I walked with Nori by my side, on the way to meet my parents, and introduce my fated mate. Well, as well as break the news that I had, of course met my fated mate. That was going to shock a few of them I would imagine, considering they all knew I had been adamant I did not want my fated mate... But, right now that was the least of my worries, because Easton, Nori's father had fallen into step with me, and was giving me more than a cold stare from by my side. In fact, he looked pretty close to wanting to kill me...
"I don't get to decide what happens from here. That choice is one made by fate." He said firmly. My nerves tightened at his words, and Vala was as on edge as I was. I don't think this man liked me. Yet, I didn't think I had given him any reason not to...
Once again I felt Nori tense next to me, and I knew she had to have heard her father's words. What I would give to share a mindlink with her right now... to be able to reassure her that I will find a way to m
I had to have heard wrong. My boy was here, with his arm around a girl... a girl that was not Cleo, saying he had a fated mate? No. He had always been the most non-comforming of my children. The one to go against what was expected of him. I mean, Dan and I were never quite ones who fitted the moulds of the average couple, nor the perfect parents, but we worked. Both as mates, and as a family. Damn, did we work. And, when I look at our kids now, I could not be prouder of all they turned out to be.Hell, they had caused us some drama over the years, as kids so often do, but they were all good kids. One was soon to be a mama herself, and I could not wait to watch Wren embark on that journey, for I knew she and Dario would be truly amazing parents. Mine and Dan's children were all settling down to their own lives now. All doing different things, but all happy, and all doing good. That to me meant we had done our role as parents, and it meant we had done it well.But, Finn?
I stood with a beer in one hand and Nori's hand within the other. We had my family, and now multiple members of my friends and family surrounding us. All laughing and chatting as we so often do at these sort of social events. I felt a warmth coursing through me that felt so unfamiliar A contentment. Nori rested her head upon my shoulder. "This is fun." She whispered softly, and I nodded."Sure is, though I cannot wait to take you home." I whispered, moving my mouth a little closer to her ear, shivering slightly as the tingles of the matebond rippled across my body at the touch of our skin.Mum, Dad, Uncle Knox and Aunt Lilah were now busy chatting with Nori's parents so I did not need to worry about them, they were doing all the hard work I had been thinknng I would have to do in arranging her move to pack. Uncle Knox was great at this sort of thing, and no doubt soon enough they woud have it all planned down to the finer detail. All I wanted was my mate at home with m
I was sick of smiling. Sick of polite conversation. Sick of sharing my mate… all I wanted now was to be alone with him, and, as yet another unfamiliar face approached us I found myself sighing. Landon chuckled. ‘Aww, is my Luna tired of her duties already?’ he mindlinked.I gave him a dirty look. ‘I think we could say they may take some getting used to.’He smiled again. ‘Tell me about it. Not a moment’s peace tonight, but that is purely because today is all about us. Soon enough life will return to normal. Everyday life, where we are just an Alpha and Luna doing their thing.’I found myself smiling athis words. ‘Please tell me that means I get you to myself at least a large percentage of the time?’ I joked, causing Landon to near choke on the swig of beer he had just drank, just in time for the arrival of a tall, red headed man.“Well, young man, we are heading off, I just wanted to say c
I watched as Cleo rushed away, her hand tightly in Landon’s. She had said she wanted to slip away without any emotional goodbyes, so I had told her to go before we did. That in itself had been emotional enough for me. This was my baby girl all grown up. But, there comes a time you have to let them go. But, I was happy for her. I could see a contentment in her eyes that was new. A confidence too. One I had seen develop in Lilah’s eyes over time as we were together. I am glad it hadn’t taken Cleo as long to find that contentment nor confidence as it had for her mother.Obviously, their stories and their pasts were different, but clearly they were intertwined. Lilah’s pain made sense now when we saw that Cleo was always going to be fated to Logan’s son. But, as much as I hate that my beautiful mate was ever hurt, it was me that felt eternally blessed, because it meant I gained the gift of Lilah as a fated mate. And, for that I have
The celebrations were coming to an end. We had done the rounds, saying our goodbyes and had begun making our way to the vehicles. My Dad asked us to travel with him, which was unusual, he so often would travel alone with Mum, or with one of his friends. So I have to say I was more than a little intrigued. Perhaps a little anxious you could say. But, Mum looked content as Bella and I said our goodbyes to the remaining few we had missed, and approached the car which eased the majority of my concerns. Today had been a good day, so I could not help but ponder if my parents were simply struggling with the fact they were leaving two of their three kids here permanently now. Settled down in high ranked positions, with their mates. How times were changing…Bella looked toward me with a smile. “You okay?” She asked softly, and I nodded.“A little curious why Dad wants us to drive with them, but other than that all good.”She giggled an almo
We were a a couple of days past returning from the Alpha celebrations of River Ash Pack, and I am a little ashamed to say, I have been avoiding everyone other than Bella. Hiding out in my room, and sneaking to work. That has been my sole purpose the last few days. Gutless? Perhaps. But, inexplicably in these moments which seem to be stuck on replay my head and my heart seem to be in turmoil, and I am not quite sure how to handle it. Jorge's mindlinks are rudely ignored, and his messages go unanswered.I can only imagine how he must be feeling. But my mind is a whirpool of confusion, and my soul feels like a sludge pit of emotion. The thing is, my mind had been buzzing with the thought of Jorge since his kiss. It isn't that I did not want it. Nor that I did not enjoy it. Because I did. But the fact I did seems to be making my thoughts harder to process. My mind battling with guilt for the man I feared I was replacing… my mate… not that he had be
I slipped through the arch into the coffee store, and noticed the almost unreadable expression upon Camilla’s face, while Lola had turned and given her a smile. I had clearly missed something. I knew Camilla better than anyone. She had become one of my closest friends in pack, and I never saw her as anything but a friend despite her role. I hated the way others could treat her, so I love this new life she had been gifted here with me. But this expression upon her face was reminicsent of our time in pack together, which bothered me.I have always felt we shared a connections, and I had always been able to tell how she was feeling but right now she seemed guarded. It was hard to tell what she was feeling. I edged over to the counter, where the coffee was waiting that Lola had linked me to come and collect. I could not imagine for a second that Lola was the type of person to intentionally upset someone. But the tension sitting between the two was awkward,
Who knew arranging an Alpha ceremony was so much hardwork? Or was it only hard work when it involved my Mum and Dad? I was beginning to think so. Every little detail seemed to be assessed, and then reassessed. I was starting to understand why Bella had said she was finding it all a little too overwhelming for her.“You want the day to be perfect.” Mum said insistently from across the office, and I looked to Dad for help, but he simply nodded in agreement.“These are going to be the Alphas you are working alongside. You want to make a good impresson. An Alpha ceremony that is poorly planned and organised simply shows how badly organized and incapable you are.” Dad said and I dropped my head to the desk. I was sick of hearing that now. We were literally discussing food, weren’t we?!So long as there was beer and there was food to feed them when the hunger kicked in I was sure they would all be more than satisfied. “Right.”
Our house was sheer chaos, so I could only imagine what the rest of pack must be. Today was the day that the last week had been leading up to. Mum had been involved in the organization of the Alpha Ceremony, with it being for her brother’s eldest son. These sort of events were very much a family effort. And family was hugely important within our pack. Grandma had been involved too, and I swear them, along with Aunt Lilah were like crazy women when trying to plan. It was, without a doubt better to avoid them, I could understand why Kai had said he was dodging them at every opportunity. I think if I were him I would have allowed them free reign to arrange it all, and then simply turn up on the day, that way you would save yourself so many headaches and so much stress...“Luca!” Mum shrieked from the bottom of the staircase. I rolled my eyes. “You best not still be in the bathroom.”“No, that would be Rocky, Mami.” I said with a s
I sat on the bed for a moment, staring at the closed door of the ensuite where Camilla had just run to. My heart racing, from the closeness we had been sharing only moments ago, and aching from the fact it felt like she was rejecting me in that need to flee. My wolf, Elda whimpered heavily within my mind. He had not been dealing well with this back and forth with Camilla of late.I had allowed myself to get closer than I perhaps should. There was something about her that had caught my attention the moment I greeted her at our pack gates. Something I don’t even know that I can describe. She was sweet. Vulnerable. But she chatted to me like she was simply happy to be here. Happy for the now. And that appealed to me. She treated me so kindly. Warmly. And that pulled me in. She was different to the other she-wolves I had met.The amount of times she had wandered up to the guard room with a fresh coffee for me, had warmed my heart. Or the sweet smile
I stretched upon my bed, trying hard to wake myself up, and was shocked to hear my wolf purring within my mind. That was not like her in the slightest. Only as I stretched my arm across the bed did I notice the space next to me felt oddly warm… that was not the way my bed normally felt...I sat up quickly, only to see I was still wearing the clothes in which I had been dressed in last night, other than the fact the shirt had been discarded, leaving the tank top as my only coverage on top. I heard movement in the ensuite, making my whole body freeze once more, and I realized with shock that I was not alone. Jorge had to still be here.The events of last night flooded back to me. He came in as I had suggested, and we sat talking for hours. About anything and everything. His family… his past… my family… my past… I don’t think there was a thing that man did not know about me now. And likely, there was little I did
Bella and Camilla walked into the suite, but the moment Camilla stepped into the lounge where Kai and I were sitting, I could tell from the expression upon her face she was not feeling comfortable. She did not know I was going to be here. Her eyes were darting to her friend, as they glazed over telling me she was attempting to mindlink, but it was as if Bella was choosing not to respond, which admittedly irritated me.Kai had spent most of the time since I had returned from home having had my shower giving me just cause and reason as to why pursuing something with Camilla would be a good idea. Why it would be good for us both. He was adamant she was interested in me, yet this here, looked like she was terrified to be here with me. That did not scream interested to me.‘Have you set that poor girl up?’ I demanded of Kai, and he glanced at his mate, before looking at me with a shrug. He seemed as clueless as me of the developing situation in
Bella and I had finished our shift at the art store, and were driving back into pack. The sun had not stopped shining today. It certainly made the day an enjoyable one. The store had been relatively busy, with enough customers to keep us occupied, and the two of us had created a few new items on the potters wheel. This was so far from the workdays I had endured in my previous role, and most certainly a workday I could become accustomed to. I was loving my life like this...But, I had to admit, today I was a little tired. My mind had been more than a little over-run with thoughts, not only the last few days, but today too. It made for a very tired brain, and a very tired Camilla. It meant I felt like I was ready to crash. So, after the days work, as enjoyable as it may have been, I was most certainly ready to return to my room and put my feet up for the evening. Maybe even a soak in the bath was called for, and a few chapters of my new book I had picked up at the new bookstore
Training was tough today. Dad and Uncle Manny seemed to have increased the level a little for us. Working us that bit harder. Not that I minded. I wanted to be the best I could in my role as warrior and in doing that I needed to be pushed. I knew my Dad and my Uncle were incredibly well respected within pack and beyond for the roles they held, and that was what I wanted to achieve as I moved through my career too; so following their training programme would be considered an honour.“You did well out there, son.” Dad slapped his hand upon my shoulder as we all walked back to the gym block. Training had been outside this morning. We had chosen to make the most of the glorious sunshine blessed upon us, thought, admittedly it had become less of a blessing as we exercised. Pushing ourselves to our limits, feeling like we were melting under the hot rays of the sun. I smiled across at my Dad, appreciating the compliment before looking toward my cousins, Dario and Xavier
Who knew arranging an Alpha ceremony was so much hardwork? Or was it only hard work when it involved my Mum and Dad? I was beginning to think so. Every little detail seemed to be assessed, and then reassessed. I was starting to understand why Bella had said she was finding it all a little too overwhelming for her.“You want the day to be perfect.” Mum said insistently from across the office, and I looked to Dad for help, but he simply nodded in agreement.“These are going to be the Alphas you are working alongside. You want to make a good impresson. An Alpha ceremony that is poorly planned and organised simply shows how badly organized and incapable you are.” Dad said and I dropped my head to the desk. I was sick of hearing that now. We were literally discussing food, weren’t we?!So long as there was beer and there was food to feed them when the hunger kicked in I was sure they would all be more than satisfied. “Right.”
I slipped through the arch into the coffee store, and noticed the almost unreadable expression upon Camilla’s face, while Lola had turned and given her a smile. I had clearly missed something. I knew Camilla better than anyone. She had become one of my closest friends in pack, and I never saw her as anything but a friend despite her role. I hated the way others could treat her, so I love this new life she had been gifted here with me. But this expression upon her face was reminicsent of our time in pack together, which bothered me.I have always felt we shared a connections, and I had always been able to tell how she was feeling but right now she seemed guarded. It was hard to tell what she was feeling. I edged over to the counter, where the coffee was waiting that Lola had linked me to come and collect. I could not imagine for a second that Lola was the type of person to intentionally upset someone. But the tension sitting between the two was awkward,
We were a a couple of days past returning from the Alpha celebrations of River Ash Pack, and I am a little ashamed to say, I have been avoiding everyone other than Bella. Hiding out in my room, and sneaking to work. That has been my sole purpose the last few days. Gutless? Perhaps. But, inexplicably in these moments which seem to be stuck on replay my head and my heart seem to be in turmoil, and I am not quite sure how to handle it. Jorge's mindlinks are rudely ignored, and his messages go unanswered.I can only imagine how he must be feeling. But my mind is a whirpool of confusion, and my soul feels like a sludge pit of emotion. The thing is, my mind had been buzzing with the thought of Jorge since his kiss. It isn't that I did not want it. Nor that I did not enjoy it. Because I did. But the fact I did seems to be making my thoughts harder to process. My mind battling with guilt for the man I feared I was replacing… my mate… not that he had be