Mac
“What’s wrong with you?” Blake demanded, breaking into my thoughts. I took my eyes from the road to him, finding him watching me intently with a puzzled frown.“Huh? There’s nothing wrong with me?” I grunted, returning my eyes to the road ahead. “Do I look weird or something?”“You’ve been in a pensive mood all afternoon.” Blake said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, “Not to mention the constant sighing.”“Sighing?”“Yeah, you’ve been sighing like a woman who’s pining after her crush.” Blake rubbed at his chin, studying me as though he could guess what was on my mind. “Are you still thinking about what happened with Blair?”I sighed and raked my hand through my hair as I marveled at how I’d managed to fuck up a simple apology yet again. My mind replayed the last bits of our conversation in my lab before Blair had stalked out, upset.******“Are you okay,” I asked. “I mean, the other day, you said you would texMacThe fact that Nolan Harlow had been an investor at the Svelte club was a major lead I intended to follow up on. I had already intended to pay a visit to the club later, and now it had shifted to the top of the priority list.There had to be some connection between the club and whomever was running the drug ring and I planned to find out what it was."Do you have any idea who owns the club? And if there are any other possible investors that we can track down?" I asked. "We may be able to get some leads about the dealers."Harlow shook his head, but Noah spoke up. "I put one of our men on that yesterday and I got word back a few minutes before you arrived. According to the report I received, there are actually three people involved in the running of the club, one of which was my brother.”“And the other two?” I asked.“Malcolm Sloane is one of them.”“Sloane? The founder of Sloane Finances?”“The same one
CW: Mention of Domestic AbuseBlairI bolted upright, breathing hard. I was struggling to breathe because it felt like someone had an iron grip on my throat. My eyes darted around blindly, searching for the pair of menacing blue eyes.It took a few seconds for my brain to register my surroundings, for my pulse to stop racing like I had been running for my life…that I had only dreamed of Reese’ deep blue eyes - piercing and filled with hatred as he stared down coldly at me as I lay on the cold marble floor of our dining room, drenched in a pool of my own blood.I shivered and wrapped my arms around my middle, rocking back and forth, fighting to keep back the sobs that gathered at the back of my throat. I had thought I was doing better - it had been weeks since I’d dreamed of that terrible moment. I had fooled myself into thinking that maybe my mind was finally healing and letting go of the past - but tonight had just proved me wrong.
BlairAs the five men entered the room, all my attention was not on Mr. Roland, who led the group in, but on the short, stocky man by his side.Before now, I had convinced myself that the likelihood of me running into any of my old acquaintances all the way here in Orange was next to nil, it was one of the reasons I’d chosen to come here in the first place. It had taken months before I’d stopped reflexively looking over my shoulder or flinching away from anyone who took more than a passing glance at me, and the terror of discovery had eased somewhat. Added to that, even though Reese and I had been mated for nearly five years, we'd rarely appeared together as a couple. To Reese, I was merely the trophy wife, only to be trotted out, dressed in finery once in a while to impress whomever he had a mind to..That had given me some sort of reassurance, but now, as the first tendrils of panic curled its way across my heart, I realized how foolish I'd been.
Blair As I stood frozen, Mac moved lighting fast and captured the other bottles before they met the same fate. I heard him curse, a myriad of words that sounded as filthy as he intended them to be. In a daze, I could see the other men rise to their feet, but their words sounded like a jumbled mass of gibberish.I took a step back, my hands going up to cover my mouth. In my head, I was screaming at the top of my lungs, but no sound came out.“I’m so sorry,” I whispered from behind my hands. Everyone’s eyes swung from the mess I’d made on the floor to me. Some were shocked, some were filled with amusement. Mac didn’t turn to look though and my heart plummeted to my stomach.He carefully placed the rescued bottles back in the box, before turning towards me and I knew I wouldn’t be able to look him in the face, so I did what I do best – I turned on my heel and bolted.I didn’t get very far. I knew taking the elevator down would delay me, so
BlairThe first touch of Mac's lips to mine sent awareness racing through me, magnifying the flames of arousal that already nestled in the pit of my stomach, so strong that I damn sure if my wolf wasn't subdued, I'd have gone into instantaneous heat right there and then. Even still, the instincts were still there, flaring back to life at the touch of an alpha…this alpha.Mac released a shaky breath, and for one horrible millisecond, I wondered if I'd crossed the line, if I'd misread the situation and made a horrible mistake.But then, with a deep rumbling sound that sent liquid heat pooling between my legs, he took over the kiss, his mouth moving over mine with a demanding hunger that should have frightened me with its intensity, but instead merely fanned my desire until it threatened to consume me utterly. He kissed me like a man starving, like he wanted to consume me whole, take me like the part beast that he was until we were both sated.His to
MacI leaned against the bathroom door, needing a moment to gather my jumbled thoughts and to get Aries under control.My heart raced and my mind was still foggy, but in the best possible way. The kiss had been a surprise, but it had felt right, like we had both been holding back for far too long and had finally given in to the awareness that had been swirling between Blair and I.But then something changed mid kiss. Aries had let out a low growl that reverberated in my head and had started pacing excitedly within me. That had caught me off guard, because my wolf was many things, but excitement was not usually on the list of emotional reactions he displayed.I could still feel the intensity of his energy and he was practically begging me to take action, to take things one step further and claim her as mine, to go back into that bathroom and finish what we'd started."Stop it." I muttered out loud, running a hand through my hair. The actio
MACAfter getting our food, I headed back to the office, the journey still filled with a tense and uncomfortable silence. Blair had spent the entire time trying to avoid looking at me, though I caught her reflection in the window staring at me several times.Not for the first time, I couldn't help but wonder what thoughts were running through her mind. Did she regret the kiss? Probably, given her reaction.I cleared my throat and tried breaking the silence once more. "Blair, about what happened back there...""I know," she interrupted, finally turning to meet my gaze, nervous and uncertain. "It was a mistake. I- I shouldn't have thrown myself at you the way I did.""What? No, no you didn't do that." I assured her, shocked that she was even thinking of something like that. "We both wanted it and it doesn't matter if you made the first move because it was -" I broke off and shook my head, needing to choose my next words carefully. It had be
MacThe small mound of what looked to be clothes lay piled on the floor in a heap. I frowned, wondering who had left such an untidy mess, but as I rounded the desk, I realized, with a sinking feeling of alarm, that this was no pile of clothes. Rather, it was a sleeping bag containing a person, and to my utmost shock, that person was Blair. She lay curled up in a protective ball, her face turned towards the wall and away from me, but I could instantly recognise her scent and form even in the dark room.What was she still doing here? Why hadn’t she gone home to sleep?“Blair?” I called and she stirred. I rounded the sleeping bag just in time to see her eyelids flicker briefly, then shut again. I caught a hint of a scent, not the same one from earlier and not her usual one either. This one was a sickly scent, sharp and acrid. Her face was pale - too pale, almost a deathly white, beads of sweat lined the exposed part of her forehead.My chest seized a
SkylarBy the time I got over my shock to hear Mac's furious voice and struggled to my feet, he and Holly were already engaged in a heated argument.Holly's face contorted with anger as she glared at Mac. "Are you kidding me? You think I'd intentionally hurt her? We were just practising Taekwondo, which, by the way, she asked me to teach her. This was just an accident!"A flare of surprise crossed Mac's face and he looked at me, searching for confirmation. "It's true." I said, my words still coming out in a stutter since I was still out of breath. "She was just showing me some basic self defence moves but then I tripped and took us both down."Mac looked like he'd been kicked in the gut. He passed a hand over his face and I heard him mutter a curse under his breath. "I didn't know what was happening. It looked like you two were fighting and she was -"Holly scoffed and rolled her eyes. "If I wanted to kick her ass, I would do it some other way.Mac broke off mid-curse to glare at Hol
SkylarA week passed with me doing nothing more than sleeping, waking up, eating the enormous portions of food that Mac insisted I consume, then spending the rest of the day lazing around either watching TV, playing games or reading novels on the brand new cellphone Mac had bought for me.I had offered to take over the cooking or cleaning or whatever chores that needed to be done, including shopping for groceries, but Mac had expressly forbidden me from doing any such thing saying I still needed to rest and get my strength up. So I obeyed. However, I was starting to feel restless, the result of now having so much pent up energy in need of an outlet. Sitting still became a challenge, so I would occasionally explore the huge house. I found a pool at the back and spent quite a bit of time sitting on the edge, dangling my feet in the heated water, wishing I had learned how to swim. I was alone in the house. Mac had decided to drop by the office today after extracting a promise from me th
MACShe smelled of vanilla and wildflowers, a combination that up until now, I'd had no idea was capable of driving me wild. And it had just topped the list of my all time favorite smells in the entire universe. And it was even wilder because up until a few seconds ago, I didn't know I had such a list. But I did now. And Sky's scent, fresh from a bath and looking deliciously content, was the number one.I adjusted my normally comfortable jeans, the material now felt very constricting with how hard I was. It had taken a great deal of self control to keep myself from reaching out to touch her soft, supple skin, I'd barely stopped myself from finding out if she tasted as good as she smelled and as sweet and heady as I remembered.It hadn't helped to know that she probably wore nothing underneath tha
Skylar I was beginning to think that the streets would have been a less stressful option. By the time dinner was over, I really wasn’t sure I could take much more tension. Holly, who had made her dislike known from the very beginning, now positively despised the very sight of me. When I had finally fully calmed down from my panic episode, Mac had ordered Liam to go home and despite my protests and Holly’s objections, he had refused to budge on his decision. So Liam, after another round of profuse apologies for scaring me, had left. Holly had glared at the two of us, spun around on her heels and stormed upstairs to her room, making sure to slam the door so hard the frames rattled. Which had left me and Mac. I was in near tears from mortification at this point and all I wanted to do was slink away and find somewhere to hide. I forced my
Mac Despite all her assurances to the contrary, I still couldn't quite shake the feeling that Sky did not like the room. First, there had been that fleeting look of dismay that crossed her expression the moment she'd stepped into the room, though she'd quickly covered it with compliments. Even though those compliments somehow fell flat. The most enthusiastic she had been was when I showed her the walk in closet. She'd perked up, and had given more than a cursory look around the small, dark space, seemingly more impressed by the tiny, windowless closet than the extravagant room attached to it. I'd been on the verge of offering her a different bedroom, even though I'd chosen that one because I'd figured she'd appreciate the view and the natural light streaming into the space, arguably the best in the house, save for the main bedroom - mine. And yet, Sky had merely glanced at the window wall, in fact, she seemed to actively avoid it. Still, since she'd assured me it was fine, I'd swal
CW: Mentions of violence and bloodSKYLAR****Flashback*****The darkness seemed to close in around me, amplifying my fear and making it difficult to navigate through the dense forest. Every rustle of leaves or snap of a twig sent shivers down my spine, as I imagined Resse and his loyal pack members closing in on me.I pushed myself to go faster, ignoring the searing pain in my body. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, fueling my desperate escape. But as I ran, a nagging thought crept into my mind - how long could I keep this up? How long until exhaustion overtook me and I became an easy target for my pursuers?Suddenly, a low growl echoed through the trees, freezing me in my tracks. My heart pounded in my chest as I strained to locate the source of the sound. Panic welled up inside me as I realized I was not alone. Another werewolf, a member of my own pack, had picked up my scent.I had no choice but to keep moving, hoping to outrun them. But my injured body protested, threatening to
SKYLAR“Hey Holly,” Mac said. Still holding onto me, he moved towards the steps to the girl in the doorway, pulling me along. I followed reluctantly, still wary and barely recovered from the nasty shock. We came to a stop in front of Holly, his height easily dwarfing hers as he looked down at her, his expression stern and assessing. “Shouldn’t you be in school?”Holly merely shrugged off his question, her gaze pinned on me. Once more, I forced myself to meet her gaze head on, while wondering if her mother - Mac’s partner was inside the house. I also wondered about the identity of the shifter - though I was certain it wasn’t the as yet to be known partner since that wolf had been male.Female shifter’s wolf forms were usually smaller and more delicate looking than their male counterparts, even the alpha presenting females. So, it was safe to assume there was somebody else in the house. And that made me very, very nervous.“Who’s this?” Holly asked,
SkylarTears welled in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks at Mac's open and easy acceptance of the truth and whatever last reservations I had melted away as I sobbed, feeling like a heavy weight had just been lifted off my chest.It felt…freeing to finally have someone who knew a bit more about me, who understood, who accepted me without question."Hey," Mac leaned forward, a tissue in his hand that he'd produced from goddess knows where, which he used to gently wipe the tears streaming down my cheeks. "Please, don't cry, okay? I didn't mean to upset you."I shook my head and smiled. “No, no, I’m not upset. I’m just…” I searched for the right words and settled on, “relieved that I can finally tell someone the truth.”Mac smiled in understanding and looked so boyishly abashed I couldn’t help but laugh. “Ah…well. I’m happy to have your trust.” His expression turned serious and he sobered. “I promise you, Skylar. You’ll be safe with me and I won’t break your trust.”“I know.” His words re
BlairI froze at the question, something slamming against my heart. A small sound slipped through my lips and I shut my eyes for a second, wishing I was anywhere but here, pinned by that all too knowing gaze. But of course, I was all out of wishes because when I opened my eyes, Mac was still staring at me, arms crossed and his jaw set stubbornly and I knew there was no avoiding the humiliating conversation we were about to have.“Of course I do,” I avoided his gaze and shoved the last of my stuff into the bag and zipped it up. “I wouldn’t be leaving here if I didn't have somewhere else to go, would I?”“I dunno,” He rubbed at the scruff of beard on his chin and raised an eyebrow. “You tell me.”I flushed at the implication of his words and cleared my throat. “I do have somewhere to go.”He cocked his head at me and regarded me in silence while my fidgeting simply got worse. Then with a determined grunt, he hooked a large hand under one of