Free An Undying Love by Janet MacDonald Page B

and have a boat ready at the slip.”
    “Good, now all
we have to do is hope Cora will go home,” Mitch said.
    They had at
least five more hours before they got to Fairbank, and given his own
calculations, they might make it back in time. They would be cutting it close.
Any obstacles would seriously shorten that narrow window, and as Mitch sped up,
he prayed Anya was safe.
    Mitch tried to
stay focused on the road, tried not to let the worry eat away at him. Still,
all he could do was think of the things Dante may have already done to his baby
sister. Those thoughts caused his grip on the steering wheel to tighten.
    “What if this is
a trap?” Reese asked, breaking Mitch’s train of thought.
    “Why would he do
that?” He took at quick sideways glance at his beta.
    “Because of what
happened with your uncle.”
    That had been so
many years ago, but werewolves tended to hold grudges forever. Mitch’s Uncle Edward
and done something that even Mitch had found despicable. He’d stolen a woman
from the Temple Island pack and had forced her to mate. Not just any female,
either. She’d been the alpha’s mate, Dante’s mother, Victoria. That had lead to
a short-lived war. Many died, most of them Silverback males. It had ended just
after Mitch’s father was killed. Dante’s father had been the one to kill him, but
not before suffering a fatal wound and then perishing as well.
    “We don’t have
any other choice but to do this. I won’t let him have Anya.” Mitch snarled. “If
I have to, I will kill him.”
    There was no way
he wished for his sister to fall victim to Dante and his vengeance. The long-time
feud between their packs had stemmed from that fateful day when Victoria had caught
Edward’s interest in Brookville. The aftermath had left both packs without
their alphas and had caused Edward to run with Victoria. Where his uncle had
taken her, no one knew, but it was thought both were dead.

Chapter Eight
     
    The crease in
Beth’s forehead furrowed as Dante tried to explain how he felt. It wasn’t easy
for him. He tended to keep his emotions carefully guarded. As he tried again to
explain it, she actually laughed out loud. A silly grin sat on her face as she
listened quietly for several minutes before she interrupted him.
    “You’re in love
with her,” she said between light chuckles.
    “No, I’m not,”
Dante retorted defensively. Although he’d never felt this way before with any
female.
    “Yes, you are.”
She laughed. Beth, he noticed had to keep her hand on her rounded tummy. She
winced a little. He imagined it was uncomfortable for her at that stage to
laugh.
    “You don’t fall
in love in a matter of only a few days,” he retorted gruffly, not believing
that to be possible, but his heart told him something different as did his
wolf. “What do I do now?” he asked after several long, silent moments of self-reflection.
    “Well, you can’t
force her to love you. Now you could try to get her to fall in love with you.”
    “I don’t know
how,” he told her with complete honesty. He never had to think about falling in
love or getting someone to love him. It was something that really wasn’t all
that important before now.
    “You could try
being nice to her, talk to her about everyday things. Take her for a walk, a
romantic picnic. Dante, you need to show her the real you. Not the alpha male
trying to dominate her into being submissive.” Beth rubbed her belly with a
smile dancing on her face.
    “You knew this
was going to happen.” He eyed her.
    “I had a hunch
she was special the moment you brought her here.”
    “Be myself?”
    “Yes, Dante,
just be true to the person inside. Forget for once you’re the alpha. Just let
it happen naturally.”
    She was right. The
only way to win Anya’s heart was to be himself around her. However, tomorrow
night Mitch was to bring Cora there. If not, he was to take Anya as his mate. Not
to go through with it would be a show of weakness on his