What did you think of their first meeting?
DimitriI can’t believe I let Zev take over so much that I forgot my mate was injured. She smells so good, her little home, her sweet, little home, had been filled with the scent of lemongrass and lilies. I’d been overwhelmed with her scent, with her perky nipples, and then with her gorgeous body on
I grab a pair of cotton workout shorts that have a draw string on them and I kneel in front of her.“Hold on to my shoulders and step in,” I say, holding the shorts open for her. When she does, I pull them up and tie the draw string tightly, so they’ll stay on her narrow waist and hips.“There now,
AydaCathal is very sweet. He talks a lot when he’s excited and he’s very excited that I’m here. It warms my heart in a way that I’m unaccustomed to. I wonder if this is what it would have been like for me one day if my son had survived.When he tells me he thinks his dead mother sent me to save him
“You like flowers?” Cathal asks.“I do.”“Maybe we can look for some when you’re healed,” my son says.“Not until the war is over, Cathal. I almost lost you once.”“Yes, but instead, we found Ayda. Or rather, you found us,” he says, smiling at me.“And speaking of Ayda healing, she needs her rest, C
DimitriI’m starting to wonder if Cathal is right, that Natasha really did send Ayda to us. My son has taken to her very quickly, even before he knew that she was my mate. He’s never shown that kind of interest in any woman before, definitely never said that someone was sent by his dead mother to wa
It takes me a moment to realize that she hasn’t answered me. I lean around her to look up at her. “Ayda? What’s your favorite food?”“I…ummm…I’ll eat whatever you give me.”I frown again. What the hell kind of answer is that?“Cathal likes pizza, do you like pizza?”She nods her head.“What kind? Ch
AydaWhen we step out of the bathroom, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do or wear. Masuzyo gave me my clothes to wear to bed and he’d tell me if I was allowed to sleep with him or not. However, Dimitri said he wants me in his bed every night.I stand in the room with a towel around my hair and one
“How long was she gone?” he asks softly.I look up and see him watching me.“Nearly a year if my calculations are correct. I’m not exactly sure, I wasn’t….I didn’t start keeping track until later.”He surprises me by reaching around me and holding me. “That must have been a terrible time for you.” H
“I couldn’t agree more," I say.Dimitri reminds our pups to be respectful and to listen to Valentina and then we head back to our house.My mate takes my hand as we walk through the quiet streets of our pack. I begin to purr with happiness, all the happiness that I feel from my mate and from my life
AydaI watch as my son and his friend identify each other as mates in front of the pack, then watch my son claim his mate, the only woman he’s ever loved, with a passionate kiss.“How did you know?” I ask my mate. He called it years ago. At first, I thought he was teasing me but he just kept telling
“What I know is that my son will be the most handsome man in the room tonight…well, besides his father,” my mother says, turning to smile at him, making Zev purr in response.“Good thing I look just like dad,” I say rolling my eyes. I was not unhappy for my parents to move out of the packhouse. I’d
Eight Years LaterCathal“Do I really have to call you Alpha now?” my sister Dimitra asks me, walking into the family living room in our parents’ new house. When I took over as Alpha a few weeks ago, my father moved the rest of the family off of the Alpha floor. Our pack has grown ever since my moth
Ayda leans back against me as I begin to rub circles on her stomach. I frown, feeling her stomach cramping.“Ayda? Why does it feel like you’re in pain?”“They’re just cramps, Dimitri. I get them all the time,” she says, settling against me.“Are you sure?” I ask, feeling another one. I tune in more
DimitriFour months later.It took Masuzyo three days to die. It was impressive, mostly because I didn’t know a person could withstand so much pain. But he was a broad man, and the pack made sure that everyone who wanted their pound of flesh, got it. Literally. By the time he died, the smell of burn
“Do you want me to tell them to kill him? If you want him to die more quickly, I tell them to do it.”I think about it, think about every horrible thing he’s done to me, to Asena, to our son, to Cathal, to Dimitri, to Kelsey and Harper, and what he attempted to do to my daughter. “No, let the pack h
AydaI come awake slowly, feeling groggy, unsure what happened or where I am. My stomach hurts. Did Masuzyo take me roughly again? I’m not throbbing between my thighs so I don’t think that’s it. My face is throbbing, though. Did he hit me? Yes, he slapped me. Why did he slap me?I think hard, trying
“Ramon,” I hear my mother say softly, her gentle fingers moving through our fur. “NO!” she snarls, pushing Ramon behind her and pulling herself to her feet. As she does, Ramon pulls the shift, making me scream in pain as our broken leg and dislocated hip try to find the right spot to fit. I turn, vo