Jane’s POVOnce I’d shut Carl firmly in the other bedroom, not even hesitating there long enough to look around, I went back to the sleeping pups to watch over them.Smiling to myself, tears pricking my eyes, I gazed softly at them. They looked so sweet lying there together; Owen had put an arm around Ava, and the three of them were nestled in close under the blanket.I fetched a cloth, ran it under the hot tap, and went back to wipe their faces clean. I managed to dress them both in their pyjamas, and then I settled on the edge of the bed, fiddling with the blanket.“Good night, my snow angels,” I whispered, leaning forward to kiss my boys’ foreheads. I felt sorry for Ava, and patted her cheek fondly. She was so cute, with her lips parted slightly in her sleep and her dark eyelashes casting long shadows down her cheeks.I couldn’t hold her mother against her. Ava had been nothing but adorable in the short time that I’d known her.My head started to droop, so changed quickly into a
Jane’s POVOh. My. God!What was he doing here? I stared at the door, still ricocheting slightly from how hard I’d slammed it in his face. Owen had told me that he’d been planning to propose, but I hadn’t really thought about it since. How could I have?I bit my lip, so hard that it split. Why did it have to be him? He was the last person I wanted to hurt.Alpha Jeff had given me a job when I’d first left the Storm pack. My boys and I had been homeless, and he’d given me work and a place to stay until I’d managed to find my feet. I’d been able to develop my skills at the Institute, and it was those skills that had enabled me to become a doctor. I owed him so much.I owed him more than this.As the director of the Institute, Alpha Jeff was unlike any other Alphas I’d met. He was a true gentleman and, as a medical professional, he was uninterested in fighting and causing more harm.His Beta ran his pack, Thunder Cloud, which allowed him to spend most of his time at the Institute or sc
Jane’s POVMy face burned. I hated that my body responded to his like this, always giving him feedback too quickly.And with Carl and Jeff right behind us. I wondered if they were watching. My blush darkened.“Hunter, I can help you too,” said Carl, and then he was pulling me out of Hunter’s arms.Hunter arched an eyebrow at him. “Sure, you can – if her house is covered by insurance.”I looked between them as thick silence stretched through the room, filling it like fog. The atmosphere became strange again, tainted by so many words left unsaid, and so I put the knife down. Even that sounded loud in the quiet kitchen.“I’m going to check on Ares,” I said. “You guys can keep cooking without me.”It was a relief to leave the bristling tension behind. I jogged upstairs, opening the bedroom door to find Ares already up and getting dressed. His head was down, and as I followed his gaze I saw the twenty-pound weights attached to his wrists and ankles. I frowned.I knew those weights were to
Hunter’s POVFuck! I ground my teeth together, a muscle ticking in my jaw. My dick flexed, pulsing with the need to keep thrusting. Any guy would be agitated and riled up after being forced to stop halfway through, and I was an Alpha,I wanted more! I craved her body, missed the feel of her warm, lithe chest arching up against mine.She’d ended our sex – the sex that she had initiated – without a second thought. Shit! Was I so bad in bed that she could get over me that quickly? No woman had ever asked me to make that sort of crap promise before. Hell, usually the opposite happened. Usually, the women I bedded begged me to call them, to have another round, to see them – touch them, taste them – again. But this Omega had asked me not to touch her any more.Who did she think she was? Did she think she was my only option? Did she want me to feel like this, pent up and frustrated, so that I’d be forced to keep thinking about her,playing hard to get?I clenched my hands into fists. Wh
Hunter’s POV‘Since she wants to go, just let her. There’s no need to force her to stay with me. It’s just this stupid woman – doesn’t she know how dangerous she is?’Reg hooted with laughter inside my head. ‘If that’s the case, why don’t you leave? What did you mean by asking S to leave the backdoor open? You were expecting her to come to you? I think the odds of it are… zero!’His laughter drowned out my witty responses, and I had to work to keep my expression cool, calm, and collected. My own wolf was acting bitchy as hell towards me. ‘Sometimes,’ I said slowly, ‘I think it’s cuter when you shut up, Reg.’He huffed.‘Do you want her to go with Amy or Carl?’ I continued. ‘They’re both waiting for her here, too. And you’re happy if she’s in danger?’ I shot back at him.I understood why Carl was waiting here. After all, he was her so-called mate. That was just about reasonable, though the idea of it made me seethe for reasons I couldn’t fathom. But I didn’t know why Amy was hanging ar
Hunter’s POV‘Reg, what are you doing? You’re crying?!’ I was so angry I didn’t know what to say to him! ‘Don’t tell me you’re crying over an Omega you’ve only met a few times? Where’s your pride?’ I snarled.His sobs wracked through him and, as I spoke, his whole body started to tremble. His sobs became bawls; he threw his head back and tried to talk, his bottom lip quivering like a baby’s.All I could think about was him crying. It filled my mind, sending waves of pain reverberating through my skull. Fuck – I wanted to rip him out of my head and throw him into the woods.He finally managed to choke out some words. ‘Hunter! You’re an asshole! Jane will sleep with Carl now, and then she’ll get pregnant, then they’ll have their pups, and they’ll be a family, and then I’ll be left behind! Nobody understands how I feel!’My head buzzed and pulsed. All I could hear was, ‘sleep, pregnant, pups, new family.’ My nerves were alight, stimulated by Reg’s whining – and by those words in particu
Hunter’s POVI landed easily, springing to my feet and dusting off my trousers. I stood on the kerb beneath a streetlight, surrounded by a pale orb of glowing orange lamplight, and waited for the cops to catch up.As they got out of the car, I smiled at them. Thanks to the various kidnappers of the years, I knew pretty much all of the cops in the city. I would even consider some of them to be my friends. As they neared, I extended a hand. “Hi, Leo, my man!”He grabbed my hand and shook it enthusiastically. “Wow, Hunter, is that your wolf? He’s huge! But you have to tell him that speeding is illegal – as is chasing at speed.” He winced sympathetically. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to write you up.”I shrugged. “I get it. I’ll take your tickets, man – my lawyer can deal with them.”He nodded, his gaze fixed on his flipbook as he scribbled down a list of the laws we’d broken tonight. Oops.I carried on talking. “I’ve got stuff to attend to right now, Leo, so I’ve got to dash. Pass thes
Hunter’s POV‘Great,’ I mocked him, ‘you’ll be the first Alpha wolf to be arrested by the A.P.S.!”‘Come on,’ he whined, ‘I want to shift back! Unless, of course, you want to spend the night with a bunch of stray dogs – with fleas. Come on, come on, hurry up! If it weren’t for the fact that we’re forbidden to harm humans at will, do you seriously think I’d let myself be chased around by them?’‘But I haven’t got any clothes to wear! Do you want my naked picture to be on the front page of every magazine and newspaper tomorrow?’‘Oh my God,’ he groaned, ‘what am I going to do?’ He dodged a tranquiliser dart, spinning around in a circle. ‘Oh, Hunter, I don’t care! Please please please let me shift. Your nude photos have been seen by everyone anyway! The girls in our packs, they founded a group where they all share your nudey pics. They look at them, discuss them, and, you know… enjoy them.’My jaw dropped. I stumbled around to say something more articulate than a plain old what the fuck,