The Ripple Effect

“She’s out like a lamp,” Eliana told me, dropping carelessly beside me on the sofa. She let out a long sigh before resting her head on the back of the couch. Surely she thought I hadn’t noticed, but she had been acting scattered tonight—strange, really, for lack of a better word.

“I think you should be, too,” I told her, eying her warily. “You look exhausted.”

“I’m fine, mother,” she lied with a dismissive hand wave.

I rolled my eyes and returned to the newspaper in my hands. The pack certainly hadn’t changed much, but maybe that was the appeal of this place. Everything stayed the same, following a pre-destined path.

Maybe that was why I had to leave; I had threatened that.

“Luca, you can’t see yourself—or the bags under your eyes,” Eliana muttered, poking my face.

I swatted her away quickly.

“Why is it that you were so nice to me up until the point when we were out of the public eye?”

“I have to keep appearances up,” she told me with a wicked grin. “No one will believe you if you say I’m anything but pleasant to you.”

I laughed despite myself.

“You’re completely bonkers, woman.”

I chuckled softly before looking back at the newspaper in my hands.

“Can we talk seriously for a moment?”

I folded the paper quickly and glanced to her. Her head was still on the back of the sofa, but she was staring at the ceiling. There was a soft look about her then, and I decided against poking fun at her sudden tone shift. Surely something was bothering her, and it had been bothering her ever since we crossed the border.

So I quickly said, “I’m not going to stop you.”

Her face burned bright red, and she whipped around to look at me with a gape. “What!”

“I... I meant we can talk...?”

“Oh.” She cleared her throat, now sitting up right. “I... I guess I was wondering about Zeya. I mean, not every guy would drop everything to adopt a girl from the forest.”

“You know about my status as rejected, Eliana... It’s not something I’m proud of, but it’s a part of me. I think anyone in my position would have done the same thing.”

She shook her head. “No... My mate wouldn’t have. He would have laughed at her and kept walking.”

“Well, your mate is a real piece of work. Besides, he’s not your mate, Eliana.”

“Fate thinks so.”

“Fate messes up more often than you’d think, you know,” I mumbled, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. “But with Zeya, I think I need her a lot more than she needs me. That little girl in there... She could take on the world if she wanted to. I just hope she never wants to.”

“I don’t say this enough... But I’m sorry about suggesting you were a pig, Luca. You’re the most decent man I know.”

“Gee, thanks,” I teased, and she frowned.

“You know what I mean! God! You make things so difficult!” she growled, immediately launching herself onto her feet.

“Not the hip!” I shout-whispered in mock-horror as she placed her hand on her hip and made that dumb face. “And the stupid face!”

“I’ll give you a damn stupid face!” she hissed, scrunching her face at me. “You’re impossible!”

“I’m impossible? You’re the one who has two personalities that she can switch at will!”

“Well you’re the one who is the goody-goody, can do no wrong, perfect father!”

“I can assure you I’ve done plenty wrong! I just choose not to dwell on the past!”

“You seem like you dwell on your mate a lot!”

I shut up quickly for fear that I would say something that I wouldn’t be able to take back. Eliana’s face slowly softened, but all of my patience was gone.

“Luca, wait. I didn’t mean—”

“I need some time alone, Eliana.”

“But Luca—”

“No, Eliana! Just leave me!”

I slammed the door behind me, shoved my hands into my pockets, and stared out into the dimly-lit night sky. Any other woman would have left me alone, but the door creaked open. I glowered at the idiot, not that it had any effect as she carefully stepped outside and leaned against the wall beside me.

“Eliana, I said—”

“I know what you said, but I also know how you get. I didn’t mean what I said.”

“But you’re right.”

“It’s perfectly understandable. I’m just frustrated is all, and I guess I took it out on you.”

“Frustrated?” I mumbled, glancing to the puzzling woman beside me.

She was staring at the moon, her face completely blank. And yet, I could still read her perfectly. She was thinking. She was totally absorbed in her thoughts, probably having forgotten all about me. The moonlight bounced off of her passive face, and her eyes twinkled beneath the glint.

“You’re beautiful.”

I don’t know why I said it; it just kind of slipped out, like it was just another breath. But Eliana didn’t seem to think so as her body jerked, and the passive look completely vanished as she whirled around to face me. She now looked like a gaping-mouth bass, so I chuckled.

“What is wrong with you!” she hissed, smacking my chest with the back of her hand. “First you call me beautiful, and now you’re laughing at me!”

“You are beautiful, but you also make these really stupid-looking faces,” I shrugged.

“You are such an ass.”

“Hey, didn’t you just say I was a perfect, goody-goody father?”

“You are a perfect, goody-goody father. But you’re also an ass.”

“Okay. I deserved that.”

She scoffed, rolled her eyes, and blew her fringe out of her eyes. Then a silence set in, but I wasn’t ready to break it. There was a beautiful scene before us, and words would just spoil—

“So why did you just call me beautiful?”

I groaned. “Must you always speak!”

She put her hand on her hip, and I slumped, defeated. Oh, no...

“You did not just tell me to shut up! I will have you know that I could kick your butt into next Tuesday if I wanted to!”

“I know.”

“Then wipe that stupid grin off of your face, Luca!”

“I can’t. This is just my face.”

Her face turned a horribly bright shade of red, and I could not help but chuckle as she went into a rant that simply went in one ear and out the other.

It was strange. Sophie, my supposed mate, was beautiful and quiet; obedient and graceful. Luna elegance personified. Eliana was beautiful, but she had a laugh that did not sound like an angel singing—it was a laugh that made me cringe and grind my teeth. She was not quiet. She was not obedient, and she was beyond pushy. She was loud and opinionated, snarky and in-your-face. “A true lady” was not a way that I would describe her. She was the exact opposite of Sophie.

So why was I compelled to reach out and brush a misplaced strand of hair from her eyes, stopping her mid-rant? She had that dumb look on her face again, but it just made me smile. She wasn’t elegant or the perfect Luna like Sophie was. No. She was real. Oftentimes she was an irritating pest, but there were those rare occasions when I could just sit back and watch her and be completely content. And Eliana was absolutely striking at times, but she wasn’t beautiful all the time. She had her moments, and she had her quirks.

But I liked that. And even if she was making those stupid gorilla faces, she was still beautiful to me. She had...personality. And it was a personality that only sometimes made me want to run for the hills.

In every conceivable way, she was Sophie’s opposite. So why did my heart pound against my chest every time her eyes flickered across my face? Why did my eyes follow her patterns, trailing over every inch of her only to stop at her pursed lips? Sophie’s touch made my skin burn, but the shaking hands on my chest made my body hum quietly.

It wasn’t a raging fire; rather, it was the controlled flame of a decorative candle.

But I liked that, too. I was in control of my actions, and I was the one who made the decision to drop my hands to her hips. The only reason I pulled her closer was because I wanted to kiss her, not because I was told to kiss her. Fate didn’t tell me to; I wanted to.

She was as unmoving as a statue as I held her tightly to me and kissed her softly, trying to coax her into giving me some sign of life. But she was in a stupor! A low growl rumbled in my throat. Iah wasn’t happy either... But her eyes suddenly widened, and her hands clutched my shirt in tight fists. I tried to question her, but she finally moved against me.

The kiss was gentle, not fiery. It was comfortable. It was...something I could never have with Sophie. Iah whined softly in my head, reminding me where I was. Eliana was staring up at me through wide eyes, obviously unsure what to do. But I just smiled and kissed her quickly.

They say a wolf can only feel completeness when he has his mate, but I felt a soft pull in the back of my head. The string connecting Sophie and I... It snapped in two.

And for the first time in over two years, I felt whole again.