Free An Undying Love by Janet MacDonald

couldn’t help but laugh.
    “Hey!” Memphis
huffed, with a mock look of hurt on his face.
    “Did Chris get
my order from the store?” Beth asked, ignoring the younger man.
    “Yes, do you
really need that much cloth?” the alpha asked as he pulled up a chair beside Anya,
and she got a heavy smell of sea air from him.
    “Baby diapers
are something one can never have enough of,” Beth said sternly.
    Anya saw the
look that passed between Beth and Dante. The moment the word baby was said
Dante’s eyes softened greatly, and she had a sense that he was very happy about
becoming an uncle.
    “Well, I hate to
be a sore loser, but I got to go. Tessa and I are planning on going for a run,”
Memphis said.
    “Tessa?”Anya
asked with a slight smile.
    “It’s his
sweetheart.” Dante chuckled.
    “She’s my best
friend. We are not a couple,” Memphis said, sounding defensive.
    “Really, then
why did you make her a necklace?” Beth asked with a giggle.
    “Cause she likes
my jewelry.” The young man’s face turned a little red.
    “Uh-huh, right.
Well, make sure after your run you let your father know we’re to patrol later,”
Dante told him.
    “Will do. I’ll
see you then,” Memphis said as he was headed out the door.
    “I should go too.
I need to make supper and get a head start on making cloth diapers.” Beth
attempted to raise herself out of her chair.
    Dante stood and
helped Beth up, a loving smile on his face as he did. “You know you should be
taking it easy, Beth.”
    “I will after I
get what needs to be done finished.” She gave Anya a quick, warm smile. “I had
fun today, Anya. I hope we get to do this again.”
    “Me too,” Anya
told her as Dante walked Beth to the door.
    Now it was just
her and Dante, and as he sat back down at the table, Anya tried not to stare at
him. She silently cursed herself for feeling this attraction to one of her
enemies, and now she was making friends among them as well. This place and
these people were having an effect on her. One which would most likely have her
brother in a more than pissed off state of mind.
    “Did you see my
brother?” Anya asked as she looked at Dante.
    “Yes. Did you
eat supper yet?” he asked in what seemed an attempt not to talk about the
meeting.
    “You know this
isn’t fair.”
    “Look, Anya, I’m
not the one who came here. You’ve made your bed.” He stood looked down at her.
He glared at her again, but his eyes showed no sign of the edge he had in his
voice, and it now seemed forced.
    “So let me go
then,” she demanded, her voice steady. As the words left her mouth, her mind
pictured leaving there and part of her didn’t like the idea. That had her
baffled.
    Dante looked suddenly
sad. He turned his back to her and went to the stove, lifted the grate and
prodded the fire to a full flame again.
    “Please, just
let me go. I didn’t do anything to you,” she said, and he slammed the grate
back into place. She sensed his whole body go tense, and he turned to look at
her. Dante’s eyes nearly glowed with the inner light of his beast. She trembled
in spite of her desire to remain calm in his presence.
    “You are mine,
Anya.” He snarled.
    “I’ll never be
yours,” she snapped back, but a part of her knew that really wasn’t true. The
wolf in her wanted him, willingly bowed to him, and now she didn’t know what
that would mean for her.
     
    *
     
    The wolf in him
was furious. She denied him after submitting to him. He stood and stared at her,
his muscles tensed as rage washed over him. His hands shook as he fought to
regain his human self and suppress the urges the wolf demanded of him. It took
him several long moments to quell the beast in him, turning his attention back
to cooking. He tried to keep calm. It didn’t help much as he burnt their supper
and had to fight not to chuck it and the frying pan out the front door. He growled
to himself and settled on making a few sandwiches now that the meal he’d been
preparing