Hunter’s POV Fear flashes in my mate’s eyes, and her heat rushes up to my nose, eliciting a gut-wrenching growl from my wolf. All heads in the room bow to the ground, all except Sasha's, whose head is tilted towards the sky, and she’s now howling in pain. My first instincts are to protect my mate by getting her out of here, but she resists me, choosing to rush to Sasha’s side. I sigh, trying to reach my beta through the mind link, but fail. Frowning, I try again, growling in annoyance when I still can’t get through to him. Something’s not right. My wolf points out. “Beta’s mate.” I call out, using my alpha’s tone to ensure her attention. “What is this? What has happened?” Loraine pulls her to her feet, while the other women quickly bring water to wash out the blood in her hands. The blood, which I see now is from clawing at her skin, on the area below her chest. “Beta’s…” Loraine holds her hand up, shutting me up. She moves Sasha to a seat, drawing soothing circles on her b
Killian’s POV I can feel my brother’s anxiety even from a mile away, although he is concealing the other signs of his fears well. We arrived at the gate hours ago and have combed through every home, street, back alley, gambling house, and whatnot, but Beta Maddox is nowhere. No one seems to have seen or heard from him. I have a bad feeling about this. A depth in my gut that keeps clawing at me. Maddox might be dead, but Hunter wants us to hold out hope that we will find him alive. I know the bond he and Maddox share goes beyond friendship. They are more like brothers, and this must be really hard for him, still. I stiffen as I hear a voice through the mind link. It is low, like a flickering candle, but it's there. I think Hunter has heard it too because he comes running to me, his eyes wide open. “Did you hear it?” he asks, breathing heavily. Sweat has soaked through his shirt, causing it to glue to his skin and highlighting his bulging biceps. “It was unmistakable, right?
Loraine’s POV It's been three long days. Three days since Alpha Hunter took me to the celebration and then went after his beta. Three days since Sasha lost connection with her husband. Three days since I've had to look after her all the while also harbouring a fear of mine. If something has happened to them. I close my eyes and clench my fist. I cannot allow thoughts to trail to such dark places. If they were not okay, their brothers would have felt it. They have this sort of connection, a bond that exists between them, and so far, they have felt nothing. Nothing. That’s what has us worried. The fact that we have heard nothing from either Alpha Hunter or Alpha Killian for the past three days. They cannot even be reached through the mind link. Frustration is gnawing at me. the fact that I can do nothing but sit on my ads and wait while my mates are out there. I bit down my bottom lip. A habit I was indulging in too often. I breathe out a sigh, glancing up at Sasha, who h
Loraine’s POV It's taking all of my self-control to prevent me from leaping over the table and claiming all of them as mine. Mine! I want to scream. They are all fucking mine! Their enticing scent fills the room, overtaking my senses and closing my judgement. But I don’t mind. As long as they are all here. Nothing else matters but the fact that we are together again and complete. I thought of the words from the meeting the other day. The thought of them taking another fated who was not me disturbed me. It raised an inferno inside me. It has not been up to a month since I met them, and I am already a mess. It terrifies me to an extent, but at the same time, it excites me in an unfathomable way. The mating bond has worked its way too far inside of me. “Maddox was unconscious when we found him.” Killian states. His fingers drummed the table, and his eyes are far away, like they are relieving distant memories. The sudden urge to go over and comfort him overcomes me, but before
Preston’s POV Our kisses grow fervent with every passing second. Pulling out of the kiss, I carry her—bridal style—to my room and place her gently on the bed. Her blue eyes are settled on my face. On my lips, and I can see just how much she wants this. Tilting her head up, I kiss her again. Pressing her against my side, and my arm heavily draped over her stomach. I drag the tip of my nose against the length of her neck, breathing in her sweet, intoxicating scent. It makes my wolf come alive—a new form of energy buzzing through my body, threatening to make me burst. She whimpers, and my wolf responds with a growl, placing a kiss on the juncture of her neck and shoulder. “My little wolf.” She likes the name. I can tell because she clenches her legs, placing her hand on my chest to push me away, only to end up pulling me even closer. Goddess, she smells amazing. I place more kisses on her neck. She squirms under me. I have discovered a profound need for her. Ever since we brought
Loraine’s POV “Please,” I beg, arching my back so our sweaty bodies meet. My body is burning with an intense need for him. Slightly, he pushes forward, and then the strokes become steady, then fast until I can barely breathe. My control is about to snap—if it hasn’t already—with the way he’s grinding me fiercely. Pleasure ricochets up my spine. Preston’s whispering sweet nonsense to me only causes the pleasure to swell more inside me. His lips trace my chest and go up to my chest. I know he wants to claim me, mark me. but then he’s thinking of his brothers. It won’t be fair to them. And to me, to take that choice away from me, although in this moment, all I want is to feel his fangs breaking through my skin. “You taste so good, little wolf.” Preston whispers against my neck. “I want you’.” His thrust became slow and passionate. He pulls back, staring into my eyes, and I’m completely lost in this pool of grey eyes. Slowly, gently, he picks up the pace again, his eyes never leavi
Kris’ POV No matter how much I try, I can’t focus on work. There is a lot to be done, especially with what is happening in our packs. Keeping an eye on Maddox. Helping my brothers find out who did this. Dealing with the committee that was set up to investigate things and mainly dealing with every other thing that arises in my brothers’ pack. Despite all of this work, my mind keeps coming back to her. My mate. I know what she did. I had felt it, thanks to the bond I share with my brothers. All of my brothers had felt it, and saying they're upset is only downplaying it. Hunter is head over his heels with fury. Killian has always tried to keep his emotions in check, but with the way he marched off to Loraine’s room minutes ago, I doubt she will be okay. As for me, I don’t know what to think. The mate bond knows how to fuck with us, especially since we have been around each other for this long. Something was bound to happen, but then we had not thought it would happen like this.
Loraine’s POV The first thing I see after coming out of my room sends adrenaline and nerves running up my spine. What I hear from Preston has me doubling back with hurt; it reminds me once again of the incident with Alpha Gordon and how he had quickly and mercilessly rejected me. Although Preston is not outright rejecting me, his complete and utter disregard for my feelings and our privacy feels like a rejection. My heart clenches tight in my chest as Kris’ eyes meet mine briefly. I can’t tell what he’s thinking, but I can see that he’s hurt. I have no idea what kind of bond the brothers share or the extent of the bind, but from the look on his face, I gather that he has an idea what transpired between Preston and me yesterday, and Preston’s flaunting everything in his face like that is only making things worse. Kris may not have gotten his Alpha title just yet, but that does not make him any less of an Alpha or any less ready to back down for his brother. I can’t do anything