My Surprise Mate

Chapter 4

Dane closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, his grip tightening on the steering wheel briefly before finally relaxing. “I don’t know how much you know about werewolves, but my mother or I can explain it to you if you give us a chance. And you’re not a problem or causing any problems, so get that out of your head. I don’t want you to leave.” He started driving again until we reached a long muddy driveway. I could see a huge house off in the distance, lights glowing in the window already. There was a medium-sized home behind the larger one and a few cars parked out front. I immediately noticed that one of the vehicles was Dane’s mother’s pickup.

Both houses were more significant than anything I had ever lived in before. The outside was lovely, simple wooden structures but far from shabby. Dane continued driving past the first, larger house to the smaller one behind it. “This is our guest house. It’s not much, but I hope you are comfortable.” Dane told me as he parked right in front of the large wrap-around porch. “Not much?” I questioned him, “Are you being sarcastic?” I wasn’t sure if he believed that or if he was just trying to be funny. He shook his head slowly at me, confusion showing on his face, “No, I’m not being sarcastic. I understand it’s not as much as what most people have, but we don’t believe in wasting money on material things unless it is something we really need. We would rather our money go to helping others in the pack.” I could hear the hurt in his voice.

“I’m sorry. I just…this is more than I’ve ever had. I mean—you wouldn’t have known—but this place looks gorgeous just from the outside. I can’t imagine what the inside looks like.” I felt a little ashamed of sounding so rude to him. He didn’t waste any more time as he jumped out and came around the pickup to help me out. “Don’t let me fall…” I told him, giggling. “Never.” He replied as he slipped his hands around my waist and sat me on my feet.

The tingles were slowly spreading from my hips throughout the rest of my body, freezing me in my place. I had never felt anything quite like this before, and honestly, it scared me. With Kain, there was a connection, or I had thought so. His touch was warm. It always felt like his hands left a trail of fire behind them. It was not bad; it was actually very nice, but this was something so much stronger. I wasn’t sure if he could feel it or not. Hell, I might be going crazy at this point; who knows. The longer he left his hands on my hips, the more I could feel the heat building between my legs. One hand reached up, caressing the side of my face gently while the other stayed on my hip. Before I knew what I was doing, I had already leaned into his touch. It just felt so right. So, calming. Like I was safe as long as he was touching me…making me forget all my problems. The whole world seemed right at that moment.

“Alpha!! Hey man, I’ve been trying to reach you! Where the hell have you been?” a man yelled across the larger house's backyard as he quickly made his way over to us. I heard a slight growl from Dane as he pulled away from me. Instantly, I missed his touch. “Doesn’t concern you right now. Remember who you are talking to, Beta!” Dane said in a deep threatening tone. The man stopped walking, bowing his head to Dane, “Sorry, Alpha, no disrespect.”

“I’ll be in to talk to you as soon as I’m done here.” The man nodded at Dane and quickly spun on his heel, returning to the other house. “Sorry,” Dane told me as he grabbed my bag for me. I followed behind him as he climbed the steps up the porch. “It sure is dark out here…like really damn dark,” I told him as I looked around. The only lights were the ones shining in the big house. There were no outside lights on, no sort of streetlights or lamps, just pitch black. “We have lights out here, but we don’t turn them on very often. Are you scared of the dark?? I can turn them on for you if it would make you feel more safe and comfortable.” He replied as he opened the front door and walked inside. He quickly reached over and flipped a switch, illuminating the vast living room.

I slowly looked around in awe. It was beautiful. Two large leather couches and a leather reclining chair sat in front of a fireplace. There was a solid wood coffee table placed in the middle of them with matching end tables between them all. A fluffy cream-colored rug covered most of the hardwood floor. The walls were a cream color, matching the rug. There wasn’t very much hanging on the walls, a few décor items, but that was it. I felt so out of place already, and I hadn’t even made it past the living room. I would never be able to afford to stay in a place even half as lovely as this house was. “What do you think?” Dane asked me, pulling me from my thoughts. “Umm…it’s absolutely stunning. I can’t stay here, though.” I looked down at the floor, feeling embarrassed. I couldn’t stay here. There is no way I could afford to pay him for even one night. “Why not? Did I do something wrong?” he asked me. Was that pain I heard in his voice? Why would he give a crap about what I think or if he did something wrong?

“No, no, it’s not that. You have been very nice to me. I just…well, I can’t afford to pay you to stay here. It’s definitely out of my price range.” As I tried to hide my embarrassment, I told him, “I really do appreciate it, though, but I'll go somewhere else if you can just take me back to my car. Sorry if I’ve been an inconvenience and wasted your time.” I quickly added; as I grabbed my bag, he had sat down on the couch.

The embarrassment I felt was almost too much. I could feel my eyes starting to burn from the tears springing up. I tried to make my way back out the front door without him noticing the fact that I was trying not to cry. I didn’t want him feeling sorry for me or like he had to let me stay here. I would be fine. I always managed somehow, and this night isn’t any different.