Eva took up knitting, and Quinn wore the jersey she had made for him dutifully, even if it fit a little snugly in some places, and far too loosely in others. An unfortunate accident in the washing machine saw the whole thing unravel; Eva swore she would try again, to which Quinn’s pallor changed to an unhealthy shade of white. Eva’s wool somehow disappeared the next morning, her knitting needles along with them.
Weekly dinners with Trevor became the norm, and Angus made it his personal mission to join as often as he could. Trevor and Quinn found they could talk to each other without bumping heads like rams in rut, and Eva watched a new relationship form.
Eva still lived in blissful ignorance of her cooking abilities – something that Trevor had taken upon himself to fix. He gave up the very next week. The following week, a membership to couples’ cooking classes was mysteriously gifted to them. She didn’t see Quinn’s sigh of relief.
As the days shortened once more, the tithe proved its value to the tribe, which continued to grow from strength to strength. The people were content, in a way, as the power of their alpha’s happiness filtered through their bonds to him.
There would always be something to do, or fight for, but there would also always be time for love and laughter.
Eva made friends in the tribe, as the time wore on, but she always returned to the first true friend she’d known there. Adrianna was always happy to share a cup of tea with Eva, even as Thomas stood by Quinn’s side through thick and thin.
They built a life together, creating reality out of the dreams they shared. They worked through their issues, mostly in an adult manner. There were days were Quinn would find himself staring at Eva, at a complete loss for words at the happiness that had filled the emptiness he had once felt. Eva blushed under his intense scrutiny, and he fell in love with her all over again in those moments.
Eva kept the promise she had made; she protected Quinn’s heart with everything she had. The pain they had endured apart, only made their time together more precious. The bumps in the road would not derail them, as they walked through a new life together.
Quinn had written Eva’s name on his heart, where she would always stay. She still drowned in his eyes, no longer fearing their depths. She lost herself completely each time she looked into those emerald eyes, and Quinn found her in his soul, each time.
They explored the depths of their love and trust together, building each other up as they had promised.
Eve needed Quinn like the air she breathed; she felt him like the answer to the question she had asked. He held her hand in his, as he held her heart, too.
Where Quinn went, Eva was always with him; their bond was strong enough that distance didn’t matter.
Eva knew she had been right when she’d said they’d never have enough time together; she wanted a lifetime together. Quinn made it his mission to give her that lifetime, doing his best not to get into trouble as far as he could.
Quinn still said Eva’s name like a lullaby, with that same reverence he had had in the beginning. His arms were still Eva’s safe haven; her place of solace and peace.
They found their definition of perfect in each other.
For every dark day, they had twenty made of pure light. They rode the storms of their relationship, hand in hand.
Quinn slept, Eva’s soft scent his security, as Eva’s breathing lulled him to sleep each night. Eva found she couldn’t fall asleep unless she had the rhythm of Quinn’s heartbeat beneath her hand.
They were drawn together like magnets; they stayed together because they chose to.
Eva’s laughter fell, more and more easily, from her lips. Quinn’s words came more readily, and he wondered that he had ever been afraid to say the things that were on his mind and in his heart.
Quinn had spent his life waiting for Eva; he would never regret her. He had finally gotten the girl, and he wasn’t going to let her go, not even for his own weight in gold.
Eva could still outrun Quinn, but she had no reason to anymore, as they ran together through the forest, kicking up copper leaves in their wake. They chased each other, tongues lolling out of their mouths as they played. The tumbled over each other, nipping playfully.
When they tired, they made their way to their rock, where they shifted into their human forms, and skipped stones across its surface.
“Today marks a year, you know,” Eva smiled at Quinn.
“Have you had enough of me yet?”
“Not by a long shot.”
“I wish I could say the same thing,” Quinn sighed dramatically, dodging Eva’s playfully delivered punch.
“Be careful. I know where you live.”
“I should hope so, I watched you do a shoddy job at painting the house.”
“At least I know how to put paint on the walls, instead of all over myself.”
“I totally did that on purpose. Those jeans needed a new outlook on life.”
“Is that why I was picking paint out of your hair for the next week?”
“I was covering the gray hairs you’ve given me. Also on purpose.”
“Next time try a darker paint,” Eva laughed.
“And make it harder for you to see my gray hair? Look, look at what you’ve done to me,” Quinn pointed at his still decidedly dark hair.
“I don’t – oh no, wait, there’s one,” Eva gasped.
“Don’t even joke,” Quinn groaned.
“Let me just pluck it out, quickly, before someone notices,” Eva reached out, and pulled Quinn in for a kiss, instead.
“You’ll be my very undoing, mi amor,” Quinn said against her lips.
Her pulled her onto his lap, and held her close, resting his head on her shoulder. They watched the sun set together; fingers of color spreading across the sky.
“As you are my life,” she answered.
The sun slipped below the horizon, as they lay under a blanket of stars.
They lay in each other’s arms, then. Chest to chest, skin on skin, heart to heart.
And life fluttered deep within Eva.
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Bonnie x
MACKENZIE'S
FATE
A PARANORMAL WEREWOLF ROMANCE
BONNIE BURROWS
About This Book
Mackenzie's fate was always set in stone. She was always going to be forced to marry a man who had no interest in her and she was always meant to just accept it.
But Mackenzie had always wanted better for herself and she was willing do anything to get out of this unfortunate arrangement.
However, to do this she was going to need help. She was going to need someone or something to save her from this terrible fate.
And in a wolf named Thor she might have found exactly what she is looking for...
CHAPTER ONE
Mackenzie sighed as she took in the misty morning landscape. The crags and yellow grass dotted the distance all the way up to Revenaugh's Ravine, the no man's land that marked the northern border of her father’s clan's land. It was a cold spring morning and the rain was only falling slightly sideways. The sunlight stretched from the east crawling up her skin and shone through her hair, illuminating her blond locks like fire.
“Mack, you’re going to catch your death, cover up at least,” said Deirdre. Mackenzie frowned. The world seemed to dim with the intrusion of reality. She coughed in the cold air but refused to pull her cloak up. Deirdre was just a year younger than her but that year seemed like a world apart. They had been friends since they were toddlers. Mackenzie couldn’t remember a time when Deirdre wasn’t by her side. But lately, her heart longed for more.
“Come on, my father’s going to be f
urious if I’m late, the pigs need to be fed,” she affected a more rigid stance and held her finger out in front of her, “e’ry morn at sunrise,” she said with a stern voice.
“Okay, okay, have it yer way,” Mackenzie said, and with one last look to the rising sun, the two girls set out for the farm. Mackenzie in no way had to help Deirdre with her chores, but she did out of kindness and out of duty. Deirdre’s father had been crippled in the last hunt for the great boar Revenaugh. Mackenzie’s father felt responsible, so two times a week, she set off before dawn to help the girl with her chores. It got Mackenzie away from her father’s home and her awful stepmother.
“I swear that woman wants me dead Deirdre. The other day I spied her putting something in me soup,” she said to her friend.
“Was it white and salty tasting?”
“Yes, how did you know?”
“Cause it’s salt,” Deirdre said with a laugh that was soon joined by Mackenzie.
“I know it's probably just me imagination, but she’s not me mother. And that bothers me; I wish I had known me real mother. How beautiful she must have been,” Mackenzie said with a long sigh and sorrow in her heart.
“At least your da is a good man, always helping the clan, trying to do what’s right by us,” Deirdre pointed out.
“Aye, I’ve got no complaint there,” she replied.
The two girls skirted the northern forest on their way to Deirdre’s farm. It lay an hour to the west. Deirdre was only there because she got up before dawn to head into town to get fresh eggs and cuts of sheep and ham. With the sack laden down with today’s meal, she met her friend on the north road and together they set off. The tall trees of the north cast long shadows to the west as they walked. Knee high bushes crowded around the base of each tree like worshipers.
“Why do we have to come this way, Mackenzie? You know this wood is haunted.”
“There’s nothing to fear here but a bit of tall tales, nothing but Revenaugh lives this far north and he’s not about right now, see, no birds in the air. That beast couldn’t sneak up on a deaf man,” Mackenzie said to reassure her frightened friend.
“What about wolves?” Deirdre asked.
“No wolves, they’re not stupid to come this far…” Mackenzie froze.
“You were saying,” whispered Deirdre.
Just to the side of the road, not twenty feet in front of her, was the largest, blackest wolf Mackenzie had ever seen. Its large, yellowish eyes pierced her like an arrow from a bow. She could feel her friend’s fear, and indeed her own heart pounded so loud she couldn’t hear the birds singing or Deirdre’s whispers.
“What?” she said to her.
“Run,” Deirdre said again.
“No.” Mackenzie’s hand shot out and grabbed the younger girls wrist. “If ye run it has to chase you.”
For truth, Mackenzie wasn’t sure what to do. Most the time, the wolves ran when they encountered people, but there was something familiar about this wolf. Without thinking, she dug into Deirdre’s pack and took out a slab of salted pork.
Deirdre was too scared to stop her. Mackenzie moved forward, one step at a time, the salted pork held out before her. The wolf peered at her as she came near, its tongue occasionally slipping out of its mouth to lick its lips, forcing its large yellow canines to be seen.
“Mackenzie,” Deirdre whispered as loud as she dared, “are ye mad?”
Mackenzie’s heart pounded in her chest. She could barely breath. She felt a pull to this deadly animal, a pull she couldn’t resist. After what seemed like forever, she was as close as she dared. The wolf was huge, easily as big as her, perhaps bigger. She knelt down and placed the ham in front of her.
“Here boy,” she said as friendly as she could.
To her utter amazement, the wolf crept forward, paw after paw as it sniffed the air for danger. It stopped in front of her, its muzzle not six inches from her face. With a sudden move that made Mackenzie flinch it bent down and snatched up the side of ham and trotted away.
“My god, girl,” Deirdre said.
“What would you’ve had me do? It worked didn’t it?” Mackenzie asked, eyes still tracking the black wolf as it disappeared into the forest.
“Let's go, Da’s going to be worried and he’s never going to believe we lost dinner to a wolf.”
They ran as fast as they could for a good long while. When the forest was nothing but a dark shadow behind them, Mackenzie called a halt. “We’re safe, I think,” she said between huffs of breath.
“Look, Cesan.” Deirdre broke out in a smile at the sight of the older boy. Her face flushed and she jumped up in excitement. Mackenzie smiled knowingly; it didn’t escape her either. She was only sixteen, and Deirdre fifteen, but the tall boy with the thick arms that could hold her so tight she couldn’t breath, made them both light in the head and tingly in the belly.
Deirdre ran off to meet him, leaving Mackenzie on the side of the road. She picked some sticks out of her clothes, and ran her hand through her hair. It wasn’t till recently that she was even having these thoughts about him. And now that she was, she didn’t want to look a mess around him. It was no use though, her hem was covered in dirt, twigs and burs stuck to her dress and she wasn’t even dressed nice to begin with.
It’s nae like he’ll notice ye girl, the boy’s head is as thick as his arms.
Cesan waved and smiled as he saw them. Deirdre was already telling him the story of the wolf by the time Mackenzie caught up. He had a disapproving scowl on his face. “Ye know better than that, lass, you don’t go poking the bear, if your father knew, he’d tan your hide for a week,” Cesan said. Mackenzie wasn’t sure which father he was referring to, but his presumption annoyed her.
“Listen here, Cesan MacBride, yer not our kin, or our Da, you don’t need to be telling us what we already know, now stop your squawking and take Deirdre’s bag.” Mackenzie wasn’t nearly as tall as the boy, but she seemed to loom over him with her strong words.
He nodded, his cheeks turned a little red, and he took Deirdre’s bag from her. “I’m just worried about the two of you, facing off a wolf like that, you could be eaten and we’d never know.”
Mackenzie felt a moment of regret; she hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings but there were times he would take their friendship for granted and that couldn’t be allowed. If she were ever to marry the lad, he would have to know she was in charge, and that started now. Though the way Deirdre clung to him, it seemed her friend had other ideas.
With Deirdre holding on to one arm, and the bag of food in the other, Cesan made his way toward the little farm. He gave Mackenzie a sheepish nod and a smile. She smiled back, happy to follow behind, for now.
***
“You know, lass, you can leave it, you should be heading home soon,” Cesan said. Mackenzie smiled and leaned the shovel against the wall.
“There you go again, you big lummox, trying to be me da,” she said with a smile.
“I’m just trying to look out for you, lass, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Mackenzie felt a tingle go up her spine, and her skin tighten as goosebumps erupted over her arms and back. “Ye misunderstand Cesan, I don’t want you to be me da,” she moved closer to him as she spoke, close enough for her to put her hands flat on his muscled chest, “you see I had other things in mind for you to be,” she said with a sly smile.
“Oh,” he said, “ohhh, well then, why didn’t you say so.” He leaned down and kissed her hard on the mouth. She wasn’t quite ready for it but she was sure she wanted it. She tilted her head up to meet his and opened her mouth to let his tongue in. Her heart pounded in her ears and she couldn’t think, for the rush of feelings flooding her mind.
His arms closed around her and lifted her off the ground. She could feel them moving but she didn’t care, her whole experience was her lips, the fire in her belly and the tingle in her loins. She opened her eyes and they were on the grass, his hand roamed up her leg sending heat to her cheeks and h
er body quivered with a need she didn’t understand.
She kissed him again, her own hands roaming his chest and arms, something deep in her luxuriating in the safety of his embrace, knowing that nothing could hurt her with him to protect her. His hand brushed her thighs and she melted, a long moan escaped her lips. He moved on top of her, spreading her legs with his and resting between them. She felt his manhood press against her leg: it was long and hard. A spark came as the realization that this was it, this moment he would take her and they would be married shortly after.
Is this what I want? To be married to a farmer, to sludge in the mud every day? What else can you do lass? Can you leave the dun? Leave your father? Travel to Argyle, or even to Saxony? Why even have these thoughts, you know this is yer fate.
Cesan sensed her sudden lack of responsiveness and stopped cold, he rolled to her side and rested his head on his elbow, his other hand resting on her bare belly where her tunic was open, her white, creamy skin visible.
“You're beautiful Mackenzie. I think so everyday, what fine children you would bear me, but I can wait, if you need me to,” he said softly. Mackenzie could see the desire building in his eyes that mirrored her own feelings. She desperately wanted something, she didn’t know what, but she needed something between her legs and she knew he was it. But she also knew once they committed to that, there was no going back.
She put her hand on his and squeezed it. “Thank ye Cesan, I think we should, I still have to talk to me da about us, and maybe it can wait one or two more seasons, I know it will be right when we do, I’ve loved you for so very long.”
Without a word he bent down to kiss her, his hand moving up to cup her breast, her small nipples hardened and Mackenzie lost her mind in the sensations of his flesh on hers.
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