Trianta [ 30 ]

My mother's mate tore his gaze away from her as he quickly glanced at Tristan. "Alpha, can I-"

Tristan nodded immediately. "Go, Matthijs."

Matthijs cracked a grateful smile and turned his gaze back to my mother. She stared up at him with a fragile expression. She looked as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing or feeling.

"You're alive..."

Her hands settled on his chest and for the first time since she arrived in Greenland, my mother smiled...like really smiled—it reached her eyes and she looked like the woman who raised me.

Matthijs grinned back at her and reached up to lightly caress her face. "You're alive too." He whispered back gently, a tone of disbelief coating his words. "I thought I would never meet you but you're here, in front of me and I need to know everything about you." He took her by the hand and before leading her away from the pack, he turned back to Tristan once more. "Thank you, Alpha."

I was still in shock when I watched their retreating figures that I didn't even hear the excited claps of those around me. Tristan caught my attention when he placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. He smiled slowly at me and reached up with his other hand to tug the zipper of my jacket all the way down.

"Let them have this time together. Matthijs is a good man." He pulled my jacket off and took the rucksack that one of his pack members handed to him.

I gripped the hem of my top lightly before dropping my hands and expelling a breathy laugh. "I can't believe it, Tristan. She's been waiting her entire life for this." I glanced over his shoulder to see mostly everyone in wolf form already and slowly pulled my top over my head as Tristan possessively shielded me from everyone's view.

His warm hand settled on my waist and when I shivered, it wasn't because of the cold. He cracked a slow smile and with his other hand, he reached behind me to unclasp my bra. "Matthijs has too. Hopefully, this all works out for him."

I knew what Tristan meant and my heart slightly dropped at the realisation. I hoped that finally meeting her mate meant that my mother was no longer hung up on a man who had tossed her—us—aside like we were yesterday's trash. I hoped more than anything that she wouldn't be like me and hurt Matthijs to continue clinging onto a memory that was better left discarded.

It went without saying that I hoped Matthijs wouldn't hurt her too. Before I could dwell on what would be the biggest obstacle between them, me, Tristan brushed a hand over my shoulder.

"Hey, come back to me." His hand cupped my face and he pulled my attention back to him. "Let's not think about that right now, okay?

His eyes were comforting, and blue—so blue that they reminded me of the ocean. I nodded reluctantly and sighed as he pulled my bra off. The cold wind slapped against my bare skin and I hurriedly pushed my jeans and underwear down, sinking into the snow before I triggered my shift.

It was a soothing process. Shifting was something I had to practice. I had to focus and tap into my wolf side so that it could come to the surface. It felt like a storm brewing, only I was in complete control. It was consuming and exhilarating and when I stood in front of him in wolf form, he stepped towards me.

I knew we were keeping the rest of the pack waiting, but Tristan didn't seem to care and neither did they when he dug his fingers through my fur and pressed his nose against me. He gently caressed the side of my head and with my increased eyesight, I could see every fleck of colour in his eyes when he pulled back with a soft smile.

'You're the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on, Kara.'

Slowly undressing before me, he triggered his shift and towered over me in his wolf form. My scent smelled even stronger on him at that moment and he pressed his nose against mine.

Picking up the two rucksacks with our clothes in it, he placed it against the bark of a tree. I followed behind him and with that, we all set off into the snow.

—————

After the hunt, Tristan and I came back to an empty house. It was completely silent and I sniffed the air to see if I could catch my mother's scent. It was faint so I knew that she hadn't been there in the last two hours. Sighing, I turned back to Tristan as he kicked off his shoes.

"I expect they'd want to be alone. They have a lot to talk about." He tugged his jacket off and I did the same as I nodded in agreement.

They had years of their lives to talk about, and I was sure that Matthijs wanted to know about me too. I felt odd like my existence would just be a reminder to him that my mother had a child years before meeting him and loved another.

I couldn't imagine meeting Tristan so late in life. He was my first kiss, my first time and my first—

"Take a shower with me?" he interrupted my thoughts, extending a hand out in my direction as he passed me to climb the stairs.

Nodding, I slipped my hand in his and let him lead me up the stairs. When we reached the bathroom, his fingers settled on the hem of my top and he waited a brief moment before pulling it upwards. I raised my arms to help him and slowly smiled at him.

"You know I'm capable of taking my own clothes off right?"

He tugged me closer to him and a sinful grin pulled at his lips. "I know. But where's the fun in that?" he latched onto the belt loops of my jeans and yanked me closer towards him. "I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't appreciate you in all of your beauty."

I tried to ignore the way my heart lurched in my chest and I gently pushed at his chest. "You're such a sweet talker, Tristan."

"I'm serious, Kara." He took hold of my wrists and pulled me back against him. He stared down at me with sombre eyes. "I know you think yesterday was just me trying to forget about everything. It wasn't. I needed you for more than just that. Last night was everything to me—every moment we've spent together since you gave yourself to me has been everything to me."

I suddenly felt shy in front of him and I broke the intense eye contact as my face heated up. I couldn't find anything to say or maybe I could, but I didn't have the courage to say anything back.

His intense gaze never wavered from me and he was staring as if he was trying to fully figure me out. When he tried to get into my mind, I kept the barrier up and distracted him by stripping out of the rest of my clothes. I stepped passed the bath and into the shower, turning the water on.

Not even a second passed when he stepped in behind me and closed the shower doors behind us. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me towards him so my back rested firmly against his muscled chest. He ducked his head and softly kissed my neck before murmuring lowly in my ear.

"You're mine, Kara. No more running." I could feel his steady heart beating and without even looking at him, I could tell that he was being completely serious. He wasn't pushing and I was grateful.

There was a sense of vulnerability in his tone and I placed my hand on his forearm, leaning my head back against his shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere, Tristan." Tilting my head, I waited until he leaned in closer to close my eyes. "I promise." I closed the distance between us and hoped my kiss told him that what we shared was everything to me too.

The water ran down our bodies and Tristan intercepted a rivulet as he turned me around in his arms, framing my face with his hands. He deepened the kiss and backed me against the cold wall, taking on the water as he pushed a thought into my mind.

'I'm yours, Kara. Everything I am is yours.'

I gasped at the coldness of the tiles and his kiss didn't feel like lust, it felt like an outpour of emotion and it made me dizzy as I reached up to thread my fingers through his soft, wet hair.

When we surfaced for air, he stared at me with those same intense blue eyes and I took him in. A few strands of his hair stuck to his forehead and rivulets of water streamed down from them to the slope of his nose and passed his flushed lips. He caressed my face gently and I reached for the bar of soap before dragging it down his firm chest.

My hands lathered the soap into wherever I could reach and I stepped closer to him when he coaxed the bar out of my hands. He gave me a soft smile as his hands followed the curve of my shoulders and I stared up at him with half-lidded eyes.

He pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose and reached above my head for the detachable showerhead before allowing the water to follow in his hands' pursuit. Ten minutes had passed when we deemed ourselves clean, and like our shower earlier, it never once turned dangerously lustful.

Once we dried off, I pulled on my warmest clothes. Tristan tugged on a cotton sweater before smiling warmly at me. "I'm going to get some firewood from outside, okay?"

I nodded and felt a sudden urge to kiss his cheek. Standing up from the bed, I stopped him from leaving with a gentle hand on his wrist. Stepping up onto my tiptoes, I softly pressed my lips to his cheek and I heard his heartbeat speed up immensely. Heat bloomed on his face and he took a soft red tint as he slowly smiled.

We stood in silence for a few moments before I let go of his wrist. With the back of his fingers, he caressed my face for a fleeting moment and silently left the room.

I busied myself with laundry as my mind went back to my mother. It had been two and half hours since I saw her and I found myself wondering how things were going with her and Matthijs.

When I had nothing more to distract me, I slid my shoes on and went through the door Tristan had. He was placing an axe in a small shed and held pieces of firewood with his other arm. His gaze flitted to mine and a light smirk covered his face.

"You just can't stay away, αγάπη μου. Can you?" he walked towards me and lightly dropped the pieces of wood on the snow before stopping right in front of me.

The full moon cast a luminous glow on his face, and I knew it was the cause of my heightened emotions. Contrary to folkloric belief, the full moon didn't force werewolves to shift, it only heightened our abilities. I guessed that was why Tristan hunted with his pack on a full moon, they could see better, hear better and were generally stronger.

It made sense why the pull between us pulsed stronger than before and was beginning to bring certain emotions to the scrutinising light.

"This is where we had our first kiss," I said quietly, pulling at the sleeves of my sweater. I looked up at him as I remembered the tension that boiled between us that day. Tristan was angry and I was in denial.

"It wasn't a very romantic kiss, was it?" he replied with a slight wince, reaching down to press his thumb to my racing pulse. "I didn't know I was going to kiss you until it happened."

"We were both so angry..." I murmured, more like an afterthought when Tristan tipped my head up with his thumb and forefinger.

"I think we deserve a do-over." I saw the beginning of his smile before he softly slanted his lips over mine and took my breath away.

All I could think was: my feelings had completely changed since meeting him.