~Sebastian~Wren knows not to twist out of my arms and I’m thanking my lucky stars that we mated because if we were still at odds, she would throw a fit. All around us people are running out of buildings, screaming as they pound on neighbors’ doors, trying to find shelter. Things went to shit way too quickly. And yeah, us being discovered is most likely my fault, but the second her panic hit the link, I lost all common sense and I was climbing the wall with everyone watching me in shock. “Turn right,” Wren instructs, taking me down a road leading away from the city buildings and brick homes. “Go behind that house.”She points to a small tan house covered in weeds and I move my way around the back. A tiny porch light casts a shadow for us to crouch in for cover. I let her down, and she huddles toward the shadow, reaching out for me to come closer to her. “Are you ok?” she asks as her fingers roam my face and ears. Her hands freeze when she feels the crusty dried blood from the explos
“Looks like you were wrong about her real mate, Spence. You owe me your mate for a week.” “Hah. If I had one, maybe,” Spencer shrugs. “I’ll take your plaything, then.” He grins. The two of them joke as if their pack isn’t under attack like they have all the time in the world to waste. “Definitely thought they were putting on an act with the whole mate thing the first time,” Waylon says with a shrug. Wren squeezes onto me tight, trying to wiggle out from behind me, but I’m rooted in place and she isn’t wiggling free. Spencer clucks his tongue, sauntering around us to get a better view of Wren. He grins deviously before looking up at Alden. “You think Orion would come out of hiding if I fucked his daughter in the streets?” Spencer asks Alden. Alden laughs and shakes his head. “Nah, but he might come for her if it’s me.” “Every part of you that lays a hand on her will be ripped from your body,” I say calmly. Alden levels his eyes at me, assessing the threat and my ability to fol
~Wren~ There comes a point in your brain where the pain is too much and it stops registering the trauma. As I stare down at the fingers sinking deeper and deeper into my bleeding flesh, I realize I have hit that point. I can feel his fingers pressing further in, a strange pressure that doesn’t hurt but feels–wrong. I’m mesmerized by the way my blood pools around his skin, glistening in the artificial lights illuminating the open space. Sebastian batters at the mate bond, trying to make me talk to him, look at him in my last moments of life. I want to reach out to him, let him in my mind, but I can’t find the will to do it. The small conversation I was able to have brought me so much comfort, yet I could feel his distress, his breaking heart, and it is too much for me to bear. My eyes slide closed, my head bobbing up and down. The warrior on my right-hand side is dry heaving and I want to chuckle, but any movement at this point is beyond my control, as everything wants to shut down.
~Sebastian~ The alpha’s brand around my neck feels cold against my heated flesh as it settles and fades into my skin, disappearing as if it had never existed. So many voices resound in my head, howling in acknowledgment of me as the new alpha of the pack. When I look around, I can see my newest pack members standing on the outskirts staring at me, waiting for direction on what to do next. “Seb” Nickolai calls my attention and I glance back at him to find Wren, pale and bloody, as she clings to her midsection. I move swiftly to her, scooping her up and pulling her close to me. “Bring a healer to the packhouse,” I demand to any pack members who will listen. I break into a run toward the opulent house that is more suited to be called a mansion, Elara, Avi, and Nickolai hot on my heels. In theory, I could wait for someone to open the door for me, but in my panic to get Wren comfortable, I raise my leg and kick the door open, entering through the massive kitchen. I set her on the empty
I clear my throat and look back at the pack that watches me with varying emotions. The most prominent is a mixture of both fear and hope. This pack has been suffering for such a long time they don’t know how to trust. “As I stated in the mind link. Alden is dead. We only know a handful of the things he used and did to keep you compliant and stuck here in this pack. I can’t tell you how disgusted I am with how he ran things. I was raised in Alpha Jameson’s pack, a pack that believes in the truth of the mate bond and all the good it can bring to those who find it. If you are missing a mate, or have been living in fear of your mate being ripped from you at any moment, please know that you no longer have to worry.” “We can have our mates back?” An older woman asks, her hands clutched close to her chest. Her voice shakes and her question is timid, but I can see the relief, the desire for my words to be true. “Yes.” I nod. “Anyone who has been held to keep their mates in line are now fre
~Wren~ Sebastian’s chest vibrates against my cheek as he hums the song my father used to sing to me when I was a little girl crying for my mommy at night. It’s been so long since I’ve heard it sung in a male voice, only ever singing it or humming it to myself. Seb’s gravelly voice rasps out the lullaby’s last lines, and I sit still, trying to understand how he can possibly know it. “How do you know that song?” I ask him, wincing as I sit up too fast.Alden did a number on my internal organs with his creepy as shit finger puncturing. My external wounds will be the last thing to heal as my body focuses fully on healing my more severe injuries, like my holey stomach and intestines. Okay, they didn’t give me specifics of which organs Alden hit. But based on the pain and the location, I’m making a semi-educated guess.“You don’t remember singing it to me?” He asks. I wish I could see his face in the darkness of the room, but whether it is still nighttime or the light-blocking shades are
I run my fingers over Sebastian’s bruises and cuts along his chest, down his bulging biceps, watching in wonder as his muscles visibly relax at my touch. I loved doing this when I would sneak into sleep next to him. His deep breaths come out through his nose with a small whistling noise. The big bad warrior snores. The giggle escapes, and then it shifts into a full-blown cackle as I try to control the shaking of my body. Not just because I don’t want to wake him, but it hurts like hell. “Mmm, am I drooling?” he asks, his tawny eyes still hidden behind his closed lids. “Definitely. Practically drowned me.” I tell him. My hand finds a notch in his chest and it lingers, smoothing over it again and again. With my other hand, I reach up to stroke his hair. I pause and stare at the part of me that should be touching him. My fingers should be feeling the sensation of his silky dark hair running through them. Instead, there is nothing. My eyes flutter closed, remembering the sensation. I sw
Sebastian tucks me into his side as we walk toward the front door. The packhouse is quiet, aside from the distant sound of clinking coming down the hallway that leads to the kitchen. I pause for a moment, peeking the length of the wall when the smell of fresh yeasty rolls and cinnamon hits my nose. My mouth suddenly feels wet with drool as I leave the safety of Seb’s side in search of the food. I don’t know how long I have been in my room. Or If I was delirious and don’t remember eating or if Seb ever left my side, but if my stomach is any indication. They have been starving me, and I need to rectify the issue. Seb follows behind me as I find my way through the spacious living room and directly into the open floor plan kitchen that is probably the size of most small homes in this pack. The woman in the kitchen freezes when she sees my look of determination and she looks over my shoulder at what I presume is Seb. In awe, I step up to the counter, lean down over the hot cinnamon rolls