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Derek’s POV Bored out of my fucking mind! That was the only way to describe this entire night. I was sitting at a table nursing a beer with some of the other Glass Lake warriors. The nightclub we’d ended up in was one of those techno vibe dance clubs. I did not dance. Technically, I shouldn't have been there at all. All the guys I was with were my juniors. It was a fine line to walk, drinking ourselves stupid amongst other questionable choices while off duty, then keeping their asses in line during training and patrols. But I enjoyed their company so I made it work. “Hey Cap!” One of the guys caught my attention, abbreviating my official pack title. “Check out the pretty little she-wolf at three o’clock, the one with the fiery red hair, wearing the tight black dress. She hasn’t taken her eyes off you all night. You should go put her out of her misery.” “Damn! She looks like a wild night and a fuck ton of regret! Just the way I like ‘em. I’ll take her off your hands if you’re n
Julia’s POV This was utter insanity! What the fuck was I thinking?” I was pacing the sidewalk outside the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Derek for our date, mumbling to myself. “Oh, right! I was thinking if I didn’t agree, his arrogant ass might be just vindictive enough to tell my brother how I liked to spend my free time. And the fact that he was six shades of sexy didn’t hurt one damn bit!” “Not thinking of standing me up, are you?” Derek’s warm breath caressed the shell of my ear as his large hands wrapped around my hips. He’d managed to sneak up behind me which spoke to my level of distraction. My brother was the lead warrior for the Glass Lake pack and he’d taught me how to protect myself. No one snuck up on me! Usually. “Not at all!” I flashed him a plastic smile, turning to face him. “Men who aren’t a bit of a handful don’t even make it on my radar. I enjoy a challenge. Though I doubt spending an evening with you will qualify as much of one.” “I assure you, s
Derek’s POV I shook my head as I watched Julia walk away from me. What the hell was I doing letting that curvy little vixen get to me? I didn’t take girls out on first dates, let alone want to do it again. But something about her made me want to spoil her, protect her, and fuck her all at the same time. My eyes were glued to the way her tight jeans hugged her perfect ass as she sauntered away. It triggered images of her bare ass on display the other night when she was riding the bartending. The memory left me equal parts turned on as fuck and pissed the hell off. Just the thought of him with his hands on her made me livid. I tried to pull my mind back to the present, enjoying the way the silver moonlight bounced off her hair. It was up in a loose braid that started on one side of her head and angled down to the other, leaving the rest of her curls draped over her shoulder in soft waves. I’d spent the whole evening dreaming about winding those curls around my fingers while I pounde
Julia’s POV Derek left a little over two weeks ago to meet my brother. He’d texted me a few times but nothing consistent. Not that I expected it to be. I knew enough of what Dillon’s missions entailed to know that regualr communication was difficult, not to mention potentially dangerous. I didn’t think too much of not hearing from him. I wished I could say I didn’t care one way or the other. But unfortunately, the memory of the kiss we’d shared just before he left town wouldn’t leave me alone. I wasn’t too proud to admit I’d touched myself while remembering the way his impressive cock felt, hard and grinding into me while he tongue-fucked my mouth. “Shit!” The last thing I needed was for Kat to come home to the smell of my arousal when I was supposed to be babysitting her twins. In my defense, they were sleeping so it wasn’t like I was neglecting them. But it would still be a colossal embarrassment for her or the Alphas to catch me out. In an effort to distract myself from m
Derek’s POV Julia and I couldn’t keep our hands off each other as we stumbled in the door of my apartment. We tore at each other’s clothes while our tongues tangled and teeth nipped. She tasted fucking fantastic, like sweet cinnamon apples, and I was starving for her. When I walked into that bar and saw that fucker with his arm around her, whispering in her ear like he belonged with her, I saw red! If Dillon hadn’t been there, I would have launched the little twirp across the bar. As it was, I had to watch the whole lot of them flirt with her until Dillon got up to leave. Even Kylo snarled in my head at the way they casually touched her, put their hands on her like she didn’t belong to me. She might not be our fated mate but my wolf did not give two fucks for such minor details when it came to Julia Kane. We’d already decided she was ours, fated bond or not. “”Fuck, Derek!” Julia moaned as I pinned her to the wall and nipped my way down her neck. She had already managed to
Julia’s POV A very hard cock was poking me in the back when I woke up the next morning. That was concerning for several reasons. The first of which was there was a very warm body attached to that cock and it was also pressed to my back, along with a heavy arm draped over my waist with a large hand splayed out over my stomach. There was a man snuggled up behind me and I did not snuggle, not under any circumstances. The second problem was that it was in fact morning. That would seem to indicate I had spent the night, another thing I never did. What the hell had I been thinking last night? “That you were dick drunk after multiple rounds of mind-blowing sex and too tired to move.” My wolf offered groggily. “Thank you for that staggering insight. Did it ever occur to you that the question was rhetorical?” I snarked back. “How about you do something useful, like help me figure out how to get out of here without waking Derek.” “Don’t wanna. He’s a really good cuddler.” She shrugged, c
Derek’s POV “What the fuck is up your ass?” I finally cornered Dillon after the third time he’d snapped at one of the junior warriors for absolutely fucking nothing. “Nothin’ is up my ass!” He barked back. “I just don’t want to see anyone get killed because they did something stupid!” “Fine, man. Listen, you’ve been a pain in the ass all week. If that’s what you need to tell yourself to justify your behavior, that’s on you. But I’m here if you want to talk about it.” I offered. “I’m going to ask Blair to be my chosen mate!” He blurted out. I just stood there blinking at him for a full minute. I’m pretty sure trying to make sense of that statement just damaged my few remaining brain cells. I was struggling to find words to express my disbelief. “What the actual fuck, man?” Yep. That’s all I could come up with. “We’re friends. She cares about me.” He shrugged. “I’m tired of the game. Tired of being alone.” “She’s a rank-climbing whore who you recently told me you regret
Julia’s POV “I’m totally killing this whole boyfriend thing!” Derek announced as we fell into a sweaty heap on his bed. I really didn’t want to encourage him considering his ego was already the size of Texas but he just looked so damn proud of himself that I couldn’t help but agree with him. “Yeah you are, baby! Derek Reed, “Boyfriend of the Year!” Who would have guessed.” I teased him. “Not that I’m a great judge since I’ve never had a boyfriend before.” “What? Seriously? I’m your first boyfriend? How is that possible?” He spit out a string of questions. “I see the way the warriors drool over you and the guys you were with that night at the bar were all half in love with you. I can’t believe you never dated anyone.” “First of all, Jase, Con and Kevin are friends. They aren’t in love with me.” I snorted at the thought. “And as far as why I’ve never dated anyone, that’s an easy one-word answer: Dillon.” “Claerly you're a poor judge if you can't tell when someone has feelin
Hello Lovely Readers! Once again I want to thank you all for supporting my work! I hope you enjoyed reading A Cruel Fate: Her Gamma's Regret and The Warrior's Wild Mate as much as I did writing them. I may not have time to respond to every comment and review, but I read them all and take every word to heart. So if you have time, please let me know what you though, either in the review or comments section. I would appreciate it so much! As for what comes next, I will be working on The Legends of Glass Lake Series which will focus on the next generation of the Glass Lake as well as their friends and allies' children. Book one is still untitled but will focus on Mason Cross and Elena Stone as well as introducing new characters. I hope to begin publishing the first few chapters in early January and hope you'll join me for the ride. That's a wrap for Derek and Julia. For now. We'll see them again soon! Much love, Cara
Julia’s POV 5 Years Later “Hurry up! We’re going to be late!” I called to Derek, trying to rush him along. Kat, Reegan and Ryan were holding a birthday party for their two year old son Liam and we were running behind as usual. With our own two year old and four year old, going anywhere as a family was a lot like herding cats. Everyone was either moving in different directions or refusing to move at all. Currently, it was the latter. “I can’t get Lexi off the toilet, sweetness.” Derek’s exasperated voice called back. We were potty-training our daughter and Derek loved to say she was a typical woman, once you got her in the bathroom you couldn’t get her out. I crept down the hall to check on their progress and had to choke back a laugh at the conversation they were having. “Please, Lexi-Lou, show dada what a big girl you are! As soon as you go potty in the toilet, we can go to Liam’s party and you can have cake and ice cream!” He bargained. “But, I not a big girl, dada. I your b
Julia’s POV Pain seared through the raw nerves where Derek’s fangs pierced my neck. Marking was usually done in the heat of passion, a pleasurable distraction from the pain, but Derek hadn’t waited for that and I couldn’t care less. I loved that he was so desperate to make me his, he couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into me. The sharp sting was a reminder that he was really there and I was really his, that it hadn’t all been a wonderful yet finite dream. But the pain went as quickly as it had come, mutating into a sensual thrill that ignited my lust while turning my bones to jelly. Derek groaned in pleasure as our bond solidified, pulling me tighter against him to hold me up as my knees weakened beneath me. A long languorous moan fell from my lips as Derek swirled his tongue over his mark. Then suddenly, a whirlwind of love, devotion, lust, and a fierce possessiveness hit me square in the chest, knocking the air from my lungs. I’d believed Derek when he’d said he loved me, but this
Derek’s POV The drive back to Glass Lake territory was the longest of my life! With every passing mile, a new worry assaulted me. Winning Julia back was far from a sure thing. I still didn’t know if she really slept with Eric. The thought of him putting his hands on her luscious body or sticking his cock in her tight, hot pussy infuriated me! But it also scared the shit out of me, because if she did fuck him, it meant she had already moved on. Julia Kane was stunningly gorgeous, fiercely loyal, and stubborn as hell. If she decided she was done with me, there would be no changing her mind. The thought of her slamming the door in my face left me equal parts terrified and depressed as fuck. A future without her felt so bleak, cold and empty. But the more I thought about it, the more dejected I became. If she’d been the one to find her mate, and agreed to give him a chance so easily, let me walk away without a fight, I’m not sure I would have given her another chance either. B
Derek’s POV Eric’s taunt sent me into a red fucking rage! I wanted to slice his dick off with my claws and shove it down his fucking throat. Julia was mine! MINE! And nobody fucking touched her but me! I suspected they’d slept together in the past and the thought of them doing it again gutted me. I’d put everything she’d done before me out of my mind, just like she’d done for me. But Julia Kane had carved her name on my heart, branded it on my soul, and nobody else could have her now! “Derek, stop!” Julia screamed, stepping in front of Eric. “It’s okay, sunshine.” Eric chuckled, wrapping an arm around her torso. “He’s so pissed he can’t see straight. I doubt he could land a hit if he tried.” “Not helping!” Julia hissed at him over her shoulder. “Step back and cool off!” Damien barked, his steadying hand on my shoulder. I was fucking furious and my chest heaved violently. I balled my fists at my sides, trying to restrain my beast but my body swayed in Eric’s direction. My
Julia’s POV “So you come out here everyday to collect samples?” I asked Trista as we tramped through the forest together. She was explaining her research on forest sustainability and showing me how she collected test samples to see how different trees and plants responded to different fertilization compounds. It was part of her postdoctoral work and way over my head but still fascinating. Although I had to admit, listening to her enthusiasm for the subject left me feeling a little left behind. Zoe had left for college right after high school and Kat had midwife training. Trista was well on her way to saving our habitat and I was still deciding what I wanted to be when I grew up. That thought led me to wonder what Amber’s aspirations were. Was she going to college? Did she have plans to do something important with her life, medical research like Zoe or maybe become a doctor? Was she smarter than me? From there I found myself diving head first down the rabbit hole of all the
Derek’s POV “Fuck man! I don’t know what to say.” Dillon had ceased trying to strangle me to death and had moved on to pacing a hole in the office floor. “I mean she’s my sister. I can’t stand the thought of her heartbroken and alone. But after finding Zoe, I know what it’s like to meet your fated mate. I could never expect you to give that up.” “Amber, could you please excuse us. I’d like to talk with the Gamma alone for a minute.” I tried asking nicely with little hope it would get me very far. “Oh no! Absolutely not! I’m your mate. There is nothing you can’t say in front of me.” She actually stamped her foot at the end of that little speech. “Of course, I can say it. I just don’t want to!” I explained, grabbing her arm and dragging her toward the door. “:Let’s go, princess.” “What? No!” She squawked in protest. “You’re my mate! You can’t tell me no! That’s not how it’s supposed to work!” She whined the whole way but I wasn’t giving in. Once I managed to deposit her outsi
Derek’s POV I was losing my ever-loving shit! How could she be moving on already? Out partying, dancing, smiling like she wasn’t missing me at all. Meanwhile, I was so twisted up in knots, I couldn’t think straight. And what the fuck did she mean by ‘fucking someone isn’t the same as getting to know them’? Who’s fucking who? She couldn’t possibly think I was fucking Amber. I knew it happened often with fated mates but surely not when they were already in love with someone else. I owed it to myself and Amber to get to know her, Just like Jules told me to do. But she couldn’t possibly think I’d get over what we had and hop into bed with Amber that quickly. Okay sure. That’s who I used to be. But that was before Julia Kane came along and turned my world upside down. I was a different person now and even if things didn’t work out with Julia and me, I wasn’t sure I could ever go back to being that guy. Not when I knew how disappointed she would be in me. That thought made me sick
Julia’s POV “I think I'm going to visit Forest Trails for a few days. I met Trista the last time she and her Alpha were here and I really liked her.” I was sitting in the living room of the cabin my brother and Zoe had moved into, trying to stop my turmoil from leaking through our sibling bond. Based on the way Dillon was watching me like he would a wounded animal, I wasn't sure I was succeeding. Zoe gave me a knowing look, but thankfully said nothing to my brother about the suspicions I saw shining in her eyes. “It’s been weeks since they were here and you never said a word. Why now?” Dillon’s tone was accusatory, telling me he’d already sniffed out my ulterior motives. “”Hmm?” I put a finger on my chin in a pensive expression. “Maybe because you’re all mated up and hiding from the rest of the world.” He shot me a beleaguered look. One that said he did not appreciate my snarky attitude. Zoe giggled at his put upon expression but instead of the same exasperated huff I got fr