When she had first scented him shortly after she'd awakened from the wreck, she had confirmed he was human. Sure, his scent was a little odd, but she'd attributed that to her recent unconsciousness as well as all the smoke and fumes from the fire, not to mention the blood, his and hers. She hadn't scented him deeply, but even when she had gotten another hint of his scent while dressing his wounds he still smelled human, although once again just a little bit off.
As her mind began to calm just a little, it was racing, analyzing what she knew of Dante. He was bigger than almost any man she had ever known, and she could tell his strength was impressive from his build and muscle definition alone, bigger even than any of the other men in her Pack! He was fluid and graceful in his movements and had even managed to sneak up on her from behind; something nobody, not even her Father, had been able to do since she'd been a young girl. She realized with sudden clarity what had been staring her in the face ever since he'd awakened... Dante was a lycan too!
She had dismissed it as impossible and even now knowing the truth, it still seemed impossible. How could he not know?! Lily knew Dante was 25 and had been in the Navy, and he clearly should have known she was also a lycan the moment he'd first scented her in the bedroom. All lycans can instantly recognize another by scent alone. But this still didn't explain anything! Every lycan in history has had their first change and has met their other self, their wolf by 12 years old. Their body quickly changes, their scent changes and they come into their gifts. Dante was more than double this age and apparently didn't know anything, so his gifts must never have surfaced. What the hell was going on???
Finally clarity slammed into her like a tidal wave. No matter how impossible, she was forced to accept the truth.
Dante was a lycan, he had never come into his gifts so didn't know about his other half, and more important than anything, he was her MATE! As Lily's focus came back to the present she realized belatedly that Dante had been talking to her.
"W-What?" Said Lily after shaking her head and stepping back a bit. Dante had turned in his chair with a very concerned look on his face.
"I said, are you alright Lily? You froze and had this confused look on your face and were radiating fear. I can tell you've calmed down some, but I'm really confused here. What happened to you and what's going on? Something's been happening to me as well! Do you have any idea what it is?" He started rising from his chair. Lily took a deep breath and let it out, blinking a few times, trying to think of what to say.
"I'm sorry for that, Dante. I was a bit freaked out there for a moment and yes something happened to each of us, but it's ok and I've calmed down a bit." As she took her seat and motioned for Dante to do the same, he slowly sat back down. His brow was furrowed but he kept his silence.
"I do need to talk to you about what happened, though I honestly don't know where to begin," said Lily, now much more calmly than she'd managed before. She paused and gathered her thoughts and looked into his silver eyes. Those eyes had such power, but she could also see the concern and gentleness they couldn't help holding for her.
"I need to ask you some questions to be able to explain what happened, is that ok with you? I know you barely know me, but I need you to trust me and just listen and answer my questions as truthfully as possible, no matter what I ask or how strange they may seem to you. Can you do that for me Dante, please?" Lily asked, full of care and feeling.
Lily saw a flash of pain and fear shimmer across his face and his eyes widened slightly and he even looked away briefly. Once he'd gathered himself, he looked back up, although with hesitation, and answered.
"I'll try Lily, but I've been alone my entire life and have only known pain, with only brief glimpses of kindness here and there from very few people. I grew up an orphan in Boston, I've never been close to anyone, and have shielded myself from people and the rest of the world for my entire life. I don't know how to trust: I've never done it before, but for you I'll try. I sense you're different from anyone I've ever met before, so I'll try for you. Ask whatever you want, and I'll answer as best I can, but please have some mercy when it gets too much."
This large, dangerous man was laid low by the beautiful woman sitting next to him and he didn't know why. He'd never opened up to anyone, and here he was, promising Lily to open up his deepest wounds for her, never having talked much about even his shallowest cuts and scrapes with anyone else before. His sixth sense was telling him to do the inconceivable, to trust her completely. He truly wanted to, he wanted to believe in
someone
just this once.
Lily's heart was breaking as she listened to her mate trying to express himself from a base of such tragic ignorance, feeling in her own chest the pain he was radiating. He had never known, not even met, anyone before with the slightest ability to understand him. Without his saying a word, her natural empathy for her mate was subjecting her to all the pain and agony he'd experienced, laid out like a story across his body.
"I swear I will never hurt you Dante, you have to believe that... you... you just
have
to." Lily's voice broke and her eyes started to fill with tears. She blinked them away and took another deep breath before looking up at him and softly asking,
"Have you ever felt another presence in your mind? Have you been able to do things that shouldn't be possible? Have you noticed your senses of smell, vision and hearing being sharper and better than other people's? You already know you heal faster than anyone should, and I've seen you move and walk; except for the limp from your injured knee, you move with a fluid grace that is rare and unique."
Dante's eyes had gone wider and wider as tension filled his body. He was silent for several minutes, looking down at his hands in his lap. Lily was patient and allowed him time to process his thoughts and feelings, staring with deep compassion at the man who had already come to mean so much to her.
Dante looked up and started speaking slowly and quietly, almost to himself, "Growing up in the orphanage, from an early age I was always aware of myself and what was going on around me. The older kids were never very nice and always seemed to have it out for me. I had to learn quickly how to take care of myself and how to watch my back. I barely spoke to anyone, and was always studying and practicing something. I developed what I thought of as a sixth sense. I could read the intentions of people around me, tell what they were feeling and where they were located.
"When I entered the Navy that sense was honed even more. It saved my life several times on my tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then I earned my spot on the Teams. That environment and training is what sharpened them to a razor's edge and brought clarity to what I was feeling in my mind. It was what I have thought of as some wild presence in my mind that has kept me hyper vigilant and alive.
"There were times throughout my life, becoming much more frequent when I entered combat, when I was either in situations needing to save my own life or other people's, that this raw primal energy filled my body. It felt like a rush of heat and strength that infused every part of my being and ended up being the difference in life or death situations.
"It happened six months ago on my last mission in Mosul in Iraq. I had gotten my wounded team into the bird and was turning to jump in myself, when an RPG went off next to me. At the last moment I was able to sprint a few steps and begin to dive away when it hit. It threw me twenty feet and shredded my back and destroyed my knee. That's where I got most of the scarring on my back and my limp. After that I was discharged from the Teams and soon released from the Navy.
"I hadn't experienced or felt anything like it again until I was trying to open the door on your truck while you were unconscious and upside down. I didn't know who you were, but I was desperate to get you out of there and the door wouldn't budge. I felt that rush of heat and strength like fire in my blood, and was able to rip the door clean off the truck itself! I hadn't really had time to think about it before now but looking back that should have been impossible, but somehow I managed it." Dante stopped, realizing he'd been talking for several minutes. And pouring his heart out for the first time in his life, to this near-stranger he knew he could trust!
Lily was calmly sitting at the table next to him, her eyes as expressive as ever. He saw the caring and understanding and acceptance he'd always wanted to see before, but never had until now.
