I hate seeing Cleo like this. She looked so defeated when she read that paper. I get why Ike hides things from her now. He didn't want to see her like this. I thought myself an honest mate, but if all it took to keep this from happening ever again, I should learn to pick my truths better. That seems backwards.I could feel her tears soaking through where her face was pressed. It made my heart ache.Suddenly, I realized my ass cheek was vibrating."I'm sorry, Cleo, my phone's ringing." No one ever called me, because only... six people had my number. It had to be important if one of them was trying to get in touch with me.I keep one arm wrapped around her, rubbing circles on her shoulder with my thumb. She nestles her face into my armpit, sniffling quietly. I was sad she was hurt, but I liked babying her. I had a feeling she wouldn't need it often.I roll my eyes when I see whose name is on my phone screen."How may I help you?" I say in a bored tone when I answer the phone."What's wr
I went back to my apartment once I locked up. I didn't know where Zane had wandered off to, but I would deal with him later. No doubt he was digging through every contact he had to figure out this puzzle right now. It was one of things that made him such a good Alpha. He never gave up on figuring out how to solve a problem, no matter how small or big it was. He rewired the entire building a few years ago because people were complaining of fake outlets. Such a tiny inconvenience, but he took it so seriously."Cleo?" I call into the quiet living room. I knew she was here; her shoes were by the door, and I could smell her. I finally noticed the light on in the bathroom and the steam crawling under the door. I noticed she took showers when she needed to think about something. Whatever helped, I guess.I crash onto the couch, kicking my boots off and laying back. I need to go for a run. I agree. It had been a couple days since I shifted, which was very rare for me. I was used to practicall
I guess I was handling the news that I wasn't really who I thought I was pretty well considering how I used to react to this sort of thing.I am very confused, that's for fucking sure. Who am I really? Who are my real parents? Where are they? I doubt they're alive. Apparently, this entire pack has been erased not just from the face of the planet, but from the minds of anyone left on it. How could two Alphas and an Indiana Jones wanna be not know anything about this? I was beginning to question if the pack was even real. What if that wasn't me? I mean, it sure as hell looked like me.I was irritated that things like this just had to happen to me. Nothing was simple. I am tired of character development.I suddenly realized I hadn't heard much from my panther in a while.Sorry, I was just as shocked as you. I was trying to remember something, anything, to help... I can think of nothing. I'm sorry. You have no reason to be sorry. At the end of the day, it's my past. I look up to Nate, my
"Oh..." Is all I say but I manage to smile a little, folding my hands behind my back."And what about you, mate of mine?" Nate smirks and comes closer to me, staring into my eyes down his nose. He bends down and gently licks the tip of my earlobe. "How many men's beds have you graced with your skills?" I shiver with delight at the feel of his soft words in my ear. I turned away from him then, biting the inside of my cheek. I really wish his number had been higher. I flopped back on the bed, crossing my legs and sitting on the edge."You're gonna get mad." I say, shutting my eyes. "I wasn't as loyal as you were, apparently."He chuckles, and I can feel him backing away. I open my eyes again, meeting his gaze. "I'm not irrational. Just because I lived my life that way doesn't mean I expected you to. Like you said, I'm curious."I hesitate for a moment longer before deciding to just spit it out. I've never been ashamed before so why start now? Especially when he was telling me there was
"I'm sorry he didn't tell you we were coming. He said he would." Said Mia. She was short and had more ass and boobs than I could dream of owning. She was definitely Hispanic, I could hear it in her voice and see it in her features. Her hair was curly and all over the place, with what looked like little pieces of shiny tinsel strewn throughout. She was wearing light, skintight blue jeans with a long sleeved black shirt that dipped incredibly low in the front. Her pedicured toes were squished into a pair of horrifyingly high strappy heels.Nate had left a few minutes ago, and we were all in the living room. I was on the couch next to Mia, who was picking through the duffle bags for what would look best on me, and Ruby and Quinn were setting makeup and hair tools up on the counter.Ruby was incredibly tall, with dark skin and an athletic build. Her lips were covered in a color to match her name, her dark eyes surrounded by thick lashes. Her hair was long and straight and swayed all over
Ruby sighs and shakes her head after a moment of just staring at me like I was some poor lost kitten. "To be honest. It's not always perfect. There's always going to be petty jealousy, there's always going to be competition. No matter what anyone says, those are things we all feel from time to time. Sometimes you'll feel like they're spending more time with someone else, and it'll make you feel shitty." She looks back at Mia then. "But at the end of the day, you just have to remember how happy a mate makes a shifter. And how wrong it would be to deny someone that happiness." The girls smile at each other, and I swear I see a tear in Mia's eye. What an interesting trio."I found them!" I jump a little at the sound of Quinn's voice. She's holding up a pair of glitter black wedge shoes. The wedges, however, were clear, with what looked like plants inside them."Holy shit, those are so cool." I say, walking over to her. I had never seen shoes like that before."Hear. Try them on. I take t
Cleo may have been bitching about the skirt riding up when she sat in the car, and she may have been fidgeting with her hair every few minutes because she wasn't used to having to keep it neat, but I thought it was worth it for how good she looked. Don't get me wrong, she always looked good. But there was something about seeing a girl who never dresses up finally put some effort in. It wouldn't be practical for her to dress like this all the time, since she does live in the woods, but I hope I get to see this side of her again."Nate?" I look over to Cleo, who is pointedly looking away from me and out the window. She was fidgeting with her fingers in her lap, too. Our mate is never bashful."What's up, buttercup?" I lean my elbow on the driver's armrest and put my other hand on the top of the steering wheel to steer. I nudged Cleo with my arm when she remained quiet."Just... don't leave me tonight? If you could. I'm not used to this... scene. And I don't know any of these people.""W
I roll my eyes and look over at her for a second."I own this parking garage. And the other three in downtown. And a few of the clubs. A couple restaurants." I avoid looking at her reaction as I continue looking for a spot. We were already on the third floor and I couldn't find one. If someone was in mine, I would throw whatever shit bag car they were driving off the roof. I hated cars anyway. They were big and loud and smelled disgusting and made the air around them smell disgusting. We were only driving so Cleo wouldn't have to walk in those shoes."Just gonna casually tell me that you're the monopoly man of this area and then offer up no further information?" I snort at her jab."Everyone needs a source of income, even me." I flash her a grin that only grows at the sight of her cheeks blushing. Women either melted at my feet at my smile or ran away screaming. There was no in-between for me, so I was glad Cleo seemed to melt a little every time I flashed it at her."You're ridiculous
"You little shit, get your ass back here." I laugh from my spot on the kitchen counter, watching Nate chase our naked child, Liam around the living room with a yellow bath towel clutched in his hand. Liam stops then, turning around to grin at his dad. He was only three, but was already extremely mobile, and had a smile just like his dad's. "Are you going to help me?" Nate sighs, glaring up at me as Liam yells and resumes running around like a mad man with his arms up in the air. I shake my head a little, pointing to where Liam is now standing on the couch. He grins at his dad, who finally swoops in and grabs him in his arms, wrapping the towel around him tightly as he does so. "Ha! Got you!" Nate declares as he wrestles Liam so he's upside down in his arms. He squeals with delight as Nate carries him like that back towards his room to put clothes on, calling him a weakling the entire time. But Liam loves it. He loves his dad, and he loves playing and "fighting" with him.I smile a
Why is it so often when I'm waking up in the morning, I'm in pain? I groan, stretching my arms above my head and blinking away sleep. I wince as harsh daylight assaults my eyes. My head pounds, and I bring a hand up to rub at my temple."Fuck." I groan, sitting up and leaning against the bed's headboard. I look down at where Ike is facing away from me, towards the wall, hugging himself and with no blanket. Nate is on the other side, also facing away, burrioted up in the entire blanket. I fall forward and start to crawl between them to get out of the bed. I stop when I feel a hand grabbing my ankle. Nate's green eyes are already staring at me. He's rolled over and untucked himself from his blanket tomb. "You're not going to make me chase you again, are you?" I furrow my brow, sitting in a crawling position, trying to think why I would run away. "Oh." I say when I finally realize what Ike had done to Nate last night. I didn't actually see anything, but I remember one of Ike's hands
I leave Ike at the bottom of the stairs, taking Cleo into my bedroom first and laying her down gently. She starts wiggling around, smiling and rubbing all over the sheets. Weirdo. I go back for Ike, who is pulling himself up the stairs, or trying to. He's got one hand on the second step, his other on the first. "Can I help you?" I ask, bending down to wrap one of his arms around my shoulder and putting my arm around his middle. "Here we go." He mumbles as I half drag him to my bed.I let him fall onto it, barely avoiding Cleo, who has taken her leggings off finally and is laying like a starfish on the bed. I sigh. I turn and flip the light off, kicking my shoes off as I do. Off come my pants and shirt. "Move." I huff, closing Cleo's legs and scooting her to one side of the bed. "You too." Ike listens for once, but only because he wants to be Cleo's big spoon. I roll my eyes and fall into the empty space beside them.I lay on one arm, staring at the ceiling for a moment before clo
"You know what her parents told me earlier?" Ike tilts his head to stare at me. I shake my head. "They told me, that this is the last time they'll be seeing Cleo." I freeze at his words. My eyes dart around to try and find the two in question. "Don't bother looking for them. They went back to their place and are leaving first thing in the morning. They aren't even planning on saying goodbye." He shakes his head at me. "I mean, why come in the first place?" He scoffs, finishing off his drink. "Just to rub it in her face that you exist?" He's staring at Cleo, muttering to himself now really more than talking to me. "Did they say why?" I nudge him to try and get his drunk ass to focus. He kind of blinks and shakes his head before looking back to me again. "They said they couldn't stay or come visit her because of the rules of being part of The Circle," He scoffs at their title. "And that she couldn't visit them because if anyone knew they had a daughter out there they'd try and make he
My peace with Cleo is ripped away by that fuck head Thomas, who snatches Cleo away over his shoulder and yells something about loving tequila. Had he just been waiting for the perfect chance to steal her away again? "Oh my god." I rub the bridge of my nose and make eye contact with Cleo as she sits up on Thomas to grin at me like a child. I lean back and cross my arms as I watch him take her to a group of guards. "I got her!" He yells in victory. The guards cheer and whoop in excitement. "Your mates have had enough of your time!" Zach proclaims as Thomas sets Cleo down. "And besides, it's your turn to chug something!" I groan, and I'm about to rush over and stop her, but I halt when Ike and Parker walk up to me from their spot in the crowd. "I wanted to introduce you two." Ike says, stopping in front of me. I'm half sitting, half standing, midway to snatching Cleo away from the frat boys. I glance at her for a second and see her snapping the neck off a bottle of tequila. I sigh,
"Why do you people insist on doing this to me?" She complains as I carry her away from her group of fans. "It's just easier than arguing with you." I reply. She makes an offended noise, struggles to sit up for a moment, and then flicks me on the back of the head. I roll my eyes, hiking my shoulder up a little into her gut and smiling at the noise she makes. I approach a table that's empty on one end and set Cleo down in a chair. "Wait here." I look her in the eye to make sure she's paying attention, and then turn to track down some water.I spot coolers near one of the tables closest to the fire and make my way through chatting and drinking people. I didn't realize how many people were a part of Ike's pack now a days until they were all converged together like this.I finally make it to the line of eight coolers and start opening them to find one not filled to the brim with liquor. Finally, I get my hands on a cold bottle of water. There was only a single cooler with them in it; ty
Fuck that guy. Fuck him. I fucking hated him. He was fucking dick. I wanted to shove his face into the ground and rub it in. I ran through the trees, pine needles whipping at my panther's face as we escaped, past the pack's borders, further and further into the forest. My rage drives me to run for almost three hours before my panther finally stops, gasping for air and muscles aching. He finds a stream nearby and hunches over to take a long drink before we head back. What did I think was going to happen? I mean, I knew who this guy was, or at least what other's told me about him. And no one had anything good to say, not so far. They all said he was mean, and petty, and demanding as hell. He abandoned me in the woods to fend for myself when I so small, I couldn't even remember it happening. But the way he looked at me, pissed me off. Like I was scum. Like I was the one who should be begging for forgiveness. He was the asshole.But as we start running back to our pack, I can't st
I look away from the lively party scene after a moment, back to the table behind me. "Ooo." I snatch an unopened bottle of tiny blue vodka someone had left behind. Hoped they hadn't planned on coming back for it. "Excuse you." I make a whining noise when Nate is snatching the bottle from my lips before I can chug it. "Drink this instead." I sigh at the cold bottle of water he's put in my hand. "If I must." I crack the top. "You must." He plops in a chair beside me, sighing heavily and watching me drink. "Where have you been?" I ask once I've twisted the top back on the now half empty bottle. "You've been gone a really long time." I raise by brows at him, and the corner of his lip lifts up a little."And that drove you to drink?" I laugh loudly. "No, I just felt like it was time to get drunk." "Right." He nods, eyeing me. I blink innocently at him. "Can I say something?" I blurt out as he watches me. He ticks his eyebrow. "I think your dad is a fucking chode." He shakes his hea
"You better chug that shit!" "Come on bitch!" I jump in the air, yelling with Noah and Thomas at Zach, who was halfway through chugging an entire bottle of peach flavored vodka. "Don't be a pussy!" I punch him in the arm, a grin spread across my face. He pushes me off a little, flipping me off and continuing to guzzle the artificially flavored rubbing alcohol. "Let's go!" Thomas yells, throwing his half full beer on the ground in overly excited celebration at his friend finally reaching the neck of the bottle. Zach holds his hand up, and we all stare at him silently in eager anticipation for a moment, until he finally pulls the empty bottle away and makes a loud "ah" noise like it was a refreshing drink on a hot day. "Suck it, sluts." He slurs, grinning at us and throwing the bottle on the ground. I laugh, clapping my hands and stumbling back a little. "You thought I couldn't do it." He points his finger towards me, wiggling it a little in my face. I grin and clap him on the shou