I dropped my bag over the top of the stairs, hearing it land at the bottom of the stairs with a loud, heavy thud. “Fucking hell Sergio!” I heard my brother Rico snarl angrily from downstairs. “You trying to give me a fucking heart attack? I nearly spilled coffee all over me, you stupid fuck!” I found myself chuckling, as I made my way down the stairs. A perfect reaction from my brother! Yeah, it would have been a whole heap easier to carry my bag, but it was so much more fun to scare the crap out of my brother, though in truth I was hoping my Mum or sister would have been passing. Their reactions were classic... Rico was standing in the entranceway of the house, glaring at me, a mug of coffee in hand. He looked so much like Dad right now, it was funny. Same dark stare, and same frown. “Lighten up.” I shook my head at him. “Did you make me a coffee? Or was that the one you spilled?” I asked with a grin, knowing it would wind him up even more. I loved to annoy my brother.
I find myself looking at Finn, his eyes are so intense, and he is closer than ever right now. My heart feels like it is beating like a drum right now. And time feels like it has paused between us. He is so handsome, one of the sweetest guys I know... Finn and I have always been close, but this… this is a line we never crossed. But that look I could see within his eyes was telling me he was seriously considering more... And, as much as I worship him, I don’t know if it is the right thing…I found myself awkwardly clearing my throat and lowering my gaze to break the intensity of the way Finn was looking at me. Maybe coming here hadn’t been the right thing to do after all…“Oh, you backing out on me doll?” he teased, and I found myself avoiding his gaze even further. There was nothing awkward in the way he had spoken to me. It had been lighthearted and playful, but still, I didn't feel right. My insides were churning nervously, not to mention the butterflies that had taken up residence
I watched from the sofa with a sinking heart as Cleo’s silhouette darted from my home. My chest tightened in pain. Disappointment. I am such a fool. I had clearly misread the situation. Allowed my own heart to become carried away with itself… or was it my head? She had been so close… her scent filled my senses…and those beautiful eyes mesmerized me like they so often did… I had wanted her so desperately. I had thought she wanted me too.Was I so wrong to want to kiss her? Was it a crime? The way she looked at me had made me feel like it was. She looked in shock. Hurt. And that made me feel nothing but guilt. I had clung to a hope she felt the same way about me as I did for her. We were close. Closer than ever in recent years. We flirted like a couple who wanted one another. I don’t think it was a wrong assumption to make. But, I also know that Cleo clung desperately to the traditions expected of her, and as the daughter of an Alpha, I suppose nothing less would be expected of her.I w
Taking out some frustrations on the training field was always fun, and these guys within the warrior training facility were tougher than most, meaning we could be as brutal as we liked, and nobody wanted to admit defeat or show weakness. Always very handy when you have some stresses to unleash.And today, when I had finally got to the training field, after being harassed by far too many phone calls, I had more than taken my frustrations out. The only issue was, it now meant two guys were in the first aid room, potentially on the way to the pack hospital. I am hoping their wolves should easily heal whatever damage I did. It wasn’t my fault that they lost concentration for those few seconds…“Lan, what the hell was going on out there today?” Joey asked, as he approached me. I could always rely on my cousin to be demanding answers. He would know in an instant something was off with me, so I knew there would be little point denying it.“Just a little stressed.” I turned away from him, mo
I was heading home after training when I saw my sister Cleo rushing away from the packhouse. Instantly I was curious why she would be there, especially looking as distressed as she was. I made an alteration to my path to walk over to her, and she was so lost in her own thoughts she hadn’t even noticed me approaching.“Alright Kiddo?” I asked, and her head jerked upward from staring aimlessly at the ground as she walked. I couldn’t tell if she had been crying or not, but she didn’t look her usual cheerful self.“Kiddo?” she scowled. “I am a couple of years younger than you, Kai.”“Still look up to me though, don’t ya?” I teased, hooking my arm around her shoulders to display our height difference before I ruffled her hair because I knew she hated it.She looked up at me and scowled even more. “Jackass.”“You okay though?” I asked, hoping she might actually get over being grumpy and tell me what was wrong.“Uh-huh.”Wonderful. My sister was not willing to open up to me. If anything, sh
I regretted mentioning the situation with Finn the moment I saw Kai’s face change. He was about to go into full on big brother mode. I hate when he did this. Kaleb did the same, despite the fact he was younger than me. Both so protective over me. When I didn’t need protecting, or at least not from Finn.I understood everything Finn was suggesting to me. And I guess in another life, I wouldn't have faltered in accepting everything he offered. He was a perfect gentleman. A perfect guy in my eyes. He had been around in my life for as long as I can remember and he treated me so sweetly. Like I was a princess or a precious gem, that he treasured. Always making me feel special. All the little smiles he gave me made my heart flutter, and had done for as long as I can remember.But, things weren’t as straight forward as that for us. As werewolves we were blessed with fated mates, and I know that so many in our pack would frown upon it if Finn were to take me as a chosen mate. And, if I were
I had seemed to ease the tension with Cleo a little as we walked home together. I had promised not to speak to Finn about the whole chosen mates situation, but that wasn’t to say I wouldn’t find time to address the issue with my Dad. It bothered me. I knew that Finn had differing views on so many of the traditional werewolf customs that we still followed as a pack, and I didn’t want him causing issues. He was one of my closest friends, not to mention his parents were my parents’ close friends too.But, all thoughts of talking to my Dad about that were gone the moment we stepped into our house, and the sound of my Mum sobbing filtered through. I looked back at Cleo, and I saw the instant look of horror upon her face. She had hoped things would have improved since she had dashed out earlier, but if anything I would say they had got worse…‘K, we should go.’ Cleo mindlinked. ‘They are clearly dealing with stuff. I don't think we should be here.’I looked at my sister in disgust. She was
I felt the wave of pain spreading through my body as my mind tried to register my Mum’s words. My Grandpa Trent was gone? I had only seen him last week… he had come to visit me while I was at training in the Warrior Facility. Yes, I had thought he looked a little frail, but he had told me he had injured himself when training, and would be back to normal soon enough; and me being me, had believed him. Plus, I assumed age was playing a part.He should never have had to continue his Beta role for as long as he did. But, Uncle Grayson losing his son had meant the two friends had come to a mutual agreement that they would stay in their Alpha and Beta roles until Landon, Uncle Grayson’s grandson, and heir to the Alpha title was ready to take over the pack. Admittedly, I think they had thought it might have happened before now, as he had approached 25.My ears rang with the sound of sobbing. Those of my Mum, who was now enveloped in my the arms of my Dad; and those of my sister who was bein
An unexpected business meeting overseas was not what I had needed, but I had done as my father had asked, and I had attended. Now I could not wait to return home. I just needed to survive the hassle of a long-haul flight. Thankfully, we had managed to get me an earlier flight home than the original one I had planned, as the pack I had visited was an absolute hellhole and I did not want to stay there longer than necessary. As soon as all the meetings were held, I was out of there as fast as my feet could carry me...I had rushed through the airport, running late as I so often did, and got to the gate at the very last minute. I am sure the flight attendants must love people like me who had a tendency to hold the flights up as they waited for me. But I showed them my boarding pass and rushed down the aisle to where my seat number should be.I was in the aisle seat, it seemed, but there was a bag already sitting there, and I was ready to snap, not needing
Our time visiting our family had been wonderful as always, but this time it held a lingering shadow that hung heavy over me. Knowing that when we left for home, Sergio would not be returning with us, and it simply did not feel right. I knew the reasons why, and I think it was such a noble thing for him to have offered to do for his mate, but I still felt like it was wrong. But we had spoken this over many times with our parents, and they surprised me by being fully supportive of his decision. They wanted their son to be happy, and they, understandably, respected Tatiana’s need to stay and assist in the care of her mother.When there had been the family meeting, between my grandparents, my uncle, us, Tatiana and her father, and my parents on video call, everything was discussed in detail, and Tatiana was very quiet, like she was reluctant to admit she wanted this, or she did not wish to seem it was her that pushing for it. I knew that Sergio was already smitten by his mate and would d
My body froze as my Mum’s words registered. A cold chill spread over my body. This was not what I wanted to happen. ‘Mami, no.’ I mindlinked her, only to find the link blocked once again. She was determined. She wanted revenge on the man standing next to us.“Erm, I do believe I have things to do, actually, Mrs…” Luka began, but my Dad stood up suddenly, interrupting him, gripping him by the front of his shirt, and Luka’s face was swiftly pale.“I think you had come here for a reason, so you had some free time, and that free time is about to be used to chat to us. Or more specifically me.” My Dad snarled, telling me that my Mum had already broken my trust and told him everything that she knew.Dad maneuvered Luka to the seat he had moments ago stood from and sat him down, maybe a little forcibly, while Alexis stood to grab another table from a nearby table for my Dad. I was trembling by this point, so aware of the curious gazes that were coming our way. I think it would be hard for t
The call had taken me by surprise, but who was I to turn away the opportunity to make things official with Liliana and meet her family? Her Mother had somehow learned of our matebond and decided that they would call into the campus on their return to their pack and meet me. I was not about to turn down the chance, for I knew that this could bring the time closer that my mate and I would be together. I just had to face the daunting prospect of her father first…And from everything Liliana had warned me, he sounded fearsome. Protective, as a father should be. My father was not like that. So I did not understand that, but I had witnessed it from friends within pack…And now, here I was sitting opposite the man who was warning me that if I hurt his daughter he would kill me… I liked to think he was joking, but the look within his eyes told me not to be so sure. He was every bit the fearsome warrior Liliana had described. I could understand why he was as respected as he was within the pac
I stepped ut of the car to join my Mum, but before I had the opportunity to say anything, my Dad had joined us. He smiled down at my Mum with the affection and care he forever had for her. “So, mysterious girl, what is the big secret?” he asked, and my Mum grinned up at him.“You are weird, do you know that, Guapo?” she tapped him lightly on the nose. “You will see soon enough.”And with that she gave me a knowing look, with one brow raised, like she expected me to know what she was referring to, before we began walking toward one of the coffee shops on campus.‘Mum?’ I mindlnked, but found her link blocked, just as I had done to her earlier. She was playing me at my own game, much as she had done many times when I was growing up. She used to tell me when I had gone to her, angry about her not replying to my mindlinks, that two can play at that game, and it soon stopped me putting the block on my mindlink to her half as often as I had done. I think it had worked equally well with Isab
Our day at River Ash had come to an end. A difficult day for so many. We had said our goodbyes and were headed to the cars. My Mum had decided to fix the cars home so that ours was just me, her and my Dad. I knew what she was about to do, and I did not know that I was ready for that. Isabella had headed off with Aria, and her family, which was unsurprising, they loved her even more since they discovered the two of them were fated. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Aunt Indie loved us all like we were her own children, but she was beyond happy to discover Aria had been fated for my sister, and I have to say I was happy too.I knew she would be cared for and have that support from them that she needed as well as from us. Jorge was staying with some of the guys to help clear up. They likely didn’t need to as River Ash would have warriors, and other pack members arranged to do it, but some of our younger warrior team decided to do the decent thing and hang back to help. Jorge being one. Ever th
I went from feeling good about everything to my whole body tensing in a matter of seconds the moment my wolf picked up on the scent of our mate. The scent that was so beautiful. Alluring… tempting… yet a scent that was able to make my heart feel like it wanted to shatter into a thousand pieces. I knew without raising my eyes that Cleo had to be on her way up here to see her father.It would not be me she had come to see. There would be no reason. But, I raised my eyes all the same, unable to resist the temptation, and Dex became excited, knowing she was close. My heart rate increased instantly, and my grandfather gave me a knowing smile. ‘Have you decided yet?’ he questioned, and I simply shrugged.‘Lan.’ He sighed. ‘What do you think that man next to you would say if he knew? The faith he holds in you. It took all the strength within me to hold myself back from telling him the additional connection our fami
The day had been a long one, and I had spent a lot of time with my friends, and my aunts and my mum. So many people had come and spoken to me, offering their condolences, many of whom I did not know in the slightest. But, I did as was expected of me and smiled, nodding in agreement, thanking them for their kindness. Wishing I could return home now. I did not want to be here any longer, surrounded by the reminder of the loss of my grandfather. I think it was beginning to hit me harder than ever.“Come on CC, let us go and find your Dad, we will be heading home, I think.” Mum spoke, alongside my Grandma.I looked towards her with confusion. While I would love nothing more than to curl up to hide within the comfort of my own bed, I had assumed we would be staying with my Grandma for a few days still. There were still things to be done. “We aren’t staying with Grandma again?” I asked.Mum stood a little straighter, like she was struggling with things a little and was preparing herself to
Today had gone as well as a funeral and a memorial service could be expected to go. Everyone had been respectful, and the patrols were going well, so the pack was well guarded. We had had no issues with visitors from outside packs, not that we had expected any. Beta Trent was well respected, and they were all here to pay their respects and say goodbye to a good man. As we all were.After that brief moment we had shared in our seats, I had barely seen Cleo. In truth, I didn't know how I felt about that, but she had been swept up in time with her family and her friends, I had assumed, and time with them was likely what she needed right now. Time with me was not. I did not need to mess with her mind any more than I already had. She needed this time with her family.I had said what I needed to, to Daxton and Kaleb, and I hoped they would do me the honor of joining me here to run the pack when I took over as Alpha in the near future. I was in no rush for an answer from them, but I could no