Love, Lust, and Desert Dust

"We Aren't The Same"

I wake up to Rose being nowhere in sight. We fell asleep, cuddled together on my couch. I wonder where she is. I go outside to look for her and find her standing next to Cassidy, having an argument.

They are on the side of the house. Rose is barefoot and still in the clothes she fell asleep in. I move towards them, but I'm stopped in my tracks as her uncle and who I'm assuming is her aunt join the argument.

I eavesdrop.

"Rosetta! You HAVE to do this! Our tribe will die off if we don't merge." Her Uncle urges her.

"Why do I have to string him along?! I mean, yeah, there's this weird connection, but I don't know what I want."

"Ugh. We had you move to this town so you could meet him specifically." Her aunt butts in.

"Can't we find another way? He's sweet and considerate. He's also the asshole I met before, but that's only towards those who cross him. Aside from that, he is an ALPHA! Or a CHIEF, if you will. He could rip me to shreds for breaking his heart and no one would blink."

"Why do you have to be so damn righteous?! Rosetta, you need to follow through." Cassidy sneers my way.

"Looks like someone heard us."

She jerks her chin towards me and I turn around calmly and walk back to the front of my house.

Rose freaks and starts following me.

"Wait! D, wait!"

"Why?! So you can lie to my face some more?"

"Just let me explain!"

I turn to face her and I snap.

"Explain what?! I just f*****g heard you guys, Rosetta!"

A crowd starts to gather from the noise.

"Stop, D. Just..."

She rests a small palm on my chest. I try to choke back my tears.

"I need you to stop lying! You just keep trying to make things smaller than they are. This is a big deal! You came here purely with the intentions of roping me in and then not staying after your tribe grows from mine."

"At first, yes. Now, I just want you."

"Oh, who are you kidding?! That guy isn't even really your uncle. He's your dad." I gesture to her "uncle" Then I sweep my gesture over the "aunt" and "cousin"

"These two are your mom and sister. You're a walking lie."

"D! Please!" She has tears streaming down her face that I just want to kiss away.

My heart starts to hurt and I know I'm gonna cry soon.

"I can't. I can't let someone leave me again." My voice is barely above a whisper.

I take her hand off my chest and walk into my house, locking the door behind me.

I sink to the floor and let it all out as soon as I close the door behind me. I hear her screaming my name and banging on my door and I almost get up to open it. My heart feels like it's being squeezed so hard it could burst. I feel tears stream down my face and I close my eyes.

All of a sudden, I can see what's going on with Rose on the other side of the door. It's like our mind link has become visual.

She has her head pressed against the door and her eyes closed. There are people trying to get her up off the ground and every time someone tries to touch her, she growls at them. She begins to speak and it's as if I'm in the same room as her.

"Dakota...I never meant for you to fall for me or for me to fall for you. I didn't even choose this path. I've been fighting it ever since I met you." She places a hand on the door and my heart clenches tighter.

"Then, why did you go through with it?"

"I was trying to back out when you heard us arguing. They are withholding something that my mother gave to me. You were kind of right. He's my father, but she is my step mother and the girl is my step sister. The woman I was living with was a fake. She was being paid off for the facade."

"I can't trust anyone because of my past and I came in here because I don't trust myself not to hurt you."

"Oh, sweetie, just let me in. I know you won't hurt me."

"How do you know? We aren't the same. You're fiery, but gentle and I'm broken and hot tempered."

"We ARE the same. Let me show you. Open the door."

I reach up and unlock it and she pushes it open far enough for her to squeeze in.

"Oh, D, you're so cute when you cry."

She kneels down and wipes under my eyes. I reach up and lock the door again.

"I understand how you feel. I may not have gone through everything you've gone through, but I have some of the same issues. You make me feel comfortable and I hope I make you feel the same way."

I grab the hand that's resting on my cheek and I kiss it.

"You do. Just be open and truthful from now on. Please."

"Okay. Then, one more thing, the reason we have a weird connection is because our ancestors were mated and so are we."

"What do you mean?"

"There's a very old rule that no one follows anymore. It's one where all of the wolves have mates and are destined to be with said mates. They aren't allowed to marry outside their mates without formally rejecting them. It died off because over the years, everyone forgot about it and just married whoever they wanted. That killed the mate line. When we were made into chiefs at the same time, it was awakened inside of us."

There was a short silence before she spoke again.

"Oh, yeah, we also used to refer to ourselves as packs instead of tribes. The history of being separated from the original native tribes is real, but we separated as packs and not tribes. That wasn't our identifier until about 100 years ago."

"Wait, how do you know all of this?"

"My grandma is 115 years old and she filled me in. I'm honestly surprised that she remembers so much. Actually, I'm surprised she's even still alive."

"Wow, she's old."

"Yeah." She awkwardly gets up off the floor and goes to stand near the sofa.

I get up and walk past her to the shower. I strip and she continues being awkwardly adorable. She stands outside the bathroom in silence.

"You waiting for an invitation?"

"What?" Her face turns beet red.

"I asked you if you wanna get in with me."

"Oh, no, I'm fine. I think I'll just sit on your bed until you're done."

She sits there the entire time. I don't hear her get up at all. I do hear her take a quick phone call. She just sounds exhausted.

I hear her take the phone call just outside the room for about 5 seconds, just as I'm exiting the bathroom. I walk out in just a towel and she raises an eyebrow at me.

"You look...."

"Sexy?"

"Like a tease."

She walks up to me and pats my chest.

"Put some clothes on before we go too far."

"Whatever do you mean?"

She rolls her eyes at me, grabs clothes out of my drawers and tosses them at me.

"We may be mated, but no s*x until we know each other well enough."

"Whatever."