Winter Wolves Series
Dark Wolf Chapter 6

Damian stared deep into Venus's beautiful, chocolate-colored eyes. It was like he had died and gone to heaven.

A wave of pain and torment racked his body and mind. He growled and gripped his temples, doubling over in his seat. Venus gasped and stood to her feet, hurrying around the table to try to comfort him. His whole body tensed as he did everything in his power not to push her away. He pulled the vial from his pocket, unscrewed the lid and dropped a dropperful into his mouth.

As the potion swept into his bloodstream, the pain and torment slowly subsided. Venus knelt beside him, looking up into his eyes with an expression of absolute compassion on her face.

"Damian," she said with quivering lips. "Are you all right?"

He covered her hand with his own. "I'm so sorry you had to see that."

She moved back to her seat and stared at him. He shook his head, feeling so ashamed he could taste it over the lingering taste of chocolate and the bitter taste of potion. "Now you know what you're getting into."

"It doesn't change anything. I've agreed to let you court me," she said with a choked laugh.

He breathed deeply and let it out, trying to relax as the last waves of pain subsided.

"I would understand if you changed your mind after seeing that."

"I'm not changing my mind."

The waiter returned with the bill, and Damian quickly paid it. "Maybe we could get some air," he said.

They gathered their jackets and walked outside. He was wearing a winter parka and she a full-length fur coat that he could smell didn't come from any living animal.

It was comical to him that she would wear fake fur in a place like Alaska. He and his brothers had no qualms about ripping animals apart and feasting on their flesh and bones, but he wouldn't share such thoughts with this woman who lived a very different life.

He held the door for her as they made their way out of the restaurant and started a slow walk along the harbor. The waxing moon was high overhead. It would be full in another week, giving him and his brothers the one night of the month where they could forgo the potion and live without pain.

"How often do you have to take it?" she asked, wrapping her arm around his and huddling close to him for warmth. The early spring air was far more temperate on Fate Island than it would have been on their property in central Alaska. But there was still a chill. "Every three hours," he said. He covered her hands with his, offering her his warmth. He had lived naked and cold in the deepest frozen wilderness most of his life. Venus knew nothing of such things. She lived in luxury and beauty, and that was what she deserved. Damian feared that he could never give her what she needed, and part of him knew that he should let her go right now. He would bring nothing but darkness into her life. Venus should only have light.

"Thinking of you being cursed for so long breaks my heart, Damian," she said as they walked slowly down the street. The heels of her boots clicked on the pavement.

"If I hadn't been cursed, I never would have met you," he said. It was an optimistic statement so uncharacteristic of him that he stopped short and was unable to think or speak for several beats.

She turned to him under the lamplight and smiled. "That's true. You would be a very old man or already passed on."

Despite the evil of the Snow Queen's curse and all the torment it had caused him and his brothers, without that act of cruelty, there was no way that he and Venus ever would have met. There was no way that she could have ever been his mate. He was a hundred years old, and she was twenty-four.

"This is the first time I've ever been happy that it happened," he said with a bitter laugh.

She lifted her n*ked hand to cup his cheek. Her palm was warm despite the cold. Damian felt such tenderness in her touch that he was overcome with emotion.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her toward him. She gasped and leaned into him. Their lips met in a hot rush as the water sloshed against the hulls of the boats on the harbor. She moaned softly as their lips parted and their tongues slipped into each other's mouths.

He pulled her more tightly against him, growing hot and hard with desire.

"Venus. Oh, Venus," he said, kissing her cheeks and forehead. "You are a miracle."

"You are a miracle to me, Damian. I just hope that I won't wake up from this dream."

"You deserve so much better than me."

"You don't know my life."

He took a step back and looked at her. They'd spent the entire evening talking about his curse and all his years as a beast in the forest. They had spoken very little about her.

"I'm sorry. I should have asked you more about yourself. I just wanted to get this all off my chest, so you knew what you were getting into."

"You don't need to apologize. I'm glad you told me." She chuckled.

"How does a woman as accomplished, beautiful, and as intelligent as you, feel like being with a cursed wolf like me is a dream?"

"Have you ever heard the term 'stage mother'?" she asked, winding her fingers through his. They started back down the street, walking slowly hand-in-hand as tourists walked along the sidewalk and in and out of shops that were still open. "I've never heard the term."

"I've was trained from the time I was three years old to perform. I've been a professional model since I was thirteen. I don't know any other life."

"And it was your mother that pushed you into those things," he said, catching on.

"Yes. That's the long and short of it."

He stopped and turned to her, pain tightening in his chest. But it wasn't the pain of his curse, it was the pain of knowing that Venus-his beautiful, perfect mate-had experienced anything but absolute love and support as a child and as a woman. "I'm so sorry. I have no words."

"I suppose there are benefits. I've seen so much. And so many people would love to have what I have. I have a beautiful apartment in New York City. I have a closet full of designer clothes. Travel, expensive meals, and the attentions of the most successful men in the world."

Damian gritted his teeth and growled, feeling a surge of jealousy that he could barely contain.

"But I don't know if I care about any of that," she said. "I think I just want a simple life. Something I can count on; something real. I met a mountain lion shifter at my last photoshoot. She told me about her mate and their life together.

"All I could think was how lucky she was, and how jealous I felt. I have walked the streets of Paris, eaten at the most fabulous restaurants in Italy, Tokyo and London, but when I came to Selkie, part of me felt like I'd finally come home. There's just something magical about this place. Something made me feel like I could sink into its warmth, like stepping into a hot tub. And then I met you, Damian."

A tear slid down his cheek as he wrapped her in his embrace and breathed in the soft scent of her skin. It enraptured him and surrounded him with absolute bliss. He knew deep down inside that he would do anything to protect this woman, to give her everything that she wanted and needed. He would work every moment for the rest of his life just to see her smile.

"My brothers and I are trying to sell our land. After the property is sold, we will split the money and will each be able to buy our own homes."

"And do you plan to stay here in Alaska?"

"My brothers and I have our differences, but I wouldn't want to leave my pack. Unless it was to be with my mate. I would go anywhere and do anything to be with you."

Venus giggled and bit her lip, shaking her head. "I can't believe that we just met," she said. "It feels like we've known each other a million years."

"That's what it's like with your mate. Part of me didn't believe that it would be possible for me after all these years. But here you are and here I am. The fates have brought us together. I am beginning to believe again that there's hope for me, for my brothers, for this life." "You've given me hope too, Damian," she said, caressing his cheek.

He leaned in again and kissed her. Deep and desperate and hungry. She groaned and melted in his arms and his inner wolf growled for him to claim her. But he knew it was too soon.

He couldn't be reckless and rush headlong into a mating. He was an old-fashioned man. He needed to know she was ready, that she loved him, and that she understood what it meant to be a shifter's mate.

"Can I give you a lift back to your hotel?" he asked.

"Yes, please."

They walked back to the truck, and he held the door for her as she climbed inside. They chatted about how cute Selkie was and how different things were now from when he was young. He pulled up in front of one of the higher-end tourist hotels in town and walked her through the lobby and up to her door.

"This is me," she said, pulling a thick card out of her pocket.

"When can we see each other again?"

"I have a shoot tomorrow morning. But I'm free in the afternoon."

"I would be honored if I could court you again tomorrow afternoon."

"Of course."

He leaned in and softly kissed her sweet l!ps, the bliss and the beauty and the pleasure of it washing over him like warm liquid love. He was bathed in the golden beauty of her embrace, but still he slowly and painfully pulled himself away. He lifted her hands to his l!ps and kissed the backs of her knuckles.

"Until then, beautiful goddess. I bid you good night."

"Good night, Damian," she said in a breathy voice. He turned away and walked down the hall. Behind him, he heard the door click open and then closed. He looked back and she was gone.

As he rode the elevator, he clasped his hands in front of himself and then bit his knuckles. His wolf growled and grunted, screaming for him to claim her, but the man was in control now.

Despite the very few days he had spent in this form over the last seventy-five years, he had grown older and wiser. He was not going to risk the love of his mate. She was his life, his everything, and he would do anything in his power to win her heart and to give her the home and the love that she deserved.