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Outside The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 1) 22
I thought the concept of being claimed was a really romantic one, but it was just one more difference between myself and my peers. The closest thing humans had to claiming was something called marriage, but they could separate after marriage. Wolves couldn’t do that.Mom and I headed inside the dining hall. Tonight’s food would be the most plentiful and the most succulent because it was the final day of mourning. I took a deep breath, and my eyes began to slip closed at the savory scents that filled the air. I didn’t need to have a shifter’s sense of smell to tell that there was deliciousness in my future.I loaded my plate high with vegetables that had been either simmered with salted meats or roasted over low flame. Main courses included braised beef, roasted poultry, and steamed fish. Mashed potatoes and rich, buttery gravy rounded out the meal. I intended to eat myself into a food coma. After Mom and I finished assembling our dinners, we looked around the packed dining hall for a
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When Taren got tired and went to sit down, I made eye contact with Mom and gestured for her to come outside. When she arrived, she immediately fell into the rhythm of the song, moving gracefully to the pulse-pounding beat. As I shifted from silly dances to the way my body naturally wanted to move, Mom’s dark eyes glimmered with amusement.“It’s so good to see you smile like this, honey,” she said, raising her voice to be heard over the music. “And you dance so well! We should do this more often!”I laughed. “Maybe, but nothing tops working in the garden with you!”Mom beamed at the compliment and broke rhythm so she could pull me in for a hug. “I love you, sweetheart.”I hugged her back. I took in her lovely, earthy scent and felt tears in the back of my eyes. I would miss my mom so much, but hopefully, we would meet again someday. Before the tears could flow, I pulled away so I could take her hand and twirl her around. “Love you too, Mom.”I danced for hours, but I kept a close eye o
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He laughed at me and reached for his crotch to adjust himself. I immediately stopped screaming and pressed my back against the wall. I knew my fear turned him on, but I couldn’t stop the tears that slipped down my cheeks. Troy’s expression was full of malice, but his gaze was that of a famished man. I couldn’t tell if he was after my blood or my body. Either way, it couldn’t be good for me.“What’s happening?” I asked, my voice the trembling squeak of a frightened mouse. “How did I get here?”“How do you think?”I tried to search my memory, and for a second, it was frightfully blank. But then flashes of the night’s festivities returned to me. I remembered the little boy and the drink, and…“D-did you slip me something?”He slammed his hand against the wall beside my head, and I flinched in spite of myself. “That’s right. I told that pup to bring you a drink. I knew you’d never drink it if I gave it to you.”I shuddered. I could hardly wrap my mind around the sickness that allowed Troy
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As if he knew the dark path my thoughts had taken, he laughed at me again and reached between my legs. He gripped my sex in his hand and squeezed hard enough for me to cry out. And then, just when I thought the pain would be too much, he pulled back and slapped me across the face. Pain sparked across my cheek as I blinked stars out of my vision.“Don’t worry, Bryn, there will be plenty more where that came from.” He started to walk toward the door. “I’ve got a challenge ceremony to prepare for, but I’ll see you tonight.” He sent one more awful smile at me before walking through the door.My head fell, and tears poured and poured out of me. I knew it was over. Troy had won. If only a dashing knight would appear to whisk me away to safety. But no, that was just a desperate attempt to escape into fantasy and away from the awful reality that I faced now.8NIGHTI bounced on the balls of my feet and flexed my muscles in anticipation of what was to come. The winter air was crisp and clear,
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It wasn’t hard to find Troy’s home. He lived in the Alpha’s cabin, a property that was much larger than not only my own cabin but also the other cabins of the Kings’ pack. It had likely started out more humbly, and as the territory passed hands, each Alpha added more to it. Given the lumber that was piled near the western side of the cabin, Troy was probably in the process of expanding it even further now that our father was dead.On the second story, there was a window large enough for me to fit through. With one leap, I grabbed hold of the sill and tested the window. It was unlocked, so I pushed it the rest of the way open and slipped quietly inside.I landed in a crouch and surveyed the room. It was dark here, but my wolf senses allowed me to see what was around me. I seemed to be in a den filled with shelves and shelves of books. I scoffed at the idea that any of the Redwolfs would ever crack open a book or that they were even capable of reading. If they cared at all about books,
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My gaze roamed to the back wall, and my heart just about stopped. There was a woman stripped down to her underwear and tied to the wall. Ropes had left her skin raw and red, and she was silently crying tears that dripped onto the wood floors. I stared at her, a slew of questions forming in my brain before I finally settled on one. What kinky bullshit is this?I should have known that a man like Troy would leave a woman so vulnerable while he partied it up with the other Kings. I could judge him, but for all I knew, this might have been consensual. The woman’s head was down, and she was whimpering quietly to herself. She hadn’t heard me, which meant I could still salvage this.If I was quick and quiet, I might be able to leave the room without her noticing me. I took a careful step back. I never once made any sort of noise, but just then, the woman looked up. My reflexes kicked in, and I crossed the room in a blink. Worried she’d scream, I went to cover her mouth, but I stopped when I
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Fuck me. Why do I care about this random woman? The question echoed in my mind with no answer. I knew there was no logic behind it. Even stranger, I found that I didn’t need logic. She needed me, and that was all that mattered. Now, if I could just come up with my next move, I could stop acting like a sitting duck.“Hey.” Though her voice was soft and hoarse from all the crying and yelling she must have done, it stopped everything for me. I turned my attention to her, ready and willing to do whatever she needed me to do. But her next words left me speechless.“Who the hell are you?”9BRYNI knew that this stranger had asked who I was, but given my current situation and the fact that this man had clearly broken in, I figured I was owed an answer first. As he considered how to answer, I tried to figure out what to do next.I had never seen this man on the compound before, but those eyes were the same emerald green of the man who haunted my dreams. More than that, I knew exactly who he
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“Listen, that doesn’t matter now,” I said. “We need to get out of here.”His lips slowly covered his teeth, and one of his eyebrows rose as if to say, we?Panic began to prickle up and down my spine. There was a possibility that this guy would abandon me here. The thought reawakened the hopelessness I had felt when I was alone in the room with Troy.“Please,” I whispered. “I need your help. At least—at least let me out of these restraints. I-I’m sure I can handle things on my own from there.”But I wasn’t sure of that at all. My legs had started to go numb before Night showed up, and now I could hardly feel them. My arms weren’t much better; I could move them and clench my hands, but even my upper body had started to lose feeling from lack of blood flow. However, Night didn’t need to know that right now. I could figure it out once I wasn’t in restraints any longer.Night’s gaze shifted to the door. No, no, no, no!“Please,” I said again, more forcefully. Tears stung in my eyes, but I
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Outside The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 1) 100
“If the mates go too long without claiming, it will be as if they were rejected. Their hearts will break, they’ll never recover, and terrible, mystical shit will happen to them. I don’t remember all of the specifics, but I know that what you’re doing is fucked up.”I rubbed my chest where Dom had shoved me, my thoughts spiraling down and down into the depths of my fears. “Bryn hadn’t shifted yet,” I found myself saying. “Not on that first night. I wanted to explain to her that she was my mate and what that meant for us, but I didn’t get the chance before we ended up in bed together.”“And then?” Dom asked. “We both know the two of you have had sex after, so why not bite her during one of those times?”I hesitated. “I just…it didn’t feel like the right time. I was intent on getting her to shift and teaching her about her wolf. Bryn only recently learned that she’s descended from the pack mothers. I thought claiming her would be putting too much on her plate.”Dom growled again. “That’s
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But Violet was shaking her head. “Neither of us can answer that for you. It wouldn’t be our place.”Tavi stood up to grab a few tissues and brought them back for me. “Anyone can see that Night would break his own legs if it meant he could do something for you, Bryn,” Tavi added. “But, I mean, I think you have to ask him yourself. That’s how relationships work.”Oh. It sounded so simple when they put it so plainly. I had been in my head, so worried that I had done something wrong that I hadn’t even considered that I might be able to talk to Night about this. Another tear slipped down my face, but I caught it with my tissue. I wiped my face while Violet stood to get some more tea.Tavi leaned in while Violet rummaged around in the kitchen. “So, Bryn,” she whispered, “how was it? I mean, like, was it as amazing as those books you’ve been reading?”My eyes widened.She giggled. “I borrowed one or two from your room while you were with him. No wonder you were so focused on reading.”My fac
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I chuckled and touched his cheek. “I know, don’t worry. Time will pass by so quickly, you won’t even notice I’m gone.”“Ha. Not a chance of that.” He kissed me once, briefly, and then again more deeply. When he pulled away, my eyes felt heavy, and desire began to kindle deep inside me. He licked his lips, his eyes glowing. “Are you sure you want this?”Oh, but it was so tempting to say no so he could carry me back to bed. I forced myself to nod and gave him a smile. “I’ll see you soon, Night.” I hopped up to kiss his cheek, and then I quickly went inside, avoiding those large, warm hands before he could kiss me again or otherwise tempt me away from my goal.Tavi and Violet were waiting for me at the dining table. I had seen Violet a few times since Night and I had mated, but I hadn’t seen Tavi since the day Night rescued me from those ferals. So when Tavi hopped onto her feet, almost knocking over her chair, I rushed to meet her. We embraced tightly, and Tavi was already emotional.“I
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She believed it was her fault that I had suffered so much in the Kings’ pack, that in shielding my mind, she had also cut me off from the strength I needed to protect myself from Troy and the Terrible T’s.That’s so silly, I thought as the shift completed. How could I hate the wolf that sacrificed so much to keep me safe?My wolf tapped her front paws in the grass and turned in a circle, a kind of happy dance that made me laugh.Behind me, I heard Night suck in a deep breath. He looked different through the eyes of my wolf. He was still gorgeous, perfect, and mine, but there was something else too. He was surrounded by warm light, a halo that brought him into glorious, wonderful focus.Mate. My wolf’s voice was clear as a bell to me. She said it again, louder, and I wondered if it was true. If he was my true mate, then it made sense that even when we had tried to hate each other, it was impossible for us to stay away from each other—impossible not to feel something when in each other’
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“I want you to close your eyes, breathe deeply, and reach out to her,” he said. “When you find her, don’t be afraid to let her in and to make her an equal in your mind. You have to let her know that you trust her. Don’t be scared. I’ll be here with you the entire time.”I nodded and closed my eyes. I tried to push out my noisy thoughts—especially the horny ones about Night—and reach out for my wolf. It didn’t take long to find her; she rushed up to me, panting hard, as though she were just as eager to get to know me. It was a bit startling at first, how quickly my wolf responded, but I tried not to flinch or turn away.I took a few deep breaths to relax, and then I opened myself up to my wolf. She purred in response, and I smiled. She was like the presence of a dear friend in my mind, like a warm memory. Though the process was a bit intimidating at first, I found I liked leaving myself open to my wolf, who already felt so familiar to me even though I’d only known her for a short time.
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We sat next to each other at his dining table to enjoy the assorted dishes he had retrieved from the mess hall. There had been some extra sausage links and pancakes from breakfast, but the cooks on duty had also begun to prepare chicken potpie. Though it was technically against the rules for them to serve lunch so early, everyone was all smiles and eager to please us, according to Night.“Why’s that?” I asked around a mouthful of pancake. “Did you exert your Alpha privileges?”He smiled and brushed a stray crumb from my cheek, sending goosebumps down my back. His touch had been so heated in the shower, but now it was feather-light. Almost not there at all. “No,” he replied. “It’s because they know you and I are together.”“Oh, I see.” Now that I possessed the heightened senses of a shifter, it should have been obvious to me that they would be able to tell just from being near him. It made me feel so wonderful to know that the others accepted our relationship. That I belonged.Amusemen
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I pictured Mom’s smile and the scent of lavender that seemed to cling to her hair no matter which herbs or vegetables she picked. I thought of her voice, her hugs, and her warmth. I wondered what she would think about me being a shifter.I missed her terribly. Perhaps I would see her again when Night confronted Troy, but who knew when that would happen? It could be weeks or even months from now. I could probably ask Night about his plans, but I didn’t want to dwell on that right now.I closed my eyes and let the hot water slide down my skin and calm my feverish thoughts. I reached for the soap and began to scrub up. Suddenly, I paused, feeling a tug in my chest. I smelled Night as if he was right here with me. I pulled the curtain, eager to see him, but he wasn’t in the bathroom with me. If I concentrated a bit harder, I could hear his footsteps coming up to the porch. I smiled, pleased that he would be with me again soon. My senses had sharpened since I shifted, but it seemed they we
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“Bryn.” This time it was Violet’s voice pulling me back. “Could you describe the wolf for us?” Violet asked.I nodded. Now that I was sure it hadn’t just been in my mind, I was able to give a detailed description of the wolf’s russet-brown coat, the slice in its left ear, and the piercing white eyes that were like melted silver and snow.Violet pressed a hand to her mouth, and the Elder’s mumbling grew more intense. I turned, sending a worried look at Night, but his handsome face and steady gaze calmed me.Finally, Violet held up her hands for silence. The Elders immediately went quiet. My wolf whined within me, pacing back and forth. It was such a bizarre feeling to feel another consciousness within me, but it was so amazing at the same time.Violet looked into each of the Elder’s faces, and they all nodded. She took a deep breath and returned her attention to me. “You mentioned something about seeing a wolf when Night returned with you.”“I did?”Violet nodded. “The Elders and I tal
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Soon, two older gentlemen and one elderly woman walked inside without pausing to knock. The first man was bald. An old, brown scar ripped across the top of his head. I knew better than to stare, but I was curious about how he’d received what could have been a mortal wound. The second man had tufts of gray hair starting at his temples, which wrapped around to meet at the back of his head. The woman had a full head of gorgeous hair that was almost as white as Violet’s. She kept it short and curly—it looked like a cotton ball on top of her head.They began to seat themselves at the table but needed another chair. I started to grab a chair from the living room, but Night caught my wrist. He pulled me to his side and sat me in his lap. It was an unorthodox way of providing an extra chair, but I wasn’t upset; I was just as eager to stay close to him. I leaned back into his chest, and he immediately wrapped his arms around me.The Elders smiled at us, not at all perturbed by our public Displ
