The Unwanted Wolf

Mark pulled me even closer to him, and as our k**s deepened, I could tell he wanted more. I shifted my body so I was straddling his lap and facing him directly now. His hands instantly went up to my head and cradled it gently. He stroked my hair, sending tingles down my spine, and goosebumps attacked my skin. It was hot and breathless and perfect.

I pulled back suddenly, worried this would be too much for him. “Are you still in pain? If you’re still recovering, we shouldn’t go any farther.”

Mark’s chest heaved up and down, and he was just as breathless as me. He stroked my face with the back of his fingers. “I don’t feel any pain with you so close.”

I leaned my head forward, and pressed my forehead against his. It took every ounce of my strength to not do anymore. “We should be careful.”

Mark nuzzled his nose against mine. “What if I don’t want to be careful? What if I just want you, no matter the costs?”

Mark’s lips were against my neck in a second, and it made me gasp. The fire in my core started as a slow burn, but with each new k**s in each new area of my body, it burned brighter.

“Mark,” I gasped, barely able to concentrate.

Mark hummed against my skin, making me lose all focus. I let my head fall back, and I closed my eyes, focusing on the sensations. I hooked my hands around the back of his neck and held on tightly for support. Mark continued to pepper my neck with k****s, moving down to my collarbone and then back up to my jawline.

He ran his fingers through my hair and our lips found each other again. Everything swirled together, and Mark tasted sweeter than any dessert I had ever had. I couldn’t get enough of him, and with each of his touches, I knew he felt the same. I held the back of his neck tightly as I moved in his lap. Everything became hot and sweaty.

Mark pulled away from me, and I was left gasping for more. His blue eyes stared at me like I was the only thing in the world, and at that moment, he was the only thing I could think of. He was the only one I saw and wanted. He filled my mind and every inch of my skin craved every part of him.

Mark brushed a small piece of hair out of my face. “Adira, I love you. I love you more than I’ll ever be able to show you.”

My heart raced at his words. He loved me, and I knew I felt the same. I felt so overwhelmed hearing those three small words. I hadn’t heard them in such a long time, and they had never felt so real. It wasn’t a family member saying it out of obligation or a high school boyfriend who thought he knew what love was but actually knew nothing at all. This was real. This was so much better.

I pressed my lips against Mark’s again, trying to show him how much that meant to me. I felt the tears stream down my face, and Mark pulled away again. He wiped the tears away from my eyes and frowned.

“Did I say something wrong?” he asked. I could feel his hesitation fill his body.

I shook my head quickly. “No, no. Just the opposite. That was the perfect thing to say.” I kissed him again. “I love you, too.” The words flowed out of my mouth, and it was much easier than I had expected. I had never felt this way before.

I kissed the tip of Mark’s nose and then his forehead. I ran my fingers through his hair and kissed his lips again. “You make me happier than I thought I could be.”

Mark smiled. “I never thought I could be this happy, either. I thought after everything that happened, after losing my parents, my best friend, and then my pack… I just didn’t think I would ever be truly happy again. But then you stepped into my life.”

The tears flowed freely now. I was beyond happy, but I was also scared. This was too good to be true. I was afraid it would all disappear in a blink of an eye.

“Hey, why are you crying?” Mark asked. He cupped my face in my hands.

I shrugged, not sure how to explain everything I was feeling. It was just a lot of emotions all at once.

Mark kissed my forehead and then shifted the way he was holding me in his lap. He moved me to the side so my legs were draped over his lap. He pulled me close to his chest and let me rest my head against his chest.

“Let’s just lay like this for a while. We’ve been through a lot, and there’s no need to rush anything.” He smiled down at me, looking just as happy to be sitting like this as before.

“Are you sure?” I asked. I could feel how excited he was before, and I was just as excited. I didn’t want him to be disappointed.

“Positive. I don’t want any crying when I finally mark you.” Mark stroked my hair, and my whole body relaxed in response. I knew I was safe in his arms. He didn’t want to hurt me, and he would do whatever it took to protect me. And I wanted to protect him.

My eyes grew heavy as I listened to Mark’s heartbeat. Our breaths slowed and synced together, and my mind eased. I wasn’t worried about what might happen in the future. I was just happy that I had a mate who I loved and who loved me back.

–

When I cracked my eyes open, I had no idea how long I had been asleep for. I looked up at Mark, who was still sleeping. His arms were still wrapped tightly around me, but his head was tilting to the side, and there was a little bit of drool on his mouth. I smiled at the perfectly not perfect sight.

His skin looked more plump than before, and his color had returned as well. Whatever Ginger had given him was clearly working. I reached up and wiped the drool from his mouth. Then I untangled myself from his arms and crawled out of the bed as slowly as I could. My body was stiff, and I hadn’t realized how tired I was. There was just something so comforting about being in Mark’s arms, and sleep over took me without me realizing it was happening.

I stretched next to the bed, moving as quietly as I could. I didn’t want to wake Mark up. I wanted him to get as much rest as possible to heal to the full extent. I peaked out the window and saw the sun was about ready to set. It had to be almost dinner time. I decided to leave Mark sleeping and go venture out to see what everyone else was up to.

When I left the room, I instantly smelled a delicious scent. It had completely replaced the smell of the thick potion before, and my feet started following the scent. I found myself in the kitchen, and Daniel was standing next to Ginger as she worked the stove. Together they looked like grandmother and grandson, and I found myself lingering in the doorway to watch them.

“You’re going to let that burn, boy. Have you never cooked in your life before?” Ginger pointed to a pan on Daniel’s side of the stove.

“It’s not going to burn. I know how to cook. You don’t need to hover so much.” Daniel had a big smile on his face, and I knew he was loving every moment of the interaction, even though Ginger was critiquing his every move.

“You don’t know how to cook well,” Ginger muttered under her breath.

“I know how to cook just fine.”

“What’s for dinner?” I asked quickly before their bickering got out of hand.

“About time you’re awake, girl. Dinner is what we are making, and I don’t want to hear a complaint out of you.” Ginger didn’t even glance in my direction.

“It smells delicious. No complaints here.” I shook my head. Ginger was somehow endearing, even though normally I would have been annoyed with her mannerisms.

“Good. Now go get that other girl. It’s almost done, and she’ll need to wash up after exploring outside like that. Let your mate sleep for now. He’ll wake up soon enough.” Ginger smacked Daniel’s hand when he tried to stick his finger in a dish to taste test it.

I watched Ginger for a moment longer, wondering if she was clairvoyant. She seemed to know what everyone was up to, despite being in the kitchen. I couldn’t imagine her leaving the kitchen to check up on everyone, especially with Daniel following her like a puppy. Then I thought about the image of the shadow chasing the wolf. Was that Ginger’s doing, or was that something just locked away inside my head the entire time?

“Don’t just stand there staring into space. Do as I said,” Ginger said, snapping her fingers.

I stood up quickly and walked out of the room. I didn’t want Ginger to scold me again. She really gave me grandmotherly vibes; although, it wasn’t like the vibes of my grandmother. The mother of my not-father was cold and distant. She never gave hugs and only inquired about my academics. She expected perfection from me in every way. I understood where my father got his cold side knowing her. I never met my mother’s mother. My mother didn’t talk about her much. I assumed she died a long time ago, but I never heard the story of how it happened or how long ago it was.

The air outside was brisk, and suddenly I wished I had a heavier jacket on. Without the sun high above the sky, the temperature was quickly dropping. I walked around the yard, looking for Rie. I kept my arms hugged around my body to keep as much warmth around me as possible.

After a few minutes of searching, I found Rie standing in the backyard, looking in the distance.

“Hey Rie,” I said as I approached to get her attention.

She continued staring off to the forest beyond. “This is where the bubble ends in the back. I can’t figure out how she does it.”

“Does what?” I looked where Rie was looking, but nothing looked different.

“If I take five steps forward, I disappear back to the area where our car is. You can’t even see this little cottage. It’s incredible. I can’t figure out if it’s some sort of glamour or if we are being teleported to a completely different location.” Rie pointed to a tree a few feet to the right of us. “You see that?”

I looked, but I didn’t understand what was so special about it. “Yeah?”

“It’s different from the trees back there. It doesn’t belong there. It makes me think we are in a different location, but that doesn’t make any sense to me. How does it work?” Rie twisted a strand of hair in her fingers and furrowed her eyebrows.

“Why don’t you just ask Ginger? I know it’s hard grasping all of this. I still don’t fully understand how magic works, but I imagine there are sorcerers out there who don’t understand the shape shifting we do,” I said. It was definitely a lot to wrap our minds around.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I just don’t know if she’ll tell me the truth.”

I shrugged. Ginger seemed hit or miss with answering questions. “Only one way to find out. Come on. Dinner is almost ready. Let’s go inside.”