Luna of Mine (32 page)

“
Please,
Vasile.”

“
What, Mina, what do you
need?”
His deep, rich voice caressed every
nerve in her body and the touch of his body was almost too
much.

“
You, I need you. Please
kiss me.”

A smiled stretched wide
across his face as he lowered his head, finally capturing her mouth
with his.
“I told you one day you would
beg for me,”
he whispered as he coaxed her
lips apart and at last stroked his tongue along her own, tasting,
savoring.

Alina was too drunk on desire to be
irritated with his arrogance. As long as he did not stop kissing
her, he was safe from her wrath. She let her hands run up his
stomach to his firm chest and up around his neck pulling him
tighter to her. The groan that rose up from his lungs said he
approved of the bold move. His hand that had been on her face was
now on her back as both powerful arms embraced her. He nipped at
her lips playfully as he reached up behind her and removed the clip
from her hair. It cascaded down her shoulders and back and Vasile
immediately plunged his fingers into the dark tresses.

His mouth left hers as he trailed soft
kisses across her cheek and down her neck. Her head fell back
giving him unimpeded access. She gasped as his tongue darted out
and then his teeth latched onto her flesh just enough to cause her
to want to beg him again, only this time for his bite. His lips
began to travel lower, pushing aside the collar of her blouse. But
suddenly he stilled. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, breathless
from their passion. Vasile did not move; his mouth was still
pressed to her skin just below her collar bone but he was no longer
kissing or biting.

“
Is something wrong?” she
whispered.

He let out a shuddering breath as his
hands dropped to her hips and gripped them tightly. “If we do not
stop now, the blouse is going to go, then the skirt, and so on and
so forth. My wolf was beginning to take over. He is tired of
waiting. He was attempting to seduce you into bed.”

Alina let out a slow breath as she
attempted to gather her wits. Things had definitely started to get
out of control. When Vasile pulled back from her, his eyes were on
her chest not her face, and they were hungry. She looked down and
saw that two of the buttons on her blouse had come undone in his
exuberance. She blushed and quickly buttoned them earning a growl
from her mate.

“
You said we needed to
stop,” she reminded him.

“
I meant I had to stop
making love to you with my mouth. I did not say I had to stop
admiring your incredible form.”

“
You are shameless,” she
scolded as she pushed out of his embrace.

“
I will not deny that, my
love, and I have a feeling that once we are bonded you will begin
to see just how truly shameless your mate is.” Vasile laughed as
her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened.

She had missed his flirting, but she
had also forgotten how incredibly tempting he was.

“
Do you like your gifts,”
he asked as he reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her
ear.

Alina felt warmth spread through her
as she smiled at him. “Very much.”

“
Good, now unless you want
everyone to know that I have thoroughly defiled you, you might want
to straighten up a little.”

She rolled her eyes at him as she
straightened her skirt and blouse and then quickly braided her
hair. Her lips felt swollen from the passion of his kiss but there
was nothing to be done about that. “As good as it is going to get,”
she declared as she looked up at him. He was grinning like a
fool.

“
Everyone is going to know
what we were doing regardless of how put together I am if you do
not wipe that ridiculous grin off your face.”

He shrugged. “Then I suppose they will
have to know because the grin stays.” He closed up the barn
assuring her that Cosmina would be fine, as he had a pack member
looking after her.

Reluctantly she let him lead her away,
but only because he promised that as soon as he had destroyed his
enemy and they were back in the castle, he would have Cosmina a
stall of her own built right on the grounds. Then Alina could go to
her any time she wanted.

T
he night was filled with tension as the pack members in the
village gathered in the meeting hall to eat together. Alina found a
measure of peace amidst the horror of all that had happened and
would happen as once again they were united. Maybe not everyone,
but it was a start.

Before they all went their separate
ways to retire for the night, Vasile addressed them.

“
Tonight as you lie in your
beds send up a prayer to the Great Luna that she would grant us
strength, unity, and victory and that she would be on our side
because we have honor and have not let our selfish desires rule our
actions. Give thanks as well, for all that we have, for every
member of our pack, for your mates or future mates. And then as you
close your eyes and let sleep take over, rest in the assurance that
our creator has heard our united plea, that She loves us, and will
protect us.”

A
s
Vasile held Alina in his arms once again in the tiny bed, he did as
he had told his pack, he sent up his prayer to his Creator. When
his mate shifted restlessly beside him he looked down at her and
blew gently on her face allowing his scent to fill her senses. She
calmed and pressed closer against him. His mind wandered to earlier
that day when he had finally kissed her. Nothing could have
prepared him for just how completely extraordinary it would be. Her
lips were soft as silk, her taste sweeter than the best ambrosia,
and her response to him had nearly been the breaking point. His
wolf had been demanding they complete the bond. He did not care
that there was not a plush bed or soft candle lights. All he
wanted, all he would ever need, was his mate, no frills necessary.
But thankfully the human half was able to reason with the wolf as
to why it would not be wise to strip themselves, as well as their
mate, bare in a field, especially not for their first experience
together.

He had decided to give her his bonding
gifts before the challenges because he wanted her to know how much
he adored her. He had not planned on kissing her, but they were
alone. She was finally of age, and he could not stop himself. A
smile played at his lips as he remembered her outrage at his
flirting. Little did she know he was being completely serious,
because to him there was nothing more beautiful than her―every
luscious inch of her. He finally began to drift off to sleep,
unwilling to think about the fights to come. He thought instead
about just how much his lovely mate would blush when he could
finally look his fill without any barriers between them.

D
awn came much too soon. Alina, like everyone else, seemed to
be lost in thought as she dressed and got ready for the trek to the
castle. She wished that she could somehow leap forward in time so
they could simply skip all the fighting and killing and finally
have a united pack again. And yet she knew not only from her
father’s words but also through experience that it was when you
were in the valley, with all of life’s difficulties raining down on
you, that you experienced change and growth. The mountain top was
wonderful, but if the only place she lived was on the mountain top,
then how would she ever learn to love through pain, or laugh
through heartache, or endure so that she could help someone else
who might one day experience what she had? They needed the hard
times in order to truly appreciate the good times but also to be
refined into something better than they were before.

“We must
go.” Vasile’s voice drew her from her thoughts. She turned and saw
that he had his hand outstretched to her. She took it without
hesitation and let him pull her to his side. They walked silently,
joining the other pack members in the somber caravan as they headed
towards what was sure to be a blood bath.

“
You are
quiet this morning,”
Vasile said through
their bond as he caressed the hand he held with his
thumb.

“
I do
not want to see him and yet I want to rip his heart from his
chest.”
She did not want to feel that way
about Serghei. He had been a friend for so long, but then he had
gone and betrayed her, violated her, and murdered her parents. She
was a merciful person, but she had to draw the line
somewhere.

“
He will
not live much longer, my love. I will not allow
it.”

“
I do
not think he will challenge you at the beginning. He will wait
until you have been fighting for some time, thinking that he will
have a better chance if you are tired.”

Vasile looked down at her
and smiled. “Perhaps, I should make you the leader of my warriors.
You think like a warrior.”

“
Will
you be alright?”
Alina did not want to ask
this question out loud. She would never question her mate’s
abilities in front of pack members; it would make him appear
weak.
“With no sleep, no rest, how long
can anyone go on like that, Vasile? I have no doubt in your ability
to destroy every male out there, but to have to do it one after the
other with no time to give your body a chance to heal will be
difficult, and even you are not invisible.”

“
I have
fought in battles that lasted days. It is not easy, but when there
is so much at stake you would be surprised what you become capable
of.”
He brought her hand up to his mouth
and kissed her wrist softly.
“Have faith
in me; I will not fail.”

“
I do,
but I am your mate and it is my right to worry about you.”
A smile twitched on his lips at her biting
tone.
“Why is that funny?”
she huffed.

“
It is
not that I think it is funny, Mina. I happen to find you incredibly
attractive when you growl at me.”

She rolled her eyes and
inwardly groaned.
“At a time like this,
that is what you are thinking about?”

“
Beloved, you will come to learn that there is not a time when
a mated male is not thinking about his female like
that.”

“
Perhaps, we should go over the details again,” she suddenly
said out loud. This brought a bark of laughter from her mate that
had everyone turning to look at them. Alina ignored him and
addressed Ion. “You and Nicu will be with me,
right?”

Ion nodded. “We will not
leave your side.”

“The other males will fall
under the command of Alin while I am fighting,” Vasile added. “I
want all of the fights being watched and I want a set of eyes on
Emilian and Serghei at all times.”

Alina looked up at him,
then something struck her. “Why have I not seen Sisily?” She had
thought nothing of it two days ago, but now she was surprised that
Sisily had not checked on her even once.

“
I sent
her and her parents to Anghel. They are embarrassed and ashamed by
their son’s actions, and I did not want them to feel like they were
under scrutiny. When things settle they will come
back.”

Alina understood why he
had done it, and she even understood why he had not mentioned it.
He had been trying hard to avoid any topic that might bring up
Serghei. She could not decide if it was more for her benefit
because he did not want her to think on it, or for his because he
would not be able to control himself if he dwelled on
it.

“
Both.”
He answered her
thoughts.

Her brow rose as she
looked up at him. “Do I get no privacy?”

A wolfish smile spread
across his face. “I will make sure you have plenty of privacy,
Mina, just not from me.”

She decided then was not
the time to argue about it. They had a lifetime and then some to
deal with their differences. It was only a short time later that
she began to hear the rumble of voices intermingled with snarls and
growls. They were less than a mile from the castle and Alina
suddenly felt very sick. Vasile drew their group to a halt and
looked at each of them.