The Burning Claw (The Grey Wolves #10)(16)

“There is nothing,” she began, willing her voice to be steady, drawing on the calm, unwavering strength of her wolf, “in this world that a parent wants for their child more than to see them grow into healthy, vibrant, respectful, kind, loving, giving, and merciful adults. This world is filled with just the opposite and I can only hope that your father and I have taught you these things. But even if you had turned out to be a terrible person, if it meant you’d be alive, then I’d take you.” She let out a shuddering breath as she remembered his body, laying lifeless on a table. “There is nothing worse than a child dying before a parent. It isn’t right. Watching you, wondering if you would pull through, wondering what I would do if you didn’t, was the worst kind of torture. Without being too sappy” —she laughed and wiped from her eyes the tears that hadn’t fallen— “I just want you to know how much we love you, regardless of who you once were, who you now are, or who you will become. You will always be ours.”
Fane wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He whispered words to her in their native tongue and pulled her even tighter when a small sob finally broke through the armor she’d put in place.
“I couldn’t have asked for better parents,” he told her. “And you, mama, will always be mine. You will always be the first woman to have owned my heart. I know it must be hard to watch your only son leave your den for another and lose the bond we once had.”
She shook her head and pulled back to look at him. “No. We didn’t lose our bond, it simply changed. It morphed into what it is supposed to be when you find your true mate. Once upon a time, you looked up at me as if I was the most wonderful thing you’d ever seen. You raised your arms up to me so I would hold you close. You came to me for every injury, every victory, every joy, and every loss. And that was as it should be, but now…” She pulled out of his embrace completely and held one of his hands in both of hers. “Now you belong to another. You have a different bond. You go to her with open arms to offer comfort and love. You go to her for every injury, victory, joy, and loss. She is the one who should be the salve to your soul. And I am so very thankful that you have found her. Does it hurt to have our relationship as mother and son change? Yes. But is it worth it? To see my son love his mate just as I’ve been trying to teach you for all those years through the love I gave, freely, without expectations and unconditionally, it is more than worth it. It is incredible and no words can truly describe it.”
“Thank you,” Fane said simply.
“It has been my honor, Fane Lupei.” She stood, patting her thighs and letting out a quick breath. “I do believe you have a mate and new son, which I will be stealing away as soon as you offer, so you should get back.”She hugged him but this time it didn’t feel like she was losing something. This time it felt as if she’d gained something. He was her son, but he was also her friend.
Now another young pack member crept into her mind. If only she could be so honored to be a mentor, a parent of sorts, to Zara, then Alina would be fulfilling her role as pack Alpha.
Alina watched him leave and felt some of the pain dissolve from her heart. She sat back down on the couch with an unbecoming plop for an Alpha female. Alina nearly laughed. It felt good to almost laugh. And then she did laugh because it was hilarious that she thought feeling like almost laughing was funny. Her daughter-in-law would say she’d fallen off the deep end. She might be right.
“The only place you are falling is into my arms.” She heard Vasile’s voice through their bond.
“My love, if that was your idea of a pick-up line, you should tuck your tail and head the other direction because that was just awful. Almost, Jen would say, creepy awful.”
He laughed and Alina felt his humor and it relaxed her even more.
“You’ve done your duties as Alpha and mother. Now come take care of your mate,” he growled at her. She knew he was teasing her—sort of.
“Sorry, Alpha, but I think I hear Thia calling my name. She obviously has need of her aunt.”
Vasile huffed, making her smile widen.
“And what of my need of you?” His voice came from behind her where he stood in the doorway.
She stood and slowly walked to him. He held the other half of her soul and that connection pulled her to him like the moon pulled the tide. Once she’d reached him, he didn’t hesitate. He wrapped a muscular arm around her waist and pulled her against him. After all the decades upon decades that they’d been mated, being in Vasile’s arms never got old.
He leaned down and pressed his mouth over the bite that marked her as his. He nipped it and then kissed the flesh. His mouth traveled up her neck and stopped right beside her ear. Vasile’s warm breath blew across her skin and Alina sucked in a sharp breath. After all the decades, he hadn’t lost his effect on her.
“I think little Thia can wait,” he whispered in her ear, his lips brushing lightly against her flesh.
Alina couldn’t think straight, not when he seduced her and made it very clear that he still wanted her after all these years.
“Thia can wait,” she heard herself agreeing.
Later she might be embarrassed by the fact that her mate had shut the door behind him, locked it, and then proceeded to finish what he’d started. Yes, later she might feel that way—much, much later.
Bethany walked slowly around the suite that Decebel had provided for her and Drake. Jen had led the couple through a maze of twisting hallways nearly twenty minutes ago, Drake holding her hand and grumbling the entire way. With a warning to Drake to steer clear of the rest of the pack, Jen had slammed the door on them and Bethany distinctly heard the words fleabag and neuter through the door as the blonde stomped away. Drake had told Bethany to make herself at home, muttered something about smelling like a mangy mutt, and headed through a doorway that she guessed led to the bedroom. She’d heard the shower come on and decided to explore the suite while no one was watching her every move—not that she minded Drake’s eyes on her, but it did make her feel a little self-conscious. 
As she surveyed her surroundings, she could tell that no one lived in this suite. There was no warmth. No pictures adorned the walls. No little mementos decorated the end tables or shelves on the walls. No memories had been made in this place. As she stared at her sparse surroundings, her mind wandered, bringing her back for a fleeting instant to her own home. She could smell fresh bread baking and see pictures, drawn in crayon, stuck to a white refrigerator. Tears slid into her eyes as, for only a moment, Bethany remembered her own home. She reached out desperately, trying to catch hold of the memory—to feel again the warmth, the love from her family—but it was gone.
As the memory faded, she noticed that the furniture in this room was very large. The couch was brown leather and there were two matching chairs on either side. The end tables looked as though they’d been made by hand out of wood that had been hand cut. Each was unique and beautiful. The coffee table was the same—hand cut wood with the knots from the tree visible in some places. Bethany walked over to the windows that lined the back wall. The curtains were made out of a soft, but thick brown fabric, unlike anything she’d felt before.
“They’re suede,” a deep voice rumbled from behind her.
She looked over her shoulder to find Drake in a pair of jeans pulling a red t-shirt over his head. He’d been shirtless the entire time he’d been in the cage, but for some reason, seeing him outside of the cage, freshly showered, had a different effect upon her. Her cheeks warmed and she turned back to examine the suede curtains.
“Brown seems to be a favored color,” she said teasingly.
He chuckled. “Our own rooms are decorated to our taste, but this, this one was set up as a generic suite for visiting guests. I guess they wanted neutral colors.”
“The color isn’t bad…it just feels empty,” she told him. “Not super inviting, I mean.”
“You can change whatever you want.”
Bethany turned around, her eyes wide. “Change?”
His hand swept over the room. “If there’s anything you don’t like, you can pick something different.”
“But this isn’t your suite,” she pointed out, as if he didn’t know.
Drake walked toward her, his steps slow as though not to startle her. Bethany wanted to roll her eyes. She wasn’t a frightened rabbit. Wait, maybe he saw her as a rabbit. “Do you see me as a rabbit?” she blurted out before she could stop herself.
He paused his pursuit and tilted his head slightly. Seeming to come to a conclusion, he continued forward. Once he was standing less than a foot away, he reached up and placed a hand on her neck wrapping his fingers around the back while his thumb stroked the sensitive skin just below her chin. “First, I would like it to be our suite—a place we can both call home—a place of warmth that reflects our shared lives. Second, I see you as my mate and I would never describe someone as brave as you as a frightened rabbit.” He paused as he continued to stare down at her. His touch was affecting her in ways that she didn’t really understand, but she liked. “I will sleep on the couch and you can take the bedroom.”Bethany tilted her head to the side to look at the couch. Sure, it was big, but not long enough for Drake to stretch out comfortably on. She shook her head. “No, I can take the couch. I’ll fit better on it than you will.”