Meredith
The faint sound of a clicking camera and a flash of light wakes me from my blissful nap. I sleepily blink my eyes open, noticing the heavy but comforting weight behind me. I'm still laying on the sofa where I fell asleep and the weight behind me is Eliot. His arm is resting on my hip with his hand spread out against my bump. I turn around slightly, smiling at his innocent features as he sleeps soundly. He must have fallen asleep after I did.
"You two are so cute!" Her excited whisper has me turning towards the culprit that interrupted my sleep.
Emily is standing in front of the coffee table with a camera clutched in her grasp. She's smiling from ear to ear and when I raise an eyebrow at her in question, she squeals like a hyper kid on Christmas and motions with her hands to the both of us.
"I couldn't resist just one little picture. You were just cuddled up with him and both of you were sleeping with smiles on your faces. It was just too cute to pass up."
I laugh quietly shaking my head at her. If I know Emily as much as I think I do, she's going to get a frame and print that photo out to display around the house somewhere. It really wouldn't surprise me.
Glancing back at Eliot, I lay back down bringing his arm tighter around me. I'm too comfortable to move, I don't know when I'll ever get to lay with him like this again. Although we did kiss in the kitchen, we haven't really discussed it since. I'm not too sure where Eliot and I stand at the moment in regards to our relationship, or lack of it. I know we're mates and everything, I can feel the connection we have but he just seems so distracted lately. He's busy a lot of the time and then once he's finalised the deal, we'll be leaving to his home. I don't know when we'll get the time to sit down and talk.
"OK, I'm just going to leave you two alone." Em winks at me as she leaves and I laugh softly.
I know she wants us together. I remember when Em and I first met, we were discussing my relationship with Jack and she told me that I deserved the kind of love she has with Chase. Now I know what she really means. She means the love of a mate. I know she really wants that for me after everything that's happened with Jack.
I see Emily and Chase together, how much love they have for each other and to have that kind of love would be amazing. I do hope that one day Eliot and I can be like that. It would end the nightmare I've been living.
I lay with Eliot for a little longer with closed eyes, just relaxing. He soon stirs from sleep, groaning sleepily as he tightens his hold on me. He shifts behind me and then I feel his eyes on my face. With still closed eyes, I feel as he gently smooths my hair away from my eyes and traces my features with the tip of his finger. I can't help it, I smile before giggling softly.
I hear Eliot chuckle as I open my eyes.
"I knew you were awake." He whispers smiling down at me.
"How?"
"Your breathing was too quiet and you twitched when I touched you."
"That doesn't prove anything."
"OK well, I heard Emily talking to you." I gasp and slap his shoulder receiving his deep laugh in response. I seriously love his laugh. It's so attractive.
"You were awake!"
Eliot nods as he lays back down and pulls me into his arms. I turn over onto my other side so I'm facing him and rest my head on his chest. My bump is in the way a little but Eliot doesn't mention it, he just squeezes me closer to him.
"Did she take a picture of us?" He asks.
"Yep. I think she's going to frame it."
"Sounds about right."
I smile as silence settles around us once again. It's nice to see Eliot relaxing. He's been so stressed lately and I haven't been able to spend much time with him. I can't recall much of what he told me right before I fell asleep but I think he's close to closing the deal with whoever it is to buy the land here. He was on a phone call to his father earlier when the discovery of the note happened so he must be keeping his father updated.
"Tell me about your parents." I request as I rest my chin on his chest to stare at him.
He looks down at me with slight surprise on his face but nevertheless nods.
"OK well, my father's name is Anthony. He is the son of the late Alpha Hunt to the White Crescent Wolves. You see, packs are named either after a family heirloom, a strong trait within the pack or a unique feature of the wolves born into the pack. In our pack, when wolves mate, a white crescent symbol appears on the shoulder of each wolf. White represents good nature and loyalty whereas the crescent relates to our heritage." I listen with interest as he explains it to me.
He hasn't really gone into great detail on his heritage as a wolf so it's fascinating to hear. It seems there's so much more meaning behind being a wolf as there is to be a human.
"My father is mated to my mother Claire. They met at my father's coming of age celebration. He was eighteen of course and my mother was only sixteen. Mum was from the Crimson Claw pack and daughter of the Beta so they make a pretty strong couple. The Crimson Claw is their heirloom. But anyway, dad says that when he first laid eyes on mum, he knew she was the one. They became close rather quickly and shortly after my mum's seventeenth birthday, she moved in with my dad and became the newest member of the White Crescent Wolves."
"Love at first sight?" I ask quietly.
"From what they've told me. Two years later, my parents took over the pack and became the Alpha and Luna. Shortly afterwards my mum found out that she was pregnant. The rest is history."
I lean up on my elbow to look down at him as he raises his arms to fold underneath his head. If I was to guess, I would say he probably gets his looks from his father but his personality from his mother.
"What kind of people are they?"
Eliot gazes at me softly and reaches over to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear before answering. I'm caught by his mesmerising eyes.
"Dad has the whole tough Alpha facade going on but when he's with his family, he's the softest man you'll ever meet. Family is everything to him. Mum has the soft personality, motherly instincts for every single member of the pack but mess with her pups and she'll rain hell on your sorry arse." I giggle at the expression. It seems that mumma Hunt is a force to be reckoned with if you mess with her family.
"She reminds me of you." His quietly murmured words I hear just as I'm about to lay back down.
I sit back up on my elbow, I'm sure my face showed surprise at his confession. He also seems surprised at his own words, or maybe that he admitted it to me.
"Really?"
Eliot brushes his thumb over the skin of my cheek, gazing at me with such tenderness that it makes my stomach flutter nervously.
"You've lost so much... dealt with so much heartbreak and betrayal and yet you're still the sweetest and most kind-hearted woman I've ever met. You're strong, just like my mother. She'll love you."
I have to look away from the intensity in his eyes, the pure truth that shines from them at his words. It pulls at my emotions and brings tears to my eyes. After having just Jack for so many years, you forget how it feels to be appreciated, to matter to someone and mostly you forget the kind of person you are.
Since meeting these people, these wolves, I've discovered a whole new side to myself. I've remembered how it feels to be genuinely happy and enjoy myself. I have friends now and people that really care about me. These people have defended me against everything and supported me when I've had no one else.
They've saved me from a life of misery and I couldn't be more thankful.
Eliot shifts us so I'm laying on my back and he's above me, supporting his weight with his arms that are resting on either side of my head. A tear escapes my eye and trails down my cheek. Eliot kisses it away, his soft lips pressing lightly against my cheek.
"I couldn't have met a more perfect woman to be my mate." He breathes in my ear.
I suck in a sharp breath as my heart pounds in my chest.
"Even though I'm human?" I reply, almost afraid of what he'll say. Will it matter to his pack that I'm human?
"More so because of that. Being human is what makes you kind. Special."
He lifts his head slowly to face me, sparks dancing between the very small space of our bodies as our eyes meet with a surge of energy.
"So where does that leave us?"
"We'll do it the human way." I raise my brows in question. He leans down closer to my lips.
"Meredith Ann Brooks... Will you be my girlfriend?" Our lips are almost touching.
"I thought you would never ask." I breathe with a bright smile.
I see the small twitch in the corner of his lips before they meet mine.
I'm officially Eliot Hunt's girlfriend.
Now doesn't that sound amazing?
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