My Trauma Mate

Chapter 4

KIERA 

Blake led me up the three steps onto the porch, towards the double doors we would be walking into to get inside. The doors are designed with such intricate detail that I had to stop and admire the handy work. Blake must have noticed because he started to point out various parts of the door and began telling me about them.   

Pointing out the two birds, he says, “These two birds here, they symbolize my parents. If you notice, they started down here on different sides of the door. My mom's bird disappeared from the door for a while because she and her family disappeared for a while. And up here,” Blake points to the nest in the middle of the door. “The three birds in the nest would be my siblings and I.” 

“You have siblings?” I asked him, genuinely interested. 

“Yep! My brother, Miles, is my Irish twin. He was born 11 months after me. Needless to say, my parents are inseparable. Always have been. And then there's my sister, Sierra. She’s 16. Quite a personality, she is.” He grins down at me after he spoke. His smile makes my knees weak... Will that go away? 

“Oh, I hope not. He’s dreamy.” Leslie, you love drunk fool. 

“Where are your siblings then?” Curious why I haven’t seen them around. 

“You haven’t seen them at school?! You and Sierra have some of the same classes. I’m honestly surprised you haven’t met her yet. Miles, though he's more of a jock, can have his head up his a** sometimes. So, you not being around him makes sense, but I figured you'd heard of him before.” 

“I’m not sure if you noticed, but I’m a loner. No one has ever even talked to me unless they were trying to get information from me or make fun of me. Friends are not a thing I do.” I replied to him, looking back toward the door. It truly is a piece of art.  

I heard a low growl come from Blake but have no clue as to why. I reached for the door knob, turned it and stepped into the foyer. I gasp as I take in my surroundings. The entryway was made up of several bookshelves jammed to the max with various books from Jane Austin all the way to P.C Cast and E.L James. They must really be inseparable, like Blake said.  

To the left, the entryway was a grand staircase leading up to the second-floor balcony which, from down here, appeared as an entry to a second family area. I turned back toward Blake who was watching me curiously, almost like he was trying to gauge my expression.  

“What do you think?” He asks me, causing me to not be able to control the smile widening on my face. 

“It's a dream come true. This is stunning.” 

“Just like you.” The blush creeping into my cheeks is swift

.  

Looking down at my feet, I get nervous. I say exactly what I’m thinking, “You don’t even know me.” 

I raise my head up as Blake starts walking toward me carefully while looking sincere. 

“I know that you love the smell of lilacs and perennials. I know you pick the skin around your fingernails when you are either scared, worried or nervous. You clearly adore books, and you hide within yourself as a defense mechanism.” I have a sharp intake of air as I feel like I just got punched in the stomach. 

“He’s not wrong. You see yourself the same way everyone sees you and that’s not who you are.” Leslie softly speaks inside my mind. 

“ OK, but when you realize how much of a basket case I am, you’ll go running to the hills.”

“I dare you to let me prove you wrong. You seem like one who likes to be challenged.” Gah, this man. He is dreamy, just like Leslie says, but infuriating. Why can’t he just reject me and move on with his life? It’ll save me from the pain that it brings later on.

“He is right though... You do like a challenge...”

“Leslie. Shut up.”

“Rawr, easy girl, I'm just pointing out the obvious.” 

“Yea? Well, seems like he's got that covered for you.” 

Exasperated, I threw my hands in the air, landing them back down at my sides. 

“Fine. You’re right. I have a thing with challenges, but you have to realize, I’ve had to protect myself for so long that I have refused to get emotionally attached to anything. So, with that. I bid you good luck.” 

Blake's smile grows wider than I’ve seen so far.  

“Game on darlin.” Again, infuriating. 

Blake's eyes gloss over to indicate that he’s communicating with someone.  

“We are being summoned back to the packhouse. My father would like to speak with me. Want to come?”  

His father? Alpha Brian was the man who picked me up from the scene after the accident between my parents and I. I don’t remember much of that day but I do remember him being kind to me. I never figured out why.  

“You want me to go with you to the packhouse? You know I work there, right?” 

“You work at the packhouse? Why have I never seen you?” Blake looked shocked for once. 

“I work in laundry or behind the scenes in the kitchen. I was always told to keep hidden. No one really takes kindly to a murderer, remember? To me, it’s kind of hard to forget.”  

Blake seems to take a few minutes to process what I’ve said when he clears his throat. 

“Please come with me to speak to my father? I’m not ready to be away from you just yet.” 

“Lead the way.” I motioned to the door. 

“Ladies first.”  

“Do you have to be so complicated?”

“Do you?” 

I sighed heavily, “You take challenges WAY too seriously.”  

Heading in the direction of the door, he grabs my hand and spins me back around, pulling me to his chest. I’m frozen in place; I don’t ever get touched by anyone and this is the man supposed to be my mate. The butterflies are back and the sparks are everywhere, causing my breath to quicken. I looked up into his eyes, one green, one black. We are like that for a few moments. 

“May I kiss you, Kiera?” His voice was different, a little deeper. This must be his wolf. I gulp and nod my head, giving him the ok. 

His hand moves up to cup my cheek but not before he moves a strand of my hair out of my face to behind my ear. I get so lost in his eyes; they make me feel like I’m the safest I’ve ever been. Blake or his wolf, I don’t really know which one it is, leans into my lips as I close my eyes. Our lips collide, flooding me with a sense of euphoria.  I can feel what he’s feeling; his nervousness, his desire for more for me, almost like he's hungry and I’m on the menu. I pull away, stopping before either one of us dives too deep without knowing what we are getting into. 

 Steading my breath, he lightly grabs my chin, making me look into those gorgeous green eyes.  

“You are beautiful. I wish you’d see yourself the way I see you at this very moment.” 

Without waiting for a response, he leans down and kisses me again, slowly, I don’t want him to stop. Pulling away slightly, he puts his hand in mine once again and leads us to the porch where he pulls the double doors closed and locks them. Using only one hand, I might add. 

Like the gentleman he has shown me he is, he opens the passenger door for me and helps me in buckling me in, ensuring that I was as safe in my seat as possible, he plants another soft and sweet kiss on my lips. 

“I started kissing you and I don’t plan to stop. Not now, not ever.” Those words flowed sexily out of his mouth, making my heart flutter. Blake doesn’t wait for a reply, he closes my door and strides around to his side with a huge grin taking over the entirety of his face.