Cherry
I let myself in, noticing Dylan’s keys in the bowl on the table. My heart punched my chest like a jackhammer, overreacting to the fact that he was home. I dropped my own keys in the bowl with a clatter. A moment later, Dylan’s study door opened.
Dylan filled the doorway. His shoulders were so broad they almost touched both sides of the frame, and he seemed to loom over me, even with the long hallway between us. I always felt overwhelmed by his presence. His dark eyes found me in the low light, and I fought to conceal how much his stare affected me. His strong features were so handsome, filled with all the rugged beauty of the Moon God that only our pack’s most talented artists could hope to imbue their sculptures with. I felt Dylan’s pull on me like I did the full moon.
I wanted to go to him. My lips prickled as if telling me to use them as I wanted to. “Kiss him,” they seemed to whisper.
If only...
Instead, I stated the obvious, “You’re home.”
He frowned. “Thought you were Bert.” At the confusion on my face, he added, “He borrowed the truck. He’s posting the keys through.”
I nodded, trying to keep the disappointment out of my expression. Of course, Dylan hadn’t voluntarily left his study to say hello to me. I tried not to feel too jealous that he had more time for Bert, his Beta, and his friend than he did for me.
I kept my tone casual as I suggested, “I’m gonna open a bottle. Want a drink?”
His dark eyebrows dragged together, “No thanks, I’ve got a fair bit to do before I finish up tonight.” Withdrawing, his study door clicked shut behind him.
And just like that, the space that had seemed so full of his presence was empty.
Disappointment fluttered in my chest. But, with a deep breath, I reminded myself that he had to work hard. After all, he was the Alpha-in-training of our pack, Starsmoon, and an Alpha’s job was never done.
Hell, I understood the workload Dylan was under, given that I’d spent the last year shadowing his mom, Heather, the Luna of Starsmoon. Most days, I helped her with her duties. When I’d started learning my future role as Luna, I’d been surprised at the amount of necessary work Heather did in the background. Daily, she’d have pack members to visit who were ill or having a personal problem; nothing was too great or too small for her. She made sure she knew what was going on in the lives of all her pack members. She also spent a lot of time with outreach work in the local community. She’d schooled me in the necessity that the pack had a strong cohesion with the local community, too. Being shifters, we had a real need for seclusion once a month while we shifted, but it was vital that the small town didn’t get suspicious of us, so we had to ensure we didn’t isolate ourselves from it either.
I’d always respected Heather as our pack’s Luna, and I’d been impressed and inspired by how caring she was with the human community in the area. Most days, I attended a church, community center, youth club, school, or library event with her, readying myself for the role of Luna that would one day be mine.
Wandering into my bedroom, I got out the cushion covers I’d made at my dad’s house in Seattle. They were white with a pattern of delicate cherry blossoms scattered across them. I’d made them for the living-room. It always made me feel better to design and make something with my namesake on it: Cherry. My mom started the tradition. She always enjoyed getting me things with cherries on them. I remembered how she’d enjoyed surprising me with things, dresses, teddies, blankets, anything that was awash with the shiny red fruit. I felt as if I could still hear her joyful whisper in my ear, “For my Cherry.”
A stab of longing swept through me. My mom had passed away a couple of years ago when I was sixteen. It was only a year and a half later that the Starsmoon Alpha and Luna brought me here to the small town of Lord Hill, where Dylan lived. To live with my… mate. Our Alpha and Luna, Dylan’s parents, had long foreseen that Dylan and I were destined for each other. They’d told both Dylan and me when he was in his teens, and I was eleven, that the shifter Moon God, Nuu-Chah, had guided them with a vision that we belonged together.
We were fated mates. A pang of frustration swooped through me—fated mates who barely spoke to each other. We didn’t even share a bedroom. I looked around my room, at the double bed, wardrobe, and vanity table, filled with only my things.
His mom and dad had wanted us to live together to get to know each other properly before we were officially joined together during our Moon Ceremony. When I’d first moved in, Dylan had been the one to suggest we have separate rooms. At the time, I’d thought he was being a real gentleman. But almost a year on, our Moon Ceremony likely not far off, and our separate rooms hadn’t changed.
Cherry Worry crept through me. For what must have been the thousandth time, I wondered if there was something wrong with me. Dylan hadn’t shown any sign of being attracted to me. He didn’t seem remotely interested in me like that. He hadn’t even kissed me, and we’d lived together for a whole year. Heat flushed over my skin as one of my common fantasies played through my thoughts: Dylan’s tall, muscular form pushing through my bedroom door, his dark eyes claiming mine before he took me in his arms and kissed me. But that’s where the fantasy petered out as it so often did. After all, I didn’t have much experience in that department. Who was I trying to fool? I didn’t have any sexual experience. Nothing. Helplessness whirled through me. The truth was, since being told by our Alpha and Luna that Dylan was my fated mate, I’d grown up with the idea that things between us would just happen. It’s not that I’d intentionally kept myself for Dylan, but I suppose, looking back when I’d fantasi
Dylan I clicked the door shut to my study, running my hands through my hair in exasperation. Exasperation at Cherry, at myself, at this whole god-damned situation. For a moment, guilt kept me at the door. I thought of Cherry perched on a bar stool, eating alone in the kitchen. Her grey eyes washed-out and picking daintily at her meal. I almost went back. Almost. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about her. She was… What is she? The truth was I didn’t know anymore. But the hopefulness in Cherry’s tone as she’d said dinner was ready had knotted my stomach. It wasn’t at the thought of her cooking. Her food is always bloody delicious. I knew part of me would regret not sitting down for a bite. But it was what lurked beneath that simple offer of food. An important part of the mating bond was a mate’s desire to nourish the other. The more frequently I gave in to her cooking and ate with her, the more chance there was for the bond that was destined to exist between us to grow. No doubt, it
Dylan Again, I imagined the slender woman sitting in the kitchen, her long blonde hair and smooth heart-shaped face undeniably beautiful. It was why I couldn’t share a room with her, despite the hurt I knew it caused her. After all, I was still a hot-blooded male who saw how god-damned beautiful she was—every day. I didn’t trust myself to share a bed with such a beautiful woman and keep my hands to myself. I knew Cherry was only eighteen and likely hadn’t had any experience with guys. After all, from the age of eleven, she’d known she was destined to be my mate and the future Luna of the Starsmoon pack. She deserved her first time to be with someone who truly cared for her. And although I found her beautiful and desirable because of my parents and the future they’d decreed for us, Cherry came with too many trappings. I was a future Alpha. My future wouldn’t be dictated to me by anyone. Once, after a few beers, I’d confessed all this to Bert, my Beta, and friend. He’d advised me to t
Cherry Our whole pack was seated around a huge banquet table, draped in crisp white linen and decorated with candles and flowers. A feast of rich dishes rested along the middle, which the pack had all pitched in to make, and were all enjoying now. Despite the festive mood, my own was strained. I sat to the left of Dylan. He was to the right of his father, while Heather sat to Chris’s left. I felt like Dylan, and I were supposed to be the mirror image of our Alpha and Luna, but creeping shame built in me. I couldn’t help noticing how often Heather leaned in to talk to Chris or patted her husband’s arm and other little signs of affection that marked the pair as a proper couple. Whereas Dylan and I had barely exchanged two words all night. Dylan mostly talked to his father about pack business. The only time I managed to speak to him was to ask if he’d tried the salmon or venison and other dull things. A sheen of sweat beaded along my forehead as I dwelled on what everyone must be thin
Cherry As if underwater, I heard Heather and Chris’s voices telling Dylan and me to go and join the party. The pack’s excitement flooded the room. Someone had set music playing, the pounding beat like the jackhammer of my heart. Everything around me seemed to blur. A wall of well-wishers surrounded me for what felt like an eternity. With each exchange, my breath caught more sharply. It barely registered as my dad found me, pulling me into a giant bear hug. In his arms, my feelings threatened to spill out, but more excited arms soon tugged me onward. Finally, at the edge of the room, the space around me was clear of friends. I take a step, only to find myself teetering as if walking on unstable ground. Belatedly, I realized that I was, somehow, beside Dylan. He must have come out the other side of the pack, too. Instinctually, my arm reached out to him, curving around his but Dylan tensed. A frown marred his handsome brows, and he pushed me away as if unable to bear my touch. I gape
Cherry Dylan was heavy. Luckily, he was lucid enough to walk, albeit with lurching steps. He was so tall compared to my petite frame. My head only came up to his chest. Even in the heels I wore, he towered over me. Now and then, his big hand flopped against my neck or down my back as he steadied himself. By keeping an arm around his waist, I guided him in the right direction and kept him upright. Within a few short minutes, we were at our door. It suddenly dawned on me that I’d left my coat, with my keys, at Dylan’s parents. “Fuck,” I swore. Dylan let out a deep laugh, and my eyes darted up to him. He stared down at me. “I haven’t heard you swear before.” With the way he blinked at me, you’d have thought I’d grown a second head. I reminded myself that he was drunk. He probably was seeing two of me. I sighed, “Well, now you have.” Irritation needled through me as the cold night stung my bare arms, neck, and back. Even Dylan’s body heat as he leaned on me couldn’t chase the cold aw
Cherry His fingers fell away, and I felt the head of his arousal press against my entrance. Its firm pressure was delicious. I opened to him completely. Gently, he drove into me, stretching me wider and wider. I felt a shudder of pain, but pressing my legs against his ass, I encouraged him further in. The discomfort was soon gone, and only his fullness was left. It was all I could think about. As he moved, I bucked against him, and it was the most exquisite pleasure I’d ever experienced. His breath was on my throat, his tongue trailing kisses down to the neckline of my dress. He dragged the silk up and over my head, stripping me of my bra too. Then his attention was on my breasts, kneading and nuzzling them. As he thrust into me and suckled, I spiraled over the edge. “Dylan,” I panted. I’d lost track of the number of times I’d come apart when he found his own release, letting out a groan and spilling hot inside me. *** When I blinked my eyes open, it took me a moment to convince
Dylan I lumbered into the loft: the open-plan office was where I spent a large portion of time. The Starsmoon kept a complex of buildings here in which to manage our various businesses. We ran a diverse range of trades, which allowed our community to be autonomous and sustain us. We managed a few farms, a large amount of forestry, and a timber and silage business. All of these things required day- to-day admin tasks. Yet, I couldn’t focus on the dozen or so tasks that had racked up because all I could think about washer. Cherry. And the spectacular mess I’d made of things. I hadn’t thought it could get any worse than playing house and being trapped in a life I didn’t want. Well, it could. And it had. Through drunken sex, and my life had reached the breaking point. I swept a hand tiredly across my face, still feeling groggy from the party two nights’ ago. I didn’t usually drink much. A beer or two with Bert or the other guys in the pack was usually the limit. Whereas at the party,