*Nikko's POV*I was already sitting in the office when I heard my phone buzz and saw Jo's message. Despite my conflicting feelings, I still couldn't help but smile. However, I set my phone back down on the desk, feeling too guilty to reply.I had spent the night in bed with this girl, and I was falling in love with her, but I still couldn't see myself making her Luna. And based on how she was last night, I knew this revelation would crush her when I finally revealed it.It had been harder than I had imagined to see her laying there crying…and over me. I felt like a piece of sh*t. Maybe it had been a mistake to have her come before I had made my choice, but it had been so hard to be away from her.My head hit the back of my tall black chair as I turned to stare out the windows. I was exhausted. Most of the night was spent just watching Jo and thinking of any other possible solutions to my problem. But I hadn't come up with any."You could just make her Luna," Ash said. "Why are you
*Jo's POV*I woke up in the morning and was disappointed to find an empty bed next to me. But laying in the spot where Nikko had been was a little piece of paper with his neat scribble on it.'Sorry, duty calls. See you soon--Nikko'I smiled and grabbed my phone from the nightstand and opened up my messages. There was one from my mom, but I wasn't looking for her name right now.'Good morning, handsome…I missed you in my bed this morning…can't wait to see you…hope you are thinking of me…'After sending the message, I looked back at the piece of paper. The note seemed sweet."That's not good enough for us," Cressa announced in my head louder than she had ever been. "He could have easily waited for us to wake up, or he could have woken us up to at least tell us bye.""I agree with you, but it's still early," I said. "Plus, being close to him seems to be making you stronger.""And? Something doesn't feel right," she said. "He kept avoiding your questions.""He said we would talk
*Nikko's POV*"I'm going to make her mine." I said again, this time outloud, with my head against the shower wall."What?" Ash said. "You don't mean…""Come on, there's no use denying it anymore. I cannot be away from that girl, I cannot think about anything except that girl, I cannot be with anyone but that girl," I told Ash. "I will make Jo my Luna."Ash let out an actual howl of excitement that echoed around the bathroom."That doesn't mean I will do it right away," I said, backing up slightly. "But there is nobody else I want in my life in that spot. It'll be an adjustment period, but she is worth it.""Just watching her train changed your mind?" Ash asked."No, I think I've known it all along, but just didn't want to admit it. It was impressive to see how well she learned though," I stepped out of the shower and started getting dressed. "The pressures of the pack are a lot to handle.""You can handle it better with her."There was a small knock on my bedroom door, so I st
*Jo's POV*I opened my eyes in defeat as the bedroom started to lighten. The sun wasn't up yet, but it would be soon.I had spent all night tossing and turning, and hardly getting any sleep. Nikko hadn't texted me back at all, and it had me concerned that I had done something wrong again. But I had held up hope that he would possibly sneak into my bed in the middle of the night again.That wasn't the case.I didn't want to be that girl, constantly overthinking things and creating problems that didn't truly exist, but at this point I was certain I wasn't crazy. However, that didn't mean I wasn't confused. I felt like Nikko's words and Nikko's actions weren't always matching up, and I needed to know the truth.I still hadn't heard or seen from him. My phone was sitting on the charger, so I grabbed it and checked it again. Still no message. So, I climbed out of bed and threw my shoes and a light jacket on. There was no point trying to get more sleep.I tiptoed through the house, try
*Jo's POV*Kissing. They were kissing.I couldn't get it out of my head as I sprinted through the trees, thankful for the path I could follow back to the cabin. The rage that was boiling through my veins kept the tears at bay, but I wasn't sure for how long.The cabin came into view and I let out a tearless sob. Then I saw Byron standing outside looking all around, and realized he must be looking for me. As soon as I cleared the trees his eyes found me, and relief turned to concern as he saw my face."Jo? What is it? What's wrong?" he asked as I got near, but I just ran past him into the cabin.I forgot how fast they had told me wolves could be though, and he caught up with me and grabbed my arm to hold me back at the base of the stairs."Hey, talk to me," Byron pleaded. "What happened? What can I do?"I stared at him coldly, my rage still hadn't subsided. Or maybe it was Cressa's rage. At this point, I didn't even know."You can get me a car. I'm leaving.""I can't just get a
*Jo's POV*The sound of splintering wood echoed through the bedroom as Nikko shoved the door open with his shoulder. He had only broken the frame around the door lock instead of the whole door itself. He still had the knob in his hand when he looked and locked eyes with me.Seeing Nikko in front of me made me see spots. I was worried I would get emotional if I talked to him, but that wasn't the case. At least not yet.Despite being so angry at him, I noticed that the clothes he was wearing almost seemed too short for him. I realized he must have shifted to get to the cabin as fast as he did, and then he must have had to borrow some of Byron's clothes since I had the door locked. Nikko saw me staring at him, and looked around.His eyes seemed to take in the scene before him, with me standing in front of my half full bags, and I saw them switch to worry. For the first time I think he realized that I was really planning on leaving."Are you f*cking kidding me?" I yelled at him. "What
*Nikko's POV*My mate has a wolf?Byron kept me calm as we tried to help her.It took us a few minutes after Jo passed out to bring her back to consciousness, and make sure she was alright. She still looked weak, but at least she was alert.I stared down at her shivering body pressed up against my chest, and couldn't help but feel worried. I glanced up at Byron, but he looked just as shocked as me. But now that I was focusing on it, I could smell her wolf barely on her."What do you mean she's not strong enough to shift, Jo?" I asked. "Is she talking to you?"Jo nodded, and opened her eyes to look at me. They were still glowing a brilliant gold color.While we had been talking I had seen her eyes flash a few times, but I had chalked it up to the rising sunlight streaming into the bedroom. But when she had started to growl, Byron and I both became cautious and concerned. I had never heard of any human doing that before.It became obvious that it was wolf-related though when I he
*Jo's POV*I took a deep breath as I walked into my room and closed the door. Hugging my mom had made me more emotional than I was expecting, and I was trying to calm down before heading back down.After only a couple of breaths, I heard a knock on the door. I turned and opened the door to find Nikko standing on the other side. He looked at me in surprise."You actually opened it this time."I stepped aside and let him walk in without a word. Then, I walked over to the window and looked out over the backyard, mostly so I wouldn't have to look at him. I heard the door shut quietly behind me."I just wanted to come and check on you," Nikko said slowly. "But if you want me to leave, then I can."I still didn't say anything. I didn't want him to leave, but I didn't want to admit that to him either. It was quiet in the room, so I got worried that he might have actually left and looked around. But he was still standing by the door, staring at me."Please, just talk to me, Jo."He loo
*Jo's POV**ONE MONTH LATER*"Where are you taking me?" I asked with a giggle as his hands covered my eyes, blinding me."Well, if I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise would it?" Nikko asked back with a laugh.It had been almost a month since our little 'rogue' battle and everything was just starting to settle into place. The first couple weeks had been spent going through all of the wolves that had pledged their loyalty to our pack and investigating each of them before either admitting them to the pack or banishing them.Then, of course, there had been Frilla's trial. It lasted much longer than expected, but it was mostly because of all the new information that had crept up. It turned out that she had been spying on a few different packs for years, so even her father couldn't save her from punishment at that point.I was the one who had given them the idea for her punishment. It was decided that since she had done all of these acts in a hope to achieve Luna, that she would
*Jo's POV*I stared as Frilla's black wolf slowly inched towards me. Cressa was itching to get out, but I convinced her that we should wait a minute longer. The surprise attack could be useful here, just as it was before.Watching her wolf move was like watching water move; she flowed smoothly and effortlessly. I knew now why she was the best female wolf fighter in the pack. Agility could beat strength 9 times out of 10. You can't kill something you can't catch.The purple faced Sean backed up as she got closer, and he smiled. He was confident that Frilla was going to end me as well. I could tell in the relaxed stance of his body.I continued to stand there, watching her closely as she prowled around me. The wolves from outside were all starting to gather around now, to see what all of the commotion was about. Some of them lost color in their face as they saw me, and I recognized them as pack members.Frilla used my distraction to her advantage and swiped a paw out at me. I yelled
*Jo's POV*I walked over to the poor excuse for a bed and laid down, putting my face into the pillow. I hadn't seen any cameras around the room, but I figured it was better safe than sorry. I didn't want to make them suspicious now, right as I was beginning to plan an escape.Once I was sure my face was covered, I reached out with my mind."Nikko?" I called out."Jo!" he cried out almost instantly.I sighed in relief and nearly cried at hearing his voice. I had been trying to stay strong, but that didn't mean I didn't miss him like crazy. His voice had sounded so pained, and I regretted not reaching out to him first thing this morning."Yes, it's me," I replied as soon as I could get my thoughts together. "It's me.""Where are you? Are you hurt? I felt pain a few minutes ago, are they hurting you? I will kill them!" Nikko raged on and I could feel Ash reach out to Cressa."I'm not hurt, that was just Frilla." He started to interject, but I cut him off. "I'm fine. You have to li
*Nikko's POV*Byron and Ava returned to the packhouse from the cabin and the creek and I showed them the note from Frilla that I had found. Byron let out a ferocious growl, but I knew that he had grown close with Jo while training her the last couple weeks, so I understood where he was coming from.Ash was still growling inside of my head, but I was trying to block him out and focus on what to do.Jo. I need to save Jo."Did you guys find anything that could help?" I asked desperately.Byron handed me the binder with Jo's information in it, and Ava pulled out the maps and laid them over my desk."It did look like there was a vehicle involved, but it stopped making tracks once it hit the highway. So, I can't be certain of which direction it headed." Ava said, pointing to the map as she spoke. "I can't tell how far away they would be either. Though it did look like a large van, and with limited gas stations in this part of the mountains, I am hoping that it's not too far."I looke
*Jo's POV*When I woke up the second time, I felt a million times better. The ache in my head had gone, and the small bit of food had soothed my stomach. I mean, it still wasn't perfect, but prisoners can't be choosers."You seem a little too happy for someone who is locked in a room," Cressa's clear voice spoke into my mind."Cressa!" I replied, a sense of relief washing over me. "I can hear you again.""Yes, there must have been wolfsbane mixed into those drugs they knocked us out with, because I felt like I was in a coma. I could hear what was happening around me, but had no interaction whatsoever. And I still don't feel 100%.""Well, I'm just glad you're back." I stared around the room so she could see what we were dealing with. "I was about to go crazy and start talking to myself in here.""Understandable," she mumbled in disgust.The door started to open and I cowered against the wall. I explained to Cressa about my plan to embrace and encourage the idea that these captors
*Nikko's POV*"Nikko, wake up!"I started as I felt Byron roughly shaking my shoulders. I sat up quickly, disoriented. I was still laying in my bed in the cabin."What is it? What's going on?" I instantly noticed what was missing. "Where is Jo?""I don't know," Byron admitted, and I instantly focused."What do you mean you don't know?" I asked quietly. "She was just here."It was near dark outside of the window now, I must have been asleep for a couple of hours."No. When she mind-linked me, she said she was going out to go for a swim in the creek, but asked if I could bring the car for you two to get back to the packhouse. She also asked me to grab the binder about her family history for her, because she forgot it," Byron explained rapidly."Oh, alright," I said. I wish she would have told me, but there was nothing wrong with that."No, you don't understand, Nikko!" Byron still sounded frantic, which got me worked up again. "I was still busy getting those two rogue bodies tak
*Jo's POV*I groaned as I started to come to, blinking my eyes a bunch to take in the bright white room. My head pounded as I sat up, so I tried to move more slowly. I was sitting in an average sized room, with just a bed frame, a mattress, a small table, and a single chair.There wasn't a single window in the room, so I had no way of telling what time it was.The entire room was white though. White tile, white walls, white sheets, white table. The only thing that wasn't white was the metal door that was on the opposite wall of the bed. My head throbbed again. Man what was in that rag?Suddenly the events before came flooding back to me. I stood up quickly, earning myself another throb through my head, and walked to the door. I turned the handle, but it was locked. Worth a try at least.I stood there in silence, wondering what I should do. Silence…Cressa!I tried to talk to her, but my head throbbed worse than ever, making my vision spot, so I stopped. Whatever that Frilla b*tc
*Jo's POV*I jumped off the bed as I felt like I was about to lose control. I took a deep breath as I stood there and felt the urge to shift diminish slightly, but my body was still radiating energy. Nikko snored in the background, so exhausted from the day's activities that he hadn't noticed me move."Maybe it would help if we worked some of it out," Cressa suggested, feeling just as antsy."Anything's worth a shot."I walked into the closet and found a loose summer dress to throw on. The dress would be perfect for if I chose to shift. Easy to take off and put on. And my skin was on fire, so I wasn't worried about getting cold. Not even bothering to put on shoes, either, I walked out of the cabin.The fresh air helped take the edge off, but it was still there. After a seconds deliberation, I turned and walked down the trail that would lead me to the creek. The cold water would help clear my head as well.I took off at a brisk pace. Cressa wanted me to shift, but I wasn't sure if
*Jo's POV*Nikko began to crawl up the bed to me on his hands and knees. He stopped, grabbed my ankles and spread them wide. Then he crawled up in between the legs and sat up, placing his member at my entrance. I stared at him, tingling all over, even without his hands on me."I need you," he said huskily. "I need to be inside you."I gave a small nod, and he thrust himself into me hard. A scream of pleasure erupted out of my mouth as I clenched the sheets in my hands and arched into him. He pulled out and thrust back in, just as hard and I gasped.Nikko had never been this rough with me. He had always been in control. But he kept thrusting into me harder and harder as he sat there and looked down at me. G*d it felt good.Then he ripped himself out, and I felt empty. He grabbed my ankles and twisted them, causing me to roll onto my stomach. I used my hands to roll my shoulders over as Nikko gripped my hip hard and pulled them up.I looked back over my shoulder at him just in time