12. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Rome helped her into his truck. It was dark blue and designed not to bring any attention to him. Unless you loved trucks. Then this one was a truck lover’s fantasy. He had it reinforced. The doors were heavy, and the truck sat high, but she could see that it was too heavy for a car to hit and push off the road.

“I could have gone to town with one of your enforcers or a brother.” She didn’t want to put him out when he had a pack to manage. She was used to being in the background and not seen since her father was the alpha.

He turned his head and the first thing she saw was that his eyes were a striking gold. The wolf was close to the surface. Those gold eyes made her want to fan herself. The way being his mate made her feel was exhilarating and terrifying. She wasn’t sure which one she wanted to lean into.

“Mate.” The sound of his voice hit her in the privates.

She didn’t have time to think about that because Rome’s wolf spoke through him using his mouth. If she doubted that the goddess Luna was real, Amelia was a believer now. Only Luna could imbue a wolf with enough power to speak.

“Close your mouth or you’re going to catch flies.” She snapped her mouth closed. “What my wolf said. You’re our mate. Why would we send you with another when we’re free to take care and watch over you?”

Why indeed? “Rome, I need you to tell me what’s going on. I’m spinning in mental circles.”

“We’re going to go to the next town. It’s bigger, and you’ll have a better selection of clothes.”

She made herself comfortable as she waited for him to speak.

“Many centuries ago, my brothers and I were out hunting meat for our village…”

Amelia gasped when Rome pulled into a parking spot in front of a mall. The story had her spellbound. She wanted to hear more. The details and the nuances of it were authentic enough for her to place herself at his side. The realization that her life was being threatened because of a vindictive goddess. It felt like it was too much to bear.

Hearing his story told her two things. She couldn’t leave him alone. The pain and suffering he went through, combined with the loneliness, may have broken her. The next, she wouldn’t give the goddess a victory by dying at the hands of her hunter. She understood better now why the hunter needed to die. Before, she thought the hunter may have been misunderstood or tricked into believing something false. That may still be the case, but he was responsible for his actions. The fact that he hadn’t drawn the line at killing an infant signed his death warrant.

“We can talk more on the way home. Let’s get you some clothes.” He waited to get out of the truck until she nodded in agreement. Amelia waited for Rome to open the door and place his hands on her waist to help her down. Could she have jumped? Yes, but having his large hands on her waist felt much better.

She stepped close to him, holding onto his thickly muscled arm. Hers. She was sending a message to the woman, who started drooling the minute Rome stepped down from the truck. Hopefully, Rome was getting the message too. As she listened to him talk about the past, she and her wolf found peace within their soul. He was theirs, and they belonged to him and his wolf.

He gave her a smile that made her heart beat faster before they went into the mall.

“Rome, is this really necessary?” Inside, her teenaged self was dancing with her wolf. He’d taken her to a store that she thought was too fancy to buy jeans and t-shirts at. Then he’d sat down and asked for a personal shopper. She hadn’t even known those existed. Her bank account was healthy, but she would never have asked for a personal shopper. Diane took one look at Rome and tried to break her neck doing whatever he asked.

Now, she was giving Rome a personal fashion show. Diane had redeemed herself by showing Amelia some sexy steps to rev his engine. She was enjoying every minute. It felt like all her worries had disappeared.

“The last outfit.” She hurried back to the fitting room and changed into what could only be a ballgown. Where would she wear this off-the-shoulder empire waist gown? She had no idea, but oh, it was pretty. It was ice white, complementing her hair with black accents that reminded her of Rome.

She took her time walking out and then spun around slowly so he could see the whole gown.

“Beautiful.” She turned to look at him and realized he wasn’t talking about the gown.

He turned to Diane, who was hovering. “We’ll take it all.”

“Perfect.” Diane hurried to the dressing room to start putting clothes on the rolling rack.

Amelia stared at him. This wasn’t a couple of hundred dollars on jeans. He was spending thousands of dollars on her. Not just clothes, but there was lingerie and heels. Diane had settled for putting her in kitten heels. When she was ready for something higher, she was to come back, and Diane would take care of her.

“You should go get changed, unless you’re planning on wearing the gown out of the store.”

Her plan was to protest, but he radiated happiness. There was no way she’d take this small joy from him. He paid, making arrangements for them to deliver it to the pack lands. Then they went to another store where she could get jeans, t-shirts and sensible shoes. Strange thing was she was still thinking about the heels and the ball gown.

They chose a restaurant in the mall to get lunch at. She flopped into the chair, grateful to be off her feet. She’d never done this much shopping in her life. If only Nicole could see her now.

The server brought their menus, and she asked for a glass of Mountain Dew. She deserved something sweet.

“How are you enjoying the mall?” Rome settled into his chair, watching her with a possessive look on his face.

“It’s a bit overwhelming. So much to see and so many stores to shop at. Now, you tell me there’s a food court and individual restaurants. My dad and I would pop into a boutique, buy a dress or two and find a store for jeans, and we were done. Shopping was never anything like we did today. Thank you. I had the best time.”

The server brought their drinks back. Rome ordered a Pepsi. They gave their order and then sat back, smiling at each other.

“Thank you for indulging me. There were times I would get lost in the thought of taking my mate out shopping. Nothing I dreamed about compared to being here with you.”

Her heart thumped louder, and she reached out to place her hand on his. The moment she touched him, the heat inside of her spread like wildfire. She wanted him. How hadn’t she realized before that this need was tied directly to him amazed her. She thought it was about having sex for the first time or something. She knew it had to do with him, but there was no rhyme or reason to it. Now she knew, she understood, it was about being with her mate and allowing herself to show him how much he already meant to her. Was it love? Not yet, but she knew that would be coming.

They kept their conversation light as they ate hamburgers and fries. Sheela would make a larger dinner, Rome told her, and they didn’t want to be too full. They strolled out of the mall, and she stumbled to a stop. Someone was watching her. She knew what it felt like to be hunted. Rome was already hustling her to his truck. Once she was safe inside, he did a slow three sixty, looking for the prying set of eyes. When he couldn’t find anything, he got into the truck.

“Maybe—.”

“No,” she stopped him. “Someone was watching me with intention. I know what it feels like to be watched like I’m prey. It feels even stronger now that my wolf is awake. She was growling, ready to tear someone apart.”

He nodded, not disagreeing with her. “It’s time to get back to pack land. We’re going to take the long way.”

“Okay.” She knew he was going to try to draw whoever was looking for her out. Was it the hunter or one of her old pack mates?

They were quiet as they took off. Rome went the opposite direction from when they came to the mall, keeping his word to take the long way home. His eyes kept darting back to the rearview mirror.

“Do you see anyone?” The tension was building up inside of her, and she was ready to explode. Her nails were digging into the palms of her hands.

“Not sure. There are few cars that seem to be following us, but that could be coincidence.” His wolf knew there was a threat but couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from.

She nodded, knowing the hunter was coming for her had made them both more aware and on guard.

“I’ve noticed that my temperature is rising and that I’m hot and flushed. Do you know what that is about?” If she had anyone else she could ask, she would have. Rome seemed to know a lot, and maybe he knew about this, too. His cheeks reddened, making him look like a cute child who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

He told her about a talk he had with Luna and what it meant to be an omega. She wished her mom had lived, and they could have talked about this.

“Rome?” Her voice was low and urgent. Her wolf was going crazy inside of her head. She hadn’t realized how much the wolf would affect her and how much it was an individual entity and part of her at the same time.

“I feel it. We’re driving into a trap.” He slowed down, looking on both sides of the road. His wolf was howling in his head and clawing inside his chest to come out. Rome leaped across the middle console, wrapping his body around Amelia’s. Several bullets crashed through the window, aimed at her.

“Someone came prepared,” Rome said softly. There was a bullet stuck in the window. “They used a high-powered rifle and are a rather good shot.”

“Stay here and stay down. I’m going to look for whoever shot at you.” She nodded, swaying slightly as her hand clutched the seat of the truck.

“If you leave me here, I won’t be here when you get back. Whoever is out there shooting came after me. I will not run. It’s time to give them what they want.” She had no plans to die. Whoever came after her would regret it. That didn’t stop her stomach from feeling like it wanted to hurl.

He took one look at her face and knew it wasn’t false bravado speaking. There was a determination there that went deeper than her skin. She was finished running, and it didn’t matter who was coming after her.

“Let’s go.” He opened the door an inch and then changed into his wolf. Amelia watched him change and then prayed fervently that she could do the same thing without taking her clothes off. When she felt an invisible hug, she took it as a sign and changed into her wolf.

Rome sprang out the door, running fast over the land to get to the tall trees. She stayed on his hind legs. They stalked through the trees, scenting the air for gunpowder and the scent of a wolf or a human.

Amelia’s stomach dropped when she caught a slight hint of wolf in the air. There had been one wolf who helped her father take care of her when she was young. Her father had always called her a wolf nanny. When she turned six years old, he told her that her wolf nanny was never coming back. The female hadn’t left the pack, but she lived on the fringes of it. Every year she got crazier, according to the gossip. After a while, Amelia forgot about her, but there was a pang because she thought the wolf loved her. It took her years to realize that her father stepped in because he saw something he didn’t like.

Her wolf nanny stepped out of the shadows, holding a high-powered rifle aimed at Amelia.