I had no desire to sit in my room for the rest of the day, especially as I knew I’d just end up overthinking everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. Maeve had told me she’d be working on the restorations in her family’s restaurant all weekend, just off the Main Street, so I decided I’d head out and see if they needed a helping hand. I arrived at the newly re-built building just after 12. Maeve had said it used to be an old Mediterranean restaurant that had remained unchanged for decades, but it seemed her family wanted to make a fresh start and had taken a more modern approach this time round. The outside had recently been completed, it’s entire frontage consisting of one big window which gave you a magnificent view of the restaurants interior, which currently consisted of teams of people working in high-vis uniforms. It wasn’t long before I spotted Maeve, dressed in a pair of dark low-rise jeans and a white cut-off t-shirt. She was pouring over a collection of papers wit
I awoke to a pitch black room, the only indication that morning had arrived was the heat radiating from the covered windows as I looked around, feeling slightly disoriented. The spot beside me was empty, but I could feel Julius’ warmth lingering in the sheets as I stretched, sighing as my muscles groaned against the sudden movement. His scent was all-consuming as I continued to lie there, refreshingly masculine in a way that made my mouth water with every breath I took. My eyes snapped to the bathroom as I heard a tap turn on. Julius was standing at the sink in a pair of black briefs, and I watched in fascination as he ran the water through his unkept hair. Droplets flowed down his back, sparkling like diamonds as they met at the nape of his neck and travelled down the groove of his spine. Suddenly, I was feeling thirsty. I froze as Julius looked up, his eyes meeting mine through the mirror as his damp hair hung over his forehead. “Sleep well, Maia?” He asked, a smug grin tugging
Julius and I stayed out in the forest for the next hour, none of the sexual energy from our morning encounter present as he drilled me about every small and insignificant detail of Adrian I could think of. I could tell he was furious, not with me but with himself, that his pack had come so close to danger and he hadn’t realised it. I found myself having newfound respect for him, that he carried the burden of responsibility so intensely for every individual that called him Alpha. “Dean just mind-linked me, I need to go help him with something by the southern border.” He grunted before turning to me. “Make sure you’re back at the pack house before nightfall.” “Absolutely.” I replied softly, deciding to cut the attitude, just this once. “That’s what I like to hear, little wolf.” He smirked, before he disappeared to the south side of the pack. I stood there for a few moments longer, collecting my thoughts as I continued to look around me. “Whatever this is, it’s big.” Celeste said,
Julius’ side of the bed was cold by the time I woke up on Monday morning, his scent fading as the minutes ticked by. Part of me wanted to mind-link him, to start my day with his deep, velvety voice echoing through my mind, but it wasn’t long before the rational side of my brain talked me out of that idea. Wherever he was, whatever he was doing… it wasn’t my business. The small digital clock on the bedside table told me I had twenty minutes before I had to be at training, so without any further thoughts of Julius, I jumped out of bed and got ready. I arrived at the gym with enough time to keep Dean company while he unlocked the doors and turned on the lights. Surprisingly, he actually greeted me with a smile instead of rolling his eyes. Progress. Soon the room was full and Dean took his place up the front with the other warriors. I stood expectantly to the side while he delivered his instructions. “Today we will be practicing in wolf form.” He started, his hands held behind his ba
“Just come out and show me.” Maeve whined from outside the dressing room.I swung open the flimsy door to reveal the hot pink dress she had plucked off the sales wrack for me, not bothering to hide my disgust as she covered her mouth to muffle the cackle that escaped her lips. “I honestly thought this would look okay but you resemble a walking confectionery.” She laughed. Maeve and I had been together all morning, chatting about the excitement of tomorrow night’s event as we sat and had breakfast before she eventually led me to local boutiques. “You knew this would look horrendous, don’t lie.” I joked before heading back into the change room, chuckling to myself as Maeve’s laughter continued to fill the small store. “Okay, okay, serious options only from now on, I promise.”“Thank fuck.” I called. “So the Alpha was fine with you coming tomorrow night?”“Yeah… about that…” I replied nervously as I stepped out of the dressing room. I was yet to tell her that Julius would be coming
Maeve really did put Jake to work, making him collect, flatten and dispose of all the unused cardboard and lift every heavy box she could find, but to my surprise he didn’t so much as shrug his shoulders with each command she threw his way. I was tasked with stocking and organising the bar, a role I volunteered for considering I would be helping serve the drinks to guests. It was almost therapeutic to work at my own pace, polishing glasses and bottles as chaos ensued around me. With all the ‘volunteers’ Maeve had recruited, the place was ready within hours. I marveled at how quickly it had come together, and how beautifully it had been designed. Maeve’s family had spared no expense, decking out the dining areas with travertine tables and lining the floors with tiles that resembled the white sand of Greece’s beaches. The bar was made of rose quartz which dazzled underneath the dim lighting, surrounded by rows and rows of mirrored shelves consisting of more luxurious bottles of liquor
Julius POV“ROGUES!” Maia’s scream rang through my mind, her panic seeping into my bones as I instinctively looked around the room for her, only to find she wasn’t here, she hadn’t been since I’d returned downstairs. Without hesitation I excused myself from the conversation I was having, something about town planning which I’d only been half paying attention to anyway, and stormed to the front of the room. “Everyone, I need your attention.” I announced. “We are under attack by a pack of rogues. Anyone who can fight, follow me. For those of you who cannot, remain here for now, you will receive updates via mind-link.” I didn’t pause to register the worried glances exchanged by those around me, I didn’t need to. I could feel their fear as if it were my own, fear that we were about to lose everything all over again. “I’ve checked in with patrols, they’re all fine, none of them even had anything to report.” Dean was by my side in an instant as I practically ripped the front door off h
Julius POV“Can I come in or is someone naked” Dean called from the hallway. I rolled my eyes and yanked the door open before returning to Maia’s side, briefly admiring the blush that stained her cheeks as our eyes met for just a second. “What was so urgent that you had to come here at three in the morning?” I sighed, folding my arms across my chest. “Clearly you were up, so it’s-“ he paused, scrunching his nose. “Oh, I was interrupting. My bad.” I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a sharp breath, my patience far too thin to deal with his lack of self-awareness. “Get to the fucking point, Dean.” “Okay, okay, sorry.” He said, putting his hands up in surrender as he slumped on the armchair facing us. “So when I got back from the… disposal… of that last rogue, I reached out to the neighbouring packs to see if they had had any similar attacks. Obviously I expected that I’d hear back in the morning, but surprisingly Marco got back to me straight away.” “Alpha Marco of the Cr
The rest of the day passed by in a blur, as if time itself was eager to find out whether we would be victorious, or if we would all suffer a premature departure from this world. After the meeting with the warriors I had rushed over to Maeve’s house. Her parents greeted me with tired, weary eyes and somber smiles as they apologised for their absence at the meeting. “How’s she doing? Can I see her?” I had asked desperately, impatient to do whatever I could to be there for Maeve. But her parents exchanged tired glances and shook their heads in unison. “I’m sorry Luna, she’s just fallen asleep after being up all night crying. If you don’t mind, we’d like to let her rest.” And by the looks of it, they needed rest themselves. “I understand, please, tell her I was here and that I’m thinking of her.” They both gave me smiles that didn’t reach their eyes before the front door started to close. I shot out my hand, my palm hitting the wood with a slap that made them both wince. “Wait, you ne
We laid sweaty and trembling in each others arms for a few more moments, before Julius broke the comfortable silence. “We need to get ready.” He murmured into my hair, his fingers tracing soothing circles on the skin of my lower back. I felt my eyelids flutter, suddenly wishing I had the luxury of time so I could fall asleep in his arms. My only response was a groan as I planted my palms firmly on his chest and pushed myself up, my face twisting into a scowl.He chuckled at the sight. “Thank you, my fierce little wolf, I needed that.” He planted a chaste kiss on my nose before looping my arms around his neck and standing himself up from the chair. My legs instinctually wrapped around his torso. “We both did.” I sighed, resting my head in the crook of his neck, enjoying the rhythmic motion as he walked us into the shower. “This plan has to work, Maia.” “It will.” “If I lose you again, I don’t-“ my stomach twists at the pain in his voice, and I look up to see nothing but pure desp
How do you tell your new pack, that not only are you a werewolf/Lycan hybrid, a species which no one even knew existed, but that you’re the reason they’re homes and lives are currently in jeopardy? I didn’t fucking know, and neither did Julius. We spent the entire night in his office, drafting and re-drafting the speech that had the potential to send our pack into utter chaos. Even when we were done, I still wasn’t sure I was happy. Should I be reading from a piece of paper? Should I let Eve speak? Julius even put forward the idea that I show my lycan form at the speech, an idea which Eve immediately intercepted. Her exact words were “I’m not even sure you’re ready to see that, Mate, let alone the people of our pack.” Her words were like ice trickling down my spine, reminding me that I hadn’t seen my lycan form yet either. We managed to get a handful of hours sleep in the early hours of the morning, although as the sun crept in through the gap in the curtain I really felt as thou
“So, are you going to turn into some apocalyptic, wolf-humanoid, or what?” I jabbed Dean in the ribs, replacing his smirk with a wince as I returned to my spot against the kitchen island bench. “Knowing your sick mind, you’d be turned on by such a thing.” A low growl emanates from Julius’ chest as he wraps a possessive hand around my waist. I bite back a sigh as the pad of his thumb traces soft circles against my bare skin, the problem at hand momentarily forgotten as sparks cloud my train of thought. “Focus.” He murmurs through the mind-link, the rich sound of his voice only stoking the flame in my core. “I’m not sure, Luna, I prefer my she-wolves on four paws… a wolf standing up like a person freaks me out.” Dean pokes a finger down his mouth as he pretends to gag, although the humour in his eyes tells me he’s still teasing. A response is on the tip of my tongue before I’m thrown into the backseat of my mind, the voice leaving my lips not my own. “That’s okay, Beta, only speci
My head spun as Adrian all but vanished, exiting the room at a speed that left him as nothing more than a blur of flesh and fabric. But I wasn’t focused on him, I was focused on my best friend, her eyes wide and lips trembling as silent tears fell down her cheeks. “Maeve…” I whispered, her distraught gaze meeting my own, a look crossing her face as though she was just remembering that we were still in the room with her. All at once she crumpled, sinking to the floor before I could catch her, as though all her strength had simply vanished from her body. “Hey, hey, I’m here, we’re all here.” I hushed as I cradled her head against my chest, holding back my own tears as her violent sobs threatened to break my heart in two. From what I had heard, a rejection from your mate was agonizingly painful, knowing your soul will never be whole, knowing you may never experience that sense of fulfillment that comes with true happiness. Sometimes the Moon Goddess grants second-chance mates, but not
It seemed our demonstration had it’s intended affect. Pack members gritted their teeth and fought harder than I had ever seen them fight before, a newfound sense of determination filling the atmosphere as wolf after wolf went to battle. Julius, Dean and I wandered through the groups, offering words of advice and encouragement, which in all truth wasn’t needed too often. These people had already protected their town once, and they were showing me exactly how they planned on doing it again. The session went longer than usual, clocking up to almost three hours by the time everyone was ready to call it a day. And yet, there was still no sign of Maeve or Jake. “Did you notice when Maeve left?” I asked Dean, the loud click of a lock echoing around us as the key turned in his hand. His brow furrowed at my question, igniting a small flame of anxiety deep in my core. “I did actually, her and Jake left at the start of your fight with Jules, kind of in a rush now that I think of it. But I don
My best friend climbed onto the stage, ignoring the steps she could have easily taken, and wrapped me tightly in her arms before pulling away, he small hands still gripping my shoulders as she eyed me curiously. Her face lit up when her eyes fell on the now healed mark that sat embedded within my creamy skin. “Oh my god, congratulations!” She squealed, earning us a side-eye from Julius and a muffled laugh from Dean as they stood to the side, far enough away that we had some privacy but close enough to hear just about everything we would say. Especially with how easily Maeve’s voice carried. “Thank you” I replied, an embarrassed smile forming on my face and the beginning of a blush rising in my chest. “So you two have, ya know, sealed the deal?” Maeve made some enthusiastic hand gestures, making me choke on my own saliva as the blush crept up to my cheeks. “Yes, Maeve, I don’t think the mark would have healed if we hadn’t done…that.”“I know.” She grinned, the sneaky bitch. “I’m gl
Maia POVMy head was reeling with the multiple bombs Wes had dropped on us as I followed Julius up the winding staircase and back into the main area of the pack house, Dean close on my heels. I could barely hear them as they spoke together, mentioning something about the Alpha of the Blue Moon pack, too wrapped up in my own thoughts and feelings to pay any attention to the real world around me. I was surprised at my reaction to seeing Wes for the first time since escaping his trailer (the first time). Anger lashed out of me as I had stood before him, watching as he trembled at the back of his cell, his dull grey eyes holding the fear that I had expected myself to feel. “Maia, are you coming?” Julius’ light touch on my arm snapped me out of my thoughts, his eyes glowing with concern as they searched my own. “Um, yes, sorry, where are we going?” My words tripped over themselves as I tried to get back up to speed with what Julius and Dean had been talking about. “Back to my office.”
Julius POV“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I asked Maia as we approached the door to the basement. Confidence and resolution rang through our bond, but I didn’t want to make any assumptions, not when only a day ago she was almost completely catatonic. She still hadn’t told me exactly what happened, and whilst I was curious to know what Adrian had done, so I could repay the favour, there was no chance I would push her. I knew she would tell me in her own time. “I’m sure.” Was all she said, her voice filled with determination and her back straight as we came to a stop at the thick steel door. I raked my eyes over her strong body, knowing by the way the corners of her lips twitched that she could feel my admiration through the bond. “Okay, let’s do this.” We stepped through the door and made our descent into the basement, the souls of our shoes whispering against the polished concrete. I felt her bristle at the coldness, and I inwardly cringed as her anxiety crept through the bo