Ryker-With Ryan’s help, I pulled myself up from the sewers. We were now above ground, in the middle of the city. Glancing at Taelin, I didn’t think she was in any shape to move right now.“Ryan, Sara, and Carter.” I looked over at them, where they were standing side by side. “Make sure we are in the clear for now. Check the building over there to see if it is safe for us to rally there until we figure out our next move.” I pointed to one of the abandoned buildings.Once they did as they were told, I focused my attention on the others. “Stand guard.” I ordered.Moving to sit next to Taelin, who was sitting on the ground with her knees pulled to her chest, I placed my hand on her hands. I could feel she was shaking, more than likely she was in shock. Not that I blamed her.This entire situation was a mess, and I understood the pressure she was under. I already tried explaining she wasn’t responsible, yet it appeared she didn’t believe it. I wanted to help her, but all I could do was co
Taelin- “Hey, are you okay?” Sara asked as we continued to walk through the forest. We were headed to the dirt road, where the truck was waiting. Barely halfway there and someone was already asking me the question I had been dreading. The thing is, I wasn’t okay, but I couldn’t let that keep me from doing what I needed to do. The breakdown I had after getting out of the sewers could have been catastrophic. I knew better than to allow myself time to think about what happened. Maybe Ryker was right, and it wasn’t the time to fall apart after losing someone. It wasn’t like I knew them that well, but I still felt their deaths deeply. I wasn’t sure if it was because I did blame myself for failing them or if it was because I was now a member of the pack. One thing I knew for sure, I couldn’t tell her the truth, at least not until we were safe once more. “I’m fine.” I responded, keeping my attention ahead of me. I was taking the lead, with Ryker taking up the rear. In the hope that I co
Taelin-I wasn’t sure how long we walked. The sun was moving lower in the sky, which meant if we didn’t find shelter soon, we would need to camp outside in the open. The roads were deserted, and it would still be a while yet before we reached a town.We haven’t come across any rogues, nor humans. There had been one abandoned vehicle we found on the side of the road, but it was in much worse shape than the truck had been. We couldn’t even salvage much from it, but Leo did pull the battery out of the car.I was glad that we haven’t had any more attacks, but I also knew that when the darkness covered the land, we wouldn’t be so lucky. We were walking up a hill, unable to see what was on the other side. I was hopeful that we would find something before we had no chance but to camp out in the open.I was getting tired from not having slept well last night. Nearing the top of the hill, I sent a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess. Just as my view came over the hill, I let out a breath of reli
Taelin-Everything inside of me burned, like a fire was growing inside of me with each touch Ryker placed on my body. One hand was gripping my thigh, positioning my leg at his hip. While the other roamed over my wet body.All the other times I have been with him, it had never felt this good. Don’t get me wrong, they had been amazing, but there was something different. Like my body felt more alive and was begging for his touch.His mouth broke away from mine, only to find the tender flesh of my neck as he began suckling. A moan fell from my lips, echoing around us. His lips continued to suck as it moved over my neck, creating small goosebumps on my skin.“Fuck you taste so good.” Ryker groaned against my flesh.All I could do was release another moan in response when his teeth grazed my neck. Needing to touch him, I placed my hands against his chest, feeling the way his muscles constricted under my touch. He felt hot, to the point I was sure he was feeling the same kind of burning insi
Ryker-I still couldn’t believe it, I was mated. I have spent most of my life thinking this day would never come. Now I was not only mated, but I was also mated to the most amazing woman I have ever met.She was everything I could imagine for myself and so much more. To think I was this lucky to have been gifted with Taelin as my mate was beyond anything I have fantasized of. It was like I was floating above the clouds.After our shower, I had taken Taelin to bed, claiming her a second time and a third time. Now she was asleep in my arms, curled up against me. The sound of her breathing was soothing, almost enough to fall asleep.I couldn’t sleep though. I needed to make sure that she was safe enough to sleep. If that meant I didn’t sleep but a few hours every night, that was what I was willing to do. No matter what happened, I just needed to know she was alright.After seeing her fall apart on me, I realized just how much pressure she was under. It was different when we felt safe, no
Taelin-Waking up to the sun rising, I was a little confused why no one woke me up to help keep an eye out. I understood why they hadn’t the night before, but this was just getting ridiculous. It was my responsibility to protect everyone.If they were all tired during the day, it would be difficult to keep everyone safe. It didn’t take me long to get in another shower and change into fresh clothing. Making sure I had everything, I headed out of the bedroom to find out what was going on.Besides, they could have tried to wake me, but I had just been too exhausted. I can’t remember the last time I slept so soundly. It would have been nice if Ryker had at least slept with me a bit, but I guess some things stayed the same.When I made it down the stairs, I found Ryker, Leo, Sara, and Ryan sitting around the kitchen table. It appeared as if they had all been talking but suddenly stopped when I entered the room. Their eyes met mine and I could tell whatever they had been talking about they
Taelin-I wasn’t sure what to make of all this. Heck, I didn’t even know what it was all about. Looking around the room again, I tried to piece everything together.It seemed to me that they did all this for me, I just didn’t know why. It was sweet and thoughtful of them, but didn’t we have bigger things to worry about? Returning to look at Ryker, I saw how eager he was for my response.“What is all of this?” I asked, careful not to give him the impression that I wasn’t grateful because I still didn’t know how I felt about it.“Well, it isn’t under ideal conditions, but we thought it would be nice to have a bit of normalcy and this is to officially accept you as my mate and our Luna.” He responded with enthusiasm.My eyes widened at his words as I looked around the room once more. Now that I understood what this was about, I was completely surprised. They did all this to accept me into their pack not only as a member but as their Luna.Fighting back the tears that now blurred my visio
Taelin-I woke up alone, once again. When I found Ryker, he had been asleep on the couch. I wasn’t sure when he got out of bed, but it slightly bothered me that he didn’t sleep beside me through the night.It would be one thing if I found him awake. Finding him asleep downstairs only made me think he didn’t want to sleep with me. I had thought that now that we were mated it would be different, but I suppose I couldn’t complain too much.He had fallen asleep with me last night, it was an improvement I suppose. It would have been nice if he felt comfortable enough to sleep with me as most couples do. Instead of letting it bother me too much, I brushed it off.“Good morning, Luna.” Carter said when I entered the kitchen.I couldn’t help but cringe at being called Luna. Not that it was bad, it was just going to take some time to get used to. Settling next to him at the kitchen table, I was surprised that the place was already clear of the celebration that went on last night.“Good morning
Taelin-“If we would have known you were going to take this long to join us, we would have just started the party without you.” Theo teased us when we entered the large dining hall, where we were having the party.“Can’t have a birthday party without the birthday boy.” I stuck my tongue out at him as I led R.J into the room.He has been walking on his own for nearly a year now, but I still held his hand because he had a tendency to run off on his own also. Between everyone that lived here and the staff, he could be a handful at times. I blamed his father though because there was no way I had been this wild as a child.My mother disagrees with me, but I will deny it. Laughing to myself, I didn’t get extremely far before my mother pushed through the others to make her way toward R.J. Speak of the devil and she shall arrive.That is the way it has been here lately. Any time I so much as think of my mother, she shows up out of nowhere. I was beginning to think that she had radar detection
Taelin-“What are you thinking about?” Ryker whispered in my ear as he wrapped his arms around me from behind, while I looked over the balcony from our room.From this view, I could look over the town where the Palace resided. There wasn’t much, other than a few houses where the staff of the palace lived. Everyone that lived inside the Palace were warriors and those training to become warriors.I never thought much about the life that everyone that lived here had until I came here, not as a sixteen-year-old girl training to join the Royal Guard, but as the current Alpha King. It was still weird that I was referred to as an Alpha King. I was the first female to take on the role as Alpha, but I felt like the title should remain as it has always been.Placing my hands on his arms, which were embracing my shoulders, I leaned against his broad chest. “I was just thinking back to when I first came here. I still can’t believe that it has been more than five years since I showed up here with
Taelin-When the start of the battle commenced again, I took a deep breath. I might have lied about my lung, but I wasn’t entirely sure. All I knew was I was still capable of fighting, even if I felt like all the air inside of me was being sucked out and my lungs felt like they were on fire.What I told Ryker was true, however, I wasn’t going to last another ten minutes. I either needed to end this now or let him take me out. I had been playing it safe as much as possible. His movements were fast and just one hit from him was enough to knock me on my ass.Running around and dodging him wasn’t doing me any good because every breath I took was painful. The more I tried to get away from him, the more likely I would get injured. Regardless of if I was working with less lung capacity or if I was just winded, I knew it would be a matter of time before I passed out from the exertion.I had felt that the Beta had tried to speak to me telepathically, but I still had my mind blocked from anyone
Ryker-I had been watching the timer and neither had moved for seven minutes. Taelin looked regal in her stance, like she was completely in her element. The Beta had seemed unwavering, until just moments before he made the first move.At first, I thought something was wrong because they both stood out on the field without moving for a long time. The second the Beta made the first move, I held my breath and waited to see what would happen. It wasn’t that I didn’t support my mate in this, but the fear was still there.“About time.” I heard someone say sarcastically from behind me.Without looking, I felt Ryan turn around, more than likely to make a comment to whoever spoke. Reaching my hand out, I placed it on his arm firmly. This was Taelin’s fight and there was no point in anyone trying to talk others out of what they were feeling.“Don’t. Words won’t do any good. Let Taelin show everyone what she is capable of.” I spoke, without taking my eyes off my mate.Ryan sighed and faced forwa
Taelin-I thought I was ready for this, but now that I was standing in the middle of the arena, surrounded by onlookers, I suddenly became nervous. The Beta of all the werewolves still wasn’t here, but I had arrived a little early. After watching the last video of the Beta’s fighting skills, I quickly got ready.I figured if I arrived before anyone else, I would have a chance to get a little time to meditate. Upon arriving though, I saw many others had already arrived. The crowd was a lot larger than I expected it to be.Frank informed me that many people that had been relocated here from safe houses wanted to see if I was capable of becoming the next Alpha. Ryker was standing next to me, wanting to show his support as we waited. The whispers of the crowd were loud, making me wonder if it was done on purpose.“There is no way she can defeat our Beta. She is just a girl. Look at her, she is tiny.” A male voice from the crowd said, his voice a little over a whisper.“She is cute though.
Ryker-Taelin seemed prepared to fight with the Beta, but I wasn’t ready for it one bit. I don’t know what she was thinking by agreeing to let him shift. It wasn’t a sure thing if she could shift or not, but there hasn’t been a she-wolf that could, while pregnant.Wanting to give Taelin a bit of space to get her mind right, I have kept myself busy helping Leo. Today was the day Taelin would be facing the Beta in the arena, but there were still hours before it was scheduled. For the past three days, I have helped him fast-track distribution.We were almost done, but we needed a little more of Taelin’s blood. Since she was getting ready to fight, I wouldn’t allow Leo to take anymore until after. I am sure that if she knew we needed it, she wouldn’t hesitate, which is why I told him to stay away from her.The last thing I wanted was for her to ask how things were going and for him to end up telling her. She was more worried about others than she was about her own self, which was both ann
Taelin-In the last few days, we have only had a few run-ins with rogues. There hadn’t been many, so we were able to cure them and relocate them to the nearest safe house. I also felt much better, and my mind was more clear than it had been.It helped that I managed to do a little meditation. Which, I have also learned that I would more than likely need to continue a daily meditation when able. It not only allowed me to focus and ground myself to what I needed, but I was able to learn to control the intensity of feeling everything I did.It wasn’t perfect and sometimes it could be a little overwhelming, but I managed to get it under control. It helped that Ryker stayed near me. It was like he could sense when I was uneasy. His touch helped calm my mind as well, although I was fairly sure it was because of the mate bond.I also had plenty of time to think and get a grip on things. A few days of mostly silence and more than enough time to think did help a lot. I started to come under th
Taelin-“How are you feeling?” Ryker asked after I finally moved into the seat next to him.I would have stayed on his lap for the entire journey, but I had become slightly uncomfortable from being cramped in a vehicle for so long. It was now nighttime, but we chose to continue driving. The further we got, the faster we could arrive at the palace.“Other than needing a shower and a little sleep, I feel good.” As I spoke, I leaned against him, using his shoulder as a pillow.“Is there a safe place we can pull over for the night?” Ryker asked Frank, who was now driving.“There is no need. Really, I am fine. I can sleep here.” I attempted to argue, knowing that the more we stayed on the road, the faster we would arrive at our destination.“There is a safe house not far from here.” Frank answered, completely ignoring me.Sitting up, I tried to wipe the sleepiness out of my eyes. It was more than likely from the stress of the day and now that I could feel every werewolf. It wasn’t too bad,
Taelin-Time had slowed down for a moment, but when it sped back up, everything happened so quickly. One moment I was standing, looking at Ryker, the next I was being blown back, with a heavy object landing on me. Dazed by the blast, it took me a moment to realize that I was still alive.My ears were ringing, and I could feel something wet coming from my ears. Every part of my body ached, and it was difficult to breathe. There was a body lying on top of me and I didn’t have the strength to push it from me.Instead of trying, I simply lay there believing I was dying. I realized the moment it happened that I was going to die, I just wished it would have been instant. Tears blurred my vision at the thought of leaving Ryker behind and not getting the chance to hold the baby I carried.I should have been more careful and not so thoughtless. Because of my actions, I would hurt Ryker in the worst possible way, not to mention that the cure would die with me. Hopefully, Leo gathered enough of