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Chapter 4 - Nightmare

Dante's P.O.V.

What the fuck? How did Allison get into my house, and why is she sitting in my chair naked? I'm going to have to burn that now. She slowly stands up and walks over, completely ignoring Hailey, and tries to kiss me. I shove her away so hard her ass hits the ground.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house?" I yell at her. She's the daughter of one of the elders of the pack and has been after me to make her my luna for the last couple of years. She disgusts me. Most of our pack live by our morals, but she doesn't. She's slept with every human and shifter that will have her. Allison stands up and glares at me. I feel Hailey trying to let go of my hand, but I hold tight.

"I was trying to give you your birthday present. Me. Now get rid of this child, and let me show you why I should be your luna." Allison walks over and tries to kiss me again. I shove her and then grab her by her hair. I toss her outside onto the porch, not caring that she has nothing on. I'm sure most of the men around here have already seen everything anyway. I don't like using my alpha tone, but she needs something to get through her thick skull.

"Allison, you will not set foot on these premises again. I will be talking to Ellis and the elders about this, and we'll decide your punishment. Disrespecting your alpha in such a way is a punishable offense." She cowers and bares her neck. I can tell she wants to argue, but she knows she can't. I slam the door and pull Hailey into my arms, only to realize she's crying. I look at her with concern.

"What's wrong?" I ask, looking her over to make sure she's not hurt.

"I don't want to come between you and your girlfriend. I can leave." She tries to reach for the door, but I stop her. I pull her over to the stairs and sit down with her standing in front of me so we can be at eye level.

"Look at me." She hesitates before looking at me, and I see the pain in her eyes. This time I know it's because of that bitch, Allison. Hailey must be feeling some of the mate bond and got the wrong idea about her.

"Allison is not now and has never been my girlfriend. I told you I've never been with anyone." I wipe away her tears with my thumb. She looks at me with doubt.

"You may not have slept with anyone, but that doesn't mean you haven't had girlfriends. There are lots of things you can do without going all the way. I'm sure you've had a lot of girlfriends." She looks down again.

"No, I haven't had any. I don't date anyone. I've never even kissed another woman. My family believes in waiting for the person we're meant to be with. Not dating helps stop temptation." She looks up at me in shock.

"Why would she do that if you've never been with her?" I think about the best way to explain.

"She's been trying to be with me for a long time, but I'm not interested. I'm sorry this is what greeted you when we got home. I promise it won't happen again." Haliey looks down to where I'm holding her hands and shrugs.

"This is your house. I can't tell you who you can and can't have here. If the woman you've been waiting for shows up, I don't want to be in the way." I smile as I raise her face back up. We're going to work on her confidence. She needs to look up, not down.

"What if I say I've already found the woman I've been waiting for?" I ask softly, stroking her cheek. She narrows her eyes at me.

"I thought you said you've been waiting for her. Does she live close by?" Hailey looks hurt.

"What if I tell you you're the one I've been waiting for?" I think I broke her. She looks frozen. How long can she go without blinking?

"What are you talking about? How can it be me?" She whispers. I pull her forward so I can wrap my arms around her. Hailey doesn't pull away.

"I know I have the same effect on you that you have on me. Have you ever felt that from anyone else?" I ask, letting my lips tickle her ear. She shivers against me.

"No. What was all that talk about her being your luna and you being an alpha? Are you in some type of club?" She asks while slowly putting her arms around me. Go ahead; I know you want to touch me too. I decide to make it easy for her and put her onto my lap so she's straddling me with her head on my shoulder. It feels like she's completely wrapped around me now. I almost forgot what she asked.

"We'll talk about that tomorrow. Are you tired?" I know I have to tell her the truth, but she needs rest.

"Yes, but I'm not ready to leave you yet." I wonder if she'll sleep with me. Fully clothed, of course, but I think it would do us both good. I pull her away gently and look into her eyes.

"Would you like to sleep with me? I don't mean have sex; we'll both have clothes on, but I'd like to hold you all night." She looks unsure at first but then nods.

I stand up and go lock the door. I take the chair that Allison contaminated and put it in the garage so we can get it cleaned or burn it. I haven't decided which yet. Hailey's still standing by the stairs, waiting for me when I return. I take her hand and lead her upstairs to my room. I'm going to have to thank Brad for the best birthday gift ever. That idiot actually found my mate. I get her one of my T-shirts and a pair of boxers I've never worn. Yeah, I want to see her in my clothes.

"Here, you can sleep in these." She takes them and looks around. I point to the bathroom. "You can change in there if you want."

I watch her walk to the bathroom and smile. She doesn't realize how cute she looks in those jeans and sweatshirt that are too big for her. While she was putting them on at the brothel house, I had mindlinked Ellis, telling him I found my mate and to get rid of the other two. I didn't want to overwhelm Hailey with Brad and Todd. I also had Ellis tell Sheila I was taking Hailey with me. He paid her for the night so she wouldn't give us any trouble. I hurry up and remove my jeans, leaving me in my T-shirt and boxers.

Hailey walks out of the bathroom and looks nervous. She's washed the make-up off her face and let her hair hang long to her waist. I see her look longingly at the bed and realize this is probably the first real bed she's slept in since she ran away. I walk over and take her hand, pulling her to the bed.

I get in and scoot over, holding the quilt up for her. Hailey hesitates before sliding in next to me. At first, she lays on her back, but I want to wrap myself around her, so I turn her over so her back to me and spoon her. The feel of having her entire body against mine is almost too much to bear. When she moves and snuggles closer, I have to remind myself to breathe and not get hard. I don't want to scare her away with something poking her backside.

"Are you sure you're okay with me sleeping like this?" She asks softly. I put my arm around her and slide my other arm under her head so we're as close as possible. I kiss her head and bury my face close to her neck so I can get high from her scent.

"I'm more than okay. This is a first for me, too, but it feels right. Are you okay?" I can feel her body already melting into the soft mattress.

"I don't think I've ever laid on anything so comfortable. You're right; this feels right. Thank you for coming to the brothel tonight. I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't been you." I'm filled with rage when I think of another man touching her. Thor gets ready to growl, but I remind him now is not the time to let her know what we are.

"I'm glad I came too. Don't think about what could have happened. I want you to think about the future. You never have to worry about doing anything like that again. You're with me now, and no one will hurt you again." I lean over and kiss her cheek.

"How can you say that? What if you decide you don't want me here anymore? I have nothing. Literally nothing. The clothes I'm wearing are yours; the clothes I came here in were from the brothel. Who wants to be with someone who has nothing to offer?" She'll understand better tomorrow when I explain about being mates. She has more to offer than she realizes.

"You have plenty to offer. You have you. All I want is you. I know this doesn't make sense right now, but I'll explain everything tomorrow. Get some rest, Hailey." I kiss her cheek one more time before holding her tightly against me. She's asleep within a few minutes. I can't sleep; I'm still angry about Allison's little stunt.

"Ellis." I mindlink my beta.

"Yeah, is everything okay?"

"When I brought Hailey home, Allison was sitting in a chair in the entryway naked. She tried to kiss me and told me to get rid of Hailey. She's gotten away with too much; it's time for her to be punished. She will not disrespect me or her future luna and get away with it. I want you to send someone to pick her up and take her to the dungeons."

"The dungeons? We never use them. You know this is going to piss off her father."

"I'm alpha, and if he dares try to go against me, I'll throw him in there with his nasty daughter."

"Okay, I'll send someone now. How's Hailey?" I look down at my mate and smile. She's sleeping soundly.

"She's in my bed sleeping. I think this is the first time she's had a good night's sleep in a long time. Hey, do you think you can have your mom and sister go get her some clothes? She was living on the street before she was at the brothel, so she has nothing."

"Yeah, I'll have them go out first thing in the morning. I'm happy for you and glad we finally have our luna. Good night." I'm happy I found my luna, too. She's perfect. I fall asleep smiling but wake up not soon after to the sound of screaming. I look at Hailey, and she's curled in a ball, covering her head as she screams in terror. I realize she's having a nightmare.

I turn her toward me, wrap myself around her, and rub her back. She slowly starts to relax and puts her arm over me. I intertwine her legs with mine, trying to give her as much skin-on-skin contact as possible, hoping the mate bond will help calm her. I kiss her forehead and put my head against hers. Whoever is the cause of her nightmares will be dead.

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