Two

Chapter 2 Dylan

I clicked the door shut to my study, running my hands through my hair in exasperation.

Exasperation at Cherry, at myself, at this whole god-damned situation. For a moment, guilt kept me at the door. I thought of Cherry perched on a bar stool, eating alone in the kitchen. Her grey eyes washed-out and picking daintily at her meal. I almost went back. Almost.

It wasn't that I didn't care about her. She was…

What is she?

The truth was I didn't know anymore. But the hopefulness in Cherry's tone as she'd said dinner was ready had knotted my stomach. It wasn't at the thought of her cooking.

Her food is always bloody delicious.

I knew part of me would regret not sitting down for a bite. But it was what lurked beneath that simple offer of food. An important part of the mating bond was a mate's desire to nourish the other. The more frequently I gave in to her cooking and ate with her, the more chance there was for the bond that was destined to exist between us to grow.

No doubt, it was partly why my parents had Cherry move in with me as soon as she turned of age. I stifled a groan as I thought of my mom and dad

before going to my desk and collapsing in my chair. I opened up my laptop and booted it up. My parents were such self-righteous asses. I loved them and respected them, not just as parents but as Alpha and Luna, too. But what they'd done to me in this matter was a bitter pill to swallow.

At seventeen, they'd told me Cherry, and I were fated mates. Of course, my dad had laughed at my disbelieving expression, telling me I'd feel differently when the girl became a woman. Just wait, he'd told me, with all the self-assurance of an Alpha, blessed by the Moon God, Nuu-Chah. As well as all the confidence of his own lived experience. After all, my mom and dad were fated mates themselves. But the difference was my mom had come from another pack, and she hadn't met my dad until they were both in their early twenties. It was a completely different story to how things stood between Cherry and me.

Maybe it was the age difference. Maybe it was my disbelief. Maybe it was the congratulatory way with which my father told me about my mate's existence as if he'd done me a great service in finding her. But most of all, the feeling that had stayed with me since I was seventeen was anger.

When I'd been seventeen and told the exciting news, I and the other teens in my pack were attending a local high school in Seattle to take our exams. It was my first real taste of freedom, away from Lord Hills and the watchful eye of my father, the Starsmoon Alpha. And the space and freedom thrilled me.

So far, my parents have only shared the news about my future mate with me. It hadn't been publicized to the pack at large yet. So, as heir to the Starsmoon Alphahood and with my strength and good looks, it hadn't been hard to capture the interest of one of the female shifters in my year. It

started as an act of rebellion. Each time I stole away with the female to a hidden spot on the school grounds, I felt electrified. I was doing what I wanted.

I remembered how our make-out sessions underneath the bleachers had quickly escalated to driving out to more secluded spots. It had felt exhilarating. We'd got intoxicated on each other alone, our kisses becoming petting until we'd been in the backseat of my car fucking. And our secret meet-ups had continued for months. I'd ended up liking the girl—a lot.

Emily. Her name was Emily.

I told Emily to keep our relationship secret. At first, because I didn't want something that was so enjoyable to end. Then, I realized that the idea of my parents finding out about her worried me. What would they do if they found out about her? I made Emily swear again and again she wouldn't tell anyone about what we were doing.

Bu the beautiful, kissable girl hadn't been able to hold her tongue. When my father found out, Emily was sent away. And so, I hadn't clapped eyes on her since I was seventeen. With his Alpha's command, my father forbade me from even looking for her. I'm bound by my oath to never look for her.

So, that's that.

Disappointment swirled through me as I numbly clicked open an email about pack business: something to do with the pack's boundaries along one of the ranches in Lord Hill.

As I half-heartedly read the email, my thoughts fell to how my own life felt so stuffed-full of boundaries. I tapped the desk with my fingertips restlessly,

aware that I'd hardly been home half an hour and already felt as if the walls were closing in. The longer I spent here with Cherry, the further away that sense of possibility I'd felt with Emily slipped away. Was the excitement I experienced back then something that was simply gone from my life? Could I ever feel it with Cherry?

Again, I imagined the slender woman sitting in the kitchen, her long blonde hair and smooth heart-shaped face undeniably beautiful. It was why I couldn't share a room with her, despite the hurt I knew it caused her. After all, I was still a hot-blooded male who saw how god-damned beautiful she was—every day. I didn't trust myself to share a bed with such a beautiful woman and keep my hands to myself. I knew Cherry was only eighteen and likely hadn't had any experience with guys. After all, from the age of eleven, she'd known she was destined to be my mate and the future Luna of the Starsmoon pack. She deserved her first time to be with someone who truly cared for her. And although I found her beautiful and desirable because of my parents and the future they'd decreed for us, Cherry came with too many trappings. I was a future Alpha. My future wouldn't be dictated to me by anyone.

Once, after a few beers, I'd confessed all this to Bert, my Beta, and friend. He'd advised me to try things with Cherry. To get to know her for herself. He'd told me that he knew her better than I did, and he could see how she could be right for me if I only gave her a chance. Bert was only a couple of years older than Cherry. He'd hung around with her and had lessons with her when they'd been kids. They'd shifted together as juvenile wolves and gotten into the usual scrapes that the young'uns all did, egging each other on with dares to run into ranch-land or stalk the suburbs of Seattle.

Bert claimed Cherry had been one of the most daredevil wolves in those feats. Fearless. A Luna in the making. For some reason, Bert's stories about Cherry's perfectness for me had only made me mad. I mean, where was the daredevil wolf he spoke about? If she was, how could she be okay with what fate had dished out to us? Where were her wolf's stubbornness and aggression? Why was she just rolling over? She was the epitome of domesticated: always cooking and cleaning for me. Hell, recently, she'd even been mending my clothes, claiming when I told her that she didn't have to that she liked it.

Who the hell likes sewing?

But the night Bert had tried to change my mind with his adventurous stories about Cherry, I'd been so pissed-off that my friend was trying to trap me into this oppressive life, too, that I'd told him that if he thought her so brilliant, he should pop her cherry.

The words hadn't been out of my mouth for more than a second before Bert decked me. Hard. My own Beta. Any other time I'd have fought back at such disrespect. But that night, I'd walked away from him, ashamed of myself. Cherry deserved more respect than that.

With a sigh, I clicked open another email, hoping to find something to occupy my thoughts.

Then, a gentle knock sounded at the door. "Yeah?" I called out.

Cherry pushed open the door, carrying a steaming mug. Another of her nightly habits, especially if I didn't join her for dinner. She'd warm up a cup

of milk and bring it to me.

"Hey," she settled the cup on my desk. "Don't work too hard. Remember, it'll still be there in the morning, and a future Alpha needs his rest." She smiled sweetly.

I stared at her, thinking about how much she kept on trying, no matter how much I kept pushing her away. Her grey stare was pensive, but there was something else there. Fondness. I was struck with the thought that she would keep treating me well, no matter how many times I pushed her back.

I offered her a warm smile. "I won't, I promise." I picked up the mug, bringing it to my lips, hoping it would give her some satisfaction to see me drink.

The milk was just the right temperature, with a tiny hint of honey, and before I knew it, I'd downed it. As I brought the empty cup down from my mouth, I noticed Cherry's eyebrows raised in surprise.

God dammit.

Too late. I realized this was the first time I'd finished any of the drinks she'd brought me. Usually, I left half-finished cups here in my study. I guess as a not-so-subtle protest that, I wouldn't submit to any part of the mating bond.

I shrugged, trying to downplay what just happened. "You made it perfectly."

With the back of my hand, I wiped a stray drop of milk from the corner of my mouth and then noticed Cherry's intent stare slipping to my lips. I spotted the way her throat bobbed as she watched.

"Thanks," I said abruptly, setting the mug down and turning my attention back to the computer screen, pretending the email in front of me had me absorbed.

"You're welcome," she said, her voice husky, before picking up the mug and leaving the room.

As I read the same line over and over, the echo of her breathy voice rang in my ears, and a while later, I realized that my fingers kept touching the corner of my mouth as if her gaze had left a mark.