Read Online Violet (The Silver Series Book 4) by Cheree Alsop - Free Book Online

but I couldn't find
the words to answer his question.
    “ You fell in love with
me.”
    Rafe's soft words were spoken with
certainty, and the truth that beat through my soul was echoed in
his eyes. My heart slowed and I tried to deny the statement, but we
both knew I couldn't. “Yes,” I finally whispered.
    His fingers touched my chin and lifted my
face so I would meet his eyes. “Did you know that wolves mate for
life? They chose one wolf as their companion on this earth and I've
seen many wolves who chose to live the rest of their lives alone
after losing their mate.” His eyes were soft with understanding.
“It's in the blood.”
    I shook my head. “Not my blood,” I replied
quietly. “I wasn't born a werewolf.”
    “ Yet here you are,” Rafe
said with a smile. He brushed the hair back from my face with a
finger, then sat down at the edge of the bear skin. “Men on the
radio rave about God, or a higher power, or something in the
universe that guides us for the greater good.” His gaze darkened
and he stared out the cave entrance into the night. “I used to hate
whatever that was, some insurmountable being who had allowed my
parents to be slaughtered and let me live for no apparent
reason.”
    His gaze lightened and his golden eyes
reminded me of the moon, calling to me with some unknown force,
soothing the parts of me that felt sharp and jagged with everything
that had happened. “But then I watched the wolves and felt the love
and respect they had for each other. I remembered the way my mom
used to look at my dad, and how they used to laugh and hold hands.
It was enough to hope that someday I would feel the same way about
someone.”
    He dropped his eyes. “But all I am is really
just a wild werewolf. I kill and I eat what I kill, I defend the
pack with my life as they have defended me, and I have
conversations with total strangers around campfires just to pretend
that I’m human.” His brow tightened. “It really isn't much to
offer.”
    I stared at him, the way the firelight
played off his tangled brown hair, casting the strong line of his
jaw, his soft lips, and his dark brows in profile. My heart slowed
at the self-deprecating look in his eyes and the scorn he felt for
himself. His hands rested on his knees and when I touched one of
them, he moved to turn away, but I caught his hand and wouldn't let
go until he looked at me.
    His eyes met mine with an exposed, haunted
look. “I loved you before I even knew anything about you,” I said
softly. “Everything I learn just adds to that love.” His eyes
studied mine intently, looking for laughter or derision. When he
found none, he dropped his eyes to our hands.
    I took a steeling breath and continued,
“I've found a werewolf who cares about his pack more than most do
for their own family. I see someone who appreciates the forest in a
way only those who have depended upon it for survival can. I hear
the depth of love in your voice when you speak about your parents
and I'm shocked to see that instead of being embittered or filled
with hatred because of what you went through, you're humble and
torn.”
    He turned his face away, but I caught his
cheek with my hand and drew it gently back to me. He blinked
rapidly and tears shone in the firelight. I took a small breath.
“And I see someone that I love so much it hurts.” He looked back at
me and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, I
covered it with my own.
    The kiss sent a thrill of warmth through my
body. His lips were soft at first, then needing and wanting as
though he couldn't get enough. He pulled away quicker than I was
ready and stared at me, his eyes wide and still wet with tears.
“Why love me?”
    I blinked back tears of my own. “Powers of
the universe?”
    He laughed and pulled me into a hug so tight
and fierce that for the first time since I phased under Tannin's
supervision, I finally felt safe and wanted, not a problem for
people to solve in Roger's case, or a sister to