STANLEY POV Tabitha's beautiful blue eyes look from me to Sydney twice as I stare at her and her alone. Finley's angry voice begins to filter into the room, but I can't decipher what he is saying. My mind is a foggy swirl of anger and fear.On one hand, I have a vile female who isn't mine touching me in an area that no female has ever touched, and on the other hand, I have my mate seeing another female touching me in an area that only she should ever touch. I don't know where to move or what to do. Sydney's hand twists my package as she grows angry at me for avoiding her lips, and I cringe. Tabitha sees my reaction and her body seems to grow as her bear bursts forth. Sydney doesn't turn around to investigate the sound of popping bones. She seems intent on something.Just as the sound around me reaches astronomical levels, a searing pain rips through my neck, and my wolf howls as my body convolts. Sydney has sank her fangs into my neck, marking me as hers.******** THIRD PERS
TABITHA POV rated R Bolts of desire travel down my spine as Stanley's warm breath fans my neck. "You are the most beautiful woman," he whispers before kissing my collarbone again. I moan as the sensation sends my body over the edge, and he grins against my skin.He lifts his face and stares into my eyes while slowly running his fingers through my hair. "I'm sorry that the beginning of our relationship has been one hardship after another," he whispers, and I lick my lips as my eyes search through the emotion in his. "It doesn't define our relationship," I whisper, and he smiles. He nods and blushes a little before looking back at me. "Good. Because I love you, I love that my wolf chose someone who shares my personality. I love everything about you, Tabitha. No one could ever replace you," Stanley says, and my mouth stretches into a big smile. "I love you too. You are the reason I am still here. Without you, I wouldn't have gotten through losing Mom," I whisper, and
STANLEY POV The ashen looks on the twin's faces make me want to barf. I couldn't imagine losing my mate and knowing your pack killed them... "Sydney marked Stanley," Mike asks in a low voice, and Sam nods as I pull down the collar of my shirt. Tabitha's saliva healed the jagged edges of the bite, but the scar is permanent since it was in the traditional spot for a mark. I will be with her assault for the rest of my life. "Shit," Boyd whispers as he stares at the horrendous scar. Mike closes his eyes and rubs his face. I can tell he doesn't want to focus on my face for very long. His instincts are probably demanding my death right about now, and he is probably ashamed of the actions taken by his mate. "And Sarah was completely naked," Boyd asks Fin, changing our focus.Fin folds his arms over his chest as he grows visibly uncomfortable. He focuses his eyes on Boyd, and Tabitha shifts around in her seat nervously.I know she feels guilty because she is the one who chos
STANLEY POV I smile my fake-lawyer-smile as I shake another applicant's hand.The interviews haven't gone as great as I thought they would. Finding a reliable male chief hasn't been easy. In fact, it has been tedious and unrewarding. Between the egos, unreliable schedules, and lack of job history, I haven't managed to find anyone. I press the intercom after a few moments, and I smile when I hear Tabitha's voice.Having her as my office secretary has been wonderful. She has streamlined so many things that work has become a breeze. I never realized how little Lauren actually did around here. "Yes, boss," she says teasingly as she enters my office, and my smile grows. I love her so much that sometimes it is hard to breathe. Over the past month, things have calmed down within the pack, and our bond has had time to blossom. The twins have grieved, and we haven't had any attacks. We have finally had some peace. "He isn't going to work out. Sam wants someone full-time," I say, and
MIKE POV I smile at the wiggly pup in my arms while imprinting his scent into my brain. His brown hair and green eyes make him a perfect blend of his parents. "Good looking pup," Boyd whispers as he moves in next to me. I nod and pass the newborn to my twin's arms. "He is. You think he is a wolf or a cougar," I ask, and Dan looks at me from across the room. "He is a wolf. Just like his father," Dan says, and I chuckle while Boyd takes in deep lungfuls of his scent. "His name is Andrew," Sam says softly, and Tabitha smiles as Stan kisses her forehead. "It fits him," I mumble as my twin nods. ***** "You want to tell me why you arrived two hours after the Alpha's pup was born," Boyd asks as he follows me to the feed truck. I grunt, and he catches my shoulder. "Everything you are feeling, I'm feeling it too. Don't close yourself off. Becoming cold and distant won't bring them back," Boyd snaps, and I slap his hand off of my shoulder. Annoyance prickles the b
STANLEY POV I chuckle as my nephew wails for his mother, and Dan looks around the room like a helpless puppy. Sam has only been gone for thirty minutes, but Andrew is already demanding she return from her meeting with our accountant. "She left some breastmilk for you," I say around my chuckles as I open the fridge to grab the bottle. Dan mumbles under his breath about forgetting, and I laugh again. You would think he would be better at this since they already have Angelica, but he is acting as if he has never done it before. Not to mention the time we all help with Trevor...We have all been alone with either one baby or two at this point. Lewis is the regular babysitter, but we all take turns. "Hey, umm, Boyd gave me this girl's resume last week. Mike gave it to him the day Andrew was born. Supposedly this girl caught Mike's eye and made him feel like a man again. She isn't really what we are looking for, but Sam and I discussed it. We think having her here will be good f
CARMEN POV I cry out in frustration as my feet fail to move faster. I know I am in a dream, but the fear of my ex-boyfriend catching me isn't any less tangible than it would be if it weren't a dream. Shadows of evil hands trying to grab me as I run down an unknown alleyway appear, and I begin to cry. Any second he is going to pop out of the shadows, and my freedom will come to a screeching halt. Suddenly Mr. Gray appears and blocks my exit. The alley transforms into a room, and Mr.Gray closes the door with a massive smirk on his face. I scream as loud as I can, and my eyes snap open to see a concerned blonde staring at me. "It's okay. It's okay, Carmen, you're safe. Is it me, Tabitha, remember? We met earlier. I won't hurt you, I promise," she says softly, and I try to sit up. She places her hand on my back and gently helps me forward while keeping her eyes on my face. "I had my husband leave. I felt you might do better with a woman when you woke up," she says, a
TABITHA POV I bite my last nail and sigh as I look down at my stomach. I know I heard a flutter yesterday, but I haven't heard it again, which isn't a good sign. Miscarriages aren't common for shifters, but they do happen, especially if they have been going through large amounts of stress. My timer goes off, and my hand shoots out to grab the test lying on the counter. When my eyes see the positive symbol in the little screen, happiness followed by sadness explodes my heart to smithereens. The positive means I still have an HCG level, but the silence coming from my stomach tells me that the level won't be rising, and soon...soon, they will flow from my body altogether. Silent tears flood my face as my legs give out, and I crumble to the tile floor. I slap my hand over my mouth to muffle my sobs.It's almost pointless to try to stay quiet. Stanley is bound to wake up any minute. But I have no idea how I am going to tell him, and I don't want to wake him up early. He has been
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