Luna of Mine (26 page)

“
Y
our world is changing,” Perizada
told Vasile as they stood looking out into the forest in the human
realm just beyond the veil. It had been several weeks since they
had requested her help in hiding from their enemies. He felt like
her statement was putting it mildly. His world had been flipped
upside down and then flipped again.

“
It is,”
he agreed. “You know as well as I do, ancient one, that there is
only one thing I can do.”

She nodded. “Adapt or
die.”

“I cannot stay here much
longer. Emilian’s men will not give up until I am dead or I kill
them. I do not wish to ask for help because I do not want to drag
anyone else into a battle that could turn very deadly for any
involved.”

“
You
know that I would offer you more assistance if I could, but the
council is adamant that we stay out of the human realm. They are
tired of the fighting.” Peri’s lips tightened as she spoke. “I do
not agree with their decision, but for now I must abide by it. I
have a feeling that there may one day come a time when I have to
challenge them. But for now you will have to handle this one on
your own.”

“
I will
be victorious, Perizada of the fae. I have to be, because the
alternative is too terrible to even imagine.” He felt the heavy
weight of the task ahead of him settle squarely on his shoulders.
The time of peace was over. The effects of his father’s madness was
worse than he could have ever imagined, and yet having found his
true mate, he understood why his father had done what he did. After
losing his true mate so very young, all Stefan could see was a
future full of darkness and loneliness. Vasile had never truly
understood how frightening that was until he had laid eyes on
Alina. The light she brought to his life was something he had never
experienced. He knew if he lost her, he never would see that light
again.

Yes, he would be
victorious. He would take back his pack and help them heal. He
would claim his mate and bond her to him. He would secure a future
full of hope for all of them. He had to believe that the Great Luna
had not created him to be Alpha only to have him fail before he
ever truly began. He had to have hope because the absence of hope
meant his enemy had already won.

“
I want
you to remember something, Alpha,” Peri interrupted his thoughts.
“On the darkest of nights, when you cannot see the stars or even
the moon, when you do not feel your Creator, when your enemies are
closing in and their victory appears imminent, and you are sure
that all those you love are lost to you, remember that true defeat
only comes when those who are able to act, stand idly by while
those in need are cast down by evil. Do not forget that. If you do,
I will come and kick you in the head until you remember
it.”

Vasile let out a huff of
laughter. “I had forgotten how eloquent you were with
words.”

“
I
strive for truthfulness; eloquence is for liars and thieves. Both
of which I have no tolerance for; remember that as
well.”

“
Anything else you would like me to remember, oh great high
fae?”

She tilted her head
slightly as she looked at him, mild amusement glinted in her pale
green eyes. “As a matter-of-fact there is, if you do fail and all
those who do not need killing end up dying because of your failure,
know that I will drag you back from the grave so that I can torture
you myself. Because I will probably be the one who will have to
clean up the chaos and mess that will result in your defeat. Moral
of the story, Alpha—do not die.”

Romanian Proverb #14

Nu e trandafir fãrã
spini.

No rose without a
thorn.

One year later.

“
M
ina,”
Vasile said staring up at the night sky as he reached for his
mate. It had been two days since he had been able to truly speak to
her through their bond. He was constantly engaging Emilian’s wolves
and when one would fall another would take his place. And he was
not the only one being distracted by Emilian. Alina had informed
him that Emilian was growing more and more paranoid by his
inability to kill Vasile. He was constantly sending out warriors
into the villages, questioning pack members, convinced that someone
was assisting Vasile. He was also beginning to give weight to the
possibility that Serghei’s claim that Vasile was not mated was a
lie. A mated wolf was stronger than an unmated male, and Emilian
could not believe that Vasile was still more powerful than he since
he was no longer Alpha. The only way that could be was if he indeed
had a mate.

“
You
live another day, Alpha of Mine,”
Alina
teased as she answered him.

In the past year his mate
had already begun to come into her own. Her confidence had grown;
he could hear it in her voice and felt it in her teasing and
occasional flirting. Circumstances had played a part in how quickly
she had had to grow up, refining her already self-assured nature.
She had an old soul, one filled with the need to care for others.
When there were so many in need of her care, there was nothing she
could do but answer those needs. He knew that he did not help her
burden because he needed her most of all and she gave of herself
freely to him. Her heart was always overflowing with love for him,
and her mind was an open book so that he could see just how much
she missed him, needed him, and wanted him. Vasile was quickly
learning that to know he was needed, wanted, and desired by the
woman he loved made him feel as though he could move
mountains.

“
I have
indeed, and it is a good thing since today is one that I could not
possibly die on without having the chance to tell you happy
birthday.”

“
You
remembered?”

He heard the surprise in
her voice and wished so deeply that he could be with her to stare
into her eyes so that she could see into his soul and know that
there was nothing about her that he could ever forget.
“How could I ever forget the best day of my
life?”

She laughed.
“You were not even there when I was
born.”

“
Perhaps
not, but the day you were born was the day I was guaranteed to be
loved by the most incredible woman I have ever had the privilege to
know.”
And he meant those words with every
fiber of his being.

“
Thank
you, my love. Perhaps, next year you will be able to say those
words to me as you hold me in your arms.”

Vasile’s heart clenched in
his chest as though her fist had wrapped around it and squeezed.
How badly he wanted that.
“If I could be
with you now, if it was safe, I would be by your side before the
dawn.”

Romanian Proverb #1
5

Mâta blândã zgârie
rãu.

Dumb dogs are
dangerous
.

Two years after
exile.

A
lina watched as yet another two males tore into one another
over something as simple as who would carry the message to Emilian
that their village had passed this week’s inspection. The fights
among the more dominant males were becoming more and more frequent.
Not only that but the violence behind them was escalating as well.
It was only a matter of time before someone killed one of their own
pack mates. The constant harassment of their Alpha, searching their
homes and questioning them weekly on the whereabouts of Vasile and
the warriors who had left with him, was agitating the pack members.
Wolves did not like their loyalty questioned. A dominant Alpha, one
more dominant than
all
the males in the pack, would be able to question his wolves
and keep their wolf under control. Being able to keep the violence
of the beasts inside the males under tight reign was part of why
having a powerful Alpha was so important.

Alina’s father was growing
more concerned every month that Emilian was not as dominant as he
had first led them to believe. Somehow he had tricked the more
dominant males into thinking challenging him would be foolish. When
the truth was there was a very great possibility one of the males
in the pack could defeat him. If that were true then they were in
more trouble than they had originally thought. They were two years
into his rule as Alpha and the health of the pack had not improved.
Instead, it was slowly deteriorating.

On top of all of this
chaos was the ongoing pain and emotional turmoil that Alina dealt
with because of her separation from Vasile. Their bond had only
grown stronger in the time they had been apart. She found it
increasingly difficult to hide the raging emotions inside of her
and worried even more about it now that Emilian was trying to
determine if Vasile truly did have a mate. Obviously, she was
number one on the Alpha’s suspect list. She found herself longing
for nightfall when she could lie down in the quiet of her bed and
listen to the sound of his voice as they talked through their bond.
She could tell that the constant fighting of the warriors Emilian
sent after him, the repeated killings, was taking a toll on him.
Vasile was dominant, a natural Alpha, and that meant he would kill
to protect. But that did not mean he enjoyed it, and she had a
feeling the only thing keeping his wolf from enjoying it was there
nightly mental talks―the connection they were able to make and the
balance she brought to him.

“
Can you do something for me, Alina?”
Vasile’s voice resonated in her mind
sending chills down her body as it did every time he spoke to
her.

“
I will
not promise until I have heard your request,”
she answered with a slight grin on her face. She knew better
than to agree to anything her mate said before knowing what it was,
lest she end up promising to live in the trees in a remote jungle
somewhere in order for her to stay safe.

“Will you step
outside?”

Her heartbeat sped up at
his request. She was up and moving towards the door before she even
realized what she was doing. Was he out there? Had he finally come
back?”

“
Oh,
beloved, there is nothing I want more, but it is not time.”

She felt herself deflate as
if all the air in her lungs had been forced out. She knew better
than to get excited because that only led to disappointment, and
she knew that those feelings only stemmed from her ache to be with
her mate.
“I am outside.”

“Do you see the full
moon?”

She looked up into the
night sky, and her eyes met with a large full moon that seemed so
close she could reach out and touch it. The light beaming off of it
lit up the darkness and wrapped the forest in a soft glow that
sparkled off of the leaves of the trees and plants.
“It’s beautiful,”
she
replied.

“
Knowing
that you are out there looking up at the very same moon that I am
seeing makes me feel close to you. I was hoping it would do the
same for you. For this brief moment the world does not seem so big,
and the chasm that has kept us apart does not seem so
wide.”

The moon blurred before her
as tears filled her eyes. They ran down her cheeks, first just a
few, until they were flowing freely.
“I
fear the chasm is only going to grow before you find your way back
across,”
she admitted as she wept
silently.
“I did not mean to take
something that you meant for good and turn it into
something….”

“
Shh,
Mina,”
he interrupted her.
“I am your mate. Who will you go to when you hurt
if not me? Who will treasure each and every tear for the special
gift that it is? Because though I do not want you to cry, every
drop is reassurance to me that you long for me as I do for you. I
am the one you come to and crumble before because I will always be
there to catch you. Do not ever apologize to me for how you feel,
beloved, because I feel all of it as well. You are inside of me―in
every cell that makes my body, in every bone that holds my frame,
in every muscle that grants me strength, in every breath that fills
my lungs, and in every beat of my heart that grants me life, you
are there.”

His words broke the wall
inside of her that was holding her emotions back and suddenly she
was on her knees. Her arms were wrapped around her midsection as if
that would somehow hold her together.
“I
miss you. I miss you so much that sometimes I wonder if I will be
able to take in another breath.”
Alina
felt his arms wrap around her, felt his lips on her neck, and his
breath on her skin, and though it was only in her mind, she grabbed
onto it like the lifeline it was. He rarely used their bond for
touch because he still felt she was too young, but he must have
seen just how much agony she was in and he knew what she
needed.

“When you
cannot breath, I will breath for both of us.”