Beloved

3

At last school bell on Monday, Dante was leaning against Lucas' locker, tapping his heel impatiently. He'd gone to her personal locker in the morning, but she'd never shown up. He'd since learned she hadn't used her locker since the previous year.

"Um, hi alpha," Lucas said as nonchalantly as he could muster. "Can I get in my locker? Please?"

Dante's eyes landed on the boy. Decent student. Promising scout, passing warrior. Had a head for technology. Dante stood away from the locker and watched the boy open it.

"Where's your friend, Lucas."

"My friend?"

"Yes. Your friend. The shorter one."

"You mean Gaia? She'll be here in a minute-"

Dante's nose caught the scent of summer at his beach house and his eyes scanned the crowd, locking onto Gaia. She'd slowed her approach upon seeing him. "She's here. Don't say a word." He clenched his jaw watching her. As soon as Gaia was by Lucas' locker, Dante said, "Get your things Gaia, I'm taking you home."

Hearing his voice usually erupted a swarm of butterflies in Gaia's belly. Hearing his voice right now, directed at her, combined with his scent hit lower in her gut, making her pause a moment before gathering what she needed for the evening.

"It's okay, alpha," Darla said, "I can take her home."

Dante's gaze shot to the taller girl. Good student. Definitely a warrior, though behind her potential since she started training late.

"I said I will take her home." His eyes locked on Gaia once more. He was pleased to see she seemed ready, though unsure of what to do. "Gaia. Come." He turned on his heel and made for the exit.

"But I don't go home directly after school." Gaia found she had to run to keep up with his lanky stride.

"Today you do."

"But I need to study and I study at the library." They were already in the parking lot. How had they gotten here so fast? "With my friends." She was breathing hard from the exertion of following him while carrying the burden of her schoolwork.

"Study at home."

"But why?"

He opened his car door and pressed the button unlocking the other doors. "Get in."

Gaia stood on the other side of Dante's car, staring wide-eyed at him, catching her breath. This new reaction of her body every time he spoke was making her nervous.

"I said get in." He slid into his seat, closing his own door and watched her hesitation for another moment before reaching over and opening the door. Was he going to have to use the alpha voice with this girl? "Get in, now."

Gaia slid into the car putting her bag at her feet, closed the door and buckled the safety straps, slumping dejectedly. "Is this about your birthday?" His warm, rich earthy scent permeated the car, calming her nerves. She breathed in deeply.

"What?" He glanced at her as he started the car. Her flushed cheeks and wide eyes were as alluring as her scent.

Her breath hitched when her eyes met his intense gaze, momentarily mesmerized by his baby blue eyes. She wet her lips, then explained, "On your birthday. You found your mate. Only your mate wasn't who you were expecting."

He put his car into gear and pulled out of the spot. "No, my mate is not who I was expecting. Or who I want. How old are you?"

"I turned seventeen at the end of April." Her voice pitched high and soft, betraying the pressure of tears building. She sat up straight and blinked rapidly as she stared out her window, and focused on her breathing.

Dante gave her a double-take. Their bond was stronger than he imagined if she could sense it so young. It also complicated his relationship with Angelica. For the safety of the pack he needed Gaia to move into the pack house with him, and he wouldn't be able to reject her without harming her until he could find a witch.

Angelica wouldn't like it one bit, but he wasn't about to sacrifice an innocent life for anyone. It was his duty to protect every single member of his pack, and that was a duty he took seriously.

He drove in silence for a short distance before saying, "Don't tell anyone."

"But I-"

"I know you told Lucas and Darla, but don't tell anyone else."

A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. She hastily swiped it.

When they reached her house, Gaia's voice was soft as she asked, "What now? Are you going to reject me?"

"You're too young yet. But you have to move in with me. Friday. I'll pick you up at five o'clock sharp. You have the rest of the week to pack. Just necessities. I don't want any of your girlie nonsense littering my house. Just clothes and your toothbrush."

Her heart cracked. "But my mom-" the dam broke. Gaia turned away from him sniffling, tears starting trails down her cheeks.

"What about her?" Dante kept his eyes forward, off her.

"I can't leave...she's all I have," Gaia choked a sob and wrapped her arms around herself, "I'm all she has! I can't leave her!"

"You have until the end of the week."

"What am I supposed to tell my mom?"

"Figure it out, but don't mention we're mates. Bye." Dante reached across to once again open her door, then he unbuckled her from the seat and gestured for her to leave the car.

Gaia shook her head at him, but gathered her bag and climbed out of the car. She mumbled, "Bye."

She barely closed the door and Dante was pulling away, forcing her to back up quickly to avoid him running over her toes.

She went up to her door, retrieved the spare key from the hollow frog, and entered her house. She went straight to her bedroom, kicked off her shoes and curled up in bed. Her pillow was soon wet with her tears.

She heard her phone buzz and found it in its pocket in her bag. She had missed texts from her friends. They wanted to know if she was ok. Had he rejected her. Was she still alive. Did she understand the lab work for Chemistry. Would they see her in the morning.

The phone battery was low. She hooked it to the charger and began to reply to the texts. She was ok, and alive. She wasn't rejected. She hadn't looked at the lab work since class, but it looked standard. She hoped to see one of them in the morning, otherwise she'd miss out on training, and there were rules about that.

__

Dante drove aimlessly through the territory and around the surrounding lands, his wolf inhaling Gaia's scent deeply all the way. Returning to the territory he found himself at his favorite spot in his territory, and parked his car.

A craggy hill with a cliff overlooking a low valley and distant low mountains. His territory was in the rolling hills of an ancient mountain range, and boasted many scenic spots and trails through the surrounding forest. He came out here for many reasons, but most often when he needed to think. Watching the sunset gave him clarity, watching the stars kept him humble.

He stretched his limbs, then began climbing the hill. At the top of the hill he sat on the ground and rested his arms on his knees.

His first shift of his birthday he'd run the breadth and length of the territory. It had been exhilarating. However, he'd woken up in the back yard of a house he now knew to be Gaia's. Embarrassed, he was glad no one had seen him in the pre-dawn, waking up as a human in her yard. He'd found a nearby spare clothes bunker and scampered home quickly, no longer trusting his wolf to not seek her out.

After awhile he stated aloud, "I love Angelica. I want her as my mate, I've wanted her for as long back as I can remember, but she's not my given mate.... Gaia is, and she's...."

Gaia was decent in training for her group, but she'd never make warrior. She had a sharp eye for detail, but didn't know north from west, and couldn't hit a mark beyond ten paces. That wasn't a terrible thing, a small percentage of any pack wouldn't ever be warriors. And a small percentage of Lunas at any given time around the world weren't warriors.

She was kind, and had a gentle demeanor. She was quite beautiful, as well, but she didn't put much effort into drawing attention to herself. She was an honors student. She could do well in many fields, and she could be an incredible Luna.

"...I don't love her."

It had felt right to have her by his side. To have her in his car, innocently draping her scent all over the upholstery. To insist she move in with him.

That was just the mate bond, though, right?

And then she'd begun crying. About her mother. He felt uncomfortable that he'd caused her to shed tears, he didn't want to hurt her. He'd wanted to gather her in his arms and comfort her.

Or his wolf had. He had to keep his wolf separate and controlled, or he'd wind up doing all sorts of madness.

"I don't want her," he said with conviction.

Angelica was right. Gaia was nothing like her.

Angelica was a remarkable warrior, a talented markswoman, and scout. He'd been training with her since they were twelve.

Angelica was a good student. She was organized, cunning, and capable. She was feisty and aggressive. She got things done. And of course, everyone already loved her and accepted her as his, and as their future luna.

No one knew Gaia. He didn't know Gaia.

It had been Angelica who'd brought up him having Gaia move in with him. Or perhaps she was being sarcastic. She had rolled her eyes.

It needed to be done, either way. Not only for her own safety, but for the pack as a whole. A female who'd recognized her mate, left unattended and unmarked could attract any number of males, including rogues, if she went into heat. Gaia wasn't of mating age, she was much too young to accept either mark or rejection, but because of the potential strength of their bond, she'd been 'awakened'.

And Gaia was aware of the bond between them, it was already affecting her at barely seventeen, whereas Angelica couldn't even feel the tingles and she would be eighteen in a little over a month.

However, Angelica was determined to be his luna and wanted to make Gaia know she had no chance so she would give up and reject him herself. He wasn't certain he was fully on board with Angelica's plan, but he didn't think Angelica would actually harm Gaia.

"What do I do?"

__

Gaia spent the rest of the day absently straightening the house and making cookies
fretting over what, and how, to tell her mother she needed to move to the pack house. By the time her mother entered the house, she just wanted to curl up in her mother's arms and stay there as long as she could.

Gaia asked if they could spend the evening snuggling. Michelle smiled and kissed her on the forehead, "Of course my sweet girl. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just miss you," Gaia answered. This satisfied her mother.

Tuesday after school she told her friends everything. They'd not been thrilled to wait, but Gaia insisted it wouldn't be a quick conversation and didn't belong in school hallways.

They were sad for her, but felt helpless to do anything.

The rest of the week passed by in a blur. Gaia did her best to continue as though her life wasn't about to be turned upside down. She trained, went to classes, took tests and quizzes, turned in completed work, and spent afternoons at the library with her friends.

After the library, she went to Lucas' house on Tuesday and again on Thursday, and went home with Darla on Wednesday as she always did.

Gaia wasn't certain how to handle Friday. Dante had said he'd pick her up at five o'clock. She had Darla drop her off at home, promising to call her and Lucas later in the evening.

Gaia made a snack she couldn't eat, opened and closed her closet and dresser drawers, and stared at her empty luggage, which consisted of an old box suitcase, and one small duffle bag. Then her mind began to unravel and she paced through her house.

She didn't feel ready to have a mate. She was terrified of the mating process. And heat! Oh, goddess how could she forget about the heat cycle? That would start soon, right? She was only seventeen, would she still go into heat? She'd heard it was incredibly unbearable for underage girls, as they didn't have their wolves yet to help bear the burden. How would she handle it? How would he handle it? Was he aware she was a virgin? Did he care? What if-

The doorbell rang and Gaia jumped, landing in a crouch, her heart thumping hard in her chest. Was Dante here? Was it five already? She looked around the room she was in and spied the clock above the mantle. It was five and some seconds, and it was probably him at the door. The pressure of tears sprang up.

Gaia sucked in a shaky breath, swallowed back the tears, and walked calmly to the door. She opened the door. Dante was standing there. On her porch. Bored expression on his face, hands in his pockets. Watching her.

"Where's your bag?"

"I-I can't go with you."

Dante's brows flicked upward. "You can't? Or you won't?"

"I can't - I can't leave my mother, she'd be all alone! I can't do that to her."

Dante tilted his head, watching her.

Gaia felt the pressure of tears building up once more, "And - and I'm not ready. I'm only seventeen!" As the first tear fell she crossed her arms over her chest and peered down at her feet. She couldn't hide the fact she was crying, but she didn't have to see him watching her cry.

"You're refusing to come live with me."

"For right now, yes! I'm just not ready." Gaia peered up at Dante through her lashes and sniffled. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Hm. You seem to believe you have a choice. But, alright, I'll give you a little longer. But you will move in with me. Soon." With that, Dante turned on his heel and strode toward his car.

Panicking, Gaia repeated, a little louder, "I'm sorry!" She stepped out of her house, onto the porch where Dante had just been standing.

His rich scent lingered, earthy growth and fresh coffee like a walk deep in the forest, on an early summer morning. A faint memory tickled with that scent, of traipsing a forest path with her parents, an instant of time nestled in the embrace of a sense of love, safety, and the awe for the dance of shade and sun in the dew droplets.

She wanted to chase his scent down and inhale him. She wanted him to come back and... and, what? She felt a tingling deep in her core she'd never felt before. She frowned, confused with the unusual mix of feelings and emotions she was experiencing. She followed him a few more steps and repeated, "I'm sorry."

Dante reached his car and looked up at her as he unlocked his door. "Sorry for what, love?"

Gaia gaped. She wasn't expecting the question, or the term of endearment, one her father had used for her, or the way her body was reacting to his scent, his presence, his voice. She wasn't expecting him to look at her again. "I love you," slipped from between her lips, her eyes widened and she clapped her hand over her mouth.

Dante tilted his head again, then he laughed, opening his car door. "No. You really don't. You can't love someone you don't know. I'll see you Monday."

Gaia stood in her yard and watched him slip into his car and drive away. After a few minutes she turned and went back inside her house, up to her room, and crawled into bed, drawing the covers over her head.

__

Dante chuckled and shook his head as he drove. She'd said she loved him.

Goddess he hadn't laughed like that since he was a pup. And the look on her face when she realized what she'd said! She was too cute.

He parked his car in front of his house and went inside, tossing his keys in the bowl on the foyer table and locking the door behind him.

He went into the kitchen and got out ingredients to prepare the meal he'd planned for the evening, but only made enough for himself. He scrolled through his phone as he ate, checking his email and social media. After dinner he cleaned the kitchen, and as he was wiping down the counter an idea occurred to him. He tossed the cloth into the hamper that emptied in the laundry room, then went to the alpha's office.

His father was still heading territory affairs and the businesses, but Dante was being entrusted with more duties and responsibility every few months. In his father's office there was a filing cabinet dedicated to the pack, with a file of information on every member. He'd recently been tasked with tracking the youth training assessments, but there should be a file on Mrs. Miller.

Dante quickly found the file on Gaia's mother and opened it. Right there on top was exactly what he needed. He got on the computer and looked up a few bits of information, then shot off an email to the appropriate offices.

Gaia would be moving in with him Monday. She might not be happy about it, but it had to be done for the safety of the pack. He wasn't exactly thrilled for it either, but it meant keeping Angelica safe, so he'd do it.

His phone alerted him of a new text from Angelica. She reminded him they had a date tonight. He texted back he was on his way.