27

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"Do you think they'll be a good match Thorn?"

"Baby, they're mates. There isn't any doubt they will be a good match. True mates, aren't a hit and miss thing. Look at the pack and the mated couples. Look at us. Even when on the surface it looks like a match that doesn't make sense, when you look deeper you see the perfection of it. Gem and Lucas for example. That girl needs someone who is strong enough to break through her defences, but protective enough to not break her. Lucas can be a tyrant but he has a heart of gold, just don't let him know you see it."

Thorn grinned at his mate, "Look at us. You're so little and lost on the surface, but baby you're so strong, so amazing, and so good with reading people, the perfect alpha female. I'm a good alpha, okay so I'm possibly biased but I think I am. However sometimes I see only black and white, right or wrong. Since I've been mated with you I've been able to see all the shades of grey in between. I look at members of the pack and want to 'fix' things for them, it's the alpha in me. Once, I would have done that quite forcefully, and sometimes that hasn't worked out very well. I know, shocking, there have been times I was wrong." He shrugged his shoulders indicating it was no big deal. But the reality was those errors weighed on him. "You make me want to work with them, guide them, see what is under the surface. Look for the bigger picture. You give me the strength, the love, to be a better man, and a better alpha."

"Thorn, there could be no better alpha. You care, you cared long before I came along. You hardly ever give orders to your pack. The girls have told me how much freedom you allow the pack and how much the pack has grown. You welcome the lost, the wounded, and the abandoned. Your pack adore you. Those few 'mistakes', I know they hurt you more than you want me to see. But how do you know they were really mistakes? Sometimes we can't see the real path till we have wandered off it. Often we have to look into the wrong option to appreciate the right one. Sometimes we need to get lost to be found. Sometimes when we think we are at rock bottom, with no way back, is when we save ourselves, but most of the time a hero comes in and saves us. Like you saved me."

"I'm no hero Luna," Thorn frowned down at her "I never saved you."

"You have no idea how low I have been. You have no idea how much I needed you to save me. The nightmares, the loneliness, the struggle. The nights I would huddle in my car wondering if I could even face another day." Her eyes met his and Thorn couldn't hear any more he pulled her to him and kissed her deeply.

The door she kept closed so often opened, and he saw images of her in her car. She was in a carpark near a beach. She looked out the window tears streaming down her face. She looked down and he saw the letter she was writing. A goodbye to the world. An apology to whoever found her. Her intention clear when he saw the blade her eyes moved to, sitting ready on the passenger seat.

As her memory briefly took hold of her he saw the shudder go through her body. "I don't know what stopped me that night. I had this strong sense that there was something out there watching me. I looked into the darkness of the carpark, and out towards the ocean and saw nothing, but I felt eyes on me. I was spooked enough by the feeling I started the car and drove further."

"Must have been a guardian angel."

"It was no angel Thorn, it was something nasty. I could feel the evilness of it. I didn't feel like I'd been saved, it felt like it was waiting for my death. I didn't want to die with that evil near me. I planned to do it somewhere else."

"I'm glad that 'somewhere else' never happened." Thorn spoke quietly as she closed the door, getting control of her emotions again.

"I found you. You are mine. You never have to go through that again. But I am not a hero Luna. Don't put me on some pedestal because then when I fail you, and there will be a time, that's real life. I will fall off that bloody pedestal. I'll fall hard, and you won't be there to catch me."

"Baby, I haven't put you on any pedestal, so you can't fall. You're too tall already and I need you within reach. In fact I like you, under me, best of all." Luna teased. Seeing he wasn't letting this go with her joking around she continued, "You will never fail me. I'm sure things will happen in our long life together. Disagreements, disappointments, arguments even. But I will always love you. I will always want to curl up with you. I will always want you to hold me. Even when you make me cry it is your arms I need around me."

"Fuck, I hate making you cry." Thorn tightened his embrace, "I can't wait till our wedding baby. I can't wait till the whole world knows you're mine."

"Then maybe I should show you my engagement present."

"I never knew I was meant to get a present for you." Thorn growled with displeasure that he had not thought to get her something.

"I think the bank account and debit card with all those zeros in the balance was a pretty big gift." Thorn remembered how much she had resisted accepting the money from him and his wolf woke a little as he heard her tone. "I can't believe you think you haven't given me anything. You have given me everything. You give me love, you give me tremendous pleasure every day. You have given me a family, a home, you've given me more than I ever dreamed. You have given me your heart, and so much happiness. You then go and give me that money, and I know I argued, I know I resisted, and I know how angry that made you..."

"I was not angry. Luna, if you're about to hand me back that debit card I swear I will not be able to stop my wolf." Thorn felt the wolf inside him getting closer to the surface as he feared his mate was rejecting him again.

"Well it is tempting to hand the card back just so your wolf takes me. I love how your wolf fucks me deep and hard. As a method of asserting dominance I have no objection at all. However what I was trying to say was I thought about it, and I realised you weren't angry, you were hurt. I'm sorry I hurt you. You were trying to provide for your mate. Take care of me. I see that now. I also used some of the money today. I hope you like what I bought."

***

Luna slowly removed the dress she was wearing and stood in a very sexy corset and suspender set, her eyes shining as she watched Thorn swallow hard and run his eyes over her body. "First I bought this lingerie. I wanted to buy something we would both enjoy tonight. I bought a few other things too, but they're for another day. Then we went to see Marcus. Lexi gets all her work done by him. In fact it sounds like he works on all the members of the pack that want ink. Lexi tells me with the accelerated healing tattooing is a bit of a challenge, and Marcus has the magic touch. He is certainly talented. I sat in his chair with my heart racing Thorn. I let him work that needle on my back for a long time in this corset and a pair of jeans."

"You let another man, a wolf, one of my pack, see you like this? Touch you like this?" Thorn's possessive growl sent a shiver of desire through her. His growls always made her wet these days. Her sex drive seemed to be multiplying with every day. Looking at her mate right now it wasn't a shock she would want him. It was amazing to her that that initial need hadn't decreased. When speaking to others in relationships the common thread was they started hot and heavy and then eased right off. From then on it took bribery in the form of romance or gifts or something similar to spike the libido again. Right now she couldn't imagine ever losing the constant drive to touch Thorn. Thinking about him touching her was enough to create even more moisture. She knew he would smell her growing desire.

"I pulled my hair forward over my shoulders like this." She draped her long hair down over both breasts so it hung to her hips at the front. Hiding her body from him. But teasing him with glimpses of the corset down the centre of her body and at her sides. "He stood behind me. He worked on my back. The whole time he worked I thought about you. Thought about how you would feel touching me. How you would feel seeing his work on my back."

"Tell me you weren't alone with him. Tell me you never spent hours alone with him." Thorn's voice was a gravelled plea. Luna couldn't believe how much his jealousy pleasured her. If anyone had asked her if she wanted a boyfriend, or a husband, with a possessive streak a mile wide she would have been adamant she would run a mile from one of those kind of men. Her Thorn had just the right amount. He wanted her to know she was his. Needed reassurance she was only his. But yet in his own way he gave her the freedom she needed to truly be herself for the first time. She loved him for all of who he was, but that little bit that said, he would never let her go, would die without her, it echoed so much how she felt herself it moved her to the core.

"I had Gem and Lexi with me the whole time. Gem held my hand and Lexi watched him work. I was never alone with him. I would never do that to you Thorn. This time was a surprise for you. Next time I'm hoping you will hold my hand." She wondered why he hadn't demanded she turn around. Why he hadn't stalked behind her to see for himself. Maybe he didn't like the idea of her marking herself. Starting to doubt she had done the right thing for the first time, she tried to explain, "I love your tattoos. I love the stories they tell. I love tracing them with my fingers or with my tongue." She lowered her head a little, "I imagined you tracing mine that way. I wanted to have something that said everything I want to say. Need you to know." She gasped as his hands clenched on her arms.

"Stop talking and show me. Show me what he put on you. Show me what was so important that you let him touch what is mine." His hands came off her arms and she saw the faint marks where he had grabbed her. Okay so this could go either way, but he was definitely on the very edge of control. "Fucking show me."

Luna wobbled as she started to turn, his wolf was so close, he was so angry, worried, she paled slightly.

"This wasn't a betrayal of you baby, this was for you. I swear. Trust me."

LJ slowly turned around. As she trembled waiting for his reaction a deep growl came from behind her. That growl was a good growl surely? Luna was starting to be able to understand those growls and she felt a wave of heat as her body flushed with her excitement. She felt his breath on her neck, and then a fingertip on her tender skin.

"I love you so much. I will love you forever. Always."

She sent her promise to her mate who was closer to wolf than man right now.

***

Thorn ran his finger over the skin. He knew it would still be tender. He traced the wolf. A black wolf looking to the moon. He growled in pleasure. He read the words that curved under the image of himself. Forever & Always. He pushed her forwards and she went to her knees. He tore her wet pants from her and brushed a finger over her wet lips. "Did you get wet like this while he tattooed you? Did he smell your desire like I can?"

"Thorn, are you crazy? It hurt so much. I was busy trying to think of anything else to block out the pain. Gem, Lexi and I talked about the wedding mainly. There was no bloody lust. It was when I had picked the design I got excited. Thinking of you. It was when he had finished and I thought about presenting you with my gift I started to get wet. I came home and we talked about the wedding, and you were perfect. You were interested and excited about my plans for our day. I hoped you would be, but I worried you wouldn't be interested at all. Most future grooms apparently aren't too excited by the details, barely even get involved. I started thinking about when to show you. I got so wet thinking about it. Then Katie rang and I thought about her and Aaron mating. I was worried about her, happy for her, yet I still couldn't stop thinking about us." Thorn knew this was true, when she had taken him on the couch and sat on him while she had talked to her friend, he had smelled her arousal. He had mistakenly thought it was her little win with the karate move. His wolf gave a little growl of pleasure as he remembered how good it was to have their mate wet and ready for them. He looked at the tattoo again, she had marked herself. She had permanently stamped him onto her body. In a way claiming him, but more importantly symbolising she was his forever. He ran his tongue over the tattoo, he tasted the residue of the salve she would have applied to the tattoo, and the slight metallic trace of the blood she had shed to show the world she belonged to him.

"Mine. Forever and always. Yes."

"Forever and always Thorn. Yours, as you are mine. Fuck me Thorn. Please Fuck me."

"Patience baby, first I'm going to check there are no other marks on your perfect little body. I'm going to run my eyes, my hands, and my tongue all over you. I'm going to remove this sexy outfit you're wearing and make sure I haven't missed a thing. From today on the only marks, temporary or permanent, will be by my hand, or under my supervision."

"You do like it though?" Luna whimpered as he ran a finger around the edge of her corset.

"Baby it is fucking amazing just like you. Seeing you like this with me marked on your flesh forever. It's as hot as the first time I saw my mating mark on your neck. I am going to get hard every time I see it."

"Then why are you teasing me? Why aren't you burying yourself deep inside me?"

He couldn't tell her it was because he was so weakened by what she had done, what she had given him, that if he tried to give her what she wanted so badly right in this moment, something she wanted even more would be lost. He was barely reigning in his wolf. The mark on her neck, the tattoo, the smell of her need. The images of how close they came to never having her. His jealousy that Marcus, a wolf he trusted as a member of his family, had touched her. The constant need to fill her, mark her, claim her. He ran his hands over the pink marks he had just put on her arms. He could hurt her in so many ways. He wouldn't hurt her by satisfying the now at the cost of what would be.

"Because I'm the boss here Luna, and you need to be reminded of that. I will look after you. I will love you. I will protect you. I will touch you. And when I'm ready I will make you scream my name. Make you beg. Then baby I will fuck you so deep and hard. So let's remove that sexy corset, let me see you."

"See all the ribbon criss-crossing my back love? That's just for show it would be so sexy to have you tighten those ribbons and tie me into a corset, but as I put this one on alone, luckily it came with these." Luna sat back on her heels and pulled the first dome apart. She drew a line along the edge of the curved bodice, across her breast with her fingernail, "No marks here, other than the love bite you gave me this morning." She moved to the next dome, which bared her nipples. "No marks here Thorn, although they ache for your touch." She lightly pinched her nipples and then let him push her fingers away and take over. "Your touch marks my whole body baby. When I'm not with you my body remembers your touch. My nipples brush against my clothing and harden, hoping your fingers or your lips are the next caress they'll feel. My collar touches your mark on my neck, and I feel your love. Remember you claiming me. The way I am yours. Need for you pulses through my body. I ache for you. Not always sexually, although often it is. Jut to be with you. Always be near you."

"As it should be. The mating bond is strong. We will always feel each other. Need each other. It will ease slightly. But the bond is deep. You will feel my need as well as your own. It's why it's so strong. You feel my lust for you as deeply as your own lust for me. When I miss you, you will feel it like you miss me. You will get better at realising which feelings are yours and which are mine. Better at deciphering what my feelings are, anger from hurt, love from lust, happiness from joy, even fear from adrenalin. As I will continue to get better at knowing yours. Instead of myself seeing everything as a rejection of me for example." He tore open the rest of the domes on the corset and dropped it beside her. "By the way Marcus has a very possessive mate, Nadiya. She is Ukrainian, a police officer, armed and dangerous. She is a very strong wolf, and she would attack if she smelled your wet pussy in her mate's tattoo chair."

"Then Lexi better watch out because when I left with Gem she was settling in for some more artwork, and that girl was pretty much dripping with lust."

"As long as my girl was only wet for me."

"My first, and my only. No other man has ever made me want, made me need. Thorn please don't make us both wait. I've been aching for you all day."

"If I give in to you now the alpha in me will need compensation Luna. The alpha in me will need to prove that I have the lead, control, your total trust."

"Name it Thorn and I will give it to you. Just please be in me?"

"Anything?" Thorn decided to get himself a little added insurance for his secret mission.

"Anything."

"I want you to promise that the first time I do something big, that you feel breaks your trust in me. That you remember I love you, and give me twenty-four hours to convince you what I did, was not a betrayal. I want you to swear to me that you will not react or run for twenty-four hours."

"I swear Thorn, and not just for the first time, I can promise that for every time, and I hope you will give me the same promise."

"I can make that. I swear to you I will always allow twenty-four hours. Let's seal that promise baby." He twisted her hair in his hand and tilted her mouth to his. As his lips met hers he pushed straight into her body. Burying himself deep and holding there as they sealed their promise to each other.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

They drove along in comfortable silence. It was nice that they could either talk about anything, or sit in peace, not feeling an urgent need to fill an awkward void. Luna loved the way they seemed to know today there was a need for the soothing space that only comes with quiet. There was a sweet instrumental collection playing through his vehicle. Her hand rested gently on his leg. Their connection keeping her calm. The scent of the cedar growing along the edge of the road magnified the scent of the man she loved. Luna took in a deep breath. They were drawing close to his parent's restaurant now. The place they had their first date. A smile touched her lips as she remembered conversations and actions that now had completely different meanings. Soon she would see his house. Their house. He had insisted she start thinking that way now, their home, their pack, their money. It was scary as hell and yet she felt the relief of having some sense of safety, financial security for the first time in her life. She felt her desire building as she remembered their first night together. He obviously scented the change in her as he softly growled. He knew that growl would increase her lust. She raised her hand to slap him lightly on the arm.

"Your fault baby," he laughed.

"Shut up. We're going to meet your Aunts, Great Aunts. You said they were gifted and wanted to speak to me. Are you not worried at all?"

"No. I'm not worried at all. First I'll show you where we will be married. You can take photos and plan where you will hang all the fairy lights. Then we will go visiting. If you're a good girl Luna, I will let you have your way with me after that." She couldn't fight the smile when he winked at her.