Which was really the reason that Dani was beginning to accept that she couldn't outrun her new mate. Not then and there anyways. She needed to think this whole thing out carefully. She'd have to get her Momma first and then once they were together they could go and build a new life on the other side of the country.
Or maybe they would throw a dart at a map and choose a totally new country. Someplace warm. Someplace with palm trees.The pain pill that Doctor Evans had given her was kicking in and Dani's ankle felt blissfully numb. If she hadn't known better she would have thought that she could walk on it.She saw Alpha West rising from the table and wishing Alpha Vos and Luna Emery goodnight. Emery looked over at Dani and gave her a sad smile before standing, and carefully pasteing her perfect, happy Luna business-as-usual smile back in place."Thank you Doctor, for healing my mate." Alpha West said smoothly as he bent and scooped Dani up into his arms, as if she weighed nothing at all. He carried her easily, stopping so she could say goodbye to the head table, where Kent raised his eyebrows at her in a way that could only be interpreted to mean "don't you wish you were coming home with me now?", causing Dani to glare at him. Emery came forward and kissed Dani's cheek, wishing her good luck in case they didn't see her the next day when it was assumed they would be heading back to Alpha West's territory. Dani frowned at the assumption.On the way out of the restaurant she tried to concentrate entirely on not feeling the things that she was feeling. His hard chest and strong arms felt amazing pressed against her. Every inch of skin that made contact as he held her seemed to conduct the most pleasurable electricity, and his movements sent it coursing through her veins, so that by the time they got to the car she was almost driven to distraction by how good it felt with his arms wrapped around her.And his scent must have been designed by the Goddess with Dani in mind. She was dizzy breathing him in, and she wanted to press her face against his neck and continue to breathe in his scent, while at the same time desperately wanting to push him away and get out of there as quickly as she could.He deposited her into the passenger seat of the car, leaning over to buckle her seatbelt for her as if she'd injured an arm instead of her ankle, before pulling back and leaning against the frame of the door."I need to talk to my Beta for a minute before we go, Dani." he said, his eyes traveling from her lovely face to her full breasts that were nearly spilling over the thick lace bust of her uniform, down to her long, tan legs that had felt sosmooth against his arms when he'd he carried her back to his SUV. "I'll hurry."She didn't respond and when he closed the door she breathed a sigh of relief, filling her lungs quickly with air that wasn't so intoxicatingly filled with his scent.A moment later he was sliding into the driver's seat and pushing a button to start the engine. The SUV smoothly moved forward onto the street and Dani shifted to the far side of her seat, putting as much distance as she could between herself and Alpha West."I was going to take you back to the hotel we're staying at." He didn't say the words as if they were a question, but Dani shook her head."No. Go up here and go right. I have to go home tonight. There's no one else who can take care of my mom. And she can't be by herself.""Oh." He sounded disappointed and she glanced over at him, surprised. She'd expected him to insist. To take her back with him anyways. She'd been half prepared to call Doctor Evans over the mind link and tell her that she needed her to stop by and help with her mom's meds. "Alpha West-" she began."You can call me Luca." He interrupted in a quiet voice, a half smile on his lips. "That's my name, Dani. Luca.""Luca," she said softly, "I can't leave my mom. She needs me.""Then tomorrow she can come with us too. She will be well taken care of in my pack. Neither of you will ever want for anything again."Dani dug her nails into the black leather of the seat. His promises made her uncomfortable, even as her wolf longed to throw all caution to the wind and throw herself into his arms."Turn here, on Oak." she said so softly that he almost didn't hear. "And our house is the second from the last on the right hand side, at the end of the street. But Alpha- Luca I mean. You don't have to come in. You can pick me up tomorrow, or whenever. This car seems pretty nice and you probably shouldn't park it here overnight. At least not if you want it to be here in one piece in the morning."He laughed but the laughter held an edge. "Don't worry about that Baby. I'll go wherever you go. And no one is going to touch it." She rolled her eyes.He came around to her side and lifted her into his arms. This time she let her head rest lightly against his chest. It couldn't hurt to let it relax there, just a bit. After all, she couldn't run until her ankle had healed and until she could figure out a plan to get her mother and herself safely out of town.And that might take a couple of days.She just could not let him mark her. Then they would be bound together, forever. She shook her head. She had seen what that had done to to her mother, first losing her father and then being with unworthy men, and she was determined to make her way in the world alone, unattached. The front door was unlocked and they headed inside, where the smell of sickness made Dani scrunch her nose and turn her head to meet Luca's eyes. "I told you you should have gone home." she whispered. "You still can?" she continued, giving him an out.He shook his head and pressed his hand against her lower back, causing her to catch her breath."I'm good where I am Dani." He whispered, his lips lightly brushing against her ear, sending shivers through her body. "If you're here than I am more than happy to be right here by your side."Dani insisted that he put her down, despite his protests and then she hobbled on one leg over to the living room couch where her mother had been laying since she left at a little before eleven that morning. The TV was blaring, and Dani turned it down, as she surveyed the dimly lit room, feeling the heat rising in her cheeks and refusing to look back over her shoulder at Alpha West.The room was neat, Dani made sure of that. There was a couch that was threadbare and worn. It had come out west with her father when he had moved out from Texas, which meant that it was quite a bit older than Dani. On either side of the couch was a chair, and each of those had an afghan thrown over it to cover how worn they had been after decades of use. The coffee table in front of the couch was littered with bottles of medication. There was a plate with a half eaten piece of pizza remaining on it, and a half filled glass of water next to it. Dani had also left a full pitcher or water on the coffee tabl
Dani didn't have to look at him to know that he was staring at her, and that he was probably shocked. She knew that she must not be like anything that he had expected, or maybe even wanted. He'd probably been expecting someone like Emery, who was graceful and classy, but also especially ready to throw herself into his arms. He had expected a Luna. And Dani didn't see herself as a Luna. "We could change that pretty quickly, Dani." His voice was teasing and he reached out and ran a finger across the gap between her shorts and the bottom of her tank top, where the fabric had crept up. Quickly she tugged the fabric down and pulled away from him, half gasping in pleasure at the way his finger tip had felt when it trailed sparks across her skin. "We are not having sex!" She said quickly."Because I'm your mate?" She was facing him now, staring up at his wide green eyes, watching as he ran a hand through his golden brown hair. "That makes absolutely no sense Dani. What is it that you'
The sound of someone banging on the door woke Dani with a start, and she opened her eyes to find herself pressed against Luca's chest, his strong arms encircling her waist. It was the best sleep she could remember having in years. She felt him tense beside her, and she quickly held onto his hands, panic rising in her chest. "No, Luca. It's okay. Really." He could hear her pulse rising rapidly, and the scent of fear was clearly radiating from his little mate. "Who the fuck is banging on your door like this at six a.m?""It's probably just one of my mom's friends. Ignore him. He'll go away.""Why the fuck is he banging on your door?" Luca growled the words, his canines lengthening."People get drunk and-" Dani voice trailed off for a moment. Pausing she took a deep breath, "lost, they get lost in the house. So I have locks. Lots of locks. To make sure no one comes in here that I don't want in here." She shook her head as if clearing it of the absurdity of the situation. He bega
"Kitten?" He dropped his phone down onto the floor next to the bed, his eyes turning dark as he stared at her. "Let's not start anything that you don't want to finish just yet." Luca's voice was playful, but Dani heard the warning in it. "Or what, Alpha?" She climbed up the bed towards him, knowing exactly how good she looked, while he mulled over her insistence on using his title in such a blasphemous way. He was definitely going to have to nip that in the bud before she tried it in front of another pack member. Teasing in private was one thing. In public she needed to at least maintain a facade of respectfulness. He rolled his eyes in response and lay back, ignoring her and putting his arms behind his head. "Andraste. We need to get you and your mother packed, and if you want to take a shower you should probably do it now. My people are getting ready to move north at the moment and I have business I need to take care of as soon as possible." "Do you, Alpha?" Luca watched her slin
"What did you mean about expanding your territory?" She was holding up a blue bikini and trying to decide whether it should go or stay, while purposefully not looking at him. "Just that. My territory has gotten bigger over the years." Dani dropped the bikini into the suitcase and turned to look at him. "How?" She asked seriously. "What do you mean how?" His lips curved upwards in a half smile. "Exactly that. How did your territory 'get bigger?'" She said the last two words in a mocking tone, making it clear that she wanted him to lay the explanation out in simple terms. "Well, when I see something that I want, I take it." He pushed her back against the bed as he said the words, leaning over her slowly and breathing in the clean, delicious scent of her skin. His body ached for her, and his wolf paced inside of him, begging to take her, but he refused, instead only reaching out and tracing her cheek lightly with his finger tip. "I've wanted a great many packs that I have come acro
She saw Luca's shoulders tense. He turned, his eyes entirely black. "I told you to wait with Lars." He growled the words. "And you should know that I don't do what I'm told. Even by you Alpha." "Oh she's perfect for you, Luca." An absolutely gorgeous blonde, in a tiny blue satin teddy appeared in the doorway next to Luca. She ran her hand across his chest and he flinched away, a growl escaping his lips."Enough Lyra." "You must be the famous Dani. I am Lyra Harding of the Bear Moon Pack." She smiled sweetly, looking at Dani with enormous blue eyes through her long dark lashes. "Lyra." Dani said her name in the exact tone that she usually reserved for Luca's title and Luca laughed, meeting his little mates eyes. "Now that you're here Dani," he said, holding out his hand to indicate that she should come to him, let me show you our quarters for the flight, if we want privacy. I'm going to have to get one of the flight attendants to change the sheets," he frowned at Lyra and turn
"Don't call me that." Dani snapped, keeping her voice low and pushing her hands further down into the soft lining of her jacket."What, Kitten? You don't like that name that now?" He reached up and touched a strand of hair that had fallen free when she was struggling in the arms of his third in command and he didn't miss the small, involuntary movement when she winced away from his touch. "No. I don't. I think Lyra does though." Luca's eyebrows jumped up a fraction. "She used it when she was mocking me earlier. I don't need a second hand pet name." "Don't let Lyra play mind games with you, Baby." He drew in a deep breath and frowned. "Are you hurt? Did Teo do something to you?" Dani turned away, looking out the window as Luca's eyes turned black.She shook her head. "No. He just kept me from going out after you." "I can smell blood. Please, Dani, let me help. Show me what happened." Slowly she pulled her hands from the smooth lining of her jacket, exposing the cuts were her
Dani woke up to find Luca's arm wrapped tightly around her waist, clasping her against his chest as he snored lightly near her ear. He was snuggled up to her back and as she squirmed trying to move away from him he didn't loosen his grip. Instead he pulled her closer and she felt the bulge in his boxers growing hard against her ass with every tiny movement that she made. "Luca," she whispered, not wanting anyone in the front of the jet to hear her. "Luca, wake up." He took a deep breath, pressing against her again, harder, his hands running up under her shirt, leaving a trail of sparks in their wake as they found their way to her breasts. "You aren't wearing a bra?" He murmured sleepily, his lips brushing lightly against her ear. "I'm surprised you didn't notice earlier." She replied as he tweaked her nipples lightly before running his hands back down over her smooth, hard stomach, enjoying the feeling of her tiny waist. "I guess I'm just a gentleman." He bit her earlobe gently as