His Captive Mate

Chapter 2 – Celine

While wolf-shifters might live much longer than humans, they don’t live forever. Celine’s entire family were wolf-shifters. Her family had ties to other local packs and there was a local coven of witches that served many of the local communities and packs. There was even a lone vampire, Archibald or Archie, who was so old no one truly knew his age, but his never aging meant that he still looked about thirty.

Because they were a family, rather than a pack, there wasn’t an Alpha as such. Her father ran the business and was the head of the family, but there was no one living on the family lands that wasn’t related, either by blood or marriage. Her father had never felt the need for a typical hierarchy. They weren’t trying to expand their territory or recruit others.

But around harvest time some local packs would send their youths or spare people to come and camp on our land to help bring in the grapes. Anyone over the age of eighteen got a bottle of wine for their trouble, anyone under got a bottle of grape juice. The ‘Travere vineyard’ was well known across France as good but small, only producing about four hundred and fifty cases, around five thousand four hundred bottles, a year depending on the weather.

The property was just under an acre of vineyard but there was more to the property. A large château housed most of the immediate family along with the offices of the business and rooms that could be hired for events. The winery itself was in a large set of barns not far from the château. There were a few stone-built cottages dotted around the property, one of which Eloise and Michel had chosen to be their home.

Michel was a man known for hard work, his fingers calloused from years of farming and large ropey muscles surrounded his tall frame. He stood at six-six and towered over most of the men in the family, his jet-black hair which he kept long and often tied in a ponytail to keep it out of his face. Deeply tanned skin and dark chocolate eyes accompanied a thin mouth and aquiline nose to make him, if not traditionally handsome, at least appealing.

Michel had been one of the many wolf-shifters who had gone to war when the Germans came. He met Eloise after he’d been injured once, she had been his nurse. When they met, they knew they were fated mates and he brought her back to the vineyard with him after the war. He had a tough time afterwards, often waking with nightmares and had once sleepwalked around the château shouting, waking Anton and causing some distress.

Michel decided that he and Eloise would live away from the main house and everyone who lived there, to allow him some peace of mind and prevent any more midnight scares. Now, years later, he had mostly healed his body, heart and mind. But they both still preferred the quiet of being away from the main house.

A few hours after first sitting in the kitchen for her haircut, Celine emerges onto the patio where her uncle is barbequing steaks on the grill with the help of her father and one of her older cousins, Mathieu. The courtyard had been decorated with a lot of old floral-patterned fabric bunting that Eloise had spent a week making in the evenings after Celine had gone to bed. It was April the twenty-fifth and the weather was balmy, clear and warm.

Her new pale-yellow floral summer dress highlights her new very short, bright blue hair, gone were the long dark-golden tresses she had started her day with. The family crowds around, and hugs and compliments fill the air. But there was only one person she wanted to hear from. She walks over to her father, who has his hands over his mouth.

He was a broad-shouldered muscular man, used to the physical labour of the vineyard, with dark brown almost black hair kept short, and bright blue eyes that are watering gently as he looks down at her. She smiles at him, and takes his hand carefully and he grips hers in return.

“Papa? Does this help me look less like her?” Celine whispers, daring to hope that his answer would be ‘yes’. He studies her closely, taking her shoulders and turning her around so he can see the whole new look. The crowd of family surrounding the pair goes quiet, only the birds and barbeques can be heard now.

Eventually, he lets go of her shoulders as tears stream down his face. Celine begins to panic that she had made the wrong decision. She takes her hand back and touches her hair,

“I can wash out the colour and grow it out. I’m sorry papa.” She lowers her eyes and begins to turn and walk away, but then to her surprise he grabs her into a tight hug, she relaxes and hugs him back. He sighs,

“No, I’m sorry, Celine. I took too long to answer you; you are beautiful no matter what. It was just a big surprise. I love it!” He releases her and kisses her forehead. He then whispers in her ear “I know I have made life hard for you because of how much you look like your mother. And I am sorry if I ever made you feel like you had to change anything about yourself to make me feel better. But if this is what you want then I am happy.” She nods,

“I chose this. And if it makes it a bit easier for you, then it’s a happy coincidence.” Celine beams up at her father, knowing full well that she had made this change with him in mind, but it was still her choice and she was very happy with her decision. “No regrets here, I promise.”