ETHEREAL

11

Days passed, as did weeks and slowly, and so very sure, as did months. They were no closer to finding who was behind the attack that fateful night, and despite this being a constant threat in Dante's mind, little Rosa had come to accept what had happened. She refused to let it eat her alive; she declined for one to take away the time she cherished with her mate and poison it with terror. Only a fool could claim that she had moved on with her life with no fear, for it still played on her mind on the odd occasion, but she had to be strong. They couldn't win.

It was a mid-afternoon in January, and it was a relatively quiet day. She had spent most of her morning in the gardens, helping out with the chores that needed to be done. She knew it wasn't appropriate for a Luna to be doing jobs as such, especially not one of her status however it brought her joy and that was enough for her, Dante and the pack to welcome her in doing so. She had helped trim the bushes, water the flowers, and she even had a little notebook monitoring the health of all the plants to which she had found the greatest pleasure in naming. It was an activity she enjoyed doing alone, although recently she had started to crave Dante's attention more. It felt selfish to ask someone of his power, status and role to focus on her when he had so much to do during the day - it made her feel even guiltier to know that all she had to do was ask and he would abandon everything for her. A faint smile graced her face at the thought. Her Alpha. Her mate. Her Dante.

She didn't care that dirt had found itself to smear on her knees, and slightly on her left cheek. She didn't care that her hair must have looked like a nest as it sloppily sat in a bun, barely held together by a satin scrunched. She most certainly did not care that her dungarees probably had holes in them, with dirt and other substances stained onto the denim whilst the white shirt underneath sat un-ironed. With her dirty gardening gloves, she planted the new bed of fresh red roses with a grin. She hadn't told Dante of her new plan, but she intended on creating a rose section dedicated to the night they had first met, where he had so romantically given his little Rosa a rose. She couldn't think of the moment without feeling like she had exploded in love, for she honestly had no idea what she did to deserve a mate like him.

The irony was it was he who did not deserve her, according to the Alpha of course. A woman so pure-hearted, kind and warm that cared not for his tyrant past but rather looked towards a future where he could be better, stronger whilst still valuing equality. The biggest surprise that came out of Dante's love for Rosa was the high level of respect that came with it. It was no secret that many Alphas had an ego problem, one that did not exclude their mates, meaning respect was unfortunately rare in their world. The long wait that had been bestowed upon Dante regarding finding his mate had most certainly taught him the value of his little Rosa. He did not care for her looks nor her status - he cared about how she made him feel, so secure, so protected. Indeed, it was ironic that she thought she did not deserve him when she made him feel things that he could conjure in his wildest of dreams. Perhaps that was precisely what she was. A dream. A beautiful, captivating plan that he viewed he would never wake from. 

As she busied herself with gardening, she hardly realised the chilly air outside, nor the sun slowly beginning to bid its goodbye to the sweet world, allowing its partner to start their sweet ascent. Dante sighed in an exhausted manner, running his hands through his hair as he walked beside Lon through the packhouse. Another irony. House was hardly what they would call it, rather a manor but it seemed rather tasteless to call it such according to the Alpha himself. He had been in essential pack meetings since 8 in the morning, and now with it being 5 in the afternoon, all he craved was the sweet scent of his love.

"Don't need me for the rest of tonight, right?" Lon asked with a slight grin on his face, knowing that Dante also wanted nothing more than to return to their mates who were off doing things respectively.