Capture

Neema had never felt as much pride as she did in the moment she stood to the side of the mats and watched Carson fight. In the near month he had been training his form and size had changed dramatically, where he was once tall and lean he now had muscles that rippled with each strike he made. His chest and shoulders broadening with the intense workouts he had committed to.

All the fighting practice had made him more agile and sturdy at the same time. He no longer stumbled at any punch that met his skin. Nor was it easy for his opponents to hit their mark. His speed being the only constant in his transition. Watching him flying around the mat was truly captivating. Neema couldn’t help but feel like a clucking mother.

Carson had shown everyone that he had been underestimated. He was not at the top of his game yet but the improvements had everybody in awe. Though his exterior changed from a young boy to that of a strong virile man, he was still the same young man she had met in the beginning. His kind hearted and knowledgeable ways made him a catch for his future mate and she was watching with her gentle eyes, fire flickering in those youthful orbs.

After their time at the library they had picked up the kids and headed to the training room, Emmaline taking her sons and Jana with her and leaving behind a pleading Caillum. He wanted to watch them fight and though Neema hated that he would witness violence at such a young age, she knew it was necessary if he was to thrive in this world. Plus, he loved to watch them sparring especially Lian, he had a fascination with the female wolf. His cheeks would blush every time the woman paid him a little attention, his tan cheeks turning rosy with his embarrassment.

“Go on Carson, do that trick I taught you”

She cheered from the side-lines as he battled against another warrior. The male had more training then Carson, but bloodlines defined everything and Carson had top Alpha bloodline running though his veins. Alongside the hard-core training he had been doing it was as if he had always been this way.

Carson grabbed the shaven haired male and placed him in a tight headlock, his body falling to the floor as he dragged the male down with him. The guys head smashing into the mat with a heavy thump as Carson’s butt hit the ground.

“YEAHHH,” she screamed as Carson won the round, Neema’s hooting and hollering barely disturbed the other occupants in the room. They had become used to her loud cheering. She was living vicariously through Carson. Being pregnant meant she could no longer participate in dangerous activities like fighting. So he was her outlet.

“That move nearly got me killed by my brother,” he whooped out to his opponent. Leaving everyone laughing at his blasé attitude about the event he spoke of. The fight against his brother had only gained him the respect of these warriors. No one in this compound could match Khan’s combative skills and so no one blamed him for the outcome. In fact, many thought he was brave, it was not everyday a wolf fought the Alpha and soon to be Regional Alpha. For Carson to not cower from the fight was victory enough in their eyes.

“Yes it did, I see you have improved little brother. Soon you will be better than me,” scoffed Khan as he raked his fingers through his hair.

His abrasive and dismissive attitude couldn’t take away from what he had just done.

He had openly showed his support for his brother and had let him know that he was impressed with his improvements. The compliment shone clear and strong through his words. The effects instant on Carson’s face. At his brother’s approval he became a blushing and bashful boy. Reverting back to his habits of old.

Neema supposed they had never hated each other. The brothers could just never see eye to eye. Carson had been in awe of Khan, often living in his shadow while Khan had never understood his brother, she sensed he had also resented his brother a bit. Why, she couldn’t quite decipher yet. The change in their dynamic was a proud moment for her.

Nodding her head in Khan’s direction took in his fearsome state. His thick legs were sheathed in leather trousers while his chest hairs peaked out of his half buttoned shirt and his hair was tied back in his signature bun. His thick finger motioned her over to his side and she reluctantly followed, like always seemed to be the case. He called and she ran.

Glancing back at her preoccupied brother who was basking in all the attention he was getting for practicing a good fighting form, she left the room after Khan. Stepping outside of the room she turned her body towards him, her mouth tilting up in a genuine smile. All the words shared earlier on resurfacing in her mind, perhaps he was trying. This could be his way of extending an olive branch and she would never know what peace felt like if she did not accept it.

“I don’t think you understand what you’ve done for him,” her bottom lip tucking into her mouth as she tried to finds words to explain what he had done. His words would give Carson the much needed confidence and support he had been lacking.

“I understand, but I did it for purely selfish reasons,” his hazel orbs urging her to look into his soul to find the reasons he spoke of. Instead she continued to look at his chest and avoid his gaze. So he took her hands into his, instantly gaining her attention. Such actions were abnormal for Khan, unless they were around people or he was feeling sexually charged he did not touch her intimately, not like this.

“I said those words partly for my brother because, yes, he deserved them but in most part they were for you,” he earnestly declared. How his words could have been for her was beyond her comprehension, they had made her feel happy and proud of him but the full effect had impacted Carson, and then it hit her.

“I’m tired of you looking at me like I am a lesser man because I cannot care for my brother. I’m not the caring type but for you I will be,” his brow had begun to furrow in his concentration, his scar looking much more ferocious as his skin knitted together in creases.

“I see how you care for your siblings as if they were an extension of you. As if they were your heartbeat. I know you expect that of me,” his hand shot out when she attempted to interrupt him, his eyes turning a light colour as he thought over his next words.

“I vow to you Neema that I will try to be the man you crave. The one your heart yearns for. I know this bond we feel is not enough to build a life upon. That I have done some despicable things to you,” his face looked sickened as he spat out the last words as if the thought of him hurting her physically repulsed him, “but I vow I will be a deserving man of you. As much of a man as the animal will allow.”

Neema couldn’t believe that such heartfelt words had come from Khan’s lips. Just the other day he was making demands of her, requesting she give him something she was incapable of giving him and now. Now he was asking. The turn about was too abrupt for her to believe that it was true but she desperately wanted to believe. She was tired of fighting for her life, looking over her shoulder to make sure he wasn’t about to main her. She was tired of seeing this cruel side of him and she was tired of fighting this war.

This war that was within her heart and mind, two halves of her that wanted, needed different things. She was tired of fighting him and this bond, she wanted peace.

“I think we have a lot to discuss before I can trust what you say,” her words frank as she observed his face for any signs of anger, when none came she finished her sentence and made for the door. “Give me a minute to tell Caillum and then we can go outside and talk about this properly,” her body retreating as she disappeared on the other side of the door.

Five minutes later she was back with a smile on her face and a determined look in her eyes as they made their way down the corridor. They continued walking until they made it to his office and through the glass doors that led to his private garden area. The flower wall was still as vibrant as they had been descending but more flowers had bloomed. Instead of focussing on the red Neema saw the blues and the pinks, the beautiful vibrancy of life that surpassed the colour of blood. She was tired of that damn colour.

She needed life, like these flowers had been given. The seeds had been planted into the ground ad a new life had been started where the old died, she needed the same. They all did because this vicious cycle was becoming too much but at the same time she did not want to start a new life. She couldn’t let go of the past, it was what made her who she was.

“So you want to change, what caused this? Just the other day you were ripping men to shreds and demanding sex of me” she wasted no time with getting to the truth, no sweet words or stuttering. Just brutal honesty.

“So you are starting like this, fine let’s go,” his head shaking as he took in a large breath of air and cleared his mind, there was a lot banking on this conversation so he had to get it right.

“I have not had a change of heart if that is what you are asking, my methods have just changed,” his folded arms over his chest spoke of his careless to the situation but the reality was so very much different. He feared the outcome of this talk, he feared a human female’s words.

“I do not want to fight with you any longer, I never have. I am tired of this constant war between us,” his pride had to be swallowed, she would never make the first move not when he had set how their mating would be. It was his fault and therefore his responsibility to fix it, or at least start the process.

“We are meant to be mates, yet there is no love lost between us. This is not the way it should be,” his hands gesturing between their bodies as he motioned the distance that she subconsciously placed between their bodies. There was no closeness in bond or body.

“That’s not my fault khan, you started it this way I’m only finishing it,” she shrugged nonchalantly though her eyes spoke a different story, there was a darkness in her eyes that spoke of untold promises. Things she was capable of doing in the name of her freedom, her families freedom. It was something she was reluctant to do because she was tired of fighting to but if the needed ever arose she would do it and loose no sleep.

“And its finished now, I am tired of this Neema. I want a mate, a real mate and you are the only female I will accept,” his voice climbed in octave as he tried to get her to believe his words, frustration weaved into his words, “If that means I must change, because I am clearly the problem then I will try, but you have to understand this is not easy for me,” his eyes begged her to give him this chance.

He had done so much wrong to her and her him, they needed to change. He was trying to be man enough and admit the flaws he had. He knew his female never would do the same because in her eyes all her actions had been justified and perhaps they were but he had felt the same way too. Sometimes compromise was needed, Neema could not always be right and him wrong.

“This is not my way. I was not raised to be soft. This kindness I will try to show you goes against everything that I am” but there was a promise in his words a promise that he would try.

“I don’t believe that, even wolf mothers show love to their young,” her words challenging as always. She would not believe that no one had ever shown him love, there had to have been someone. If not his mother than a grandparent or something, he could not have lived for over 200 years without the tinniest inkling of what real love was.

“I had no mother to show me such and let us be honest my father is no example of such emotions,” his voice was flat but she could see from the look in his eyes that his mother was and always would be a sore topic for him as was his father. Her absence had clearly hurt him bad and his father had clearly not helped his grieving child when he needed it. The grief was plain to see in his eyes even if he never acknowledged the emotion.

“It is not something I am accustomed to but I will try. Is that enough for you?” he questioned, hoping that he had said enough to sway Neema.

“Well its gonna have to be for now” she sighed reluctantly as she placed her arms around his stiff body. his limbs melting into her form as soon as her skin touched his.

Her arms enveloping around his strong and sturdy frame, his head dipping down to find its home in her shoulder. Her honey smell was entwined strongly with his, the peppermint of his natural scent mellowing the sweetness of hers. His lips swiping bravely against her skin, when no protest was made he continued peppering kisses along her neck as he embedded her scent into his nostril.

His large fingers twirling around her unruly locks as pulled her body tighter into his embrace, all awkwardness leaving them. With his words the two could officially turn a new leaf, as long as he stuck to them and showed change she could perhaps learn to trust him. To believe in his value as a wolf and man, it was what they needed.

“This still doesn’t mean we’re having sex,” she grumbled into his skin as she sniffed at his shoulder. His body shaking with laughter at her words, Only Neema. Only her.