Thirteen

Chapter 13 Dylan

She was even more beautiful than I remembered. Her heart-shaped face was as flawless as it had been seven years ago. But in the fitted blue dress she wore, I couldn't help noticing that Cherry's hips and bust had swelled. She moved with the same grace she always had but now exuded more of a womanly confidence.

I'd been impressed by how she handled Lucy's jealousy-fuelled comments. Instead of rising to the bait, Cherry had gone about her task with a professional air. She'd even tried to engage my fiancé with relevant questions. As soon as I'd heard that Cherry would be designing me a suit, excitement had coursed through me. I'd stayed apprised of her career, always looking out for mentions of her in the press. Lucy was oblivious to the many accomplishments that encircled Cherry or pretended to be.

I had, however, been oblivious to my fiancé over the last half hour. Time seemed to have passed in a blur, and I'd struggled to notice when Lucy was talking, too aware of Cherry's quiet but demanding presence and her teasing fingers moving down my body. Every minute I spent in my ex- mate's presence seemed to make everything and everyone else unimportant. She eclipsed all.

Suddenly, all the intense feelings I'd fought to keep at bay surged.

I noticed Cherry's body stilling in front of me as if she was equally aware of the charged feeling between us. The one that had caused her cheeks to flush as her hand laid itself on my chest. Her sudden motionlessness reminded my wolf of a deer stiffening in the forest. As Cherry reached out toward me with that damned tape measure, my wolf rose in me, scenting her sweetness. The beast within me rumbled with want. It needed to capture what it smelled.

With blinding need, I pushed Cherry back against the wall, my arms wrapping around her waist and dragging in a heady lungful of her scent. As her sweet, grassy perfume filled me, it was as if I'd taken the first proper breath in years. I felt more alive than I had in forever. My wolf agreed, vibrating with rich satisfaction.

But Cherry's hands were against my chest pushing me away. I backed off with a sheepish expression on my face.

A frown marred her beautiful brow, and her fair eyebrows scrunched together, her silver stare demanding an explanation.

I exhaled heavily, regretful that her scent was no longer in my lungs, knowing from the look on her face that I wouldn't get to breathe her in again.

I attempted to explain myself, "My wolf is… happy to see you, Cherry."

Her suspicious look slowly faded away, and with a gentle smile, she said, "Mine too, Dylan, but… will your wolf behave himself if I take the last two measurements I need?"

I huffed a laugh, wanting to reassure her more than I wanted to touch her. "I promise he'll behave."

Stepping forward, she kneeled down in front of me, measuring the width of my thigh, then my knee. I'd fantasized about Cherry so much over the years, wondering what I'd say to her if I found myself with an opportunity like this one. But, excruciatingly, now that she was actually here, I was hopelessly tongue-tied. It didn't help that my wolf that I'd just promised would behave, rumbled with approval at Cherry's position, kneeling in front of me. The Alpha beast in me wanted to dominate the beautiful creature in front of me. The urge to push her down on the floor and take her in my arms was in danger of overshadowing my rational mind. The hunter within me seemed to creep up and down in my chest, urging me that it wasn't words that would win Cherry, that it was only by showing her flesh to flesh, body to body.

"So, how's life treating you?" I eventually blurted out.

My lame opener elicited a quirk on Cherry's lips, at least. "Life's good. I love my work," she clarified. Pausing for a moment, she added, "I'm… happy." Tension fell over her suddenly. I kicked myself. I'd made her uncomfortable.

She stood up, flourishing the notebook. "That's everything I need." She said with strained brightness.

I nodded, forcing myself to smile, even though my spirits plummeted, knowing that that was it. There was no reason for us to linger here in my mom's workroom. There was my Alpha Ceremony to prep for tomorrow. No doubt Lucy was bossing about the delivery driver outside. My dad was

probably helping the driver unload. I knew I should go down and help. I should accept that this unexpected moment given to me with Cherry was all I was allotted. My heart cramped as I waited for her to walk away, out of my life. Again.

But… she lingered. Her voice was earnest. "I hope you'll be very happy too, Dylan."

Heaviness bore down on me. Her sincere tone made me admit, "I'm not happy."

Cherry's face paled.

"I can't be." I clenched my jaw before confessing, "I'm not in love with Lucy."

Shock washed over her face, then confusion. "But you're marrying her?"

With a sigh, I explained, "The only reason to marry Lucy is that she has the bloodline of an Alpha. My dad wants me to secure a powerful mate for the future of the next generation. He said that Nuu-Chah had foreseen a powerful child and heir from a union between Lucy and me. So… I agreed."

Her grey eyes tracked over me, and I could see her digesting my words, but I longed to know if they had any real effect on her. With yearning, I thought of how my feelings for Cherry had haunted me over the last seven years, as I knew they would. I'd never given up loving her, but my dad had finally convinced me to put the pack first. He'd lectured me that even as Alpha, my needs were subordinate to the pack's needs. He'd called me reckless for reaching my thirtieth year and still not having taken a mate and produced an

heir. His accusations over my selfishness echoed through my head. "What if something happened to you? With no heir, the pack would fall into chaos."

Eventually, his arguments had won out. After all, it was because I'd put my need for freedom before the pack that I'd failed to secure my mating bond with Cherry. If I had put the pack before myself, the line of ascension would have been safeguarded. Besides, Starsmoon would have had Cherry as a kind and self-assured Luna. I tried to push away thoughts of what might have been, berating myself for my past blindness.

But that was an impossible feat with Cherry still standing in front of me, her sweet scent hitting me like summer blossom. She opened her mouth, her voice gentle, "The fact that you're putting the pack first, Dylan, shows what an amazing Alpha you'll be. Starsmoon is very lucky."

I frowned, hating that my confession had only incited words about the pack from Cherry. Anger at the rapidly approaching future I didn't want was a feeling I was all too familiar with. And ironically, the past that I'd rejected seven years ago was now standing right in front of me in the shape of Cherry. I wanted to grasp it … grasp her, and tell the future to go to hell.

The more time I spent breathing the same air as Cherry, the more hope kindled in me. Could the feelings Cherry felt for me so many years ago blossom again? A hint that they might seemed to exist in the beautiful stain that had crossed her cheeks earlier as she'd trailed her hands down my body. If only I could be sure she'd felt what I did earlier. Had her thoughts gone back to that night that we'd shared all those years ago?

Courage flared through me as I thought of what she'd said about her life earlier. She'd told me she was happy, but she'd only mentioned that she was

happy with her work. Did that mean there wasn't anyone special in her life? When she'd left the pack and me, she'd done so because she wanted a proper relationship and to lead a full life. But with all she'd accomplished now in her career, wasn't it possible that she had more room in her life for more? Might she have room in it for me?

My wolf prickled just below my skin, and I couldn't resist the temptation to tell Cherry everything. I needed to tell her what I felt.

"Neither I… nor my wolf has feelings for Lucy," I started thickly, my voice low, and watching the heat rise in Cherry's cheeks again.

I thought of how my wolf hadn't lasted a minute alone with Cherry before I'd launched myself at her, hugging and breathing her in.

The sentence was on the tip of my tongue, "Whereas–" "Dylan?" Lucy hollered from downstairs.

Anger fired through me, and my wolf snarled at the interruption.

But Cherry moved away, offering me a strained smile, "An Alpha's job is never done, right?" She hurried to the door.

And as Cherry dashed out of the room, Lucy bounded up the stairs, impatient to get my attention. Likely suspicious, too, that things had taken us too long. Frustration somersaulted through me, and I realized I was screwed. I was utterly as in love with my ex-mate as I had been seven years ago. But after my ascension ceremony tomorrow, I would be expected to bind myself to another.