Engraven (5 page)

I risked a look in the direction of my mate and found he’d shifted and wore nothing but a pair of jeans, worn and ragged at the knees. His feet were bare. His chest gleamed under the crescent moon.

He was mine.

Wasting no more time, I willed my human form to come forth, not without a fight. I slipped on the jeans and shirt, noticing Acacia conveniently forgot to pack a bra or even underwear. She’d been reading too many shifter romance novels.

I wrangled my hair into a semi-neat knot at my nape and gave myself a quick pep talk.

“Dahlia.” I wilted and blossomed every time he said my name. I wanted to run into his arms and let him hold me.

“Tarrow. Hi.”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t come.” He looked down at the barren field at his feet. He spoke the truth, honestly fearful I wouldn’t keep my word.

An eagle passed overhead, casting a shadow over his form but it did nothing to detract from the gorgeous male that the Creator had made just for me.

“I may not always be on time, but I don’t stand people up—especially my…”

My feet stopped a few feet in front of him. An overwhelming urge to kiss him cracked through my sternum like lightning down the trunk of a tree.

“My mate. I know. It takes some getting used to. We have time.”

“How did you know I ran here? I haven’t seen you on my runs, at least, I don’t think I have.”

It felt treacherous to ask him questions of suspicion when my heart and the other side of me demanded that I trust him at face value.

But humans don’t do that. We don’t trust until we’ve been proven wrong. Even then, it waivers.

“I’ve seen you in the trees for some months. I knew you were my mate.”

I took one step forward just to scent him better.

I’d know it if he were lying. My mom said she could taste my father’s lie in her mouth. He’d only lied to her once and never again.

“I love climbing trees. Why didn’t you pursue me?”

I hated to admit the sadness at him seeing me for so long and not coming after me.

“I almost did. For a while, I thought you may be in trouble or were hiding from someone. That was until I saw you swimming in the bayou from a distance. Then I knew that you were just having a good time. I don’t know. I just had this gut feeling that you weren’t ready to meet me yet.”

“The Creator’s plans find a way.” I whispered to myself, repeating my mom’s earlier sentiments.

“Yes. They do.”

“I…” He took one step toward me and then several backward. “It’s hard to fight him.” His hands splayed over his six-pack as though at any second his bear would claw right out through his belly button. “You live with your parents? Several other females?”

“How did you…”

“I can smell it on you. I’ve got a keen nose. Best in the clan. Six other females, no seven, and one male.”

One side of my mouth turned up in a smile. I was impressed but not yet ready to show him.

“Six sisters and my mom and dad. What about you?”

He sat down in place and stretched his legs out in front of him, crossed at the feet. The night’s atmosphere loved him, casting just the right amount of light over his stomach and chest—and it loved me too because I got to view the show.

“It’s just me and my mom. My dad died when I was seven.”

I stood there feeling a wash of empathy pour over me. Imagining a life without my family and doting parents was impossible for me.

“I know we just met, but this is really torturous for me. Can you come closer, please? If you can’t, or don’t want to, it’s fine. This beast is being more difficult than I’d ever imagined.”

There was nothing I doubted about the man in front of me. Even my bear was desperate for just one touch. I moved slowly and sat next to him, my feet near to his hips and my hips beside his feet.

It wasn’t enough.

He closed the distance between our torsos, scooting up until our hips were next to each other, leaning on his hand now on the other side of my thighs, his fingertips touching mine.

“Thank you. So, do you work at the school or are you in school? How old are you?”

I giggled at his questions and then admonished myself mentally for being such a girl. Yes, I was a girl, but that sound was reminiscent of pre-pubescence.

“I’m twenty. I’m in school and I work at the admissions office. It’s a work-study program. I can’t afford everything on my own and my parents do well just to feed the nine of us. But this is my last semester. After finals, I’m done.”

His eyes never left mine while I spoke. He didn’t make agreement sounds or nod at every breath, fake listening.

“What’s your degree in? What do you want to do?”

“Social work. I’d like to help shifter communities with issues that they can’t go to human resources to solve.”

That confounded him.

“That’s a valiant profession—honorable.”

Valiant wasn’t the word I would use.

“What do you do?”

He shrugged while reaching out to take one of my stray curls in between his forefinger and thumb. “I work for the Alpha in construction and I attend my duties to the clan. That’s all I do.”

My mouth twisted, but I didn’t want to ask. The first night didn’t strike me as the best time to fall into a discussion about politics and clan leadership.

“And your Alpha Female is pregnant? She was in school? I overheard the Alpha say something to that effect.”

“The Couer, Echo, is pregnant. Yes, she was in school, but had to take some incompletes. She’s a tiny thing and carrying the baby at eight or nine months while trying to study is not easy on her. Her health is the most important thing.”

I stiffened with long ago taught contradictions to his telling.

“Because she’s carrying the next Alpha. That’s why she’s important.”

It was a statement, not a question. I knew the truth about clans.

He shook his head. “No. Her health is important because she’s a member of the pack and the heart of who we are. That’s why we call her the Coeur, the heart. No one would be the same if something happened to her, down to the tiniest cub.”

That was not in my dad’s pamphlets. Not that he had pamphlets, per se.

My dad so wished he had pamphlets.

“I don’t understand clans very well.”

He was quiet for a while, on the outside. There was a whirlwind of scenarios swirling inside of him. It was the downward curve of a rollercoaster in my stomach.

“Friday night is the clan dinner. You could meet everyone. Learn more about the clan.”

“I don’t know.”

“I can pick you up and spend some time with your family, get to know them. Then we can go to the dinner and meet some of my people. If you don’t like it or feel uncomfortable we can leave.”

His nervousness spiked.

“What if I don’t like the clan?

Just as another hair decided to rebel, he raised his hand and tucked it back into place. My damned hair was the thorn in my side. I wrestled with my own desire to touch the hair on his face, the lips that smiled at me.

A war with my bear was brewing and she was winning, paws down.

I laid back on the damp land beneath my body, not giving a damn whether or not I got dirty. I never had before. There was no sense in changing it now.

His eyes roamed over me. It was like the gentlest touch from head to toe.

“You’re my female, Dahlia. Your needs and wants will always come before mine. If one day you decide you don’t want to be in the clan, then I will leave them. It wouldn’t be a sacrifice or a choice.”

“It’s not anything we have to talk about now, Tarrow. Friday is on. I’ll meet your people and you can meet mine. There’s nothing that has to be decided tonight.”

I yawned, probably awakening every bobcat in a mile radius.

“I’ve taken up too much of your time.”

I heard him sit back up and then raise to a standing position. There was a tinge of aggravation weaving its way into his heart.

He was aggravated with me. Already, I’d drummed up controversy and threatened to upheave his life.

One thing was right. I wasn’t prepared for any of this.

When I opened my eyes, he stood over me, smiling. I moved to get up. He extended both hands to help me and Creator help me, I let him, loving the feel of his skin on mine.

It wasn’t enough for the animal inside me, but she could just shove it.

As I came to a stand, he pulled once and my breath failed me once again as our chests collided, his unclad and mine barely covered with a thin shirt. His eyelashes were the clincher. Yes, he had a killer body and a voice that could melt chocolate from a distance, but when he batted those come-hither brown eyes—I was done in.

“Everything will be fine. There’s nothing to worry about. Don’t you know the mated male’s creed? Rev’s been drilling into our heads constantly.”

I shook my head and stored the phrase in my head to ask my father about at a later time.

“Who is Rev?”

“The first Beta.”

“There’s more than one Beta?”

“Yeah. There’s three of us.”

Now the shadow was on me. Tarrow wasn’t just a clan member, he was part of their threads.

“I should go.”

“Sure. Any chance you can text me when you get home?”

“Why, worried I won’t make it?”

I expected a smart ass answer back. “Actually, yes, I am. Don’t try to get me to stop, either. I have a feeling I will be one worried male for the rest of my life.”

His concern seeped into my veins. Hands moved to cup my face and tip my chin up at the same time. I fell into a trance where my only saving grace would be his full lips on mine.

“I want to, beautiful. I do. I think we should have more time than this before that happens.”

Warm breath, sweet and male wafted on my face, coercing me deeper under his spell. My legs faltered once again.

“Breathe, Dahlia.” He chuckled, placing a single angst-inducing kiss to my neck, right under my ear.

I inhaled and returned.

“I don’t want to leave you.”

My bear pushed the words into my throat, but my heart brought them to life, vibrant, truthful life.

“This week is going to be hard and maybe longer than that until we are bonded fully. Don’t hesitate if you need me. I don’t care what time it is or how far it is. I’m not just a male. I am your mate—heart, soul, and body. I’ll do everything right. I promise.”

That last bit didn’t sit right.

We stood there for a time, breaths in sync with our already in-line heartbeats.

“Maybe I should walk you home.”

“No. It’s fine. I won’t see you until Friday night?”

He huffed out a laugh. “That’s all on you, mate.”

Tarrow

I followed her home, even though she’d insisted she would go alone. She’d look back every once in a while and shake her head, like my actions were ludicrous.

They didn’t feel ludicrous.

They felt right.

We came upon a cottage among trees and she slowed. “This is my house. I can text you directions, if you want to come over.”

“I can find you anywhere without directions, female. I just didn’t want to show up at your house earlier.” It was my turn to think she was ridiculous.

“Goodnight, Dahlia. Sweet dreams.”

I left her at her doorstep as soon as she opened the door and began to enter. She yelled out to me, asking me about the creed I’d mentioned, but I kept going, needing to speed up and break myself from her presence before I suggested a lot more than just talking. I ran most of the night, exhausting my bear into submission.

He couldn’t have her yet, but one day soon, she would be ours completely and wholly.

The rest of the week took the prize for most stressful and most restless week of my life. I ran constantly as a bear, but far away from the scent of my mate. He was absolutely out of control.

Not to mention, my mom. She’d made seven dishes to bring to the clan dinner, since it was now potluck with the Coeur unable to cook for that many people while pregnant.

“Mom, seven?”

“Yes, seven. And I’m coming with you to pick her up. I want to meet her parents.”

“Mom, no. It’s like our first date.”

She scoffed while covering the last lasagna with aluminum foil. “That’s not a first date. Trust me. I know I’m older, but I know a first date.”

“I love you, Mom. You will meet her later. I don’t want her impression of me to be…”

The last thing in the world I wanted to do was hurt my mother’s feelings.

“You are already marked as a mama’s boy aren’t you? I understand. I’m sorry I’m so pushy. I only have you and your sister. She didn’t let me get too involved in her mating. I got carried away.”

I sighed and tucked my much shorter mom under my arm. She wiped at her eyes and it wrecked me to be hurting her.

“I’ll drop you and the food off at the Alpha’s house. You could probably give Echo some well-received advice. Hawke said she’s a little nervous about the birth.”

“That’s a good plan. Plus, I made a blanket for her. Let me get that while you start loading the car.” A wave of her hand, fanning the sadness away and a new person to help, she was back in business.

I loaded all seven dishes into the car that was once my dad’s, his ’72 Dodge Dart. My mom wouldn’t drive it. She’d never learned to drive anyway. They were mated when she was still in high school and he drove her anywhere she wanted to go.

“I’ve got the blanket.” My mom called to me when I was already in the driver’s seat.

I drove the very short distance to the Alpha’s home and he helped me get the aluminum pans out of the car and into his home. While he was outside getting the last one, I saw Echo at the top of the stairs with a look on her face that just shouted ‘I can’t do this’.

“Coeur, allow me.”

I bolted up the stairs and offered her my arm. Instead, she wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned on me the whole way down. The Alpha came back in and his eyes shot to me, but he said nothing.

Shit. Now I’ve really done it.

“It’s pride, not anger,” Echo whispered to me, letting go mostly, but not completely until her hand landed on the back of the couch for balance.

“Good to know.”

“He knows that in his absence, I would be taken care of.”

By now, my mom had entered the room and was helping Echo sit down, which seemed to be a feat in itself.

“Tarrow, can we talk outside?” Hawke said. He opened the door and walked outside.

“Yes, Alpha?”

“You’ve been spending some time with your mate? Are you nervous about her meeting the clan?”

“I’ve spent not nearly enough time with her.” He chuckled.

“Trust me, it’s never enough.”

“She’s hesitant about meeting the clan, I think. She has some antiquated ideas about clan life and clan males.”

“And by antiquated, you mean, she’s heard of my father.”

We both looked at each other in knowing. His father didn’t have the best reputation as Alpha and the rumors were louder than the truth.

“Yes.”

“And if she doesn’t want to join the clan?”

“She’s my female.”

There was no other answer. In my mind, the protection and brotherhood of a clan was something to be desired and cherished.

But that opinion was not always shared.

“Go. It will all turn out fine.”

I nodded and wasted no more time. The drive to her home took me a little over thirty minutes, but I was still on time.

Her family home looked like a bungalow from Hansel and Gretel. Wooden shingles covered a home with no rhyme or reason. It looked like it had been stitched together like a voodoo doll, room by room. Gnomes and brightly painted normal items had been turned into makeshift flower beds.

There was an actual headboard and footboard sunk into the ground with flowers planted in between. It looked like a quilt made of flowers.

This had to be the work of my mate—it just seemed to breathe her name.

My watch told me I was an hour early, enough time to spend some time with her family—but not enough time where Dahlia would change her mind.

My heart flopped around as I knocked on the door and waited.

Her father could hate me.

Her mother could warn her off of me.

She could end the mating and send me off forever.

If she could hear my thoughts, she’d think I was a world class nutzo.

An older man with thinning hair on the top, but a ponytail at the bottom answered the door. His clothes were splattered with paint. As he let me in, no apologies were made for his state, so I assumed it to be his job in some way.

It drove me to madness not knowing the little things about her life. After a week, I should at least know what her dad’s job was.

“You must be Tarrow. I’m Dahlia’s father, Clint.”

I shoved my hand at him a little too forcefully and answered. “It’s nice to meet you, Sir.”

He looked at my hand like it was the vessel for some contagious disease.

“Tarrow, I’m Vidalia.”

I held back a snort that her mom was named after an onion.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Ma’am.”

“Have a seat. You’ll soon learn that Dahlia is always late. She’s just a mess in general.”

Her warning was responded to by some shuffling up the stairs.

“She also has six sisters who are very nosey. I’m sure they are relating their first impressions to Dahlia right now.”

I sat down on the end of a couch that had seen better days and had more pillows than sitting room. The place was messy, but clean at the same time.

My mom would come unglued.

“So, Tarrow. You work?”

“I do, Sir. I work for the construction company owned by our Alpha’s uncle. He manages it.”

He nodded. “I worked for a construction company too when I was young. Don’t think I could do it anymore. Lived in a studio apartment in downtown Lafayette for a while after leaving the clan.”

Five minutes and they were already speaking about clans. There were some serious underlying issues here.

“I live on clan lands with my mother. My father died when I was a kid and my sister moved out after mating.”

“Sounds smart to me.”

I nodded and honestly, could’ve gotten up and hugged the man for someone finally recognizing the plan I had. “Yes, Sir. No rent. I save most of my paycheck for—future.”

“Would you like something to drink?”

“Water, please.”

“Sure.”

He nodded at my choice, but never moved to actually get me water. It was probably some test to see if I drank alcohol.

Clint sat back in his chair and stared at the staircase like Dahlia would vaporize from the steps. “I’m sure there’s some fatherly questions I’m supposed to ask you, plus threaten your life, but I can’t think of any right now and I’ve always been somewhat of a pacifist. Do you have any questions for us?”

I didn’t want to sit there like an idiot, so I asked a question off the top of my head while trying to strangle the sensation to follow my sense of smell right up the stairs to wherever Dahlia was. My ears perked up at the sound of certain steps that could be heard overhead, just knowing they were hers.

And they weren’t in any hurry to make her way to me.

“Let’s see. Dahlia is twenty, Acacia is seventeen, Rose is fifteen, Acacia is thirteen, Juniper just made ten, Daisy will be seven in three months and Briar is the youngest at five. I think I got that right. All I know is that there are four months with no birthday cake. Better for my gut.”

He patted his belly. He spoke of his daughters jokingly, but anyone could see the pride that oozed from his tone.

It warmed my heart to know that Dahlia was raised by caring and loving parents. She deserved that—everyone did.

“May I ask what you do for a living, Sir? I’m afraid Dahlia and I haven’t had the time I wished for these kinds of questions.”

“Not at all. I’m a painter.”

The guy wasn’t talking drywall. With the millions of different color splatters on his shirt, I guessed artist.

“I’d love to see some of your work.”

“No time. I’m late. I’m sorry.” My chest seized as my mate tripped down the stairs, holding on with one hand and wrangling a sandal with the other. She wasn’t clumsy, just—everywhere all at once.

“It’s fine. We still have some time.”

“You mean I’m on time? I didn’t make you late?”

I chuckled at her utter surprise. Her lips were covered in some shiny stuff and it made them look even more lush and plump. They would be mine—soon.

“We are not late. I got here early to spend some time with your parents. I thought it was only right. My mom even tried to tag along, but I didn’t know if that would be okay.”

“Of course! You are family now. We’d love to meet her.”

“I’ll make that happen. Actually, she probably will. It was tough to tell her no.”

Clint huffed something, but I couldn’t make it out.

“We can take the tour later, Dad.” Her eyes grew and she popped herself in the forehead, which my bear and I did not like at all. “Nevermind. Take the tour. I forgot my purse!”

Vidalia laughed. “That purse has a way of disappearing. Come on. We’ll both give you the tour.”

I wouldn’t call what Dahlia’s father did painting. The name Picasso comes to mind and while that’s some people’s thing, it just wasn’t mine.

But you can’t really tell your future father-in-law that.

“These are like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

That was the best I could do without lying.

He shrugged. “They pay the bills.”

By the time they had talked me through every painting, we were late—really late.

I’d catch hell for that from Rev and a handful of others.

“You’re officially late.” Her mother sang up the stairs.

“I’m coming. I found my purse, but it didn’t match my outfit and then the wallet didn’t match and Acacia made me find another one. I swear, this is why I stay a bear for such long periods of time. Bears don’t give a scat about fashion.”

Thank the Creator she had a sense of humor.

Not only had she changed clothes and shoes, but her hair was down now and even her lips had a tint of color on them. I had a flash of the future where I spent a lot of time waiting on her to get ready.

I wouldn’t mind at all.

“Or purses.”

She canted her head at me and then looked at her mother. “He gets me.”

“Go!” Her mother pushed us out before I could thank them or anything.

“That went well. I’m sorry I made you late.”

We rushed to the car and I opened the door for her. She climbed in and looked shocked.

I got into the driver’s side and after getting on the road, slipped my hand under hers while it rested on the space between us. “Is this okay?”

“It’s better than okay.”

I brought her hand up to my mouth and kissed the top of hers. I didn’t care if it was okay. It was either that or I go full-on bear right there in the car.

“How’d you do this week?” She looked at me like I’d asked about her colon. “Your finals? All the tests went okay?”

“Oh, yes. They were fine. My graduation is in January. I thought you were asking about this.” She motioned between us.

“Now that you mention it, how was this week?”

My ego wanted her to say that she ached without me, but I knew she wouldn’t admit that—yet.