Lenora’s POV“Oh, Lenora, it’s perfect!” Ashley squeals when I come out of the bedroom in the white lace romper. “I will do your makeup while the stylist does your hair.”It was Mom’s garden party dress until three hours ago. Everyone hated how it looked. The head seamstress, Wanda, agreed it didn’t suit me. She tried pinning it at several lengths, but it still didn’t look right. Mom growled when I asked if I could just wear shorts, but it gave Wanda an idea. Now it’s a strapless white lace romper with a green satin bow around the waist. It fits perfectly.“I can’t believe we’re getting married in BLOOMERS, child.” Justice sounds appalled at the thought of not wearing a dress. “Go find a dress!”“Justice, don’t be such a stick in the mud.” I look in the mirror. “Look how cute we look.”“This is what you wear under a dress. This isn’t what you should wear for a wedding.” She huffs and goes to the back of my mind to sulk.“Wanda, you’re a genius.” Mom gushes when she sees me. “And you’r
Milo’s POV“Oh, wow!” Leni’s eyes go big when she looks out onto the expansive crystal blue ocean. “First time at the beach, Sugar?” I chuckle and open the door to our private balcony.“I mean, at the lake, but I’ve only ever seen the ocean from an airplane before.” She sniffs the fresh salty ocean air. “Have you been here before?”“Not here specifically, but we would vacation at the beach every now and then growing up.” “We mostly went camping or tagged along on business trips with Dad.” Her eyes gleam in the afternoon sun. “Can we go swimming?”“Of course, Sugar. We have two weeks to relax and enjoy the sound of the waves and swim to our hearts' content. No pack business. There are only a few things Ashley planned out for us. A snorkeling tour and a food tour in town.” I wrap my arms around her from behind. “There’s plenty of room to let Justice and Ghost run about ten miles inland and the drinking age is eighteen, so we can hit up a few nightclubs. Whatever you want to do or not d
There are shadows in my dream. They make my heart race and all my senses heighten as they creep just out of view in the long grasses. They’re whispering about Leni, but I can’t hear what they’re saying. It doesn’t matter. Ghost bristles and backs away. He pulls on my consciousness and howls to wake me up, just like we practiced with Doctor Stanton.I blink my eyes open and take a sharp breath in. The moon is already up, shining into the bedroom. I reach out to pull my mate close. Her scent always helps me fall back asleep quickly, but she’s not in bed. I sit up and look around. The light in the bathroom is on. I hear her moving around in there, so I lay back on my side to wait for her. Oh yeah, I forgot to call Ashley. I take my phone off the nightstand and see two messages.Ashley: Tracked your phone. No need to call.Ashley: Have fun. NO NOISE COMPLAINTS! Milo: No promises.I add a devil emoji face just to mess with her and toss my phone down, chuckling to myself. As I settle bac
Bronx’s POV1 Year Later“Bronx Mason speaking.” I don’t recognize the phone number, but these days, I get so many fucking calls from private or restricted numbers that I have to answer everything. Carly tries to catch most of the calls, but I think she’s off today. She didn’t bring my coffee for me, so she must be off. I look at the clock. It’s seven in the morning. I think she doesn’t get to work until eight a.m. Maybe I could convince her to change her hours if I give her a raise? I’ll ask Ashley if I’m allowed to do that.“Alpha Bronx, hello. It’s Randall Smith. I hope this is a good time.” His voice still grates my ears after all these years.“Elder Randall.” I roll my eye and lean back in my chair. “To what do I owe the displeasure of this call?”“I want to make amends with Lenora, Bronx. I was hoping you could facilitate that.” He whines. “It aches my heart every day that the Blood River pack still considers me a traitor.”“Are you sure you aren’t just having a fucking heart a
Lenora’s POV“Thank you for seeing me, Mister Saad.” I take a sip of the potent smelling tea. “Your wife has been so kind to entertain me until you finished your business call. I read the dossier about your daughter. Why don’t you tell me a little more about her?”“It’s an honor to meet you, Luna Stone. I’ve been told you prefer anonymity, but your reputation precedes you. My family is blessed to have you assigned to this matter.” He smiles with a wistful expression. “Rita is the jewel of my eye. I can’t imagine not having her in my life.”“I understand, Sir and we are going to do everything in our power to reunite you with her. It says here she was adopted. Is there any possibility that her birth parents could be involved with her disappearance?”“No, no. They abandoned her when she was very young.” He waves his hands dismissively, then his demeanor changes. It looks like he’s sad, but trying to fight off a surge of anger. “I believe she was pupnapped by a jealous competitor of mine.
1 Year Later“Well, we’ve run all the tests we can think of, Luna. You and Beta Milo are both healthy inside and out. Our next step would be to do a complete physical for Justice and Ghost.” Doctor Nolan closes his folder.“Excuse me?” Justice gasps. “You may be fine with an examination, but I don’t want some stranger examining my lady bits!”“Justice, we just need to make sure there isn’t something preventing us from having a pup.” I try to reason with her.“No. Unless I’m bleeding too profusely to heal myself, I don’t want an examination.” She stands her ground, then moves to the back of my mind.“I don’t think Justice is interested in a checkup.” I pinch the bridge of my nose.“Same with Ghost.” Milo looks confused. “He says he only wants to see another doctor if he’s dying.”“Basically, the same for Justice.” I twist my mouth.“Well, we can’t force them to be examined. They get a say in their care, too. You know, sometimes these things just take time. Your work is very stressful,
“Sobo?” Rin looks at her grandmother.“Hush, mago.” Asuka shakes her head, still unable to look away from her new found mate.“This little creature is your granddaughter?” Ryuu snaps his head toward Rin.Threads of steam rise from his nostrils as he stares her down, unblinking with his parietal eyes. Rin gasps and steps back, hiding behind me. I can feel her grab my shirt to hide her eyes from the intimidating features of the ancient dragon.“Guys!” I hold my hands back to hide Rin further.I know how male wolves react when they find their mates outside of the Mating Gathering. I have no idea what happens when a werewolf finds a male dragon as a mate. The pounding in my heart makes me nervous about the potential.“Dragons are extremely protective of their mates, Lenora.” Justice comes forward to help my reflexes. “If he sees that pup as a threat, she’s in danger. He was civil with Dina because she was just a companion for him, not his actual mate.”“Take the pups to our room, Leni.” M
I can’t catch my breath. I look at the Ikeda family. Mrs. Ikeda puts her hand over her mouth with tears in her eyes. Arnie and her husband comfort her.“Rin-” I’m going to protest her decision, but Bronx holds his hand up, hushing everyone.“Rin, I saw how scared you were of Ryuu when you came into my office and when you were in the Luna and Beta’s apartment.” Bronx bends his head down to look her in the eye. “Why would you want to go to Japan with him and your grandmother?”“When Luna Lenora comes to our class, she tells us to always be brave and stand our ground.” Rin twists her fingers. “And Sofu and Sobo Ikeda have Uncle Arnie to be with them, but Sobo Azuma only has me… and I guess Mister Ryuu now, too.”“That’s right, she does.” Milo steps forward and places his hand on my shoulder. “Is there something that scares you here at Blood River that would make you want to leave, Rin? Or maybe someone? Because if there is, we’ll take care of it right away. We won’t tell anyone you told