Nate The barbell rolls away from me as I let it go wincing from the burning in my muscles. I stretch my shoulders, one after the other, sighing heavily. I did an extra round because I was too agitated to stop. Early morning workouts are what I like the most, and because of the lack of nature here, the gym is the only place where I can burn up my muscles. In the last few years, I developed a feeling that meeting my mate would change my life in a significant way. It will be worth it if I have to wait for someone that long. This is what I’ve been telling myself. This is far from how I imagined meeting her and spending the first few days. Since Sarah’s eyes met mine, I’ve been trying to figure out what that change will mean for me, for her, or even for Black River. My mate should be the Beta Female and take a significant part in the pack leadership. I’ve come to the realization that she might not want that. What am I supposed to do, then? I’m not forcing her to do anything except mayb
Sarah Oh, shit, I hit him. Did I break his nose? I think his ego wouldn’t let me check him. As Nate leaves, the floor screeches under his black boots, clearly not made for gym practice. I finish stretching with the group and wave everyone goodbye. As usual, Manny walks in to help me put away the mattresses and equipment, companied by his flirty smile. Nate turned my life upside down in two days. I can’t even flirt. Manny touches me, and I shake his hand off. His face shows all the confusion and hurt he feels, and I don’t understand myself either. Nate and I are not a possibility. Not ten years ago. Not now. Not ever. The pack is everything to him. But it’s useless. My brain repeats the way he took off his jacket and stalked towards me with his mischievous smile, and things inside me wake up again. When he rolled up his sleeves, and the tattoo on his forearm came into view, I heard gasps around me. The moment he held me close, I froze. Goosebumps appeared on my skin, and a shiver
Nate “Hey, we are here,” Sarah yells from the door when we enter the apartment. As soon as I enter, the cinnamon aroma hits me in the overly heated apartment. Overly heated for me, I remind myself. They are not werewolves. Brit walks towards us from a room that seems to be the kitchen. “Hey, Babe. You’re here. I'm starving. What have you brought?” she asks excitedly. “Sushi, lots of sushi, pasta, and beer,” Sarah explains while handing her the bags and taking off her jacket. She then turns to me and takes the rest of the bags. “Hello again, Nate,” Brit says with a coy smile that makes me wonder what my mate told her about me. “Hi, Brit.” I take off my jacket to leave it on the hanger, where I spot the origin of the cinnamon scent, a huge light brown candle in the shape of two people kissing. I follow the girls to the kitchen, where they unload the sacks of food and start eating from boxes right away as they stand around the table. I look around the kitchen for plates and cutler
Sarah It has been a crazy evening. Nate at krav maga practice was both annoying and annoyingly sexy. I've never been this attracted to a guy. When Brit gets frustrated with us cozying up on the sofa and leaves for her room, I risk a glance at Nate. The adoring eyes he has for me melt my heart. His hold on me loosened only to let me turn towards him. I’m kneeling, sitting back on my heels, and leaning on the sofa. What if I ask him to stay? Would he want to stay? He puts his elbow on the back of the sofa to reach my shoulder with his hand. Each touch, each caress, is maddeningly slow. Like he is testing the water if I’m okay with it. Usually, a guy would know my intentions by this time because I’m always straightforward with what I want. With Nate, though, the only question is if I’m able to let myself believe that what I want is what he wants. However, It scares the hell out of me. We get up to move the bottles and the rest of the food to the kitchen, chatting a bit about the s
Nate The cold wind chills my face, and I take a huge breath to cool my insides. I had to leave Sarah’s apartment. Her scent, her taste, and her actions were everything I wanted. But then I licked her marking spot, which pushed Dante into a frenzy, and I was about to lose control. My fangs tingled, and Sarah’s brows creased in confusion when she saw them grow. I hope I turned away before she realized what’s happened. "What the hell was that, Dante? You have to calm the fuck down." ‘She is our mate. I want her. And I want her now. You felt how much she wanted us. If we mark her, she’ll be ours forever," he replies firmly. I sigh defeatedly - just what I felt. He is an animal who follows his basic urges. I’ve never had a problem dealing with him before. He has been reasonable all my life. I run my fingers through my hair in frustration, shaking my head. "We’ve been waiting for her for years, and now you want to scare her away? She could walk away." I’m unsure if my words will get th
Nate Her lips melt into mine to burn up our bodies pressed against each other. We don’t even feel the mate bond, yet the chemistry is intense. Our hearts beat and quicken simultaneously. Her kiss is as fierce and demanding as mine. I feel her shudder like yesterday when my fingers slide under her top. As I enjoy learning her little telltales, Dante’s possessive chanting: ‘Those lips are mine, those fingers can only touch me, mine, mine, mine,’ fills my head. I can’t argue with that. The feeling that she is perfect for me grows with each moment. We were born for each other. My hands explore her body –one moment, I’m tenderly caressing her waist, and the next, I’m possessively grabbing her back. Oh fuck, her shorts are so thin. I can feel her skin warming as she pushes up on her tiptoes. No panty line either. I’m in deep shit. Dante agreed to keep things slow, but Sarah didn’t, and it's hard being the only considerate one in the room right now. She pushes me backward, and I remember
Nate There are new faces in the living room and the kitchen. Maybe we spent more time in her room than I thought. I say Hi to everyone. “This is Nate.” Sarah introduces me and puts a sandwich in my hand. “That is Cliff.” She points to a guy. “Who I’m sure learned not to bang on my door again.” she laughs, and I force on a smile, unlike Cliff, who glares daggers at me. We shake hands, measuring up each other as I return his dislike. If my gaze could kill, he would be 10 feet under. “They are Mallory and Vivien.” She points to two girls who are standing at the counter. They wave and say ‘Hi’ and go back to what they’ve been discussing with Jenny. “Let’s sit down.” She motions to me, and we sit next to each other. She digs into her food, and I eat a sandwich as well. I find my beer still on the table where I left it earlier. “Do you want something to drink?” I ask my girl, my gaze lingering on her face. “Just water, thanks,” she replies, and when I get up, Cliff sits down on the o
Sarah I hate, hate these boots, and I’m never wearing them again – I think each time I slip, but then Nate’s steady arm comes around me, and I suddenly don’t hate them that much. His chest warms my back, and his voice: “I got you,” warms my heart. Things escalated quickly between us, and I’d lie if I said I didn’t initiate it. Dancing with him feels like our bodies are made for each other. His massive frame can hold my body perfectly. He doesn’t move much but the exact way and direction with me. I feel his muscles ripple under his t-shirt, and after the afternoon we had in my room, I don’t need to use my imagination to know what that looks like. The way he holds me gives me a pause each time - from tender pecks on my head to passionate kisses to suggestive ass-grabbing. I’m here for it all. His cocky smile each time he teases me turns me on, and I can kiss him whenever I want to. And oh boy, I want to kiss him all the time. I hardly recognize our friends around us. My sole focus is
Sarah My hands shake in the cold as I hide them in my hoodie’s sleeves. I’d say it’s my nerves because they are on the last thread for sure, but as I plan to undress and shift in a few minutes, I chose not to wear enough clothes. That was a wrong move on my part - the early morning of February day in Black River is freezing. Slipping on the frozen snow for the hundredth time, I curse at my clumsiness today. I’m heading to my childhood hiding spot to meet up with Nate. He convinced me to meet him there, as all I wanted to do was hide somewhere and go through my first shift alone. I don’t really know any other way to deal with things. I would’ve met him afterward, but I wanted to leave the bed before he woke up. Obviously, I failed with that attempt. The hurt I saw in his eyes when I told him about my plan washed over me, guided by our bond. I couldn’t leave him there. So, we settled on me shifting alone, but he’ll be on his way by then. So, here I am, attempting to shift at 25 when
Nate With Sarah’s embrace, the pounding in my ears disappears, and her words soothe me back to reality, where the only thing that matters is that she is beside me. More so in my lap, wrapping me in her intoxicating scent. She must have felt my sudden change in emotions because the featherlight kisses she was leaving on the top of my head, moved to my face and jaw. I couldn’t wait till she connected our lips. I took advantage of our proximity and swallowed her moan as I kissed her fiercely. My tongue searched hers, tasting the soft skin on it. Her hands glide down my chest slowly, teasingly, jumping over my belt to gently feel the length of my shaft, making it pulse. I groan with approval, searching her gaze as she separates us for a moment. A cheeky smile spreads through her face as she bites her bottom lip, and I dive back to capture them again. Yesterday she was adamant that I wasn’t healed perfectly for anything more than cuddling. I didn’t complain. Having her in my arms in m
Nate The pack meeting took an unexpected turn, leaving me seething with anger. Gabriel’s actions went beyond outing and humiliating Sarah when he commanded her in front of everyone. Each word he uttered fueled my fury. I had no idea I could be that mad at him. On top of my own emotions, I had to hold back Dante, who grew increasingly enraged as he sensed Sarah’s distress. He had always respected Gabriel’s wolf, but now, he was ready to attack him if he would anger our mate any further. "Was that really necessary?" I ask as I catch up to him. "Why did you use your alpha tone?” "Yes, it was necessary,” he cuts in, turning back to me swiftly before I could finish my thought. “She has to know I won't tolerate rogues on the territory." Won’t tolerate it? Where is his head at? Even if she was a rogue, that’s not enough reason to demand anything or humiliate her. I close the door behind me. I don’t want to have this conversation in front of everyone else. They already feel Gabriel’s ang
Sarah Being in Nate's house feels surreal. The place is simply perfect, with a cozy style in each room and warmth coming from the logs everywhere. Today, I was overwhelmed by the visits from many pack members. I was pleasantly surprised by how kind and friendly everyone was towards me. Many of them reminisced about our childhood and shared stories about our time together, whether it was practicing together or having something in common at school. Once inside, the world seems to come to a halt, and we swim in happiness. However, the moment we step out, I'm reminded of the other pack members, who are not happy with the recent developments. I see their scolding, hear their murmuring behind me, and I’m back to being the little girl who doesn’t belong here. Even with Lena inside me, I still feel out of place. Some even stop to ask Nate about his recovery, only to ignore me completely. Lena watches everything through my lenses and has her guard up, especially around Gabriel. She doesn’t
Nate Getting back home has proven to be more difficult than I anticipated. I'm concerned that climbing the stairs to my house may reopen my wounds. Leaning on Sarah for support makes me uneasy. This is not how I had envisioned showing her around my place. I’m unable to give her a tour, and even standing seems to be a daunting task. Although I manage to make it to the kitchen, I feel dizzy and realize I'm not as healed as I thought. I spy her facial expressions and movements carefully like a hawk. I want to know what aspects of the house she enjoys and what needs to be changed. Although I trust her honesty and doubt she would mislead me, I’ve been waiting for a long time to witness the genuine joy on her face when she really likes something here. "I love it; it’s perfect," she says, disappearing to look around in the bedroom. Just when Sarah comes back to the kitchen, the doorbell rings. With a bright smile, she gives me a peck on my lips and leaves toward the door, skipping on the w
Sarah This whole situation is absolutely unbelievable. They did everything we suspected. They deliberately wanted to separate us. I’m genuinely at a loss for words. How could any parent do this to their own child? What possible reason could they have? As I lean in to kiss Nate, he pulls me closer to his chest. The tingles rush through me with full force, and I’m speechless by how they spread through my body, waking up every inch and nerve. I find myself leaning against him in an awkward position, desperately yearning for his comforting presence. However, a surge of concern fills my mind, hesitant to get too close, worried that he may not be well enough for such intimacy. Despite putting up a brave front for me, I know his wounds must be causing him pain. Just in time, I pull away as my mum brings food for both of us. I hadn’t realized just how hungry I was. I missed breakfast and lunch, only having a few biscuits Mama packed for me. He whines throughout dinner that he wants steak
Nate The old chair creaks under me in my father’s office as I fidget nervously. We listen intently with my brother and Mark as my father, his Beta, and the pack’s head of security discuss border patrolling. This is the first summer our father asked me to join him and see what it's like to lead a pack. Gabriel has already spent his last three summers with him, training to be the next alpha. He is 14 years old, and I’m 11. As the second-born, I’ll never be the alpha of this pack, so sitting here is a privilege, as my father puts it. The head of security turns his head to the side. His eyes glaze over - the tell-tale sign of mind-linking. “Alpha, someone has entered our territory on the east of the forest,” he informs all of us a moment later. “Just one rogue?” my father asks with a suspicious face. “Yes, only one they could detect,” he answers, eyes glazing over again to get more information. “Who is in the area?” My father stands, and everyone follows. “We have three guards sur
Sarah I’ve never been to this part of the hospital—a long white corridor with many doors on each side. OR1, OR2, and so on. An opening door stops me as two people rush out, discussing a surgery. Then I cross to the area of recovery rooms, and it isn’t just busier; the walls are covered with paintings and photos, and the rooms are filled with chatting relatives. I follow Lena’s instincts to find Nate as our bond pulls me to him. Knowing that the bond is there gives me the greatest comfort and reassurance, strengthening my optimism that he will fully recover. Still, my palms are sweaty my heart is pounding as I quicken my steps again. I reach them just when they push the bed into a room. My heart is about to break out from my ribcage. When my eyes land on his pale face, I let out a huge sigh—probably one I’ve been holding for hours. I stand at the door, desperately waiting for them to set everything up and give me a sign that I can go in. Maybe running from the doctor was not the bes
Sarah It’s been a while since they took Nate for surgery, or at least it feels like it. I pace back and forth in the busy hospital's waiting area, receiving a few confused looks, but I'm too scared to look at anyone. The hospital staff hurries to help everyone, but the waiting area remains empty. The families are just about to leave the safe rooms, and I dread the moment when Nate's parents see me. I hear my name, and someone hugs me tight. The scent of lavender fills my nose, taking my mind back to a long-forgotten childhood, and I realize it is my mum, Amy. “Hi, Honey. I’m so happy to see you.” I feel myself easing a bit, and I finally hug her back. The care and love I received from her those years ago overwhelm me, and my brain is foggy again with all my emotions running through me. When she pulls away to look at me and I see her, I immediately start crying. I see her tearing up as well, and she hugs me again. “I heard from Daniel that you are here.” “Yeah, I finally met my b