Ever After (17 page)

Travis could tell she’d gotten nervous. He’d expected it. The night before had been insane. He could barely make sense of what had happened, the way they’d clicked, and how she’d reacted to him, and he understood mating—or at least that Lilliana was, in fact, his. Now he had to make her understand that one, she was a wolf, or half one, and two, that she belonged to him in a way that humans would never understand—completely, the other half of each other’s soul.

He pulled up the car at his destination. The wolf preserve made him conflicted, but it seemed the best place to bring up this topic. He’d prefer the creatures got to run free. They shared an ancestor with him. Yet, he knew that couldn’t happen when humans continued to destroy their habitats. Better they have a chance to survive at all, and the wilderness experts were good people.

“A wolf preserve?” Lilliana got out of the car and looked around. “This is beautiful. I had no idea there was something like this so close by.”

“You like wolves?” He took her hand and sipped his coffee. Having not gotten back to Philly until one in the morning and then done three hours of Pack business before getting to bed, he hadn’t gotten much sleep.

“I don’t have much experience with them. They seem smart to me, you know? Like they have a lot going on behind their eyes.”

He walked her toward one area where they could get a better look at some of the gray ones. Having given a lot of money to keep this place going, he had privileges others didn’t on the ground.  Keeping her with him, he walked to the gate where he could cross inside.

“Is this okay?”  Lilliana looked left and right like she thought they might get caught.

“I’m a special member here. It’s fine.”

Once he’d secured the gate behind him, he paused to enjoy the silence of the area. Nothing around except wolves and the wildlife that lived here with them. Bending over, he extended his hand, and one of wolves came over to sniff him.

She gasped. “Careful, he might bite you.”

“This is a female.” He petted the wolf on her head. “And she’s not going to bite me. Now, that one over there, the Alpha, he’d take off my hand if he thought I’d hurt her.”

“You really know quite a lot of about wolves, don’t you? It’s crazy that you’re petting them.  They’re wild creatures.” He could hear excitement in her voice.  “Can I touch them? Do you think they’ll hurt me?” 

“They won’t bother you, Lilliana. In fact, this lady is friendly. I think she would like it.”

“This is nuts.” Still, she smiled and bent down. “How did you learn so much?”

“That’s a good question.” He smiled. “And the answer is a bit complicated, but I guess the truth is that I learned all things wolves from my grandmother.”

“Yes? I never had one. They were both gone by the time I was adopted.”

He could hear the wistfulness in her voice. Somewhere on the planet a pack had suffered by not having her in it. If he could ever find out where she’d come from, he’d bring her home to see it. Wolves needed pack. To be without it must make Lilliana feel half empty all the time.

“My grandmother told me that once, in a time before time, there had been a woman who had been lonely for her true love.” He stood up. “She’d not found him yet, and none of the boys in her life understood her true nature. Loyal, strong, kind. They laughed at her sweetness and mocked her sense of right and wrong.”

Lilliana laughed. “Nothing much changes, does it?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Some things can be altered rather drastically actually.”

“Oh yes? Did the heroine of this story find a nice guy?”

“In a sense.” He took her hand, leading her farther along. “Nearby a wolf pack lived quietly. For the most part, they didn’t bother the humans, and sometimes the humans had enough sense to not bother the wolves.”

“What happened then?” She smiled up at him. Did part of her know he wasn’t simply telling her a story? Did any part of Lilliana recognize the truth in how this pertained to her?

“One day, the mean men she lived with chased her into the woods. They had bad intentions, and before the end of the night, they would terrorize her, rape her, and leave her for dead.”

“This is a terrible story, Travis.”

He nodded, his stomach clenching. If anyone ever hurt Lilliana like that, he’d wage a war that would make the current Alpha Wars seem tame in comparison. “It is. I agree. Nearby, while she watched the moon, waiting to die, aching for it, three of the strongest wolves in the pack saw her. They came to her in those moments, tried to lick her wounds, to embrace her. Somehow, although they were animals, they understood her pain.”

He could still hear his grandmother telling this story, and even though it should shame him, one lone tear slipped from his eye in deference to the amazing woman she’d been.

“So she wasn’t alone.” Lilliana didn’t comment on his tear, but he heard the catch in her voice.

“No. And the wolves made a wish too. They wished for the ability to keep her, to love her. They were animals. They did not really understand their wish. However, as her tears spread out before them, a remarkable thing happened.”

“Let me guess, the moon-god came down and boom, bing, bang she’s fixed, and now she’s a wolf to run free with them?” She shook her head.

“Look at what a cynic you are.” He smoothed her hair off her forehead. “No, the wolves became men. All three of them. Our heroine would live as well. And every full moon, they would shift into their wolf form. Forever both. They would, of course, kill those men who had tormented her. And the other two wolves would go on to find worthy women. To this day, however, the children of that first woman and her mate are the Alphas. Forever in charge.”

“You’re talking about werewolves. I’ve never heard this tale in regards to them before. I always just heard about the moon and the fangs and the blood.” She looked away from him.

He picked her up in his arms and spun her around until she squealed. “Oh, there are wolves and fangs and blood all right. There’s also hot animal sex.”

She laughed, and the wolves in the preserve howled. For a second he could see her as the heroine in that story. Alone, afraid, misunderstood. He smiled. If he’d been the Alpha wolf watching her, he’d have also wished for humanity. Anything to be with her.

“Did I tell you her name?”

She shook her head. “Our heroine? No. What was her name? Something mystical I bet? Tatiana. Cassandra. Cleopatra.”

“Her name was Lily, and her beauty tamed wolves.” He kissed her on her nose. “Come on, I’ve got to take you to work.”

****

She smiled, holding the rose Travis had given her in her hand. Catching a thorn, she hissed and stuck her finger in her mouth to stop the blood. For the last week and a half he had been the most attentive, respectful boyfriend she’d ever had. They hadn’t actually discussed whether or not he was her boyfriend, but she’d decided he was, and when she’d used that word, he hadn’t objected.

“Listen.” He lay on the floor of her living room with her, staring up at the ceiling. She’d told him how she liked to look at star patterns when she was a little girl, and he’d arrived with a device that created them on the ceiling. Together, they stared upward as though they really looked at the night sky. “I’d like to take you to do this next week in Pennsylvania. We’ll really be able to see the stars.”

“I would love to come with you if I can get the time off.” Of course, she’d miss the cash when she had to buy food, but it would be worth it to see where he lived. “I thought you lived in Philly.”

“I do.” He kissed her gently. Travis had been holding back his kisses, and she knew he did it to restrain himself since he was waiting for her to be ready. He’d told her that much when she’d asked him the night before. They’d gone to a midnight movie. Travis kept finding more and more things for them to do. She wondered if he spent his day researching events they could use as dates within one hour of her apartment.

He continued. “I’d like to bring you to Philadelphia to meet my people and then take you to see the stars. Then, the night after, there’s something else we’ll do. I know you’ll worry about missing work, but I’m sure Matilda won’t mind.”

“Okay.” She smiled. “It’s a deal.”

He cleared his throat. “There are some things I need to show you. I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you truths about my life that might be kind of hard for you to completely understand. I decided the best way would be to show you. We would need to do that the second night.”

Her heart kicked up. “You’re really married with eight children and you want me to come be your third wife?”

“What?” He laughed. “Who would do that?”

“You might be surprised. Okay.” She rolled onto her belly. “Whatever it is, just tell me.”

“I’d really rather show you. Can you trust me that long?”

“Yes.” She realized she did. Completely. Some time over the last week and a half Travis had managed to make her believe in him. She could trust him long enough to let him show her whatever he wanted her to see. If she didn’t like whatever it was, she trusted him enough to believe he’d bring her home and not cause her any pain.

Lilliana yawned, covering her mouth. “Oh. Wow. I’m sorry about that.”

“That’s okay.” He smiled. “You work too hard.”

“Well, we all have our lots in life. This one is mine.”

“No.” He tugged her against him until she lay on top of his body. “You’re bound for other things. This is a temporary stop for you.”

When he spoke like that, she could almost believe he meant forever. He couldn’t already, could he? She’d once told her mother that she believed she’d fall in love fast and that it would last eternally. Her mother had laughed. Nothing lasted that long. Not even love.

An image of the story he’d told her filled her mind. The wolves that had wished for the human woman. If that story could have been true, that love would have been instantaneous and forever.

She closed her eyes. “I think I could fall asleep right here on the floor. This is so…perfect.”

“Do it.” He kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll make sure you get to your bed.”

Once again, he’d said the perfect thing.

****

“Here is your check, Mr. Matthews.” She smiled and set it down. Her last customer of the day, and now she’d get to go home and see her guy when he picked her up for her few days away.

Would she like Philadelphia? She’d only left New Jersey once when her school had taken them on a field trip to see the Statue of Liberty. She’d always wanted to go to Pennsylvania.

Humming, she headed to the back of the restaurant to grab her purse. The door rang, and she turned to see who’d entered. A man wearing a suit sauntered in, rather than walked. A blond crew-cut-styled hair topped a long, strong face with high cheekbones and brown eyes. He had one long scar that ran the length of his face, from his left eye to the bottom of his chin.

Handsome
. She shivered. Yet not as appealing as her Travis.

He had eyes only for Matilda. She stood up and hugged him. “I’m so happy to see you.”

He smiled at her. “Yeah. Well, I wasn’t sure I should come at all. Son of a bitch calls for peace in one hand and sends his dirty dogs to attack my people in the other.”

Matilda sucked in her breath. “Cyrus, I don’t think that’s true. He’s not attacking you. He wants what we all want. A peaceful accord for this region.”

“Three attacks this week alone. They went after pregnant women.”

The old woman shook her head. “That doesn’t sound like him.”

Cyrus made a sound that could only be described as animalistic, almost as though he’d growled. “You have always had a blind spot for just how evil he is.”

Lilliana turned on her heel. She didn’t need to hear whatever it was about. Clearly it was a conversation that fell into the this-is-none-of-her-business category. Evil. Attacks. If Matilda was into something she shouldn’t be with the blond man, Cyrus, Lilliana preferred not to know.

She dropped off her apron and headed back out after clocking her final minutes into the payroll machine. Cyrus and Matilda still argued in low voices. Scooting to the side, she touched Matilda on the shoulder before heading to the front door.

A hand on her arm stopped her short. She looked down, shock traveling up her arm that the blond man had his fingers wrapped around her skin.

“Who are you?” His brown eyes were huge and not at all kind when they regarded her.

“Excuse me?” She tried to rip her arm back, but he had it secured.

“Cyrus, remember yourself, please. You have two days until the turn. This girl is none of your concern.” Matilda didn’t sound overly concerned, which made Lilliana gasp. It didn’t bother her boss that this person was manhandling her inside Matilda’s restaurant?

“You must belong to him. You smell of him. His scent is all over you.” He sniffed the air. “You’re very, very pretty. Maybe you should belong to me instead.”

“Get your hand off me.” She wrenched her arm back, and this time he let her go. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, mister. I don’t belong to anyone. I can have you killed if you put your hands on me.” An empty threat, but, she hoped an effective one.

Cyrus leaned against the hostess table, a smile lighting his features. “Oh? You think so?” He pointed to her neck. “That’s an interesting necklace. Did your boyfriend, the one I assume you could have kill me, give that to you?”

Lilliana hadn’t told him she had a boyfriend. As she narrowed her eyes at him, she put her hand on the female wolf. She’d gotten so attached to it that she never even thought of removing it. “It’s mine.” Her necklace and where she got it was none of this man’s concern.

“Actually, it should be mine.” He held out his hand. “It belonged to my mother’s family. Give it to me. Now.”

“Are you crazy? I don’t have to give you anything.” She looked at Matilda. “Have a nice few days. I’ll see you when I get back.”

Matilda nodded at her, but the other woman’s eyes never came off Cyrus. “Have a good time.”

She would, and if she had any luck, she’d never have to see the creep Cyrus again.