Beloved

19

The morning Arianne and Florian were set to leave, Arianne led Gaia into her office.

"I've set the materials you'll need on the table," Arianne pointed to three stacks of books as she led Gaia into her office to the table, and lifted the top one from the leftmost stack, "and here, you can start with this, dear," Arianne held up the slim volume.

"Everything you will need to know to fill the position of Luna is in these books, and of course I'll be in touch, and you can always call me with any questions." Arianne walked across the room to the desk, and plucked up a card and unsealed envelope.

Gaia stepped over to the table and carefully opened the book, and scanning the first page, saw it was a journal entry. "Thank you, Ari."

Arianne held out the envelope and card, "And this is your office, now. Make yourself comfortable. You can decorate it however you want, the Luna has her own account. Everything has already been transferred to you, so all you need to do is set up your passwords."

Gaia's widened eyes flicked to meet Arianne's gaze. "My office?" She took the offering, her jaw dropping when she saw the black card.

"Of course, sweetheart, you will be Luna soon, and I'm not going to be using it. This is your space now, so make it yours." Arianne stepped toward Gaia and enveloped her in her arms, "Oh, how I wish I didn't have to leave. I've been looking forward to meeting my son's mate and getting to know you, but I hardly get to spend time with you. I'm so happy you're my son's mate, I know you're going to be amazing together."

Gaia slowly raised her arms, wrapping them around the older woman's waist, feeling her eyes brimming with an overflow of emotions her heart could not contain in this moment.

The door was pushed open, revealing Dante, eyeing his mother with his brows drawn together. "Why are you making my mate cry?" He moved toward them and put his hand on Gaia's back, "Why are you crying? What did my mother do?"

"Oh, stop." Arianne frowned at her son, but when she heard a sniffle, she pulled back to peer at Gaia, "Sweetheart, are you crying? What's wrong?"

Gaia hiccoughed and said, "I don't know why I'm crying, I'm just... You're doing so much for me, giving me books, clothes, and the beautiful room, and this office, and... and I'm happy, so happy I could burst, and I'll never be able to repay-"

Her words were cut off when she was pulled into a hard chest.

Dante wrapped Gaia in his arms, holding her tight against his body, and pressed his mouth to the top of her head as she rode out her emotions. When her tears subsided, he turned his face so his cheek rested against her head and said, "Gaia, my gentle little mate, there is nothing you have to repay. Ever. Do you understand?"

"But everything you and your parents-"

"There is nothing for you to repay, Gaia. Period. Just be. Just be yourself. Do you want to know why?"

Dante felt her head move in a nod, so continued, "It's a little hard to put into words, but the other day is a perfect example. You told my dad and I about the real reasons behind the Collinsworth and Rogers quarrel. Yesterday when you told us about the struggles some of our members face, and you called us out for being unapproachable." He felt her shaking her head and trying to pull away, but he kept his hold on her firm. "Babygirl, listen, that's not the wording you used, you were much kinder, but we are unapproachable. We handle pack matters and pack businesses day in and day out, but we're out of touch with our pack members. My parents and their parents before them didn't have the luxury to live with the pack they were leading. Their circumstances forced them to lead from a distance, and there are obvious cracks for it. I am a product of that distance, but you are our kintsugi."

Arianne had stood aside, watching helplessly, but nodded for her son's metaphor. She smiled at him and patted his shoulder before quietly left the room.

Gaia nuzzled her mate's chest, letting his scent further calm her. "What's kitsugi?"

"Kintsugi. It's a Japanese technique of repairing pottery with precious metals. You are the gold able to bind the rank leaders with the rest of the pack. My parents and grandparents couldn't be here, so the pack has forgotten how to make their needs known. As leader it's up to me to figure out how to address the needs of the pack, but I need someone familiar with the pack's needs to help me bridge that distance, and that's something you're proving to be a natural at. Understand?"

Gaia nodded, "Okay."

"And can you understand what that might be worth to the pack as a whole and to me as the alpha?"

Her voice shook, "I guess."

"Hm, it sounds to me like you might require more convincing, but it's enough for now. My parents are getting their luggage in the car. Will you come with me to see them off?"

Gaia nodded, smiling wanly at the kiss Dante delivered to her forehead. Hands entwined, they went downstairs and out to the front porch together. They received final hugs from both Dante's parents before waving them off as Beta Jordan drove them to the airport.

Back inside the house, Gaia said she wanted to take a nap, and headed for the stairs.

Dante kept stride with her, and caught her hand saying, "I'll lay down with you."

"Are you sure? I thought you had important work to do." She gave his hand a small squeeze, letting him know she wanted him with her, but would understand if he really couldn't stay by her side.

"Spending time with you is most important." He lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles. "Everything else can wait."

Gaia's chuckle became a startled yelp when Dante suddenly let go of her hand to scoop her into his arms. He grinned at her as he took the stairs two at a time up to his bedroom.

The first night back at his house he'd not been able to sleep until he'd joined her in her bed, where he'd fallen asleep almost as soon as he'd pulled her into his arms. The second night he'd picked her up and carried her to his bed. He'd reasoned her bed was a little small for his height and since they'd be sleeping together, his bed made more sense.

Dante laid with Gaia, talking with her as she fell asleep. He watched her sleeping for awhile, gently stroking her cheek and forehead. Then he carefully untangled his limbs from hers and left the room. He received a call as he was closing the door, and quickly made his way down the stairs as he answered his phone.

It was the workers who would be clearing out the Alpha's suite, putting his parent's trappings into storage until they were able to settle. His father had put the order through and set the date for the move to coincide with their leaving, reasoning there was no sense in putting off the inevitable now his son had found his mate.

Dante let in the workers, then ducked into the office while they worked. Sitting at the desk, he began making calls and scheduling meetings for the coming week.

After the movers had packed up and moved every item from his parent's rooms, Dante went in to look at the space he and Gaia would be moving into. It was the largest bedroom in the entire house, with a balcony overlooking the backyard. There was also a walk-in closet and a luxury, but dated, bathroom. He decided he would contact Collinsworth to update the bathroom, but he'd leave the decorative aspects up to Gaia.

Historically, the youth of the pack used to live in the pack house with the Alpha from the age of ten until they were mated. The practice had ended around five generations previous when a fire had taken out the expansive manse. There were sketches of the massive building in the Alpha's office.

The current house, though quite large, was only a quarter the size of the original building. The surrounding grounds still held signs of the the previous grandeur and the fire. He, Colton, Randal, Brent, and even Damian had spent many an otherwise lazy day exploring, searching for the old walls and rumored secret passageways. They had succeeded in finding charred remnants of two of the outer walls, and a single cave tunnel that ended abruptly with a caved in wall.

***
Over the following weeks Dante and Gaia spent their days developing and settling into patterns that would, more or less, become their permanent schedules.

Dante started his day with a run every morning, either in the gym or around the perimeter of the five acres that was the alpha's private residence. After five miles to warm up he would lift weights and work with the boxing bag until the head trainer Derek and the beta Jordan arrived, then he would train his wolf with them for an hour. After graduation Brent, Colton, Darla, Lucas and Randal joined the older adults.

Gaia would have a large breakfast prepared, and coffee brewing coinciding with the time Dante's training ended, inviting everyone to join her and Dante at the table.

The betas and gamma usually stayed, since Jordan, Colton and Randal would then join Dante in the office to get their daily meetings accomplished early. At least once a week Derek and Brent would also stay for their weekly update.

Gaia loved having the opportunity to spend a few hours with her best friends every day. Darla and Lucas would help Gaia clean the kitchen, then they'd help her with whatever projects she had on her plate, the first two being making the Alpha suite hers and Dante's, and personalizing the Luna's office to suit her. Since Gaia had little experience with expansive projects or financial decisions, she was grateful for the guidance of her friends.

She also met the grounds workers and the housekeeper, learning they were under her charge. She had never thought she might have to learn payroll, but quickly discovered everything was already set up with redundancy backlogs.

The rank meetings would finish up around mid-morning and Dante and Gaia would see their friends off then enjoy a cup of coffee together before strolling around the property before lunch. After a midday meal Dante would lay with Gaia until she fell asleep, and he'd often bring his laptop in the room while she napped. Then when she woke they would put on music and prepare dinner together, after which they'd go to the den and enjoy each other's company.

Sunday being a day of rest from training for most of the pack, Dante would run in the morning and spend the rest of the day with Gaia. It quickly became their 'outing' day. They would pack snacks and sandwiches or plan to visit a cafe or restaurant.

One of those outings was a trip to the mall. She'd been a little overwhelmed that he would take her to the mall to shop for clothes, but was clueless when he'd asked her where else they might go.

She'd never gone clothes shopping with her mother, but she knew her mother couldn't afford the mall, even during sales. Dante was fairly certain Michelle had thrifted second-hand stores to outfit Gaia. A single parent working hard to provide for her child was one thing, but Dante was the Alpha and had no financial constraints. He was determined his mate would have clothing that suited the Luna station, and he wanted Gaia to have clothes that she chose herself.

Gaia tested Dante's patience every time she looked at price tags, and they bickered over whether she should just go ahead and try on items that caught her eye. She was self-conscious, suffered low self esteem, and couldn't be convinced she needed anything. Especially since his mother had already bought so much for her.

After awhile he began to watch closely what styles and colors she was drawn to and paid attention to her sizes, buying whatever her eyes and fingers lingered on. He also added whatever else he thought would look good on her. When they returned to his car, she had an entirely new wardrobe.
***
Dante smirked, "You've got a little...," he pointed to the lower portion of his face.

Gaia blushed and quickly swiped her napkin against her chin.

"Nope, it's right," he reached his hand to her face and gently wiped her lip with his thumb, sparks erupting between them with the gentle caress, "there." His eyes met her startled gaze, before glancing back to her plump little mouth. He swallowed and raised his eyes back to her wide - eyed stare. Perhaps it was the lighting but he was certain he caught a glimpse of pale green speckles in her soft gray eyes. He sat back in his chair and watched her, lifting his cup to his mouth but not drinking from it.

Gaia felt another surge of heat rise in her cheeks and lowered her eyes to her frozen mocha. "Thank you."

Dante had decided to take their afternoon walk through a shopping district of the neutral territory. They had spent a lovely afternoon peering into shop windows and admiring the summer solstice decorations on display. When he noticed her stomach growling he led her into a local coffee shop for a snack. He was amused she was short enough her feet didn't quite reach the floor and she occasionally swung a foot, though right now her feet were tucked in the rungs of her chair.

"Yeah. So, um, what do you want to do after this?"

"Um, can we go to the comic book store? It's just a few doors down."

Dante chuckled, "Sure. We can do that." He took a sip of his macchiato and set the tiny cup back in the saucer. "What's your favorite comic book?"

Gaia idly kicked her foot. "Oh, I don't really have a favorite, I just have a few that I follow. The main lineups of the DC and Marvel universes and a few obscure Darkhorse and Warp graphics collections."

Dante's brow furrowed as he though. "Hmm, I have no idea what you just said."

Gaia giggled, "I'm only talking about different publishers. Comic magazines and graphic books have their own publishing companies."

"Oh, okay." He decided to leave it at that. He watched her scrape the sides of her tumbler with her straw as she looked out the window. "We can go whenever you're ready."

Gaia nodded and neatly stacked their cups and plates, then Dante carried the dishes to the bus-station while she visited the restroom. He waited for her by their table, then they walked outside together.

"Which way, little mate?"

"Oh," Gaia pointed and spun about to get her bearings, "this way," and walked past a few shops toward one with a sign depicting a wolf with a book reclining in a sliver of the moon. Upon entering, she greeted the attendant by name and asked what was new.

Dante stepped into the store behind her and let his eyes roam over the posters and boxes stuffed full of plastic covered magazines. When the attendant noticed him and asked if he needed anything, he answered, "Whatever she wants."

Gaia, at this point already rifling through one of the boxes, glanced up at Dante and blushed, then went back to searching through the vividly colored offerings.

Dante gravitated towards a set of shelves displaying a few board games, several variations of roleplaying games, and a wide variety of dice.

"Not a comic book fan?"

"I never saw the allure."

"Ah." The clerk went back to flipping through the comic he'd been reading before the two had entered the store.

Gaia soon approached the counter with a small stack of plastic sleeved magazines. The attendant rang up her selections and told her the total. As she was reaching for her wallet in her back pocket, Dante handed a card to the clerk and grabbed the bag for her.

Gaia gaped, watching Dante pay for her comics and walk toward the door with her bag. Just as he was opening the door, she snapped her jaw shut and hurried after him.

"Thank you, but I could have-"

"Sure, but I did it anyway."

"Thank you." Skipping to keep up with his long strides, she reached for the bag.

Dante chuckled and slowed his pace for her, switching the bag to his other hand and grabbing her hand so she'd have something to hold. Once in his car, he dropped the bag in her lap, chuckling again as she happily lifted one out and stroked the front cover, biting her lip.

The wolves on the magazine cover caught Dante's attention as he started the car, "What's that one?"

Gaia blushed, "Oh, this is ElfQuest, one of the obscure collections I follow, and I've been waiting for this edition for awhile now."

"Huh. Are wolves pretty prominent to the story?"

"Well, sort of. Um, elves crash land on a planet that's a lot like Earth, but has two moons and in order to survive one of them transforms into a wolf and mates with them, and one of her pups becomes the leader of a group of elves while her other pups become their wolf companions."

Dante, keeping his focus on the road, frowned and tilted his head trying to make sense of what she'd just said, "Um..."

"I have the edition that explains it."

Still frowning, Dante gave a nod, "Okay."

"The artwork is incredible, and that's really what drew me to it, but the storyline is intense and keeps me interested."

Another nod. "Okay."

"I also picked up the new spider-man and Deadpool comics, as well as a Manga."

Dante sighed and rolled his eyes. When they got home he allowed Gaia to show him her ElfQuest collection. He had to agree the artwork was better than he expected, and the storyline intrigued him. He ended up reading through her collection over the next several weeks.

***
The night he took her to his favorite spot at the edge of the territory they packed a picnic dinner and watched the sunset together.

He watched her watching the sky above and the river below glow pink and gold as the sun sunk behind the hills. He saw those same colors dance in the silver flecks of her soft gray eyes.

In the last faint light they packed up everything but the blanket and she sat between his thighs and pointed out the constellations and told their stories as they appeared. He listened to her until she fell asleep against him, then wrapped her in the blanket and took her home to bed.
***

One balmy afternoon Dante side-eyed Gaia as they walked toward the house together. He enjoyed watching her get distracted by small animals and interesting plants.

"I want to take you on a date."

Gaia's eyes snapped up to study Dante. Before living with him she'd always found him rather cold, emotionless but beautiful. However, since moving in with him, and particularly since the hospital, she was becoming adept at reading the subtle nuances of emotion that played across his features. Right now he was amused, and there was something else she'd been noticing when his gaze was on her...a softness. She wasn't quite certain what to make of it, but it made her feel warm and safe.

"Um, a date?"

"Yeah, a real one. Dinner out somewhere, then maybe catch a show. Dancing if you're up for it."

Gaia tilted her head, furrowing her brow, "I don't know that I have the energy for a night of dancing yet."

Dante grabbed her hand, guiding her into a twirl, "You're regaining strength. You aren't sleeping quite as much as you were a few weeks ago, and we've been taking longer walks the past few days."

She stumbled on a rock and he caught her, leading her in a waltz step the final few feet towards the house.

"Yeah, but there's a huge difference between strolling the territory and a few hours of dancing."

"Well, we can see what's playing at the cinema, or I can get tickets for the theatre."

Gaia gave a start. "I've never been to the theatre."

Dante chuckled, "Well, that's definitely something you should experience at least once."

They climbed the stairs of the porch and he opened the door, following her into the house. After they took their shoes off and stored them in the closet, Dante took out his pone and began to search.

"What's it like? The theatre?"

"Uh, well, it's sort of like going to the movies, but the performance is live on a stage." He found Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake would be performing all week, and the cinema offerings gave him a drama, an action, and the new Pixar film was still playing through the weekend. "How about this, we'll begin with two dates. A ballet is being performed at the theatre, and The Incredibles Two is still out this weekend." Dante glanced at Gaia when he heard her gasp, and smirked at the naked joy on her face as she bounced on her toes beside him.

"I definitely want to see the Incredibles two!"

"I know you do," he lightly tapped her nose, "and we'll do that one first, on Friday. We'll save the ballet for Sunday night."

"Okay," Gaia smiled and bounded to the kitchen.

Dante shook his head, chuckling at her as he walked into the den to choose music for the evening.