Dirk's Love (9 page)

She chuckled. “I don’t mind. If I had one like yours, I’d be doing the same thing.”

Another car drove into the lot and parked four spots over as Dirk and Ryann got out of the BMW. He didn’t think anything of it and waited for Ryann to meet up with him on his side. Once she did, he took her hand and got them walking toward the restaurant.

They’d only taken a few steps when Ryann stiffened and came to a complete standstill. Dirk stopped and looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

She nodded in the direction where the other car was parked. “It’s Mack, and he’s not alone.”

Dirk swung his gaze over to where Ryann indicated and saw she was right. It was her ex, along with two large men. All three of them walked toward Dirk and Ryann, looking none too friendly.

“
Mack, what the hell are you doing here?” Ryann asked as they drew near. “And where’s Tyler?”

Not sparing her a glance, Mack said, “Tyler’s fine. I came to warn your prick of a boyfriend off.”

“
What? You have no right. We’re divorced. I can see whomever I want.”

“
Not this guy, you won’t,” Mack said in a hard voice. “I’ve had to listen to Tyler go on and on about this asshole for the last two days. I don’t want any man trying to take my place in my son’s life.”

“
Well, you should’ve thought of that before you left me.”

“
Shut up, Ryann,” Mack snapped.

Not liking how her ex spoke to her, Dirk growled low in his throat, not holding anything back. He felt all eyes on him. “I suggest you watch how you speak to Ryann. She’s mine now. Not yours. Keep it up and I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Mack laughed with no humor in it. “Really? I doubt it. You see, I brought my two friends along to make you rethink going anywhere near Ryann and Tyler.”

With that, the two large men dove for Dirk. He had just enough time to push Ryann out of the way before they were on him. Not giving a shit if they saw what he truly was, Dirk growled and ducked as one man took a swing at his head. He snarled his upper lip and snapped his teeth and turned his gaze on them, knowing full well his eyes had to be mutedly glowing with the anger that surged through him. They were taken aback a bit, but not for long. Though they were strong for mortals, they were no match against a werewolf. Dirk clipped one on the jaw and the man went down like a ton of bricks.

Just as the other one moved in to take another swing at him, Dirk heard Ryann yell, “Tyler’s in the car! You brought him along while you did something like this?”

Dirk took a quick look over at the vehicle the men had come out of and saw Tyler’s little face pressed against the side window in the backseat. He then focused his attention back on his attacker, and with a one-two combination to the gut, along with a hook to the jaw, the second man was out for the count.

That left only Mack. Dirk turned to find him going after Ryann as she headed for the car. Her ex grabbed her by the arm and roughly pulled her to a stop. Ryann let out a cry of pain as Mack gave her a good shake.

Something snapped inside Dirk at the sight of another man touching his mate in such a way. He growled loud enough to capture Mack and Ryann’s attention. Then drawing on the spark of magic inside him, Dirk shifted to his wolf form. He thrilled at the way Mack’s eyes widened, how the man’s scent became laden with fear. Dirk knew what Mack saw. As a wolf, Dirk was much bigger than the ones found in the wild.

He padded over to Mack and growled at him, his hackles rising as he came to stand between the other man and Ryann. Babbling nonsense, Mack backed off. Dirk turned to look at Ryann. She was as white as a ghost, her wide-eyed gaze riveted on him. He’d have to deal with her fear after this was all over. Right now, he needed to get Tyler out of the other car.

Knowing he was more of a threat in his wolf form, Dirk remained in it as he loped over to the vehicle. He looked up at Tyler and let his tongue hang out, giving the boy a wolf-like grin. He hoped Tyler would come out without Dirk having to shift to convince him to. He counted on the fact that kids seemed to accept out of the ordinary things better than the adults usually did.

He didn’t have long to wait before Tyler opened the back door and slid out. Showing no fear whatsoever, he threw his arms around Dirk’s furry neck and hugged him. “You’re a wolf, Dirk,” he shouted. “That’s cool.”

As Dirk turned to head over to Ryann, he felt a small hand grip the fur at his neck as Tyler pulled himself up on his back. The boy kicked his small heels into Dirk’s sides as if he were a horse. Laughing inside, Dirk walked back to his mate.

Ryann was still staring at him wide-eyed. Mack, on the other hand, was busy rousing his friends. Once he managed to get them on their feet, all three men hightailed it to the car, and in a matter of minutes, were burning rubber out of the parking lot.

Dirk sat on his haunches, causing Tyler to slide down his back. Once the boy got off, Dirk shifted to his human form. He closed the distance between him and Ryann. She still hadn’t made a sound. She seemed almost frozen in place.

“
Say something,” he said as he cupped her face in his hands.

“
A wolf? You’re-you’re a wolf,” she stammered.

“
A werewolf, to be exact.

“
I-I don’t know if I…” Ryann’s words trailed off.

“
I know it’s a lot for you to take in. Will you at least let me take you back to the apartment and explain everything?”

“
You won’t hurt me?”

Dirk leaned in and kissed her. “You’re my mate, Ryann. I could no more hurt you than pull my heart out.”

Before she answered, Tyler said, “Let’s go, Mommy. I want to ride Dirk the wolf again.”

Dirk laughed. “I have a feeling I’m going to have a sore back, for many days to come, in the near future.”

With a big sigh, seeming to push back what fear she had to be feeling, Ryann nodded. “Okay, you can come to the apartment. I guess if Tyler isn’t afraid of you, I shouldn’t be either.”

“
That’s all I can ask,” he said, scooping up Tyler before he placed his son and mate in his car.

* * *

“
Damn, my back’s getting sore just from watching him,” Leif said.

Jaden nudged him. “Just wait until our baby’s old enough to ask for wolfy rides. You’ll be doing exactly what Dirk is.”

Ryann chuckled at Jaden’s words before she turned her attention to her mate and son. Tyler had two good fistfuls of Dirk’s fur and was laughing as his stepfather trotted around the large backyard of the Protector’s mansion. Something he had to do at least once a day, at Tyler’s request.

It’d been a week since the incident in the restaurant parking lot, and now Tyler and she were living here with the others in Dirk’s family. It’d been a lot for her to accept once he’d told her everything about him being a nine-hundred-and-fifty-year-old werewolf. But in the end, her strong feelings for him had helped her accept Dirk for what he was.

She heard Tyler laugh as Dirk got down on the ground on his belly and shook him off. Her mate then shifted to his human form and tickled their son until Tyler shrieked with laughter. God, she loved Dirk. And he loved her. She hadn’t realized how much she’d been missing in her life until he’d come around. She sent up thanks every day that she’d answered his ad for the position at his online dating service.

Leaving Leif and Jaden, Ryann headed for the two males who were the loves of her life. Tonight would be the real start of her new life with Dirk. They were going to Roxie’s where she’d use the spell to turn Ryann into a werewolf. And when Tyler was old enough to make the decision for himself, Roxie would turn him as well.

Once she reached her family, Dirk pulled her down into his arms and gave her a kiss while he tickled her as well. With Tyler joining in, the two of them ganging up on her, Ryann knew her life was perfect. Falling in love with a werewolf was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

The End

Marisa Chenery was always a lover of books, but after reading her first historical romance novel she found herself hooked. Having inherited a love for the written word, she soon started writing her own novels.
After trying her hand at writing historicals, she now writes paranormals.
Marisa lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and four children.

Check out Marisa’s website at 
www.marisachenery.com
. She would love to hear from you, so drop her an email while you’re there.