111
Lucy
I hesitated but nodded and took his hand and let him lead me out of back doors. He stopped and grabbed a long thin towel to wrap around me as we walked down to the shoreline. The sun began to set, painting the sky in a dark reds and blues. The sound of the waves was soothing, and the scent of the ocean filled my senses.
“It’s so peaceful here,” I said. “I can see why you spent so much time here.”
David hummed. “There’s not a day I’m not grateful that I had this place to go to when everything was crazy.”
“Thanks for bringing us,” I said. “Everyone seems to really love you.”
“They’ve done a lot for me.”
I licked my lips. “They’re… all human right?”
He chuckled. “Most of them are, yeah. I’m hoping to be able to claim the town as an affiliated territory of my pack.”
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means I’ll be able to install spells with some help to make sure things like hurricanes don’t ruin this place.” His lips twitched. “Some ocean conservation efforts and some other benefits, but mostly, I’ll know for sure that they’re protected.”
I nodded. “Do you plan to move here when you’re done?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “No way. I’d never leave! And I have way to many things to manage for the pack for that to be a good idea.”
He turned to look at me. “Besides… This isn’t where I’d like to make my home.”
I swallowed at his tone. Something in me grew tense and nervous.
“And you?” David asked. “Are you planning to stay in Hecate City?”
I worried my lip. “I… I really hadn’t thought about it.”
David nodded. “How… has the search for your family gone?”
I tightened my grip on the towel. “They did a lineage test, but I haven’t really… looked at the results. There’s a child.”
He gasped. “How old?”
“A baby, I think,” I said softly. “Wh-While they didn’t say that I had to take them in, I… I keep wondering if they’re being take care of. If anyone else on the list will take them in and treat them well.”
I glanced up at him. “I…”
“Would you be opposed to me offering the child sanctuary?” David asked.
I looked up at him and met his gaze.
“I understand why you’re wary about taking my offer of sanctuary, and I think it’s good that you’re with the Coven.” His lips twitched. “It’s good that you learn everything you can as safely as possible and form your own opinions about how you want to live as a werewolf in our world, if you want to. Werewolf children, especially infants, though are a little different.”
“How… so?”
“The cost of feeding them so they grow up strong enough to shift when they’re old enough is the main one,” he said. “It can be taught, but affording that isn’t always that easy.”
I swallowed. “I don’t know if I have the right to… say anything for them. After all, … I never planned to take them in.”
His lips twitched. “You don’t want children.”
My gut clenched and I looked away. “I—”
“Neither do I.”
I gasped and looked up at him.
He smiled. “I’m… alpha of the pack. If I ever wanted children, I could adopt any number of supernatural orphans. In some ways, I already have, but to some degree, I’d like my life to be my life… To find love and companionship away from the burdens of that kind of family.”
He looked out to the ocean. “It might… be strange for others, but I want a wife… not a luna. Does that make sense?”
I licked my lips. “I… still haven’t learned exactly what the difference is.”
David took a deep breath as we came to a stop and looked out into the horizon.
“I don’t think the terms have to be mutually exclusive, but traditionally, and even now, lunas are primarily the mother of the alpha’s children. She’s not expected to help manage the pack outside of making sure it grows and minor things here and there.”
My heart started to pound. “I… I’ve been told that.”
“It’s barbaric,” he said. “The mating ceremony. The whole idea of marking your mate like that, of it only being a sign of ownership, but not commitment.”
He let out a deep breath. “But a wife… A wife is different.”
I looked up at him. “Love and happiness, not some twisted sense of possession or obligation…Companionship.”
His lips twitched. “That’s what I’d want.”
I looked up at him and he turned to look at me. My stomach started to churn again as his gaze felt heavy and meaningful. Then, he grinned.
“But I think I’m a bit too young to be thinking about it now,” he said. “And you’re too young to look so serious.”
“What—David!”
He splashed me, soaking me with a flick of his wrist and a wave of magic.
He laughed. “I just wanted to wash that look off your face.”
I bent down and scooped water up, splashing him back. He splashed me back and before I realized it, we were in half a splash war. I was absolutely soaked. I lost the towel to the shore, but I couldn’t help but laugh.
Then, something tugged me, tripping me and dropping me into the water. My butt hit the cold sand and he laughed wading in the water a few feet away.
“Cheater!” I yelled and got to my feet. I launched myself at him, tackling him into the water. He laughed and went down.
I couldn’t say how long we played in the water. Just that by the time we lay on the beach, panting and laughing, the sky was dark and the stars had come out.
He sat up and chuckled looking over at me with a smile. His eyes glowed softly. His gaze felt warm and caring.
Loving, I realized. David loved me. How far that love went, I wasn’t sure but it made me feel warm. My heart skipped a beat as he held out his hand.
“Let’s get you near a fire, hm?”
I nodded and took his hand. He grabbed the towel and carried it back toward the patio area. He sat me down in a lounger beside the fire pit and lit it. He pulled out a blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders before ducking inside and coming back with a tray of food and hot drinks. He sat beside the lounger beside me and offered me a cup, leaning back against the lounger.
“Is… that comfortable?”
He sipped and looked up from his drink. “I’m alright for now. You?”
I nodded. “I’m okay.”
“Good,” he said and looked up. “Do you still like the stars, Lucy?”
I looked up. My heart trembled as he asked that and I thought back to when we were in the orphanage.
“We… used to stay up and stare out the windows,” I said, letting the memory wash over me. “And wish on shooting stars.”
David hummed. “I remember.”
He sighed and I slipped down to sit beside him and share the blanket. He chuckled.
“Like old times?”
I smiled. “The heater was always broken.”
He grinned. “And the fireplace was off-limits because they couldn’t afford the wood or coals.”
I leaned against him. I was a bit nervous from how little we were wearing, but David wrapped his arm around me, making it easier for us both to fit under the blanket though it didn’t feel like he needed it.
“This is a much better blanket,” I said.
He laughed. “Blankets without holes were probably one of the first luxuries I clung to…”
“Did you have to share a room anymore?” I asked.
He snorted. “No… having a room that wasn’t drafty with more broken and patched floorboards than not was a close second, but I… sort of missed the company. The gigantic room I was given and the endless empty hallways was a lot to deal with. I remember making wishes that first night I was brought to my father’s estate.”
“Estate?”
He nodded. “The Blood Moon Estate is more like a compound.”
He shook his head. “It’s not as full as it used to be because of the wars, but it’s growing more and more by the day. We had to expand recently and open up another wing.”
I shook my head. “That sounds… like a lot to manage.”
He hummed. “It’s not so bad. Gaining their trust and loyalty has been a road, but I’ve enjoyed it… I wished for family and I got it.”
I looked down into my drink. “I wished for the same things… but knowing what I know now, I’m not so sure that’s what I want.”
David rubbed my shoulder. “Family can mean a lot of things. It doesn’t just mean blood.”
I thought about it, remembering the way David had been with all the people of the town.
“Would you say this town is family?”
“Of course. And Sarah, and Amy… Duke… You.”
My eyes pricked with tears and I turned my face into his shoulder.
“Thank you, David.”
He pulled me closer and pressed a kiss to my temple.
“You’re very welcome, Lucy.”
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
