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“All we know is someone is after you. Why?” John looked at me and narrowed his eyes. “I honestly have no idea. This all started when I came here. Dad never let me leave the pack, so it’s not like anyone had the chance to take me before. It could be as simple as someone dad pissed off.” The feeling of defensiveness was boiling up from the pit of my stomach, but Ethan immediately pushed positive feelings my way. “There isn’t anything else you want to tell me? I can’t help you if you aren’t honest with me.” John gave me a look like he was digging deep in my soul. Unfortunately, for him, I had plenty of practiced on this and it didn’t phase me. “No, sir.” He stared a little longer before turning to Ethan. “What is your next move?” “I want to go to Stella’s luna ceremony.” I spoke up before Ethan could. “Seriously?” John looked taken aback. “You were just on your deathbed and now you want to travel?” “It’s not happening!” Ethan stood up and started pacing. “I have a plan.” I said i
Ethan POVThis woman will be the death of me, and not in a good way. Damon had just shut the mind-link as I forced Callie and Dad from my tiny office. Grace was right. We needed a bigger office. Just sitting in my chair, I could walk from one side to another in two big strides. There is no way she will be comfortable working in here. Knock! Knock! Damon walked in without waiting for a response. Though he knew I was expecting him. “She isn’t wrong.” He said as he took a seat. Why it pissed me off, I don’t know. “It’s so dangerous.”“It’s more dangerous than not knowing.” “You can’t take Callie. I can’t deal with her too.”“We can’t not take her. She would be perfect for creating a diversion. It’s not like you need to worry about security there. Just not getting caught.” Damon seemed relaxed. With his hands on his knees, he was almost smiling. Like he was enjoying this.“Why are you for this?”“We need to know. Plus, it will be fun to watch her hack into a pack’s security. If she can
“No. Not yet. The fewer people that know the better and he would never allow her to hack into their security system. No. This needs to be between us.” “I’m not happy.” I said before I hung up on him. “Well, there you go.” Damon shook his head. “This got messy.” “I should have been fucking told there was a price on her head before we even fucking mated!” Shoving my desk away, I stood up and started pacing.“Seriously, dude? Did you forget the part where you kept her a secret? When did you want someone to tell you that? She has no fucking idea that she has been in danger her whole life!” “This is exactly what I was afraid of….”“Listen.” Damon stood up. He was clearly pissed off at me right now. “It’s only because I know you that I know you are not upset with the fact you mated, Grace, but the fact that you are so afraid to lose her that you can’t think straight. If you even hint at the fact that she was a mistake, we will seriously go at it. None of this is her fault, but it is you
“I think it is more they wanted to keep you safe and happy.” After a few minutes of her not answering, my thumb found her chin and gently turned her head towards me. “I don’t agree with what they did, but they did it out of love. They wanted to keep you safe and happy. Listen, I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is. Vincent is coming here this afternoon and we still discuss what steps we are going to take moving forward. You can go to Stella’s luna ceremony and we will come up with a plan. Okay?”“You aren’t going to keep me from going?” Grace asked quietly.“Love, I don’t think I could ever keep you from doing shit, but I understand why your dad kept you locked up. However, I don’t want to be that person, so I’ve decided to stand behind you and protect you. You are free to make all your own decisions, but we should still agree with them.” Getting closer, I put my arm around Grace. Her head relaxed on my chest, allowing me to kiss the top of her head. “I want us to be equals. Mak
No one spoke up after a few minutes, so I continued on. “We are also issuing a level two lock down. Damon and I are going to run the perimeter. Travis and Kyle are going to sign any assignments to get everyone in position to start the rotation, and then it will be Kyle you will need to address if there are any issues. Travis will be alternating with protection duty and patrol duties as needed.” “Alight. Go to the board to see what your assignment is and it will rotate from there.” Kyle said. Everyone moved over to see where they start. “We are running the perimeter?” Damon looked at me. “I don’t need the attitude.” Walking off, I pulled my shorts off in one motion and shifted into my massive wolf. His pitch black fur shook, letting his muscles loosen up. Not waiting for Damon, he took off in a full sprint. He only slowed down when he got to the wall. What he really wanted was to run for a few hours at full speed. “Slow down.” Damon said in the mind-link. I didn’t answer, but my wo
“Not currently, but that can change at any moment, and I want to be ready.” Gently scooping Grace up in my arms, we headed to the bedroom. “Are you done working?” Grace yawned. She kept her head against me, so when I felt her breathing get shallow, I knew she was about asleep. “Sleep, love. I’ll wake you up when Vincent gets here.” Kissing her forehead, she was asleep before we even got on the elevator. It was a little challenging to unlock our door and get her in bed, but somehow I managed without her waking up. Her face contorted in pain for a moment, but she got situated and relaxed into my pillow. She looked so perfect laying in my bed with my pillow under hers. My heart was so full of love for this woman that I knew I would do anything to keep her safe. Before walking out of the bedroom, I had an idea. Wrapping a pillow in my shirt would give her my scent to keep her relaxed and sleeping comfortably. She needed all the sleep she could get. Satisfied that she was comfortable,
Grace POV“Love?” It was my third time trying to mind-link Ethan, but he wasn’t answering. It was like he wasn’t even getting them. “Callie?” I tried another person.“Hey, girl! I see you are awake. How are you feeling?” The relief I felt when she answered was shocking. “Sore but okay. Where is Ethan?” “Him and Damon went to the club real quick. They should be back any minute, though. Do you want to take a shower, or do you want to stay in bed?”“I actually just got out of the shower. Can you help me with my hair?” “Of course! I’ll be right there.” Callie shut the mind-link. It was slightly easier to take a shower, but lifting my arms up was still hard. Somehow, I managed to put a bra on and slip a basic sundress on. Dresses aren’t my favorite thing, but it was the easiest thing to wear right now. Looking at myself in the mirror, the bruising was going away. They were getting some yellow to them, but the purple was still very clear. My eyes didn’t look away as I heard the bedroom
Vincent looked over at Callie and back at me. He shook his head a few times before he grabbed my hand. As soon as his mouth opened to speak, the door flew opened. Everyone jumped as Ethan and Damon walked in. The air of authority around them was both intoxicating and suffocating. “Vincent.” Ethan walked up to Vincent with his hand out. Vincent immediately jumped up and greeted them. “Ethan.” He shook his hand and then held his hand out to Damon. “Damon.”“Glad you made it here, okay.” Damon said before looking over at Travis and Callie. “Can you two please excuse us?” “Nice to see you, Alpha Vincent.” Travis stood up and bowed before walking out. Damon grabbed Callie and gave her a kiss. He must have said something in the mind-link because she looked down and smiled as she walked out. “Is she not staying?” Vincent asked. “She is the beta female, right?” “She is, but she is not aware of my business. Only the people in this room know.” I said, as Vincent moved over to the other couc
“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