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Dale didn't look at me while he related this story, and I felt like he was telling my life. Tears streamed down my face like a waterfall of pain.
"One day, when the violence led to the loss of her unborn child, Luna shifted into her wolf. It was a form she'd forgotten after her abandonment. She ripped her husband's throat out and left the human world behind. It was years later, she met her mate in wolf form, and in wolf form, they mated. She bore him five cubs, three boys, and two girls, all in the same litter. Remaining wolf until her young shifted the first time, Luna also changed and joined her mate and his pack. While she was with him, until the day he died, Luna lived a good and happy life." Dale shifted, taking my hand in his. "It was like the fates hated her, and the love of her mate protected her."
Observing my tears, Dale didn't reach out to touch me in any other way. He sat there and watched my tears fall and that I didn't try to hide them from him.
"I don't believe in past lives. I do believe history repeats itself until we learn from past mistakes."
Frowning, Dale gripped my chin between his thumb and forefinger. "You are not a mistake, Vera. What happened to you, the men in your pack, allowing that to happen to you, that was the mistake." When I looked away, Dale sighed. "The similarity between you may have nothing to do with the circumstances of your birth. The Goddess may have chosen you for the strength of your soul. The Goddess watches her children. Those that survive so much horror with their souls still intact, she might give the blessing of sight too?"
"Dale, you missed the point of Quinton's comparison. Those dreams that the Goddess' blessed' Luna with, caused her untold agony, and killed her. Just like my dream could have killed me the other night."
"No, Vera, you missed the point. The hunters who killed Luna's pack and all but one of her children were witch hunters. They didn't sweep through the packhouse with a machine gun and kill everyone where they stood. They captured them, tortured them for days on end, brutalized them, then killed them to save their soul. It was a well-documented event, the torturing of the body to save the soul. Luna escaped the horror inflicted on her pack. The Goddess allowed her to warn her pack, then took her to save her the worst of it."
Panic rose in my breast bone, my heart thudding against my chest. "He's going to find me, isn't he? That's what she's trying to tell me?"
Giving me the saddest eyes, I'd ever seen on him, Dale looked defeated already. Throwing open the car door, I ran for the house. Struggling to unlock the door, I sobbed as I nearly broke the key in the lock.
Soothing and calm, Dale reached around me, pulling my body back against his. One of his hands pressed on my abdomen, which somehow pushed my panic out of me like an exhalation. His other hand took my trembling fingers with the key and guided it into the lock, helping to open the door.
"You are my mate now, Vera. Those people you met today, if Malcolm dares try to take you from me, they will bring every pack in our country down on him. You belong to me now, there is nothing he can do about that."
Kissing over my shoulder, Dale stepped us inside as he moved my cardigan aside.
"You don't own me; not completely."
"Not yet."
Tilting my face so I could see him in my peripheral vision, Dale touched my cheek. Turning my head a little bit more to capture my lips. One kiss, a second longer one, the third his tongue flitted against my lips. Shifting his stance, Dale swiveled my body to face him and moved us against the wall, pressing his body into mine.
Already tingling from his touch, my nerves burst to life. Nothing had ever felt this good, and I didn't want it to stop. Every sensory perception was firing, absorbing sights, sounds, smells, and touch. Dale's caress was sunlight after months of snow. It melted my body to his, warmed me to my core, made me want to stretch out, so he had more of me to feel. When Dale found the parts he wanted to inspect covered, he removed the barrier.
The first rip of material startled me. Blinking down as Dale dropped his mouth to my exposed breast, I gulped. An inferno roared through the center of my body, melted my womb, and my knickers grew damp.
Freeing my skin from the confines of my clothing, Dale explored each exposed surface. Pressing my shoulders into the wall, I rocked my hips forward. His tongue sought my slit, licking and sucking at my bud to encourage me to open for him.
When my hand grasped a fistful of his hair and tugged hard, Dale released his grip on my hips and stood. Kicking off his shoes the same moment he pulled his shirt over his head. My hands reached out to touch his chest, trace the muscles of his torso. Freezing lowering his fly, Dale closed his eyes and exhaled roughly at my touch. His eyes opened lazily, lust-filled indigo met mine and frowned. Shaking his head, Dale stepped out of my reach.
"When we mate the first time, I want your green eyes looking back at me, not the mask you hide behind. The eyes are the window to the soul, Vera. They tell you everything you need to know about a person. When I'm with you, I want to see the real you."
Blinking, still stunned by the sudden end of his attention, it took me a moment to understand.
Grabbing his shirt from the ground, Dale secured his pants and started for the door. "Pack a bag for a few nights. I'll be back in an hour to pick you up."
"Dale, I didn't agree to go to the city." Collecting my shredded dress, I held it in front of me like a shield.
"Howard is staying here this week. Do you want to be here alone with him next door?" When I turned my head away ashamed, Dale shoved open the door. "I thought so. Be ready in an hour."
"I didn't start this. Don't get shitty at me because you stopped."
Coming back through the door, Dale threw his shirt to the side and kissed me furiously. Swaying into his embrace, I moaned at the depth of emotion in that kiss. When he pulled back, Dale leaned his forehead to mine while I tried to catch my breath.
"I stopped because you're not ready, Vera. Your body is willing, but your eyes showed your fear. I don't want to make love to you while you tremble like a rabbit who knows its doom. I want you to want me, as much as I want you. Heart and soul." Deflating in his arms, I knew he was right. Kissing my nose, Dale stepped away. "I'll see you in an hour."
Precisely an hour later, I was sitting with a small bag on my front porch when Dale pulled up. Despite walking to the car by the time he got out, Dale still walked around to open the door for me. Instead of sitting immediately, I stood and waited for Dale to meet my eyes. When he did, his eyes lit up.
"No more hiding. Malcolm knows I'm alive, Auburn hair and brown eyes aren't going to fool him."
Gripping the back of my neck in one large hand, Dale pulled me into a deep kiss before lowering me into the car. He didn't say a word. Closing my door, Dale took his seat and put the car in drive.
