Falling For Storm

Amara

I stood before the lake house we had stayed in since the war. Though the packhouse had been fully renovated, Storm and I chose to make this our home simply because it fit us better. We wanted the simplicity of things down here, such as standing on the porch and just admiring the view or finding my favorite spot and then starting my daily thinking and meditation, which was exactly what I was doing right now.

In my mind, the worst was really over. It had been a whole month since I somewhat died and killed several lives with my own hands. It wasn’t the kind of life I would have chosen for myself, but I’ve learned to accept that none of us are normal or ever going to be truly safe. This is who I am. This is us. As a pack, we would always face danger no matter where we went, because that was how werewolves often lived. There would always be others, both our kind and not, who would try to take over our lands for power. I guess what was important was that we were fighting on the same side and that we’d always protect the ones we love and care about, no matter what. A lot may have died, and some were badly hurt, but our takeaway from all of this was that we survived and all of us recovered well. Right now, we’re rebuilding our lives, especially my brother and me. We were all victims of circumstances, but if anything, these circumstances made us stronger and more compassionate.

The sad part, though, was that Eric had to go back to Transylvania in a few days. He is, after all, the primus of his coven. He has been away far too long, so I understand that this is necessary. He has to lead his people; otherwise, chaos would ensue, and we don’t want that now, do we? I don’t really know how being the vampire primus works; I’m assuming it is the same as being an alpha or a luna only; they’re probably more traditional, but I just hope that we’ll get the chance to see each other more often or that he’ll get to visit even if it’s just once every year. Although he is still in disbelief at how things transformed, he has come to terms with it.

Another thing that happened was that Dakota found her mate. She told me that on the day after she came home from the hospital. The only problem was that she didn’t want to tell anyone who that certain mate of hers was. All I knew was that she believed it was too complicated and didn’t know how to handle it. I did try to force her to admit who her mate was a couple of times, but the woman held her ground every single damn time. I really thought it was so weird that she’d keep it a secret, but I was going to respect that for now. She’d eventually tell me who it is, I think.

Storm hasn’t let me out of his sight since that night, either. Basically, I go where he goes, and he goes where I go. Not that I had any problems with that. In fact, I welcome every minute of it. I mean, who wouldn’t want to glue themselves to a sexy-as-hell alpha, right? He became more protective of me, which was absolutely hilarious because both he and I knew that I was no longer the fragile girl he once believed in, but I couldn’t say I hated it. The truth is, it melts my heart every time he worries about me or if he misses me.

I haven’t told anyone about this, not even Storm, but as I was running out of breath and as my heart stopped beating, his steady heartbeat and the constant way he called my name like a prayer were the two most precious things that brought me back to life. Not the wolf nor the vampire in me. It was not the power I had acquired since birth, but it was him. It was my love for him and his love for me that kicked off my heartbeat. He was the reason I kept going.

“Are you okay?”

Ah, speaking of the devil himself. He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, so I naturally leaned back against his chest as he placed his head on my shoulder.

“Better than ever,” I answered, sighing contentedly.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” he said, nuzzling the crook of my neck before adding a chaste kiss.

“Since life is full of unexpected events and there’s no way of telling if these events will be good or bad, I had this sudden urge to do something. Do you want to hear it?” He asked, and I hummed in agreement.

He turned me slowly in his arms so that we could stand face-to-face. He was looking at me with seriousness in his eyes, and I listened to how his heartbeat sped.

I arched an eyebrow, wondering what he was nervous about. He was looking at me like he was about to faint, and it was just the funniest thing.

“What were you thinking about?” I asked as I stifled a laugh, and he rolled his eyes at me.

“Never mind,” he said, pouting his lips like a petulant child for good measure, and I couldn’t help but laugh at his poor attempt to look adorable.

“No, seriously, what is it?” I insisted as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

He waited for a few minutes before he finally opened his mouth to say something.

“How do you feel about traveling somewhere around the world for a while, just you and me?”

My eyes lit up as he said those words. I’ve always dreamed about traveling anywhere. It didn’t matter where the destination was, just as long as I got to experience it. I was about to give him a resounding yes, but I frowned as soon as realization dawned on me.

“But what about the pack? Don’t they need you here?” He shook his head before cupping my face with his hands.

“I think Hunter and Wyatt can hold the fort down for a month or two, but if you’re uncomfortable with that, there’s always getting married.”

“Excuse me?” I questioned, frowning.

“Married, like saying I do,” he answered.

“You do realize you’re not as funny as you think you are, right?”

“Who said I was trying to be funny?” he asked, before kneeling on one knee.

I gasped at the gesture and almost passed out when he produced a ring.

“Will you marry me and make me the happiest alpha in the world, Amara Montgomery?”

Tears started flowing down my face at the thought of being married to him. We were mated for life, so there was no need for marriage, but the idea that he was doing this so that I could somehow hold on to any level of normalcy tugged at my heart. That was him saying to me that he wanted to have all of me the same way I could have all of him, last name and all.

“Yes!” I tearfully and happily answered.