The day had been going great and peaceful with him in the presence of his mate alone when
[Alpha, we're under an attack]
He heard through mind link from one of his men who were out side the farm house.
Heistly, Dorian got up, without a second of delay,he grabbed Penelope's arm.
"What are..."
"Let's go"
He cut her off and without letting her ask any further question,he pulled her with him, leading her out of the small court they were at.
[How many] he asked through mind link
[26 in estimate]
Shit
They were outnumbered, only three of his warriors were here.
This was one of the disadvantages of having alot of enemies,he couldn't just go out ordinarily without backup as he could be followed around by one of his opponents who seemed to have found today as a perfect day to strike an attack.
[What pack]
He asked
[The river pack]
Curse those sly people,they must have known he wasn't leaving with alot of men today and thought they could try their luck.
[Leo, here_now]
Urgency laced in his tone as he mind linked one of his warriors and soon after,a brown wolf came running in.
[Take her out of here]
He instructed before turning to his mate who looked slightly confused,he didn't need to guess why.
"Go with him"
He spoke softly,one wouldn't even think he just heard of an attack.
"The_wolf?"
Penelope asked confused.
She had watched when the wolf ran in and how Dorian just kept staring at it, saying nothing,she wondered if this was one of those lycans he told her about.
After a while of just staring at the wolf,now he was asking her to follow it,to where.
"Yes" he replied
"But_why?"
"I'll be with you in a moment"
This time,a slight tone of urgency lingered in his voice
[Alpha they're coming in!]
One of his warriors outside mind linked.
"Okay?"
He urged giving her a small nod and a warm smile on his lips.
"O_okay"
She replied with uncertainty and definitely confusion and watched as the wolf began running towards the opposite direction.
Why he asked her to follow the wolf,she didn't know,but followed suit.
Dorian kept staring at the direction leo led his mate to and only when she was out of eye shot did he turn to face the other direction,his expression falling from the warm one he used with his mate as he shifted into his wolf.
.
.
.
Sitting inside the car which the brown wolf had led her to and afterwards ran off,she waited inside for what seemed like forever and soon,began nibbling with her fingers when she had nothing else to do as she had toyed with almost everything in the car out of boredom.
Soon,the door opened and the man she had been waiting for all these while stood right before her.
"Sorry I took long"
He apologized,his hand stretched a distance forward asking for her to come out which She did and he led her to the front seat.
"Did something happen?"
She asked with a slight frown but Dorian only replied with his usual warm smile
"No,just something small I had to take care off"
Going to the driver's seat,he got in.
Penelope couldn't stop glancing at him as they drove off from the place,his hair looked slightly out of place and something about his mood seemed off.
Was it something serious or perhaps work related he had to take care of,cause earlier today, he'd refused going to work even though it was made known he had alot to do.
"So,where were we?"
He asked all of a sudden pulling her out of her own thoughts.
"Huh?"
"The survey"
She still seemed confused.
"You asked last what my favorite flavor was right?"
Recalling the memory
"Uh_no,y-you already answered that"
She was quick to reply,her face turning flushed at the memory of how he had answered the question previously.
"Okay then" Dorian replied holding in a smile
"What's your favorite place to be at"
He asked continuing from where they left off earlier.
"Uhm,a library, mostly"
A library?
Well he didn't expect that to be her answer.
"Hmm,and when you're not at a library?"
"Well, somedays,I spend all my time at our little garden at home"
"You love gardens?"
He asked interested
"Yeah,my dad and I spent most of our days there,and,my mom as well but.."
She paused not completing her words as it reminded her of the state her mom was in.
"Hmm"
Was all Dorian gave as a response.
"What about you?"
She asked curious to know where someone like him would love to spend their day.
Probably some place luxurious, he'd have the money to pay anyway
"My favorite place?" He asked passing her a short glance.
"Anywhere my beautiful mate is"
A smile laced on his lips as he said so
"Wherever she goes,That's my favorite place to be"
His smile grew wider watching her almost flushed face.
"Right now"
His hand crawled to hers, pulling it in his while his other remained on the wheel.
"This is my favorite place"
He completed while holding her hand
Penelope could feel the heat from the warmth of his hand which held hers currently and at first she wanted to pull it out but he held unto it tightly.
She looked at him and could see a smile on his face,
She wondered what she was to this man for him to behave and talk the way he did with her,was she as important as he made it seem.
What did a mate mean to him?
"Where are we going?"
She asked trying to distract her mind from his hand which still held unto hers.
"Somewhere special"
Was all he said and Penelope said nothing further not wanting him to make any more witty comments.
.
The drive was smooth but long and after what took forever, they arrived at a place which Penelope was quick to recognize and immediately lets out a gasp.
"You said your favorite place to be was a garden right?"
He asked and Penelope looked at him with bewilderment,she didn't actually mean this garden.
Getting out of the car,he walked over to her side, opening the door like a gentleman.
Getting out, Penelope's eyes never wavered from the place whose entrance had large carvings of a name on metal, boldly written
'209.GARDEN'
This wasn't any garden,this was a wonderland,a majestic wonderland filled with any exciting activity known to civilization,like a park but much bigger.
She'd always wanted to come here, only circumstances never permitted her to.
"Would you like to go inside?"
He asked when he noticed she was just staring at the place and when her beautiful obsidian eyes met his,he couldn't hold in the Chuckle.
Turning back to the car,he grabbed out two black baseball caps. Firstly,he wore one over her head and then his.
"C'mon"
He held her hand in his leading her in.
Penelope's eyes would've certainly bulged out if they weren't glued to her face as she kept looking at almost everything at once.
They made stops to a couple of places around,fun places and certainly,that didn't exclude the ice cream stall where Penelope made him try out a cone and even though he didn't like sweet things,if his mate insisted,who was he to refuse.
Dorian couldn't help but notice when her eyes stayed longer on a particular spot as they walked away from a flower garden where he got the beautiful lilac flower strand which he plucked and now hung inside her hair.
He noticed the place she was looking at was a small stall,it was bright and colourful, filled with fluffy cute teddies and stuffed animals.
Pulling her with him,he led her to the stall.
"Which one?"
He asked pulling her attention to him and at first she looked confused but then he gestured with his eyes towards the plush fluffs ahead.
"Oh,ah,well"
She looked ahead,at first she wanted to tell him it wasn't necessary but then spotted a black fluffy bear, instantly, it's colour reminded her of the fluffy black wolf and immediately,she pointed at it.
Dorian couldn't help the smile while coated his lips at the adorableness of his mate.
"How much for the bear?"
He asked taking his attention to the stall owner.
"They're not for sale"
He replied gaining a frown from Dorian
"Then why display them?"
He asked slightly annoyed,why display goods if you don't wish to sell them.
"Well actually, they're to be won"
The seller explained.
"You'll have to win them"
He went on
"I'm guessing for the beautiful lady"
Dorian didn't seem all impressed at the manner to which the seller smiled towards his mate,and the fact she was smiling back,he didn't like that.
"All you have to do is get five marbles into the pit"
He instructed bringing a very small bowl which contained just five little green marbles.
"Ah,but you'll have to buy the marbles"
He went on to say but Dorian only ignored him and grabbed the bowl any way.
This was ridiculous,why not just sell the teddies.
Aiming at the small circle, Dorian shot his first marble but then realized too soon of how small the pit was,one would need extra aiming skills to be able to shoot correctly.
He shot three more but missed each one until his last marble which he shot but bounced off slowly as though trying to mock him.
Grabbing another bowl which also contained five marbles,he threw them towards the pit but each one refused to get into the small hole,annoyed,he grabbed a third bowl, aiming carefully but non seemed to cooperate,it was as though each marble wanted to shame him before his mate,he wouldn't allow that.
On the other hand,the seller only smiled widely each time this man grabbed another bowl as that would earn him more money and to think he was just grabbing them without care,he would make a ton today.
Already on his seventh bowl, clearly anyone could see the frustration emitting from Dorian cause from all seven bowls,he could only manage to get one marble into the pit but he needed to get five in. Penelope noticed this and tried telling him she didn't need the teddy anyway.
"Uh, Dorian, it's fine,you don't really need to get the teddy"
But instead of listening,it seemed his determination grew only stronger.
He would get those fluffy things no matter what it took.
He threw,one marble after the other, grabbing another bowl after the other and soon,he was out of marbles,a deep frown between his brows to show how annoyed he was.
"Do you rig these things to get money?"
He asked the seller focusing his irritation to him.
"It's a pit throw,it can't be rigged sir"
The seller replied genuinely,pit throws was a game totally based on the players ability to aim.
"Dorian"
Penelope began in attempt to tell him she didn't need the bear anymore but instead.
"How much for the bear?"
He asked
"Sorry sir but they're not for s..."
"I said how much is it?"
This time, Dorian's tone carried something which was able to make the seller or anyone who would hear shutter.
"**$s"
Penelope almost gasped at the price,was this man actually trying to rip them off in broad day,for that little thing.
"Dorian it's really not necessary"
She turned to Dorian but the man just stood still, staring blankly,his eyes looked distant,same look he had earlier when he was looking at that wolf back at the farmhouse,was he thinking?.
Few seconds after,a man,dressed in all black, approached them, raising something in his hand, Penelope almost let out a low gasp when she saw the bundle of cash in his hand.
Gesturing with his brow,Dorian ordered for him to place the money against the counter and he did so, leaving afterwards.
"Will that do?"
He asked an oblivious question knowing fully well he was giving well over much more than what the seller asked for.
"Take everything,anyone you want"
The man whose eyes were immediately fixed on the bundle of cash in front of him, gawking shamelessly spoke.
Walking around the counter, Dorian stretched his hand, taking off the black bear from it's hook before returning to Penelope whose eyes were yet to recover from the amount of cash paid to this man.
"Here"
He said passing it to her,a satisfied smile on his lips but instead
"You really didn't have to do that"
She said but instead,he paused,stared at her for a while before replying
"Not even a thank you after making me go through all that?"
He asked feighning an emotional downreck and Penelope mistook it thinking he was angry she was being unappreciative.
"Oh, I'm sorry,thank you"
She said
"Hmm,just that?"
He asked and she looked at him but then added.
"Thank you very much"
But it seemed that wasn't what he wanted.
Taking a step closer, he rested each of his palm against her cheek and drew her face closer then placed a light Peck against her forehead.
"You're always welcome my love"
Immediately, Penelope drew back,her eyes scanning side to side to see if anyone or rather if people were looking.
What was he thinking.
"Why would you do that?"
She asked making him slightly confusedly.
"This is a public place, someone might see"
"So?"
Her obsidian eyes stared at him before looking heistly away.
"You're, you're a public figure,if people see,it could affect y-your reputation"
That was the only excuse she could find but instead of hindering,this stubborn man pulled her into his embrace right after she just lectured him of this place being public.
"I don't care"
He drew her into his embrace,basking in the pleasure of her scent.