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Then she saw the look on his face—-
Misty asked meekly, “You know about the Panthera?”
Domenico only looked at his wife in answer, wanting her to squirm. It was the best and only way to punish her. Of course, it was also one of his favorite habits. Small and curvaceous, with dark hair and dark eyes, Misty was not the type to invite second glances from men. But for Domenico it had been the total opposite.
Because he had known of her before ever meeting Misty, Domenico had been captivated by her character, had found himself powerfully attracted to her strength and loyalty. He had never met a human woman like her, someone who had an uncanny knack of making people either love her or hate her very passionately.
Misty fidgeted, trying not to say a word in her defense, but when Domenico remained silent, she blurted out, “It wasn’t my fault.”
“That’s what you said the last time also, my love.” But the tender smile that accompanied the admonishing words had Misty sighing in relief.
“It really wasn’t my fault, though,” she insisted. “And I know Calys would have sided with me if she was there. They weren’t right to talk about Anastasia that way—-”
He looked at her.
She shut up. She knew that look. It meant he saw through her – or rather, her babble. She mumbled, “I admit that I may have gotten slightly carried away by my emotions.”
It was difficult to keep a detached face at his wife’s mumble, but he knew it had to be done. She always thought of herself as a wimp, but when it came to the people she cared about, Misty ended up acting like the fiercest she-wolf. While her courage was something he greatly admired, he wanted her to learn to be less impulsive. It always ended up getting her in trouble, and Domenico feared the day would come when he wouldn’t be in time to save her.
“How carried away?”
“I might have, umm, said that Anastasia would never marry a panther even to save her life?”
Domenico winced. “Misty...”
“But they were talking about her like she was trash,” she said unhappily.
“And that’s wrong. I’ll be the first one to say that. However, you cannot expect thousands of years of prejudice to change overnight. The changes you want will happen. I will personally make sure it happens, even if it’s only for your sake, but you must accept that it will happen gradually.”
She leaned against him in answer, and his arm curved around her, knowing how precious this was. When they were apart, Misty had fought hard to be independent but now that they were back together, Domenico knew that she was doing her best to show him that she trusted Domenico to be her strength when she needed him to be.
Misty was rubbing her nose against his chest, like a pup wanting affection. Domenico stroked her back.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be the proper mate for you.”
“Inconsequential,” he dismissed. “I’m the only one you’ll ever have, the same way you are the only one for me.” Taking her hand in his, he drew her next to him for a walk, knowing it would help clear her mind.
Misty leaned her head against his shoulder. It was rare for them to have quiet time like this, and she cherished such moments. They walked in companionable silence for long minutes, past the marshes and deeper into the Everglades, with its ever-gray skies and twisted, lanky trees.
Although she had lived all her life in Florida, she had never even considered coming here and probably wouldn’t have if not for the fact that a large part of it made up the Adelardi pack’s territory. There was something about its eternal fog that crept her out, making Misty feel like time had no meaning here.
The silence unnerved her, too. It was a deep kind of silence, one that had shivers running down her spine. She looked at Domenico, wondering if he felt the same—-
Domenico, sensing his wife’s attention on him, glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow.
Nope. Of course the Big Bad Wolf wouldn’t be afraid of the woods.
“Whatever it is you’re thinking, I’m certain it’s not something I’d like to hear.”
She grinned.
“Don’t even think about telling me.”
From afar, something tittered—-
Misty jumped into his arms.
Domenico laughed.
“But it didn’t sound normal,” she protested even as she squeezed his shoulders so he could let her down.
“My love, you’re married to a shifter. Is that normal?”
“I’m used to fighting vampires, not...I dunno, it could be an aswang, you know?”
Aswang was a Filipino myth, one of the many mythological creatures Misty would occasionally ask him about so she would know which were and weren’t real.
Domenico only shook his head at her. As they resumed walking, the silence tempting her to cling to him, Misty blurted out, “I have a joke.”
