I have seen many good-looking men in my profession but never have I seen men that have the magnetism that these men right here have, a magnetism that hypnotises a person, holding your attention. I have no doubt that any of these men here are dangerous, that they can kill in the blink of an eye, but even though they are dangerous in every form of the word, they are not killers like the man that is out there killing women.
“Come on Alaska, let’s start making our way,” Onix says as she leans down to take my hand and pull me out of my chair. I look over at Dash and see him glance my way, “don’t worry they will be right behind us,” Onix says when she sees me looking at Dash and as she predicts I see the men start placing their drinks down as they start following us.
“What should I expect?” I ask as Dakota comes to stand on my other side.
“To be blinded,” Onix whispers, which has my eyes snapping to hers.
“What?” What does she mean blinded? Are they going to do something to my eyes?
“She won’t even notice; you forget she’s a model,” Dakota says with a laugh.
“Oh, she’ll notice,” Onix says as she elbows me playfully on the side.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to notice,” I say as I look around at the lush foliage around us.
“You will notice that we are absolutely blessed with beauty around us,” Onix says with a straight face, until Dakota grunts in amusement at her words then she starts to laugh. I finally realize that she must be talking about the men as Dakota shakes her head at me in amusement.
“Don’t listen to her, she’s just being naughty,” Dakota states. “She’s just trying to get her mate to spank her.” At the cheeky smile that Onix throws Dakota I burst out laughing, I have been around many women but none of them have been able to make me feel as comfortable or as accepted as these two do.
“How do you feel about going out tomorrow, I want to go and see Gloria,” Dakota says, elaborating when she sees my confused look. “Gloria was someone that helped me when I first got into town, she owns a Salon there.”
“Oh, that sounds great,” Onix says as she looks over at Dakota, “we can have a girl’s day out, maybe get our hair and nails done.” I smile at the excitement on their faces, before I started modelling I used to think a day out with my mom at a Salon was the best thing, but then when you have modelling as a profession where you have your face, nails, hair and body constantly worked on it kind of gets old. I am excited to be making friends and if that is what they would like to do then I am all in, who knows I might even be able to help with some fashion tips.
“We can take my car; I want to nip home and get some stuff,” I suggest, which has them instantly agreeing as they both want to go and see my home.
“Here we are,” Dakota says as we walk into a clearing I stop to look around, it is beautiful. The clearing isn’t wide, but the ground is populated with little white flowers that spread out throughout the clearing. I love the look of the wild, a photographer would go wild with this view. I feel arms sliding around my waist, and then lips kissing my neck.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Dash asks as he kisses my neck.
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper as I feel if I speak too loudly it will disturb these magnificent surroundings.
“In the centre,” King says as he walks past us. Dash lets go of my waist as he comes to stand beside me to take my hand as we walk towards the centre. I notice the men move to stand around King in a wide circle, Dash places me between Hawk and Hunter as Dakota and Onix stand before them. Dakota takes my hand and then points to my feet.
“Take your shoes off, sweetie,” she murmurs. I look down at my ankle high flat boots then back at her. “It’s part of the Initiation.” Kneeling down, I unzip my boots and then slip them off. When I stand back up, I freeze when I see the men around me all without t-shirts.
“Oh,” I murmur as I realize that Dash is standing before everyone naked, as naked as the day he was born. I hear Onix laugh, which has me looking at her.
“I told you she would notice,” Onix whispers with a grin to Dakota.
“You are joking; the only way I wouldn’t notice is if I was blind,” I quip as I see everyone standing around, their bodies shining in the moonlight. Only now do I realize that it’s full moon.
“Dash, do you confirm that Alaska is your true mate?” King asks, bringing me back to the two men. I notice Dash’s eyes on me, his body perfect in its nudity.
“Yes, she is,” he says as he winks at me, which for some reason calms me down. I know that all the other men are standing around me shirtless and yes, they have magnificent bodies, but when I look at Dash everything around me vanishes and only his presence matters.
“Alaska, do you accept Dash as your mate?” My eyes snap towards King, his eyes meet mine and I feel like he is looking right into my very soul. He asks me if I accept Dash. I feel like I am out of my mind, but this overwhelming feeling of rightness since the moment he touched me is overpowering. I feel like this is where I am supposed to be, where I was always meant to be, and I know it doesn’t make sense as we have only just met but it feels like everything in my life has brought me to this moment in time.
“Yes, I do,” I murmur, I don’t know what the future holds but I am willing to take a chance on this man that is standing before me, this man that has shown me a completely different world, a world that I would never have dreamt existed. From what I have seen in this very short time is that there is danger in this world, but I don’t feel scared about this danger because I have a certainty within me that Dash and all the men that are now standing around us would do everything in their power to protect me.
“Will you abide by our laws and accept the Wolverine as part of your family?” I have seen how the women have embraced me into their fold, making me feel like one of them and how the men band together as real family does. I can’t substitute my family as I love them, but I can as King says make them part of my family.
“I do,” I state and feel Onix’s hand as she squeezes mine. My heart swells in pleasure but that is quickly dispelled as I see King turn towards Dash and then I hear a growl and King is bending down slightly over Dash’s chest. I take a step forward unconsciously and feel a hand clamp around my upper arm. Instead of seeing who is holding me back, I am hypnotised as I see Dash throw back his head and growl deep in his throat, but he doesn’t try to push King away or step back.
His body is tensed, his muscles straining as he holds himself in place, and then King lifts his head and steps back. I see a bite across his left breast, a bite that has blood seeping from the deep teeth grooves that are King’s teeth marks. Dash straightens his head, his eyes a piercing green that seems like they are shining from within him. “Dash, you and your Wolf are now bound for eternity to your mate, you are to protect and care for her with your life.” I gasp at the words but don’t say anything as I finally realize the meaning of this initiation.
I feel the hand that was holding me back loosen; I know that I’m more than likely not supposed to interrupt, but the knowledge that Dash is in pain because of our bond has me stepping towards him. No one stops me as I approach him. It feels like every fibre of his being is focused on me; I have a tingling feeling on my left breast, and I wonder if I am feeling his pain or if it’s my imagination.
When I am but a foot away, I lift my hand and lay it next to the bite, from this close I can see the torn skin and I want to turn around and berate King for doing that to him, but I realize that this is their way and that I need to get used to it. I can feel his heart beating under my palm, the heat from his skin penetrating my hand and coursing through my body, pushing away the chill from the night.