Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Dain
It had been a whole week since Lanche’s icicle was stolen, and we hadn’t found a single clue. Not a damn one.
Lanche couldn’t feel it. Still. Which I thought was really odd, but maybe this person was using magic to block him.
I didn’t want to think about Lanche’s reasoning for that.
I couldn’t be his viramore. No matter how much of a pull I felt toward the man. No matter how amazing he always felt when I was with him. No matter how badly I wanted it to be true.
Pushing that aside, I stared down at my phone for a few minutes.
I’d seen Lanche every day this week, and we’d eaten at least one meal together every time. And despite everything going on, it’d been really nice spending time together. He was fun. He made me laugh.
He made me feel safe.
So I wasn’t sure why I was hesitating so much over calling him now.
I was nervous, which was stupid. And I knew it was stupid.
Ugh. Stupid anxiety.
Ignoring, well, everything, I hit call on my phone.
Lanche picked up after only one ring. “Hello?”
“Hey, Lanche, it’s Dain.” I closed my eyes in mortification. As if he didn’t know it was me when I called his cell phone. Duh, my name flashed across the screen, for fuck’s sake.
I could hear the amusement in his voice when he spoke. “It’s good to hear from you. How are you doing today?”
“I’m alright. Kinda fidgety since it’s, uh, a full moon tonight.”
“Ah. Yeah, makes sense.”
I hesitated for a few beats before I sighed to myself. Just ask him, you absolute dork. “Would you want to come over tonight, and, uh… meet my werewolf?” My voice went up a few octaves at the end there. Ugh.
“Really? That would be wonderful. I’d love to.” He sounded way more excited than the situation warranted.
“Oh, okay. Um… good. Then I guess… come over around five? We can eat an early dinner before I change, if that’s alright with you?”
“Sounds great. Thank you for the invite.”
“Uh-huh.” I paused. “Okay, well, I’ll see you later, then.”
“See you later, sweetheart.”
We hung up, and I blew out a breath. I really was being ridiculous.
Maybe I was nervous about spending time with him alone in a private space, but we’d be in my space, and I’d be in my were form. Which meant that I could bite the shit out of him if I really needed to.
But deep down in the depths of my soul, I knew he would never hurt me. Ever.
By the time Lanche came over, I was a bundle of nerves. Which was so dumb since he’d been here throughout the week, and he was such an absolute sweetheart that I knew he wouldn’t do anything to me. Of course he wouldn’t.
Maybe I didn’t believe we were soulmates, but he sure did. And everyone knew you couldn’t hurt your viramore.
Almost as soon as he knocked, I opened the door for him. “I hope you don’t mind, but I made pasta, and it’s ready to go now. I, uh, always give myself some time between finishing dinner and changing.”
He nodded, smiling that cute shy smile of his. “That sounds great, Dain. Also, hi. How are you?”
I snorted. “Oh, right. Probably should’ve led with that.”
He snorted and leaned in to kiss my cheek. The move was so sweet it made my heart flutter. Good lord, why was he so adorable? His sweetness kept breaking down my walls, one brick at a time. Soon there’d be nothing left.
He glanced around, his smile growing. “You decorated for Winter Solstice.”
I nodded. “Yeah, after I was turned, I kind of adopted the holiday since all my friends and new family celebrate it. I grew up celebrating Christmas, but I don’t do that anymore.
I usually have my little brother over on Solstice and do a little dinner thing together.
” I shrugged. “What about you? Do you celebrate any holidays around now?”
“We do Winter Solstice as well. Just a dinner, like you.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Yep. We exchange a few gifts too, but nothing too extravagant.”
“Gotcha. Paxton and I do the same.” I sent him a small smile. “Iced tea, lemonade, soda, water, coffee?”
He grinned. “Iced tea sounds great.”
“I knew you were going to say that.”
After fixing our drinks and passing him one, I put the giant serving bowl that was overflowing with pasta right in the center of the table, then added a pot of extra sauce beside it and set some parmesan cheese there as well.
I’d already set the table, so I sat down, waved Lanche into a chair, and said, “Dig in.”
Since I was trying to be a good host, I plopped a big helping onto his plate.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. Help yourself to the sauce and cheese if you want.”
“Mm. This all smells delicious.”
I sent him a small smile that probably looked more like a grimace. Sure, I wasn’t the best cook in the world, but I knew how to make a good meat sauce and spaghetti, but everything about this night had my nerves standing on end.
“Damn, this is even better than it smells,” he said after swallowing his first bite.
I snorted. “Thanks… I think.”
He grinned shyly. “This is the best pasta I’ve ever tasted.”
That made me chuckle. “You don’t have to suck up to me, Avalanche. You’re already killing me with cuteness.”
He snorted out a laugh that turned into a cough.
“Oh my Mother, are you choking?”
He shook his head, laughing again even as he coughed. “No. I’m fine.” He chuckled. “Just went down the wrong tube. I’m good now.”
As we ate, I began to relax, and when we moved into the living room and our conversation continued with Lanche making me laugh and making my belly flutter, I finally felt like myself instead of a nervous mess.
I really began to believe that Lanche was safe. He wasn’t going to hurt me. He never would. I was safe with him.
And he was so damn sweet, and very clearly into me, and I kept holding back on him. It wasn’t really fair.
I needed to tell him what happened to me so he’d understand where I was coming from.
Then maybe I could stop feeling guilty every time I didn’t accept an invitation into his home or invite him back to mine.
Then maybe I could get the fuck over it and stop letting my past haunt me so I could look forward to a possible future with a really great man.
“What’s wrong?”
That snapped me out of my thoughts. I took him in and met his eyes, eyes full of worry, hope, and something like affection. Honest eyes. Eyes that would never hurt me. I needed to tell him the truth.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I know you noticed that I’ve been avoiding being… alone with you, unless we’re in my own home or whatever.”
He nodded. “Yeah… I got that.”
“Well, there’s a reason for that.” I sighed again and bit the inside of my cheek for a moment.
“There was this guy… he seemed nice at first. He kept coming into the store, flirting with me, that kind of thing. He asked me out, and I said yes. We went to dinner, and I got a weird vibe from him, you know? He… I don’t know how to explain it, but something felt off, so I made an excuse to leave early.
“The guy, Joshua, came back to the store, and he sort of… acted like we were dating, like I was his boyfriend or something. It was creepy, and he didn’t get any of my hints. Even my coworkers thought the guy was being creepy.”
Lanche reached over and took one of my hands in his, cupping it between his, offering silent support. I twisted my hand around so I could lace our fingers together and hold on tight as I continued.
“After a few days, I figured it’d be better to talk to him and make sure we were on the same page, right? So I asked him to go to dinner with me. He was super excited, and I felt terrible, but halfway through dinner, I told him I didn’t want to date him.
“At first, he seemed kind of shocked, but then I could see this… anger in his eyes. But all he did was nod, and since he seemed harmless, I asked if we could be friends. He agreed, and we finished our meal.”
I snapped my jaw closed, needing to take a few seconds to gather myself before I kept going. Avalanche kept hold of my hand, rubbing his thumb over my skin and helping to assure me I was safe. This was a safe place, and Joshua was nowhere to be found.
“I started feeling… weird. Sort of out of it and dizzy. Kind of like being drunk but way, way, way worse. I could barely walk, barely keep my eyes open. I didn’t know what was happening, but I do remember Joshua being there and talking to me.
He helped me out to his car. But then things get kinda fuzzy, you know? ”
Lanche was staring at me with wide eyes, looking worried and afraid for me, even though I was right here and completely fine.
I squeezed his hand. “I’m fine now, babe. You don’t need to worry.”
“But he drugged you. Of course I have to worry.”
“It was years ago, Lanche. I’m okay now.”
He took a slow, deep breath, then nodded. “What happened?”
“Um… I woke up locked in a room with chains around my wrists and ankles.”
“What the fuck?”
I shrugged. “Apparently, the guy had been stalking me for months, and when I told him he couldn’t have me, he decided to take me instead.
I, uh, I was locked down there for five days before Anton found me.
He knew something was wrong when I didn’t show up for work and wasn’t answering his calls or texts.
He went to my apartment to check on me, and…
yeah. He figured it all out and found me, although it took a few days because I was in some random warehouse, not at Joshua’s house. I’m just grateful Anton saved me.”
Lanche stared at me in horror for a long moment before he stood up and knelt in front of me. I had no idea what he was doing, but he pulled me into a hug, and after a brief pause, I melted into him, hugging him tight.
“Oh, my sweet Dain, I’m so very sorry that happened to you. If I ever find that sonofabitch, I will tear him apart limb by limb.”
My eyebrows rose. “You don’t have to worry about him. Anton took care of him for me.”
Lanche leaned back. “He… killed him? Or sent him to jail?”