Tempest of Passion by Elyzabeth M. VaLey

Perhaps, we had.” Graham ran his fingertip over the edge
of his cup. “We had a child, my son, Thomas. He had my eyes and his
mother’s dark hair. For five years we lived a fairy tale. Then, I
received word that my father had passed away. Angelina insisted on
traveling with me to the funeral. William,” he spread his hands on
the table. “I loved being with her. Every time I was away from her
it was as if a part of me had been removed. She didn’t have to
convince me for me to accept. We debated taking Thomas with us or
not. I thought it would be a great opportunity for our child to see
my land of birth, so we decided that he’d come too.” Graham covered
his face with his hands. “I buried my father, my wife and my son
that autumn. The ship sank and I could do nothing to save them.
Nothing.” His voice cracked and a shudder racked his
body.
    “ Graham, you had no way of knowing. There was nothing you
could have done.”
    “ I know. I know, but it’s still hard.” When he removed his
hands from his face tears streaked his pale features, collecting on
his short beard. “Excuse me, Mr. Dalton. I have never spoken to
this to anyone.” William offered him his handkerchief. Reeves wiped
his eyes and balled the scrap of cloth in his fist. “For months, I
stalled my return to England. I wanted to die. I took to the
mountains as a wolf. Being an animal allowed the pain to recede
slightly. I didn’t have to think or feel. I only had to survive.”
Graham opened his robe at his chest, revealing several scars. “They
were difficult months. My brothers almost killed me.”

“Your brothers?”
    He
nodded. “My mother recognized me and saved me from them but I was
forced to flee the mountain and return to civilization.”
    “ Your mother did not offer you to join the pack? You had
survived against all odds and an omega is needed in every
family.”
    Graham’s eyes searched his face for an instant before his lips
twitched and he smiled. “I’m a runt, a weakling. I have no place in
a pack.”
    “ Is that why I’ve never seen you in London?”
    “ I do not do business in London. There is too much competition
and the clans there frighten me.”
    “ So you wander alone.”
    “ Yes.”
    “ But—?” William shook his head. He couldn’t quite believe it.
Lone wolves died. They did not thrive. Yet, the man before him had
surprising resilience. He had been abandoned by his family, his
mate had perished, and yet he still lived, laughed and smiled. His
heart went out to him. Men like these were the ones that wolf packs
needed: Courageous, with a good heart.
    “ You’re wondering why I’m alive.”
    “ Yes.”
    “ I do not know. Perhaps, because I have always wandered alone
and never truly missed the companionship of a pack.” He shrugged
and stared at his empty cup. “Perhaps, I hide my emotions from
myself.”
    “No man deserves to be left to die and every man deserves a
friend.” William stretched his hand across the table, offering it
to the other man. Graham’s eyes watered, but he grasped William’s
hand with strength.
    “ Thank you.”
    “ You’re welcome.”
    “ Though, I believe you didn’t come here tonight to make
friends with me, William. Emily has been
attacked.”
    William clasped his hands together atop the table as the fear
he’d failed to feel earlier wrapped around him in a deathly grip.
Emily. His Emily could have been hurt, killed. He shouldn’t be here
He should be out there, watching over her. She was his mate and he
had to keep her safe.
    “ Look at me, William. Tell me what happened. We’ll keep Emily
safe.”

Chapter Eight
    My dearest Emily,
    The sun is barely rising and I find myself at my desk
attempting to put into words the emotion that pierces my heart
every time I think of you. I am painfully aware that you do not
wish for me to court you. I recall with agonizing pain your wish
for me to let you be. Yet, my precious Emily, I cannot. I cannot
dismiss you like quick