STANLEY POV I decide to move toward Tabitha as my brother and Sam come into the kitchen looking worn out. I want to be close to her just in case they say something upsetting. The past week has been full of high emotions, and I'm unsure how Tabitha feels. She seems strong and almost unaffected, but at any time, that might change. "Evening. Has Andrew arrived yet," Daniel asks, and I shake my head? "No, but he should be getting here soon. The guys got back from Tabitha's a little while ago. Benji and Mariah are spending time with Trevor. Finley is still explaining things to mom. She was talking about coming down, but Finley explained that we should focus on bonding within our pack," I relay, and he nods before sighing. Samantha moves to a stool to sit down, and Daniel opens the fridge. Tabitha gives her cousin a small smile, and I wrap my arm over her shoulders when Sam fails to return the gesture. I know Sam is grieving the loss of her friend, but Tabitha's kindness should
TABITHA POV "Bye, mom," I whisper as I place a rose on her freshly covered grave. Grief, pain, and longing twist my heart as I try to keep myself from breaking down again. It's been four days, and I still haven't accepted that this is really happening. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up, and there she will be. Happy and healthy. Every morning when that doesn't happen, I cry until I pass back out.I didn't help with any of the funeral arrangements. I couldn't bring myself to even think about it. When anyone would come to ask me a question, I would break down. My mother was my best friend. My entire life, it's been me and her against the world. Now she's gone. I have no family besides Sam, Angelica, and Stanley. I barely know them, and now they are all I have. "Sweetheart, do you want to ride back with everyone? They are about to leave. If not, that's fine. I was just going to let them know they didn't need to wait. We can walk home if you want," Stanley says gently from b
STANLEY POV I place my elbows on the counter and bury my face in my hands. It's been two weeks, and Tabitha hasn't gotten better. She barely eats. She hardly drinks...and she never smiles. I don't know how much more she or I can take. Watching her waste away is like slow torture. She has lost at least fifty pounds, and her face looks sickly. Hurst has given her repeated IVs, but they aren't helping much. The only food I can get her to eat is soup. Soup with barely any protein. I rub my face as I hear and smell Finley come in behind me. "Hard day," Fin asks, and I sigh as my hands fall to the counter. "I'm losing it, Fin. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help her through this. It's like a part of her died with her mom," I explain desperately, and Finley nods while moving to the other side of the kitchen bar. He sits down on one of the stools and looks over my face with a calm expression. "You are doing everything you can. You are taking care of her the best
TABITHA POV I give Stan a tiny smile as he looks at me in the passenger seat for the hundredth time. I know I worried him. I worried myself. But over the past week, I have been eating, and I have gained some weight back. He really doesn't have to check up on me as much as he is, but I get it. "So the furniture is all set up," I ask to end the silence between us, and he nods. He turns onto a freshly poured driveway, and the automatic gate opens as he presses the button. "Yes. Just wait until you see. This house is a record holder. It's just over 90,000 sqft and it takes up almost 8 acres of land. There are five wings, and each wing has two separate areas that are the size of a four-bedroom home. So, for example, we are on the same wing as Dan and Sam. They have a four-bedroom area with a living room space and a small personal kitchenette. We have the same thing. Fin and Lewis are in the wing next to us with the same setup. Their areas will be rather lonely until they meet
BOYD POV "My stomach is in knots," I mumble, and Mike nods as he hits the blinker. "When Fin came back, he joked about how slutty they acted. Don't you think we should remain cautious," I ask, and Mike's hand tightens on the wheel. "I am cautious. My mate has clearly been around the block a time or two," Mike finally murmurs, and I nod as I think about my mate's redheaded sister. "The pack can't survive another betrayal. Both our mates sound as if they wanted someone from an Alpha bloodline," I reply, and I hear his teeth grind. "So what are you saying? We already agreed to give them a chance," Mike says, and I nod. "We both said three months. If they do anything within that time, we have to cut them out of our lives. We still have each other," I whisper, and he growls. Mike and I have wanted mates since we were nine years old. We dreamed about them and talked about what they might look like for years. But when we met our mates, we weren't instantly in love. In fact,
MIKE POV If Sarah or Sydney sighs one more time, I might shift and jump from the window that can't open. "Two Queens in a shared room...Maybe we should call dad," Sarah whispers inside the bathroom, and Boyd's entire body temples as rage consumes him. He looks at me, and I nod my head once. Three months is quickly beginning to sound like an eternity. The girls finally come out of the restroom after another agonizing ten minutes of whispering, and it takes all of two seconds for my rage to dissipate. "What are you wearing," Boyd asks since my mouth is unable to form words. "A nightie," Sarah replies as my eyes trail over the see-through black lace covering my mate's lethal body. I have no idea what Sarah looks like, but I imagine Boyd's face probably looks like mine. "Are the two of you...umm...We might be close, but we aren't, you know, that close," Boyd says, and I manage to tear my eyes off Sydney's mile-long legs. I glance slightly toward Sarah an
STANLEY POV The grease pops in the pan again, and I jerk as the scorching hot liquid lands on my wrist. Fast healing doesn't eliminate pain, and I have always hated pain, but when your mate is just coming out of a two-week grief fast, you cook things that hurt you. "That smells great," Lewis groans as he comes into the massive new kitchen. He makes a beeline for my sizzling pan of bacon, and just as his fingers come into view, I swat at him. "Make your own when I am done. These are for Tabitha," I snap, and he groans again, but this groan sounds more painful than pleasurable. "Man, come on, have a heart. I am a starving wolf who just came in from feeding the livestock. You are really going to deny me protein. Have you been outside? It snowed like five feet last night. Come on," he whines, and I roll my eyes before tossing him the smallest strip. "Now get out of my ear. I have a half-starved mate to feed, and you have two capable hands," I say, and he chuckles before
TABITHA POV I place the plate down slowly as I secretly peek toward the living room. The twins haven't come back out of their wing, and the rest of us are becoming more curious.The rest of the guys had to go check the animals, and I decided to set the table for lunch. Sam and Mariah are cooking, but I can tell from their silence they are eavesdropping. "Spill," I whisper as I return to the kitchen. "This place makes overhearing conversations hard. But we caught some as they showed them around. Now we can't hear them," Mariah whispers, and I nod before glancing at Sam. "Do you believe her innocent explanation or..." I hint, and Sam rolls her eyes before shaking her head. "That..female...was hitting on Daniel. It was clear, and then she switched to Stan. I don't know how her father's pack operates, but it's clear they like to bedhop," Sam angrily whispers before slamming the tray of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches she made. Mariah shifts Trevor from her left hip to he
TABITHA POV I take a few more deep breaths before leaning forward to apply my mascara. I have been feeling anxious since Hurst did the ultrasound to measure our baby. He said everything looked good and sealed the gender in a small envelope before passing it to Stanley. Waiting three days to know what was written on that tiny piece of paper has been torturous. I finish my makeup and head out of the bathroom to find Stanley wearing a shirt that has one side pink and the other one blue. I instantly smile and cross my arms. Compared to my simple white dress he looks extremely colorful. "You look adorable," I say with a grin, and he does a twirl with his arms held out wide. "I am so excited to know," Stan says and I nod while biting my lip so I don't laugh. He sees the humor on my face though and walks towards me smirking. "Am I amusing you, Tabitha," he asks while pulling me to him and I can't help but giggle a little. "A little," I admit and he kisses my lips. "G
MIKE POV "I don't regret having sex with you. This has been the best day of my life! I messed it up by taking it too far. I can't even properly explain what I did wrong," I say and her tear-streaked face looks puzzled for a brief second. I know she is thinking back to what happened and what she felt when I marked her. I can't believe I lost control of myself. I took away her choice, plus I hurt her. I vowed to never do either of those things and I failed her. Suddenly Carmen begins to laugh while tears continue to cascade from her eyes. I instantly get even more worried. I can't believe I have broken her this completely. "You chose me as your life partner. You marked me," she says happily after a few tense moments and I stare at her utterly bewildered. She wipes her face completely disregarding her makeup. She ends up looking like she has bruised eyes, but I don't care. "Yes. I... Aren't you upset," I ask cautiously and she shakes her head? "Of course not. T
CARMEN POV rated R The grip Mike's hands have on my hips feels so good. It's like he is anchoring me to the floor because he knows I might float away. I am so blown away by the fact Mike hasn't been with anyone. It makes me feel less anxious about what we are about to share. Mike's hands leave my hips and slide up my stomach to my breasts. When his hand squeezes my B-cup breasts my loins begin to blaze with desire.I moan into his mouth when he squeezes my breast a second time and he takes that as a sign because, in the next second, he scoops me up. He walks to his bed and lays me down so gently my heart melts. I keep my eyes on him as he steps back from me and I giggle when I see him removing his clothes as if he is in a race. But my giggle doesn't last for long as his thick muscular body comes into view. I know my mouth is hanging open as I look him over but I don't care. He is practically scrumptious. His creamy skin is flawless and the V-line above his impressive package i
MIKE POV pg13 Another loud thud rips through the air from the tack room and Boyd growls under his breath. "I fucking hate him. He is throwing a fit and making the horses skittish," Boyd grumbles extremely low and I nod before leaning my fork against the wall and removing my gloves. I nod toward the stall door and Boyd copies me by taking off his gloves."Now," he asks and I nod. I am tired of the tension this wolf brings to the pack. We are slowly letting our raised fur go down and this guy is ruining our progress. He hates ranch life, but we didn't ask for the council to send him. We step out of the stall and spot a broken shovel in the middle of the walkway. "Killian," I snap, and the asshole comes stomping out of the tackle room. "What," he barks back and Boyd steps to my side. He runs his eyes over our united front for a second before losing the tension in his shoulders."What the hell are you doing," I ask looking toward the broken equipment and back to him. He
CARMEN POV "You look so mature now," Tabitha whispers as Sam continues to line my lips with a steady hand. They haven't let me peek in the mirror at their work yet but the way Sam keeps pausing to stare at me has me guessing I look good. When they pulled me into Sam's bathroom I didn't really know what the plan was, but they got to work like they rehearsed this plan daily.Tabitha grabbed manicure items and got to work on my fingernails. Sam began exfoliating my face. Mariah was put in charge of my hair and I have been pleasantly surprised at how gentle her hands can be. Forty-five minutes later and my hands look elegant, my face has makeup on it, and Mariah has started to put the hot tools away. "You are going to knock his socks off, Carmen," Sam says with a mischievous smirk that makes me feel a little shy. "Your hair is so thick! I am jealous," Mariah says from behind me and I giggle a little. "Don't be jealous of me. I am a broken, weak human girl. You three are gorge
RATED R TABITHA POV "There you are," Stan says as he opens our bathroom door to find me washing my face. I give him a smile and try to hide my pity for his new state. My poor mate can't find me by smell any longer and that hurts. He has to strain his weak ears or spot me with dull eyes to know where I am. While I can still pinpoint him by sniffing the air. I know if I were unable to smell his alluring scent I would be devastated. "Sorry, I figured you knew," I reply and he brushes it off with a wave of his hand while continuing toward me. "As long as I found you I don't care," he whispers before pulling me toward him by my hips. I smile and drape my arms around his neck. "Oh really," I whisper back playfully, and he smirks before kissing my jaw. "Yes really," he mumbles before continuing down my neck. My lady regions flare to life as his tongue and warm breath dance along my flesh. Every night, since he gave me the okay has been like this for us. Constant touching and sex t
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
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.
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