This is touch. I like this. Anything with her is okay with me.

Darius kissed the top of Sam's head. "Tell me what happened."

"I returned to Portland, packed my things and moved out of my apartment. I went to my father's home. His banner-men came to greet me, carrying pendants with my father's colors and his insignia. There were mountains with flowing rivers, vines draped over the rock bridges and flowers bursting with colors. Soaring columns carved with ancient runes and rooms opened to the fresh air. It was lovely. Beneath the shade of a 1,000 year oak tree, I dined at Cael's table on grapes and wine and greens. The music! It was lovely. Harp and lyre and the sweetest songs you'd ever heard."

Sam framed his face with her gentle hands. "But it was empty, because you weren't there. You are my heart, Darius, and my soul, and how could I dwell in such heaven when all I felt inside was sheer hell?"

"Your father accepted your decision?"

She nodded. "He told me if Aiden will grant him permission, he would like to visit from time to time. I'd like that a lot, Darius. He's my dad and I never got to know him."

"Of course. Aiden will do it." He wrapped a strand of her silky hair around his fingers and gently tugged her head back, gazing into her eyes. "You're willing to become part of our pack?"

At her nod, he continued. "You realize this requires a mating rite. Are you certain?"

A shadow flickered in her eyes. "I won't lie and tell you I'm not apprehensive. I'm scared. But I do know one thing. I'd rather endure ten thousand mating rites with you than spend another minute without you."

Overwhelmed at the depth of her love, he struggled to swallow past the lump in his throat. Then he grinned. "Ten thousand mating rites, huh? Guess I'll need a lot more lubricant."

"Darius!" Sam lightly slapped his arm.

Laughing, he kissed her again. When they came up for air, he touched her cheek. "It's tradition to hold a mating rite beneath the light of the full moon. The next one is in three nights. I'll ask one of the females to brief you on what to expect."

"Why can't you tell me?"

He sucked in a breath and fought for control. "Because I have my own preparations to make. I want to make this good for you, Sam. As good as I can make it."

Because of the intensity of the mating rite, Sam had to have separate sleeping quarters apart from Darius. After the rite, when they were formally mated, they would move into a cabin together near the river.

She spent the rest of the day meeting Darius' pack and touring the grounds with Darius. At night, they all ate together in the lodge's big dining room. After dinner, Beth, Aiden's niece, escorted her to a large cabin where several of the mated Mitchell pack females gathered in the living room.

It was a Lupine pajama party. They spent the night talking about their mates, pack life, problems. And sex. And more sex.

By the time Sam finally fell asleep, she felt dizzy with all the knowledge they'd given her. And incredibly, achingly, needing to be with Darius again.

She was not supposed to see him nor have any contact with him until the night of the mating rite. So the following afternoon, when Beth told her to go to Darius' office, she wondered if something had gone wrong.

Sam went to the door and knocked. Aiden opened it, his expression grim.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Wait here. Kyle's back from the hunting expedition Darius sent him on," Aiden told her as she entered the room.

"About done here." Darius thrust a cardboard box at the alpha. "These are the last of the books to store in your office."

As Aiden walked out, Darius looked at Sam and his expression softened. "Hi, sweetheart."

Sam walked around the empty room. "Uh, you redecorating? Very minimalist."

"Had to clean out all the furniture for a very special visitor. He may have a tendency to beat on his chest and get violent."

"Who is this visitor, a gorilla?"

"Worse," Aiden said, returning to the room and standing in a corner.

Confusion filled her as Darius kissed her cheek. "He's a loose end I need to tie up before we formally mate. Stay in the corner, by Aiden. He's going to protect you if things turn real ugly, and I suspect they will, fast."

Intrigued, she joined the alpha as Darius paced the room like a caged animal. Arms folded across his thick chest, Aiden looked grim. "I gave this my full approval, Sam. Now that you're mating Darius, you need to know that as alpha, I don't let anyone, Fae or Lupine, threaten any member of my pack."

The door opened and Kyle, Arianna's mate, escorted a big male into the room, Sam gasped. She knew the broad set of his shoulders beneath the tight T-shirt, the grayness feathered through his ebony hair.

Maxim. She squeezed against the wall. Aiden reached down and rested a hand on her trembling shoulder. "Easy now, Sam. He's not going to hurt you. Darius has everything under control. But he wanted you present to witness this."

Darius turned to his father. "Hello, Dad. I've been waiting a long time for this."

Maxim scowled at him. "Why the hell am I here? You have no right to kidnap me."

Fisting a hand in the Lupine's collar, Kyle shoved him into the center of the room. "Darius told me to lasso you and bring you in here. He has every right."

Kyle left, closing the door behind him. Maxim scanned the room, his gaze landing on Sam. She drew in a shaky breath as he scowled. "Samantha. You thief. You stole my money."

Darius stepped forward, his posture aggressive. "You're not threatening her any more. The money is hers. It belonged to her mother and, by all rights, now belongs to Sam. I brought you here to apologize to her."

"The hell it does, and the hell I will. You can't threaten me, boy." Maxim fisted his hands.

"I'm not a boy anymore." Darius circled his father, his fingers beckoning. "Come on, do it. You know you want to."

Crimson flooding his face, Maxim swung at Darius, who ducked. Then Darius' fist sailed straight into Maxim's jaw. Sam cried out as the two powerful males crashed into the wall, leaving a sizable dent.

Aiden squeezed her shoulder. "Good thing we removed all the furniture."

She and Aiden stood like referees as the pair fought, tussling on the floor, grunting and punching. And then Darius fisted a hand in Maxim's shirt, dragging him upward, getting into his face. "You can crack my ribs, but they'll heal. Smash your fist into my face and that will heal too. But you ever lay a hand on Sam, or threaten her or do anything more than smile at her, and I'll be on you so fast you won't see me coming. She's mine, my future mate, and I'll fight you to the death to protect her. Got it, Dad?"

He threw him against the wall. Maxim hit hard, and Sam gasped, remembering the time ten years ago when Maxim had done the same to Darius.

The alpha crumbled, his face bloodied, his body battered. Darius wiped blood off his torn lip and scowled. Finally Maxim struggled to his feet and held out his hands.

"I declare a formal truce. I surrender. I ask you for peace between us." For the first time, Maxim looked at her, and she saw a shadow cross his expression. "I apologize."

Sam's heart thudded harder. Would Darius accept? Or had his hatred run too deeply?

"I accept." Darius growled deep in his throat. "You can get the hell out of here now. Kyle will drive you to the train station."

Aiden nodded. "I'll tell him."

After Aiden left, Maxim studied her. "You are truly mating with my son? Do you know what you are, whose blood you carry?"

Sam lifted her chin. "I'm half-Fae. And I love Darius."

Stunned, she watched the big alpha's shoulders slump. "Ah, hell and damnation. I have failed your mother." He glanced at the ceiling, as if looking skyward. "I am deeply sorry, Ellen."

Confused, she stared at him.

Maxim wiped blood off his face with the back of one hand and studied the crimson smear ruefully. "That was a hell of a punch. You've been working out."

Darius joined her at the corner, sliding an arm around her shoulders. "No. I have something worth fighting for."

"So had I." Maxim sighed. "When I return to Idaho, I will send your mother's papers, Samantha. Letters to you, explaining your heritage. Now that you know the truth, you should have them."

"You knew what I was all along? My mother told you this? Why would she confide in you, above all people?" She felt confused.

"Because Ellen and my mate, Lisa, had grown up together. They had been childhood friends."

More revelations. Sam stared at him. "My mother never told me."

Maxim's expression darkened and he looked murderous. "She did not tell you many things for your own protection. Ellen begged for refuge with my pack because someone had poisoned both her and your sister. By the time Ellen realized what happened, she knew she had to get you and Marcia where you'd be safe. She never wanted you with Darius because she knew Darius would take you away from the safety of pack."

Next to her, Darius sucked in a breath. "That's why you both hated it when Sam and I were together. You wanted us to stay apart."

"Because you would eventually leave, taking Samantha with you, and Ellen doubted you could keep her daughter safe if you were alone, no pack behind you. I was the better choice to protect Samantha."

"Protect me? You tried to rape me." Sam's hands trembled.

"Ellen and I arranged everything. It was a ruse, to honor her greatest wish." He looked at Darius. "I knew you were in the kitchen and would overhear me talking about wanting Samantha in my bed, and intervene. All I had to do was threaten Samantha and you would attack me, giving me the right to kick you out. You know my rules, Darius. I would never evict my blood unless you or your brothers fought me."

Sam's jaw dropped.

"I would have left anyway." Darius scowled.

"And you would have taken Samantha with you, which Ellen did not want. Ellen wanted to keep you in the pack, Samantha. You were safe enough with us, for I knew your secret. But living in another pack with Darius, you'd be expected to shift with the moon, to be fully wolf. Ellen was terrified the secret of your Elven blood would be discovered and you'd become vulnerable. The entire rape was staged to separate you from Darius and force him to leave without you."

Stunned, she watched the big male's shoulders slump. "Ellen and I became good friends. She would tell me stories about Lisa growing up and those memories were priceless to me. But seeing Ellen slowly waste away was painful. It was like losing my mate all over again." He looked up at Darius, his gaze tormented. "I could not save your mother, but I could honor Ellen's dying wish so her daughter would be safe. It was the only way we could truly break you two apart."

"Tristan," Samantha began.

"We begged him for a cure for Ellen and Marcia, but they were too far gone. So he gave his blessing to Ellen's last request, to separate you from Darius. But when Darius put his mating mark on you, it changed everything."

Maxim sighed. "I never would have laid a hand on you, Samantha. It was a farce."

She felt shattered and grieved. All these years, when they could have been together, and her mother and his father fought to keep them apart. And it had not worked. Because they'd found each other anyway.

"No, instead you screwed other virgins." Darius scowled.

Maxim lifted a brow. "Seduced them, aye, for a while, a few years after I lost your mother. And then you came of age, Darius, and you tried to best me in everything."

"I did not," he began.

His father lifted a brow, the gesture mirroring Darius. "Running faster than me when we ran with the moon. Mouthing off to me before others, defying my authority. Lifting heavier loads than me when we stocked equipment to show you were stronger."

Darius fell silent, looking troubled. She squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"You seduced the innocents, when you heard I'd been taking virgins. I'd stopped long before, but the rumors continued." Maxim sighed. "We always did butt heads and you needed to leave, before we killed each other."

She looked at Darius, whose stricken expression tore at her heart. All these years, thinking his father was something he was not. Like her, Maxim had hidden his true nature.

Darius shook his head. "Admit it, Dad, you never wanted me around, no matter what. Why?"

"You are too much like me, Darius. You, more than any of my sons, were the strongest and most able to lead."

The big alpha lifted his shoulders. "I do not expect you to fully understand everything I have done. But know this, both of you. Everything I did was for your protection, Samantha. It was what I thought, and what Ellen thought, was best." He sighed. "As parents, it's all we can do, when we love our young."

Darius blinked. "You never loved me."

Maxim gave him a steady look. "I wanted to, my son. I tried all I could, but every time I looked at you, I saw my mate and missed her so much my heart shattered all over again. Out of all my sons, you deserved to be loved the most. I am happy you finally found love, Darius."

Sam struggled with the tightness in her chest as Maxim walked out of the room.

After closing the door, Darius leaned against it, his face pale. Sam rushed over to him. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Still in shock." He gathered her hands into his. "You okay?"

"For someone who expected your father to beat the crap out of me for stealing from him, yeah, I'm pretty damn good." She touched his face. "What about you? All this must come as a huge shock."

Darius pulled her against him, resting his forehead against hers. "I can't forgive him. There's too much shit between us. I wish they had told the truth. It would have saved all of us a lot of pain."

"I suppose he and my mother did what they thought was best. I kind of understand what drove them. She only wanted to protect me."

Darius kissed her cheek. "At least you have the money now and don't have to worry about him ever coming after you. You can start up your renewable energy consulting business. Aiden is giving us a cabin of our own, with a study that will make a perfect office for you."

"Can we move in now?"

He pulled back, his expression sober. "After tomorrow night."

Tomorrow night. The mating rite. When all their sexual needs would coalesce together in one incredible evening. Sam shivered, uncertain if was from fear.

Or anticipation.

Chapter 20.

At twilight on the evening of the full moon, Sam dressed in the traditional flowing white gown required of all sacred Lupine rituals. The bell sleeves and the silky material made her feel more Fae than Lupine.

Because the rite reflected the wildness of the Lupine's heritage, the pack had spent the night at the lakeside retreat high on Mitchell Mountain. Aiden had constructed cabins around the lake for members who desired to run wild.