Crossing Paths With The White Wolf

Natalia P O V

Theo grabbed some suits and button ups for Helios easily enough, clearly not lying about being his shopper for centuries. I, on the other hand, hadn't been out shopping in about two decades. Having stayed in small villages, avoiding life in general. I didn't know where to go so I let Celeste lead me to a few stores. She asked me what I needed before she chose a few stores to take me to. We chatted while I looked for things that fit my style of clothing. I needed comfortable but formal clothes. I hadn't had to wear anything other than jeans and shirts and the occasional skirt in so long. Celeste was surprisingly helpful and understanding as I tried on set after set and got more frustrated as I went. Things felt either constricting or stiff. When Celeste noticed my frustration, she told me about the first time she'd gone shopping after she met Markus and relaxed a little as I chuckled at her story.

In the end, we actually found a store that was more my style and the clothes were appropriate for the council and formal events. We still had a little over 2 hours to dinner and I asked Celeste to go get a pedicure. On the way there, I made a quick stop at Victoria's Secret, much to the chagrin of Gabriel and Theo, who had to wait outside. I picked up some bras and underwear and then, just to keep things fun, I grabbed a couple sets of lingerie.

Theo's attitude seemed to shift a little half way through the nail salon appointment and he was anxious to head back. I didn't need to ask. I knew something must have happened. I decided to try something while we were getting a foot message. 'What changed?' I mind linked Theo, happy to see it connected.

'The cameras went back on at the lab. It's not the best news. We need to head straight back after your pedicure,' he said.

'Are we in danger now? We could finish the pedicure now.' I asked.

'No, we're fine right now. It just happened. We should be fine for at least a few days. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just hate not knowing details. If we were in danger, Helios would have told me to bring you back now! He assured me. I relaxed a little at that. He had a point. Still, I thought I'd text Helios but he basically said the same thing as Theo. I chatted with Celeste a bit more as we enjoyed the rest of the pedicure.

We walked into the packhouse a bit later and my steps got a little faster. Theo chuckled behind me as he followed with Helios' bags. I threw him a dirty look and ignored him.

I went into the room to find him sitting in the same place I had left him, though I doubted he'd been there the entire afternoon. Theo placed the bags inside the room and said he was going to find Sebastian to "debrief" and it was my turn to smirk at him as he left. As soon as the door clicked closed, Helios was crushing me against it. I thought for a moment that he was wanting to pick up where we left off earlier, but then became concerned when all he did was crush me against him and bury his face in my neck. I let him take his fill before I parted our bodies slightly.

"Helios?" I asked, but he just pushed his head back into my neck. I put my arms around him and didn't ask anything until I felt his heart steady. I felt his lips on my neck sucking lightly. His arms, previously caging me to him, slid down to my hips to hold me flushed against his body. I felt his member harden as he kept giving my neck butterfly kisses. I pulled his head from my neck and up to my face. I held his gaze for a moment and I felt like he was searching my soul. He once again held me to him as if I was going to disappear from his arms. There was fear and some sort of desperation in his eyes before he crushed his lips against mine. I felt my heart stop as he kissed me. Hestia was howling in my head at the look in his eyes. He was kissing me with such need and fear that I felt as though his emotions were enveloping my soul. What could have been so bad that it left him feeling this way. Once we came up for air, Helios picked me up and laid me on the bed. He climbed in and cradled me in his arms. "Helios, what happened?" I asked him. I held him tightly to me, trying to soothe his fear.

He was quiet for such a long time that I thought he wouldn't answer me. "The man in charge of the shifter kidnappings knows about you now, Natalia. He's ordered all of his people to find you. He believes you would speed up his research." Hestia growled in my head as I processed his words. "What do they know about me, other than I was a white wolf?"

"Just that I, or rather Ramon De la Luz, bought you and wouldn't give you up." He said,

"So, they can't find us yet?" "Not yet."

I sighed as my thoughts went everywhere. I was trying to tamp down my flight or fight instincts. It wasn't unusual for me to be hunted as a white wolf. Through the years. I'd learned to keep moving to avoid the wrong people finding out about me or catching up with me. Now, I had a chance at something permanent. I didn't want to leave, even though my first instinct was to run. There was another layer added to it now too. I had grown to love everyone here. I didn't want to put them in danger, asking them to protect me because I wanted to have my happily ever after.

I am not sure how long I was lost in my own thoughts when I felt Helios shaking me. "Where did you go?" He asked, concern in his eyes.

"I was just thinking......I don't want to put anyone in danger. Maybe I should -" I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence. Helios crushed his lips to mine in an angry, desperate kiss. When he pulled back, I could see that same anger and desperation in his eyes. "Don't. Don't say what you're going to say. I don't want to hear anything but 'we'll figure this out," he pleaded.

"I've been running from people like him for 7 centuries, Helios. It's all I've known," I said quietly.

"We start training starting tomorrow. We're going to give all the information we have to the council. This problem concerns all the shifters and the vampires. We will find him and end this. Don't go anywhere. I need you. You are the one thing I've ever needed. I love you Natalia. You said you'd give me a chance. Give me a chance to prove to you that I can protect you. Please don't run," he said as he buried his face in my neck again.

His entire body was tense as he waited for my answer and I felt the tears leaving my face as a sob shook my entire body. Hearing his words cleared my thoughts and I made my decision. "I love you Helios. I won't leave you, but I also want to learn to defend myself. I want to train too. If we're going to be a pack of warriors, I need to be one too."

He looked into my face and I could see the relief in his eyes. "You are getting training too. I won't leave you unable to defend yourself." He brushed his lips with mine. "Thank you," he whispered. His eyes glazed over and he sighed once it cleared. "Dinner is ready. Theo said Markus is letting the other shifters come up for dinner since this morning was such a success. A couple decided on eating in the basement so they wouldn't get overwhelmed." "OK," I said and when he didn't move I added, "I can't move with you on top of me."

He chuckled. "Five more minutes," he said and rolled us over so I was on his chest, "I just want to hold you for five more minutes, mi amor," he said huskily, and all I could do was cuddle with him. His words made my heart melt.

"f**k, I thought we were training, not getting f*****g tortured." I huffed as I rubbed the cramp in my side.

"Dude, we haven't even started training. This is just warm up laps," Danny laughed at me.

"Come on, get your luscious a*s up, mi amor. We still have 3 hours left."

"Maybe I wouldn't be so winded if someone hadn't tired me out this morning" I snapped, taking the hand he offered. Danny laughed and walked back towards the rest of the group. Helios smirked.

"Where you always this horny with your other partners or is this an Alpha wolf thing?" I asked him as we started walking towards the training grounds. I stopped when I noticed Helios wasn't besides me anymore. I turned to look back at him looking at me. "What? What did I say?" I asked, confused.

"I, I've never...I told you. There's never been anyone but you," he said.

My jaw fell open, "When did you tell me?"

"The first time. You told me you weren't like the others and I told you there had never been any others," he responded.

"I - You seriously haven't been with anyone else. You're almost two thousand years old," I asked skeptically.

"I was a little busy with my revenge and well..." He shifted uncomfortably.

"What?"

"Even though I was convinced what I was doing was right, I never thought I deserved..." he looked away.

My heart broke for him when he said that. He didn't think he deserved to be loved. I sighed and mind linked him, 'well if it makes you feel any better, you f**k like you've f****d for a thousand years. Toe curling o*****s and all.

I saw him smirk and shook my head. "Let's join the rest, Alpha, we have a lot of training to catch up to."

He caught up to me and squeezed my a*s as he said, "Don't get too exhausted. Ezequiel has been begging me for a run with Hestia later today."

I groaned while Hestia purred in my head at the thought. Please Nat, I really want to meet my mate too - Hestia begged.

I will do my best to survive this training then. - I told her, not like I would deny her time with her mate when I got to spend every day with Helios. She deserved to have her connection to her mate too. - Maybe we can ask them to mark us soon. Do you think he would this early?

I hope so. I want to talk to Ezequiel. - She said. We were worried that Helios hadn't brought it up at all. We weren't sure if he wasn't ready or something was holding him back.

The ceremony was supposed to be a little after lunch, so after training, I grabbed a quick sandwich and ran upstairs to shower and change. Since Celeste decided to have a celebration after the ceremony, I needed to be a little more put together than normal as this would technically be my first function as a future Luna. I'm glad Celeste had suggested a stop at the make-up store. But first things first, my muscles were sore. I let the tub fill with hot water and some oils while I pulled out my outfit. A purple lantern sleeve bustier crop top with a ruched black blazer, black pants and some black cross-strap flats. I was removing my clothes in the bathroom when I heard the door of the room open.

"Natalia are you in here?" Helios' voice came from the other side of the door.

"Yep. The door's open," I said as I removed my clothes and sunk into the hot, scented water.

"I didn't see you at lunch. Are you OK?" He asked as he opened the door.

"I just needed a soak. I've never really trained past basic defense. I've always been more flight than fight. I'll be ready for the ceremony," I assured him.

"Want some company?" He asked and I turned my head to look back at him.

I gave him a lazy smile. "Be my guest, but don't try any of your shenanigans. This body wasn't meant to take so much battle training."

I watched him take off his shirt and couldn't stop myself from licking my lips. He smirked at me as he removed his jeans. "Move forward. I promise to behave."

I moved forward on the tub and he slipped in behind me. When he was settled, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back until I was resting on his chest. He left his arms on my stomach and put his chin on my neck as I let myself relax against him. "I'm nervous about today," he said.

"Why?"

"It's the point of no return. When my people were my warriors, I never forced them. I treated them right, but at the end of the day, they went home and I didn't see them until we had to work. Being their Alpha, I am responsible for their welfare and their happiness. Then we have the other shifters...I am afraid of failing them," he said quietly.

"Theo, Sebastian and Gonzalo wouldn't have stayed if they didn't believe in you and your warriors wouldn't be coming back if they didn't trust you to lead them well. Give yourself more credit. You've been their Alpha longer than you realize."

Helios chuckled lightly and I felt the vibrations from his chest down my entire body, his breath in my ear sent little shivers down my body. "That's along the same lines of what Markus said," he said.

"Then you should take it as confirmation, my mighty god of war. You are a leader. Even before I knew who you were, I knew you were a leader. Your aura commanded attention and respect."

He placed a small kiss on my ear. "Thank you, how can I repay your faith in me?" he asked as his fingers danced down my stomach towards my folds.

I swallowed a moan, "We don't have enough time for what you're thinking about," I said as I wiggled against his erection.

"Hmm, we do. Celeste has some sort of surprise for us. We don't have to be down until 2 pm." I started breathing heavily as I felt his fingers part my folds. "Just relax, let me help you feel good," he whispered in my ears before he began nibbling on it. I moaned as I let my head fall back onto his chest. "That's it, amor. Just let your muscles relax. Let me give you pleasure," he whispered as I felt him insert a finger in my p***y while his thumb put pressure on my clit. He pumped in and out as he played with my breast and continued kissing my neck and ears. I was a moaning mess soon and it didn't take long for me to moan his name when my o****m hit. He put his chin back on my shoulder as he waited for me to come down from my high. He kissed my cheek. My heart was full of love for this man that I'd almost pushed away.