Forsaken by the Moon Goddess novel Chapter 47

Sloane

No one has ever challenged me like Benedict does. He pushes me out of my comfort zone, he forces me to look at myself, really look at myself, and see the person that I am, not the person that others or even I see in myself.

The thing is, I really like Benedict. But more than that, ! respect him and I want him to continue to respect me too.

So, every time he challenges me, every time he raises the bar about me facing something I don’t want to face or being someone I don’t think 1 can be, I do it to maintain his respect. And in doing so, I’m starting to realize how many voices that I HAVEN’T listened to in my life.

Yes, the bad stuff is easier to believe, but I have people in my life, people I love, care about, and respect, and I have made their voices quieter than the people who mean nothing to me. I really need to think about that, especially if I’m going to be an Alpha. There will always be people who think I’m not worthy because I’m a woman, because of who my parents were, or because of something they think isn’t good enough about me. I have to stop listening to the nay-sayers and start believing in myself.

Well, it’s about damn time, Aisling says.

When Benedict pushes me to initiate our kiss, it s yet another challenge, one that I feel incapable of meeting.

But I shove that down and force myself to rise to the level of his expectation. Benedict said that he enjoyed beingwith me, so I’m going to trust that and kiss him like he kisses me.

It starts tentatively, but then I deepen the kiss. Aisling pushes forward, enjoying Benedict’s taste and scent, but he doesn’t take charge. He lets me be in charge.

However, he, or more accurately Marrok, begins a low-level growl. The sound bounces around the close confines of the car, erasing any sounds from the outside world and making me want him again.

I kiss him with a passion I didn’t know I possessed. I kiss him like he’s mine and for the moment, he is.

When I finally pull back, 1 press my forehead to his, both of us panting.

“Feel free to kiss me like that any time you’d like,” he says, making me laugh.

“I mean it,” he says, sliding his thumb over my cheek. His hand is still in my hair and when I look at him, there is no longer any anger in his eyes.

I press my lips to his quickly. “Are you going to feed me or what?” I ask.

He chuckles and looks at his watch. “Hold on. I had great plans for tonight, but we may have to revise those.”

He calls the restaurant without pulling away from me. He tells them we’re running late and asks if it’s okay if we still come. He grins when they tell him that our table willstill be ready.

“We’ll be there in twenty minutes,” he says, hanging up.”

Are we good now?” he asks me.

I nod. “Yeah. Yeah we’re good.”

“Good,” he says, pulling away from me and starting the car. “And for the record, I expect a redo of tonight. You owe me a good after sex moment.”

Something about Benedict makes me feel either very bold or very vulnerable. At the moment, I’m feeling bold.

“Did you have plans after graduation tomorrow night?”

He growls, glancing over at me. “I do now.”

He takes my hand and pulls it to his lips. “I meant what I said, Sloane. I care about you a lot. Tonight was amazing for me.”

“It was for me too. I’m sorry…” I stop, revising what I was going to say. Rather than apologizing for ruining everything, I force myself say it differently. “I’m sorry I freaked out afterward.”

He smiles, as if pleased with my change in wording.

“Next time, let’s bask in the afterglow of our lovemaking,” he says, waggling his eyebrows.

I laugh. “What does that even mean?”He shrugs nonchalantly. “I don’t know, but I guess we’ll find out.”

When wè arrive at the restaurant, I want to argue that I’m under dressed, but Benedict doesn’t seem to care, so l push my insecurities aside again. He takes my hand as we walk inside, grinning happily. I catch the looks from just about everyone in the restaurant as we pass them. Based on the twitching of their noses, I’m sure they can smett Benedict all over me.

I channel my inner Benedict and raise my chin, ignoring the looks from the people around me. I’d love to say that I did it all on my own, but honestly, it had a lot more to do with Benedict standing beside me, focusing all of his attention on me, and acting like nothing in the world matters to him except me.

I don’t know why you care about people staring at us.

Benedict and Marrok chose us. Let them stare. Let them wonder. Let them see that we are WORTHY of a man like Benedict and a wolf like Marrok, Aisling growls in my mind

I wish I had my wolf’s confidence, but since I don’t, I think l fake it well.

Over dinner, Benedict and I talk about the graduation ceremony, how we want to give our speech – he’ll go first, then I’ll go, then about his Alpha ceremony. I’m surprised when he opens up to me about some of the changes he wants to make in his pack, talking about how his father istired and beyond ready to retire.

Before I know it, we’ve eaten and had dessert, and it’s time to leave.

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