Page 65 of Smoke and Lure

“No.I damn well plan to ensure your happiness above all else.”He reached up and grazed his knuckles over the silky skin of her cheek, needing to touch more than her hand.But he pulled away before his touch strayed lower, to the column of her neck and the swells of her breasts.“A wedding.You still have your mother’s ring.”

He’d seen the pride reflected in the big man’s eyes and shining in the marks that declared Aodh a dragon-shifter when Kai, by Morlie’s suggestion, had placed her father’s ancestral ring on Aodh’s finger.

Chanin couldn’t fit Morlie’s mother’s ring, not even with all the Mage magic in the world.However, he’d get them steel rings made if it fulfilled a dream of his mates.

“Oh, no.”She emphatically shook her head.“I am happy for Kai.My sister talked about it all the time before our parents got sick.She’d ask our parents to recount their wedding story or talk about other weddings they had attended before everyone was forced underground.”She shrugged.Being sick for so long, my mind no longer dreamed.It only focused on one thing: survival.I didn’t want to die.”

Lifting their joined hands, he kissed the back of hers.“I’m glad you didn’t die.That you made it beyond the wall in time.”

“I’m your mate.That means I’m yours forever, right?”She smiled up at him, her gaze more amber than brown, evidence that her wolf was close to the surface.

“Right.Grr—” His wolf’s growl broke forth from his mouth, but Chanin bit it off.He turned away momentarily and inhaled, isolating his olfactory sense on the rich soil beneath their feet and the fresh, cool air of the early morning, filtering out Morlie’s musky violet-vanilla scent.

When he felt a little more in control and, his throat not so tight and his words rough, he turned back to her.“Kai being with child.Is that something you want?”

He caught the tint in her cheeks before she cast her eyes away, staring at the ground as if she were concerned with their steps.Morlie’s steps were as sure as his own.As shifters, they were unlikely to trip over roots and debris along the woods' floor.

Her expression was neutral, and her body remained close, so it was hard to know what she was feeling.At times like this, he refused to read her mind and invade her privacy.Chanin wanted her to trust him.

The longer she remained silent, the tighter his chest became.Morlie was his mate.He could not change this fact.It’d be easier for him to lop off a limb than deny a mate.However, given his pack's current situation, it would be hard to adjust if she were not interested in filling their home with little ones.

“Morlie, I know your life has been in flux for years.If, like marriage, you don’t want them...”After tonight, the wolf would find it impossible not to pursue the goal at every opportunity.Still, Chanin would do everything within his power to keep it from happening, no matter that it was like putting his shoulder against a mountain and trying to move it up the side of another mountain.

“I was afraid to hope, let alone dream of finding someone for me or anything else beyond that.”As she raised her head, she shook it and exhaled but still didn’t look at him.

He squeezed her hand, hoping to communicate that he was not pressuring her.He remained silent, allowing her the time to work through her words no matter what came out.

“Since I have changed and I’m learning to connect with my wolf on a deeper level, I know she wants it.I can feel her yearning for it.”Morlie raised her hand as if about to place it on her stomach but lowered it back to her side.

“Our beasts live to fill four basic needs: water, food, protection, and procreation.That order changes by whatever need is lacking.”Chanin knew why her wolf wanted offspring.Shifters were all about having a strong Pack, and strength to their beasts was in numbers.

“It is understandable.Animals are never as complicated as humans.”Still holding his hand, she moved behind him as they passed through a thick cluster of bushes.

Once the path widened again, he tugged her forward beside him.“Truthfully, it is the reason you are here.”

“You mean the mark?”She absently played with the ring on the thin rope around her neck.

“That’s part of it, but you should know more.”Chanin stopped; they were about a mile out.He asked about her carrying his child when Morlie had no clue how dire the situation was for his Pack and the ramifications of the humans’ war.

Morlie's sable brows lifted high.“What is it?You look so serious, Chanin.”

He released her hand and made his way to a large tree.It was his moment to gaze off in the distance and think about what lay before them, not just their home but the territory, his Pack.

Leaning a shoulder against the tree, he faced her.“Morlie, you know about the mark.Aodh explained at the meeting grounds that it was the reason I could sense your traits, know you were mine.”

She folded her arms over her stomach as if trying to protect herself from bad news.His mate had been through so much that her instinct was to defend herself and prepare for the bad news.

Morlie fixed her gaze on him and nodded.

He offered her a half smile, hoping to calm her fears.What he had to tell her had more to do with his people's frailty, which was hard for him to express.

He forced the air out from his lungs and drove forward, “You weren’t around during the Great Catastrophes.The group warning disasters were one thing, but the annihilating wars that followed not only killed billions of humans but affected the Were population also.”

“How?You all have a thriving society.I can see you never went underground and have had to rebuild your existence over the last few years.And no sickness ravaged your people.”There was a sharpness to her words.

Chanin didn’t take issue with it.“You’re right, Weres are strong.Preternaturals are not easily killed because our skin is tougher, and we can heal extraordinarily fast.”

“Okay.”She shrugged a shoulder.“I’m grateful that my body is now just as capable.I don’t want to ever go through having my insides ravaged and not being able to fight it on my own.”

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