Author POV
After walking for another 45 minutes they find a decent spot that they can set up camp in, in between the trees for cover. Mark starts getting nervous about confessing to Brian, he hopes that Brian understands why he behaved the way he did. The back-up were doing a great job of staying out of sight, Mark only knew they were there as he had heard a man voice faintly when they paused to have a drink, he had pretended not to hear a thing when Brian had looked up sharply in the direction of the voice and continued on as if alone.
Brian, having heard the male warrior, made a little more noise for the rest of their journey. They were now at the base of the mountain in the shadows of the trees that wrap around the base tightly. Setting up camp was a quick process for them and it had been planned that they would do their first excursion after s
Author POV - Over at Rival River pack at that very moment, Cassie and Jack were cloistered in Jack’s office having just spoken with Dave over at Twin Lakes. Concern is evident in the air at both packs as nobody has heard from the teams sent out to gather intel on the mountains, their caves and Ace.Jack missed having one of his best friends around all the time and was struggling to add Dave’s Beta duties on top of his own, but he was happy for his friend. Happy that he was going to have the chance to show the world what he was truly capable of.Jack had always felt Dave was meant for more than just a Beta role and he knew that Dave was going to be an amazing Alpha, especially to the Twin Lakes Pack which desperately needed a strong leader after the torment of the past few months. They all knew just how quickly everything can change for a pack, there are many in history that proved that just a few short weeks can change everything. But having his beloved mate close by helps.Cassie ha
Cassie - This last week has been very emotional for me, I have been thinking about my mother a lot in the last week, for some reason she is constantly in my thoughts, I miss her so much. I also keep dreaming of everybody else I have lost recently, Luna Lily for example, seems to be a constant feature in my dreams, telling me everything will work out as it should, and Thomas, my darling Thomas, who sacrificed himself so that I might survive, sacrificed himself because he felt my life was worth more than his. I’m not sure why this last week has been so trying, maybe because I knew what was about to happen, maybe I’m seeing all my lost loved ones because I am terrified that others I have come to love will be leaving me and joining them. Brian and Mark are so close to Ace’s hiding place, I know it, even if we don’t know exactly where he is, I know they are close, and I pray to the Goddess almost hourly to spare them, they don’t deserve to lose each other, not when they have only just fou
Cassie - I roll my eyes the heavens before I look her straight in the eye and reply, “Plenty of people call me Luna, you are my friend, not to mention you are a ranked member of this pack, you are free to call me by my given name, please Tara, I thought we were friends by now?”“Of course we are, I wouldn’t have survived without you and your kindness,” she exclaims.“And I would not have managed to become the Luna you see before you without your help, please, I don’t want to have this argument again,” one good thing about repeating this conversation with Tara is, it has driven the ghosts of my past to the back of my mind and we have managed to arrive at the hospital.“Very well, Cassie, I will try not to call you Luna as it seems to be such an issue for you,” she concedes finally, this is the closest we have gotten to her agreeing to call me Cassie and I take it as a small victory.“Thank-you, now let's get this over with” I pull my shoulders back and head into the hospital with my h
Daisy - So Dave has me packing for this mission, that's all we seem to do lately, plan missions. I am heading to Forest Haven Pack.He is sending me to this pack for two reasons, the first and main reason being that there are some questions regarding finances that were moved between their pack and ours, and the second reason is that they had a similar situation to our current issues with Ace in the past and he is hoping that someone there will remember what happened and be able to advise us on what our next steps should be.Forest Haven knows that I am coming, they are expecting me in a days time, so I don’t have much time to pack up and get going. But I do take the time to call my best friend and let her know my plans.The phone rings out when I try to call Cassie, but I’m not worried. She is often busy with her Luna duties and always calls me back quite quickly, so I leave my phone on the bed and continue to fill my bag with the items I am likely to need for a quick visit. Hopefull
Daisy -I pull up to the pack house at Rival River minutes later, having driven a little too fast around the twists and turns the roads make us take to get to each other and I am jumping out of the car before I realise I haven’t undone my belt. The force of being held into the car by the belt stops me and I hasten to undo it, frustrated when I can’t get the damn button to click and release me.Finally free from the damn car, I race through the pack house, up the stairs and slide to a halt outside the Alpha suite. I don’t bother to knock, they know I am coming, I throw the door open calling out to Jack and looking around the spacious sitting area with the small kitchenette in the corner.Jack appears in the doorway leading to their room and I stride over to him quickly, peaking around his broad chest
Cassie -“I want pups with you,” I can sense him now, finally, and I am hit with the realisation of the guilt he feels because he thinks I am unhappy with the news. “I love the idea of carrying your pup,” I reassure him quickly.“But, your emotions, they disappeared and when I found you with Tara you were unresponsive, you wouldn’t look at me, you wouldn’t speak, it took me having Daisy come by for you to utter a word” the hurt in his words rips me in half.“I’m so sorry, I never meant to block my emotions from you, I didn’t even know that was possible until I realised I couldn't feel you anymore, I was in shock, and I will admit, a little upset, but not because I am pregnant, because of the timing, if Ace wasn’t still out there, a risk to every s
Author POV -**Mark's anger melted away into sorrow quickly when he realised that his actions had caused his mate to feel rejected, that was the very last thing Mark ever wanted. He knew his actions would cause Brian pain, and he had regretted it, but he had had to keep him at arm's length for his own good, he was trying to protect Brian from the fall out of a mission gone wrong and from the heartbreak of possibly losing his mate. It had all been for Brian that he had behaved as he had, he was desperate for Brian to understand now.**“Please, Brian, don’t ever think I don't want you, I do, I love you, you are perfect for me” Brian scoffs at that but Mark continues, “You are, I did it all to protect you, you weren’t there Brian, you have only heard of all he did, you were not there to witness it as I was, I felt
Author POV -Mark and Brian take up posts at opposite ends of the small camp while the others set about getting food and sleeping bags set up. Aria and Tasha set about gathering dry wood for the fire, Harry gets out the sleeping bags and Keith moves to help him lay them close to the fire. Georgina silently moves to take the food from the bags and Eric disappears, returning quickly with water to boil.Everyone settles in for the night, knowing none of them will sleep well with the threat so close to them. Brian and Mark share a look as everyone settles down, and an understanding flows between them as they both acknowledge that the pull of the bond has strengthened since Mark opened up to Brian, letting him see a side of himself that not many others have ever known even existed let alone seen. Their want for one another had grown, but they both knew they would have