Red:
My eyes were wide with shock and I processed what Luca was telling me. Nicholai murdered his own father. Taking his hand, the walk back to my family's homes was quiet as we both continued in silence.
Once we met Jac, Luca excused himself to go change and let the rest of his pack know about tonight. Reaching the door to my cabin, I asked Jac to go let Rose and Dan know that we would be joining his pack for dinner. He thankfully agreed without argument, leaving me to enter my studio alone. I needed to put some things away.
I was not lying when I said that I was not provided with a picture of Luca's wolf, but that didn't mean that I hadn't painted the large white frame of the beast with the striking blue eyes that seemed to haunt my dreams.
There were pictures of him everywhere, from all angles, in the barren icy landscape. Gathering them all, I quickly stuffed them into a drawer in the back of my studio. Doing some general tidying I quickly tore through my cabin making it more presentable before turning on the water in my shower.
Carefully stripping off my clothes, I let the warm water run down my shoulders and back, easing the tension from my muscles. The ache in my shoulder was lessening, but the archery tournament earlier today still took its toll on the rest of my muscles.
Hearing my door open, I called down to Jac that I would be ready in a few minutes.
Exiting the shower, I wrapped myself in a towel mind a million miles away walking into my bedroom while combing my fingers through my hair.
My breath caught in my throat as I came face to face with Luca standing in my room, looking out the front facing window. He had changed into a fitted V-neck black, short sleeve shirt and deep blue jeans that I immediately imagined tearing off. Down girl, I repeated in my head. Turning to appraise my flushed expression his eyes turned that deep shade of blue that I love.
His scent mixed with mine in the small space was enough to make my head swim as I almost lost my grip on the towel. His eyes flicked down, his expression hungry for more.
My feet carried me towards him without thought or decision. Looking up into his face, he brushed his knuckles against my cheek, lighting sparks beneath my skin.
Our lips crashed together before I could react, driven by instinct alone I felt his strong hands on my back, lifting me up to grant better access to my mouth. Growling deep in my throat I nipped his lower lip, causing him to groan under my hands.
Pulling my thigh upward he carried me to lay back on the bed. My head was spinning from the sensations, my chest heaving under the think fabric of the towel. I ran my hands up his back, fingertips following the ridges of his muscles. Savoring all the small, delicious sounds and tremors that I elicited from my mate.
"Luca!" I gasped as he lowered his body onto mine, the pressure from his hips on mine alone was enough to make me go crazy. His hand still holding my thigh began to sink lower as he gripped the bare skin of my behind.
Intertwining his fingers in my hair, he pulled my head to the side roughly as I felt his mouth move along my jawline, down my neck and to my shoulder. I gasped at the sensation as his teeth scraped over my bare skin.
"Luca, wait –" I stammered. I knew what he wanted to do, what his wolf wanted to do but I wasn't ready yet.
He growled, pulling back to stare down into my eyes, his own now completely overtaken by the deep blue of his wolf's. My breathing was still ragged as I moved my hands to push his chest up lightly.
With a groan, he let me, shifting to lie next to me. "I'm sorry, I can't seem to control myself around you." He chuckled. "You have to know how unlike me that is."
I laughed in turn. "Would you believe me if I said that yesterday was my first kiss?"
I felt the bed creak as he propped himself up on an elbow to hover over me. "Really?" He questioned, worry leaving his features as he smiled wide.
There was that smile again, the one that made my heart ache. I nodded, blushing. "You should know that I don't have..." I struggled for the right words. "Experience."
He trailed his hand gently over my chin. "I don't expect you to give me anything you're not ready for Red."
I smiled, at his reassurance. "Besides, there are things...things that you need to know about me and my wolf before you mark me."
"Nothing will change my mind, I promise." He murmured.
Gathering my bravery, I stood pacing across my room.
I spoke quickly. "There's also so much we don't know about each other. Like, what did you talk so long with Dan about last night? What exactly did he tell you about the orphans and me?"
I took another breath, letting it all out. "Also, when I was competing with Christian earlier today, he mentioned when he first met you. And I didn't get the sense that he was kidding, but his story left me genuinely confused."
"Everyone we seem to meet is immediately suspicious of my being around you. Why is that? I'm not the jealous type...normally. But I just want to know why I seem so out of place."
"Then, speaking to Poppy today, she told me about what it was like taking on the responsibility of a Luna. Is that something you want? If so, I'll have to move away from here to join your pack, how quickly does that have to happen?"
He groaned, shifting to sit at the edge of my bed. Taking my hand, he stopped my frantic pacing. I knelt in front of him, evening my breathing to stop the hammering pace of my heart.
"Red, I know you have questions, a lot of them." He smiled. "I don't want to hide anything from you, but for ease of order, why don't we start slow."
I nodded, swallowing my nerves. Looking deeply into his eyes, I spoke. "Luca, how old are you?"
Luca:
Starting off with a gut punch I see? My wolf sneered. Well the faster you answer her questions, the sooner I can meet her wolf, so get on with it. He commanded.
I inhaled deeply, "Red, Dan told me that him and Rose have kept you and the others...sheltered. For lack of a better word, how much do you know about wolf history?"
"I know the general stories, about the wolves of old. I know that a powerful Alpha can live for a long time, like Alpha Atlas." She responded, I nodded at her words.
I chose my words carefully. "There are some wolves, whose spirits roamed the world long before they inhabited human forms. When the first humans were bound to wolf spirits by the gods, it was to unite their two worlds. The world of the beast and the world of man, resulting in the creation of the first werewolves. The children of this generation, were born not as human infants, but as cubs who were more than mortal. The wolf spirits that roamed the plains chose which child to bind themselves to, that is why the wolves of old have their own legends, and their kin carry gifts from the gods."
She nodded in understanding, eyes focused on mine.
I continued, "Have you heard of the legend of a wolf spirit named Lucian?"
She furrowed her brows in concentration, "Yes, he was the wolf granted the gift of, was it light and energy, by the gods?"
I nodded slowly. "Dan told me that you and some of the other orphans have...abilities." She averted her eyes, her expression overtaken with worry.
"Luca, I –" she stammered.
I took her face in my hands, "Red, I could never hurt you and I promise to protect you from whatever it is you fear." She looked up at me, her big eyes full of emotion.
Taking a final deep breath, I went for the plunge. "Red, Lucian is my wolf. My human form is 412 years old, I am a direct descendent of the original spirits who guarded the arctic planes when the gods bound the first wolves with human flesh. And my gift from the gods...is that of lightning."
Red:
My eyes searched his face for any trace of humor or unwanted emotion. The only thing that crossed his features was sincere honesty.
"Alright." I breathed.
"Alright?" His eyes searched my face. She is taking this better than I thought, his wolf chided in his head. Agreed, he thought in return.
"Red, if you need time or...space" his voice lowered at the last word. "I understand, I just want to know that you will give this, give us a chance before you –" His words dropped off as he averted his gaze.
"Before I what Luca?" I asked incredulously.
"Before you consider accepting me, or rejecting me." He whispered.
I laughed, I couldn't help it. He met my eyes, with a look of pure confusion. I jumped into his arms, pushing him back onto my bed. My lips found his in a deep kiss, trying to impart every ounce of sincerity that I could through our shared touch.
After a long moment, I pulled back to take a deep breath. "Luca, yes, that's a lot of information. I always figured I'd date an older guy, that's just a lot older than I was expecting." I laughed more as his expression softened. "And no, I will not reject you, you crazy wolf." He smirked at that.
My tone grew serious, "Luca, there is a part of me, part of my wolf that I haven't told anyone about. I don't want to hurt you."
"I'll do anything for you Red, please don't be afraid. I trust you, you can tell me anything."
"It's not something I can explain with words, but I can show you." My eyes pleaded with him for understanding.
"There is a place, about an hour's drive from here, it's an open plain. I go there to try to...control it."
"Tomorrow then. We'll leave, just you and me." He promised me, pulling me close. I felt him kiss the top of my head. "I'm yours Red."
I smiled into his chest, letting this feeling of completeness warm my being.