Chapter Never Tear Us Apart

After washing off in the water we head back down the mountain. There’s something he’s not telling me but hes excited about it, so I relax.

When we get back to the house there is a Jeep parked in front of it. I quirk my brow but he just smirks.

When we enter the house Julian is on the couch with a man I’ve never seen before. The man is setting up a massage table in the middle of the room, covering it in towels and plastic sheeting.

He stops as we walk in.

“Elijah!”

They hug and turn to me.

“Sorsha, this is Matt. He’s the only person I trust to tattoo me. He drove up from Helena.”

We shake hands and he looks at me with a strange smile.

“You’re getting a tattoo today?”

“And tomorrow,” Matt answers, “this is a huge piece, it’s going to take some time.”

“What are you getting?”

Elijah and Matt smile as Matt nods his chin toward a large piece of cardboard on the couch next to Julian.

Elijah steps forward and picks it up. I can see that it’s two pieces of cardboard taped together. He winks at me as he carries it toward the island in the kitchen.

“It’s amazing work, man” Matt tells him, “as usual.”

What are they talking about?

I cautiously walk toward the island as Elijah pulls the tape apart, opening the cardboard like a folder. Inside are transparent looking papers, he lifts the top one revealing a large drawing on the one underneath.

It’s me.

“What is... where?” I’m completely caught off guard.

It’s my face, neck and the top of my chest. My head is tipped back slightly and my lips are parted. It’s so realistic it looks like I’m staring straight off the page. My hair is falling down, wild around my shoulders with a few strands blowing across my face.

“Where did this come from?”

“I drew it,” he whispers quietly.

I gape at him.

“How? When?”

He chuckles at my shock, “last night while you were sleeping. Matt came over early this morning and put it on the transfer paper.”

“This whole thing is going on your back?”

“The things I love go on my skin. I’m not great with emotional stuff but... I want you to understand what I feel for you.”

For a moment I’m speechless.

“Ok, wait, circling back...you this?!”

He laughs again, “I drew almost all of my tattoos.”

“Elijah, oh my God! You’re incredibly talented.”

He actually blushes slightly.

“I’m gonna need her for a minute, man” Matt calls from the living room.

I’m overwhelmed with emotions as we walk back. He’s getting tattooed on his skin.

“Luna, if you’ll let me get a couple quick shots of your eyes, you guys can go shower before we start.”

“Shots of my eyes?”

Elijah laughs, “I didn’t tell her that part,” he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling my back against his chest, “I’m doing it black and grayscale except for your eyes. He’s going to mix colors until he can match it.”

“Oh...ok,” I’m so surprised by all of this words are failing me.

“You do have beautiful eyes,” Matt says as he steps forward, clicking a few pictures to reference.

Elijah’s chest rumbles.

“Relax, big dog, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to hit on your woman,” Matt laughs.

We run upstairs and quickly shower, only allowing ourselves to kiss briefly. We don’t have time right now. I force myself not to start something that can’t finish.

He pulls on a pair of basketball shorts before heading back downstairs. I have to look at the ground. How long is this tattoo going to take?

He lays down on the table and I sit in a chair beside his head. During our shower Kelly, Julians mate showed up and is seated next to him on the sofa.

After Matt lays the contact paper and the ink transfers he calls me back to look at it.

“What do you think?”

“It... I still can’t believe you’re doing this.”

Matt laughs, “is the placement right?”

“Yes, I think so,” I say shyly, I hope it is. It looks good to me but I don’t know anything about tattoos or placement.

When I sit back next to Elijah I run my fingers through his hair, massaging and scratching at his scalp with my nails. The buzzing of the tattoo gun fills the room. After about twenty minutes I realize he’s asleep. I sit forward and look at his face. He looks twenty one when he’s asleep. The stress and responsibility melting away, leaving a young man behind. God, he’s handsome.

“Luna?” Julian gets my attention.

I turn to them but don’t say anything. I get why they are distant but I can’t help that it hurts my feelings.

“I...we...want to apologize to you. We treated you unfairly when you arrived. After his parents... he was... it was bad. He was like a ghost, not sleeping or eating, drinking himself sick every day.”

My heart aches for him.

“The day after his dad’s death there was word of a Beta that planned to overthrow his Alpha. I’m not sure if you remember it, it was a pack in Florida, you got word to the council and they were able to stop him before he killed his Alphas entire family.”

“I remember,” I whisper.

“Well, when word spread about it, Elijah...he just... he clung to it. To the idea that you should have stopped what happened here. He thought maybe you were plotting against him somehow, that you purposely withheld the information. We wanted to help him, to support him. He was...so broken. We didn’t support his idea to mate with Layla but we just wanted him to be ok. After a few years I guess...”

“We started to hate you just for his sake,” Kelly says quietly.

“When he came back from the conference and told us you were his mate he... he was frantic. He told us that he had been wrong about you but... we were skeptical. We all have mates, the bond is a hell of a thing.”

“In our effort to be cautious we treated you badly,” Kelly cuts in again, “I’m so sorry, Luna.”

I smile at them.

“I appreciate the apology. I would like to move forward. I can’t fault you guys for being protective of him. I’m glad he’s had you surrounding him all this time but I promise you, I only want for his happiness and success.”

“I believe that now,” Julian nods.

We sit quietly listening to the gun hum.

“So,” Julian says after a moment, “I’m told you like to dance.”

I groan and everyone laughs.

“Turn on some jams!” Matt laughs.