by Quinn Loftis
“Oh, how well you know me,” she sighed as they left Dillon to his thoughts.
Dillon watched his Beta pace restlessly outside the window, his glowing wolf eyes challenging him. The only reason Dillon wasn’t putting him in his place was because he knew at the moment Dalton wasn’t rational. All he could see was his mate out of his reach and other males close to her. He refused to let Dalton ruin not only his life but Jewel’s as well because of ghosts he couldn’t banish. He held the wolf’s gaze as he called out. “Antonio, come!” Was it cruel to put Dalton through this? Probably. But it was also necessary if it would force him to claim the woman who had been created just for him.
Forty-five minutes and seven males later, Dalton was still pacing. Dillon wasn’t surprised each time Dalton threw himself at the house when the males got close to Jewel. He would have been more surprised had he not responded that way. He nearly let out a breath of relief when the final male stepped into the room. It was Kale, the Beta of the Ireland pack, and the largest of all the males that had arrived. He wasn’t as big as Dalton, few were, but he had a presence about him that filled a room before he even spoke. As soon as he stepped forward and was visible to Dalton, Dillon saw something shift in his Beta.
“What happened to the lass?” Kale asked. Dillon noticed that the Beta’s Irish brogue became heavy when he was feeling protective. Usually the Irish wolf didn’t drop his TH or Ts, having picked up on American dialect through traveling.
“She had a run in with Volcan and his pet,” Dillon told him as he watched the wolf outside carefully.
Kale took a step towards her and leaned down to breathe in her scent. As soon as the Irish wolf’s face neared Jewel’s neck, where her scent would be strongest, Dalton lunged. Dillon felt the power hit the house just as the wolf’s head slammed into the glass of the window. To Dillon’s surprise a crack appeared in the glass.
“She is nah mine, even if she is nah of age, I feel nothing other than the care wolves feel towards healers.” Kale’s voice was cool and when Dillon looked over at him, he saw that his eyes were on Dalton as well. “There is only one reason a male would act in such a way. Is the lass his?”
“She isn’t of age so the mating signs aren’t there, but the pull is.”
Kale’s eyes narrowed and recognition dawned on his face. “Is that Dalton Black?”
Dillon didn’t miss the anger that laced Kale’s words.
“It is. He’s my Beta,” Dillon said as he looked back at his wolf. Dalton’s eyes were glued to Kale’s and Dillon wasn’t sure that Peri’s spell would hold him any longer.
“I hope that you are wrong. A lass as beautiful and pure as this one,” he motioned to Jewel, “should nah be destined to belong to a monster.”
“No offense, Kale, but that is my wolf you are speaking of. I know his past and he is not the man he once was.” Dillon felt his wolf pushing forward as he sought to not only put Dalton in his place but also defend him from a possible threat.
“If you are okay with allowing their mating then you do nah know all there is to know about Dalton. Men like Dalton Black doonah change.”
“What do you know of him?” Dillon growled. “You obviously have history with him, so what is it that you think is so unforgivable to condemn a man who has changed his life?”
Kale began to reach down slowly with his left arm, and when his hand rested gently on Jewel’s leg, Dillon was shocked to hear, not a growl from an enraged wolf but the roar of a determined man. His head whipped around to find Dalton pounding on the window in his human form. His body shook from the bolts of energy being shot into his body from Peri’s spell and yet he held fast. His hands began to bleed as they broke through the glass.
“What the hell is going on?” Peri snapped as she appeared in the room directly in front of Dillon. Lucian was by her side in an instant pulling her away from the man that was demolishing a window that he shouldn’t be able to touch.
“How is he doing that?” Peri turned to Dillon. But Kale spoke before Dillon could answer.
“Do you see his eyes, Dillon? He is not sane. Anything good in him died when he chose to rape an innocent woman.”
“GET OUT!” Dillon roared just as Dalton jumped through the broken window. Peri grabbed Lucian and Kale’s arms and flashed them from the room a second before the raging wolf would have been on them. “DALTON, STOP!” Dillon pushed his power into the command and for a brief second he thought it wouldn’t reach through the rage. But as soon as Dalton’s hand rested on the exact spot on Jewel’s leg where Kale’s hand had been only moments ago, he calmed. The change in him was so immediate and so drastic that Dillon was afraid to speak—afraid to break the control that his Beta had finally gained.
Dalton’s head began to rise slowly and when their eyes finally met Dillon saw the utter shame in them. Dillon grabbed a pair of sweat pants identical to ones that seemed to have been put in every empty location of the house and tossed them to Dalton. He let go of Jewel’s leg long enough to put them on but returned his hand immediately.
“I know you did not do what Kale has accused you of.” Dillon’s jaw clenched tight as he spoke. “I have seen evil men, Dalton, and you are not one of them.”
“Are you sure?” Dalton’s voice was guttural with his wolf so close to the surface. “Are you so certain that you haven’t been harboring a murder and rapist all these years?”
“YES!” Dillon barked. “Whatever happened, whatever Kale thinks he knows or saw, I know that you are not capable of that.”
“You’re wrong,” Dalton paused. “I have killed.”
“We all have. Hell, some of us, like you, are several centuries old, and we’re predators. It’s not possible to live that long and not kill someone. Not in the world that we live in.”
Dillon waited for Dalton’s response, but his Beta simply bowed his head until it rested next to his hand on Jewel’s leg. He knew there was more they needed to discuss, but now was not the time. He turned to go but as he grasped the doorknob his Beta finally spoke.
“I did not rape that woman.”
Dillon looked back at him. “I knew that.”
“But I did kill her, and I would do it again. What does that make me?”
“It makes you a man willing to do whatever it takes to protect the innocent. Because I know that you would only have killed a woman if you were protecting someone from her.” He could tell Dalton was surprised by his answer, and though Dillon did not know exactly what the circumstances had been, he knew that there were times when not even a woman deserved mercy.
~
Kale let out a shaky breath as his thoughts wandered back to that night so very long ago when he had run into Dalton Black for the first time. He hadn’t now expected to see the wolf alive all these centuries later. Kale was sure Dalton would have wound up getting himself killed. Although he thought he understood the situation when he had rushed into that room many years ago, he now questioned himself. He remembered seeing Dalton with the female he had chosen for company, but he had not seen evil in the wolf’s eyes.
While there were male Canis lupis that sought out female companionship from humans, it was not the norm. Most males saved themselves for their true mates. Even so, when a man did seek out relations with a woman, it wasn’t usually done in such a crass way as seeking out paid females. That act alone told Kale that Dalton was battling some dark demons. For Jewel’s sake he truly hoped that he was right in believing that Dalton wasn’t capable of such an act. He knew Dillon would want to talk to him about the things he had said and he hoped Dillon had more information than he did that proved Dalton’s innocence.
He made his way up the stairs intending to head towards the room that he had been given with his Beta, Banan, but as he passed the room where the healers had stayed, and where Kara was still staying, he caught a scent. He paused, raising his nose in the air and taking a deep breath. Nothing had ever called to him as the cinnamon smell did. He followed it into the room and over to one of
the beds on the far wall. His wolf perked up as he recognized the scent as well. Mate, he told Kale. “Possibly,” Kale responded though he didn’t want to get his hopes up. He reached down and laid his hand on the blanket that covered the mattress and closed his eyes. He wondered what she looked like, wondered if she was playful or serious, tall or short. None of that mattered, of course, he just wanted her to be his. Kale tried to focus on the smell, clearing his mind and reaching for an invisible bond that he was sure had to be forming. Perhaps being in the location where his mate had been had triggered the bond. His breath caught as he felt a sharp pain in his head. He squeezed his eyes tight, attempting to fight off the pain. And as it abated he realized it was not his pain he had been feeling. There was no fear mixed with the pain so he didn’t think she was in trouble. She was out there, and though Peri had said she was safe with the pixies it bothered him that she was in pain and he could do nothing to help.
As he stepped away from the bed and headed back for the door, not wanting to alarm Kara should she walk in, he felt an overwhelming sense of longing rush through him, and then it was gone. It was her; he knew it was, but he wondered if it was him she was longing for. As an American who knew nothing of their world, he knew she couldn’t possible desire him as he did her, but he hoped once they met the mate bond would help her accept that he was hers, created only for her.
As he closed the door behind him he shook his head, irritated with his lack of control because of a smell. “Keep creeping around in girls bedrooms and sniffing their beds and she will definitely think you’re a prize”.
Chapter 4
“There is nothing I could ever do to be worthy of your love. There is no amount of penance I can pay, sacrifice I can make, or forgiveness I can beg to deserve you. But I need you. Stay with me. I don’t deserve you, but please stay with me. I have nothing to offer you other than what is left after all the world has taken. Stay with me and I am yours. Heart, mind, body, and soul, I am yours.” ~Dalton Black
His throat burned with the effort it took to hold back the tears as he pressed his face closer to her skin. Over and over he breathed her in, holding on to the reality that she was here with him. No one was touching her or taking her from him. She was here with him—where she belonged. He hadn’t changed his mind about her needing someone better than him. He hadn’t suddenly decided that he was the best thing for her; he knew the opposite to be true. What had changed was the fact that after seeing those males near her, after seeing them touch her and then realizing that if she was not his then she would belong to another to love and touch, he knew that he could never give her up. Only death could take him from her and for that he was sorry.
His wolf rumbled deep inside of him with contentment that only the nearness of their mate could bring them. He had to fight the beast to keep from crawling up in the bed and wrapping them around her. Closer, the wolf growled, mate, touch, closer. He pushed his wolf back, attempting to make him understand that laying down next to a woman who did not know them was not an acceptable thing to do. His wolf did not care what was acceptable.
“Please forgive me,” he whispered as he forced himself to relax his grip on her. She was so small compared to him, so fragile because of her humanity, and he never wanted to be the one to hurt her in any way, not ever again. He had hurt her. Maybe she didn’t realize it, but by refusing her he had kept her from healing. For that alone he deserved to die. Who rejects their mate? What kind of male allows his mate to suffer when he could take it away?
His head snapped up and a snarl erupted from him as the door to her room opened. His eyes narrowed as Costin pushed around Sally as she attempted to enter the room.
“Costin, relax; he isn’t going to hurt me,” she told him as she tried to step around him.
“And you deduced that from the cuddly look on his face?” Costin avoided making eye contact with Dalton. Smart wolf, Dalton thought.
“No, because he knows I’m trying to help his mate. No male will hurt someone trying to help their woman, especially not a healer. Now move!”
Dalton stood slowly as the two approached the bed. His lip lifted as a growl grew in his chest as Costin neared his mate. Too close, his wolf told him and he agreed.
“Costin, you wouldn’t want a male near me if I was injured. Step back.”
“Will you let her check your mate?” Costin asked him.
Dalton gave one nod. “Only her.”
“You will not harm her.”
Dalton ignored the command because he knew the wolf was only trying to protect his female and he respected him for that.
“I will not harm your healer,” he assured him.
He watched as Sally stepped closer and laid her hands gently on Jewel’s head. The healer closed her eyes and was very still for several minutes. When her eyes opened she looked pained as her head rose to meet his eyes.
“Are you going to take care of her now?” she asked him and he did not miss the accusation in her tone. The insinuation that he had not cared for her up until that point stung, but he deserved it.
“She is my mate.”
“So glad you finally decided to pull your head out of your—,”
“Sally,” Costin growled.
She turned to look at him, her eyes full of innocence. “What? I’m just stating the truth.” She turned back to him and began spouting off orders. “She will need your blood. I know you have given her a little in the past, but she will need you to be a tad more generous from now on. She needs a connection to this life, something positive. The pain and torture she endured has caused her mind to retreat and her spirit has followed. It’s a protection mechanism that some people seem to have. I’ve been doing some research on it, but human doctors don’t understand it and don’t have any treatment for it. But we aren’t human are we?” A single brow rose as her lips quirked up in a small smile. “We are something more. Give her something to live for. At first I didn’t think that she could hear us, but every time I use my magic on her to check on her I can feel that she feels me. It’s as if she is aware even though she is unconscious. Because of that, I believe she can hear us. Tell her about yourself, about your Creator and how the Canis lupis came to be. Tell her about the incredible love she blessed her wolves with in having a true mate.” Sally paused, her head tilted to the side as she studied him. Suddenly she reached across the bed and laid a hand on his arm. Normally he would have jerked back, but the warmth that flowed into him froze him in place. Her face softened and her eyes filled with tears. Her mate had his arms wrapped around her waist, and Dalton could tell he wanted to jerk her away. He didn’t blame the young wolf.
“You can’t change your past, Dalton Black,” Sally said as she pulled her hand away. “You have no control over the future. What you do have is the right now. You have this moment and that is all you have. You are promised nothing more. That is what our lives are, a collection of moments. You can make those moments worthy of the life your Creator gave you by selflessly giving them to someone else, or you can hold onto those moments using them to wallow in things you can do nothing about. What are you going to do with this moment? Who will this moment be for?”
Dalton didn’t hear the door close as they left. He was too busy staring at the woman who was going to change his life forever. He pulled a chair over to her bed and took her hand in his. The warmth of her skin against his was a marvel to him after having despised touch for so long. He knew, as he threaded his large fingers through her smaller ones, that he would always want her touch, always welcome it and crave it. His eyes were drawn to her face as he heard a soft sigh, one that cried of relief, hum through her lips. Dalton leaned in close to her, his lips brushing her ear as he spoke. “This moment and every moment after is yours.”
“You should be careful of the promises you make, Dalton Black, especially when making them to your true mate.”
Dalton stood slowly at the sound of the Great Luna’s voice and turned to face her. He kept his head bowed as he answer
ed her. “I take my oaths seriously, Great Luna.” He felt the warmth and goodness in her flow over him and drive him to his knees. Who was he to stand in the presence of his Creator?
“You are my child,” she answered his thought. “I have waited for you to turn to me for a very long time. I have watched you be hurt by the evil in the world and watched you be hurt by foolish choices you have made. I know everything about you; nothing is hidden from me. The path you have taken is not the one I laid out for you, but it is not too late. You must make things right with me in order to be what she needs. You claim you are not worthy of her because of your indiscretions; you profess that you desire to be something more than what you have been. Listen carefully, my child. I, and only I, can make you something more. Your moments as you called them belong to me, for I am the one who created you. Only if you seek to right your relationship with me and learn my ways, will you be able to truly change.” He heard her step closer and then felt her hand on his head. “I am your judge, but I am also your deliverer. I am waiting. It’s time you came home.”
Dalton quaked with the weight of all he had experienced and done in his long life. His spirit felt crushed under the guilt of his transgressions. He had used and abused so many people and things instead of turning to the one who could truly give him relief and heal him. “I confess to you that I know and accept responsibility for my iniquities, against you, against myself, and against others. It is killing me, devouring my insides and tearing my soul. I can’t handle it anymore and I refuse to make Jewel be the one to have to try to hold me together. Please forgive me. I don’t know how to be the male you destined me to be, and I don’t know how to be the mate to one so shattered when I myself am just as broken if not more. I need your help.” His hands trembled at his sides as the tears he had never let fall finally flowed.
