Flight 118: A Woman’s Future

“So, we have Fast and the Furious... all of them, Braveheart, Gladiator, Terminator, The Purge,” I laughed and paused in reading through the movie selections.

We had just come to our room and Jonah had already settled on the bed with our food. He had piled up our pillows against the wall and made us a sort of fort-like structure.

But me? He had given me the job of choosing our movie from the DVDs this bedroom had and would not let me eat until I put one in. So awful.

“I have no clue why I’m surprised to find that the majority of the movies mankind decided to save and keep are action or horror. But I am.”

A deep chuckle sounded from across the room, from where Jonah was on the bed. “Well, we are men and wolves. I don’t think it’s much of a surprise. But, if it gets me some bonus points, when we finally get home, I’ll show you our vast collection we’ve scrounged up from one hundred years of scavenging.”

My brows lifted as a smirk flitted across my lips, “There are so many things you just said that I want-no, need to respond to and I have no clue where to begin. First, what does being a man and wolf have anything to do with your movie selections?”

Before I could blink, tingles erupted through my body as I was pressed against the wall, with his heavy arms on either side of my face and his body pressed up against mine.

His voice came out in a deep rumble, vibrating my chest. “It’s because, baby, in the world you have come from I believe you call the ultimate man a man’s man- and I am that but much more.”

My eyes widened and my breath caught, leaving me suddenly feeling like I needed something to drink.

My tongue darted out to lick my suddenly parched feeling lips and I saw his eyes hone in on the movement, beginning to glow gold.

But, though I had decided to give us a shot and was beginning to develop feelings for him, I still had a part of me wanting to resemble some semblance of the control that I relatively had in my old life.

Though it did not come out completely as I had planned, I decided I couldn’t delve into all that right now so I just decided to mess with him. “One, baby? Really? That the best you can come up with?”

Okay. Who was I kidding? I liked it. A lot.

“Two, a ‘man’s man?’ Do you even know what that means, Jonah?”

He growled, eyes still glowing but with a hint of amusement added to it, and leaned forward to nip the corner of my lip. Then he growled again without pulling away, his breath fanning over my lips.

“Of course I do, baby. It’s a man who is comfortable in any environment. One who is strong and built- not from a gym or some set routine made to make him look appealing to a woman, but from hard labor and a hard-working life he chooses to live. A man who can take care of his woman in all the ways that count- whether it’s keeping her safe mentally and physically or knowing when his woman needs a break. So he gets her some food and takes her to their room for a relaxing evening of eating and watching a movie- just the two of them.”

As he continued to talk, my wide eyes stared in shock and wonder. Mostly because he seemed to be taking my personal definition of what a so-called ‘man’s man’ was, but also because he was actually relating it to things he had done for me.

“A man’s man is a real man who can take care of any situation you need him to but also knows not to hold you back. He knows, being a man’s man, he has a woman who is just as strong-willed and wonderful as he is. A woman who will be there every step of the way with him as both a woman and his woman.”

I swallowed, not knowing how to respond but I could practically feel my heart beating out of my chest.

Then he continued, “But like I said baby, I am not just a man’s man. I’m more. Cause I’m also a wolf which makes me so much better. It makes it so you never have to worry about my loyalty or if I will grow tired of us. Cause I won’t. I’ll never stop thanking the stars in the sky for bringing you to me. And you’ll never have to worry about my health and safety or what would happen if we were in a situation where I was protecting you against a whole army of men. I’d fight them until I died, our pack would fight them until they died. And Emilia, mine, we rarely die.”

“You’ll never have to worry about our pups’ safety or if I’ll be able to love them enough or be a good enough father. Cause I will love them just as much as I love you. I’ll make sure they are safe and provided for, just like you. I’ll give all of you everything you ever wanted. But I’ll also make sure they know to never take anything for granted, to work for what they need. I’ll make sure they grow to be good people and grow to become surrounded by good people. I’ll train them to protect themselves and protect others- to become the very best fighters around. Especially if we are blessed to have daughters. I’ll train them to be leaders and to love- especially their mama.”

He tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear and kissed me softly, “I’ll love you, protect you, cherish you, give you everything you need and want that I can. If you need a hug or don’t want to talk about something I’ll know and I’ll be there just to hold you. If I do something stupid like stay out too late working on Alpha stuff, tell me. Or not. I’ll know how you feel and spend the whole next day with you in my arms. You are mine, Emilia. And I am yours. Always and forever.”

“I am a man and a wolf. I can be rough around the edges sometimes. I have slept and will sleep out in the woods. I chop wood and shovel snow- sometimes with my paws. I am an Alpha. I’ll get protective and possessive. I’ll get jealous and irritated. I’ll get stressed out and silent. I’ll get angry and busy. I may have to leave for days or weeks at a time- which most likely I will probably drag you with me. I’ll get clingy and...hungry.”

“I am a man and I am an animal. I love carnage and fights. I love running fast and being out in nature. We live in a ‘wolf eat wolf’ world out here where I won’t hesitate to destroy someone if I have to. But I will always love you. Always come back to you. You may need to hold me or talk to me. Sometimes, maybe even boss me around or let me run it off. Sometimes, you’ll just need to try and understand what I’m doing and let us talk about it privately later that night. Just always be there for me and I will be there for you. Together. Mates first, parents second when the time comes, and leaders third.”

His lips took mine, fully this time, not letting go until I thought I would pass out from lack of oxygen. Which didn’t really help me feel any less stunned and dizzy than I was feeling from his speech.

“So, baby, yes. I do know what a man’s man is and that is why action movies and horror movies are mainly around here. We do have a lot of those at home, but our pack’s ancestors also did as much as they could to both preserve what they could of the old world while also prepare for the hope that one day the world- or at least the pack- would not be so drastically unbalanced between men and women.”

I was panting from our kiss and still unable to process anything, at least to be able to say anything without it showing just how much his speech had impacted me. So, I said the first thing that came to mind.

“Um...I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say so much in one sitting before,” I said in a squeaky-sounding voice.

He growled, but when I looked up at his face he was smiling so I knew he was amused and not upset when he said, “Really? After all that, that is all you have to say? Anything else?”

Turning my head, looking towards where the DVDs were, I croaked out, “Um yeah, let’s just watch Fast and Furious.”

Without looking at him, I pulled away and put in the movie.

“I sure do hope you guys have the Fast and Furious series in your pack also, otherwise we may need to end our time here by...liberating them of theirs,” I said innocently.

Then I took his hand and led him to the bed, not giving him a chance to respond by making the movie start. Once settled onto our current fort-like bed we watched the movie, ate cold food, and then held each other. Together. In complete silence. But not uncomfortable.

A man that was more than a man’s man and his woman.

Almost the entire length of the movie later my breath caught as I realized what he had said earlier.

I love you.

I did not want to think about how that made me almost feel sick. Sick in a ‘butterflies in my stomach’ kind of way, not a grossed out or terrified kind of way.

Though I was terrified of how happy I felt about him feeling that way. I knew I cared for him and my feelings were growing more each day. But love? We had really just met. Yes, we were getting to know each other every day. But I was also getting to know, well, everything. It was way too soon for love.

Wasn’t it?