My mind was racing with this new idea. “Possibly… I honestly might have to be at the headquarters to do that. I’ll have to change the system and insert it that way.” “That would be we would have to split up.” Vincent put his hands on the table and looked stressed. “One team with Grace and another attacking the park.”“I’m not taking men away from the park. We have no idea what is even in there.” Vincent looked up and met my eyes. “You’re not going there alone and unprotected, Grace.” He bit the words out like I didn’t think of that. “Obviously.” Rolling my eyes, I just shook my head at him. “I’m just saying, we aren’t taking 50 men to the headquarters.” Ethan put his hand on Vincent’s shoulder. “We told them we would be back regardless next week. That leaves you the rest of today to write a whole new program. Monday, we will leave to go to the headquarters. Everyone else will need to get their warriors ready. We are going to use Grace at the headquarters like a distraction from wh
“I…. think so?” Stella looked at Rif with a confused look on her face. Since she didn’t actually respond back, I wasn’t sure what the answer was. “How about you girls make a list of things like that? I’ll get started on the system and creating the base. Once I’m ready for something, I’ll start adding stuff as I can.” Damon had just dropped off my laptop so I was ready to get started. Reaching over, I grabbed a blank sheet of paper from the printer and a pen. Handing it over to Roxie, they moved to the couch. Secretly, I was thankful for that. I needed some peace and quiet. Just as I would start on something, the men would start arguing or talking loudly, or the office door wouldopen. Finally, after the fifth time of people coming in and out, I got tired of it. With more annoyance than I meant, I stood up, sending my chair against the wall. The entire room stopped and watched me march over to the partiition and started pulling it closed. No one said a word but I kept it open just
Before I could respnod, Roxie walked in slowly and gently closed the door. We all watched as she walked to the couch and sat down as gently as possible, avoiding Damon’s eye. “Are you going to cry?” Damon asked with a slight chuckle.“Why is she so mean?” Roxie didn’t look like she was going to cry but she did look like her feelings got hurt. Standing up, my plate was empty, and it was time to get to work. “Why do you think I let Callie do it all? I’m not about to stop that.”“How would you even be able to?” Roxie looked at me.Setting my plate down in the dirty bin, I looked over at her. “Ethan told her she was acting like their mother…” Shrugging, I just went to my desk. As I reached for my headphones, the girls came over to my desk and sat around me. There wasn’t any use wearing them since they felt like they needed to help. I wasn’t sure what kind of help they wanted to provide me. “We put them in order from what we thought was most important and down.” Jolene looked nervous.
“Yeah? How does your elbow feel?” I teased as he came at me low. He was quicker than I expected, but I was still faster. His claw dug into my shin as he overshot me. Blood wasn’t something that affected me, and honestly, it just pissed me off. There wasn’t time for me to strike back since Ethan acted as if he meant to over shoot me. Sweeping his leg out, I let him take me down so I could get in a few hits to his kidneys before I fell hard on the ground. Ethan flinched, giving me time to roll away from his elbow that was coming. My breath was heavy. With the wind knocked out of me, I had to focus harder from Ethan’s none stop attacks. The faster he swung his fist, the faster I had to block. It left me more winded than I started with. Knowing I couldn’t keep doing this, I had to change. It was my turn to be on offense. Ethan never left his left side open the way the rest of his pack did. His punches weren’t even in a pattern. Trying to find a hole was difficult until a thought came
“Big talk from a man that can’t swim… and I’ll let you know that I found a way to cope!” I spit back just as Callie passed me. She snorted at me. “Is that what you call it?” “What does she mean?” Rif asked as we got to our table. “They do the dirty for the entire plane ride…” Callie didn’t even try to hide her smile and amusement from us. “It works…” Shrugging, Ethan kissed my forehead before pulling out my chair for me. Since the guys weren’t getting the food, I assumed it was going to be brought out for us. “Did you get your task done, Callie?” Jolene leaned over and asked from down the table.“I did, thank you. Zoey was an amazing help. The only thing that needs done is for the guys to look at it all.” “We can do that after we eat.” Ethan wasn’t looking at her but across the room. “Fuck..” We all turned to see Jax walk in the diningroom. “I thought he left?” I whispered to Ethan. “His plane did…” No one spoke as Jax approched. “I sent Cara home. May I sit and chat?” Tell
“I know you are working, but let’s have a movie night.” Roxie plopped down on the couch. “I mean, there isn’t anything for us to do.” Damon shut the door behind him. I could hear the lock snap into place before the girls jumped on that idea. “I’d love that. We never get to spend this much time together.” “Is that going to bother you?” Callie asked, looking at me. “No. I have my headphones and if it does, then I’ll move to my bed.” A cold chill came over me, making me go to the bedroom and grab a pair of sweats, socks, and a sweatshirt. Damon came back in as I grabbed a blanket and made myself comfortable on one of the oversized chairs in the livingroom. “Cold?” Damon handed me my headphones. I could hear Callie popping some popcorn, and Zoey was looking through the movies. “Maybe a little.”“Is there anything to drink in here?” Jolene looked around.“Bar is in the kitchen. Help yourslf, but get me a Jack and Dr. Pepper please!” Jolene was looking around like it was the most inte
“Grace? Are you dressed?” Ethan yelled at me from the bathroom. The morning came way too quickly, making me a little grumpy. “Yeah, just putting my shoes on.” Callie had picked out a pant suit for me to wear. The pants were tighter and stopped just above my ankle. There was a white bodysuit that still looked like a professional shirt. The matching black blaser sealed the look. After adding my jewelry and shoes, I was ready to go. “Here.” Ethan walked in with a black box. He opened it and took my hand. “I had a fake ring made that looks exactly like the one I got you. That way, if something happens to this one, who cares?” He switched out my rings before putting the real one in the box. “Where are you putting that one?” Ethan motioned me to follow him with his finger. Going to the kitchen, he pushed down on one of the back splash tiles. It opened up to a safe. Unlocking it, he added the ring to it before closing it again.“When did we get that?” “We have had it.” Ethan shrugged. “
My good mood disappeared as soon as I saw the stairs to the airplane. Before I could really say anything, Ethan picked me up bridal style. “Hey!” I yelled, but smiled at him. “What?” He looked innocent. However, my comptuer was barely hanging on to my arm. “I got that…” Jolene took my laptop from me. “I’ll need that!” I yelled back at her. Ethan walked into the plane and set me down on a seat. “Do you think you can work?” He sat down beside me. Nox and Jolene sat in front of us. I saw Axton sit at the front, and Kyle moved to the back of the plane. Vincent was across the way, but seemed rather preoccupied with his phone. There were some menmen I didn’t know who they were, but they sat randomly around. I assumed they were Nox’s men. This pant suit wasn’t the most comfortable thing to wear on a plane, but honestly, unless I am naked, nothing was comfortable. Jolene kept adjusting her blaser so much that Nox looked at her, confused. She shook her head, but sat still.Ethan nudged me
“CHRISTIAN!” I yelled back. He laughed, as that was our thing. Ethan set me down when we got to the top. Christian instantly wrapped his arms around my legs. “I missed you! You are getting so tall!” “Hey, sis.” Vincent walked up to me with his arm out. With my belly, I could only do a side hug these days.“How is my little nephew doing?” Vincent shook Ethan’s hand. “Very happy where he is at.” Vincent has been a little of a recluse this last year. Finding out the truth, being a full-time day and looking for a beta has kept him from coming around as often. Fortuantly, everyone has sympathized with him. They have really accepted him into our friend’s group. However, Roxie and Zoey are on a kick to find him a mate. Vincent game me a smile and scooped Christian up. “Let’s go inside or we will miss the party.” Ethan held the door for us before quickly resuming his spot next to me. The moment we walked in, my breath was caught in my throat. It was just like I imagined it to be. A larg
1 year later“Grace! We got to go! Everyone is waiting for us!” Ethan was standing at our bedroom door. “I’m COMING!” I growled back. My swollen belly was ready to pop at any moment. Our little baby boy was loving kicking his mother in the lungs so much that he refused to leave. “I can only move so fast!” “You are the most beautiful pregnant person…ever.” Ethan smiled at me as I walked out of the bedroom. The stretchy black evening gown clung to my body, really making my stomach look much skinner than I felt. From the back, you would never know I was pregnant, which confused me. My belly was very round, like a ball. “This is all your fault.” Rolling my eyes at him, I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. Ethan walked over and gave me his arm. “Thank you.” “Just think…” Ethan patted my hand. “…. you get to do this many more times!” Looking up and glaring at him, “I will kick you in the nuts and end all of that.” Ethan laughed at me. I doubt anything would hurt his m
By the time we made it to the club, I had taken a few more shots, and the buzz was going. The club was bouncing. Music could be heard from outside. There was a line down the sidewalk and neon lights were flashing all around. This was the vibe that I was hoping for. “Ethan, I want to check on the computers. With everyone here, I haven’t actually got to see it yet and I want to check it.” I had to shout since the music was so loud and we weren’t even inside. “Grace, you are a little drunk….” Ethan raised his eyebrows at me. “Please? I’m not going to touch it. Just want to make sure it’s okay.” Grabbing his arm, I put on my most pathetic face I could.” “Fine…” Ethan rolled his eyes, but smirked. Wrapping his arm around me, he lead the way inside. “Callie, get everyone situated with drinks. We will catch up.” Ethan instantly lead me away to his office. It was more packed than I had ever seen it. Granted, I had only been here like three times, but this was packed. More than once, we g
“What do you have that is the best with crab?” Theresa thought for a moment. “Try the crab trio. There are three different ways crab is cooked. I think one is the crab alfrado, a mushroom stuffed crab and just steamed crab legs with a pepper, garlic butter to dip it in.” “That sounds perfect.” “Great. Would you like your legs already de-shelled?” “Yes, please.” I said right as the guys came back. “I’ll have a crab cake, please.” Jolene smiled at Theresa. Theresa returned the smile. “For you two?” She looked at them. “Seafood fried roll.” Ethan sighed and downed his drink. “I got another round coming.” She said instantly. Ethan nodded and put his arm back around me. “What did Vincent say?” I asked Ethan in the mind-link, so I didn’t hear what Nox, Stella or Rif ordered. “Well, turns out they were all people that went missing states away. None were from the same state, but they were all scholars in hacking or something cyber. Vincent thinks Zach or Derek had placed them there
Just as Ethan stood up, we arrived at the restaurant. I couldn’t help the sly smile that spread across my face before bitting my lower lip. “Let’s go,” Ethan said before clearing his throat. He gave me a little nudge to get off the bus. “Where are we?” I asked as I stepped off. Ethan was quick behind me, wrapping his arm around my waist. “This is one I have wanted to bring you to since I met you. It’s a very upscale seafood place. I know your favorite food is crab and I think they will have what you want here.” Ethan smiled down at me.“I love this place!” Callie squealed. “Their lobster is absolutely amazing!” “I’ve never been here!” Zoey grabbed Leo’s hand, and they started the train to the front doors. “We have a reservation. It’s under Boone.” Callie yelled from the back. By the time we walked in, the hostess walked off from the front. Zoey turned and smiled at us. I couldn’t help but look around. There was a massive sword fish mounted on the wall. The lighting was low, dark
After the house burnt down, we had to transport everyone back to their respected packs. However, all of our friends had to come back one last time to our pack and gather their belongings. Since they were already here, we had one last night together. Ethan set up a romanic evening that ended with everyone at the club for a night of dancing. All the girls were in my bedroom getting dressed. Callie had on a champain squence colored dress. It volumized her breast with a completely open back and only strings tolding it up. Her ass was about to hang out, but she looks amazing.Zoey had on a similar colored dress, but the top was more of a bra. Her stomach was open to a skirt that sinched at the side. Roxie was wearing a scarlett red dress. With long sleeves, the top was just enough fabric to cover her tits. It was an open stomach, but one side went down to a skirt that went to her calf. The other side had a slit that went to her hip, completely exposing her very toned legs. Stella was wea
Vincent turned and looked at us. “Let’s go home.” He whispered and walked past us. Christian was clinging to Vincent like his life depended on it. “Keep your eyes closed, bud.” He said as he walked out of the house. We all followed him. The battle was over and our warriors were collecting the dead. In the front was Derek’s body, Zach and Adaline. There was a rather large pile of men off to the side and a more respectible line of men that were ours. Leo was barking order with Damon, but Stella caught my attention. She was standing over Derek’s body with tears running down her face. Walking out of Ethan’s arms, I came up to Stella. She met my eyes before looking down again. “W-what happened?” I hesitated before speaking. I wasn’t sure how this was going to impact our friendship. Though it had already been rocky as it was. “Grace?” Rif walked up behind Stella. Putting a hand around his waist, he nodded. “Whatever it is, just tell us.” I knew I had everyone’s attention at this point.
Grabbing a lock of hair, I twisted it in my fingers. “You know Vincent, she used Derek’s weakness and let him believe for three years that he betrayed you.” Vincent’s hand wrapped around his neck. He squeezed hard enough to make her hurt but not enough to stop the breathing. “What should I do? Kill her or put her in my dungeon to years’ worth of torture?” “I’m sorry! I can turn my life around and be the mother that Christian deserves. I only ever wanted to be a mate to you.” She batted her eyelashes at Vincent. His grip tightened around her neck. “Nothing I do will be enough. It won’t be enough to vengue Derek, my dad or the years of head games you put on our son that I’ll have to fix.” Tighter, he squeezed until his hand started shaking. “I regret ever sleeping with you, ever touching you, or even meeting you. The only good thing in my life is Christian. I’m going to take your body and make a mockery of it. You will be an example of what it means to cross me. I’m more powerful than
Ethan, Vincent, and I just stared at her with our mouths hanging open. “Derek thought he betrayed Vincent. He did everything to keep Vincent out of danger and keep his kid safe and you were playing him.” My anger was rising as her words sank in. “You let Derek live with this weight on him for years.” Adaline shrugged. “Who is Derek to me?” She mirrored those words, knowing it was going to get under my skin. “Now, my child is an heir to not only the mafia family, but to a very powerful wolf pack and a blood relative to a very profitable security business.”“You never wanted me to create a program. All this was a lie to get the three of us here.” The truth came crashing down on me.Marco pointed his gun at me. “You are a very hard person to get ahold of. I told Zach to kidnap you by any means needed. He almost got you fucking killed. I’m happy you survived, but yes, however, Ethan was only part of it because he mated to you. I just wanted Vincent and you.” “Your dad was incredibly ann