9. Rand
Nine
Rand
I don't let go of her hand.
I don't think I could if I tried.
She's still sitting so close our knees touch, her whiskey-colored eyes red from crying, her long blonde hair a beautiful mess from burying her face in my fur only moments ago.
Gods. Sweet Mother Moon.
My mate.
She knows now.
Daria knows what I am.
And she didn't run.
“Okay, but first I have so many questions,” she whispers, then laughs a little. “I don't even know where to start.”
“Start anywhere, Honey.”
She laughs softly.
“I kissed a Werewolf.”
“You did.”
“I hugged a Werewolf.”
“You did.”
“I cried on a Werewolf.”
“You absolutely did.”
She snorts.
“Well, those are sentences I never thought I'd say.”
I smile.
“You wear it well.”
She rolls her eyes.
“I can't believe you're making jokes right now.”
“What can I say? I'm relieved.”
“So you're funny when you're relieved?”
“I'm funny when you're around I guess.”
Her cheeks turn pink.
Sweet Mother Moon, she's beautiful.
Silence settles between us.
Comfortable.
Warm.
Hopeful.
Then she grows serious again.
“Rand?”
“Hmm?”
“What happens now?”
My Wolf immediately sits up.
Now.
Now comes the hardest part.
I lace our fingers together.
“What I'm about to tell you will probably sound even crazier than me shifting into a Wolf.”
She laughs once.
“I honestly don't know if that's possible.”
I take a steadying breath.
“You see, there are legends about us. About Wolf mates. And when Wolves like me find their fated mate...”
I look into her eyes.
“Fated mate?”
I nod.
“A fated mate is the one person, the one soul, in all the worlds and universes put together—created specifically for one person. And you’re mine.”
“What? What does that mean?”
“It means there is no one else I will ever want, or need, or love.”
She studies me.
“So you, like, want to date me exclusively? And you’re saying you won’t cheat?”
“It’s more than that. More than choosing not to cheat with someone else.”
I shake my head.
“Because for me, Honey, there is no one else. Just you.”
My thumb brushes across her knuckles.
“But that’s so fast—”
“Ever hear of love at first sight? For a Wolf it’s more like first sniff. And the second I scented you I knew—my heart knew—and my Wolf heart recognized yours before my mind had time to catch up.”
She doesn't interrupt.
“So when I tell you, you're beautiful...”
I lift our joined hands.
“...it isn't because you're the prettiest woman I've ever seen.”
Her brow furrows.
“It's because you're the only woman I will ever see.”
Her breath catches.
“I don't compare you to anyone, Daria. Because there isn't anyone else who even comes close.”
She swallows. I watch the movement, but I keep talking. Because she needs to hear it.
All of it.
“I don't wonder if someone prettier exists. They don't. Not to me.”
Emotion fills her whiskey-colored eyes.
“I've spent forty-two years waiting for you without even knowing your name.”
My voice grows rough.
“And I'd wait forty-two more if that's what it took.”
She reaches up and cups my cheek.
“That’s—I mean, I want to believe you. God, I do. But I've been burned before, Rand.”
My heart squeezes.
“I know.”
“No.”
She shakes her head.
“You don't. See, I've loved men who loved the idea of me.”
She swallows.
“But when things got real, they left. Just took off. They wanted someone easy. Someone who wouldn't ask questions or make demands. And I’m not an easy person. I’m always saying or doing something that bothers someone—”
Her voice cracks.
Anger flashes through my Wolf.
Not at her.
At every fool who failed to see her.
“Not me, Honey. I swear it. I think you’re perfect.”
She looks away.
“I mean, I want to get to know you, but I don't think I can do a platonic relationship with you.”
“Honey,” I say, and gently guide her face back toward mine. “That's the last thing I want.”
Her eyes search mine.
“I don't want friendship. I don't want casual. I don't want maybe or temporary.”
“What do you want?”
“I want all your days, all your nights. I want you. All of you. Forever. My mate.”
“But what happens when summer ends? It won’t all be beach nights and moonlight kisses, Rand,” she says.
“I am telling you, I don’t want just this summer. I want every summer. Every fall. Every winter. All your Christmases. Every birthday. I want to grow old with you, Daria.”
She blinks rapidly.
“It’s too soon, you can’t be sure.”
“I’m sure. I want to wake up beside you every morning. I want to kiss you before you leave for work. I want to help you build that rescue barn. I want to be here to complain when you bring home one more stray.”
She laughs at that.
And I keep going. I keep talking because this right here? This is the most important speech I will ever make.
“I want to spoil every animal you rescue. I want to sit on that porch with you when we're eighty. I want every piece of the life you're dreaming about.”
Her tears spill again.
“I barely know you.”
“I know, Honey. It’s fast, but—”
“I wasn’t done yet,” she interrupts me with a soft laugh. “I don’t know you. But my soul does.”
I close my eyes.
Gods, this woman is incredible.
And she’s mine.
I press my mouth to hers, my hands are cradling her face, and I kiss her deep and long.
“This is impossible,” she whispers when I finally let her breathe.
“It is.”
“And somehow...”
I smile because she’s coming around now.
“I believe you. I think it's true.”
She opens her eyes.
“It is, Honey. I swear it.”
She sits up straighter, moving a fraction back, and I allow it.
But, fuck me, it hurts when she moves away from me.
Still, I know she needs to speak her truth, so I brace for it.
“Okay, what exactly are you asking me, Rand?”
I take both her hands.
My Wolf presses against my ribs.
Tell her.
“I want to claim you, Daria.”
She tilts her head.
“Claim? Like a lost package?”
A watery laugh escapes her.
“No. Claim you as my mate.”
“What does that mean?”
“Fated mates are precious to my kind, Honey. For me to claim you, we’d have to,” I pause, searching for the right wording.
“We’d have to boink?”
“Boink?” I bark a laugh.
“You know, um, have sex?”
Daria whispers it like it’s a secret.
“Oh yeah, Honey. We’d have sex. And during climax, I’d give you my mating mark, just here,” I growl softly.
Then, I reach out and touch the side of her neck where it meets her shoulder with my fingertips.
Daria shivers, and fuck, that does something to me.
She’s so beautiful. So soft and sweet, and her scent is driving me wild.
She must know what she does to me. Doesn’t she? I mean, I’m still naked, and so fucking hard right now, it’s obvious I want her.
But still, she looks at me like she can hardly believe it.
And that makes my chest feel tight. Makes me want to love on her from head to toe just to show her how much she means to me. And I plan on it.
As soon as she says yes.
“Your mark. That’s like a bite, right?” she asks.
I nod.
“What will that do, um, to me? Like do I become what you are?”
“No, Honey. You’d stay just as perfect as you are now. Though I’ve heard some mates share a mind link, where they can communicate without speaking. Some mates can feel each other’s emotions. It’s a little different for everyone,” I explain.
“Would this,” she starts, then clears her throat. “Would this mean you and I would be like an item? Just us. No, um, no cheating.”
“That’s right. Mating is like married, but it’s stronger. It would mean you belong to me and I belong to you. And I promise, if you say yes, I will show you. Every single day. That I'm worthy of you.”
“You will?”
I nod and move closer.
“I will protect you. I will cherish you. I swear I will earn your trust. And I’ll spend my whole life loving you until you never doubt it again.”
Her breathing quickens.
I lift her hands to my lips.
“I know this is fast, and I didn’t plan it to be, but with everything that happened today I have to tell you my Alpha is demanding we do this sooner rather than later.”
“You mean I have no time to think about it?” She scoffs.
“Daria, I know it’s unfair—what I’m asking you. This leap of faith I’m practically begging you to take. But I’m asking you to trust me. To trust the way you feel, because you do feel it don’t you?”
Her whiskey-eyes go wide and her lips part, but she isn’t moving away. She isn’t slapping me across the face and telling me I’m nuts.
No, my brave girl is leaning in, and then she does the most miraculous thing.
She nods.
And I feel it down to my marrow.
“Okay, say I believe all this, and you are now asking to claim me as your mate.”
“Yeah?”
She searches my face for a long time.
“What if I say no?”
“I'll still spend the rest of my life grateful I met you.”
“What if I need time?”
“I'd give you all of it if I could.”
“What if I never understand this world?”
“Then I'll walk beside you until you do.”
She smiles through her tears.
“You make it sound very easy.”
“It won't be.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Because every instinct inside me wants to keep you close. Wants to make sure you're safe. Wants to remind the entire world that you're mine. And I can promise you that I will respect you. I’ll do everything I can to make you happy. And I will love you until the end of time.”
She laughs.
“Holy shit, Rand. That's a little caveman, but also ridiculously sweet.”
“You think so?”
Hope starts blooming inside of me.
Dangerous.
Persistent.
“Honestly? I don’t know what to think, Rand. I might be crazy,” she murmurs and laughs.
“I know. But you’re not.”
She laughs harder.
“Do you promise to be honest with me?”
“Always.”
She studies me.
“Okay, so if I say yes?”
A slow smile spreads across my face.
“Then our forever starts right now.”
Her heart is racing.
I can hear it.
Mine is too.
She leans forward until our foreheads touch.
“I think...”
She smiles softly and fuck, I want to taste it.
“... I'd like you to claim me, Rand Jameson.”
Joy explodes through my chest.
My Wolf howls loud enough to shake my ribs.
I laugh.
Actually laugh.
“I was hoping you'd say that.”
She reaches up, threading her fingers through my long hair.
“There's just one more thing.”
“Anything.”
She smiles.
“Will you kiss me first?”
I don't hesitate.
I gather her gently into my arms and press my lips to hers, pouring every promise I just made into one slow, reverent kiss.
She trembles in my arms, and I know I am so gone for this woman.
“Rand,” she moans my name, and it’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.