Luna of Mine (7 page)

After several seconds that
felt like hours passed, he released her and stepped back but was
still closer than he had been. She could not look at him, not after
all that she was sure he had seen in her mind. Though she was fully
dressed, she had never felt so naked, so vulnerable, in all her
life. His warm hand under her chin lifted her face until she had no
choice but to look at him. His eyes glowed and she swallowed hard
as she stared at Vasile’s wolf.

“
Yes,”
he growled. “I am Alpha, but I am more than that to you, Alina.”
His head tilted ever so slightly to the side. “How old are you?”
His eyes seemed to travel down her form and the obvious intimacy in
his stare heated her cheeks.

She shook her head as much
as she could with him holding her chin. “I am nearly sixteen. So
you see there has been a mistake. I cannot possibly be what you are
suggesting; I am not of age.”

Her experience with the
males in her race had taught her that when they began to snarl,
growl, and slam things around, it was best to leave them be. The
dominants especially lived on the edge of violence at all times as
the beast inside of him yearned to take over. But as she watched
the male in front of her go very, very still, she realized that
there was something worse than seeing a male lose control. She knew
without a doubt that the carefully contained rage before her was
much more dangerous than any growling or snarling he might
do.

“
Vasile,” one of the males called out. “You are frightening
her. Is that what you want?” She figured he must have stepped
closer because his voice was louder though he had not raised it.
When Vasile’s head snapped up to pin the wolf with his gaze, Alina
nearly groaned. Surely, this male knew his Alpha better than that.
Surely, he understood that when the wolf is peering out of the
man’s face it's typically not an invitation to have a reasonable
conversation.

“
Nicu,
do not come near her,” Vasile said coolly, not raising his voice,
not snapping his teeth but with completely composed wrath that
promised reprisal if not obeyed instantly.

Nicu must have submitted
because the Alpha’s attention was once again on her.
Fabulous,
she
thought.

“
You
will not deny me, Mina. I have waited a century for you. You are
young, but not so young that you do not know what is happening.
Sixteen? Many human females are married with a babe on the way at
this age.” Her eyes widened in surprise at his bluntness. “However,
we are not human are we? We are Canis lupis; we have one true mate
designed solely for us. Some of us wait hundreds of years before
they find their mate. I can wait a little longer if I must. Do not
use your age as an excuse to avoid what is. You are mine. Something
tells me you are not a fool, but if you think that I will let you
go, then a fool you have become.”

“
You
certainly know how to make a woman feel revered,” Alina bit out.
Her tone of voice shocked him, and it gave her the opportunity to
knock his hand away and step out of his reach. He started for her
but stopped when her father’s voice boomed through the
air.

“
Alpha!
Welcome.” Petre and his wife walked over to where Alina and Vasile
stood. They both bared their neck to him and then were careful to
keep their eyes anywhere but on his. “I see you have met our
daughter, Alina.” When Vasile did not answer, her father glanced up
to his face, blanched, and quickly looked away. “Perhaps, we will
take your warriors in and give them a drink.”

Alina started to call out
to her father but her mother caught her eyes and shook her head one
time. The stern look and tight lips told her that her mother meant
business. As she watched her only hope of getting away from the
wolf at her door, so to speak, moving further and further away, she
bit her lip trying to think of an excuse to follow them. Her
thoughts were interrupted when a large, warm hand enveloped hers.
She looked down and saw her fingers interlaced with Vasile’s, and
it felt so good, so right. He pulled her over to a bench where she
and her mother often sat to talk after the day’s work was done. He
sat and nodded for her to sit next to him. So she sat; what else
could she do?

“Tell me why you do not
want me,” he said bluntly.

Her brow drew together as
she looked up at him. “I never said I did not want you. I am just
young.”

“
That is
not enough of a reason to turn your mate away. Tell me the true
reason you deny me?”

She looked away, not
wanting him to see the shame on her face. She wished desperately
that it was not there. “We are not the same,” she finally
admitted.

“
I would
hope not,” he chuckled. “I very much like our differences and hope
to enjoy them more in the future.”

She blushed at his
insinuation. It was as improper as it was bold.

“
It is
not improper for me to desire my true mate,” he told her hearing
her thoughts. “Bold, perhaps, but not improper.”

“You should not say such
things to me.”

“
I
assure you that it is better at this point that I say such things
instead of do such things,” Vasile said smoothly.

“
Are you
always so brazen with females?” She glared up at him attempting to
use her anger to cover up her embarrassment at having such an
Adonis of a male so very interested in her.

“Would it
make you jealous if I was?” He grinned wolfishly at her.

She wanted to scream yes.
She wanted to tell him that if he ever looked at another female
again she would―

“
You
would what?” he purred.

Somehow he had moved
without her noticing. He bent down closer to her face with his lips
only inches from her own. He was reading her thoughts
again.

“
What
would you do to a she-wolf, if I looked at another
female?”

Alina’s eyes dropped to
his full, sensual lips and clamped her own together to keep from
leaning forward and seeing if his were as soft as they appeared.
She looked away quickly out into the forest where there was not a
desirable male staring back at her. She cleared her throat before
she answered. “Nothing, I would do nothing. You are free to look at
whom you wish. There are no mate marks on you.”

V
asile gazed at the beautiful steel eyed beauty sitting beside
him. She didn’t know it but he had seen her before in the market
place about a year ago. He had been drawn to her, but he had
chalked it up to the fact that she was exceptionally beautiful. She
had been arguing with a merchant, her fierce eyes flashing as she
demanded the merchant give a fair price to the older woman who had
been trying to buy fruit. He could tell she was still fairly young
so he had not allowed himself to dwell on her too long. Now, a year
later, she had matured quite a bit. She was perfect with shiny
brown hair, fine delicate features, and a mouth that called to him
as a siren called for her next victim. He wanted to wrap his arms
around her and carry her off to a den and bed down with her and
make her his, blood, body, and soul. His wolf was pacing inside of
him snarling at him to claim her, she was right there, just claim
her. Age did not matter to the wolf; as far he could tell she was
no longer a child. A child could not bear children, a child would
not stir the man in him, and she definitely did not act like a
child. The only thing that stopped him from taking her then was the
look in her eyes. It was one of longing but also of doubt. She
truly did not believe she was his mate, and he did not think it had
anything to do with her age. Despite the mental bond, she continued
to deny him. He released her hand and did not miss the slight drop
in her shoulders that revealed to him her disappointment. She need
not have worried. He reached up and brushed her hair over her
shoulder revealing the elegant line of her neck. As he leaned
closer Alina stilled; even her breathing stopped. His lips paused
only centimeters from her ear and he took in a deep breath. Her
scent hit him like a runaway carriage, and his hand slipped under
her hair and wrapped around the back of her neck.. The skin to skin
contact steadied and grounded him and kept him from doing something
rash, like sinking his teeth into her.

“
Breathe,
Mina,” he whispered when he realized she still had not taken a
breath. She inhaled sharply and then began to breath normally but
somewhat unsteadily.
Not quite
sixteen, Vasile,
he growled to himself.
The reminder helped him to tone down his influence over her. Being
near your true mate for the first time, especially one as dominate
as he, could be overwhelming.

“
Do you
know that a female has a scent that only her true mate can smell?”
he asked her quietly. She nodded. “Would you like to know how you
smell to me?” She shook her head making him grin at her
obstinately. “Good thing I do not usually do as I am told,” he
murmured as he breathed her in again. “You smell of the calm
morning air when the dew still rests on the leaves and the grass,
pure and untouched like the dawn, before any has awoken to taint
it.”

Vasile absently rubbed
with his thumb just below her ear with his hand that still held
onto her. He felt her lean into his touch and the movement flooded
his senses with another smell, one of desire and need. His wolf
growled victoriously, but the man knew it was time to back off. He
stood up abruptly to put some space between them. As he looked down
into her vulnerable eyes, he knew that he could not have her, not
yet. He was a patient hunter as a wolf and just as patient as a
man. His initial reaction to her denial was possessive rage. He
wanted her, needed her, and would have her. Look where that had
gotten him. Now that he had calmed down, no doubt from her skin on
his and her scent washing over him like a waterfall of bliss, he
could think a little clearer. She was his, of that he had no doubt,
but she would need time to grow and mature into the woman she
needed to become. Eighteen was not so far away, two years and he
could have her. Until then, he would have to court her and somehow
keep his wolf under control. The latter seemed impossible, but
then, to have Alina, he would move mountains, destroy fleets or
crush nations as long as she ended up by his side.

He would give her some
space and time, though his wolf was snarling wholeheartedly at him
for it. He had work to do in the village anyway, so he would not be
far. That would give him time to consider what to say to her
father. She was still under his household and Vasile would have to
have his permission to spend time with her, Alpha or not, mate or
not. He wondered if the bond would work the same for them as it did
for mates who found each other once fully mature. Would it be
painful to be apart? Would the ache to be close to her become
debilitating? And what of her? Would she be in pain? That was
something he did not like the thought of. He never wanted to be the
cause of his mate’s suffering.

Feeling better about the
situation, more in control, and not on the verge of marking her
right there in broad daylight, he pulled her to her feet and
pressed his lips to her forehead. Not enough for the wolf, but it
would appease the man. She sucked in a breath as her pulse
increased, causing his own heart to speed up. Now it was he who
needed space because if not he was going to take her and run. He
wrapped her in his embrace and she came willingly, as if she needed
his touch as much as he did. He wanted to feel her against him, but
more than that he wanted her saturated in his scent. Until she was
marked with his bite, the only way for other males to know who she
belonged to would be by his scent on her. When he finally released
her and stepped back, he smiled down at her rosy cheeks.

“
I have
business to take care of with the pack here. I know that this is a
shock to you, as it is to me as well. So I am going to give you
some space, a little breathing room if you will.” Her eyes widened
in surprise and she let out a small sigh of relief. He bit back the
snarl at her obvious desire to be away from him. For that he added,
“If you run from me, I will follow you. No matter where you go, I
will find you and I will not stop until I do.” He pressed his lips
to her forehead again, postponing leaving her for just a few
seconds more. “Think about that before you do something
foolish.”

Romanian Proverb # 5

Sãrãcia nu-i
rusine.

Poverty is no
disgrace.

H
er mouth was dry, and her hand shook as she raised it to
touch the place on her neck where Vasile, Alpha of their pack, had
only moments ago caressed her gently with his thumb. Something so
insignificant, and yet it was the most precious touch she had ever
received. He was gone now, along with his two warriors and her
father. Females could attend meetings, but really there was no
point. The males would be too busy trying to protect their mate if
they were there, and then they would not get anything
accomplished.

She had not moved from the
place where he had left her. Her shoes were suddenly filled with
lead too heavy to lift. Her eyes stared, not seeing anything in
front of her as her mind raced, and she battled her will. She
wanted to flee, to hide from the male who had affected her so. She
also wanted to throw herself in his arms and make him promise never
to leave her again. But instead of doing either, she just stood
there frozen with indecision, doubt, and, to her surprise,
curiosity. While he had been next to her, she had felt as if she
could fly, but now her body felt heavy and
uncoordinated.