, to see the barrel of a Sig Sauer P226 pointed directly at his face.
The guard spoke into his earpiece. “”The intruder has been detained.”
Mila stepped forward, pleading with the security guard. “Dean, please. He’s not an intruder.” She placed a hand on his forearm, light fingertips pressing down to encourage him to lower his weapon. “He’s my mate.”
The guard’s aim wavered briefly, but he didn’t drop the gun. “Miss Marceaux, I’m under strict orders.”
“I know. And I wouldn’t want you to get you in trouble. But you’re an Omega, too. You understand, don’t you? What it’s like to feel trapped inside a social stigma, unable to make your own life choices? It’s not right.”
The guard swallowed hard and furrowed his brow. “Pack law is meant to protect us all. It’s not for me to say whether it’s right or wrong.” He turned his face slightly to look at Mila. “You understand what could happen if I let you go, don’t you?”
“I do.” She nodded and moved her hand slowly down the length of his forearm, praying he was conflicted enough not to pull the trigger as she approached the handgun. “Blame it on me. Tell them I got between him and the gun and you didn’t want to hurt me. Tell them I tricked you. Say anything. Just… please. Don’t hurt him.”
Dean set his jaw and glanced back to Elijah. “Do you love her?”
Elijah nodded. “Love is an understatement. I would do anything for her.”
She touched her other hand to the guard’s upper back, distracting him just long enough to gri
p the gun barrel in her hand and point it toward the floor.
With a sigh, the guard holstered his weapon and glanced toward the window. “I’ll think of something. You’d better hurry.”
Elijah clapped the guard on the shoulder. “I owe you, brother. Once things settle down, I’ll find a way to repay you. You have my word.”
Elijah moved swiftly, clasping Mila’s hand as he strode back to the open window. He turned to face her as she positioned herself in front of the windowsill. “Take two.”
“Take two.” She snaked her free hand around his neck, drawing him down as she launched on to her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her against his naked form. As her body molded to his, she was overcome with desire. Even now, in the midst of so much danger, every cell ached for him.
Elijah gripped her forearms in an attempt to ease her back. She offered a soft moan as she struggled to fight the magnetic pull between them. Every brush of his lips against hers, every dip of his tongue into her welcoming mouth, fed her passion and fueled her strength.
But he was right. It was time.
She broke the kiss and gazed up into her lover’s eyes.
This. This is worth everything. He is worth everything.
With a confident nod, she grasped his hand and swung her leg over the casement.
“MILA MARCEAUX! What is the meaning of this?”
Mila gasped as her father’s ferocious roar echoed through the room. He lunged through the doorway with a glare, looking every bit the powerful Beta, and fixed his sights on Elijah.
12
Niall stalked forward, his fists clenched in a white-knuckle grip, and came to a stop directly in front of Elijah. His angry eyes scanned the length of her lover.
Mila bit her lip, and felt it quiver beneath her teeth. She could only imagine what her father was thinking right now. If he was angry when he came in, he was surely beyond incensed by Elijah’s naked state.
They all stood there in silence, the tension hanging between them like a thick fog. Mila held her breath, debating between saying something and waiting for her father to speak.
Without warning, Niall lashed out and struck Elijah across the face with the back of his hand. Mila screamed, lunging forward to stand between them, and put her hand out to stop her father from striking again.
“Daddy! Stop it!”
Elijah remained still as stone aside from the blood trickling down his mouth. “It’s fine, Mila. The man has a right to challenge his daughter’s suitors. It’s pack law.”
“Fuck pack law,” Mila spat. “It’s ridiculous and antiquated, and I’m sick of all these behaving like barbarians and acting like they own me.” She narrowed her eyes at her father. “I am a grown woman, and I will not be treated like a possession any longer.” She pointed to the door, fury darting from her eyes. “Get out of my room.”
Niall growled. “Young lady, this is my house, and I will go wherever I damn well please.”
“Fine,” Mila replied. “Stay as long as you like. We’ll leave.” She took Elijah’s hand, pushed past her father and started to cross to the doorway.
“Is this the man your mother saw you with today?”
Mila stopped and turned to face him, her cheeks burning. “She saw me? But she didn’t say anything.” She braced herself against Elijah, clinging to his arm for support.
Maeva stepped through the doorway. “Of course not. I couldn’t be certain. I only saw his shadow in profile as I saw you run out of the stables. I hoped it was just my imagination.” She shook her head. “How could you do this, Mila? You know how important it is for you to join with Jared.”
“She doesn’t love him.” Anger iced Elijah’s tone, and his muscled arms tensed beneath her palms. “Mila is my mate, and I won’t give her up.”
“You’re just an Omega.” Niall spat the word, not bothering to hide his disdain. “She could never be happy with you.”
Elijah met her father’s cold gaze with one so hot with anger that Mila almost expected her father’s eyes to start smoking. He was well within his rights to respond to his father’s violent attack, but she didn’t want to see either man get hurt. That said, she wasn’t about to let her father’s cruelty to her mate slide.
“I don’t care if he’s an Omega,” Mila declared. Her eyes darkened, and she stepped toward her father, bucking his authority with a piercing gaze. “We are mated, forever, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Oh, there’s plenty I can do. An Omega’s death will have little affect on the pack.” Niall sneered. “Take him,” he commanded. “Use whatever means necessary to make sure he never bothers us again.”
Dean hesitated, glancing from Niall to Elijah, to Mila and back again.
Mila felt the rage rising inside her, prickling her skin with a mix of fear and fury. She took a deep breath, knowing that if left unchecked, her anger would force a shift into wolf form. That was the last thing she needed right now. She looked to Elijah, squeezed his hand, and gathered every bit of strength within her to challenge her father.
“If you kill him, you’d better kill me too.” She held up her hand to warn Dean against moving toward them as she spoke to her father in a low, measured tone. “You think you raised some shrinking violet, that my obedience and disinterest in pack politics meant I wasn’t watching you all these years, that I didn’t listen in and hear what went on behind closed doors? I know every dirty secret this pack is hiding. And if you don’t let us go in peace, I will lay everything bare for the whole damn world to see.”
Niall’s jaw dropped open. Maeva brought a hand to her mouth, and Dean stepped back.
Elijah was quiet, but she could feel the tension radiating from his body as she stood even taller, making it clear to her father that she had no intention of backing down.
“Now, Mila—“ Niall began.
“No.” She interrupted. “No negotiations. You lost that privilege, along with every ounce of respect I had for you, when you threatened to kill my mate.” She balled her hands into fists, fighting the internal battle to keep her wolf at bay as she made her vow. “I swear on everything I love, if you lay one hand on Elijah, I will burn this fucking pack to the ground, consequences be damned.”
Niall sputtered, clearly having trouble finding the words to express his rage. When Maeva eased into the room and touched his arm, he turned to her with pleading eyes, as if hoping she could verbalize what he wanted to say.
“Let them go, darling. Can’t you see how much she loves him?” Niall’s eyes widened in shock as Maeva spoke. “She’s willing to risk everything for the mere chance at happiness with him. To see her fight for him with such passion, such determination… Doesn’t she deserve to see it through?” She tilted her head, offering him a loving smile. “I was lucky — so lucky — to fall in love with you. But not all arranged marriages have such a blissful outcome. I want our daughter to love her husband as much as I love you.”
“Maeva…” His mouth fluttered for a moment before he began speaking again. “Do you know what this will do to us, to Jared?”
She nodded, appearing serene. “It doesn’t matter. Our daughter’s happiness is more important. If Jared doesn’t understand that, so be it.” Maeva turned to Elijah, assessing him with a level stare. “You will treat her well or answer to me.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Elijah appeared as overwhelmed as she felt. His head was a little shaky when he nodded back to her.
“I’ll have Penelope bring some clothes from your father’s closet,” Maeva offered. Her eyes dropped from Elijah’s face to his nude body. “Once you’re a little less naked, join us in the library.” She gave Mila a sly nod of approval and tucked her hand into the crook of her husband’s arm to lead him from the bedroom.
With a sigh of defeat, Niall waved away the security men and walked out with Maeva, leaving Mila and Elijah alone in the room.
In the ensuing silence, they exchanged a look of ast
onishment. A happy laugh exploded from her belly, and she threw herself into his arms, pressing kisses to his face as she strained on tiptoe to reach him. “I can’t believe it.”
He shook his head. “I’m still in shock. Is it really over?”
Mila nodded. “Yes. We’re free to go! This is really happening!”
“You were… That was…” Elijah inhaled, apparently struggling to absorb what had happened.
“I know,” Mila said, the exuberance falling from her voice. She bit her lip as she realized just how far she had gone to challenge her father. “I can’t believe I said those things to him. I was just so scared. And then so fucking mad.”
Elijah shook his head, his mouth quirking into a small grin. “Remind me never to make you angry.”
She laughed, scooping her bags off the floor to add a few more necessities. Now that they had a few more minutes to spare, she wanted to be sure she had everything she needed.
A quiet knock at the door announced the housekeeper’s arrival. Penelope dropped off a stack of casual clothing — jogging pants, a plain black t-shirt and a light hoodie — for Elijah to wear. She blushed at the sight of him propped against Mila’s bed in all his muscular, naked glory, and gave a small giggle as she backed out of the room.
Elijah pulled the borrowed clothes on, slung the newly repacked bags over his shoulders, and took Mila’s hand in his.
Together, they stepped through the doorway, fingers firmly entwined. No one stood in the hall to block their way. Mila remained watchful as they walked down the stairs, but didn’t expect her father to try to stop them. He hadn’t given his blessing, but after Maeva’s heartfelt speech, she didn’t think he was going to fight their union any longer.
When they stepped onto the first floor, they found Maeva and Niall waiting for them in the library off the main hall. They exchanged a bracing look before crossing into the room to face her parents. No matter what happened next, she knew her father couldn’t convince them to separate.
Niall appeared disconcerted, but her mother remained composed. She placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder, as if offering silent support. “We want you to have this.”
