MIKE POV As I push my legs faster and force my nose past its limits I feel a tiny bit of shame prick its way into my mind. Finley and Daniel are grieving the loss of their brother. Tabitha is now a widow. Stanley will never meet his pup... And I don't care. I know that makes me an awful friend. I know that makes me a bad pack mate. But I still don't care. My mind is on one person. A person that is still alive and still needs me. Carmen is all that matters and she has been taken! Kidnapped and probably dragged back to the man she escaped. The man who left inch-wide claw marks down her back. The shifter who can kill her with one simple punch, but prefers to torture and abuse her. Daniel barks and I slow down to allow him to catch up with me. He gets to my side and shifts which makes the entire search party come to a halt. "We need to search abandoned places. The council will have all the commercial forms of transportation covered. He won't be able to move her by plane or bus.
CARMEN POV Nick's heavy breathes are the only sounds in the room as he finishes whatever it is he is doing to the dead man. I still haven't opened my eyes, but I know my time is coming. Nick loses focus quickly when his target goes limp. "You think you are the first whore to hate me? You think I was born this way? I wanted love once. I was just like everyone else when I was born," Nick suddenly growls and my eyes snap open to find him staring down at his dead brother. I didn't even hear him cross the room. I don't reply to his questions or his statement. He doesn't really want me to. He just wants to talk. He likes prolonging things with speeches, but he seems different this time. Almost as if losing Nate truly hurt him. "Nathanial loved me... or maybe he always pitied me. It doesn't matter. He always tried to love me. Even when I hurt him... He defended me once... and fed me when I needed nourishment to be able to heal on several occasions...," he whispers before paus
TABITHA POV I count each one of my breaths as my family waits around me for the rest of the pack to arrive. All of our eyes look dry and bloodshot as we stare at nothing around the room.Hearing that Carmen was safe and Nick was dead brought us all very little relief. Now that the fear is gone all that is left is the grief. Heart-wrenching grief that seems to have suspended us into a permanent state of shock and sadness. Sleep isn't even something that was mentioned when we all climbed the stairs from the safe room. It's as if we all knew rest wouldn't be coming to any of us soon. "They're here," Benji announces unexcitedly from his seat next to the window and we all stand up slowly. Sam takes my hand as we walk to the door and when it opens to reveal a bloody Carmen another wave of tears begins to fall down my face. Nick hurt her and probably said hurtful things while doing it.Images of my mother's tortured body flood my mind. I swallow down the pain. I refuse to lose anyo
CARMEN The car is silent as we drive down a windy back road. I'm not sure where shifter funerals are held, but it doesn't look like they are close to civilization. We have been driving North for hours now and I haven't seen a house in a very long time. Every few seconds Mike has glanced back at me and each time I force a small grin onto my sore face. I don't want him to know how much I hate myself right now. I want him to focus on his family and the loss they are experiencing. I force myself to focus on the pain in my face as punishment for being the reason why Stanley is no longer with us. The stitches are itchy and tight, but I know Hurst did his best. There is very little puckering along the stitches which is good. But I will still have a three-inch-long scar on my face no matter what. A good reminder of what happened the day we lost Stanley. "Boyd, make sure we park on the end," Mike says lowly and the shifter nods in the seat in front of me. Boyd hasn't said much, bu
CARMEN POV "You okay," Mike asks as he watches me place more hay in one of the stalls. I nod and keep my eyes on my hands. It's been four days since we buried Stanley and I haven't said much since we got back. I feel so out of place and guilty that I can't will myself to look Tabitha in the eye. Mike has been my constant shadow, even when I watch the babies. Everyone else has been trying to move on, but I can tell it is hard.Daniel and Finley have been working on clearing out the firm. They want to sell the building in a few months. Tabitha hasn't been left alone unless she is sleeping. Samantha and Mariah are taking shifts watching over her. Marcie and the cook have been making the meals for everyone. Which seems to keep the older Luna distracted from her grief. Alpha Forest is handling the newcomers since they are proving to be more difficult than we anticipated.Darcy isn't being as rude as Killian. He seems to genuinely hate everyone, especially Finley who has been very
As the pack sat and waited anxiously for The Luna to arrive, Daniel and Forest continued to act strange. They seemed to be as excited as children the night before Christmas. Tabitha and Sam weren't at all pleased with their behavior. The pack was still in mourning and would be for a while, but they seemed overjoyed to have a visitor dropping in during this difficult time. Mike and Carmen didn't seem to mind the lighter mood. It seems they were experiencing their first few moments as a couple since Mike had yet to release Carmen's hand. Carmen didn't mind the contact with the muscular cowboy. In fact, she was loving it. Darcy and Killian didn't sit on the couches with the pack which really rubbed Finley the wrong way. His eyebrows were pulled down over his warm chocolate eyes making them look dark and gloomy. His hands were curled into tight fists and his clenched jaw was making the young shifter look more severe. After an hour of uncomfortable silence and scattered conver
STANLEY POV I breathe deeply so the faint scent of roses can waft up my new human nose and I smile. Her warm body feels so good pressed into my cold one. I missed her and I know she missed me. I wish I could still hear our pup inside her, but I will take what I can get. I kiss the top of her head and she shifts a little in her sleep. It feels strange to be so calm, but I have nothing to stress about now. I only want to think about my mate and our family. I am done worrying and working in town. Every minute of the rest of my life will be spent on this land with my mate. I don't want to waste a moment on anything that isn't truly important ever again. And the only important things are my loved ones. I smile again as I give Tabitha a weak squeeze. Before the Mother Luna left she made a promise to our pack. A promise of protection from any more outside forces. She said the shifter world owes us a great debt due to how many threats we have eliminated, starting with Graham Layne.
CARMEN POV I gasp as Mike's hot breath fans my neck and his hands grab my waist from behind. Tingles erupt in places I thought were dead and he chuckles before pecking my cheek. "Morning, cutie," he says cheerfully and I manage to swallow down the extra saliva in my mouth so I can answer him. "Morning," I reply and he shoots me a wink before taking his coat off. The slightly warmer weather has been keeping Mike in his long sleeve shirts rather than his coat and my feminine needs have definitely noticed how tight the fabric wraps around his biceps. As Mike walks away from the coat rack to begin shoveling out the stalls my eyes zero in on his thick thighs and cute butt. My heart rate increases and my ears begin to get hot. How can that man be into me? He belongs in calendars hanging able high school girls' beds. "Better wipe that drool from your chin," Finley whispers as he walks past me, and I jump before doing just that. My face burns scarlet red and I disappear