LILA’S P. O. V.
My birthday party is finally here. Not that I am all that thrilled any more. Before I knew I would find my mate here. Now I know who it is. That question resounds in my brain. Does he really need me to even out, or is he just an evil man? I’m still a little scared. I don’t think he is so evil any more. But fear is a bitch.
I have been sleeping like crap for days, the nightmares still haven’t stopped, it’s worse without Mateo. He would hold me until the nightmare subsided. Now without him it doesn’t stop. I don’t feel better. I wake up screaming and choking on air. My mom is not too thrilled with the nightmares. She wants to fix it now. I think the only one that can is Mateo.
I am dancing with the guests when Eli approaches me. His smile still lights me up. Sure not the same as before, but he does. “Can I cut in?” The no name Alpha that I am dancing with bows out. Ok, I am sure he has a name but I wasn’t paying enough attention to get it.
Eli wraps his arms around me, taking me to the center of the floor. “I am so glad that we found you. I don’t know what I would do without my best friend.” He hugs me a little tighter. This is the man who gave me my first kiss. The man that I thought I would spend the rest of my life with.
“Yeah, I’m glad too. Your mate seems great. I am glad you found someone who could put up with you.” I jest.
He laughs. “Yeah, I’m sure you’ll find someone who can put up with you too. It seems like you didn’t tonight but someday you will.”
As if the world is against me, I catch his scent. He isn’t even supposed to be here. I look around and he is close by, dancing with my aunt Zoe. “I didn’t know Mateo was going to be here.” I state before I can stop myself.
Eli looks around. “Oh, yeah, the guy who found you. I think he was invited last minute. As a thank you for finding you. Normally he isn’t invited to much. It’s rumored he has no manners. I know your parents are really grateful to him at the moment though.”
I groan, of course they are. They don’t know that he is the one that took me in the first place. “Sometimes my parents can be overly grateful. It’s not like he did that much.”
Eli looks confused. “He found you and made sure you were well and brought you home. That is a big deal.” He looks at me harder. “Is there something you aren’t telling us?”
“No,” I all but shouted out. I can’t let them know what really happened. “It’s just he himself didn’t do much. His pack did, not him.” It sounds rushed and panicked. Eli was always able to tell when I was lying. He is going to catch it.
He gives me a look that says he isn’t buying it. “Lila what is going on? You never sound like this.”
I see a hand appear and tap Eli on the shoulder. He turns and looks at who is interrupting him. Eli looks irritated. Then when he sees that it is Mateo he doesn’t soften. “May I cut it? I would like a chance to dance with the birthday girl.” Mateo adds a smile towards the end.
I can tell that Eli is trying to gauge the situation to see if it is a good idea. After a minute he relents. “Sure,” Then he turns back to me. “Lila, you and I are going to talk about this later.” He kisses my forehead. Something that he has always done. Then leaves me with my nightmare. Ok, he really isn’t my nightmare, but when I am still confused it is.
Mateo takes me into his arms and I feel it instantly. It’s been two days since he has touched me and I am falling apart. I feel my body shudder, and he doesn’t miss it. He pulls me close and whispers in my ear. “Are you still fighting me, pet?” His lips barely brushed my ear.
“Mateo, you need to stop. Why are you here?” I am panting. Shit this is not good.
He chuckles. “Do you think I would miss wishing my mate a happy birthday? As for stopping, that isn’t going to happen. I need you.” His fingers are rubbing circles on the small of my back. “You look beautiful.”
I growl at him. “Don’t say the m word.”
He smiles. “What mate? MATE.” He says it a little louder. I look around. People are starting to look at us. Fuck this isn’t good.
I grab his arm and pull him off the dance floor. We grab a few more looks from people. I remember that the library is just down the hall so I took him there. We can have some privacy. When we enter, the lights are off. I flick them on and pull Mateo the rest of the way in the room. Closing the door behind us. As soon as the door is closed Mateo pins me to the door. “If you wanted me alone, pet, all you had to do was say so.”
I growl at him. “Mateo, I told you I don’t want them to know that you are my mate.”
He rolls his eyes at me. “They are going to know soon enough. You aren’t going to be able to keep fighting this. You know it as well as I do. Even now, your body is curving to match mine. Your neck is exposed to me. You want my mark.” He puts his lips to my neck to make a point. This dress is off the shoulders so it is all open for him. He kisses and pulls to me. I moan and pull him closer, my own body betraying me.
There is a flicker in the lights, this makes us break apart. I look towards the other entrance to the library. Standing in the doorway looking right at us is Daddy. His frame takes over the whole doorway. “Care to explain what is going on?”
Mateo still has a hold of me but he turns around to look at my Daddy, who has now moved closer. My dad was behind him and then my mom. He smiles at them. “We didn’t want to say anything just yet. Lila has found her mate.”
I hissed at him. “Shut up Mateo.”
My mom covers her mouth. Dad grounds his teeth. Daddy looks like he is about ready to punch Mateo in the face. My parents are not pleased. Daddy actually heads towards Mateo. Mom has to stop him. She pulls to the front of the men. “Lila, is this true?”
I can’t even look at them as I answer. “Yes.”
Dad pushes his way to the front. “Then you are going to reject him.”
Now I have to look at him. “Are you out of your mind? You of all people know what that would mean. You were rejected. Both of you were rejected. You honestly think I can do that to someone.” Daddy looks a little ashamed. Dad still isn’t backing down.
“I deserved it. So does he. I don’t care if he says he just found you. The story doesn’t add up. He is the one that kidnapped you, isn’t he?”
Mateo looks at my parents, “Yes, I did. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I wasn’t invited to this little party until I brought her home. There was no way to tell if she was my mate until her birthday. I felt it. I needed to know for sure. You both know what it is like when you find your mate. Even if they aren’t ready yet.”
Daddy growls at him. “You weren’t invited for good reason. Look at the wolf you are. You aren’t worthy of Lila.”
Mateo scoffs. “Look at the kettle calling the pot black. Who were you before you were mated?”
I look at Daddy. “What is he talking about Daddy?”
He looks ashamed. “What I did was out of anger and desperation. What you do is just who you are. There is a difference.” He isn’t looking me in the eyes.
Dad has no problem answering. “Gabe was a rogue leader before he met your mother. We didn’t want to tell you all the details that involved.”
A rogue leader. That means he attacked other packs. He hurt people. “Daddy, you didn’t.”
He sighs and looks up at me with tears in his eyes. “Yes, Princess, it’s true. I wasn’t in a good place. Your mom changed all that. But that is different from this. Mateo is not hurt; he was raised to be this way. His family was cruel. You can’t change him.”
Mateo scoffs. “You have no idea what I am like. You only know what you have heard. No one has bothered to get to know me since I took over the pack. They all assume I am just like my father.”
Dad yells at him. “You kidnapped my daughter.”
“Only because I knew you fools wouldn’t let me be around her. I had to know if she was my mate.” Mateo yells back. “And I was right. The goddess picked her for me. Who are you to tear us apart?”
Dad narrows his eyes at Mateo. “The goddess picked my mate too. I didn’t deserve her either. I hurt her in ways that I will never be able to fix for the rest of my life. You are not going to do that to my daughter.”
I put my hand up and stand in the middle of all of them. “This is my choice. I choose to accept Mateo or not. No one can make that choice for me. Now will all of you shut up for five minutes.” I can’t help the anger that I feel right now. I want to punch everything. But then a big part of me just wants to be alone with Mateo.
Daddy growls at me. “You will not talk to your parents like that.”
My mom stops him. “She’s right. We can’t make this choice for her. Just the same as I made the choice to be with Hunter in the first place. It was my choice. The same as it is her choice now. If she sees good in Mateo then we can’t stand in her way.” She looks on the verge of tears. I think she thinks I am going to make the same mistake as her.
Dad protests one more time. “Jas, baby, you know this can’t be good.”
Daddy growls. “Stop calling her that.”
Mom pushes them both. “Both of you get out of here. They need space. It is Lila’s choice and I will not have you two hot heads forcing her into something that she doesn’t want. Out.”
Both of my dads grumble, but they do what mom says. They leave the library with my mom closing the door. Mateo turns to me. “Well that was fun. Won’t Thanksgiving be great.” His sarcasm is dripping from his mouth.
“Well, you could have rejected me.” I point out. Hell, maybe he will. Make my life easier.
He sweeps me up in his arms. “If I was going to reject you, I wouldn’t have gone through all of this trouble. Don’t you ever suggest something like that again.” He brushes my hair off my neck. “I want to mark you. I am only waiting on you to let me.”
I shiver against his touch. “How do I know that you are not going to hurt me?” I whisper out.
He kisses my neck. “Did I hurt you at all while you were with me?”
I whimper. “No.”
He nibbles the spot where my mark should be. “Then what makes you think I would go through all of this to hurt you now?”
I smirk. “I don’t know. You are a little crazy.”
He growls. “Yeah, I am. Crazy without you. I need you Lila.”
I want to be in control. I reach up and pull his tie loose, dropping it to the floor. He smiles at the tie on the floor. “What are you doing, pet?”
“Shh,” I start to unbutton his shirt. Not all the way, just enough to pull over his shoulders. I hit the fifth button and decide that is enough. Sliding my hands on the inside of his shirt I glide along his chest taking the shirt with me as I pull it over his shoulders. I can hear his heart start to pick up pace. I pull closer and lick and kiss where his mark should be.
He grabs me tighter. “Don’t play with me, pet.” It’s not a demand, it’s a desperate plea for release.
Extending my canines I bite, right where the neck meets the shoulder. He hisses and then moans in pleasure. I pull away and lick the blood up. I doubt we would have a chance to clean up, so this is what I am doing. He leans over me and bites down. I feel euphoric as his canines break skin. All these emotions break free from me. I want Mateo. I had some doubts before but now there is nothing. He is mine and I am his.
He licks the blood up much as I did. I watch as the mark changes on his shoulder to both our names in a swirling script, inside a heart. He kisses the new mark. “My Luna.”
I grab his collar and pull him close. “My Alpha.” Then for the first time, I kissed him. I kiss Mateo like he is my breath.
He is breathing heavily when we pull apart. “We better get back to your party. If not, they are going to think that I kidnapped you again.” He kisses my nose. “But later, I am not letting you leave my bed.”
I laugh. “Well, your bed is pretty far away. How are you going to manage that?”
He rolls his eyes. “What is yours is mine. Your bed, pet.”
I start buttoning his shirt back up. “What makes you think you are going to get that far?”
He pulls me closer. “I have been very patient, pet. Every part of you drives me crazy. You can’t possibly want me to wait longer.” He is whining, not demanding. That’s what I wanted to hear.
“Depends on if you are a good boy or not. Are you my good Alpha?” I brush my lips against his.
He purrs. “Oh, I am a good Alpha. I want to show you just how good I am.”
I pull away and smile. “Good, now let’s go back to the party.” I have a chipper tone. He knew I was playing with him. I turn away from him and start to walk away. He catches my wrist and pulls me back.
“You are going to be the death of me. Just one kiss before we go back in there.” I smile and oblige him. I feel his kiss all the way to my toes. Deep and needy, he pulls me as close as possible. “You are my Luna now. Mine. My mate.”
“As much as you are mine. My Alpha.” I give him a chaste kiss on the lips and then pull him after me back to the party.