After the call ended, Mikael got up with a grim look on his face. “I’ll make sure the preparations to move him are started,” he told Rayvin. Rayvin got up and took his hand. “Stop. Just pause for a second,” she said. He had blocked their mate bond again, but Rayvin didn’t need it to know he was hurting. “You and me are going for a run,” she added.“Ray, we can go after I get things started,” he objected, and she hated how tired he sounded. “No, I’m going to insist that we go right now. Don’t make me use the mate card, Max.” He looked at her for a moment and then nodded. “Thank you, love,” she said, giving him a soft kiss and leading him out into the forest. They stripped down and shifted. ‘Catch me if you can, I won’t even use my abilities,’ Rayvin mind linked Mikel before taking off. For an hour, he chased her all over the pack land. Finally, Rayvin let him catch her by the waterfall and they both lied down in the snow and watched the dancing water. ‘Feeling better?’ she asked. ‘
“I knew she never really cared for me,” Mikael confirmed, and it tore at Rayvin’s heart. “But I never blamed her for it. You saw me as your successor, as a carbon copy of you. She saw me as a duty, a box to check as Luna. I understood this early on. It didn’t mean it was easy to live with. Do you remember the summer Grey, his sister and mother spent here? I dreamed about Lilly asking me if I wanted to go back with them when they left. I had never seen another Luna with her children. I thought our family was how all Alpha families were. But seeing her, how she treated her children and how often Alpha George called to check on his family and how much attention both Grey and Lotte got. It was eye opening and gut wrenching all at the same time,” Mikael explained. Rayvin could feel the old pain he carried through their mate bond. “I gave you everything. I made sure you grew up strong, not spoiled,” his father objected.“You gave me nothing. I had to earn everything, even your attention. T
Mikael looked at his mate and he knew she would dig her heals in on this. She had the adorable wrinkle between her eyebrows. He would have enjoyed a small scuffle with her any other day. But not today, not with these stakes. “Ray,” he said in a warning voice. “Max.” She had mirrored his voice and stood looking at him. “You are not thinking about going in to that place,” he said.“I am.”“Forget about it. I will lock you in one of the cells before I let you do something like that,” he told her. She scoffed and walked up to him. She stood so close to him she had to tilt her head slightly to look him in the eyes. He could see every golden thread in her eyes. “Listen to me, Max. I love you, I respect you, but that does not mean you get to control me. I have told you from the start, I’m not a meek and obedient Luna. You told me that was okay, that I could be who I wanted. Well, this is who I am. I am the kind of Luna that won’t stand by when I know I can help. If it turns out the agent
Mikael had spent the morning training. His father insisted that he trained for three hours each morning under their gamma. Mikael didn’t mind it, it meant less time being stuck in the office with his father. His alpha training was his least favourite part of the day. Four hours with his father in his father’s office felt like physical torture. As he had showered and changed he headed to the pack house. He wondered if he could talk Rayvin into going with him off pack ground. They could sneak out and go to the diner and have milkshakes. Rayvin could easily beat the best warrior in sneaking around in the forest. As if she was summoned by his thoughts, Rayvin came walking. She must have come from the school, but why was she at the pack house in the middle of the day? Mikael wondered. “Hey, Ray, where are you heading? You’re not skipping class are you?” he called out to her. He was the only one in the pack that called her Ray. Everyone else called her Vinny as her mother had done.“Hey,
Mikael smiled as he saw the name on the screen when his mobile phone rang. “Hello my friend, how are things?” he answered.“Hi, Mike. It’s good, how are things at your end?” Graham asked.“Quiet and a little boring now that the rogues have been dealt with. How are the Beans?” Mikael smiled.“Growing at an alarming rate. I don’t know what Ellie is feeding them, but they are growing while I watch them,” Graham chuckled.Mikael was happy for his friend. He sounded truly happy and content. No one deserved it more than Graham.“And Bella?” Mikael asked.“You know Ellie, there is nothing she doesn’t excel at. I truly have no idea how I survived before I had her,” Graham confessed, and Mikael could hear the love in his friend’s voice.“I have been admiring how well she has managed to cope with not sleeping at night. If it was for Theo, we would get a full night’s sleep every night. But Stella isn’t that peaceful, and since she wakes her brother, Ellie and I tag team.,” Graham told him.“I h
Rayvin was sitting in her car and was staring at the phone in her hand. The conversation she had had with alpha Brutus just moments ago still shocked her. She had expected him to understand why she had asked to hand over the case to someone else. She had done most of the heavy lifting, and the man was a human. He wasn’t exactly hard to track. But her alpha had said no.“Auga, we don’t give up halfway to our goal. How would it look if I let you off the hook on this one? We always follow through on our missions. And this is for luna Bella, nothing but the best will do,” he had told her. “Fuck,” she angrily shouted and banged her fist against the steering wheel.She had a valid reason not to do this mission and alpha Brutus knew it. All the talk about sticking to the mission was bullshit. This was one of his ‘face your demons and grow as a warrior’ life lessons. That was the only reason she could think of for him to be sending her back to the one place she didn’t want to go.The Whiter
Mikael was sitting in his office looking through a report from Diana. One of their pack members hadn’t been seen in a week. Thomas was not the most reliable of wolves, but he had never been gone this long before. Mikael had asked Diana to look into it, better safe than sorry.‘The agent has arrived. I have sent her up to your office, Mike,’ Ben mind linked him.‘You sent her up? Why didn’t you escort her?’ Mikael asked, surprised.‘I think she can handle it, and besides, I think you will thank me,’ Ben told him.‘What does that mean?’ Mikael asked. His beta didn’t make any sense.‘You’ll see. I’m going to go with Diana and look at Thomas’ place,’ Ben then said.‘I thought I was doing that,’ Mikael pointed out.‘You have the meeting with the agent, and I would like some time with my mate,’ Ben told him.‘It’s an investigation, not a date,’ Mikael scoffed. ‘Sure thing, Mike,’ his beta chuckled.Mikael was just generally confused by the whole conversation. He was about to mind link his
Rayvin was walking in a daze, she registered that Mikael was mind linking someone, probably Ben, and took the moment to get her thought straight. When she had walked up to Mikael’s office, she had been more than nervous. She had been scared of what was waiting for her. Once she had reached the top floor, she had been distracted by a faint scent of freshly brewed coffee and honey. It had distracted her enough to get her to the alpha’s office and knock on the door. As she heard Mikael ask her to come in, she almost turned around. But she opened the door, and the scent had hit her full-on. Both her animals had let her know she had found her mate, the two of them were in total agreement. Rayvin had just stared at Mikael sitting behind his desk. He was her mate. As he had run up to her, she had thought he was about to kiss her, but they had just looked at each other. He had gotten older, but not in a bad way. The awkward teenager had been replaced by a man. He was muscular and moved wit
Mikael looked at his mate and he knew she would dig her heals in on this. She had the adorable wrinkle between her eyebrows. He would have enjoyed a small scuffle with her any other day. But not today, not with these stakes. “Ray,” he said in a warning voice. “Max.” She had mirrored his voice and stood looking at him. “You are not thinking about going in to that place,” he said.“I am.”“Forget about it. I will lock you in one of the cells before I let you do something like that,” he told her. She scoffed and walked up to him. She stood so close to him she had to tilt her head slightly to look him in the eyes. He could see every golden thread in her eyes. “Listen to me, Max. I love you, I respect you, but that does not mean you get to control me. I have told you from the start, I’m not a meek and obedient Luna. You told me that was okay, that I could be who I wanted. Well, this is who I am. I am the kind of Luna that won’t stand by when I know I can help. If it turns out the agent
“I knew she never really cared for me,” Mikael confirmed, and it tore at Rayvin’s heart. “But I never blamed her for it. You saw me as your successor, as a carbon copy of you. She saw me as a duty, a box to check as Luna. I understood this early on. It didn’t mean it was easy to live with. Do you remember the summer Grey, his sister and mother spent here? I dreamed about Lilly asking me if I wanted to go back with them when they left. I had never seen another Luna with her children. I thought our family was how all Alpha families were. But seeing her, how she treated her children and how often Alpha George called to check on his family and how much attention both Grey and Lotte got. It was eye opening and gut wrenching all at the same time,” Mikael explained. Rayvin could feel the old pain he carried through their mate bond. “I gave you everything. I made sure you grew up strong, not spoiled,” his father objected.“You gave me nothing. I had to earn everything, even your attention. T
After the call ended, Mikael got up with a grim look on his face. “I’ll make sure the preparations to move him are started,” he told Rayvin. Rayvin got up and took his hand. “Stop. Just pause for a second,” she said. He had blocked their mate bond again, but Rayvin didn’t need it to know he was hurting. “You and me are going for a run,” she added.“Ray, we can go after I get things started,” he objected, and she hated how tired he sounded. “No, I’m going to insist that we go right now. Don’t make me use the mate card, Max.” He looked at her for a moment and then nodded. “Thank you, love,” she said, giving him a soft kiss and leading him out into the forest. They stripped down and shifted. ‘Catch me if you can, I won’t even use my abilities,’ Rayvin mind linked Mikel before taking off. For an hour, he chased her all over the pack land. Finally, Rayvin let him catch her by the waterfall and they both lied down in the snow and watched the dancing water. ‘Feeling better?’ she asked. ‘
Rayvin was discussing the training of the warriors with Diana. They had brainstormed and had the idea of building an obstacle course in the woods. It would make it easy to train warriors in different conditions and if it was done correctly, it would be able to adapt to the level of the trainee. Rayvin’s phone rang. She looked at it and saw an unknown number. There wasn’t anything strange about it. She hadn’t added all members of the pack’s numbers to her phone. “Rayvin,” she answered, not knowing if it was someone from the pack or a human. “Explain yourself, Rayvin,” someone shouted. Diana could hear it on the other side of the table and raised an eyebrow. “Hello, uncle. Yes, I have had a good day. How about you?” Rayvin said in a calm voice. She had never heard her uncle this upset before. It had to mean the actions the packs had taken were having an effect. “Stop playing games. What the fuck have you done? Why are our investments dropping like stones in the ocean?” he asked in a
Mikael looked at the report on his computer screen and frowned. He made sure to check his protective barrier toward Rayvin was in place. He didn’t want her to worry or blame herself. Mikael had sent Ben away to go to the pack doctor with Diana. It was time for the first official checkup. He heard to door open, and he didn’t need to lock up, he didn’t even need to rely on the exotic smell that grew stronger as his mate made her way to him. Rayvin was the only one who would enter his office without asking for permission. Not even Ben or Diana did it. But there was no ceremony between Mikael and Rayvin. She walked up to him and sat at his desk. He looked up at her and smiled as he placed his hand on her knee. As always, his hands always sought out contact with her. “Hi,” she said. “Hi.” She looked at him as if she was waiting for something. When nothing happened, she shook her head.“Are you ready to talk about it or do you need to brood some more?” she asked.“What are you talking abo
The party was in full swing, and Rayvin was having fun. For one night, it was good for the pack to let go of everything that was going on and just enjoy themselves. She and Mikael were making the rounds around the room, talking to people and making sure everyone was having a good time. “Vinny, it’s time for us to leave,” Luna Bella said and gave Rayvin a hug.“Thanks for coming, Bee. And thank you for lending me your stylist,” Rayvin said, giving Mickey a hug as well. “It was fun, it brought back a lot of memories,” Luna Bella told her. Mikael and Rayvin followed the party from the Blackmoon pack to their car and waved them off. “We have been at the party for almost three hours,” Mikael informed Rayvin as he closed his arms around her. “I didn’t know you were keeping track,” she said with a smile.“Three hours must be enough, don’t you think? No one would miss us if we didn’t go back,” he continued. “Tired already? I knew you were a little older than me, but you are losing your s
“Are you nervous?” Luna Bella asked as Mickey did Rayvin’s makeup. “Definitely,” Rayvin confessed and squirmed a little in her seat. “Don’t be, it will go perfectly,” Diana reassured her, and took another sip of the sparkling cider. Rayvin had decided they all were drinking cider instead of champagne. “You look amazing, if I may say so myself. It’s easy when working with people like you and Bee,” Mickey said. Rayvin was thrilled that he, Logan, Luna Bella and Alpha Graham had made the trip to Whiteriver to attend her Luna ceremony. She was even more grateful that Mickey had volunteered to help her get ready. He was an amazing stylist. Mickey had made Rayvin’s blond hair form into loose waves that cascaded down her shoulders and back. He had put soft makeup on her face, but as a contrast put gold eyeliner in an extended cat eye. It made her amber eyes stand out and gave her a warrior look. “Time for the dress,” Diana said, excitedly. Rayvin had listened to everyone and ordered her
It was Wednesday afternoon, Rayvin and Diana walked up to a tidy-looking town house in the human town. Diana was carrying a gigantic apple pie. Rayvin had asked the kitchen to make it for the bookclub she and Diana had been invited to. She had, unfortunately, forgotten to tell them it was meant for humans. They had made it with werewolf appetite in mind. ‘Ready?’ Rayvin mind linked Diana.‘No, are you sure I need to be here?’ Diana asked. ‘If I have to be here, you have to,’ Rayvin insisted and rang the doorbell. Mrs Goldstein opened the door with a big smile on her face. “Hello, Mrs Goldstein. This is my friend Diana Quickpaw,” Rayvin said.“Hello, nice to meet you. And please, we aren’t that formal here. Call me Ruth.”“thank you for inviting us, Ruth. We brought some apple pie,” Diana said. “Oh my,” Ruth said, looking at the giant thing in Diana’s hands. “You two know we are just six persons in the book club and it’s a one-day event,” she then giggled and took the apple pie fro
“What do you think?” Rayvin asked Mikael when they were alone again. “I like him. I have a feeling Gray will get two new pack members soon,” he said. “You think Milly will make a permanent move?” she asked and leaned against him. He pulled her closer and kissed her neck.“I think so. She seems to be happy there, and he has a good job in the area. I can’t say I’m sorry to see her go. But I am happy that she has found her place in life. If nothing else, it will make Ben’s life easier,” he said.“You’re right, Ben will have other things to deal with soon,” Rayvin said with a smile. “And I agree with you. I think he will make a good addition to a pack. It’s easy to see he is just as much in love with her as she is with him. They make a good couple,” she added. “One less problem. I think this is the beginning of a new trend. Our problems will start to untangle and go away from now on,” he told her. “Don’t jinx it, honey,” she joked. “Do you have anything else planned for today?” he as