An Undying Love by Janet MacDonald Page B

and saw Anya had curled next to him sometime during the night. She
lay with her head on his chest, their hands entwined on his belly. He smiled to
himself as he wrapped his other arm over her and settled back in, taking a deep
inhale of her sweet scent.
    It’d been years
since he’d cuddled a woman. It felt so right to him. Now all he had to do was
show Anya this was where she truly belonged. That thought brought the tranquil
moment he enjoyed to a halt. Tonight Mitch was either going to come through or
Dante would have to do the unthinkable. His own worry that the Silverback alpha
might not be able to deliver seeped into his mind.
    Dante was
banking on the threat of taking Anya as his mate would force Mitch to bring
Cora home. But what if he really didn’t know where she was? Then what? He
couldn’t imagine forcing himself on Anya. She would hate him, even though they
would be together for the rest of their lives. It would be hell for him,
knowing he’d forced her to be his mate when she really didn’t want him. But
what if she did want him?
    Dante stroked her
long, silky hair as he laid there, every scenario playing in his mind. He didn’t
want to lose Anya, didn’t want to her to leave. If Mitch managed to come through
then he had no choice but to let her go. Dante’s heart lurked in his throat at
the thought of her not being there with him. Beth was right. He was in love
with her.
    It made no sense
to him. They didn’t even know each other, hadn’t mated or connected at any
other level. How the hell was this possible, he wondered. It was as if she’d
always been his and he hers. Like true soul mates from the old tales told to
them as children. Lovers preordain to be united as one. As Anya shifted closer,
he remembered how he’d first seen her in the temple.
    The near ghostly
visage of her within the sacred building was something he would not forget. He’d
been in awe of the sight. She was so graceful, delicate and beautiful. Why she’d
drunk the stagnant water was still beyond him. Then it dawned on him. It’d been
said that to drink the water from within the temple would bring a person’s soul
mate to them. A silly old tale he knew, but one his great-grandmother said was
true.
    Dante craned his
head to look at Anya’s sleeping face on his chest, he had a hunch now of
exactly why she’d come there. It was the only thing that made sense. Though,
part of that tale was not told outside of Temple Island’s pack members. As he
ran his fingers in her hair, he had to wonder if it could have happened to her.
    It was the
reason no one was allowed there. A male and female were supposed to drink the
water together, tying theirs soul as one, binding them as soul mates. It was
also said to drink from the pool would imbue the person with another’s soul.
The soul of the Wolf Lord or the soul of his mate, Terra, would fuse with the
imbiber, depending on the drinker’s gender. It was something outsiders didn’t
know. Was it even possible, he wondered. Could she be? Nah, he thought. It was
just a legend.
    But then he got
a shiver. It raced through him to his core, and he knew.

Chapter Nine
     
    Anya awoke all
alone in Dante’s bed. She blearily remembered her dreams from last night, and
again felt herself blush. She moved as quietly as she could and slipped out of
bed. Her bare feet touched the cold floorboards and she shivered. Walking
stealthily toward the partially opened bedroom door, she could make out Dante
talking to Memphis.
    “We do rotating
shifts today. I want the entire shoreline patrolled at regular intervals,”
Dante said.
    “You really
think he would invade?” Memphis asked.
    “No. But I’m
also not going to take that chance either.” Dante snorted.
    “But what
happens to Anya if they do?”
    “I’m not going
to hurt her, Memphis. I told her brother the terms. It’s up to him now to
deliver.”
    Anya was
anxious. Tonight if her brother didn’t show up with Cora, Dante would mate her.
It