AUSTIN. “He’s my ex,” Lexi told me. “The asshole ex you were telling me?” She nodded. “I thought he was just suffocating you by being possessive. Has he hurt you like that before?” She nodded. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” “Why would I tell you? We were just fuck buddies, remember?” She said in a loud voice before she struggled away from my arms. I loosened my arms around her, and she moved away, heading for the couch. “I finally broke up with him after two years and filed a restraining order for him. But before I could file a case against him, someone reported him for attempted rape. He was convicted and was given seven years, so I thought I would be able to live free of him for seven years. If I knew he was back, I would not have stayed here.” She sat down and wiped her tears. “Why didn’t you tell us? Or Mom or Dad? You know they will not abandon you!” I followed her and crouched in front of her. “I’m not your family! Remember when you said that? You said I kept me
AUSTIN. As soon as we arrived at my grandparents’ home, I explained to them what had happened without giving too many details about Lexi’s past. I just notified them that her psychotic ex-boyfriend came back, and it seemed he wanted to hurt Lexi and David. Grandma was obviously upset and heartbroken, as it did bring back memories of Mom’s horrible experience when I was still in her womb. But I was glad that when I told them my plan of taking Lexi and David home with me, they supported it right away. Grandpa let me borrow one of their cars, and they volunteered to convoy with us up to the territory. I didn’t want to bother them, but they insisted, as they also wanted to visit the family. So, this spontaneous trip turned out to be a family affair. Lexi couldn’t say anything. She was probably overwhelmed by how my grandparents were reacting and extending help. Especially when Grandma said she would take care of her things at the apartment. Grandma had a cleaning business, so it
AUSTIN. I leaned my forearms on the balcony railings outside my training building office as I watched Lexi warm up to begin her first training session with Harlene. I would have wanted to personally train her, but she refused. She probably thought I would be too hard on her. But later on, I also realized that it would be best for another warrior to handle her instead of me. Because I was sure I would not be able to get my hands off her. I licked my lips before a sly grin cracked on my face when I saw her bent down, hiking her ass up in my direction as she tried to reach her toes. ‘Tell me you did that on purpose.’ I mindlinked her after checking the grounds below me, and I confirmed no one was there, as well as the grounds between us. I was the only one in direct parallel to her ass. ‘Maybe, maybe not.’ She answered confidently. ‘Am I stretching right?’ I straightened up my posture and crossed my arms across my chest. ‘Hmmm. You can do better. Open those legs wider and a littl
LEXI.“Are you not joining Austin for the full moon run?” Luna Amara asked as she sat on the couch in front of me. We just finished an early dinner as Austin, together with the Alpha and Beta, would be handling pups shifting tonight. I was at the pups’ nursery with the Luna, letting our sons play a bit before they slept.“No… He asked if I wanted to come, but I don’t think I am needed there.”“As the future Gamma Female, I suggest you go there.” She said.“I agree.” Catherine butted in. I didn’t know she had entered the room. “I’m not Austin’s female.” I smiled at them, and as much as I wanted not to feel embarrassed by these words, I couldn’t stop my cheeks from burning. They didn’t say anything, but they exchanged gazes with each other. “What?” I softly chuckled. “Not fair. Share it with me.”“Amara already told Austin she likes you as her Gamma Female…” Catherine said without hesitation this time.“Don’t take it the wrong way. Of course, Austin gets to choose who he wants, not
LEXI. “Now, stop being bossy and be a good girl. Let me boss you around tonight.” His breath fanned against my skin, making me swallow hard. I discreetly clamped my legs together. His words sent shivers down my spine and my core, and I was sure something leaked in between my thighs. Austin needed to stop doing this. I just found myself shutting my mouth and nodding my head. “Good girl.” He kissed my cheek before brushing the spot with his thumb. “I will just check on them. You can come with me.” I shook my head. “I’m fine here.” He nodded, and I watched as he walked toward where the Alpha and the Beta were standing with Marshall. I sank myself into the shadowed area of the clearing as I watched young male pups begin screeching in pain. There were seven pups shifting — two females and five males. It was a rare occurrence to have this many, as shifting happens on the last full moon before a shifter turns eighteen. Not many pups were born in the same month, so Austin was excited
LEXI. Watching them shift made me long for my own wolf, something I had not felt in a long time. Meeting Austin again and having a baby with him changed my perspective on life. I thought I was already okay without a wolf, probably because in human territory, no one needed one. But then I wanted to be here, and I didn’t want people to think that I was a liability to Austin. I knew our relationship was not the typical one, and I knew one day, when his mate arrived, I would have to go. I would be preparing myself for that, but until then, I wanted to be deemed worthy to stand beside him. I may not be the official Gamma Female of this pack, but Austin was someone handling the security of this territory, so I had to at least be someone of that caliber, even if just by association and not because we were mated. But without a wolf, I was just as clumsy and unreliable as any human in the middle of a raging storm. “That was a deep sigh you let out.” Austin chuckled. His arms were sti
AUSTIN. We rounded the perimeters we usually run to for newly shifted pups before making our way back to the clearing where we started. We typically have longer routes, but if we were with she-wolves, we had to use the shorter ones as they tend to get tired easily and would shift back involuntarily into their human forms unless they’d been training themselves for stronger stamina. Although we had female warriors in our pack, we never made it compulsory for females to attend warrior training as we would for males when they turned fifteen. As old-school as it may seem, although we knew females were capable of being as strong warriors as males, we still wanted to be the ones to protect them. But of course, we present them with the opportunity to be trained if they want to, once they turn seventeen. But so far, the two pups with us tonight haven’t trained at all, except for the last few weeks when they had to attend training to prepare for their shift tonight. ‘Where are we headin
LEXI.“I can’t promise you a perfect life, but whatever life brings, I will be here. We can grow stronger and learn together. We can be lazy and stupid together.”Austin’s words were drowning me. I couldn’t even categorize if I was dreaming or if this was reality. But either way, I didn’t want this moment to end.“Is this a prank?” I chuckled softly, but I was still crying. He shook his head, and his eyes softened as his thumbs wiped my tears. “I’m done playing games, Lexi. I want to take care of you and David. So please let me…”“I don’t know what to say.”“Say yes that you will take me as your chosen. Say yes, that you will officially be my female, the Gamma Female of this pack. My partner in the family that we will build together. Say yes to you and me.”“You are promising a big thing…”“I know, but this is what I want. Having you here with me, in my arms, in my life is just perfect, Lexi. I’m not sure anymore if I can go a day without you.”My lips quivered, but I bit them to sto