Ryder never returned home and when I asked Keiran about it, he told me that he was probably staying at the pack house. I understood that he probably needed space, but I was hoping to talk to him so we could clear things up. His reaction towards Axel and what we did confused me. He was the one who bought boxes of condoms. Was he expecting me to only have sex with him? Letting out a sigh, I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. I reached out blindly to grab my phone from the nightstand. Keiran had surprised me when he gave it to me the other day. I wasn’t bothered about not having a phone. There was nobody for me to call since my parents were dead and I had no friends. Except for Blue. And I had my mates now. Keiran had already saved their numbers for me. He even added Blue’s number. I blinked rapidly at the sudden glare of the screen. Once I turned the brightness down a little, I pulled up Ryder’s number. My fingers hovered over the keyboard. In the end, I settled f
My eyelids were heavy but I forced them open. I blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling until the memories of last night returned. I had fallen asleep on Keiran’s lap and he had carried me to bed sometime later. Turning onto my side, I reached for my phone on the nightstand and frowned when my fingers brushed nothing. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and pushed myself up onto an elbow to search for my phone. Realization slowly dawned on me. I wasn’t in my bedroom. A glance over my shoulder revealed Keiran fast asleep in the bed next to me. My heart started beating faster as I turned around to face him. He was asleep on his stomach, his face turned away from me, and one arm underneath his pillow. My eyes darted over him and locked on the dark birthmark on his shoulder blade. Reaching up, I traced the mark with my fingertips. Keiran stirred. I jerked my hand away and clutched it to my chest. Licking my lips, I waited for him to wake up, but he didn’t. Scooting closer, I leaned up on
The fresh air felt good. My eyes darted around, taking everything in. Sun rays peeked through the thick leaves of the tree, warming some parts of my skin as I walked. At some point, I spotted a family of rabbits. Curiosity made me follow them until they suddenly disappeared. Letting out a sigh, I stopped and tilted my head back to stare at the canopy of leaves. I couldn’t hear any birds singing which was strange. I glanced around again and spotted a footpath. After hesitating for a few seconds, I headed in that direction. Twigs snapped underneath my feet as I walked. It was the only sound aside from my breathing. The path ended at a clearing. Four big rocks were in the middle, leaning against each other. They were surrounded by green grass with some yellow flowers here and there. Sucking in a deep breath, I carefully made my way over to the rocks. I studied every inch of it to make sure that there weren’t any spiders or other bugs lingering about. Once I was sure that there were
Adrenaline still ran through me. I was shaking and fighting to keep myself in control. Swallowing, I focused my attention on Cora’s leg. “Broken bone,” the cat muttered. “We need to reset it before she starts healing.”He raised his head to look at me. My eyes narrowed but the guy didn’t even flinch when I hissed at him. “Go check on her,” I ordered, nodding towards Kelsey. The cat didn’t move. He gripped Cora’s legs, hesitated a second, and then set the bone. A pained sound fell from her lips, but she didn’t wake up. “Now feed her some of your blood,” he said softly. His eyes caught mine as he stood and moved over to Kelsey. I made sure that my body hid what I was doing. Slicing my palm with a claw, I held my hand over Cora’s leg and let my blood drip onto the wound. When I stopped bleeding, I rubbed the blood into her wound. Cora whimpered. I have her, I told Keiran. How many rogues?One. I slipped my arms under Cora and pulled her to my chest. He’s dead. “Hey sweetling
I expected pain.The pain I felt when that metal closed around my leg was still branded in my mind. It wasn’t something I was easily going to forget. The pain and the sight of bone sticking through the skin. But there was no pain when I turned onto my back. I hesitated a moment and then slowly moved my foot. There were no sharp pains shooting up my legs.Swallowing, I sat up and threw the sheets aside. My eyes locked on my leg. It was almost like it never happened. If the memories in my head weren’t as clear as day, I would’ve thought it had all been a nightmare. It would definitely explain why Kelsey fought the rogue. I was sure that if it happened, she would’ve chosen to run away instead of staying to protect me.Shaking the thoughts away, I finally focused on my surroundings. The bedroom was familiar and so was the scent that clung to me and the sheets. Keiran’s bathroom was right across the bed. He didn’t bother closing the door when he started the shower. I listened to the
Keiran pulled back and then pushed forward again, entering me a few inches more with every thrust. The pain disappeared with every movement, leaving pleasure in its place. He paused when he was fully inside me. Lowering more of his weight on top of me, he slipped his hands into my hair and lowered his lips to mine. For a moment I stayed unmoving, unsure of what to do. But then I stopped thinking about doing it wrong and followed my instincts. I wrapped my legs around his hips as high I could and dug my heels into his beefy ass. My hands slipped over his shoulders and down his back.Keiran groaned, back arching when I scraped my nails against his skin. Breaking the kiss, he pressed his lips to the corner of my mouth and then raised his head to look at me. He pulled his hips back and thrust forward. “Oh.” “Still hurt?” he questioned.I shook my head, unable to utter a word. The pain was gone and in its place, there was only pleasure. The air locked in my throat when Keiran start
I fucked up…again. There was nothing worse than finding out that your mate was almost attacked by a rogue in our own territory and that it had been well-planned. Cora’s safety had been moved to the top of the list. There was no doubt that Dean was behind everything, but we needed evidence and that was something we didn’t have enough of. A sigh fell from my lips. Leaning forward, I picked up the tablet and studied the pictures Lucas had sent an hour ago. The council could easily dismiss it. I tensed when a scent filled my nostrils. A moment later, Keiran rounded the corner and froze when our eyes locked. Pursing his lips, he walked over to the fridge and grabbed water.As discreetly as possible, I sucked in another breath. Unfortunately, it didn’t go unnoticed by Keiran. Walking to the other side of the table, he pulled a chair out and took a seat. The tension rose the longer the silence stretched between us. Keiran suddenly tilted his head to the side.My eyes instantly locked
My beast wanted out. He couldn’t understand why we were downstairs dealing with them when we should be upstairs next to our mate who needed us. All he cared about was her and not the danger she was currently in. We needed to protect her. We needed to make sure that we were going to be safe when her full heat hit. I studied Xan with my brows dipped into a frown. We were the only ones who had seen Cora shift. Nobody else knew about it. Yet, somehow he knew about her. “How do you know about Cora?” Ryder asked the question before I could. Xan shifted in his chair but his focus was on Axel. I frowned at my brother. It would be easy for him to get the answers we needed. I hated how it was done, but it was effective. “She called to me,” Xan said softly. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not crazy. She called to you the same way she called to me. You found her, didn’t you?”Dread flooded me. “Is…” I sucked in a breath and blew it out. “Is she your mate?”His eyes darted between the three
“Sweetling.”I frowned as Axel’s soft voice penetrated my dream. It wasn’t a nightmare like usual, it was a nice peaceful dream, one I didn’t want to wake up from. “Cora.”A groan slipped past my lips when he gently shook my shoulder. Forcing my eyes open, I blinked up at his face hovering close to mine. Axel gave me a gentle smile as he reached out to move the hair from my face. “You’re bleeding.”His words confused me even more. Axel pulled the sheets down and then gripped my arm and gently pulled me up. Frown deepening, I glanced around and then down at my body. Slipping his arm under my knees and the other around my back, he pulled me against his chest. I wrapped my arms around his neck but risked a glance back at the bed. Horror hit first and then embarrassment. Not only were my pajama bottoms covered in blood, but there was also blood on the bed sheets. I buried my face against Axel’s neck. “I’m a werewolf,” I mumbled. “I’m not supposed to get my period, am I?”“You are s
Ryder moved to my other side and slipped his hand in mine. Nothing was said between the three of us as we headed towards the stage that had been set up. Keiran was already there, making a joke about something. All the focus was on him which meant that nobody had seen Axel’s confrontation with his mother. We had arrived just in time to hear the end of their conversation. I glanced up at Axel. He was still mad, but at least he had managed to mask his expression. Although people were still wary of his crimson eyes. My heartbeat increased the closer we got to the stage. Axel’s hand slipped out of mine when we reached the stairs. He moved behind me as Ryder led the way up the steps. Keiran turned, eyes locking with mine. He smiled as he held his hand out towards me. “I would like to officially introduce Cora Marlin, our mate, and your new Luna.”I turned to smile at the people. “Tonight we’re not only celebrating Cora’s special day, but we will also be welcoming her to our pack.” He
Most of the pack was already gathered at the usual spot. Laughter and conversation filled the air. I sucked in a breath, trying my best to identify as many scents as I could. There was no sign of danger, but that didn’t make me feel any better. I knew how easily things could change. Cora’s hand tightened. My eyes snapped down to hers. She smiled at me, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Her scent had changed the moment we stepped foot out of the house. I tried talking Keiran out of making it a big deal but he insisted. This was an important day for our pack. They needed to see Cora holding her head high and acting at Luna. These pack dynamics still confused me. It was so different than how things were done in the Vampire nests. A shudder raced down my spine as memories flooded my mind. Cora suddenly stumbled. My hands instantly shot out to steady her. Our eyes locked and held. I realized with a start that she had paled. She looked sick. “What happened?” I questioned. “Are you fee
“You can’t hide in there forever,” Blue called from the other side of the door. “Come out and let me see.”I ignored her as I studied myself in the mirror. Blue had chosen one of the new dresses Keiran brought me without my knowledge. I smiled as I remembered our day at the mall. It was scary at first, but the longer we walked from shop to shop, the more I relaxed. He didn’t give my fears a chance to get the better of me. And he certainly spoiled me. I now had a lot of clothes, more than I owned before. Keiran even offered to pay if I wanted to get my hair and nails done. I agreed to have my hair cut but declined the offer to do my nails. There was no use wasting money on something I didn’t need. The bathroom door opened, startling me. Blue peeked around the door and then pushed it open wider. Her eyes widened as they trailed over me. “Wow,” she breathed. “You look beautiful.”“T-thank you.” I brushed my hands over my middle. “I’m not sure about wearing it though.”“Why not?”“
Maybe we should have talked to Cora first. I glanced over at her. It was supposed to be a surprise trip. Something to get Cora away from the pack so everything could be set up for her party. Not only were we celebrating her birthday, we were going to officially welcome her into the pack. She was already ours and the pack knew about her so the introductions weren’t necessary. But Demetrius suggested that we keep doing things traditionally. So here I was driving Cora to the human town under the pretense that we needed a few things for the party. Cora was tense. I could sense her wolf hovering close to the surface and I understood why. This was a big step for both of them. It was also considered a test. “We need more of those plastic plates,” I said. “I was thinking of getting a few extra cups and cutlery just in case.”“Is the whole pack going to be there?” “Yeah. Some will probably only stop by for the introductions.”She looked at me then, but her attention was pulled away when
As expected, the moment I fell asleep, my dreams turned into nightmares. I found myself jerking awake only to be lulled back to sleep by Keiran’s purring and Axel’s reassurance that I was safe. My dreams were a mess. It was a mix of being locked in that room and being tortured to waking up in my old pack with Dean as my mate. Somewhere during the third nightmare, I woke up to Keiran gone. Before I could question it, Axel and Ryder took control, distracting me by undressing me and giving me multiple orgasms. The last time I fell asleep it was sandwiched between Ryder and Axel with the blissful waves of my orgasms slowly fading. There was no nightmare after that. I woke up near noon feeling exhausted. There was a faint pounding behind my temples and my body ached but I pushed the pain aside as I slipped out of bed and headed into the bathroom for a shower. With my hair wrapped in a towel, I pulled on one of Keiran’s shirts and then left the room to search for my mates. The smell of
It looked like he didn't want to answer me. Why were they so secretive about it? Letting out a sigh, Keiran settled more comfortably on his stomach. I turned onto my side and waited. "I needed some time away from the pack," he said softly. "I asked Lucas to keep an eye on things and declined his offer for extra security. I was going to a human town and I thought that it would be safe." "It wasn't?" "I stopped for a drink at a bar, I'm ashamed to admit that I had a little too much." He paused. "Werewolves need to drink a lot of alcohol before we feel the effect of it. I lost count and before I knew it I could barely walk. Decided it was best to get back to the hotel I was staying at before I did something stupid." I waited a little impatiently for him to continue. "I got lost and ended up in an alley." Keiran closed his eyes. "My mind was a mess and I wasn't aware that I was being followed until they jumped on me. I struggled to fight them off and I was pretty smug about it unt
Guilt flooded me when I approached our house and spotted Lucas slowly straightening from where he had been leaning against the tree. It was almost three am and I was sure that he was dead tired. "Axel hasn't returned yet," Lucas said softly. "There's been no other movement.""Thank you," I said through our packlink. He nodded. "Do you want me to stick around?""Just open the door for me." I followed him to the front door and slipped inside the moment he opened the door. With a nod of thanks, I waited until the door was closed again before I ran up the stairs. The house was silent. Cora was probably asleep already which was good because I wasn't sure if I could look her in the eye and lie about everything that happened. Axel said that he hadn't told Cora about the other videos Dean had made of her. The kid had been stalking her for years. I was going to make him bleed over and over again to make him pay for all the shit he put her through. Entering my bedroom, I headed towards
"Why is it taking so long?" Ryder tried to grab me when I passed him but I avoided his hands and moved further away from him. I didn't want to stay in that room any longer, but I regretted not staying. Now we had no clue what was happening. "Do you think Keiran attacked Dean?" I asked Ryder. "What if he did and they decided to make his punishment worse?""Cora." Ryder stood and made his way over to me. He gripped my hips, spinning me around to look at him. "As Kelsey pointed out, the council is only there to advise Keiran. They can't punish him for anything."I swallowed, glancing at the door again. "They're fine."Sucking in a shaky breath, I stepped into Ryder and wrapped my arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face against the crook of my neck. Calm washed through me from our bond, but it only lasted a few seconds before my anxiety started rising again. Ryder's lips parted and his tongue flicked out to lick my skin. I shuddered. "I can think of