My Surprise Mate

Chapter 8 

I wasn’t sure how long we sat in silence with Dane holding me tight against him.I just couldn’t get over how right this felt.I wasn’t used to someone caring for me like this, someone taking care of me and expecting nothing in return.I had only ever had myself to depend on and the thought of what this could be scared the s**t out of me.

"I would like to give us a chance."

I stayed cuddled up against him, not ready to lose the warmth and safety he was providing me.

His hand gently rubbed my arm, "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that."

I started to doze off in his arms before the loud ringing of my phone interrupted our quiet time.I groaned as I stood and retrieved it from the bedroom.

Kain Shelton.

I stood frozen in place as I watched the name flash across the screen of my phone.

Why is he still calling me? What the hell could he possibly want from me anymore? My phone lit up notifying me I had a new voicemail.

I hadn’t even realized Dane had walked up behind me until I felt his arms wrapping around me, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Who was it?" he asked deeply.

"Kain," the name slipped out before I could stop it.

“ What did he want?"

The million-dollar question.

I shrugged as anxiety started to build deep in my gut.I put it on the speakerphone as I listened to the voicemail.

Holly, it’s me, where the f**k are you?! No one has seen you.

Did you get that taken care of? ! don’t know why you are trying so hard to ruin my fuckin’ life, but! do know if you don’t call me back, I promise when I find you, I'll make sure you regret it.

Stop being a f*****g bitch.

Just as Kain was hanging up, you could hear some in the background talking to him, Alpha, I think that w***e skipped town.

I didn’t realize I was shaking, "He won’t do s**t,"

Dane growled out behind me.

He laughed a little, "I didn’t realize you were talking about that Kain."

Dane took my phone and tossed it onto the bed, "I'll handle it, babe, don’t worry about anything.Come on, let’s go for a walk."

He grabbed my hand and led me to the front door, giving me time to slip my shoes on.

It was a beautiful day outside and I finally had a chance to take in my surroundings.

Open space each way you look, except to the north.

I could see a tree line in the distance.I followed Dane as he led me down a path away from the houses toward a huge...barn? There was no stopping my squealed as I reached over the gate to pet one on the nose.

"Really? Have you ever ridden one?" he questioned me.

I shook my head, laughing, "No way.I always wanted to, but it was never in the cards I suppose."

I turned my attention back to the horse.

"You are so beautiful."

I talked to it like it would talk back.

Dane gently tugged my arm, pulling me away from the gate.He led the horse from its stable and began getting him ready to ride.

My eyes widened at the realization of what was about to happen.

"Want to ride him?" Dane asked hesitantly.

"I don’t know how! What if I fall off!?"

"ll ride with you.I won’t let you fall, besides Snickers is the best horse there is."

He patted the horse on its side.

I sighed as I stepped up next to Dane.

He helped me get on the horse before pulling himself up behind me.

One arm was wrapped around my waist as the other came up beside me to hold the reigns.

Dane started a walk before spurring the horse to run.

It was amazing.

I had never felt so free before.I leaned my head back against Dane’s chest and closed my eyes as his hand tightened around my waist.

As Dane brought the horse to a stop, I opened my eyes.

We were near the tree line I had seen in the distance next to a slid down.

I watched as the horse walked around the pond, stopping to drink from the pond. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Dane led me to a huge rock and helped me sit on it, positioning himself behind me.

"You know a little about me.Tell me something about you, Dane Black."

I broke the silence between us.

He cleared his throat, "What do you want to know first?"

I thought about his question.I had so many questions I wasn’t sure which one to start with.

"What do you do for a living?"

He tried to stifle a laugh, "Well, we raise cattle and have a few crops.And of course, we have the diner."

Well, that just opened up a whole new set of questions.

"Who are we?"

Dane moved so he was sitting next to me.

"We, as in my pack.I am the Alpha of the Shadowmoon Pack."

"What exactly does that mean? And am I in danger now, like Kain said because I know about your kind?"

I couldn’t help the fear that crept up on me.

I didn’t have the most perfect life, but I wasn’t trying to get killed either.

"No.No one is going to hurt you.Some humans know about us.The ones that are mated to werewolves, they know.If you are someone’s mate, you aren’t in any danger.Kain is a dumbass, don’t worry about him." he growled out.

We talked all day.

Dane explained everything he could to and how the pack works.

"How do you know Kain?" I asked curiously as we rode back to the barn.

"My father, the previous Alpha, thought it was important to know about all packs and their hierarchy, not just the ones around us.He always told me, that just because they aren’t close doesn’t mean they aren’t a threat or an ally.So, as part of my Alpha training, he required me to learn about all the packs, well the ones that had 100 or more members.That’s why I know about the Oakwood Pack.I also attend a meeting of the Alpha’s twice a year.Not many go to it, mostly the bigger packs, but that’s where I officially met Kain." I thought about what he just told me as we walked back to the house I was staying in.

"What if Kain tries to find me?" I asked Dane as we walked through the front door.

"Oakwood pack is smaller than us, and Kain is young.A fresh Alpha is what we call him.He has never been in a war...he’s inexperienced and cocky.His father was a decent Alpha, but he handed the pack over to Kain two years ago.In those two years, Kain has broken most of the alliances his dad had

made.He’s very careless.It will prove to be his downfall.So, if he wants to try anything, let him.We have nothing to worry about." focused on his lips; it was as if they were calling to me.

Dane leaned down, closing the distance as our lips met in a soft kiss.It felt like someone had shot electricity through me and the heat of it was settling in my core.I trailed my hands up his chest as I deepened the kiss.

Dane’s hands moved over my ass before grabbing my thighs and lifting me up.My legs circled around his waist instinctively.