(Cassie POV)For some reason, when I left Blue Moon and headed back to the White Howlersâ pack, I had not anticipated my return being any more awkward than any other trip back to the pack. I guess awkward interactions with pack members and my family felt fairly routine for me, so I hadnât given much thought to how much more awkward things could get.But things were going to be feel far more awkward than anything that I had ever experienced before.First of all, leadership of the pack was currently in the hands of outsiders from the werewolf council.Second, everyone employed by the Pack âincluding my fatherâhad been temporarily placed on paid leave while the werewolf council conducted its investigations. Third, the last time my family saw me, I had been named the future Luna of an alpha wolf who had been killed right in front of me.Fourth, also the last time my family saw me, it was revealed that I had a mate that my parents had never met or heard of, who happened to be the future
(Cassie POV)Life at White Howlerâs pack soon returned to normal, but it was a ânew normal.â Alpha Fred had kept his circle of accomplices very small, and so most wolves were quickly cleared of any type of wrongdoing. The council had originally planned to offer the alpha position to Alpha Fredâs Beta, who had his own vices but was generally well respected. Pack members had not seen him in a while; Alpha Fred told most people that he and his family left on an alliance-building trip in Europe. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a lie. The Beta had discovered some of Alpha Fredâs misconduct, and Alpha Fred arranged his permanent âdisappearance.âNext in line for the position was my father. My father declined the position because he was of gamma descent, and he felt strongly that the alpha needed to have alpha blood to prevent enemies seeing weakness.The final person to be offered the alpha position was Meganâs mate, Mike. As the chief warrior, he was next in line after my fathe
(Cassie POV) âIâm sorry, Cassie,â Jason said. âI donât know how much of that you heardâĶâ I smiled sadly. âMy wolf is fine with how things have been too. She wanted to come today, butâĶâ Josephine gave both of us a knowing look. âWhy donât I give you two some privacy. Cassie, when you are done talking, why donât you wait here for me. Iâd love to catch up before you head back to White Howlers.â I nodded my head, and she quickly left the suite, leaving us alone. I laid the dress bag down on the sofa, opposite to where Jason was sitting, and I then sat down in a nearby chair. âItâs good to see you, Cassie.â âItâs good to see you too.â âHow do your sister and Alpha Mike like their new roles?â âItâs definitely a transition that neither of them saw coming. Thankfully, Mikeâs grandfather is there helping him. My mom and Mikeâs mom are also helping Megan. Anything changed around here?â âAaron is just as mopey as always. Maybe a little bit more.â I raised my eyebrows. âAaron
(Aaron POV) Iâve been having a hard time since Cassie left Blue Moon a few months ago. She was funny and easy to talk to. When she was around, I felt more like myselfâĶ or at least more like the me that I was before my mom and Allison died. I know that Jason and Cassie have been talking and trying to work on their relationship. In some ways, it is hard for me to think about Cassie being with Jason. At the same time, if he can fix things and bring her back here, at least she will be here. She will be safe, happy, and I will be able to talk to her from time to time. I have reached out grab my phone to call her at least half a dozen times, but each time I stopped myself. I feel like it would be inappropriate. Cassie is Jasonâs mate. Even if Cassie is my friend, it is inappropriate for another unmated male to be reaching out to her, especially while her relationship with Jason remains unstable. I tried going on a couple of dates with other she-wolves. It had been a while since
(Cassie POV) The realization hit me. Aaron --Aaron Wagner-- is my second-chance mate. Suddenly, everything makes sense. The ups, the downs, the fights. The issues with Jason and Danny and with our packs. Everything feels like it has been guiding us to where we needed to be and to this moment, right here, right now. Aaron. Aaron is the missing piece to my story. Aaron stared at me me across the room, as though he didnât know what to do. I stared right back, feeling the same way. Except that my wolf wasnât having it. Almost as if my body was moving on its own, I felt my legs walking me closer and closer to Aaron. I saw him do the same. When we were within a foot of one another, I could see the look in his eyes. It was shock, surprise, happinessâĶ and could it be? Devotion and love. âCassie, I ----â I didnât let him finish. I grabbed his collar and kissed him. Hard. The sparks from the kiss overwhelmed me. Aaronâs tongue touched the seal of my lips, asking for entr
(Jason POV) I was in the packhouse dining hall, happily ingesting my ninth whiskey cocktail in the past two hours as I scoped out various she-wolves, trying to decide which skirt or skirts I was going to enjoy in my bed tonight, when Josephine comes running up to me. âHave you seen Cassie?â she asks frantically. âNo.â âWhere did she go after you two talked?ââShe stayed in your suite. She was waiting for you like you asked her to.â âSheâs not there. I found her purse, but sheâs gone.â âIâm sure she just went to take a walk or something. Itâs been a long day; she probably just needs some time,â I reassured her, as my eyes caught a beautiful, busty brunette walking by. Perhaps she would like a ride on the Jason train tonight. âJason, please focus,â Josephine chastised me. "Alpha Mike called us from White Howlersâ pack. He felt Cassieâs link to the pack break. Her sister and parents are freaking out. They think she may be dead.â Josephineâs words just scared me sober. âOh
***Trigger Warning: This chapter may include male-female domestic violence.***(Jason POV)There were so many things going through my head when Aaron opened the door and I saw him standing there with Cassie. Not one of those things is fit to be said in mixed company.Everything that happened next happened very, very quickly. First, without thinking, I lunged for Aaron, planning to punch him in the stomach. I think the aâhole knew he deserved a punch, and he was planning to take it, but Cassie stepped in front of him at the last second. Please understand that I would never hurt a woman, ever. At least not physically. At least not on purpose.Given the height difference between Aaron and Cassie, and given her last-minute intervention, my punch landed squarely on Cassieâs face, breaking her nose. Just like hearing that she was missing immediately sobered me up, seeing that I hit her instead of Aaron immediately made my anger vanish.I wish I could say it did the same to Aaron.
(Cassie POV)After everyone left to go and freshen up, it took a while for Aaron and I to let each other go.âIâm so, so, so sorry, Cassie,â Aaron whispered to me.I looked up at him, taking in his piercing blue eyes. âThis isnât your fault, Aaron. I donât know what got into Jason. I know that wasnât the ideal way for him to find out about us, but our rejection was mutual. Our wolves barely recognized us as mates even before the rejection. I never anticipated him trying to attack you like that.â"By the way, what were you doing trying to shield me from him? I could have taken his punch. There was no reason for you to get yourself hurt.""Sorry; it was instinct. I know you could have taken him but you shouldn't have to. You didn't do anything wrong and he shouldn't act out like that. I didn't want the two of you fighting over me."Aaron sighed. âJason hasnât been himself for months. He acts first and thinks later. At first, I gave him a pass because I know mate bonds can r
And that is a wrap! I hope you all have enjoyed the journey. I will definitely miss these characters. They definitely took on personalities of their own as we went along. I cannot tell you how many times I sat down planning to write one thing, only to find the characters demanding we go a different direction. Thankfully, we will still get glimpses of the key characters in Book 2, which will focus on the Moon Goddess's decision to pair Maggie and Alpha Paul. That book will also pick up where this book left off, in terms of Bobby and the Moonlight Six. I plan to start Book 2 in a few weeks, after I take some time off for a couple of family vacations. Thank you all for reading!!! If you have enjoyed the journey, please leave a gem and/or positive review!
(2 Â― months later)(Jason POV)The last few months have been an absolute whirlwind, but I can honestly say that I have never been happier.After our big fight the night of Duncan and Moiraâs cake-tasting, Paige and I stayed up for hours talkingâĶ and fightingâĶ and making up again. We realized that we both like to be challenged, and once we both agreed to take rejection completely off the table, we found that we are really good at being one anotherâs âsafe placeâ to have heated or difficult conversations.Instead of Theo flying out to Texas, Paige decided that we should go back to Blue Moon together. She arranged for other wedding planners to handle all of her Texas weddings except for Moira and Duncanâs. She understandably wanted to keep their wedding, but everything left to do could be done remotely until the weekend of the wedding itself. Once we are a bit more settled, she plans to open a part-time wedding planning business just outside Blue Moon territory.... at which she wil
(Paige POV) Neither Jason nor I said anything to each other on the way home from the bakery. It was just as well. Thankfully, Moira did not seem angry about Duncan and Jason leavingâĶ and we were able to successfully pick flavors for their wedding cakeâĶ but the whole thing was still embarrassing and unprofessional. The moment we walked into my apartment, Jason headed to the kitchen. He peeked inside the refrigerator and calmly asked me what I wanted to eat for dinner. âReally? That is the first thing that you are going to say to me? Not âIâm sorry for embarrassing you,â or âIâm sorry for having my head up my aâ since you got backâ or âHow did the rest of your tasting go? I hope I didnât cost you a couple of clients.â Hell, at this point, Iâd even take âHey, Baby, Iâm craving tacos, does that sound good to you?ââ âWhy do I feel like you are itching for a fight, Paige?â âMaybe because I am, Jason! I cannot live this way anymore!!!â Jason turned around and glared at me. âLiv
(Paige POV)So it turns out that Jason not only upgraded my flight to first-classâĶ he booked himself a ticket as well. Jason explained that he had decided that he was going to go where I went for the rest of my lifeâĶ or until I rejected him for the third and final time. He also told me that his plan was for Theo to stay with Jasonâs parents for the first couple of weeks, and then âif I had not kicked him out yetâ Theo would come and join us.But for everything else, I probably would have found Jasonâs decision to come to Texas with me to be a really sweet gesture.However, over the next week, Jasonâs behavior continued to be bizarre. Worse, his constant presence began to feel suffocating and overwhelming. Even Carly, who loved having her mate nearby, was becoming concerned.Among other weird things, Jason:âcontinued to insist on making me breakfast in bed every. single. day. I could not even grab a piece of toast or a granola bar without Jason freaking out. ârefused to disagree
(Paige POV) As I get on the airplane, my heart feels heavy. I know that I need to get back to Texas, but even after spending the morning talking to Jason and most of the afternoon de-briefing with everyone else, things still just feelâĶ unsettled. I had hoped that talking to Jason would give me some better insight on our relationshipâĶ but more than anything, this morning feltâĶ. awkward. In addition to bizarrely shaving his head and insisting on serving me breakfast in bed, Jason spent almost the entirety of our conversation either apologizing or agreeing with everything that I said. It sort-of felt like I was talking to a wall; the normal, opinionated Jason was not there. As much as the normal, opinionated Jason irritates me at times, I could not help but wonder where he was. I definitely like the normal Jason better than the shell of a wolf that he was this morning. Oh, well. At least if I am going to have a heavy heart on my flight back, I will be comfortable. (Somehow, my
(Cassie POV) I wake up to Josephineâs voice in my head. âCassie, Sweetheart?â I moan. âI am sleeping. What is up, Josephine?â âIt is one oâclock the afternoon.â âOne in the morning?â I respond back groggily. âNo, Sweetheart. Itâs the middle of the afternoon.â âThatâs not possible,â I groan. âWe did not get home until five oâclock.â âFive oâclock yesterday, Baby.â Realization hits me. I must have been more tired than I realized. The last thing I remember was having a hot shower with Aaron, eating more food than I want to admit to eating, having a second round with Aaron in our bed, and then asking Aaron if we could talk after a took a quick nap. Apparently that nap was the longest nap ever. I try to stretch my arms, but one arm hits something hard. I blink open my eyes and see Aaron laying on his side, with one arm supporting his head as he stares at me. He smiles as soon as our eyes meet. âGood morning, Sweetheart,â he says. âGood morning, Aaron,â I smile back at
(Paige POV) When we finally made it back to Blue Moon, my emotions were a muddled mess: âI was relieved to be back. âI was happy to be alive and unharmed. âI felt both sad and betrayed about everything involving my sister. âI was horrified about having watched my sister be murdered in front of me. âI was scared and nervous to see Jason again, after having rejected him for the second time less than a week ago. âI was still upset with Jason for having knocked up my best friend. âI was still in shock that Granny Apple played a role in Sarah getting pregnant. Complicating my mess of emotions even more was the reality that I was hungry, dehydrated, and exhausted. When I saw Aaron race from the packhouse to greet Cassie, my heart felt happy for the two of themâĶ and a little jealous too. I could not help but wonder if Jason and I would ever get to that point, or if my happiness âlike that of Aaron and Cassieâ would be found in the arms of a second chance mate. Carly growled in
(Aaron POV) As soon as I heard that Cassie was at the border, I took off running. I shifted into my wolf in order to run faster, not caring that I was shredding my clothes in the process. I did not bother to mind-link anyone; I knew my father would do so. All I cared about was getting to Cassie. I reached Cassie within just a few minutes. I was vaguely aware that Paige, a baby, and a few of our border guards were standing nearby, but no one else mattered to me in that moment. I quickly shifted back to my human form and wrapped Cassie up in my arms. I am not ashamed to admit that âas I clung to her as though my life depended on itâ I buried my head in her neck and cried. They were happy tears, but tears all the same. For her part, Cassie clung to me just as much if not more than I clung to her. I could feel her tears on my bare shoulder, so I knew she was crying just like I was. After a couple of minutes, I finally âalthough reluctantlyâ pulled away from her just a little bi
(24 hours earlier)(Cassie POV)âIâĶ I have so many questions,â I tell Bobby after listening to his story.âI do, too,â Paige whispers. I glance at her and can tell that she is in shock. So much of what she has thought and believed for the past several years has been turned upside down in the matter of a single 10-minute conversation. âIâll answer what I can until Shelly gets here.ââAfter all Shelly and the Moonlight Six did to youâĶ why are you dating Shelly?ââKeep your friends close; your enemies closer,â Bobby responds as though it is nothing.âDonât you feel like you areâĶ cheating on your mate?â Paige asks.If my handcuffs would allow it, I would reach over and slap Paige upside the head. Seriously, that was the first question she asked Bobby? I remind myself that she is in shock and going through a lot, but I also chuckle a little bit as I realize Jason would likely have asked the same question.Instead of answering Paige, Bobby growls angrily. Paige seems to realize her