Her Fire

13 ~ How do you tame fire?

“You’re a lycan. Do you know that?”

David stops in his tracks, waiting for Deirdre to say more about Flint’s kind, and it warms his heart to realize she is probably trying to cheer him up.

“She remembers us...” Flint whimpers.

“Of course she does. She was once the fire goddess and had been around during or even before your era. Nobody else alive has witnessed the lycans’ golden age and that’s one of the reasons they don’t understand us.”

Flint is silent as they listen to their beautiful and reluctant mate talking about lycans with such conviction.

“...it would be a crime to absorb and annihilate Flint, just to prove your strength. You should be proud to be gifted such a powerful wolf.”

And just like that, Deirdre earned Flint’s undying loyalty. David’s wolf is soaring, so high, he doesn't even care much anymore whether she accepts their mate bond or not.

“I will serve, protect and love her, for all eternity. No strings attached.” He vows. “Tell her now, so she’s not afraid of us.”

David sighs. “Whoa there, lover boy, slow down. I understand how you’re feeling, but let’s not be too hasty declaring ourselves. Perhaps we still have a chance of making her accept us. We don’t have to push her into anything right now, but I don’t want to give up on our future together just yet. Let’s… just give her time… maybe we can get her to like us once she gets to know us.”

His wolf rolls his eyes. “A shy gardener and an anti-social wolf?” Flint asks sarcastically. “What’s not to like?”

“Hello? You’re zoning out. Can you hear me or have you fallen asleep?”

David blinks as he hears Deirdre’s annoyed voice. “I hear you.” He takes a deep breath. “Thank you for your kind words. I will remember them, always.” He turns away and is about to go back to the villa to get dressed when Flint growls at him.

“Where do you think you are going!? She will leave us! Do something!”

His wolf's panic is almost tangible so David sighs and turns to look at her again. “You need not leave, Deirdre. You have paid for a fortnight, you should stay and enjoy it. I promise to stay out of your way. Just… don’t leave because of me.”

She sighs, looking hesitant. “Oh, I don’t know… this does not bode well for me, having my fated mate so close. I left Seattle because I saw someone who I thought looked very much like my former mate. What are the odds I met the current one after traveling half the world to make sure I never see him again!? This feels too much like Destiny’s M.O….”

David tilts his head pensively to the side. “So… you’re running away again?”

************

Deirdre gasps, then clenches her hands in indignation.

Is he insinuating that she’s being a coward!?

He seems to have realized a little too late that his observation has upset her somehow, and he looks at her apologetically. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything awful by it, please, believe me. I was genuinely curious because it seems so out of character for you. Only a few minutes ago, you stood your ground while a lycan was threatening to end your life. Grown men had fainted at the sight of our lycan form once, they had to be convinced they were drunk. It just baffles me that you would fear a fated mate so much that you would still run away even when I already promised to stay out of your way. Does that mean you’re afraid you won’t be able to resist the mate bond?”

It sounded like a challenge and she could feel her hackles rising, instinctively responding to the provocation. “That is not what I—” She clears her throat. “I’m not scared of anything. I just want some peace of mind. That’s all.”

David stares at her for a few uncomfortable seconds before turning away again. “If you say so.”

She grits her teeth, glaring at him. “I know what you’re doing. It’s not going to work.”

He shrugs. “All right. But I mean it, Deirdre. Don’t let me scare you away. I won’t bite and you’ll hardly know I’m here.” He finally leaves, disappearing behind the office, where there is a path heading towards the main villa.

Deirdre curses under her breath before stomping away to go back to the cottage to grab her things.

She’s determined to leave and she doesn’t care what he thinks. Halfway to the cottage, she sees David’s cousin running from the vineyard.

“Oh my god, you’re okay!” Matt heaves a sigh of relief. “David just mind-linked me that he’s back to normal. I’m so glad Flint didn’t find you before David was able to take back control… that beast is a menace! David really has to get rid of him—”

Annoyed, Deirdre puts her hands on her hips. “Well, as a matter of fact, he did find me. And you really should stop talking of Flint as if he’s an insane and mindless monster. He’s anything but!”

Matt stares at her in surprise. “He’s… not?” he glances at the weapon he’s holding in his hands with a frown. “Are we talking about the same wolf?”

She turns away. “I don’t know what went wrong in your generation and the ones before you but lycans are the most intelligent and powerful beings during their time. This notion of the spirit beasts taking a step back... it somehow led you to believe they were lesser beings, like wolves that you could domesticate and turn into pets or slave beasts. And now that you no longer need their animal forms, you think they should be absorbed instead of revered for their sacrifice! Well, that's the most stupid thing I've ever heard and the exact opposite of how it should be. Those... beasts? They saved mankind and many other creatures long ago. But then, of course, humans had to be so dumb that they turned against their saviors out of unreasonable fear and greed, driven by their arrogance to be at the very top of the pyramid.” She whirls around to face him again. “Well, get your heads out of your a$$es! Flint wasn’t a raving lunatic. He was hurting. And the lycans were not dangerous! It’s their human counterparts who allowed their wolves to vanish that you should worry about!”

Her rant finally over, she stomps away, leaving Matt with his mouth hanging open, cursing under her breath as she hurries towards the cottage. She can't wait to leave. Just look at her now, less than a day in, and she's already defending her mate's wolf!

What’s next? Her making moon eyes at David in less than a fortnight? Sheesh! Deirdre can almost see the knowing grin on the Triple Moon Goddesses’ irritating faces!

Grrr! She would rather walk all the way back to Florence and swim the Atlantic Ocean to get back to Seattle before that happens. As a matter of fact, she is leaving this cursed place right now, and no one can stop her!

The breaking of the mate bond via video conference better work because she’s not going anywhere near a lycan with a tendency to go berserk. Despite all her brave talk defending Flint, admittedly, she got lucky this time. There’s no telling what would happen once she really breaks the mate bond. He could lose his mind and go rogue.

Once the red eyes set in, the human side of him will no longer be able to do anything.

And yet something stops her in her tracks when she's almost at the cottage. There's a car, a dark gray Alfa Romeo, waiting for her right in front of the cottage, and sitting in the driver's seat is David himself.

She slows down, staring at him suspiciously as she gets closer.

“What are you doing here?” She asks cautiously. “I thought you said you’d be staying out of my way?”

Deirdre can see that he has already changed into a fresh set of dark blue shirt and pants. He sighs at the jab. "I figured you won't really want to stay anyway, so I decided I'll just take you back to Florence myself. Your stuff is already inside the car. Get in."

Deirdre stares at him with narrowed eyes. What is running through his mind? Just a moment ago he was begging for her to stay and now he’s even offering to take her a$$ off his property as if he can’t wait to be rid of her?

Is this some sort of reverse psychology tactic?

“No, thank you. I’ll just ask Matt to call me a cab, or better yet, I’ll call Roberto if he’s available and I’ll be out of here soon,” she tells him curtly. “What’s going on? What are you—”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I have a car and I’m ready to go. I’ll take you to Florence, and by the end of the ride, if you still want to be released from the mate bond, then I will give you what you want. I will accept your rejection and move on with my life, as if I’ve never met you.”