Tara knew she was dreaming and that would usually be fine with her. But the fact she could talk about it being a dream and not wake up, that was a red flag. Something wasn’t right. At first, she couldn’t put a finger on what was wrong. She didn’t sense danger, then another clue came to her. She was in her flesh, that wasn’t right. She’d gone to sleep in her fur. When Tara remembered her dreams, she was usually in whatever form she fell asleep in. She’d figured that was something the shifter mind did to make things a little less jarring when the shifter woke up. Next clue was how intense the colours were. She so rarely remembered her dreams. At least she’d not done something crazy like entering the Dream Realm. That would have been truly frightening, with the Dream Realm pretty much an unstable war zone. It was dangerous normally, but now. Now it was dangerous and unstable. NARC made sure everyone and anyone that could access it knew that it wasn’t s
“Us? How many pups are we going to have?” “I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you after your first pregnancy you tell him you have enough to handle. News flash, Dad doesn’t listen. You have three pregnancies.” “How many pups?” “Enough that you’d be running away if I told you. Don’t worry, you love all of us by the time we’re all here.” Tara prayed this was just a dream turning into a nightmare. She couldn’t be talking to one of her pups, could she? If she was, who was the pup speaking for that Tara wouldn’t listen to? “Look, you have to forgive him and show him he doesn’t have to be perfect or in control all the time. Has he told you how he grew up and why he opened the club?” “Okay, no he hasn’t and I’m not discussing the club with any pup, let alone one of mine.” The horror of the downhill conversation. Tara now knew she wasn’t in control, and it wasn’t her mind running the show. “Fine, I’ll keep his four-yea
Cal finally made it back home. It took more hours than he’d planned. It didn’t help that a group of disgruntled humans want to blame them for their city falling apart around them, and their crime rates going on the rise. When a shifter casually commented on the fact that they were in fact interrupting them cleaning up their criminal behaviour which by the laws humans went by meant they were aiding and abetting the criminal in evading prosecution. It had gone downhill from there. After several arrests, Cal knew it would end up somewhere in the news. It brought to light an issue created by humans and that was if supernatural creatures had the right within Canada or anywhere that banned execution as punishment? He knew that wouldn’t go away soon. As if they didn’t have enough politics to deal with and grey area within the laws. His own club was now receiving the hairy eyeball from concerned citizens. There were now two groups coming for him and the club.
“I’m glad you’re finally back. Tara’s upstairs resting. It’s been weird, around here while you were gone. The pack has been sending people to talk to Tara about every little thing. So far, she’s listened to every single thing they’ve had to say and not turned a single pack member away, no matter how crazy the request is. They drained her of all her energy. Oh, and I think you really need to meet with the Council of Elders. Several carefully inquired about Tara having a problem she might need to talk about. Either she didn’t understand what they were talking about, or she ignored it for now.” Jaxon met Cal in the garage when he finally pulled in. Exhausted as he was and out of sorts, he could see Jaxon was upset about something, and needed to tell him all about it. Now whether Cal would do something now about it was a different story.” “What do you think the Elders are trying to get to her to see if they can get proof that she’s a poor selection for Luna? Well, it’s a
Cal entered his apartment and then winced. He’d been so absorbed in his mistakes and screw-ups. Then everything that’s going on around him, that he looked down at himself and realized he’d made another. He looked like he’d bathed in blood and gore. He prayed Tara was still sleeping and didn’t see him like this. Gad, it would solidify the horrible image she must have for him. He was pulling off his boots when Cal noticed the small wolf asleep on the living room carpet. That had him pausing with a frown. Why was she sleeping on the floor? This was her home… Then it hit him. Their relationship started as Master and slave. She wasn’t comfortable sleeping on the bed or sofa. Did she truly fear that he’d be angered by her sleeping like that? He needed to do something to fix that. First, he had to go clean up; he looked like he’d been swimming in an abattoir or slaughterhouse. He didn’t smell much better, either. Now he remembered why they’d decided not to war so o
“Okay, calm down. It’s off. Let me look at you and sure it didn’t hurt you. This has shift silver in it. How did you shift?” Cal was trying to examine her throat. He thanked whoever decided Tara would be a small wolf. The collar was tight and digging in, but it hadn’t done more than bruise her. Tara whined again. It sounded so lost. Clearly, she didn’t know how she’d done it. “I’m sorry, take your time. That must have been a surprise waking up like that. I didn’t even think about your collar when I came in. It’s a relief that we don’t need it anymore. I came to tell you that Elmwood and what’s left of the rogues won’t be trying to harm or kill you anymore. We’ll talk about that later when you’re more comfortable. Are you ready to try shifting again?” This is crazy. She’d tried in the beginning to shift with the collar on and she couldn’t. What changed since then? Tara grumbled a little and he could see her concentrate on shifting. Unlike before, whe
“Tara, it’s not like that at all. Come, let’s get off the carpet and get something to eat. We’ll talk about this, and I’ll see if I can’t make things make more sense to you. It sounds like you’ve missed something or had a different perspective than I thought you would.” Cal stood up and helped Tara to her feet. Then he retrieved her clothes from the floor. “As lovely as you are to look at. Right now, I think you should dress now, so there’s one less distraction. Then we’ll get something to eat from here and talk while we eat.” Tara looked up into his face for a moment before saying. “If I have a dress, so do you. Your tattoos have always been distracting.” Cal laughed as he looked down at his mate. This was the she-wolf he saw hints at before this and wanted to see more of. What did he have to do to get her to show herself more often? “Fine, I’ll be back in a moment. It’s only fair in this situation.” He left her getting dressed in the living room and went t
Tara never told Cal about her dream or whatever that was that she experienced. He made it quite clear to her she needed to speak up, and say how she felt. Cal admitted it made him uncomfortable to know that she wasn’t happy about something, but to let it avoid confrontation. She was his mate where the pack and the public were concerned. But within the club and their private spaces, she was his submissive. He’d make sure she knew when the tables turned from now on. This wasn’t a simple conversation to start for either of them. Tara could tell Cal wasn’t comfortable putting himself in a vulnerable position. Tara feared angering him, and Cal taking his anger out on her. Or calling it quits all together. Tara knew she didn’t have anywhere to go if she left this pack for any reason. There wasn’t any sane explanation why she feared this happening. Now, she sat there eating the food they’d prepared together and wondering how or when this all chang
One Year Later —Tara sat out on the poach behind the packhouse with a laptop open to a spreadsheet. She and Emily were working out the next year’s budget and the projects they’d tackle.With Emily looking after the club while they were up here. It was interesting, to say the least.Tara gave birth on schedule. It was about the only thing that was on schedule these days, and Cal was sitting on a blanket on the grass with one-year-old Natalie Nichols. The apple of her daddy’s eye. She had him wrapped around her little finger and he’d have it no other way.Eddie and his Lycan girlfriend were now running the kitchens here for Rachel. They’d mated and, well… Tara expected to hear that they’d have pups soon enough.Jaxon, well, he was back in the city. Tara wasn’t sure what was happening with him. Cal wouldn’t speak of it. But Jaxon took a leave of absence from his position for a bit. Tara wasn’t receiving the full story. But as far as she could tell. Jaxon may have two mates. One wasn’t d
Five Months Later —Tara felt like the size of a house. She propped her ankles up on her desk and she had to eat her fries with no salt. It wasn’t the same, nothing tasted the same. The poking from inside was regular now and she couldn’t wait for the last six weeks to go by. She’d been six weeks pregnant when her symptoms started and since then, if it wasn’t one symptom, it was another. Tara would be more than happy for these little monsters to enter the world.Cal was everywhere and nowhere, it seemed. He told her to clear her calendar today because he wanted to show her their new territory. The thought of trudging out there was exhausting to her. But she’d do it because he was just so insistent. He promised they’d stay the night out there and come back the next day at a leisurely pace.“You ready to go?”“Yes, I just don’t understand why we have to do this now. When all I want to do is take a nap.”“You can nap in the vehicle on the way. Don’t worry, I’ve packed everything we need a
Tara could feel the ball of conflicting emotions rolling about in her head and her belly. She had a new life inside her. No matter what, she’d never be alone again. But how did she explain all of this to them when the time came?How should she explain this to Cal? He had to be expecting this. Look at the second floor. She didn’t like it necessarily. Their pups living completely separately from us with someone else looking after them. Why hadn’t they spoken about this before?Tara’s eyes closed as the elevator dinged and opened. She’d not thought that it was important before this because she wasn’t pregnant, and they didn’t have any pups. Now she thought of it.This morning, Cal was gone before she got out of bed. This was a day she didn’t train, because there were other things she needed to get done. Which, of course, didn’t get done? A few steps brought her to Cal’s office over the club.She knocked and entered when she received the okay to enter. Tara lucked out because Cal was alon
David Monroe struggle with the enforcer training. His heart wasn’t in it and his skills lay in other places, but everyone lumped him in with the other male Lycans because he was a Lycan. He’d exhausted almost every avenue trying to explain to them he’d rather be patching people up and treating pups with fevers. While he was moping during a break, his phone rang, and it surprised him to see that Emily’s name came up on his phone. “Hello, Emily. What’s wrong? Why are you calling?” He couldn’t think of a reason she could be calling him for, but any chance he got to speak with her was better than nothing. “I’ll tell you, but you have to be very careful with what you say. No one can know why you’re about to be ordered to the Luna’s office. What we need you to do, is slip out of the packhouse. If anyone asks, you’re running an errand for the Luna. That’s it nothing more. What you need to do is go to the closest pharmacy and pick up a pregnancy kit. Come back here
Again, Tara was up late the next morning. Cal was determined he wouldn’t let her feel like he neglected anything about her. From sympathizing with her, to how her emotions were toward absolutely everything, and he didn’t forget to include planning their future together.Well, he talked, and she mostly listened. What he said wasn’t bad. Tara didn’t have a problem with any of his ideas. She didn’t have much to add or at this time have an emotional connection to any of it.Now, though, Tara needed to get her day going, and she felt like something that had been dredged from a swampy pond. It took only minutes for Emily, her newest staff member, to realize there was something wrong with Tara.“If we had a cat, I’d say you look like the latest thing it dragged home. When will we see you going to a healer?” Emily eagerly asked Tara as she returned from her latest flight to the bathroom. Tara looked at her with an expression of exhaustion.“I’m fine and I’m not planning ongoing to see one.” S
“Stone dear, you know I love you. I’m your mate and partner in life. I have always advised you about everything honestly and in your best interest.” Elaine still quietly sat in the sitting room and calmly spoke to Stone. The others had slowly filtered out to go on with their day or to watch their guests leave. “Of course you are, and you have.” Stone looked out the window and watched the vehicles leave. Elaine could see he was distracted by what was going on and his own thoughts. “Then why are you being an ass and not listening to anything I say now?” She let her irritation slip into her voice and she dryly responded to him. Her annoyance was obvious. Stone’s instincts instantly alerted him to the fact that not all was good between himself and his mate. Over the years, that instinct helped him avoid many different disasters from exploding in his face when it came to their relationship. “I’m listening Ellie. I’ve always listened.” “Then explain to me if you listened to me, then why
No one said much of anything on the way home. The privacy divider between the front of the vehicle and the back raised then never went down. Cal pulled Tara to him and sat her in his lap. He didn’t do anything more but let her soak up his warmth and strength. He buried his head into her neck and hair. The smell of the wool sweater mixed with the natural spice of her scent. He instantly felt his aggressive feelings smooth out and gentle. It’d been difficult watching her get so wound up from it all. Tara sat there, and all but purred. As their vehicle made slow progress through traffic, it’s darkened windows gave them the privacy that Cal didn’t care, Tara turned and straddled his lap instead. She didn’t do anything more than that. But his body felt her skirt hike up and he groaned, knowing how naughty she was instinctively gravitating to for comfort. That wasn’t what their mating would ever be based on. He’d never satisfy his needs while she was seek
Kole wanted to get back to the gathering as quickly as possible. He didn’t want any misunderstandings between anyone, let alone the two packs. There was no way he’d explain to the pack that their beloved elder and ex-alpha alienated his first born grand pup with blind stubbornness, hateful questions, and fear. That wouldn’t be happening today or any day. Kole wouldn’t risk fighting with Cal. How would it look when the Council of Alphas met? His father always forgot about that. Though the council of alphas didn’t exist during his time in control of the pack. He’d been a forward thinker of his time and moved his pack to a territory that was being noticed by the local humans. It meant he could settle their businesses in, and those humans would see those businesses as founding members of the business community. “Let’s go back down now and please be nice to her. She’s so much like Heather and you wouldn’t talk to Heather that way. Just apologize and let mother do
“That’s my third pup there and his mate. Your uncle, Stephen, and his mate, Ariel. Their grown pups, Erin, and Eric. That about covers your living family here, dear. Everyone sit please. Stone has created enough excitement and drama for one day. She has a sweet soul. Stephen, treat her like you would your sister and don’t act like your father if you know what’s good for you. As for the doghouse, it’s an old guard shack that’s been turned into a bunkhouse for single wolves who, for one reason or another, don’t want to make the trip all the way back to their homes to sleep. It’s affectionately called the doghouse because often there’s trouble between the few mated wolves that stay there.” “Oh, good grief. That’s horrible.” “Oh, don’t think your grandfather hasn’t stayed there a time or two. Though these days he’s more likely to use a guest apartment.” Tara looked over the tissue at Elaine with a shocked expression. “You’re joking.” “No, I’m n