I could say "I'm sorry" or "You're Welcome" for this mega chapter, depending on how you feel about it, but I just didn't have the heart to split it up into two smaller chapters. I hope you enjoy it, and as always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Much Love, Anja <3
Karlie was overjoyed that I decided to join them, but I could tell that Silas was a bit skeptical of my sudden change of heart. He knew I was not interested in joining a pack right now, and I can’t blame him for wondering what changed.I considered telling him about the men at my motel, but a part of me worried that if he knew about them, he might not let me come along. After all, if they were trying to remain inconspicuous, having someone who was being hunted would not help their covertness.When they asked about my things, I just waved it off. “I’ve got all my money on me, and I only had a small bag with a few clothes, but I didn’t really like them anyway.”Silas was weighing my every word, but in the end, he didn’t stop me from joining the group. He even smiled and welcomed me to the pack, unofficially of course. I reminded him that I still wasn’t ready to commit to joining the pack, but that I would use this as my trial period to help me decided.We were on the road about an
The little rogue was very skittish, but I was able to coax her into trusting me as I lead her back towards the cave where my group was staying. The moment she smelled the other wolves in the area she stiffened again, but I kept telling her it was okay, and I was with them. She followed me but continued to look around nervously. When we reached the cave, I knew she wouldn’t want to go in, so I asked her to wait while I grabbed some food. I moved as quickly and quietly as I could and returned quickly with a few snack items. I could tell she was really uncomfortable, but her hunger must have been strong enough to override her fear. She quickly devoured the granola bar and an orange I provided, and happily accepted the snack sized bag of pretzels as well. “Where are your parents?” I probed again while she was eating. This time she swallowed before opening her mouth to speak. “I don’t know.” Her voice was so tiny and weak. It made her appear even younger. “How old are you?” I
Back at camp, everyone was already packing up and preparing to move out. We had already stayed in this area longer than we originally intended, and it was obvious that everyone was feeling antsy to get back on the road. By sunrise everyone was ready to move on and we began heading east again. Traffic wasn’t bad and it only took us about six and a half hours to make it from Missouri to the middle of Kentucky. We found a nice forest to stop and stretch our legs, but this time we had to be cautious because we are getting closer to an area where more packs are established. Fortunately, with the lower population in this state, there are many areas where it’s safe to let our wolves run. We released our best scouts to run ahead and warn us if we got too close to any pack lands. We have been running low on supplies and there isn’t enough wild game around here to sustain a group our size. I overheard Silas talking to a few scouts about whether or not we could get away with taking some f
“Are you ready to join the pack?” Silas questions with a grin. I wasn’t expecting him to ask me again so soon. Was I ready? I had basically given up on any other ideas of what I could do alone as a rogue, but I’m not sure that I was mentally prepared to commit to a pack. Although, the idea of training others was very appealing. I always wanted to be a warrior and protect my pack. What better way to protect a new pack than to actually train everyone on self-defense? “I’m not ready to commit yet,” I confessed, “but I’m getting closer, and I will intentionally think about it more.” Silas’ eyes met mine, and for the briefest moment I saw something different there that I’ve not seen in him before. His confidence wavered and he almost looked like a disappointed child. Was he really that eager for me to join his pack? But he quickly recovered, and that mask of confidence was firmly back in place. “Of course. Take all the time you need, but I will keep asking you about it.” He w
It didn’t take much effort to get everyone on board with Silas’ plan. Derek and I have chosen a team of 8 scouts who will be traveling with us to upstate New York to continue the search for our new home. We begin making our plans right away since we’re scheduled to leave in 12 days. There’s a renewed sense of energy within the pack and everyone is excited about the new possibilities. I few of the younger wolves have expressed an interest in joining us, but this is not a training exercise, and venturing into new territory is always a risk. We have no idea what packs exist here, if the alphas are territorial and ruthless, or what other dangers might exist in the area. ----- Time passes quickly and before I know it, it’s time to leave. The majority of the pack gathers together to see our team off, and Quinten assures me that he will continue training the pack members in my absence. That should be reassuring to know pack members will continue training, but for some reason it makes
Over the next several months we made quick work of transforming the cave into a modern clean dwelling that even a human would be happy to live in. When we were inside the pack house, you’d never know you were actually inside a cave underground. The pack house was much larger than any I had ever seen before, and we were constantly looking for ways to expand it. Although our pack wasn’t huge, we needed the pack house to be able to serve as a home for everyone in the pack. At least until we were more established. If the pack continued to grow there was no way we’d all fit, but for now, we could make this work. Even though the pack house wasn’t finished, Silas moved the entire pack up here, and we made do with the spaces that were livable while we continued to work. He said he wanted to be here to supervise the construction, but he didn’t feel right about leaving any pack members behind. I never answered him about that date, and to his credit, he didn’t bring it up again, but whene
“MATE!” My wolf is howling in my head, but my body is frozen just staring at him. His dark grey fur and obsidian black eyes would probably seem intimidating to others, but they don’t scare me at all. He’s beautiful and strong. His body is tense like he’s ready to attack, but I’m not afraid of him because he’s…. My mate? But I already had a mate and he rejected me. Yes, I’d heard rumors about second chance mates, but I thought they were just fairy tales. That just doesn’t happen. Especially not for someone like me. I shake my head to clear my thoughts and I realize that everyone is watching us questioningly, but there is a definite tension in the air. “Are you alright, Gina?” Silas asks through the mind-link.“Yeah…” I whisper in awe, but I can’t bring myself to say anything else. I feel like I’m dreaming, but the strong gorgeous wolf in front of me is one hundred percent real, and he looks conflicted. “What’s going on?” Silas breaks into my mind again. When I don’t answe
GINA“Silas, don’t hurt him!” The words came out of my mouth on instinct. I hadn’t intended on saying anything. I didn’t plan on telling anyone that he was my mate since I was unsure if I even wanted to acknowledge it myself.My track record with relationships has not been good, and I’m not sure I’m willing to risk another heartbreak, but when they started closing in on him my wolf started losing it. It was as if my body and even my voice acted without my consent and betrayed me. This is only going to raise questions from Silas and I’m not sure how he will deal with my mate since he’d obviously already set his sights on me.I really didn’t want to deal with jealousy. It’s probably the nastiest emotion I’ve encountered, but it’s too late now. Silas mind-links everyone to stop advancing, but keep the warrior from taking off, then he opens a private mind-link with me. “Is there something you’d like to share, Gina?”Cringing because I knew there was no way out of this conversation n
JERICHO The older wolf speaks up for the first time, and his voice is much rougher than I expected. “You’re her mate and I trust that you know what’s best, but where should I wait?” “There’s a dinner down the road, you can go eat lunch there, and one of us will come for you when we think she’s ready.” Mr. Akir nodded and turned to leave, but I saw the disappointment in his eyes and dejection was evident in his posture. I felt for him, but Gia is my priority right now, and I don’t want to overwhelm her with too much all at once. Once he’d rounded the corner, I quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Jill followed me and I asked her to wait in the living room while I go up to check on my mate. Before I even reached the bedroom door, Gia was exiting the room sniffing the air with her eyes wide in shock. She paused and looked at me, a million questions swimming in her golden gaze, but she didn’t say a word. Gia took a couple hesitant steps closer to me and began sniffing my c
GINA“…You’re settled with your mate, and soon you’ll have a pup.”As soon as the words left his lips, my mouth dropped open, and my hands instinctively went to my stomach. Could I really be pregnant?! I look down while simultaneously lifting my shirt to reveal my well-defined abs. I don’t look pregnant, but of course you wouldn’t be able to see anything this early.Suddenly, I could feel and hear the little fluttering heartbeat of the pup inside my womb and time stands still. I wanted to laugh and cry and panic all at once.“How did you know?” I whisper in awe as my fingertips lightly graze the taut, tan skin of my mid-section.Jericho just laughs, “You’ve seemed a bit distracted lately, always looking around like you’re on high alert, so I’ve been listening for the last couple of days, attempting to hear an extra heartbeat.”Everything makes sense now. My heightened senses are an obvious sign that my protective instincts have been turned up a few notches.“And you’re just NOW telling
GINAProving myself to the alpha and luan was my top priority. They agreed to let me recruit help, and Karli and Matthias were at the top of my list. I’d never gotten to know them as well as I should have, but now that we’re working together, I’m taking advantage of the opportunity.We have spent so much time together over the last several weeks that, now that I’m not holding back like I used to, we’ve gotten to learn a lot more about one another while we work. We’ve been using a meeting room in the pack house so we can keep all the information is a safe and confidential location.We started out by discussing the Blood Eclipse pack members who we knew without a doubt would love to be a member of a pack that would actually value them and look out for their best interests. Even when I was keeping my distance from everyone, I could tell that some of the pack members were honestly just looking for a home. They didn’t deserve to be caught up in Silas’ power struggle.Next, we had to compare
JERICHOI had no intentions of mating with Giovanna tonight. My only goal was to earn her trust and further break down her walls that were keeping me at arm’s length. I’d been fighting against my wolf all night, trying to remind myself that we needed this to be different.Everything changed when she said she wanted me to mark her. My wolf surged forward, and I gave up on fighting to hold back my instincts. I took her up to our bedroom, and slowly explored every inch or her beautiful body. I took my time memorizing every curve, and finding the perfect spots that drive her wild.Based on what she told me, I doubt she’d ever experienced what mating could be like when your partner gives of themselves without selfish ambitions. I wanted this night to be something she would never forget, for all the right reasons.It was just after the fourth time mating that my canines extended, and I sank them into her flesh, forever marking her as my mate. She immediately returned the favor, and the pain
GINAJericho kissed me, and my heart stopped. I sat there frozen as his perfect lips caressed mine and the tingles from the mate bond spread across my face, down my neck, and kept moving until my whole body was alive and thrumming.He didn’t seem deterred by the fact that I wasn’t kissing him back. I could feel his passion, his desire, and his determination. He slides his tongue along the seam of my lips, and I automatically opened up and allowed him to explore my mouth.It was amazing how he could kiss me with so much passion, yet it still felt tender and romantic at the same time. I slowly began to move my mouth returning the kiss when I heard him growl, “Mine” in satisfaction.The kiss felt amazing, but just as he was moving to pull me closer, for reasons I couldn’t understand or explain, I pulled back. I looked down at his lips, which had already begun to swell up slightly, and I was tempted to dive back in.When my eyes moved up to lock with his, I could tell the mate bond w
GINA I wasn’t expecting my ability to join the pack being dependent on my mating and marking Jericho. What happens if he rejects me? Will the pack reject me too? That’s it! I can’t handle the stress of not knowing anymore, I have to tell him tonight. I can’t put it off any longer. It’s time to rip off the band-aid and stop procrastinating. If it goes horribly wrong, I can leave tonight. I’m not sure where exactly I would go, but I’ll find somewhere. When Jericho pulled back to look at me, I could feel the emotion welling up inside, but I did my best to not let it show.“I’m sorry, I should have asked you…” he stumbled over his words, “You do want to stay and join the Silver Eclipse Pack, right?” Although he was asking my opinion, he didn’t phrase it like a question. It felt more like a statement of expectation and him looking for confirmation. The shock of it all was too much, and I just stood there with my mouth hanging open. What do I even say to that? When I didn’t an
GINA Jericho must have noticed my lack of appetite, and he seemed concerned, but he didn’t say anything. As we left the diner and headed to the pack house, he continued to hold my hand and comfort me with his touch. The walk back to the pack house only took a few minutes, but by the time we arrived, I was so stressed out that when the beta greeted us at the door, I immediately asked to use the powder room. There was one just around the corner from the entry, so Jericho let me know he would wait by the door for me to return before heading for the alpha’s office, though he was reluctant to release my hand. While I didn’t feel as if I would vomit, my body continued to heat up, and the knots in my stomach refused to release their tension. After splashing cold water on my face, I stared at the reflection of the woman in the mirror. This is the first time I’ve really stopped to examine myself in, I don’t know how long. So much has changed over the last seven years. I haven’t changed
GINA I hadn’t realized how exhausted I was until Jericho left me alone in the cottage. After he took off for the training grounds I contemplated getting up and cleaning a bit, but I just couldn’t seem to force my legs to cooperate. I resigned myself to taking a short nap and then I’ll get up and do some cleaning while exploring the rest of this house. When my eyes opened it was barely light out, and I thought I’d done a great job of taking a short nap, but the moment I felt Jericho’s heavy arm draped over my waist, and smelled his sandalwood and Irish whiskey scent, I realized that my short nap must have actually been hours. Now that I’m paying attention, I feel significantly more rested. It must be dusk. My eyes scan the room for a clock of some sort so I don’t have to get up and disturb my mate. He must be even more exhausted than I was. He had to take off and work on something while I got to lay here and sleep. My eyes stop when I notice a beautiful bouquet of flowers sit
JERICHO Since I’m unsure what the gamma wanted me for, I decided to quickly change before heading to the training grounds. I quickly grabbed a pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt from the laundry room and trade out my jeans and dress shirt for the more casual outfit. Arriving at the training grounds five minutes earlier than I promised, I have a few moments alone to think about what I might have been called here for. I know the Alpha and Luna are still busy at the pack house receiving condolences from all the pack members who are grieving the loss of our previous alpha. Gamma Emmitt is in charge of the training and warriors, so my best guess is that this has something to do with either training or the prisoners who are currently overflowing from the various holding cells that are scattered around the territory. It only takes a couple minutes for the gamma to appear, and I’m thankful that he’s so punctual. “Hello, Gamma.” I greet him with a smile and a nod. “Hey, Jericho. So