Crescent (Tribes, Book 1) [completed]

Chapter 13

Conner mentally cursed himself. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. She was just... so... sweet and delicious. It made sense in his head, but the more he thought about it after he spoke it, the more he regretted letting it slip. His father would razz him about it for years.

"If you don't like it, I didn't say it." Conner shook his head.

Her lips quirked into a small smile. Miraculously, she didn't back away. She took a tiny step closer and leaned against his side. "I don't mind, you know. No one ever gave me a pet name before."

Good, his wolf purred in his head.

Conner blinked and forced him back before he looked down into Liana's beautiful face. "No one? Ever?"

She shook her head slowly. "I only really dated one guy seriously."

Conner couldn't help but purr softly. Of course no one else got his hands on her. She was his. Only his. Forever and ever and ever. He held her as close to his side as he possibly could. "Good."

"Good?" She quirked an eyebrow up at him.

Conner smirked down at her. He didn't think she even realized how close they were, or if she did she didn't care so much. He brushed his lips against her forehead, light as a feather and slow as he dared.

Her sharp little inhale stirred the wolf closer to the forefront. Here was his mate, safe and sound before him. He wanted nothing more than to have her fully, but both he and Conner knew they had to wait. She wasn't ready for that kind of frenetic behavior. She was hardly readyfor a kiss to her lips, though he desperately wanted her to be.

"You're okay, aren't you?" Conner stroked a hand down her side, surreptitiously searching for any injuries she might have sustained. She was so small and fragile. He would hate to see her injured on his behalf.

Liana turned a thousand shades of red as she tried to push out of his hold. Cute, really, that she thought she could. Conner merely made a soft noise in his throat, a warning about the others in the room.

Liana ducked her head and stopped pushing at him. "I'm fine."

Yes, she was. In more ways than one. Conner caught himself before he chuckled at the joke. He wanted nothing more than to hold her and keep her safe. Especially after all that happened out there. It intrigued him that she instinctively reacted to his alpha tone as well. As though she was indeed born to become his.

The large grey wolf by Conner's couch barked once.

Conner and his wolf instantly turned to glare at him. He was finally making progress with his mate. Why did everyone have to interrupt that? He inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring in irritation. "What?"

The wolf made an unintelligible noise, directed at his future alpha. An apology Conner didn't quite believe.

Conner inclined his head and wrapped his arms around Liana again. He swore he wouldn't leave her side again, not for anything. She was his world now and he couldn't stand to lose her. "Forgiven," he told Konan simply.

The wolf stood and gathered his family, both the woman and the girl, though he showed more obvious fondness for the latter.

Conner watched carefully. He hoped with Konan's mate and child present he would be alright to move about as he wished, but injured wolves were unpredictable at best. He wouldn't rest easy until Konan returned to his own house.

Liana wrapped her arms around Conner's middle, her small head rested against his chest.

Conner startled and looked down at her. Why did she do that? If she claimed to hate this so much, why would she link herself to him in such a vulnerable fashion? The top of her perfect blonde head was close enough to kiss, but Conner knew his father would look down on it. So he held her close and turned his attention back to the wolf preparing to leave with his family.

Konan shot more than one look to Conner and the little mate. Conner didn't like the way he eyed Liana, but he didn't dare growl too many times. His father still stood nearby. He would get a good scolding about holding her while others were injured later, he was sure. Still, Conner couldn't let her go. He needed her close to calm the wolf, especially after tonight. How did his father function without a mate?

He'd had Liana for a day and he already knew if something happened to her it would kill him too. He would never understand how his father thought about these things.

Konan huffed a sigh and padded to the door, waiting for his mate to open it before he stepped outside and flinched. No more bullets sounded. In fact, it seemed all too still out there.

Conner shot a look to his father. "Leave." He wouldn't ask. This was his house, his mate, and he couldn't take his father's condescension anymore. He needed to be alone with his mate, to seclude her with him, away from the rest of the world.

The bond needed time to build, yes, but it also needed privacy to wind around Liana's heart.

Macon shot Conner an annoyed look, but he slipped out the door anyway.

Finally. Conner wrapped his arm tighter around Liana's waist and tugged her closer to his chest. He needed to hold her, just for a while. He needed to remind himself that the sweet little woman in his arms wasn't hurt and she wasn't going anywhere. At least, not right now.

He ignored her stiff shoulders and buried his face against her soft hair. It smelled like the Moonflowers the women had used to decorate it. An intoxicating scent that worked on his wolf like an aphrodisiac. Not good. He needed her to trust him. It wasn't time yet to take her to his bed.

Conner sighed and reluctantly let her go. "If you want to sleep in the bed alone, I'll take the couch." It would hurt him. It would tear him apart inside, but if it's what she truly wanted, he couldn't deny it. He could never deny Liana the happiness she deserved. With or without him.

Conner made a decision, in that moment, that if she truly wanted to leave him at the end of the thirty days, he would let her. Because her happiness was more important than his next breath. It always would be.