Chapter 19 - Delilah
Dress comfortably….
I thought it'd be an easy feat since I didn't put much thought into dressing up for our first “date.”
But tonight feels different, and suddenly, I'm full of nerves.
Perhaps it's because I've been overthinking everything about last night, still confused at my disappointment that our date felt too casual for my liking.
It appears that Hunter picked up on my feelings, and that's why he suggested another date. I just can't seem to shake off the strange thoughts that creep up on me unexpectedly, leading me to believe that Hunter isn't interested in more than friendship.
Why would he put all this effort into taking me out if he didn't care?
Shivering into myself when a tiny voice that isn't my inner wolf whispers faintly that Hunter only wants to be friends, I remind myself that I'm the one who put that boundary up in the first place.
“Ugh!” I groan as I stare at my reflection, almost unrecognizable from the cloudiness of my thoughts that seem to be making my vision hazy.
“What's wrong, Delilah?” Gwen asks, snapping me out of the murky void my mind had been drifting in, and reminding me that I'd enlisted Gwen's help to pick out a dress for tonight.
It's like I’ve suddenly grown heavily conscious of myself, how I dress, picking out every little thing everyone says around me, especially when it comes to Hunter.
When did I become so self-conscious, so insecure?
Brushing it off as nothing more than being exhausted from everything that's been going on lately, I turn to Gwen and ask her how I look.
She frowns at me. “That's the fifth time you've asked me that question, Delilah.” She comes forward and turns me back to face the full-length mirror. “Look at you…you're a goddess no matter what you wear, and I know Hunter will think the same.”
Frowning at my reflection again, I shiver to let the insecurities subside.
“Yeah…I don't have to impress him, anyway,” I declare, lifting my chin and overcoming my sudden bout of nervousness. “I don't know why I'm feeling this way. Maybe it's because I have no idea what he has planned,” I giggle with a hint of lingering nervousness.
“Surprises are fun,” Gwen suggests as I turn toward her, and I grimace.
“Yeah, but what if that's all we've been having? Fun?” I sigh, dragging my feet to the bed and plopping on the edge, recalling our conversation from last night.
All he said was that he knows what I'm thinking, that I didn't have to say anything because he knows me so well.
But what if he has no clue at all? What if he doesn't know that I instantly regretted calling that truce that put us back in the friend zone?
Again, he doesn't seem to be fighting for me, for my heart, and keeping things friendly between us as if that's all we'll ever have.
“Well, you did say that he wants to surprise you tonight,” Gwen reminds me as she takes a seat beside me and places a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “Just go with it, D, and try not to overthink it.”
“I'm trying, Gwen,” I pout, feeling those insecurities resurfacing. “I'm really trying not to overthink, but I just can't help it.”
Gwen stares at me inquisitively. “You're telling me the great Delilah Hargreeves is insecure about her fated mate relationship?” she scoffs. “I find that very hard to believe.
“It's complicated,” I sigh, and Gwen shakes her head.
“It sounds like you're being complicated for no reason.”
“Maybe….” My voice trails off just in time for us to hear the doorbell ring.
I turn to Gwen with a frown. “Who's that?”
“I don't know,” Gwen whispers. “Were you expecting anyone?”
Shaking my head slowly, I stand up and head toward my bedroom door. “I'm gonna go check.”
Wearing a firm frown, I head to the front door and pull it open, gasping when I find Hunter standing outside, holding a bouquet of red roses.
My eyes widen with shock as he passes me the bouquet with a single red dahlia sticking out from the center.
“Flowers, for m'lady,” he smirks, oozing charm as if it's our real first date. When I take the flowers, I notice the way he's dressed in dark blue jeans and a silk black shirt, looking too handsome for his own good, when I suddenly have the urge to throw myself into his arms.
“Flowers? Really?” I ask nonchalantly, setting the bouquet on the pedestal where he'd eaten me out the other night and crossing my arms. “What are you doing, showing up like this?” I snap unexpectedly with a frown, and Hunter chuckles smoothly as he leans in.
“You don't have to be so nervous, m'lady…” he calmly purrs as he offers out a hand, clearly taking my shortness as just my nerves acting up. “It's only me.”
Frowning and feeling like he's acting way too calm for my liking, like this is just another friendly date, I hesitate to place my hand into his.
But the moment I do, those weird thoughts dissipate, and a sense of calm washes over me. It's like I'm snapped out of a trace that was pulling me into the throes of darkness, where the only thoughts were those that felt dark and depressing.
Lightening up, I even feel my lips lift into a hesitant smile as Hunter leads me to the Jeep parked in the driveway. The way he's picking me up, showing up at my front door with roses, gives me hope that my insecurities were pointless, after all.
Perhaps I've been clinging to the past too tightly, wanting to move forward but stuck in the rut of believing Hunter doesn't care about me when all he's been doing is showing up for me.
Since last night, I've been wrestling with strange emotions, one moment happy to be spending time with him, the other drifting into thoughts that all of this is meaningless when he hasn't said anything, or hasn't fought to be more than friends.
Maybe he's just taking things slowly, and as he opens the Jeep door for me, wearing his most charming smile, I can't help but smile back, wanting nothing more than to bask in the joy of being with him like this, spending time with him, and riding the excitement of the surprise.
“I liked getting the flowers,” I admit sheepishly when we set out on the main road.
Hunter glances at me with a smirk. “I thought you would. Roses always remind me of you,” he says as he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a brief second as if basking in the scent in the air. “The scent of roses. And also, the thorns.”
“The thorns?!” I exclaim, feigning shock. “You mean I'm dangerous?”
“Sometimes, if I'm not careful,” Hunter admits with an amused chuckle. “It's nothing I can't handle, and the thorns are worth getting pricked by to experience the rose….”
My heart skips a beat as I take in Hunter's words, becoming all mushy on the inside again, my worries flying out the window as we arrive at the Eastern Trail just outside the main town.
My brow arches with curiosity as Hunter cuts the engine, and I turn to him slowly.
“A hike?” I ask, hiding my excitement with a smile to show him how impressed I am.
“We're doing this one in human form,” Hunter reveals with a coy smile as he turns toward me, the air dense with tension that I'm only able to feel because my trepidations have been put to rest, flowing with the ease that comes with being in Hunter's presence, the old spice and citrus scent of his masculinity infusing the air I breathe.
I decide not to let those dark thoughts steal the joy from our date.
“Had enough of those hikes we did in wolf form during black ops?” I snicker, and Hunter chuckles as he opens his door.
“Yeah, we're not fighting any vile creatures tonight,” he chuckles, stepping around the car and holding my gaze as he comes to my door. He opens the door and offers a hand, and this time, I'm not reluctant to take it, discovering that my prior insecurities are gone.
It was probably only self-inflicted, since I'm the one who told him we should start with being friends again. But Hunter remains as chivalrous as ever, going out of his way to ensure my comfort as we hike the trail.
When we're a few miles in, Hunter slows down and turns to me.
“Ready for your surprise?” Hunter asks, and I'm momentarily dazed by the way the moon's slanting rays catch his tanned face. Every contour is illuminated in a way that magnifies the curves of his face, making it appear stern and authoritative, as if an esteemed alpha stands before me.
My breath catches when my heart skips a beat, and I realize that it was no mistake marrying him at all.
Through our marriage, Hunter will become Alpha of Shadow Fang because I'm their Luna, and it only strikes me now that there's no one more capable of that role than Hunter, especially with the way he looks tonight.
If only he were interested in being your husband… a harsh voice enters my mind, unlike my inner wolf's voice, which often whispered words of wisdom to me when I needed guidance the most.
Shocked by what I just heard and feeling my insecurities resurfacing, I take a deep breath to compose myself, not wanting to dwell on it. It'll just end up spoiling the night like it did last night, and I don't want to let Hunter's efforts go to waste.
“I thought the surprise was the hike…” I lament as Hunter chuckles, reading my reaction as nervousness again. He steps behind me, his long, dexterous fingers closing around my eyes.
“A hike as a surprise?” Hunter scoffs, chuckling lightly. “I think I can do better than that.”
As I place a hand on Hunter's wrist, I become soothed once again, letting those dark, creeping thoughts slip away as I let him guide me forward.
He slows down, and when we stop, he removes his hands from my eyes, opening up the view to a picnic blanket spread out on the grass under a flowering sugar maple tree.
The red and white picnic blanket is set up with a basket overflowing with a bottle of wine and roses hanging out from the sides.
A few tea candles are set up to form a circle around the basket, and Hunter rushes forward with a lighter he took out from his pocket to light the candles, while I'm frozen in awe.