Authors: Fiona Knightingale
If he could not make Sheldandra understand what he was and make her love him, he would be forced to spend the rest of his life with Accalia. That was not a future that Tate was looking forward to. Once he was sure that Accalia was not going to call Sheldandra back over to her apartment, he made his way to the door and knocked gently.
He could hear Sheldandra walking to the door quickly. He assumed it was because she thought that he was Accalia wanting to demand more from her. As she opened the door the look of stress turned to surprise.
“Oh,” Sheldandra said, looking at Tate, “Mr. Tate, Accalia is not here, her apartment is the next one over.”
Tate smiled down at Sheldandra. She had not even had time to change out of her work clothes and she looked completely exhausted. “I’m not here to see Accalia,” Tate said gently, “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh,” Sheldandra said, opening the door allowing Tate into her apartment, “I assume you want to talk about the wedding?”
Tate spun around and looked at Sheldandra stunned. She blushed and looked down at the floor as she closed the door behind him. “It’s just that you know, that is all Accalia has talked about all day. I didn’t know there was still anyone who practiced, arranged marriages,” she stammered.
Tate could tell that she was already uncomfortable, but he needed to make her understand that he did not want to marry Accalia.
“What would you do if I told you I was not going to marry Accalia,” he asked staring straight at Sheldandra. Mating with Accalia was so much more than just marrying her, but he knew that he could not explain that to Sheldandra. At least not yet.
Sheldandra looked at Tate with nothing less than confusion. He reached out and took her hand, as he led her into her living room, he said, “I am not here to make you work anymore, you have done enough of that. I am here because I do not want Accalia.”
Sheldandra interrupted, “Please do not ask me to tell her that. She will kill me.”
Sheldandra had no idea just how true that was but Tate thought it best that he keep his opinions to himself. Tate sat down on Sheldandra’s sofa and patted the cushion next to him. Sheldandra slowly sat down next to him.
“I would never ask you to do such a thing,” Tate began. He looked deep into Sheldandra’s dark brown eyes and he could see the fear that was within her. Seeing that type of fear caused the animal within him to begin to claw at the surface trying to break through.
“I am glad to hear you do not want to marry her,” Sheldandra said, blushing, “She is an awful woman, but I don’t see what any of this has to do with me.” Sheldandra was looking down at the floor. It was something that she did quite often now that she worked for Accalia.
Tate had not known Sheldandra before that time, but he remembered that when he had first met her she was full of joy and always held her head up. He could tell that Accalia and her words had taken a huge toll on Sheldandra.
“I know the way you feel about me,” Tate began. Sheldandra lifted her head, looking at Tate with her eyebrow raised. “It is okay,” he continued, “I am not going to say anything to Accalia about it. I feel the same way about you and I can’t go on hiding it.”
Sheldandra stood not willing to cause a problem for herself and began walking to the front door. “I think that it is best if you leave,” she struggled to tell him, “If this is some kind of test that Accalia has for me, you can tell her that I passed, but I will be looking for new employment, I can’t work like this anymore.”
Tate quickly rose and rushed toward Sheldandra. He grabbed her waist from behind and turned her to face him before she could open the door. She stared up at him, taking in all of his beauty. He was a man that was like none she had ever known before. He had beautiful white skin, he was not pale, but he did not look as if he had spent too much time in the sun either. His dark black hair was sleek and straight. She smiled as she watched a strand of it fall down on his forehead. It was one of the things that Accalia loved to complain about. She did not like his messy hair, but Sheldandra loved it. He had the most beautiful blue eyes that Sheldandra had ever seen and even though she had always preferred brown eyes there was something in Tate’s that mesmerized her. His lips were a beautiful shade of light pink and clearly defined just as his jaw bone was. He was a very muscular man and Sheldandra knew that he must have worked hard for that body.
As she thought about Tate’s body she was forced back into reality. She knew that a man who worked that hard on his own body would not want a woman like her. She was clearly more than a few pounds overweight and Accalia had made it very clear that no man would ever want her the way she was.
Sheldandra could feel tears welling up in her eyes as Tate held her against her front door. It was not from fear, though it was from knowing that she would never be good enough for the man that she loved and there would never be another man like him in her life. When Accalia had announced to Sheldandra that she was going to marry Tate, it felt as if she had ripped Sheldandra’s heart out of her chest and stomped all over it. For the rest of the day that was all she could think about.
Now here was the man that she wanted more than anything in the world, standing in her apartment with his hands on her waist. Sheldandra could not allow herself to think that it was anything more than a trick set up by Accalia.
Sheldandra was pulled from her thoughts as she felt Tate’s lips land hard on her own. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. Tate flicked at Sheldandra’s lips begging for entrance and even though she was unsure of what she should do she parted them. His tongue slowly entered her mouth and began to explore and as he kissed her so gently she wrapped her arms around his neck.
She knew that even if it cost her everything this moment in her life was going to be worth it. It would be something that she would never forget. Tate began kissing her harder as his hands slid up and down her back. Never in her life had she been kissed by a man like him. He was successful and his family was well known. Accalia was the type of woman that these men went after but here he was in her apartment kissing her.
Sheldandra felt as if she were melting into Tate as he kissed her and held her close. When he pulled his head back she whimpered slightly not wanting it to end, but was glad that he did not let go of her. “This is not a test from Accalia,” he said, smiling down at her, “this is me telling you that you don’t have to let her yell at you anymore. She is never going to put you down again and your days of working for her are over.”
Sheldandra wished that what he was saying was true, but in her life she had learned that she could not trust people, especially ones that made big promises like the one Tate had just made.
“How can you say that,” Sheldandra asked, “Your families have arranged for the two of you to marry. What are you doing here?”
Sheldandra was still confused and was becoming more and more confused as each minute passed.
“Let’s go for a walk,” Tate said, as he released Sheldandra from his grip, “then we can talk and I can explain everything. You never knew if Accalia is next door with her ear to the wall.”
Tate smiled as he talked, but Sheldandra could tell that there was a bit of truth in what he was saying. She was not going to give up the chance to be with the man of her dreams so she quickly grabbed her things and they headed out the door. The two of them were quiet as they passed Accalia’s apartment door. Tate did not want her running to her father just yet. He knew that as soon as he had mated with Sheldandra nothing less than war would break loose in his family and he wanting to enjoy the little bit of time he had before that happened.
Tate had thought a lot about the consequences of his actions. He knew that there was a huge chance that his father would excommunicate him. He would lose his title as prince and he would be on his own in the world. What gave him hope was the fact that he knew he would become the king of his own pack. He knew that some of the werewolves of his pack, the ones who were not purebred would follow him and that he and Sheldandra would be able to start a pack of their own. That was if she was willing and did not freak out when he told her what he was.
They headed out of the apartment building and into the night air. It was already dark outside and the town was lit up with life. Tate missed seeing the stars the way he had when he was just a cub and lived in the forest. He missed that life and wanted to go back, but his family had not allowed him. They told him that his responsibilities were in the world of the humans. It bothered him that he could no longer tell the difference between members of his pack and humans. This was not how it was supposed to be and Tate knew it.
Tate took Sheldandra’s hand and led her through the city and into the park. It was the closest that he could get to the forest and he wanted to feel at home when he opened up to her.
“Why have you brought me here,” she said. Her voice was teasing, but the smile on her face was unmistakable. Tate had never seen her so happy in all of the times that he had seen her with Accalia.
“I want to be alone with you,” Tate replied quietly. He was unsure how to begin telling her about himself and began to question his entire plan.
“We could have been alone at my apartment,” Sheldandra teased him.
“With Accalia next door,” Tate growled and made an ugly face that caused Sheldandra to laugh.
“You really can’t stand her can you,” Sheldandra asked.
“Do you have to ask,” Tate laughed, “she is a terrible excuse for a were… Person.” Tate bit his tongue knowing that he almost slipped and that was not acceptable. Sheldandra looked up at him confused.
“What were you going to say a were what,” she asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Tate stammered, “I just got lost in my own thoughts.”
The two of them were walking along the path in the part, it was dark and he held Sheldandra close to him. He could feel that she was shaking and felt bad that she was cold.
“Come here,” he said, pulling her closer, “You are shaking.”
“Yeah,” she replied, snuggling into his chest, “I do that sometimes.” The smile never left her face as they talked and walked through the park. When they reached a bench at the edge of the park Tate asked her if she wanted to sit. He knew she had been walking all day and that she had to be tired.
“There are some things that you do not know about Accalia and myself,” he said as they sat down. Sheldandra looked at him curiously. “Did the two of you have something going on,” she asked quietly.
“No,” Tate quickly answered, “Nothing like that. It is what keeps our families so close together. We are not like other people. In fact, we have an entire group that is like a large tight knit family.”
Sheldandra leaned back away from Tate, “I don’t understand what you are telling me,” she stated, “Are you part of a cult?”
Tate let out a loud laugh, “No, not a cult,” he said, trying to compose himself, “I don’t think I am doing a very good job of explaining myself.”
Sheldandra shook her head and Tate reached over to her pulling her close to him. “All that matters is that I want to be with you and not with Accalia. Can you tell me that I can have what I want,” he asked looking into her eyes.
“Why do you want me,” Sheldandra asked. She knew that was not what Tate was looking for but she needed answers. She was not the type of woman that she would expect for a man like him to be interested in, “Why not Accalia?”
Tate looked down at the ground in frustration, “Has she really beaten you down so low that you can’t understand why I would want to be with you and not her,” he asked, “She is an evil woman, one who treats others as if they are not as good as she it. You have more class in your pinky finger than she has in her entire body. You are sweet and meek and gentle. What man in his right mind would want a woman like Accalia raising his young?”
Sheldandra’s eyes widened. Tate had not thought about what he was saying and could tell that he had startled her. “I’m not saying that I want to have any right now,” he smiled, trying to play it off, “but I am not the type of man who leaves things to chance. Can you imagine the type of mother she would be?”
Sheldandra laughed at the idea, “The type that would make me raise her kids.”
She was right and Tate knew it. No matter what he had chosen to do it was always going to be Sheldandra or another woman that raised his cubs, it would never have been Accalia. She would have been too busy with her own life. He just wished his family could see her the way he did.
He turned and began to kiss Sheldandra again. His hands slid around her and her breathing quickened. Each time he touched her, it made her heart start racing, she could feel it pounding throughout her entire body.
“Do you want to be with me,” Tate whispered in her ear.
Sheldandra nodded her head, knowing that she had wanted him since the first time she had seen him. She had never believed in love at first sight up until then. She had never believed that dreams came true up until this very minute.
Tate slid his hand from around her, up her arm barely brushing the side of her breast and placed it on the back of her neck. He pulled her mouth hard onto his and kissed her passionately. She placed one of her hands just above his hip and the other was on the side of his face. She wanted to climb on top of him right there. She could feel the moisture between her legs developing as he ran his other hand up her other arm until it rested on her chest.