*Tilly POV*It’s impossible to not be walking in the clouds after spending time alone with Onyx. And not the training type of alone, but the alone kind. His touch still lingers on my cheeks, my thigh, my…I bite back a smile and tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Man, I hope Anna is there. I majorly need some girl talk and giggles. Someone likes me. The thought makes my cheeks heat and my heart stutter. Those butterflies everyone in the movies talk about? Yeah, those have been let loose. I never dared to believe someone could like me outside of a mate bond. Let alone an alpha. The best part? It’s someone that is not my best friend, not my baby brother. Someone who, by all rights, shouldn’t like me and what’s better yet? I believe him when he says it. I can feel it in his touch, see it in his eyes. Alpha Onyx feels the same way I do, and I’m not sure I will ever find my way down from where I’m floating in the sky.I see someone lurking in the shadows beside the building and I
Fear grips me as I open my eyes and see only darkness. No, no no! I am not blind again, damn it! No! I whimper in frustration and pain, trying to blink away the darkness when the light comes on and I look directly into the eyes of one of my fellow trainees, Patrick. He stares at me, a crazed look on his face as he panics, pacing the floor. Relief floods me, my eyes raking through the room, taking in every detail now that I know my eyes are in working order. The room matches my dorm room. Same layout, gray linoleum floors with the basic beds and curtains. He has me sitting in the center of the room in a chair similar to the one in my dorm, hands tied behind my back. “What in the actual fuck?” I spit out more annoyed than anything. I may be tied up, but it’s Patrick, probably the least threatening person here other than me. Seeing him makes me relax, my mind wandering to less intense issues at hand. For example, the shirt I’m wearing is the only comfortable, not matchy thing I could
*Onyx POV*“You should probably get some rest.” Tic says, dropping a sandwich on my desk along with another cup of coffee. “I can’t,” I say, glaring at the reports in front of me. “I have to figure this out.”“It’s been three days of you doing basic hygiene and looking through all of this for something. What you need is a set of fresh eyes.” He replies with a deep frown. “How is Tilly doing?” I ask, ignoring him.“She is fine,” He says and I look up, giving him a glare. “Tilly is training like everyone else.”“Good. Is she improving?” I ask, hopeful.He winces and clears his throat. “Have you made any progress finding a pattern in the rogues attacks?”I glower at him, and he avoids my gaze. “Tic, don’t change the subject. Is she improving?”He sighs and shakes his head. “No. It’s wolf week, and hers is smaller, more lean than the others. When the others are able to catch her, they toss her around like a rag.”“When the others are able to catch her? So she is fast, then?” I ask, feel
I walk into the training pitch with my stomach in my throat. I’ve avoided being here completely to not make it seem like I am favoring Tilly. Not much good it has done other than cause us both stress and make me more desperate to be around her. Tic annoyingly pointed out how avoiding everyone is neglectful of my duties. So here I am showing up and finding that for the first time, I’d much rather shirk my responsibilities and hide away with Tilly.“Alpha.” Bill says, surprised. “I thought you were going to be busy until the Warriors Ball?”“Testing has moved up.” I say grimly, hating how everything is turning out. After hesitantly leaving Tilly, I made some calls and informed the packs I trust of what Tilly helped me realize. It took some convincing, but once they listened, they panicked and demanded their warriors back.“Shit.” Bill says with wide eyes. “I’m not sure everyone will pass, Alpha.”“They will.” I say flatly. “Every one of them.”Bill gives me a strange look, tilting his h
*Tilly POV*Anna shows up with Onyx right behind her and a big, proud grin on her mischievous face. I told her we were fine with only four people, but did she listen? No, because she is a strong-minded alpha’s daughter and the grin on her face just makes me wonder what else she talked to him about. It doesn’t take that long of an exchange to ask someone for help, and my curiosity is getting the better of me. “She looks mighty pleased for someone who just asked for help.” Harriet says, stepping up to my side.“It’s Anna,” Henry says. He has been the warrior training with Anna for the past few days to better his technique. “She is probably thinking about killing someone.” He shudders at the thought and Harriet and I break out laughing.Anna does not hold back in training, and her cheery nature while decimating her opponents has purchased her many fun little nicknames. My current favorite is Anna the Annihilator. She, however, hates it, which makes it that much better. “I hear you only
The last couple of days of training have gone by in a blur. I’m sure how we made it to this point, but here we are. Warriors ball day. The day all the warrior females preen and giggle, making themselves presentable for their mates. All the while, the males do—well, I’m sure they do something. Like sleep in and eat a hearty breakfast. Not me though. Nope. Not on Anna’s watch.This chick has had me up since five this morning sipping on herbal tea that’s supposed to help with my bloat, which is great because I did not know I was even bloated. She even slapped some gooey gold things under my eyes for my bags that tell everyone how tired I am. Again, I’m not sure I ever noticed they were there. “You know what’s fantastic for the bags under my eyes?” I ask Anna as I sniff then put aside the nasty ass tea with a grimace. “If you say ‘sleep’ I will come out there and throttle you.” She hollers from within her tiny closet. “It’s true, though.” I mutter.“I let you sleep in, Tilly.” “Lies!
My nerves are an utter mess as I check the clock over and over again, watching the minutes tick by painstakingly slowly. I just have to see him. That will calm me down, even if it’s just a glimpse. It’s a feeble thought. I know seeing him will only lead to me wanting to kiss him, which I won’t be able to do in public. There are rumors about me and Onyx, with his blatant favoritism there were bound to be. But the thing with rumors is, what makes them exciting is the mystery of whether they are real or not. Touching him the way I want to would turn rumor into fact, fairy tale into reality. As much as I want to live this fairytale, I’m not sure I’m ready for what it all entails.My hand taps my thigh while I crane my neck, looking from side to side. Anna and I have long since abandoned our station after the last person signed in. Now free to mingle, eat, and be giddy with everyone else. Anna was too happy and getting a little violent with her random excited slaps or screeching, so I sen
Onyx stands, unmoving as he watches me with hopeful eyes, gauging me, waiting for me to utter the word in confirmation. I revel in his scent and his heady gaze, never wanting to be removed from either again. “Mate,” I utter the words. The gravity of their meaning leaves me weightless as I push reality aside and relish this dream. Here I can achieve anything, here we can conquer the world together. The moment reality seeps into this happy bubble is one moment closer I am to losing him forever.“I knew it,” he whispers the words victoriously to himself, sauntering closer to me with each calculated step. One, two, three and he is right in front of me. His hands reach out, framing my face with a glorious, radiant smile. He completes me and I him. I can feel it in the electric sparks that dance along my skin, see it in his eyes that promise a future I know we don’t get to have. “Onyx…” I murmur, my resolve cracking under the weight of his loving gaze. This is real. The sparks are here an
I can honestly say I have the best readers! Thank you for always giving my books and characters a chance! Tilly was one of a kind and writing her story was one of the best times I’ve had writing. Her sass and emotional growth journey were so special to me! I hope you will hit the follow button in the app so you can get a notice when I get my next book up an going! Currently I have the sequel to Rebel Rising: The Lost Alph’s mate in the works but I won’t be posting it until I have at least 5-10 chapters. So read up on book one! If you are all caught up on my books I have a few authors I will always recommend: Alle, J Tarr, Allie Carstens and Emma Taylor! All four of these authors have fun and original ideas that always blow me away. Join my group online called Miri’s Shifter Cafe for updates on my work, more about me and characters! (I can’t name where the group is but it starts with “Face” and ends with “book”)Until the next journey, all my love
*Onyx POV** SIX YEARS LATER*Tilly’s leg bounces nervously in the seat next to me as I chuckle to myself, shaking my head. She instantly shoots me an annoyed glare. In six years, I still can’t get enough of her, annoyed or not. Hell, sometimes I prefer her annoyed. It makes for a very fun game of groveling at the end of the day. Her glare slowly morphs into a hidden smile as my emotions transfer to her. “Stop it.” She hisses and I shake my head, looking at the road before us.“I didn’t do anything,” I laugh.“I can feel you being amused and…stuff. It’s like you don’t even care about me and my feelings.” She fakes a whine, her lips turning into a big pout, and I growl in my chest. “Oooh, Oh I promise you, I care VERY much about feeling you. Uh, I mean your feelings.”She groans and presses her head on the back of the headrest. “You know how…” She pauses and looks behind her at the perfect five-year-old little boy we created who watches us intently. Then she looks back at me, her ch
***Bonus Chapter****Anna POV*Tilly looks perfect in her usual oversized top and scuffed up jeans. If I would have had it my way, that girl would be in the most expensive lace dress Onyx could muster up, but that wouldn’t be her. That would be me dressing her and honestly…She looks just as good right now as she would in any dress. It’s not the clothing she is wearing that makes it, but the smile on her lips that I am certain will remain there until the end of our days. It wasn’t easy keeping this secret from her, but damn, was it worth it. Onyx looks at her like our wolves look at the moon. She is more than his mate but his everything, and damn it, she deserves it. I think when the Goddess made their union; she knew Tilly would need a little extra from her mate. She and Onyx dance as the rest of the party guests leave, heading home just as the sun rises. It was one long ass party, that is for sure, and I am exhausted. Ty’s hand slides into mine, lifting it to his lip and pressing a
*Two weeks later**Tilly POV*One week in my new pack and I can, with absolute certainty, say that I have found my home. The pack is full of genuinely kind pack members. I have not had a single day without at least three cookies for breakfast and that is NOT a complaint. Onyx made the joke that they love me more than him, but I think they are just happy he is happy. It makes sense now why he felt he had to make a promise to them to take Harriet as his mate. She emulates what his pack is, and she is truly beloved by them all. But she is more cherished as a Gamma, more loved by her true mate than she would have been by a chosen one. And she deserves to be with the man meant to complete her. Just like I deserve the love I have with Onyx. It took some acceptance and I’ve got a long way to go, but I deserve it. Just like everyone else. I am meant to be here. With them. With him. My whole life, I have craved this fairy tale of someone being able to love me. I gave up the notion I could e
“Are you sore?” Onyx teases me as I limp to the bathroom, looking back to shoot him a glare. “No.” I lie and bite back a smile. “Mmm, good.” He murmurs, making the bed. “Means I can go harder tonight.” I gulp as a pang of needy pleasure shoots right for my sore bits, and I curse Onyx under my breath. He knows what his words do to me, and he is taking great pleasure in my struggle for more of him while my body simultaneously begs for reprieve. I’m a glutton for sweet, delicious punishment at his hands, apparently. He surprises me as he wraps his hands around my tummy from behind his chin finding the crook of my neck and he presses his cheek flush to mine. Then he walks me to the window, showing me the stunning view of snow-capped mountains as the sun cascades down on them. The world has been awake for hours while we had snuggled in the comfort of our bubble. “That’s home,” he mutters, nuzzling my jawline and dropping two kisses there. “Our home. Just beyond the mountains.” “Hm
Onyx eats the last of the pesto chicken and stands from the bed, taking our plates and setting them on the desk near the door. When he spins around, he has a glint in his eyes and I blush as his emotions flood my mind. It seems he is hungry again. Instead of coming to me, he moves to the bathroom to clean himself up and I chuckle to myself as my body is ravaged by the barrage of emotions he still has hammering into me. When he walks back out, he is clean shaven, his perfectly angled jawline on full display and it does to me exactly what the v shape at his waist does. Which is going to be great when we are in public. Nothing wrong with being hot and bothered ALL the time, right? His smile morphs into a sheepish grin as he stalks over to me, his eyes dark and his hands dropping to the waistband of his shorts. Before he shimmies them off and leaps onto the bed. I howl in laughter, giggling as he reaches out and takes hold of my ankles, yanking me down onto my back. Onyx then crawls u
*Tilly POV*“I hate meetings,” I whisper to Anna, who elbows me in my side. I stick my tongue out at her and she rolls her eyes before biting back a smile. Onyx reaches out and takes my hand, entwining our fingers as he pulls me back to the conversation that’s about to start.“Behave,” he whispers in my ear, but I hear the smile there. He prefers it when I misbehave and we both know it. It was my lack of decorum that drew him to me in the first place, right? My grandmother sits to the right of my grandfather and to his left another middle-aged man with a peppering of gray in his black hair. I tilt my head, trying to figure out who he is when my grandfather clears his throat, calling everyone’s attention. Only respective alphas and their mates are here. Anna being the exception to the rule since she will take the role once she gets home since she has found her mate.“I would like to first start by apologizing profusely.” My grandpa mutters, his eyes much clearer than they had been whe
I stand, and in one singular motion, I lift her and spin so she is on my lap. She rises on her knees, hovering just above me as I look up at her. The light shines from behind her, illuminating her hair and outlining the curves of her body as water splashes off her skin.The look in her eyes, that shy hunger, has my heart stuttering in my chest. I reach up, gingerly stroking her cheek before wrapping my hand around the nape of her neck and yank her lips to mine in a needy kiss. Her body presses to mine and the shock of how strong the sparks are makes us both gasp. She giggles into my mouth and it sends a thrill through me and down to the place where I need our bodies to meet.There is nothing I need more than to feel her in every way. But we are on her time right now. Meeting or not, nothing will make me rush this, rush her. Why the hell would I want to? I want to lap up every damn second like the thirsty wolf I am. I nibble on her bottom lip, then press my tongue along her lips, sea
*Onyx POV*We are all on edge, as we should be, considering where we are, but if what Tilly and Anna have told me is true, I think they are trustworthy. Not to mention Tilly is now this pack’s only hope of survival. To attack her or anyone she wishes to protect is death to the pack with no redemption. And it’s their own dumb rules that tied their hands like this.The boy leading us to our room stops for a minute and then turns toward Tilly. She clings to me, her pain seeping through the mate bond, notifying me she has once again done too much too soon. She should have just let me carry her the entire way. “If you need anything, just stick your head out and holler. I’ve already put clean towels and linens out. Audra, the she-wolf attending to you will be by with some clothing that fits.” He then gives a curt bow and walks off. “Well, that was interesting…” Tilly says, then her tired gray eyes look up at me. “Do we have servants like this in our pack?”My heart swells at her words. Ou