Destiny's Choice (5 page)

When her sobs had turned to sniffles and she was calmer, Roan pulled back, wiping away the remaining wetness on her cheeks.
She
was
s
uch a beauty
.
Though
n
ot in the classical sense. Her cheekbones were too sharp,
her
chin too square. Her nose was a tad long. But her dual colored eyes were up tilted with an exotic slant, the lashes long and thick and a darker shade of gold than her hair. Her rose tinted lips were full and lush
,
and
her skin like fine porcelain. No, not a classic beauty, but one as unique and ethereal as the waterfall they sat near.

He kissed each of her features, needing to taste her, to comfort and soothe her.

“Wha…what are you doing?” Her voice was soft and tremulous.

“Learning you.” He kissed the tip of her nose.

Her gaze lowered. “I’m not…not like the others. Not beautiful or glamorous.”

Lifting her chin up with a finger, Roan’s gaze bored into hers. “I learned a long time ago to not judge a book by its cover
.
Outward
beauty can hide a multitude of sins.” He gave her a tender smile. “Yours is a unique beauty, Rivera. The kind DaVinci captured on canvas and poets created odes to. Never doubt your appeal or the fact that the moment I saw you, I wanted you.”

She sucked in a quick breath, no doubt smelling his arousal. “But the bond…”

“Sweetheart, I saw you long before I ever drew your delectable scent into my nose.” He chuckled. “Trust me, it’s you I want. The bond is just an added bonus.” He winked.

“Oh.” Pale cheeks flushed a soft rose. “I want you too.”

That definitely earned a kiss. He gave her one, careful not to let it go too far. They still had a few more things to discuss. Unfortunately.

“Damn, sweetheart.” The woman was going to be the death of him. If a man could die of blue balls that is.

“You taste good. Like mint and spring rain.” She ran a pink tongue over her lush lips as if she were trying to capture more if his flavor.

“Christ.” He groaned, closing his eyes and slowly counting to ten.

“Roan?”

Opening his eyes, he couldn’t help but smile at her look of confusion. “Sorry, sweetheart. I need to tell you the rest about
True
Mate
s and being with you like this makes it very…difficult.”

Her own smile was carnal at that, but she did nothing further
. Roan wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed.

“What else did you need to tell me?” She sat back
, taking both his hands in hers. It was a sweet gesture.

He brought her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Two things. One, we can’t be separated for any length of time. I’m sure that not long after you ran out here, you began to feel odd.”

“Now that you mention it, I did feel strange.” She nodded
,
an expression of thoughtfulness on her face. “As if I had misplaced something important and needed to find it. It was almost like a compulsion.”

“Yes, the female symptoms usually run that route. The males are much worse. From the skin crawling to sharp pains in the stomach and chest.” He grimaced.

“Shit! You felt that because I ran, didn’t you?” She squeezed his hands, her gaze
showing concern.

“I’m fine, sweetheart,” He assured her. “I found you before it got bad.” Though it was a near thing. Talking with Ian and Lillah had also helped.

She let out a breath. “Okay. What’s the other thing?”

“Well, it concerns the first time we
m
ate
.”

Another blush rose to her cheeks. “It’s about sex?”

“Not sex, making love. There’s a difference,” he grumbled.

“Yes, there is.” She winked at him.

The little minx
, he thought as he chuckled.
He could see now that she would keep him on his toes. He couldn’t wait.

Shaking his head with mirth, he continued. “It was a tradition that began with the very first
True
Mate
pair. Because the Alpha thought so highly of his
m
ate
, he let her set the time and place of their First Mating. Now,
a
millennia later, that tradition has evolved into our very beings. You are my
True
Mate
and as such you are the one who has to initiate our First Mating.”

Those extraordinary eyes blinked. “You mean to tell me that for our First Mating, I’m in charge?”

Taking a moment to compose himself lest the visions of that question unman him, he breathed deeply a few times. “Yes.”

That earned him a low moan and mis-matched eyes glowing
faintly
with lust. “Of
all the places to tell me that, it had to be on top of a big rock in the woods.”

“Well, someone didn’t leave me much choice.” He squeezed her hands with a grin.

“Sorry.” Her smile was sheepish. “You kind of caught me off guard.”

“Forgiven.” He brought her hands up and kissed her knuckles again. “Now, we need to go. It’s late and you need to have a talk with your parents.”

They climbed do
wn off the boulder, making their
way hand in hand to the trail and through the woods.

“Yeah, I suppose I need to apologize to them. They were really looking forward to your visit and I go all drama queen on them and ruin it.”

“I’m afraid it’s a lot more serious than that, sweetheart.”

Her head popped up quickly, giving him a sharp look. “I’m probably not going to like it, am I?”

“No, but I’ll be by your side the entire time.”

“Promise?”

“With everything I am.”

Chapter Three

After making their way back to the house, Roan grabbed up his clothes and put them on.
A shame really, he looked so much better out of them
.
N
ow she knew al
l that glorious skin was tanned.
She couldn’t wait to begin exploring every inch of it.
Her lovers had been few and far between over the years and most
were
human. None had looked like Roan
though, not even close. O
r exuded such raw sensuality. She didn’t think he would be a passive lover either, their First Mating notwithstanding.
His personality said he would give as good as he got.
Which was f
ine by her. Her last lover had the thought that if she didn’t get off before he did, she was SOL. They hadn’t been together that long.

It was scary really, and a little intimidating. This was the
first time they had met
.
Yet
, through the bond they shared
, she could
really
feel it now that she knew what
was going on. His emotions were
clear to her. Smelling them was easy.
Just because she couldn’t shift didn’t mean she wasn’t a Lupa in every other sense. But this bond they shared gave her insights that no sense of smell could ever give her.
It was the main reason she
’d
believed him about being
True
Mate
s.
B
ecause there were so few of them, she thought that maybe the pair had gone through a special ceremony or rite that the Alpha
had granted them, tying the two together. She had no idea that
True
Mate
s were considerably more.

“Are you all right, sweetheart?” A warm palm cupped her cheek, bringing her out of her musings.

She couldn’t help but smile
.
H
is concern for her
was
loud and clear through their bond. “Fine. Just a lot to take in, you know?”

He expelled a harsh breath. “Yes, and now I’m afraid talking to your parents will only add to that.”
Apprehension was rolling off of him in waves.

“Is it really that bad, Roan?”

“Trust me when I say that if there was any way I could spare you from this, I would.” He took both her hands in his. “But they have kept this from you long enough.”

Having no clue what it could possibly be, Rivera just nodded her head and went inside with a now fully dressed Roan. There was no use prolonging the inevitable. She was going to hear whatever bad news her parents had to impart whether she wanted to or not. Better to get it done and move on though. There were more important concerns that needed her attention. Like claiming her
True
Mate
.

Following her nose, she found her parents in the living room. They were seated together on the sofa, composed and outwardly calm. But Rivera could smell the tears and anxiety. Not good.

“Mom, dad, you wanted to tell me something?”

“Sit down, baby,” her father said, his voice unusually somber. “If you want to leave after, your mother and I will understand.”

“Okay, you’re really starting to scare me now
.” She took a seat in the armchair, Roan by her side.

“We don’t mean too, Rivera, its just…” Her mother’s voice was soft and full of sadness.

“Tell her. Now.” The power behind those words was strong and unexpected, but the stony expression on Roan’s face said clearly he would brook no refusal of his command.

“Yes, Alpha.” Her father bowed his
head
then began to speak.

When he was finished, Rivera wasn’t sure if she wanted to puke or run screaming back to the woods. She was pretty sure both were a possibility after the initial shock wore off.

“Sweetheart?”

She blinked, just then noticing that he was kneeling in front of her, ice blue eyes full of worry, their bond even more so. “I’m really half human, Roan?”

He nodded.

“Did…did you know about this? Before we met?”

“No.” Those mahogany waves moved as he shook his head in the negative. “I was told moments before I came after you.”

“Good. I…I don’t think I could have stood it if you had known before. I mean…I…”

“Shh, sweetheart. I know exactly what you mean.” He drew her close, enfolding her into his warm embrace. “I swear I never would have kept such a thing from you.”

She felt the truth of that and it helped. But not much. Pulling back, she gazed into those light eyes and nodded. Roan touched her cheek then helped her to her feet. She then faced her parents.

“I want you both to know that I don’t hate you or despise you. But at this moment, I am no longer your daughter.”

Her mother sucked in a harsh breath, her father paling visibly.

“Rivera, please,” her mother begged.

“No, no more.” She held up a hand that was surprisingly steady to forestall anymore pleas on their part. “You let me believe that everything was my fault. From the beginning when I stayed sick to when we all realized I’d probably never shift. All th
ose
tests and procedures. The poking and prodding, the sneers, the snide comments and being treated like a freak. I have been shunned all my life and you both knew why. You knew!” The last was said loud enough to rattle the windows. “My life was made hell because of your silence. I hope it was worth it.”

Both of them merely watched her with tears in their eyes, the scent of sadness and despair surrounding them. Rivera was unmoved.

“Do not call me, do not try to contact me in any way. When I am settled, I will send for my things. This will be the last time we speak, see each other, or I acknowledge you both in any way as my parents.”

Before she could turn to leave, Ian spoke. After all she had heard, calling the man father, even in her head, was wrong.

“Rivera, we never meant for you to be hurt, I swear. We just…we just wanted to have a family.”

If it wasn’t for Roan’s hand lightly touching her arm, she would have gladly ripped Ian’s throat out. Not being able to shift didn’t mean she was weak in any way.

“When you have children of your own, Rivera, you will understand why,” Lillah said as she wiped away her tears.

Even with Roan’s hand on her arm, Rivera snapped. In a blink, she had her hand around Lillah’s throat, pushing her back into the sofa.

“
Understand?
What I understand is that on two separate occasions, two so called doctors wanted to open my skull and poke around in my brain. What I understand is that I was nearly bled to death numerous times. What I understand is that I was electrocuted, starved, and basically tortured
for
the first twenty-five years of my life while the two people who gave birth to me and professed to love me stood by and let it happen. Let those
atrocities
go on for years when they could have stopped them with one word. But to keep your family, you kept your mouth shut and let a child pay for that silence with her blood, pain, and tears.”