Things settled down a little once more, but everyone was uneasy. It was like the silence before the storm.I sat in my usual armchair, listening to the reports, but they were the same as every morning in the past week.Duncan strengthened our border patrols on the east, from the ridge up north to the Blue Moon border on the south, not trusting their security one bit after the last incident.That meant we pretty much left the western borders unattended, but Warren and his men from the Crimson were going back and forth all the time anyway, and Duncan was pretty confident about Alpha Blackwood keeping the Silver Moon quiet and secure.But no matter how tight we kept security, patrols reported no rogue movement, or anything unusual.Bran and Warren returned empty-handed again, too. They found nothing on the first two nights, but then they found something that they believed to be a lead. But that turned out to be a dead end.Just like the other three, they found after that.They only manag
“What’s going on here?” I heard Duncan’s cold voice, and it helped me come back to my senses. He was quite dangerous when he sounded like that, but oddly enough, it made me relax.“I believe we need to talk,” I told Warren as I stood from his chest, and held out my hand to help him up.Duncan just studied us with cold eyes, and I had no doubt about Gabriel telling him everything through their link.“You can go and hold your training. I’m staying with them,” he finally said. For a long moment, Gabriel just studied us with a dark gaze, then nodded and left. Marissa looked worried, but I sent her a reassuring smile, and she left us too.“Care to explain?” Duncan asked, his voice still calm, but by now I knew he sounded like that when on the inside he was anything but calm.“Warren decided to help with my training,” I answered, not looking away from him, as he absentmindedly rubbed his chest where I stabbed him. “But in the meantime, he showed me something interesting.”“Like what?” Dunca
Things started falling apart a week later, when one morning Warren and Bran hadn’t returned. Everybody was on alert already, when Bran finally linked Duncan, reporting that they found a hideout. He said that there was a big movement, and they were probably preparing for something, but their leaders were not there. He left his group there to find out more, while he and Warren went ahead looking for the witch. Duncan decided that if they managed to find the rogue’s headquarters, he would take his best warriors and attack them before they could start attacking our borders. With that being said, the whole pack turned upside down the minute he dismissed the morning assembly. It may have seemed like total chaos, but in fact, everything was pretty well organized. All our warriors reported to the training grounds, where Noah and Gabriel organized them in small units, all ready to take off anytime. Duncan sent Caleb down to the village to make sure that everyone would be safe if something
“I need you,” he whispered into my ear, his hot breath tickling my skin. I shivered under his touch as his kiss stole my breath away. He was supposed to take off in ten minutes, and we both knew it, but I could never say no to him. I pulled his belt and freed him. He started kissing my neck, and my heart sped up as he gently nipped at my collarbone. My skirt ran high when he lifted me and I put my tights around his hips, hugging him tightly. I felt the fabric bite into my skin as he tore my panties. I moaned at the first contact and scratched down his shoulder as he penetrated me with one forceful thrust. “Richard,” I breathed his name, feeling my pleasure grow as he built up his speed. It didn’t take long till the orgasm hit me, and he came into me with a husky moan. “That was awesome,” he panted, leaning his forehead against mine, slowly putting me down. “Yeah, but now you are going to be late,” I caressed his cheek. “Will you miss me?” he asked, pulling his clothes back in p
Three weeks had passed since Richard brought Jenny into the pack, and it was the hardest three weeks of my life. Not only I had to carry on with my life like my heart hadn’t been ripped apart, I also had to smile. The pack was genuinely happy for Richard to find his fated mate, but most of them were sorry for me. And even though I appreciated their love and support, there was something I couldn’t tolerate. Being pitied. So I did my best to act like I was totally and completely okay. Which I was not, but hopefully I was a good enough actress. I went on with my duties, and even conducted the preparations for the party to welcome Jenny into our pack. It turned out she was an orphan and didn’t really have anybody to go home to, so after they sorted things out with Richard, it was a simple decision to move in. Not like Richard would have let her leave, but it certainly made things easier. On the evening of Jenny’s welcome party, I felt like hitting rock bottom. I just stood at the side
It was a clear spring night with chilly winds when we lined up to welcome Alpha O’Sullivan and his men from the Blood Moon pack. I was thankful for my decision to tie my hair in a tight bun, otherwise it would have been all around the place by now. My ears and nose were getting frozen, but I stood straight amongst the men, all a good head taller than me. I was in the second line of warriors, right behind Richard, just as he wanted me. He was standing straight, his hands behind him, and I knew he was wearing his usual poker face. But I have known him for too long. I could see the tension in his shoulders and tight muscles under his elegant suit. I could feel his wolf being uneasy. I looked at his Luna, and I sighed. Poor girl needed some comfort herself, not that she would ease her mate. I could sense her discomfort and even some fear. She was so fresh to the position; she was not ready, and that fact alone wouldn’t do any good to the Alpha tonight. I hoped at least she would listen
He opened the doors, and I could see Richard and Josh, both being angry and curious at the same time. “What was that?” Josh murmured to me as they passed, but I didn’t answer. “May I ask?” Richard asked in a tone that made my blood freeze. He was really angry now. “You should thank Moira, because she just gave our treaty a new perspective,” Alpha Duncan said ever so calmly. “And that is?” Richard growled at him. “I will let you have your way with the lands and we will sign the peace between our packs,” he said in an off-handed manner as he sat down. “Why?” “Because she is coming with me,” he said, his voice deepening as he looked at me. We never quite discussed it, but I did promise him I would be his, so it only made sense. For a moment, my heart was heavy at the thought of leaving, but I pushed the feeling away. “No fucking way!” Richard roared, and as I turned to look at him, I could see that he was at his limits. “Just who do you think you are to request one of my pack mem
It was after midnight when we arrived at the Blood Moon. Their territory was to the north, reaching way up to the mountains. We passed a small town, lying hidden in a valley, and Noah turned on a winding serpentine. The packhouse was even deeper in the forest, and I suddenly remembered that none of our informants could tell where the main building exactly was. They hid it well, I thought, as I got a glimpse of lights behind the trees. I was sure it was well protected, too. Noah stopped the car in front of the old manor, and I just stared in awe. Even in the dark, it was beautiful. It may have been old, but they took good care of it. It was way smaller than our mansion, I thought, as Duncan opened the door for me and I got out. It had lovely, homey vibes, and I totally loved it. He offered me his hand, and I gladly accepted. I even gave him a little smile. “You are back,” a petite girl opened the main door, and I saw her freeze the moment she saw me, and the smile died on her face.
Things started falling apart a week later, when one morning Warren and Bran hadn’t returned. Everybody was on alert already, when Bran finally linked Duncan, reporting that they found a hideout. He said that there was a big movement, and they were probably preparing for something, but their leaders were not there. He left his group there to find out more, while he and Warren went ahead looking for the witch. Duncan decided that if they managed to find the rogue’s headquarters, he would take his best warriors and attack them before they could start attacking our borders. With that being said, the whole pack turned upside down the minute he dismissed the morning assembly. It may have seemed like total chaos, but in fact, everything was pretty well organized. All our warriors reported to the training grounds, where Noah and Gabriel organized them in small units, all ready to take off anytime. Duncan sent Caleb down to the village to make sure that everyone would be safe if something
“What’s going on here?” I heard Duncan’s cold voice, and it helped me come back to my senses. He was quite dangerous when he sounded like that, but oddly enough, it made me relax.“I believe we need to talk,” I told Warren as I stood from his chest, and held out my hand to help him up.Duncan just studied us with cold eyes, and I had no doubt about Gabriel telling him everything through their link.“You can go and hold your training. I’m staying with them,” he finally said. For a long moment, Gabriel just studied us with a dark gaze, then nodded and left. Marissa looked worried, but I sent her a reassuring smile, and she left us too.“Care to explain?” Duncan asked, his voice still calm, but by now I knew he sounded like that when on the inside he was anything but calm.“Warren decided to help with my training,” I answered, not looking away from him, as he absentmindedly rubbed his chest where I stabbed him. “But in the meantime, he showed me something interesting.”“Like what?” Dunca
Things settled down a little once more, but everyone was uneasy. It was like the silence before the storm.I sat in my usual armchair, listening to the reports, but they were the same as every morning in the past week.Duncan strengthened our border patrols on the east, from the ridge up north to the Blue Moon border on the south, not trusting their security one bit after the last incident.That meant we pretty much left the western borders unattended, but Warren and his men from the Crimson were going back and forth all the time anyway, and Duncan was pretty confident about Alpha Blackwood keeping the Silver Moon quiet and secure.But no matter how tight we kept security, patrols reported no rogue movement, or anything unusual.Bran and Warren returned empty-handed again, too. They found nothing on the first two nights, but then they found something that they believed to be a lead. But that turned out to be a dead end.Just like the other three, they found after that.They only manag
After everything that happened today, all I wanted was to snuggle up in bed and sleep for maybe two days, but of course, I couldn’t do that.What I got was a little snooze with Rosie when I tucked her in, and I fell asleep with her after reading. To tell the truth, it felt salutary. The love this little angel gave me and her unborn little siblings was intangible and really warmed my heart.To Duncan’s credit, he really tried not waking me. He came to check on us, and kept really silent, but I guess I just felt him, and woke when he was about to leave.“Wait for me,” I called after him, carefully getting up, not to wake Rosie.“You don’t have to come. Just stay with her and rest a little,” he offered, stopping at the door.“I want to come. Just a minute,” I answered, putting a stuffed animal in Rosie’s arms to take my place.“You are one stubborn woman,” he commented, and I just smiled.“That is one of my charms, is it not?” I grinned at him, wrapping my arm around his.“We are taking
It was the longest 20 minutes of my life till I ran straight to the Blue Moon’s packhouse. With car, taking the road, it was about a 45 minutes’ ride, but going straight down the mountainside, it was about a 20-30 minutes run, depending on your speed.I was pretty sure Duncan made a new record.“They let them through, Luna. The rogues came from the Blue Moon,” Noah’s words rang in my head all along.I was sure it was all just a misunderstanding. They would never do it on purpose. I knew it. Something must have happened, but if Duncan was mad enough to go straight to see Richard like this, I wasn’t sure if he would listen. He must be seeing red right now.Oh dear Goddess, he is going to kill Richard.“They are already there,” Noah informed me. “Caleb and Derek are with him, but they won’t stop him.”“Almost there,” I answered, cursing to myself.I would have been faster if I shifted, but I didn’t want to push my luck after what the doctor said, and also, I didn’t want to face my old pa
In the morning, I couldn’t remember anything about the dream, but I felt like shit. I was sleepy, with a growing headache, and my morning sickness was worse than ever. After I spent the entire morning in the bathroom, Ducan called the doctor on me, but he found nothing. He gave me some pills I could take if needed and told me to take it easy. “Don’t look at me like that.” I looked up at Duncan’s worried face above my mug. “You heard the doc. It’s nothing serious,” I tried reassuring him, as I took two pills with Mrs. Stevenson’s magic tea. I have been drinking this thing for weeks now, but I still haven’t figured out what she put into it. Not like it mattered. It did miracles to my poor stomach, and I was eternally grateful. “Still. You should take it easy today,” he sighed, kneeling next to me. “I will, don’t worry,” I squeezed his hand. “My only appointment is with Rosie in the afternoon,” I grinned, and he managed to smile back. By then, I felt totally fine, so I went for Rosi
Why does he always know what’s on my mind? I groaned internally. I really wanted to keep him out of this, but as things were now, keeping silent might hurt him more than telling everything. “He and Jenny had an argument,” I started reluctantly. “Neither of them told anybody what it was about, but it is ruining their relationship and making things difficult for the whole pack.” “And how does it concern you?” “I think it might be my fault,” I said, resting my head on his arm and staring up at the ceiling. “What is?” “It was about pups,” I blurted out. Wows of secrecy don’t apply to your mate, right? “They argued about having pups?” he asked carefully, and I just nodded. “And how is it your fault?” “I was the one who made Richard like this,” I sighed. “You know, this whole thing would be ridiculous, if it wasn’t ruining their life. Richard wants pups, but Jenny thinks she is too young to have a baby. It is as simple as that. But they got emotional, hurt each other, and now they don
The rest of the night went on more smoothly.Returning from the Alpha meeting, Duncan seemed calm and content. Richard still looked displeased, but Thomas kept him from doing anything stupid. Lucas rejoined his mother and acted like nothing happened, but I felt the steely gaze of his bodyguard on me from time to time.It was quite late when we finally got to the car and headed home. We told Duncan everything, and I saw his frown deepen. He seemed to be concentrating on the dark road, not saying anything, but I knew he was thinking carefully about it.And in the silence of the dark car, I did the same. I kept thinking about everything that had happened tonight. The main question, of course, was Lucas Montalvo and his offer, but my mind kept going back to my other conversations. How cold and angry Richard seemed, how tired Josh looked and how worried Mallory was. And at the end, I always ended up remembering Jenny’s face drenched in tears.Was it my fault? Have I done this to them?I m
I felt like rushing into the alpha meeting and strangling Richard with my own two hands, but I forced myself to stay calm and close the door behind me silently.Jenny would need some time to fix herself.Marissa waved to me, and I forced a smile on my face. Heading towards her, I tried to collect my thoughts, and I was so distracted, I didn’t even realize someone was standing next to her and Noah.And it was none other than Lucas Montalvo, future Alpha of the Crimson Pack.“Luna Moira,” he bowed politely. “It is nice to meet you.”His voice was deeper than I expected, his face friendly and still a little boyish, but his eyes were serious.“The pleasure is mine,” I returned his politeness.“Would you mind taking a walk outside with me?” he asked, and I almost raised my eyebrows. He was so overly polite, and it was even more disturbing from a boy as young as him.“You should go and hear what he wants to talk about,” Noah linked me before I could say anything. “I will be right behind you