Page 27 of Golden Desires

The people in her life have shown her nothing but cruelty and violence. I want to spend my days making her feel cherished and loved. I want to be that soft place for her to land. I want her to know that no matter what life brings our way, she’ll always have us on her side.

I reach over and lace my fingers with hers. She is my purpose, my guiding light, I realize. I felt lost before because I didn’t know where I fit in. I didn’t know how to be what she needs. Now I do. I can be her friend. Her comfort. The person who picks her back up when she’s feeling down.

“Let us help you find out who you want to be. As Aldair said, we are happy to share our home with you.” I swallow thickly, daring to let her know our feelings run deeper with my next words. “And to care for you, if you’ll let us.” I hold her gaze as I let my longing for her shine through my eyes. My purr punctuates my words, and I can tell it affects her as her scent thickens around us.

“I would like that very much, Kylan.” Her words carry her own purr, and I shiver, feeling a need I’ve never known taking over. The sound of my name on her lips has me leaning closer. The intimate moment is ruined when the duck flaps its wings wildly, making us both startle.

Our moment is interrupted further when Ma comes around the side of the house with a towel in her hands.

“You two, come on in, we have supper on the table.” Ma smirks as she turns to head back into the house.

I stand and look down at the golden-haired beauty. When I hold my hand out for hers once again, she takes it without hesitation. I let a little more of my purr slip free. I can’t help it. I want her to know I enjoy her touch. Hopefully she’ll enjoy my touch just as much one day.

I wipe my mouth with a napkin as we finish up our meal, and I try not to look too obvious as I watch Goldie. She’s enjoyed three servings so far. However, when Aldair offers her another, she finally declines. I catch her eying the cookies Ma made, though.

“Would you like one?” I ask, nodding toward where they rest on the counter. She nods eagerly, so I get up, grab the tray, and hand her one. Cill snatches a second one for her, placing it in front of her, and making her grin.

“Thank you so much for the meal, Aunt Alma, it was delicious,” she says as she looks at Ma. I can see the resemblance in their features as they smile at one another. Ma’s once golden hair has turned mostly gray over the years, and they both have blue eyes, but the closer I look, the easier it is to see they’re family.

“Any time, sweet one. I have gathered some things for you that the boys can carry back. Don’t hesitate to come to me for anything you need. I would also like it if you returned for a visit soon,” Ma says with teary eyes, her scent of lavender is heavy in the air, and I can’t help but go over to her to pull her in for a hug. Reuniting with Goldie has ignited a spark in her, I didn’t know was missing. Ma leans her much smaller body into me, accepting the comfort I offer. Maybe she should be scared of me, but even after the horrible day when I lost control, she’s never feared any of us.

Ma has never shown us anything but love and kindness.

“I would love to,” Goldie’s eyes shine with her own unshed tears, but she doesn’t stand, like the rest of us. “Can I talk to you all, before we leave?” She’s nervous, her voice shaking as she looks between all of us quickly. We return to our seats, and wait patiently for Goldie to gather the courage for whatever she wants to talk about.

“Take your time,” Aldair rumbles, as he releases some of his calming pheromones, and it soothes her enough for her to speak.

“I was in the forest yesterday, because two days ago I ran from my village. My parents wanted me to marry a vile man. An evil man. I’d thought of running many times over the years, but until two days ago, I was more scared of the forest than I was of my parents.” Goldie lets out a shaky sigh, looking up and meeting my eyes. I smile at her, hoping she feels my support.

“It’s okay,” I whisper, and Goldie nods.

“The Alpha, Donald, wanted to do some horrible things to me, and I would rather die a bloody, painful death at the hands of monsters, than submit to that fate. So I grabbed Bear and ran. I fell off my horse when something startled him and crawled into a tiny cave, and the rest you already know,” she confesses in a rush, finally breaking eye contact as she stares down at her hands again, like she can’t handle seeing our reactions. “I understand if you want to send me away. I could be putting you in danger, if they’re still looking for me,” she whispers, sounding so broken.

My brothers and I growl, and I know, in that moment, the three of us agree on one thing. We won’t wait for them to come find us. We’ll take the fight to them. In the night, in the dark… We’ll do what we have to, to keep Goldie safe.

“We won’t abandon you, Goldie. Let them come. They’ll find us, and I can promise you, they won’t be able to get past us to get to you, even if they come with the entire village.” Aldair’s vow is fierce, and frightening, even to me. Ma looks worried, but I know it’s just because of our pasts.

Goldie’s eyes are wide as she stares at Aldair, her lips parted on a quiet gasp. Cillian smirks, the promise of violence is exciting him.

“No one will harm you as long as we’re around, I can promise you that,” I tell her in a more gentle tone, hoping to calm her a bit. I can’t tell if she liked Aldair’s protectiveness, or if she is scared now. Until her scent hits me like a brick, and her arousal is in the air. Wow. I shiver. That was intense.

“Thank you. I don’t even have words…” She sniffles, and Ma gets up, patting Goldie’s shoulder. She already knew this story, we heard Goldie telling Ma earlier, but I’m glad she finally trusts us enough to share her truth.

We’ll tell her our truth soon, too. Once we’ve proven ourselves worthy of her.

We say our goodbyes to Ma after that, and head out into the darkening forest to make our way home. Aldair takes the lead as he always does, while Cillian follows closely behind Goldie and me.

When she takes my hand in hers, I can’t help but search the area for a threat. Is she frightened? Instead, she just seems to be lost in her thoughts, trusting my brothers and me to lead her home safely. Does she even realize she’s taken my hand?

The walk home is quick, and I release Goldie when we arrive so she can head inside, while I check on the animals. The only thing I need to do is put out some grain for Bear.

When I head inside, my brothers are getting ready for bed, and Goldie is in the bath in the main washroom. I head into one attached to the nest, and quickly clean my body and my hair. We spent a lot of time outside today, and I have a layer of sweat clinging to my skin.

Once I’m done, I head into my room to grab my clothes for bed. Goldie is already here, and I stop short. I didn’t mean to intrude on her. Thankfully, she’s already dressed for bed. I, however, am only wrapped in a towel. I assumed she would still be in the bath…

“I’m so sorry!” I blurt as I cover my eyes, only to realize that's dumb, because she’s not the one half naked. “I’ll just grab some clothes and get out of here,” I rush to say, but Goldie giggles. The sound is adorable, and I look over at her. She’s sitting on the edge of my bed now, blushing as she smiles at me.

“It’s fine, Ky, this is your room, after all,” she says quietly, still blushing, and looking so cute I could just eat her up. I didn’t know how much I would like the sound of her using my nickname, but I do. I really do.

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