"I should kill him!" Danny growled as he paced my room. He had placed me gently on my bed when he had made it to my room (I was surprised my dad hadn't changed a thing). I had to tell him at least a hundred times, in the past minute, that I didn't want him to go after Wyatt; but his wolf kept his need for vengeance boiling over.
"Danny please- I swear I never want to see him again- please calm down. Owen took care of him-"
"But I didn't. Do you know how hard it was for me not to tear that weak human limb from limb?!" He asked, his fists clenching and shaking at his sides. I knew he was worked up, his wolf must be howling for blood, but I couldn't take anymore violence.
"Danny I chose to stay- he reacted terribly, but it's over." I cried. He sighed and sat beside me on the edge of the bed. He brushed a piece of hair behind my ear and rubbed my scalp, causing me to finally quiet my cries, and sigh in relief. He still looked furious, but he was holding it back so well. He really was more mature than his birth age led on. Not just in the face and body, but mentally it seemed as well.
"Do you promise you'll stay? If you go back to him- I can't- I- I'll tear him to pieces- I swear to god..." He growled again as he looked out and past the window, and I could tell he was imaging it now. I winced as I sat up.
"Don't move too much." He said quickly and firmly. He helped me up, scooting closer and propping my back up with a pillow. His face was still filled with hatred, his eyes still distant as he imagined Wyatt's demise by his hands, and I knew my reactions to the pain only made it worse. He growled and looked down. "He hurt you Coralie, I can't just sit here..." He seethed. I tried to figure out how to put words together to calm him, but I couldn't. So I did what my wolf told me to do.
I leaned over and pressed my lips to his. In his shock he froze. He didn't react. And then, like his brain had rebooted from pure malice to pure aching longing love, he kissed me back, touched my hair softly as his hand rose to cup my face. He pulled me in closer. I had never expected to do this so suddenly, but my wolf had screamed for it, for me to silence his anger with the only thing greater. Love- lust- whatever this was.
It felt like the world was imploding and exploding all at once. Like nothing but him and this kiss existed. His lips held so much passion and craving for me. He deepened it by leaning his head as our lips separted for only a moment, then he continued to kiss me with such care... I felt like I was reborn by it. Like no other kiss or sharing of emotions had ever existed before him. Before this. Our first real kiss.
He tore away as he panted, as if he was using all his strength to not push the kiss further, to kiss me the way he really wanted to. The way my wolf screamed for him to.
"F*ck..." He gasped as he drew in a long breath, his hand letting go of my face.
"Danny- I-"
"Cora!" My dad burst through the door. For a brief moment I definitely saw Danny's teenager side by the way he reacted, stumbling to sit away from me in shock and then standing instantly, quickly at attention to the Alpha.
"Sir." Danny said with a nod, with a nervous clearing of his throat. He looked from my dad and then to Frea behind him, who giggled behind her hand as she covered her mouth.
"Are you okay!?" My dad asked urgently as he crouched by my side- obviously unaware of the situation that Frea had seen clearly, or just too concerned for my well being to care.
"Yeah dad, I'm okay." I said with a weary tired smile. The pain in my side hadn't subsided at all, and I swear I could feel the bruise forming.
"What happened?" My dad asked as he stood up and looked to Danny for answers.
"Coralie has decided to stay Sir." He said, and he couldn't help but smile proudly, before regaining his silent strong obedience. "She told Wyatt and he... He hurt Coralie- I wanted to kill him sir- but Owen and Cora stopped me. Owen beat him to a pulp and Coralie asked me to take her away from it. So I did... Sir" He nodded when he finished, his arms still behind his back, the ever obedient recruit.
"Daniel..." My dad smiled at him proudly, both hands on his shoulders now. "I am never disappointed by your maturity and self control. Any other man would have killed him- but again you prove you truly are mind over matter." My dad had that proud twinkle in his eye he got when he felt like he had accomplished something. The fatherly pride all Alphas have in their younger pack members.
"I wanted to sir- But my wolf is obedient to Coralie- completely- even when it finds her decisions and requests hard to follow. I realised she was right- I have learned through many aspects in life that acting before thinking isn't always best. I would have killed him though... If Coralie hadn't stopped me, Sir." He cleared his throat and looked down momentarily before looking up again with a serious face. My dad sighed.
"But you didn't- and I'm proud of you..." My dad smiled and came to sit beside me, leaving Danny to stand at attention until instructed otherwise. My dad held my hand and smiled sadly at me. "I'm sorry you had to go through that little cub- I should have been there..."
"No Daddy- don't worry. Owen took care of it." I sniffled. He nodded, though I knew he wanted to apologise a million more times if he could.
"Where's your brother and Wyatt now?" He asked.
"I'm pretty sure Wyatt unconscious- Owen was going to drive him home, him and Sam are getting my things. I want to move home Dad. I want to be a wolf again." I smiled wearily as he smiled proudly back. Tears in both of our eyes.
"I'm so glad little cub. I'm so glad." He hugged me loosely enough not to hurt me.
"I'm sorry Frea- I didn't mean to ruin your party- I wasn't planning to do any of that but- but-" I almost began to cry again.
"- But... you saw Danny and realised you were never gonna leave." She chuckled with a quirky over emphasised wink, one I had seen grace her face many times as kids. I laughed and nodded quietly.
"Oh really..." My dad looked over his shoulder at Danny, who's face turned red and eyes grew a bit wide.
"Sir." Danny cleared his throat and nodded. There was a moment of silence, then suddenly-
My dad burst out in a booming laughter.
"Well- I knew this day would come." He chuckled. "Took you long enough... Both of you!" He sighed. "I'm in for a load of trouble." He chuckled standing up. I looked at him confused. "I swear in gonna lock your door at night..." He pretended to groan as he leaves the room past Frea.
"Dad I'm twenty four-"
"Not yours, his." He shook his head, "I'll check on you later." He chuckled as he retreated down the hall.
I looked to Frea for answers, Danny was already red with embarrassment.
"Lover boy here moved in two weeks ago so he could be closer to the rest of the head men of the pack." Frea giggled again. "I guess it's going to be tight quarters for all of us, I moved in a week ago too." She smiled wide. I swallowed nervously. "Well... I have a party to finish attending. I'll see you both later." She smiled smugly and left without another word.
As soon as she was gone Danny sighed, relieving himself of his obedient stance.
"Well that went better than expected." He said, cracking a smile. I laughed as he began to as well, but winced as the pain in my side vibrated trough me again. Danny instantly was at my side, a sadness across his face.
"Don't worry Danny." I chuckled softly. "I just need to sleep it off..." I sighed. I wanted to protest sleep. I wanted to stay awake if only to stare in admiration at his handsome face, to listen to his smooth voice tell me everything about him I missed, but sleep was pulling me in quickly. I yawned loudly and eased back into a laying position.
"How can I not worry about you?" He asked as he helped me get comfortable. I had an instant memory of the look of fear and pain on his face when he was a child, coming out of the forest having just witnessed the mass murder of his family. Now a shadow of that look was on his face, mixed with the anger from earlier. I smiled at him, trying to hide any ounce of pain. "I will worry about you everyday for the rest of my life, just like I've worried about you every day since the moment I met you..." He smiled at me warmly, kissed my forehead. "Do you need anything?" He asked. I shook my head and yawned. "Well you do need sleep." He chuckled.
"I can't- I don't want to- I just want to be with you..."
"I'm not going anywhere." He smiled. He stood up to grab my desk chair, and carried it across the room, as I fought to stay awake. He placed it right next to my bed and sat down. He held my hand as my eyes fluttered open and closed, trying to take in just a few more moments with him before sleep tugged at my eyelids.
"Promise you'll stay..." I said as sleep took over.
"I swear Coralie..."
Authors Note:
The image for this chapter seems unrelated, but that's Fred Ward, he plays in one of my favorite cult classic movies, "Tremors" , and he's EXACTLY who I imagine would be Cora's dad lol! I just had to put that picture, because he plays the role so well in my head and it's always cracking me up 😂😂😂!!!)