It shouldn’t, his wolf said. It doesn’t bother me. She can eat with whomever she wants. She is NOT ours.
Again, Dillon ignored the wolf. He watched Lilly’s eyes dart away, and she shook her head. “No, I don’t have anyone to eat with.”
“So eat with me.” He sounded more nonchalant than he felt.
After what felt like an eternity, she gave a curt nod. “Okay. I’ll eat with you. When?”
“Do you work tomorrow?”
She nodded. “I get off at five.”
“I’ll meet you here at five-thirty.” He grabbed a random book from the shelf and started to back away, his eyes fixed on her. “Don’t chicken out on me.”
Her gaze sharpened, and she smirked. “I’m not scared. Especially of a man who reads werewolf romances.”
Dillon glanced down at the book in his hand and shook his head as he chuckled. The cover was of a half-dressed male with clawed hands wrapped around a wanton-looking female. “Don’t judge a man by what he reads, wild Lilly.”
“I’ve found it to be a pretty good standard.” She held his gaze until he winked at her. The blush came back, and she dropped her eyes immediately.
Dillon turned and walked to the register and paid for the book. The woman at the register looked at the cover and then at him. The gossip mill would be in full working order within the hour about what the weird bachelor reads. Dillon shook his head as he took the bag and left the store. He wanted to look back and see if Lilly was watching him, but he forced himself to have a little dignity. He’d practically begged her to eat dinner with him. And she’d said yes. Dillon took a deep breath of the warm night air. For the first time in a long time, he was looking forward to waking up the next day.
Chapter
Two
“It’s possible to experience the highest levels of joy and deepest depths of sorrow simultaneously. The experience is not something I’d wish on my worst enemy.” ~Dillon
Summer 1991
Dillon stared up into the gray eyes of his wild Lilly. His head rested in her lap as her fingers ran through his auburn hair. Clouds scattered across a blue sky framed her face. Despite seeing Lilly as nothing more than a female he cared for, Dillon’s wolf rumbled. The beast loved being touched. She’d been the only touch he’d experienced since leaving his pack, and both the man and wolf craved it. Did it hurt that the woman doing the touching was beautiful? The wolf refused to answer.
He stared up at her and noticed she seemed deep in thought. Though her eyes were looking at him, he could tell her thoughts were far away. “What are you thinking about, beautiful? You look sad.”
“I need to tell you something. And it’s going to be hard to believe.”
Dillon chuckled. “I’m pretty sure there’s nothing you could tell me that I wouldn’t believe.” Considering I’m a werewolf.
Lilly clenched her fists. He could tell she thought what she was about to say was very big news. She inhaled deeply, as if mustering enough courage to speak. She told him that for as long as she could remember, she had gut feelings. Her voice shook as she spoke, and she cleared her throat several times. She continued to share with him about the foreboding sensations that always came in regard to someone she knew and something that would soon happen to them. They were never wrong.
He sat up and turned to face her. “Have you ever told anyone about this?” He took her hand and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles enjoying the feel of her silky skin.
“Um, no.” She laughed. “I don’t really want people thinking I’m crazy.”
His heart felt heavy in his chest as he considered what she’d dealt with for so long. “It must be a huge burden. Knowing something bad is going to happen to someone you know, but being unable to tell them.”
She swallowed hard, and he could practically see the weight of it on her shoulders as they rolled forward. Dillon wanted to take that burden from her. He wanted her to know that she wasn’t alone, that she wasn’t the only one with peculiar abilities. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “If I could bear it for you, I would.”
She tilted her head and gave him a curious look. “There’s another reason I’m telling you this. I get the feeling about you, but it’s a little different. It’s good and bad. I don’t understand it. I just know you’re not quite what you seem to be.”
Dillon’s gut twisted as his heart beat painfully in his chest. It was a conversation he needed to have with her nearly a year ago before their emotions grew so strongly for each other. But up until now he didn't know how to tell her and expect her to believe him. With this new information she’d just shared, perhaps there was a chance she wouldn’t tell him he needed to be on some meds. But, then there was all the baggage that went along with his race. He didn’t want to lose Lilly, but he owed her the truth. “Your feelings aren’t wrong.” His lips turned up in a sad smile.
“Care to elaborate?” Her words were soft, but she lifted her chin as if to brace herself for what he would tell her.
“I’ve been thinking about this for some time.” Like since the day I asked you on that first date. His wolf snarled inside of him, as it often did since he’d begun dating Lilly. What Dillon was doing was not unheard of in the Canis lupus world, but it was definitely taboo. Because all Canis lupus had a true mate—the one who held the other half of his soul—and being in a relationship with anyone else was doomed to failure. A wolf’s true mate was the only one who could keep the darkness inside of him at bay. “I wasn’t entirely sure how much, if anything, I would tell you about my … own ability.” He looked down at the grass and picked up a blade, wrapping it around his finger and then unwrapping it. He repeated the motion over and over until the blade tore in half.
“I’m all ears.”
He looked up and met her eyes. “I won’t lie to you. I will never lie to you.” He filled his voice with the authority of his wolf because he wanted her to hear the conviction in it. “This will sound crazy, Lilly.” She started to say something, but he held up his hand. “No, this is going to make what you told me sound sane.” Dillon took a shaky breath as sweat broke out on his neck and back. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want things to change between them, but it wasn’t fair to her. “Since your own ability is obviously supernatural, even though you may not realize it, I feel safe telling you about myself now that you’ve confided in me. What I’m about to say will seem impossible, entirely fictional.” He wanted to tell her to take every idea she’d learned from the paranormal books she loved so much and throw them out the window.
Dillon ran his hand through his hair. His wolf was growing more agitated. His beast wanted the female to know so that she would understand they could not be what she needed. She was not the other half of his soul, and there would be a gaping hole inside of him that Lilly could never fill, even though he loved her. Dillon inwardly snarled at his wolf. The man didn’t need to be reminded. His jaw clenched, and suddenly Lilly’s warm hands cupped his face, drawing his attention back to her and away from the thoughts of his wolf’s disapproval.