Lighting The Fire

7

Sabrina

I feel myself stop breathing as I hear his voice. My mind goes blank, and I can feel my grip on my phone slipping. I turn my heated and look toward the door and see Oliver standing there.

"Call me back, Brina. Take your time and think about what I said. Give him the chance to make it right." The phone line goes dead, and I know he hung up.

I look around the room and see that everyone was gone. Oliver is the only living soul around, and he is staring intently at me. I put my phone down and try to calm my nerves. My wolf is trying to claw her way out, and I need to stop her. I close my eyes and breath deeply, trying to calm myself.

Once I feel calm, I open my eyes to see that Oliver hasn't moved. He's still standing at the front door, and he appears to be waiting until I invite him in. I look him in the eye and motion for him to take a seat on the couch.

"Please have a seat," I say in a soft voice, still trying to remain calm.

"Thanks." His is deep and sends shivers down my spine.

We sit in silence for a few minutes, both of us staring at the other. I start to notice things about him that I had never gotten the chance to notice. His brown hair is standing up all over the place from where he must have been running his hands through it. His emerald green eyes shine brightly and make me feel as if I'm drowning in his eyes. He has a light dusting of freckles across his nose and cheeks.

"I hope you will let me try and talk to you about everything now. I know that you were upset earlier, and I don't blame you. I would have been a lot worse if the roles were reversed." He says giving me a look of hope.

"I've calmed down some, so I think you should be good to talk," I say, looking down at my hands.

"First, I need to tell you how sorry I am. I never thought about how my mate would react because I always thought that she would be doing the same thing. I tend to forget that other packs don't feel the same way we do about mates. For that too, I'm sorry." His eyes hold firm to mine.

"I understand." Those are the only words that I can manage to get out.

"Secondly, I never said anything to Eva about being my mate or Luna. I always made sure that the girls understood that there would never be anything serious between us." He says with conviction.

"And how many girls exactly are you talking about?" I don't realize what I'm saying until it is already out of my mouth.

My cheeks heat up, and I want to cover my face in embarrassment. I somehow manage to not do that, but I see his ears turning red from his embarrassment. That alone makes me think that I won't like his answer.

"Several." He says and looks down at his hands.

"Several doesn't answer my question. I need to know if I am looking at dealing with tons of women who have slept with my mate." I keep my voice even but firm. He swallows hard and lifts his head.

"I'm not sure, but I would say around ten to fifteen." 

"Are they all in this pack and still unmated?" He finally looks at me, and I can tell by his expression he doesn't want to answer.

"Yes, they are all in this pack, and about ten are still unmated." 

I let out the breath that I had been holding, placing my head in my hands. It's not as high as it could have been, but that is still a rather large number of women to have to deal with. What if some of them become crazy because he found his mate? How am I supposed to be Luna of a pack that may not respect me?

"How should I handle them? I have no clue who they are other than Eva. I have no idea what your relationships with them were like. I get that it was in your past, but what do I do to feel secure that you aren't going to leave me for one of them?" As much as I know it will hurt him, I say what I'm thinking anyway.

I hear him sigh and get up and walk over to sit right beside me. I feel the tingling sensation on my hands as he picks them up. I lift my head and look into his eyes. His eyes are swirling with guilt, pain, and sadness.

"I wish that I could tell you that this is all going to be easy, and you'll never have to worry or be upset. I'm not going to lie to you. Sabrina, I'm going to work harder than I ever have to prove to you that I'm loyal and yours and yours alone. I will point every girl out if that is what you want. I will answer every question that you have. I will not hide anything. Please tell me that there is a chance?" Tears are forming in his eyes, and I feel the desperation rolling off him.

"I know that I'm probably being unreasonable, sorry about that. I'm trying. I'm overwhelmed with all this. I'm fighting an internal battle on whether to forgive and forget or to turn and run. Can we start over and pretend this is our first meeting?" I ask with tears in my eyes, hoping for a yes.

I look at his face, and a smile starts to form. I see a dimple forming, and my heart skips a beat. I feel my own smile starting to form, and I'm sure that my cheeks will be turning red soon as well.

"Hi, I'm Alpha Oliver. It's a pleasure to meet you?" He says in a smooth voice that makes my insides feel like jello.

"Sabrina. I'm the new healer. It's lovely to meet you as well." I chuckle a little at the end.

"I was thinking if you haven't been shown around yet, maybe I could show you around in the morning." He says with a slight smirk on his face.

"Well, I did see a few parts of the pack, but there is more that I need to see. Plus I was wanting to drive into the nearby human town to get a feel of the area and get some supplies. Would you have time to show me that?" I ask, trying to play along but also hoping to get a guide to the area.

"There is no place that I would rather be. How about I come by at nine in the morning. We can go and grab some breakfast and spend the day together." His eyes sparkle as he asks, and I feel tingles all across the tops of my hands, and he rubs them, trying to smooth me. 

"I would like that very much." I can't hold back the tears as I say this. 

"Oh no, bab..." He stops himself from calling me that again.

It broke my heart when he called me the same thing I had heard him call her while they were at it. Jealousy and anger were all that I felt toward that word now. I know it was just a term of endearment, but I could bear being called the same thing as a fling.

"I'm trying to not call you that. Sorry." I nod my head in answer, knowing that if I try to talk I'll cry more.

He takes his hands and puts them on my cheeks and starts using his thumbs to wipe away my tears. I'm trying my hardest to not cry anymore but it continues for a while. As the last one falls, he kisses it away. The sparks I feel are like something from the Fourth of July. I've never experienced anything like it.

"They were happy tears at first. Then frustrated." I whisper out and drop my gaze down.

"Hey. Look at me." I do as he asks." I will fix it so that you only cry happy tears. I swear by the Goddess that I will make you happier than you ever thought possible. Give me time, and I won't make you regret it." He looks more determined than ever, and I nod my head and smile. "As much as I want to kiss you right now, I'm going to be a gentleman and head home. We are going to take this slow."

I blink and then feel my cheeks flame up. He chuckles as he stands and starts walking to the door. I follow behind him, and I feel sad that he's going. I should be getting whiplash from how fast my emotions are changing around him.

"I'll be here right at nine." He says as he turns to look at me once more. "Lock uptight. I know that I'm going to struggle with sleep, so if you hear howling, it's most likely me."

"Is your wolf making it hard for you?" I ask.

"Yeah, he's been very angry at me for a while now, and this whole situation just gives him more of an excuse." He shrugs as he says this.

"I'm sorry if...." 

"No. Don't feel bad. This is all on me. I'll deal with it, I deserve to be punished by both you and my wolf." He smiles and opens the door walking out. "Goodnight, Sabrina."