by Noah Harris
Liam’s brow rose slowly. “You’re, uh, really thinking big there.”
Dante laughed, unable to contain his excitement at the idea. It was as if, by freeing himself from the yoke of the previous plans for his future, he had cracked open the part of his mind that drummed up new possibilities. The world held chances he’d never had a chance at before, and he wanted to grab at each one. It could have just been the high of being free from his previous expectations, or just buzzing from knowing he could be with Liam. Yet he couldn’t help but think about Erik saying he’d always thought Dante could be meant for something else, or how Noah had said that people like him and Liam were necessary for bringing change into the world. It might just be a dream that would never see realization, but Dante didn’t think that meant the dreams shouldn’t be pursued.
Dante gripped each of Liam’s shoulders, smiling down at him. “Listen to me, okay? I want to travel the world with you. I want to see the places you’ve seen and meet the people you’ve met. I want to be scared by something different, and I want to be excited by something new. I want to face the world with you by my side and see what we can discover along the way. I want to have adventures with you that are fun, and adventures that are miserable. Like you said, I’m free to do whatever I want now, and I…Gaia, Liam, I’m free. Let me be free with you. Drag me around the world and let me deal with freedom, in its entirety.”
Liam stared up at him in wonder. “It’s kind of hard to tell you no when you sound like that.”
Dante grinned. “Good, then don’t try to tell me no. Tell me you’ll be my partner in a trek across the world.”
“It’s not really organized enough to be called a ‘trek’,” Liam said.
Dante playfully scowled. “Just say it. I can see it in your eyes. You want to agree to it.”
Liam’s mouth worked, as he tried to fight his smile. “I want to argue with your logic, but I can’t find a flaw in it. Are you absolutely sure this is what you want to do?”
Dante nodded, reveling in the conflicting emotions of awe and fear within him. “It’s the scariest decision I’ve ever made in my life, but I know it’s what I want.”
Liam leaned up, pulling Dante down to him. Where their previous kiss had been hard and passionate, this one was slow and gentle. Liam’s body was pliant against his, inviting Dante to draw him closer. Dante was more than happy to oblige, pulling his mate flush against him and squeezing him tight. The kiss drew on, as soft to its finish as it had been from the start. It still felt as if it had stolen Dante’s breath away, and he took a slow breath when their lips slid away from one another.
“You really do mean it,” Liam said in wonder.
“I do,” Dante said simply.
Liam nodded. “Okay. You’re probably going to regret it, but if that’s what you’re going to insist upon, then who am I to tell you no?”
Dante nudged him playfully. “Say it.”
Liam grinned. “Dante, I want to show you the world.”
“And I happily accept. Am I allowed to kiss you again?” Dante asked.
Liam smiled, pulling away from Dante gently. “I’d say yes, but we’d probably end up kissing for a while. Then we’d get distracted by all the kissing and end up doing a lot more than kissing. And as fun as that sounds, we still have to go back and tell everyone our decision.”
Dante nodded, holding his hand out for Liam to take. “Together, then?”
Liam took his hand. “From here on out.”
Chapter Twenty
By the time they returned to the clearing, everyone Elder Marrow had wanted there were waiting for them. Dante thought it was a strange sight, seeing all the Elders, Rosa, Erik, Noah, and Brett, all standing in the moonlit clearing. Everyone had been dragged from their beds for a piece of melodrama that Dante had been fearing for almost two weeks. It seemed almost impossible that instead of war and exile, he was walking toward his decision for freedom.
Almost as one, the eyes of the assembly before them slid down to where Dante held tight to Liam’s hand. Dante tightened his grip on Liam as they strode forward, hoping he looked as happy and proud as he felt. He was nervous, but it was almost completely drowned in the new hope blossoming in his chest.
“I should have known you would get me dragged out of bed again,” Rosa huffed, though Dante detected a slither of humor in her voice.
“At least this time, it’s not because I set fire to an old tree,” Dante told her with a grin.
Liam peered at him as they stopped in front of the group. “You started a forest fire?”
Dante shook his head. “Naw, it was just an old tree standing in the middle of nowhere.”
“Okay, but why did you set fire to a tree?” Liam asked.
“We were trying to see if the stories about Elves and Faeries getting pissed off when you burned stuff in the forest was true. Turns out all we managed to do was piss the Elders and Rosa off,” Dante told him.
Rosa snorted. “Faeries. you almost burned down the forest for the sake of old stories.”
“They’re not just stories,” Liam murmured.
Elder Marrow looked interested for a moment before remembering himself. “Whether or not the old stories are true is irrelevant. Dante, I assume your return means that you have come to a decision?”
Dante nodded solemnly. “I have. I have decided to accept status as a Loner so that I may stay by Liam’s side.”
Rosa and Erik didn’t look surprised, but Dante could see their expressions falter. Noah simply smiled, while Brett looked away with a roll of his eyes. The Elder’s reactions were varied, and they turned partly away to whisper among themselves. Dante couldn’t see their faces well enough to know what the conversation was, but it was obvious they hadn’t been ready for that decision. The only Elder who remained still and silent was Elder Marrow.
“Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?” Elder Marrow asked.
Dante nodded without hesitation. “I’m more than sure, Elder. We talked about it and decided that would be the best course of action for the both of us.”
Elder Marrow considered that for a moment before turning away to carry on the discussion with the other Elders. It occurred to Dante that it was fully possible they hadn’t wanted Dante to leave in the first place. Their surprise at his decision hadn’t struck him as odd, since he’d originally bet that they were expecting him to remain home, where they thought he’d always wanted to be. He couldn’t help but wonder if they’d hoped he would stay in the sept so they might find another use for him. Even without being mated to Noah, Dante still had the power of his lineage behind him.
Liam leaned in close to him. “Think they’re trying to figure out how to make this work to their advantage?”
Dante gave him a private smile. “I was just thinking along those lines.”
The group of Elders turned back to them, with Elder Marrow choosing to speak for them. “So be it. You will be officially regarded under the status of a Lone Wolf. I’ll spare you the long version, but you are effectively free of the responsibilities you had before. You are still a member of this sept, and as such, you are afforded protection and aid, but only in times of dire need. You are still welcome within our territories, but the territories of our allies are only open to you should they choose to allow it. You are lucky. Many will know your lineage and treat you well for it.”
“My little show pony,” Liam mumbled, but Dante heard the laughter in his voice.
Elder Marrow pretended to not hear him. “This also means you lose the rights to the home that you were granted when you first entered adulthood. You don’t have to leave immediately, but sooner would be better than later.”
“So you can throw someone else in there?” Dante asked, mostly joking.
“Because if you’re going to leave your home, it’s better that you do it as soon as possible. You may think you’re ready for some grand adventure, but eventually, doubt will set in. It’s better that you don’t linger here too long, or
it will make leaving all the more difficult,” Elder Marrow explained.
Dante smiled. “There are moments like this, Elder, where I believe that you actually do care about me.”
Elder Marrow huffed. “And there are moments like this, Dante, where I believe that you are actually wiser than you lead others to believe. We will leave you to discuss your decision with the others. I’m sure, like myself, the other Elders would prefer to deal with this in the morning, after a bit of sleep.”
Dante stepped forward. “Elder Marrow, before you leave…”
Elder Marrow waved the rest of the Elders on, before turning to Dante with a tired expression. “Yes, Dante?”
“I know you and I haven’t always seen eye to eye on things. I know that sometimes you had to choose the good of the sept over my own happiness. But I also know that you have never stopped caring about me throughout that process either. I think you honestly believed the arrangement with Noah was the best thing for me. It turns out you were wrong, but that doesn’t mean your heart wasn’t in the right place most of the time. You’re not a perfect man by any measure, but just as Rosa and Erik have always looked out for me, it’s my opinion that you’ve been doing the same, in your own way. I just wanted to say that, while I had the chance,” Dante said hurriedly.
“I…thank you, Dante. I wish you well in your travels,” Elder Marrow said in a distant voice.
The remainder of the people in the clearing watched the Elder back away from them slowly. It was obvious the older werewolf hadn’t been expecting Dante’s little speech. He didn’t seem to know how to react, and his movements were slow. Dante didn’t expect much by way of a reply, nodding at the older man as he finally began to retreat in earnest.
It was only after Elder Marrow disappeared from sight that Dante finally chuckled. “I think I broke him.”
Erik stared at the spot where the Elder had been moments before. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a time when he didn’t have something to say.”
Rosa grunted with pleasure. “I have, but that involved me, so the silence wasn’t as nice.”
Erik turned to Dante. “You’re really going to leave us? After having the chance to stay here with us, you’re going to leave?”
Rosa waved him off. “Oh, don’t get whiny, Erik. It doesn’t suit you. It’s the best choice he could make, given the circumstances. Liam ain’t gonna be the type to hang around here, and our Dante is more than tough enough to survive in the world without us hanging over him all the time.”
Erik shrugged. “Yeah, I know, but…”
Dante let go of Liam’s hand so he could approach Erik. “You’re always going to be my best friend. You know that, right? And I’m allowed to come back here, so it’s not like I’m going to walk out of here and never come back. You guys aren’t getting rid of me that easily.”
Erik nodded, looking miserable. “I know that, but it’s not the same.”
Dante grabbed Erik’s shoulders and pulled him in for a tight hug. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You did what you had to do,” Erik told him in a harsh whisper.
“You’re family, and I’m not going to forget you while I’m out in the world. I’ll always come back to you guys,” Dante said.
Erik nodded against his shoulder. “You better not. I want to hear all the stories of the trouble you start without me.”
“I’m sure he’ll have plenty of stories to bring you,” Liam said from behind them.
Erik pulled out of the hug, shaking his head before looking at Liam. “We never got a chance to meet before this, did we? If you’re going to be hanging out with this guy for the rest of your life, there’s a few things you should know.”
“Erik,” Dante growled in warning.
Erik pushed past him with a wink. “Don’t worry, bud. I’m not going to tell him too many embarrassing stories.”
Dante tried to grab for his friend. “Don’t you dare!”
Erik threw his arm over Liam’s shoulders as if they were old friends. “Why don’t you let him and Rosa talk while you and I have a little chat?”
Liam looked unsure. “Uh, why not?”
Dante looked to Rosa desperately. “Help?”
Rosa shook her head. “You think I’m not going to have a talk with him myself when this is over?”
“Don’t believe anything that liar tells you!” Dante shouted at Liam’s back as Erik led them away.
“You know, when Erik came to my door, for a moment I thought the worst had happened. That somehow, everything had gone wrong and I was going to walk into watching our sept prepare for war, or that you would be exiled. It’s been fifteen years since I was awoken in the dead of night by someone trying to almost break my door down with all the noise they made. I suppose that old fear was just waiting for the right moment to strike again,” Rosa said after a moment.
Dante turned to her, frowning. “I’m sorry, Rosa. None of this was supposed to happen quite this way. Liam and I were sitting here talking, and Brett snuck up on us. A fight broke out, the next thing I know, Noah’s here and before I could even finish talking to him, Elder Marrow and Erik showed up. It all happened so fast.”
Rosa nodded. “I can’t say I’m surprised. This situation seemed ripe to be thrown out into the open instead of coming out gradually. I’d hoped you would be the one to drag it out into the open, but it did it itself, didn’t it? Even when you aren’t trying to cause trouble, it always has a way of finding you.”
“I think Noah would refer to it as ‘change’ instead of trouble,” Dante told her with a grin.
She cocked a brow. “Is that what he told you? Before or after you told him you weren’t going to be with him because you went and got yourself bound to a Lone Wolf?”
“After, thank you very much,” Dante said.
“Hmm, the man has more brains than I gave him credit for,” Rosa said.
Dante’s eyes widened. “Rosa!”
She shrugged. “My first impression was that he had about as much personality as a rock, and about as much brains too. Just seemed like he was saying what he was taught to say and going with whatever anyone else said. I didn’t know how the hell you were going to live the rest of your life with a mate who lived life by rote and routine. I ain’t wrong often, but I’m glad to see I was wrong in this case.”
Dante sighed, shaking his head slowly at her. “You can be so judgmental sometimes. He’s a good man. He had his own hang ups about this whole thing, and I think he was just doing what he thought he should do to try to make it better for both of us. It didn’t really work, but he was trying at least.”
“Like I said, I was wrong. I admit that,” she told him.
“Hey Erik! Rosa just admitted that she was wrong about something!” he shouted out to his friend.
Erik’s voice shouted back. “Seriously? Commit that to memory?”
Rosa eyed Dante. “Just because you’re getting ready to leave doesn’t mean you’re safe from my bad side, boy.”
Dante smiled at her. “You know we love you, Rosa.”
Rosa’s shoulders sagged a little. “I know. You’re a sweet boy. You always have been. I always wanted more for you than the life you were given, but I didn’t know how to give that to you without making your life even harder. I hate that you’re leaving us, but I’m glad you’re finally free.”
“Wait, you didn’t want me to be with Noah?” Dante asked.
“I wanted what I’ve always wanted: for you to be happy. If by some chance, you ended up falling for Noah, then that would have been enough for me. I didn’t know what else to do but trust that Gaia would watch over you. I prayed to her every night, hoping against hope that you would one day find a path that would bring you the happiness you deserved. When it came time for Noah to arrive, I thought my prayers had gone unanswered, until you came to me the other day to tell me about Liam. You’ve got your happiness now, even if it takes you away from us,” Rosa said with an air of finality.
�
�Just like I told Erik, I’m not leaving you guys forever. At least now you won’t have the Elders on your case constantly trying to make me behave,” Dante told her, trying to find the silver lining for her.
She snorted. “Those old coots always thought I somehow held the answer to making you do what they wanted, and behave according to their standards. They never did understand that you were gonna do what you were gonna do, no matter what we said. Sure, you might listen to me better on some things than you did to them, but you’ve always been your own person. I’ve loved that about you from the first day I talked to you, and I’m glad it never went away.”
Dante grinned at that. “Now you tell me that, almost fifteen years later!”
“Well I couldn’t very well tell you that before, or you would have been insufferable. There are some personalities that must be tempered before they should be appreciated,” she said in her offhand manner.
Dante eyed her. “That just sounds like a really fancy way of saying you didn’t want me to get a big head.”
Rosa smirked. “That too.”
Dante sighed, his shoulders sagging as he realized just how much he was going to miss Rosa. She never veered from giving him hell when he messed up, but she’d never stopped looking out for him. She was his mother as much as Erik was a brother to him. Now, he was going to embark on a path that would take him far away from her.
“I’m going to miss the hell out of you,” he told her.
The playful lines of her face faltered. “I don’t know what I’ll do without you around to keep things interesting. It’s going to be unbearably quiet with you gone.”
Dante smiled, finally reaching out for her. “I’m sorry.”
She shook her head, taking his hand without hesitation. “Stop apologizing. There was always going to be a day when you wouldn’t need me anymore, and you would leave. At least now I know you’re leaving happy. That’s all that matters.”
Dante shook his head. “I’m never going to stop needing you, Rosa. You never once tried to take the place of my mother, but you’ve been a mother to me from the moment you took me in. I don’t think anyone ever stops needing their parents, no matter how old they get or how far away they go. I’ll always come back here to find you, whether I’m in trouble or not.”
