Her Forever

Jack

“Sir, we found this Derek character,” Bruce walked into my office.

“That was fast, thanks,” I mumbled. I took the thumb drive and plugged it into my computer to pull up Rosalie’s foster parent. Even though she had yet to disclose to me what her past was, I felt it was my duty to find out what she could be so scared and timid about. She hardly trusts anyone, and Amanda has known her for a year; what the hell could she be hiding that she couldn’t even tell one of her closest friends about it?

Amanda spoke about the scars on her back; it pissed me the f**k off. Why not ask for help or protection? There is so much more to the story that I don’t know, and I want to take my time with Rosalie, but time might be something we don’t have. Once you find your mate, you imprint on them before you mark them, wolves want to protect them at all costs, and my wolf didn’t have a whole lot of the patience thing right now. Being an Alpha, it is even worse; she is my queen, the Luna of the pack. She will be the ultimate mother, the nurturer. It had been embedded into her soul since she was conceived in the womb, and if any part of her is broken, I had to fix it.

Scrolling a few pages down from the open file, I found that this Derek was a restaurant owner in the upper-middle class. Nice home, cars, boats, and even single, which is surprising. However, there was no record of Rosalie ever at the residence. This puzzled me because I could have sworn that she was a foster child when she was seven and had to jump into a new home. “Pull up the state’s foster system page and find out when she was moved to Derek’s home,” I told Bruce.

Once Bruce had obtained the information, it showed she was indeed fostered by Derek but was recorded as a runaway at age 9. The case was closed a year later. No records of trying to find Rosalie at all. “This isn’t protocol, is it? To just give up a search for a girl like that in the foster system?”

“I don’t believe so; they should always have the case file open until she at least graduates out of it. That’s strange,” Bruce says, rubbing his chin. “I’m sure she was abused awhile then; Amanda said some scars were still purple, meaning they were still healing. Some scars fade in color that can take years to fully heal in humans, but not 10 years.”

“f*****g shit.” I threw my phone on the desk and ran my calloused hands through my hair. Keith then barged through the door. “What do you want, Keith?” I sighed in exhaustion. The harder I dug through Rosalie’s past, the more questions I had. This wasn’t going anywhere, and my inner beast was getting pissed. She must have been at this guy’s house for quite some time; how did she escape?

“Alpha just wanted to let you know Luna is in Benjamin’s room.” I perked my head up. Benjamin had an abusive past with his mother; it makes me wonder if he could get Rosalie to talk. “I know what you are thinking, but I really think you should let this go. Just get to know Rosalie; in time, she will tell you.” I put my hands over my face, rubbing it rough so my hands feel the prickle of my 3-day old scruff.

“I know; I just want to help her. She feels the bond; I know she does. Something is holding her back.” I sigh exhaustedly.

“You know, humans and wolves feel the bond differently,” Bruce commented. “She may be fighting it because she doesn’t know what it is. If she knew, maybe she would accept it more.” Bruce shrugged his shoulders as he reached for a peppermint candy on my desk and threw it in his mouth.

“Not yet!” I snarled as I stood up. “Look what she’s been through, she’s been through hell and back, and she’s scared for her life. Going up to her and saying, ‘hey there, yeah, I’m a wolf, and I’m your mate, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you,’ are NOT good ways to start a relationship with a human!”

Just then, we heard a loud knock at the door; it was Amanda with a slight smile on her face as well as Benjamin. Benjamin turned around and grabbed Rosalie’s hand, which seemed apprehensive to take. He made a motion with his head for her to follow, and she accepted with hesitation. Something was bothering her, so I went around the desk to grab her hands. Instantly, her tense body began to relax when I gave her a small hug. “Kitten, what’s wrong?” Did someone hurt her? I will f*****g murder them. Looking into her eyes, I see a swirl of hurt and chaos melted with regret.

“Rosalie would like to tell you something,” Amanda spoke. She then mind-linked at me. “She heard of you protecting Benjamin from his mother; she’s hoping you could offer her protection too.” This worked out in my favor, and I didn’t have to order anyone to do it. Of course, I would offer her protection; what the hell is she thinking? I’d do anything for my mate; I’d walk through the depths of hell for her.

I kept my eyes on my mate and rubbed her cheek with the pad of my thumb. She was on the verge of tears, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I led her to the couch and led her to sit beside me. Rubbing one of my hands on her back while holding her hand in the other, she began to tell me her story.

With each word that spilled out of her sweet, plump lips, I felt anger searing through my veins. My heart clenched at the thought of someone as precious as her having bruises, cuts, scars, and branding to her body and being afraid to sleep at night. There were times I couldn’t even look at her, not in disgust but in pure rage. The yellow eyes I usually have when I feel a strong emotion are seeing red. Red, screaming for the b***d of her abuser, to feel the warmth of his tainted soul across my filthy hands.

Bruce, Keith, and even Benjamin were feeling the hurt that their Luna had felt. My rage was becoming the best of me, and the men had to physically restrain me as she continued. I waited, waited for her to say that he sexually assaulted her, but it never came. Once she brought up the branding, the f*****g branding, she lost it. Rosalie couldn’t go on, she couldn’t tell me any more, and I don’t know if I could. Tears came down in waves as her broken soul said she couldn’t tell us anymore. Dear Goddess, was there more to tell??

Taking that glance at her being in so much emotional pain, my wolf came forward. He took over my body faster than I could ever control him. My eyes burned yellow, and I flipped the 100-year-old mahogany desk and cracked it down the middle. Everyone stood in shock as I continued to breathe heavily. Trying to regain what little self-control I had left, which wasn’t much, I turned to Rosalie, who was staring in shock, I’m sure she saw my eyes, but at this point, I didn’t give two flying shits about it. I needed to touch her, I needed to comfort her, I needed her.

“You are a strong Kitten, so strong,” I whispered into her ear as I held her tight against my body. I continued to tell her what an amazing woman she was, how strong, and how fierce. Rosalie may not think she is a warrior, but to put up with such emotional and physical torture at such a young age and still come out to be this beautiful and fascinating creature is the definition of a warrior.

Everyone started to filter out of the room. At the same time, Rosalie continued to bury her face into my chest, probably fearing for anyone to see her pink face. I placed a small k**s on the top of her tiny head, feeling sparks and a contented sigh from her. Feeling the purr in my chest, I could feel her relax evermore. My wolf was howling in my head for making our mate feel better.

“I will protect you until my last breath. You are worth protecting, and you are worth everything to me, do you understand?” I whispered with the truth. Feeling her nod her head, I picked her up and held her close to my chest tightly, letting her know I wasn’t going to let her go. I kicked the door into my bedroom open and walked to the bed. Not hearing any complaints, I laid her down, put her beside me, and draped the covers over our bodies, not even bothering to change our clothes. Having her turn around, I held her back against my chest, and my chin rested on her shoulder. She had not spoken one word, just silent tears of tiny raindrops chased down her wet cheeks.

Smelling her hair calmed my wolf; I relaxed as I held her in my embrace and continued to smell her hair. Her heart rate began to slow, and her breaths became even. “Sleep, Kitten, I’ll keep you safe,” I whispered into her ear as I nuzzled into her neck. Gently placing tiny k****s on her marking spot.

Soft snores escaped her lips, and my wolf started to dance in delight, being able to protect and keep our mate safe. Rosalie being comfortable with me, sleeping in my bed with me had me elated. Maybe she did feel the bond; perhaps she won’t fight it anymore and stay with me. The thought of her rejecting me after her being in my arms tonight will kill me inside. A soft snarl came from my lips as the thought crossed my mind.

Holding her tighter into my chest, I continued to k**s her head, her neck; I’m going to be a possessive bastard, but I’ve looked for her for ages, and I’m never letting her go. The pack has looked so long for their Luna; hell, I’ve looked so long. I’ve traveled all over the world looking for her, and come to find out she was in one of my hotels the whole time. The Goddess works in mysterious ways.

It is still early in the night, and I can see the moon rising from my window. The light trickles in and lands on her sweet face. The moon almost pauses before rising high in the sky as if it was giving her it’s a blessing. The moon has always been a werewolf’s solace, the moon calms us, but it can awaken our beasts on a full moon. Wolves become possessive, upset quickly, and once they find their mate- they evolve to be overprotective. The full moon is approaching, and I’m not sure how I will handle this situation. I won’t be able to stay away; my wolf won’t allow it.

On the full moon, my wolf can gain complete control of my body, whether I like it or not. He will keep both my mates and my thoughts in mind but, it is still a wolf. Rosalie is his mate and will be primal, animalistic about it. He will want to mark her if she tries to run, which I want to avoid until she knows everything.

If she sleeps well tonight, I wonder if she will continue to stay. I don’t want to force her, but my wolf will come out if she isn’t here, which would be bad for both of us. I have two weeks to win her heart to trust me, stay with me without force, and let her know about werewolves. Such a short period, but since we know about her past, maybe this will help the future. I will be able to handle how I break the supernatural world to her.

“Keith, find the bastard Derek. Address, place of work, all that. Send some warrior scouts to kill him.” I mind linked.

“Alright on it, Alpha.”

Cutting off the link in my mind and I nuzzled even closer if it was even possible.