An Undying Love (10 page)

“Dante,” Memphis
yelled. He sounded out of breath.

“I told you to
get out,” he roared back over his shoulder.

“They’re here.
She’s here. Cora’s here,” he exclaimed.

Looking down at Anya,
he slowly let go of her arms and rose off her. Part of him was elated his
sister had returned. However, as he looked at Anya, his heart broke with what
he now had to do. It didn’t matter the outcome, either way he’d lost someone he
loved.

* * * *

They rode on
Dante’s horse toward the dock. He said nothing as he held her close. The heat from
his chest against her back felt nice in the coolness of the fall evening air.
Something had changed between them. She liked the feeling of his touch, the
warmth of his body and the sound of his voice. The closer they got to the dock,
the more Anya knew she would miss him.

Both her
brothers and Cora stood by one of the Silverback’s larger boats. Its lights
shone brightly over everyone, and she saw how nervous her twin was as well as
his mate. A look of anger and rage was more than clear in Mitch’s eyes as Dante
pulled his horse to a stop twenty feet away.

Dante got down,
and then helped her off. She turned and looked over the rest of the pack who
gathered to welcome Cora home. Instantly, she wished she could stay. The need
to be there was intense, and she wasn’t sure how to tell her brother she didn’t
want to go home.

“You’re late.”
Dante snarled.

“We ran into a
storm on our way back and it took us longer to get here.”

The sound in Mitch’s
voice she knew all too well. He was barely containing the beast within him. If
she didn’t go he would lose it. Someone would get hurt or killed, and that was
not something she could live with. She kept her words within herself, not
saying how she felt.

“Cora, your mate
is welcome into this pack. I’ll foster him,” Dante said, and Cora’s face lit up
with relief.

“All right, you
have your sister, now let mine go,” Mitch snapped.

“Anya,” Dante
whispered. She turned and looked at him.

Dante stared at
her. He reached out and tilted her face up to him more. She didn’t have time to
think or speak as his mouth sealed over hers, and he kissed her long and hard. The
kiss set her soul ablaze. She swooned, and her heart fluttered.

“Let go of my
sister.” Mitch growled.

He pulled his
mouth from hers, then stepped back. Dante slipped the braid from his wrist and
placed it into her hand. “Take her to her brother,” he said in a near whisper,
and as Memphis pulled her away she knew. Dante was him. He was the one. Tightly
clutching her braid, she knew she’d found him.

“No,” she
whispered as she was handed off to Mitch while Cora and Alex stepped forward.

As they boarded
the boat, Anya stared after the small group on the wharf as they faded off into
the darkness. Dante stopped before he was completely out of sight and turned
and looked at her. Her heart shattered at that moment as she saw the loss in
his eyes.

As their vessel headed
farther away she continued to stare back at the island. She’d been a fool.

“Did he hurt
you? Are you all right?” Mitch asked. She turned to look at him as tears rolled
from her eyes.

“I—” Her words
couldn’t come. How was she to tell Mitch she was in love with the man who’d
held her captive. Who’d held her for the ransom of his sister’s return. Mitch
cradled her in his arms, holding her tightly.

“Shh, it’s over
now, you’re safe,” Mitch cooed. It only made it worse, and she cried like a
baby.

It wasn’t all right,
though, and there was no way she would ever be all right again. She silently sat
there the whole trip back. Even on the drive to her home, she was silent. Anya,
for the life of her, did not know what to say. Mitch kept trying to make sure
she was unharmed. All she could do was nod when he asked if she was okay.

Chapter Ten

As soon as he
saw Cora’s mate, Dante had a hunch of just why Anya had been so closed-mouthed
about knowing his sister. She’d been protecting her brother. The young man
looked to be about Anya’s own age and shared many of the same features as his
sister—the brilliant blue eyes, blond hair as well as being shorter than most
of the other males. After Dante had done the initiation for Alex to become a
member of the pack, he learned Alex and Anya were twins.

He’d tried to go
back to his home, had tried to go to sleep. Now everything reminded him of her.
Her smell was so strong everywhere, and it felt as if he had a hole within him.
One only Anya could fill. Even so, as soon as her scent faded away and was
utterly gone, he knew how much he would miss it.

Dante found
trying to rest was hard. He cradled the pillow she’d used last night, and tears
streamed down his face. The ache within him to have her there was more than he
could handle. Sleep stole him away, and as he dreamed, a vision of her at the temple
filled his slumber. He awoke with a start, something gnawing at the pit of his
stomach. An urge to go to the temple filled him.

After getting up,
Dante rode his steed toward the temple. He didn’t know what else to do. When
their lips had parted he’d seen the look in her eyes, and utter pain had flooded
his heart as she’d left. She should have been his. His wolf side was just as
much lost as his human half. He stepped inside the ancient ruins and remembered
the day he’d seen her there. Her ghostly visage was still strong and vivid in
his memory.

Dante walked up
to the altar and saw the brackish pool within its center. Was it true? Was it
even possible? He cupped a handful of the water, sending a silent plea to the
Wolf Lord’s spirit. He couldn’t lose her. He took a sip and the water made him
gag. He forced the vile fluid down his throat. An icy shiver coursed over him,
and he shuddered at the feeling. As he stared into the pool, he hoped it would
work. It had to, he thought.

Dante turned and
froze. The eerie transparent silhouette of a man-beast stood no less than ten
feet away. It soundlessly moved toward him, and faster than he could react. It
slammed into him, filling him with a feeling like death. Icy cold and
paralyzing, images flooded his mind, visions of him and Anya making love on the
altar. It was him, but it wasn’t, and somehow he’d been given a blessing like
no other before as his ancestor’s spirit bonded with Dante’s own soul.

* * * *

Anya sat in her
bedroom and stared at the two hand-carved wolves sitting on her desk. Her
thoughts were yet again on the man who had made them. It was stupid. To have
such feelings for him, Christ, they’d only shared a single kiss. He’d been her
captor, held her as a prisoner, and yet, part of her longed desperately to be
back there. To be with him.

The letter she’d
given to the clerk at the general store was her only hope in finding out if he
felt the same. She’d left it there after nearly two weeks of trying to get the
courage to write it.

“Anya! Could you
come downstairs please?” her brother called. It broke Anya’s thoughts of Dante.

She headed downstairs
and walked toward the kitchen where she saw her brother was not alone. The man
with him was tall and slim. Maybe a bit older than her brother, the fine lines
of his age appearing around the edges of his eyes. The worn out Stetson he
donned cast a shadow over his face, giving him a darker appearance. His dark
brown hair was barely visible from under it.

She took a sniff
of the air and caught the scent of cows, hay and something that reminded her of
Dante. The robust aroma of wood smoke lingered.

“Anya this is
Craig, alpha to the Misty Creek pack,” Mitch said.

“Hi, it’s nice
to meet you.” Craig held out his calloused-looking hand.

“Hi,” she said
as she shook hands with him.

“I want you to
get to know each other a little. You’re to be mated,” Mitch said and then left
her alone in the kitchen with Craig.

The words stung
as if she’d just been slapped. Her brother’s tone had had an air of finality to
it. She stood there stunned for a moment as the man smiled.

“So I hope you
don’t mind, but I thought maybe next weekend would be a good time for us to wed,”
he said, and she blinked repeatedly.

“Pardon me?”

“After all, from
what I’ve heard, you haven’t had much luck with suitors.” To her, it sounded
almost as if he thought he was doing her a favor.

“Excuse me one
minute,” she told the self-righteous ass and then headed after Mitch. She found
him in the living room, just settling onto the sofa. She noticed Kari had
already gone to bed.

“What do you mean
we are to be mated,” she demanded.

“Anya, you’re
twenty-one years old. It’s time you had a mate.”

“I think I can
find my own," she snapped. “And a heck of a lot more acceptable one to
boot.”

“Anya, I have been
more than patient with you. Now, you will marry Craig,” he told her with a soft
demand.

“Like hell.” She
growled

“It’s no longer
your choice, Anya. I’ve already made up my mind. Craig is a decent man, and he’ll
provide a good home for you.” He stood.

“I don’t want
him.” she snarled.

“I’ve given him
my permission already. As far as I’m concerned, you two are already mates,” he
said with his alpha presence exuding from him.

Mitch took her
by the arm, led her back into the kitchen and made her sit at the table. She
was not happy about it. She didn’t want Craig. Mitch stayed and as he talked
with Craig. Anya felt like a prisoner again, this time in her own home. The two
men talked about the arrangements of her mating Craig as she sat there fuming.

Mitch spoke
about her as if she weren’t even there. It was infuriating to listen to him
telling another man that she needed to settle down, have babies and be a good
mate. Craig agreed with her brother, told him he would give her a home and he
would treat her with a firm but gentle hand. That was more than a little
irritating for Anya. It was as if they both still lived in the Middle Ages, and
it was all a female was good for was breeding and taking care of the home.

When their talk
concluded, Craig stood and looked down at her. His eyes appeared a little too
hungry for her liking.

“Come on, you’ll
be coming to stay with me until the wedding.”

She looked right
at her brother. “What! Mitch, you can’t be serious.”

“Anya, you need
to get to know him, and his pack is a distance away. It’s the best way.”

“But—”

“That’s an order,
Anya,” he said, and his eyes glowed an amber color.

* * * *

Cora and her
mate were settling in, and Alex seemed more than capable of helping out around
the village. Still, it didn’t quell the ache in Dante’s heart, it only added to
it as he saw how much in love the two were. Somehow over the last few weeks he’d
grown lonelier without Anya there. Her scent was now just barely in his home,
the strongest place he could still smell her was on his pillow. It’d given him
comfort for the first few nights. It hurt, but at least he had the scent to
remind him of her.

Dante split
firewood and tried to lose the thoughts of storming the Silverback pack and
taking Anya back. It would not only be foolhardy but lives would be lost, and
he couldn’t justify that. Not for a woman who may or may not feel the same way
toward him as he did for her. Not even if both his own will and that of the
Wolf Lord wanted it.

“Dante,” Chris
said as Dante brought the ax down onto the defenceless piece of wood and
cleaved it in half.

“Yeah,” Dante
grumbled.

“You got a
letter.” Chris passed the thick envelope to him. “It was left for you at the
general store.”

“Who the hell
sent this?” he asked as he eyed it. There was only his name across the front,
no sender’s.

“Don’t know. Mr.
Miller said she comes in every Friday, and last Friday she left that for you.”

He headed toward
his own cabin. As he walked inside, Dante sniffed the letter. It smelled of Mr.
Miller and Chris, no other scent was on it. Now he was curious, and as he sat
at the table, he opened it. He pulled the contents out and saw they were sealed
in a zip lock bag. It prevented the sender’s scent from being detected. He
opened it and caught the smell and knew immediately whose it was. Anya.

With shaky hands,
he unfolded the letter. A long, thin braid fell out, and he picked it up and
smelled her intoxicating scent. It caused an ache in his heart he could not
fathom. Dante tightly held on to the braid as he read.

Dearest
Dante.

I do hope
this letter finds you. I was unsure if Mr. Miller would give it to you or not. But
it’s the only way in which I know how to reach you. I will answer your question
if you still want to know. Meet me by the fountain in Bishop’s Park on Friday
at midnight and I’ll tell you my answer.

Anya

Dante’s heart
leapt in his chest. Come hell or high water, he would ensure he was at that
fountain this Friday. The need to get things ready surged in him, and before he
knew it, he was cleaning his home. If she wanted him, which was how he read
between the lines, he would bring her back there. They would be mated and a
family. That word had visions of her pregnant with his child dancing through
his head.

He looked over
his small home and knew his place was too small. He would need to build an
extension onto it to accommodate a family. He wanted Anya to have lots of
babies with him. But then his happiness faltered. Maybe it was a trap. What if
Mitch was looking for payback? He needed to plan it out carefully. He wouldn’t
be going alone, that would be foolish on his part. Nevertheless, that also
might scare Anya away too.

Dante headed for
his little sister’s tiny home. It was a spare cabin, one for the newly mated to
get settled in until their own was built. So far, Alex and Cora’s house was
coming along nicely, he thought as he approached the nearly completed structure
on his way to talk to Alex. The entire pack was helping to build it in their
spare time. It would have been done sooner, but given the time of year, other things
had to be done first. Dante could make out the sounds of hammering coming from
within the house and knew his sister’s mate was there. Now he didn’t need to go
to all the way to the spare cabin just to talk with Alex.

“Hey, mind if I
come in?” he asked as he stepped through the door-less entry.

“We’re up here!”
he heard Alex say from the roof.

After making his
way up, he saw Alex and Memphis working. The two had become fast friends, and
Memphis now spent a great deal of time with both Cora and Alex. It was odd how
much Alex reminded Dante of Anya. It was just small things, like the way he
smiled or cocked his head. It was the same as his sister.

“Hey, it’s
coming together nicely,” Dante said as he eyed their handiwork.

“Yeah, it’s not
too bad. We think the roof will be done by tomorrow night,” Alex said as he
wiped the sweat from his brow.

“I need to talk
to you about your sister.”

“Oh? What about
her?” Alex raised eyebrow.

“I want your
permission to have her as my mate.”

 He only needed
one of the brothers’ consent. That way he wasn’t bending or breaking any laws.

“What makes you
think she wants you?”

“Here, I got
this today,” Dante said and passed the letter over.

Alex read the
short note, looking bemused as he did. He then turned his attention back to
Dante.

“Yeah, you have
my permission,” he said with a smile.

* * * *

After her bags
were placed in the spare room, Craig showed Anya around the isolated farmhouse.
Craig explained the rules he expected her to follow as they walked. She’d tuned
him out when he’d told her he expected his meals ready when he got home, and
for them to be in bed at a decent hour. The only good thing about it was she
had access to his car. He’d said she could use it whenever she needed. That
would make getting to the fountain on Friday a lot easier.

For the rest of
that evening she stayed in the bedroom he’d assigned her. She really had no
desire to get better acquainted with the man. Anya needed to get out of this
arranged mating, and the sooner the better. She was just entering another heat
cycle, and thoughts of being there alone with Craig made her uneasy. When he
looked at her, she became nervous, almost afraid, and her instincts told her
she might be in trouble.

Her attempts to
fall sleep proved hard. She could hear Craig snoring in the next room, and it
had her wanting to stuff earplugs into her ears. The bed was not hers, and none
of her things looked right in the room either. She wanted Dante, his rustic
home and the tranquility of his village. It took until the wee hours of the
morning before she eventually drifted to sleep.