She shuddered as she remembered she’d marked him as well. Olivia had never been into pain, had never bitten anyone in her life intentionally. Flashbacks of what she’d done to Jackson reeled through her mind. His horror matching hers when she realized she’d drawn blood. His rejection of her-would Micah reject her? No, she couldn’t understand why she’d bitten Micah, but she knew he hadn’t minded. Her biting him had spurred him on, sexually.
Olivia wrapped her arms around her waist as she sank down on the floor. Biting Micah had seemed like the thing to do. She’d wanted the taste of him in her mouth, in her system. “God, what’s happening to me? First he has me eating venison, then turning furry and now this. I’m turning into a cannibal.”
“Carnivore, love.” She didn’t jump at his voice. She’d known he was there without even acknowledging it. Micah wrapped his arms around her and picked her up off the floor. He carried her back into the bedroom then into his living room. She stayed curled up as he sat down with her, wrapping both of them in the fleece throw from the sofa.
Olivia sniffled and scrubbed her hands over her face then glanced at him. “What do you mean?”
“You’re a carnivore, love, not a cannibal. You’ve been denying yourself the pleasure of meat for some time and your health has suffered. Since you’ve been here, since you’ve been eating properly and getting some exercise your body is recovering.”
She gave him a glare along with a pout. “You’re going to keep force-feeding me, aren’t you?”
He laughed as he hugged her tight against his chest. “I haven’t forced you to do anything, love, much less eat.”
“Why do you keep asking me to run with you? You know I’m not into running as exercise.”
“I mean as a wolf, Liv.”
She stiffened then pushed out of his arms and away from him. Micah sat perfectly still as she paced in front of him.
“That’s not possible. You know it’s not. Okay, so I can do that. I’ve decided I don’t want to do that. It’s not normal.”
Micah’s eyes widened as his nostrils flared. “What do you mean you’ve decided? You only recently learned how to shift. It’s not a decision you have to make, it’s part of your life, part of you. You enjoyed yourself, Olivia. I was there. You are a beautiful she-wolf with a sunlight and gold coat. We ran together.” Desperation made his voice pitch sharper than she’d ever heard. “You are like me. You are one of us!”
Her voice rose as her back and forth pattern speed increased. “I’m not like that, it’s not possible. I can’t do that. I’ve made my decision and that’s final. That monster, yes, monster.” She flung a hand up to stop his response. “That is why my parents died. Who knows, maybe I killed my birth parents too. I have blackouts, you know.”
“Not anymore.” His voice broke again. “The blackouts won’t happen now that you know what you are. But Liv, you’ve got to learn to control it. If you don’t…”
The words trailed off into silence as he stared at her. Olivia tried to fill in the blanks. If she didn’t, what? She’d kill again? Her throat began to close as her eyes burned. Shaking her head, she turned away from him.
Micah got slowly to his feet. He didn’t know what to do, what to say to ease her distress. It hurt him somewhere deep inside that she refused to accept what she was. Finally he reached out and pulled her into his arms, holding tightly to her. The tears startled him at first, but he sat back down, holding her in his arms, letting her cry.
She’d marked him and she had no idea what that meant. He knew, though, and the fact that he hadn’t been able to stop himself from marking her in kind shamed him. She wouldn’t accept what she was, wouldn’t fully accept her nature, how could they tie themselves together forever as mates under those circumstances? Until she accepted what she was he had no business claiming her as his mate.
His shifter heritage was strong-a part of who he was, a big part of his life. He’d always known he’d have a shifter mate, someone to share every facet of his life. To have found her and have her not accept what she was…it was unbearable.
Olivia finally slumped in his arms, sleep a welcome relief to her. He held her still, staring down at the woman he loved. A faint smile curved across his face when a soft snore escaped her. She was so precious to him, so beautiful, and now so much a part of him. How was he going to let her go? He knew she’d leave, knew she wouldn’t even try to accept the truth.
Micah tightened his grip and his resolve. He got slowly to his feet, moving toward the bed with his precious burden. He put her down, tucking her in and smoothing her hair away from her face. Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, he backed away from the bed, his eyes still on the woman sleeping there.
Micah pulled on a pair of jeans and his moccasins and left the room, making his way to his study. It was late, too late, really, to call, but he knew his grandfather would be awake. And the time difference gave him a little leeway. Stoking the fire with one hand, he hit a speed dial on his portable phone.
“Ya-ta-hey.”
“Grandfather, it’s Micah.”
“Grandson, it has been a long time. What troubles you?”
Micah smiled, just like the old man to get right to the heart of the matter. “I’ve found a mate, Grandfather. A shifter female named Olivia.”
“You wake an old man in the middle of the night for this? Call me back when the Blessing Way needs to be sung. Call me back when she is pregnant with my great-grandson.”
“Grandfather, there won’t be a Blessing Way. She doesn’t accept what she is, what I am. She fears it.” Micah waited through the silence, waited while the clock over the mantle ticked the passage of time. When his grandfather spoke again, his voice sounded older, tired. Micah had heard this tone before, when his grandfather spoke of visions.
“She will be made to understand. She will face an unexpected challenge and she will triumph. Keep the faith, Micah, keep your love strong. Keep your heart strong. She loves you, this woman?”
“I think she does. She hasn’t said the words.” Micah settled more comfortably in front of the fire.
“Have you?”
“No, she won’t hear them from me right now. But I do love her. She is mine, Grandfather, just as I am hers.”
“For this I’m thankful, Grandson. You will bring this woman to see me soon. We will celebrate the Blessing Way.”
Micah smiled, knowing his grandfather wouldn’t sleep any more, that he’d be out wandering in the desert and then returning to sit in the sweat lodge before dawn singing and praying. “I will, Grandfather.”
He hung up after the old man disconnected, then sat staring into the fire. An unexpected challenge? What would that be? Surely his grandfather knew that since he’d claimed Olivia as his mate, Micah wouldn’t allow her to face any problem alone. Maybe the old man’s visions weren’t quite up to par anymore. He’d turned ninety this past summer.
Micah put the phone away and stretched out on the floor in front of the fire. He’d let Olivia sleep for a bit then wake her with breakfast in bed. Grinning, he thought of some rather creative uses for the homemade maple syrup he would warm up just for her.
Pushing the shifting could wait for now. He’d let her get used to the idea. They still had to talk about Talia as well. If Olivia were going to accept him as mate, she’d also have to accept shared responsibility for Talia. They’d become an instant family and he wasn’t sure how she’d feel about that. His thoughts chased one another much like the young wolves chased their own tails until sleep claimed him. Dreams of running with Olivia soothed his worried mind.