Daniella moaned as she rolled over. Her body was pounding, and the sounds coming from around her were not helping matters. The sun was too hot glaring at her. Falling to the floor she put a hand to her neck feeling the raw flesh that was slightly swollen. Pulling her hands away she saw her fingers were clear. There was not a drop of blood on her fingers. Standing up, she stumbled into the bathroom where she found a chunk of her neck was red and swollen. Jason's loss of control was staring at her blankly. Her hands were fine even though she recalled his paws had come through.
"Daniella ?"Jason asked. Turning around she saw him leaning against the door frame, staring at her.
"What? What the hell happened? Why have I suddenly become a fucking chew toy?" She glared at him wondering how she'd survived the night. Pressing a hand to her stomach she was ready to call him out when another female was calling out her name. Frowning, she stared at Jason then past his shoulder.
"My mom and dad are here, and they're making breakfast. Mom makes a mean breakfast. I promise you won't be disappointed with what she makes," he said, stepping closer into the room.
"What?" she asked, pressing a hand to her forehead. Daniella wasn't wearing any clothes, and the way she felt at that moment she wasn't prepared to deal with his parents.
"I know you've got a lot of questions," he said, moving closer. Daniella wanted to move away to not let him touch her, but she couldn't stop the yearning that built inside her. She wished for his arms wrapped around her.
"I will answer your questions and give you everything your heart desires. All I ask is that you come out and spend some time with my parents. It's not the whole family, just my parents."
Denying him was out of the question. "Fine. You've got to promise me that we'll talk, properly talk, and not just have sex."
The sex is so good. Ignoring her body she stared at him waiting for him to refuse.
"Fine."
"Okay, I'll, erm, put some clothes on."
Jason followed her back to the bedroom where he handed her some of his clothing. She wore a long t-shirt with a pair of drawstring shorts. They were too big for her body, but they covered her enough to give her some dignity.
"What if they hate me?" she asked, biting her lip with her nerves.
"Believe me, baby, they do not hate you. Mom wants to castrate me for keeping you to myself."
"We've barely known each other that long," she said.
"We've known each other for over a week, and for a lot of wolves that's a lifetime already." Jason ran his hands up and down her arms. Was he nervous?
"Come on, they want to meet you, and I'm tired of being hungry." Jason took her hand leading her out of the safety of the bedroom.
"Wait, stop," she said.
"Dear, is that you? Does Daniella like her bacon crispy?" the woman said.
"My mother is called Helen, and you know my father's name," Jason said. "How do you like your bacon?"
"Crispy."
Pushing some stray hairs off her face, she followed behind into the open kitchen. The apartment was large enough to fit a whole family.
"Mom, Dad, I'd like for you all to meet my woman, Daniella ," Jason said, holding her in front of him.
She saw his father first, and she smiled at him. Next, she saw the beautiful dark haired woman that looked a little like Jason . Most of his looks came from his father.
"Hi," she said.
"Sweetheart, it's a pleasure to finally see you awake," Helen said, circling the counter. She wore an apron spattered with grease. "When William told me my boy had gotten a mate, I couldn't believe it."
The men in the room tried to hush Helen up.
Mate?
"Shut up, boys. She's going to know sooner rather
than later." Helen stood in front of her. "Now, let me have a proper look at you," she said, cupping her cheeks and turning her head this way and that. Daniella went through the motions as the woman assessed her as if she was a prized cow. "What do you mean mate?" she asked.
The men tensed while Helen kissed her cheek. "It's so good to have another woman in the family. For some reason the line seems to breed a lot of men." Helen eased her down into a chair at the counter. She noticed four settings with them all facing each other. Was anyone going to explain the mate comment? "Mate?" Daniella asked again.
"Honey, my son has picked a fine woman in you." The raised flesh of her neck prickled.
We're mated. It's about time.
"I really don't know what you mean."
"Daniella, honey, haven't you ever seen the marks of a mated female?" Helen asked.
"No," Daniella said, glancing behind her at Jason .
Jason as glaring at his mother. If looks could kill she'd be nervous.
"Helen, that's enough," William said, speaking up. "We're going to have breakfast, and then we're going to leave them to their business. This is not our pack, and it's not our business."
The hairs on the back of Daniella's neck stood on end. The Alpha within William was demanding obedience.
"I know. I know. You don't have to go all Alpha on me." Helen tapped his cheek as she passed.
All she wanted to do was get breakfast over with as fast as she could. Picking up her fork, she tensed when she felt Jason sit beside her. He made no move to speak to her, which she was thankful for. During the breakfast Helen spoke of Jason growing up, the good old days of being kids. She was given a rundown of embarrassing facts for all seasons. Throughout it all Daniella relaxed even as she felt aware of Jason at the same time.
With breakfast finished she started on the dishes as Jason showed his parents out of the door. Sticking her hands into the soapy water she curved her hand around the blade of the knife. Jason walked up behind her. When he was close enough to touch, she tugged the knife out of the water and brandished it in front of her. "You're going to start talking, or else I'm going to fucking hurt you," she said. Her emotions were all over the place. Even as she brandished her knife at him, she couldn't help but think she was overreacting.
He held his hands up in surrender. The smile on his lips made her even angrier.
"What did your mother say about mating? Why did you bite my neck, and how did you explain your lack of control?" she asked.
"Let go of the knife," he said, reaching for it. Handing him back the knife, heat filled her cheeks.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" She touched her cheeks, wondering what the hell she'd done wrong.
"You're going through something." He stopped, looking down at the floor in front of him.
"What? What am I going through?" she asked, confused.
"My mother wasn't wrong. We're mated. Last night, I lost control."
Daniella stared at him. The silence in the room was deafening.
"There's a lot of things you do not know," Jason said.
"Well why don't you start telling me about all those things I don't know." She was tired of being kept in the dark about everything. Touching her neck, she felt the raised skin and wished there was something more she could do.
"I'll tell you. Can we do the dishes without you trying to kill me?" he asked.
Glaring at him, she finished doing the dishes as he dried them before putting them away. When she was finished Daniella walked over toward the windows staring out over the city. She wasn't due back at work for another three weeks. Running fingers through her hair, she tried to focus on the three weeks, but she was starting to think her time wasn't nearly over.
"You're not going to let me go after the month, are you?" she asked. She saw his reflection in the window.
"No, I'm not. I can't let you go."
Nodding, she felt tears sting her eyes. Daniella knew she should be upset about his news, yet part of her was relieved to hear him not getting rid of her.
"What do you need to tell me?" she asked.
"I was the dog you saw down the alley," he said. His arms wrapped around her waist holding onto her tightly.
"What?""I'm the one who smelled you, Daniella . I was the large black dog that couldn't resist you. I'd been scenting you for some time, and then you were coming out of the building and I couldn't stop. I was the one who bit you," Jason said.
Her heart pounded as she recalled the black dog approaching. At the time she reached out, in an attempt to touch him. He'd struck, sinking his teeth into her arm. The pain had been excruciating. Afterward all she remembered were Jonathan and Naomi . They'd taken her away from him.
"I had every intention of finding you. In fact, I never gave up trying to find you," he said, surprising her.
"You were looking for me?" she asked.
"Yeah. I asked Jonathan and Naomi if they'd ever seen you before. They always told me no. I could never smell you. We believe the injections you were given were an attempt to mask your scent. They fucking succeeded as well."
"Why are you telling me all this?"
The big question he'd been waiting for. Licking his lips, he folded his arms and stared at her. "You're my destined mate, Daniella ." He settled for the truth.
"What?"
"Our wolves recognize each other. You're the woman I'm destined to spend the rest of my life with."
"How is that possible?"
Stepping closer, he invaded her personal space. "You can feel your wolf wanting me, Daniella. She knows me. Our wolves are a perfect match, and if you give me a chance I'll prove to you that I'm the man for you."
She shook her head turning back toward the windows. "This is all so confusing."
Reaching out, he gripped her shoulders not wanting to let her go. What started out as her being his toy had developed into something far more. On the quest to find his sister he'd discovered the woman who'd settle his soul and tempt his body. "Give us a chance.""The first time we met you had killed the leaders of my pack."
"They were using you as a fucking science experiment. The whole pack was as corrupt as their leaders," he said, trying to reason with her.
"You were going to kill a teenager. Oliver is too fucking young to die."
"I wouldn't have killed her." He admitted the truth to her.
She jerked, looking back at him. "What? Alex told me this before. You don't need to say anything."
"Yes, I do need to say something. I'm not a monster, Daniells. I wouldn't have killed her. I'd have pushed her aside. She didn't smell corrupt or anything like the rest of the pack. She smelled like you, innocent."
He heard and felt her take a deep breath. "This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me," she said.
"I love you, Daniella ."Jason figured he should be the one to put the words out there. She could do with them what she wanted, but he wasn't going to hide from his feelings.
She turned in his arms, staring up at him. "How do we know this is not because of the wolves? How can you love me? You don't even know me."