"You must think so little of me," I chuckled, pushing the tears away from her face with the pad of my thumb. "It would take a lot to keep me from you. Actually, nothing would keep me from you." Her head tilted back, I kissed her wet face. Each tear that fell, I kissed the salty drops away.
"I wanted to be helpful; I didn't like that Dax couldn't mind-link you. You were gone, and I was so afraid." I shouldn't laugh, I shouldn't find it all so amusing, but I did. My little warrior cared about me so much that she defied her other mate to come to find me. It was flattering and let me know she cared.
"I'm here now, so no more crying," I ordered. Seraphina shook her head again.
"Dax is angry with me," she sobbed. My shirt was a wet mess, but I held on to her, not letting her go. "He hasn't spoken to me, I tried to talk to him, but he stomped out of the door. I tried to say I was sorry."
Dax was being a prick.
"Babe, Dax isn't much of a talker. He's like our Dad; he likes to ball things up inside and not talk. It isn't an excuse, but that is what he does. Dax doesn't want to say anything he would regret." Seraphina's tight grip loosened on my shirt.
"I need to you something, but I need Dax here too," I tilted my head in puzzled. Seraphina's eyes were puffy and red, her poor little lips were swollen from biting them too hard.
"Anything for you, my mate." I picked her up, carrying her outside. Not caring if anyone saw my strong mate cry. Hell, she should have cried more in the past few days learning about our ways. I'm an Alpha, and I would have cried too.
Dax had his back to us; Seraphina wiggled down and pulled on the back of his shirt. "Can we talk," she whispered. Dax stared down at Seraphina; her lip wobbled. Pulling her back to my chest, I wrapped my arms around her waiting for Dax to agree.
"I'm busy; we are leaving for the north, Bears are circling the area. We can talk when I come back." Seraphina's tears down her face again. Gods, why is he being a prick?
"Please, Dax. Just five minutes," she begged.
"No, I'll be back." Dax didn't bother to take off his clothes, he began to shift, but it wasn't his usual shift. He shifted larger into a two-legged creature. His arms were long, along with his claws. The bastard could half shift now, and I was jealous as fuck.
"No way!" I yelled excitedly. Dad ran over, the biggest grin I had seen on him in a long time.
"That's it! Damn, and I missed it!" Seraphina's head went straight for my chest, fisting her hands into my shirt. Her body trembled as Dax's beast roared. There were cheers, but Seraphina moved her hands over her ears. Is this why she was so afraid yesterday? Folen explicitly said she was fearful, and now she holds onto me for dear life.
Dax must not have explained.
Dax took off into the woods, Wolves following behind. I pulled Seraphina from my chest, but her face continued to be buried, shaking her head violently. "Baby, it's alright," I told her while kissing her forehead, her cheeks, and finally her lips. She calmed, feeling the sparks, the warmth under our skin touches.
"What is wrong, little warrior?"
"I made him that way," she sniffed. "He's so mad at me he turned into that," she pointed to the woods. Confused, I looked at her and the woods she pointed to. Did she think he was so angry he shifted into a monster?
"You know that is normal, right?" Seraphina's brows furrowed. "Royal werewolves can half shift, shifting into a tall Wolf that walks on hind legs like that. Dax and I haven't been able to do the half shift yet, but he did yesterday. He was worried for you, and he shifted. It is a big deal that he could do at a young age. You didn't cause him to turn into a monster. Sure, he was angry because you didn't listen, but it helped him transform to a new higher power." She sighed, still trembling.
"My Dad can do it; my grandfather can do it. It's normal for us; I'm sorry he didn't explain that to you." My finger swiped away another tear. "Do you feel a little better now? Dax was being prick; not talking to you was the worst thing, but he did have good intentions, just like you did when you went to look for me. Dax didn't want to say anything he would regret." Seraphina nodded; I pulled her into another hug. Squeezing me back, she relaxed.
Damn, we all need therapy.
"Now, what did you want to talk to Dax and me about?" Seraphina gave a heavy sigh, not letting her arms leave my waist.
"I wanted to tell you both at the same time," she muttered. I chuckled, kissing her forehead.
"Well, he's being a bit of a fucktard, isn't he?" Seraphina giggled. Gods, I wanted to hear more. "How about you tell me, since he wouldn't listen to you?" I wanted to know what she was thinking, what she wanted to tell us both.
"It's just that there isn't a perfect way to say it." My heart stopped. Fuck, she wasn't going to reject us now, was she? My grip tightened around her.
"Tell me what you are thinking, babe," whispered in her ear. Please nothing bad.
"That I love you, I love you both so much. Sorry, it took so long in Werewolf time to tell you. But I love you both with all my heart and I couldn't imagine my life being complete without you in it. Even if Dax can be hard to talk to sometimes," she chuckled.
I picked her up by her waist, spinning her around. Squealing in the air, other Wolves looked on and laughed, knowing our PDA wasn't anything to be shy about. "And I love you, Seraphina," yelled for the pack to hear. I kissed her on her lips. While she let me into her sweet mouth, I mind-linked Dax.
"I won the challenge," I taunted.
"The fuck you talking about?" Dax growled back at me.