Lana
February 25, 2014
Finally, my day off.
I lie in my bed, staring up at the ceiling as I take a deep breath. All I want to do is sleep the day away. I am so tired, I haven’t been getting that much sleep recently. I wake up every morning at five and don’t go to bed until eleven. Six hours of sleep doesn’t cut it!
Working with Natalie is easy. I wake up, help with breakfast, and while she is eating, I go to her room. I run her bath, help pick out an outfit, fix her hair… She is a sweetheart. She is kind, and if I end up picking out an outfit she doesn’t like or braid her hair in the wrong way, she gently tells me so. I knew she wasn’t the customary Alpha daughter. Anyone could see she has a heart of gold.
On my days off from taking care of Natalie, Rachel fills in.
The door to my room opens, and Jenny walks in, looking like the dead. She drops on the bed next to me, and we both lie down in silence. Jenny has become my closest friend here in the last seven days. She answers any questions I may have about the pack, Landon, Natalie or herself.
“I love having Saturday’s off.” I smile and look over at her.
“Are you ever going to tell me what’s preoccupying you?” Her eyes are closed yet a small smirk is on her lips. I roll my eyes and look away. I knew I was obvious. Whenever I see Landon or even hear his name, I go off to La La land.
“I don’t think you’ll believe me.”
“I already believe you. You saying that ensures that I will believe you.” I let out a sigh and count to three. On three, I am just going to say it. One… Two… Three—
“Alpha Landon is my mate.”
Jenny sits bolt up and looks down at me with wide eyes. I stare at her, waiting to hear her laugh or tell me I was wrong. But she just stares. I can nearly see the wheels turning in her head.
“How come you’re an Omega then? Did he reject you?” I feel my stomach drop at the thought.
If Landon was to reject me, I am sure I wouldn’t be able to manage. He is my sole reason for living. I escaped to find him. I have nothing without him. “No. He can’t see me. Our souls can’t connect. I don’t know how to get him to realize that I am his mate. I don’t know if a simple touch will do it or marking him. I don’t know. But it kills me to sit back and watch as he torments himself non-stop.”
Jenny gnaws on her bottom lip as she nods her head. “Okay, well then we need to plan a way for you to touch him without it being questionable. Maybe you can bump into him…”
“Bump into a blind man? That is cruel.”
Jenny lets out a sigh and throws her arms in the air. “What else can you do? You don’t want it to be obvious. Oh! Why don’t you fall in front of him and hurt yourself? He’ll help you up and—” Jenny shuts up when she sees the look on my face. Really? Fall in front of him? This isn’t some 1940s cheesy movie. And if I’m trying to avoid being obvious, then falling in front of him most definitely shouldn’t have crossed her mind.
I roll out of bed and run my fingers through my hair in frustration. “It is gnawing at my heart to just sit here and not do anything. I would have wanted him to fight for us. Don’t you think the best option is to just go and talk to him?” I look over my shoulder at Jenny. Her mouth drops open, and before she can respond, I get to my feet. I pull on my nicest outfit, the blue dress that Natalie gave me.
I know he can’t see me, but I feel it would be rude to dress inadequately when presenting such news to your mate. I throw my hair up into a messy bun and cast one last look at Jenny before I strut out of my room. I follow the hallway that leads to the kitchen, and I see Natalie sitting at the kitchen table. She smiles at me.
“Lana, hi!” She waves as if I were across the room. I walk over to her and give her a gentle hug. “What are you doing up so early?”
I shrug. I’ve been so used to waking up at five that six is the latest I can sleep in. As I look at the smiling Natalie, I raise an eyebrow as I wonder if she would be willing to help me. But that would mean I’d have to tell her my secret… Could she keep it? What if she does help, and the plan doesn’t work? Would she tell the members of the pack? They would look at me with disdain… That I am the Alpha’s mate, and he hasn’t accepted me.
“I just have something to do,” I say.
Natalie stands up from her seat and then pushes it in under the table. She takes a big gulp of orange juice and then turns to smile up at me. “Awesome, let’s go!” She grabs my hand.
“What do you mean ‘let’s go’?” I ask, following her as she takes us towards Landon’s office. What is she doing?
“Let’s go tell Landon. You’re mates!” I dig my heels into the ground, stopping us both. She looks up at me with a confused expression.
How did she know? There’s no way she could have heard my thoughts, I’m not officially part of this pack. I haven’t spoken too loud to Jenny, have I? “How did you find out?”
Natalie rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. “Do you know how many romance books I read? How many romance movies I watch? You look at my brother like a love-sick puppy. And let’s be honest… One doesn’t just fall in love with someone so quickly, especially not with my brother.” I glare at her. How could she say that? Her brother is nothing but kind. He saved her life. Sure, he is a little gruff and rough around the edges, but I know he has a good heart. “So, follow my lead!”
She turns and skips into her brother’s office, pulling open the big oak French doors. Shouldn’t she knock first?
“Hello, Natalie.” I hear Landon say. I smile, this must be a normal occurrence. He must know that whoever walks in unannounced is his sister.
“Hello, big brother.” She walks over, and he leans back in his seat, turning and opening his arms to her. She gives him a hug, and they hold on to each other for a few seconds. “I have something I need to tell you.” Natalie waves me over.
Landon lets out a groan. “Natalie, you can’t keep bringing home friends from neighboring packs! It’s dangerous.” I feel my eyes widen. Natalie leaves the pack territory to visit neighboring packs? Isn’t that a little dangerous for her?
“Please, Lanny! It’s nothing like that.”
I press my lips together to keep from laughing. Landon seems to relax, and I let out a soft giggle. She shoots me a glare, pressing her pointer finger to her lips to signal for me to keep quiet.
“Fine. What is it you want to tell me?” Landon asks.
“Hmm…” Natalie gives me a shrug as she says, “I found your mate.” My eyes widen. What? Landon lets out a low growl, getting to his feet. He stands tall behind his desk, showing off his true strength. Even without his wolf, Landon is intimidating.
“What did you just say?” Landon asks. Natalie nods even though Landon cannot see her. “I’d sense her, Natalie…” Landon’s eyebrows come together before he frowns and sighs. “Who is it?” I hear a sense of hopefulness in his voice.
Natalie nudges me forward, and I stumble towards Landon, stopping a few feet away. His eyebrows come together in confusion as he tilts his head to the side as if to catch a whisper.
I tentatively lift my hand, reaching out to grab his own.
What if it doesn’t work? What if he doesn’t feel our connection? Will he grow angry at me for claiming to be mates a second time?
I suddenly grab hold of his hand. Shocks shoot up my arm, and I close my eyes, hoping, praying that he feels this as well. My heart races, beating at the speed of a hummingbird’s wings. The hair stands up at the back of my neck and my arms.
I hear a low growl, and I tense, pulling my hand away from him. No. He doesn’t feel it.
His hand closes in around mine, and I gasp at his strength. I watch as his shoulders rise and fall, his breathing becoming heavy.
He’s outraged. I’m nothing but an Omega, and my actions have angered him. I shouldn’t be in his office uninvited, no matter if Natalie brought me. I’m off duty, and my place is to stay out of his way.
“Mine.” His voice is low, and his words are a surprise. What did he just say? He pulls me into his arms and holds tightly, dipping his head to nuzzle into the crook of my neck. I feel tears well in my eyes as I hold onto him, fisting his shirt into my hands. “I’ve found you.” A smile plays on my lips as I nod my head.
“Technically, I found you. I stumbled into your land.”
Landon grabs my biceps and pushes me back. He holds me at arms-length before he reaches up and traces the features of my face.
“Lana…” I lean into his hand, closing my eyes as pure bliss overcomes me. “You told me, and I didn’t believe you.”
I see Natalie slip out of the room when I peel my eyes open. I mouth a thank you to her before I step closer to my mate, cupping his left cheek in my hand. “You’re so beautiful,” I whisper, running my thumb along his cheek bones. Landon tenses under my touch, and I fear I may have crossed the line.
***
Landon
“You’re so beautiful.” Her warm hand caresses my cheek. I can’t believe I found her. My lovely mate. She is so delicate as she traces the contours of my face.
She has been right under my nose all this time. And I couldn’t sense her.
But when she placed her hand in mine, and our skin touched, it was as if something had awakened within me. I heard the familiar voice of my wolf growling out, mate. All my senses returned—my powerful hearing, my excellent sense of smell. At that moment, I didn’t mind that I didn’t have my sight.
I have something so much better. I have my mate, my other half. I listen to the quick beating of her heart. I breathe in her lilac and cedar wood scent. She’s perfect. And all mine.
“Natalie told me you’re blonde with green eyes.”
Lana lets out a broken laugh, and I frown before I smell salt. I reach up and follow the curve of her cheeks to brush her tears away. Why is she crying? She leans into my hand again, pressing a kiss to the inside of my palm.
“Yes,” she confirms. I can’t see her; I must paint a picture of her in my mind.
“I want to know everything about you,” I tell her. I grab her hand and lead her to the bench that is pushed off to the side of the office, in front of my large windows. I sit down and hold her in my arms, listening to the soft flutter of her heart. I close my eyes, accepting the darkness for the first time. I am content just listening to her breathe and the sound of her heart. They’re the most beautiful sounds that have reached my ears.
“There’s nothing to know. I left my pack to find you, and I did.” A smile plays on my lips, and I swell with pride. She went searching for me. She left her pack to come find me. “That’s it. Your turn.” She closes off. It sets me on edge for a moment, but I push the feeling away. She will open up in time.
“My parents are dead. I became Alpha when I was sixteen. I’m blind—” Lana pulls away, cutting me off. I drop my arms from around her only for her to place her hand on my right pectoral.
“That isn’t who you are, Landon. Your parents, your status, and your blindness doesn’t define you.” Her hand is on my chest, over my heart. “This. This defines you. You’re the man who saved his sister and his pack. You’re the man who has overcome so much.”
I grab her hand in mine, giving it a tight squeeze. How wrong she is. I am no longer that man. I have done many things that I regret. But how do I go about telling her?
I fear telling Lana who I truly am, what I’ve done will only scare her away. I am not about to lose her, not when I just found her. It may be selfish, but I don’t think I can live without her. And I’m not about to chance it. Not yet.