Another Alpha ceremony. What could possibly go wrong?
While I’m thrilled to have Richie here for the weekend, given the occasion, it’s hard to find time together. Everyone wants to speak to him, she-wolves want to dance with him or flirt with him and I, of course, am playing the perfect hostess. It makes it easier with him having told me earlier that he loves me. It’s the first time he’s ever said it out loud. He shows me in little ways, all the time, but he’s never said the words. Until today. There are plenty of unmated males here as well, but I have a full contingent of ‘brothers’, blood or otherwise, watching over me, scaring them off. With Lily and Leana gone, Riley and I are the most eligible of the Guardians in attendance. The twins and Reagan are still young, and Alpha Liam is keeping them close to him, just in case. I’ve opted for another dress tonight. It’s a red, off the shoulder, body hugging dress that comes to my knees, ending with a flutter hem. I finished the look with a pair of gold stilettos that go well with my skin c
The Alpha discussion of the evening centered around the rogue attacks that have been increasing. Everyone has had at least one attack. I take that back, our three packs have had one attack, the other packs have been attacked multiple times in the past year. Everyone said the same thing I noticed when we were attacked nearly a year ago. The rogues are more structured in their attacks and more skilled in their fighting than they should be. I was never able to get anything from the two in my cells. Rik and Eli were only able to get one each to interrogate and they didn’t get anything either. It was almost as if they didn’t know anything. No one had any answers, and it was decided that it would be brought to the council for discussion and next steps. After nearly getting caught in the bathroom, I was finally able to get my mate to sneak away back to the second packhouse. That night I pleasured my mate until we both were satisfied, then I fell asleep curled up around her. I heard Cayden
Richie and Finley ran with us for hours. I had a lot of pent-up anger. Walking in and seeing seven Betas ganging up against Hope? And for what? Because she’s different. It’s not even her fault, not that it should matter. You’d think they would be more sympathetic knowing that it was because hunters experimented on her in utero. When we get back to the second packhouse, I hear right away that several of the Betas have packed up and left. I make sure to ask which ones. Those Alphas actually care about our alliance. Richie spends a couple of hours with me, letting me calm down before I have to get ready for Emerson’s oath ceremony. I’m really happy for my brother, and I don’t want to embarrass him tonight. So, I let my anger burn off and begin getting ready for the evening. Riley snagged Aspen to help her, so I have one of her sisters, Abeline to help with my hair. For tonight, I am wearing a floor length, navy blue A-line chiffon dress with a halter neck and a goldish brown embroider
After spending another night making love to my mate, I wake up feeling refreshed and ready to talk to Eli and Emerson about having Emlyn take over as acting Luna of my pack. I pack my bags and take a moment to look around Emlyn’s room. While I was excited to spend time in her room, I’ve been a bit preoccupied with her, not looking at her room. Her room is cozy, decorated in warm colors. She’s doesn’t have it splashed with pink like some she-wolves I’ve seen, my younger sisters included. In this room, one wall has been painted to look like the forest covered in snow. I’m guessing the sprites helped with the painting, as I’ve never seen my mate show any interest in it. Her furniture is light brown with cream-colored sheets. Throughout her room are shocks of color, a royal-blue vase holding a beautiful assortment of flowers in various colors, accent pillows in blue, red and green colors, picture frames in various bold colors with pictures of her with her family throughout the years. I lo
I wasn’t expecting the transition to Luna of Shadow Falls to be so easy, but it was. The pack accepted me right away, probably because they already know me and knew that Richie needed someone strong now that Leana was gone. Having helped my mother around our pack all my life, it was pretty simple to step into the role here. Richie and I are still having to be careful around his brothers, but otherwise, it’s great being so close to him all the time. This morning, I’m in the kitchen making sure everything is ready for the next week’s meals. This pack isn’t much larger than Safe Haven, so it’s not much of a stretch to figure out the increased food needed to feed the over 600 pack members. Richie has basically given me carte blanche to do what is needed for the pack as long as I keep track of all the purchases. Today, I want to start planning Xander’s going away party. He’s going off to the state university to begin his business education so he can take over Uncle Liam’s company. As I b
Emlyn has my pack running like a well-oiled machine. If I didn’t already know she was meant to be my Luna, I would seriously have to consider taking her as a chosen mate. She’s perfect in every way. She set up a beautiful Beta ceremony for Jackson, with a huge party afterward. Her family, and my family, along with Cohen and Clint were in attendance. “Damn Em. Did you want to come be my acting Luna when Rich finds his mate? You’re doing a damn good job here.” Cohen says to her. “Fuck off, Cohen. She’s mine. Go find your own Luna.” I say, walking up. “We could share her.” I can’t help the snarl that comes with that statement. I know that no one knows what she is to me, but I won’t be sharing my mate with anyone for any reason. He puts his hands up, palms facing forward. “Okay, okay. I’m just saying. Our sisters are gone, and Riley is still too young. I could use someone like Emlyn to help out when I take over in a couple of months. “What about Hope?” Emlyn asks. “What about her?”
My family and all of my best friends are here this weekend. I get to watch one of my best friends take his oath as Alpha of Canyon Ridge pack. As I watch Cohen stand and take his oath, I look beside me at Richie and further down to see Emerson. Our families have raised amazing Alphas. I’m so proud, my heart feels like it’s about to burst. “Baby girl, what’s on your mind?” Richie asks me through the mind link. He is very intune to changes in my emotions and they are all over the place right now. I feel a tear fall down my cheek. “I’m so proud of this next generation of Alphas. All three of you are so amazing.” Richie wraps his arms around my shoulders and pulls me to his chest, kissing the top of my head. “Thank you, baby girl. I think you’re pretty incredible too.” I stand and watch as every member of Canyon Ridge swears their allegiance to my friend. When it’s done, there is a lot of clapping, cheering and howling. As we walk into the party, I smell my father before his arm goes
Cohen, Emerson and I decide to have monthly Alpha meetings to discuss our packs, any issues that arise and our joint alliances. It feels good to finally have everyone in place, not that working with Uncle Eli and Uncle Rik was bad, it’s just that they were used to doing things a certain way. Now that the three of us have taken over, we can make the changes we want to make. Monthly meetings is just the start. I host the first one, partly because Cohen is still adjusting to his role as Alpha and partly so Emerson can see his sister. I know it was hard for him to let her leave to come to my pack and to feel the pack link snap when she officially joined my pack. They have always been close. I know he’ll be happy to see her. When he arrives, it’s Emlyn that greets him. Cayd and I walk into the kitchen and see them hugging. “Em and Em, back together again.” Cayd says. I smack him on the back of his head. “Show some respect to Safe Haven’s Alpha.” I say. “Yeah, idiot. That’s Alpha Em to
Hello everyone, Thank you for being on this journey with me. Emlyn and Richie's story wrote itself in my head and while it wasn't meant to be the first of the next generation books, it pushed it's way forward. I know this book went through some emotional roller coasters, so thank you for sticking with it. Because it was the first in the series, I gave glimpses and hints of the other stories that I'm planning to write. Lily and Aolis's story is next up. I'm going to take a break for the rest of the year, but early January, be on the look out for Enchanting the Prince. I know some of you mentioned wanting to see more of Lily's strength when Emlyn was in Araphrya, but my focus wasn't on Lily. You'll see plenty of her strength in her book and since we'll be in Araphrya, we'll get to see all sorts of fun, magical creatures. In addition to Lily and Aolis, I have a plan to write Xander and Maeve's story, Leana's story, and Cayd's story. I'm debating on Malin, Quinn and Riley. I may do a gr
“Momma, why are we going into the city?” My son asks me. “We’re going to see Uncle Xander, Aunt Maeve, Uncle Cayd and Aunt Madelyn. The humans decorate the city this time of year with pretty lights, and they have a park where you can play in the snow, they have hot chocolate and they give away candy canes.” I tell Leander. “But you can’t say anything about being an Alpha or a werewolf son. This is a human city, they don’t know about us and we want to keep it that way.” Richie adds. “Why Daddy?” Briella asks him. I look at him. It’s a lot to explain to a two-year-old. “Well, pumpkin, humans can’t do a lot of the things that werewolves can and they get jealous.” “Like what?” Leander asks. “They don’t have wolf spirits and because they don’t, they can’t shift, which means they can’t hear or smell or see like we do.” “That’s terrible. What a boring life.” Leander says. “We think so.” Richie tells them, laughing. “Oh, and they’re not as strong as us, so be careful if you end of pla
Two years later “Daddddeeeeeeee.” I watch as my daughter races past me arms extended to her father, her sandy blond curls bouncing around her face as she runs. From the moment she was born, she was a daddy’s girl. Richie reaches down and scoops her up. “What is it, pumpkin?” “Lender won’t pway with me.” She hasn’t quite gotten Leander’s name down as she tells her father why she's upset. I turn and watch my three-year-old son walk into the room. He may look like me, but his swagger is all his father’s. I’ve seen him watching Richie and mimicking his walk and he has it down. His arms are swinging out to his side and away from his body, like Richie’s. Unlike his father, Leander doesn’t have the muscle tone to cause his arms to push out the way Richie’s do, so instead it looks like a cute attempt to look like a grownup. “Dad, I can’t play with her, I’m busy doing Alpha stuff.” Alpha stuff? I roll my eyes. My son is three, the only ‘Alpha stuff’ he has to do is stay healthy and grow b
Several months later Life is perfect. My mate is pregnant with our daughter, our son is happy, healthy and very active, and our pack is thriving. While my father is still assisting Xander with the business, he seems to be taking it in stride, along with on-line classes, having a mate and a pre-made made family all at once. While that nasty witch Levana hasn’t bothered the pack again, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been causing Maeve, and therefore, Xander lots of problems. He knows that if he needs anything, the pack will be there. Leana has taken her place at the council. I think she’s finally accepted her mate. She had to have a long discussion with our mother about it, but not unexpectedly, our mother was understanding and supportive. While we were fighting our battle with the packs, she was busy fighting a war with the vampires. I didn’t realize how far reaching the discontent with the Guardians had become, but in hindsight, it makes sense. All supernatural beings who break our l
I feel so much better. In that moment the she-wolf said ‘mate’, I was terrified. But after Richie spent time calming me, letting me open my presents from him, confirming that we’re mates, I feel better. I feel like I’m ready to celebrate! Richie doesn’t leave my side. We walk around, talking to our family and pack members. Everyone notices the necklace and the watch, and he smiles at me as I tell them all that one was my gift from last year and one was my gift for this year. As we all move into the dining room for the dinner feast that has been prepared for me, Richie walks me to our seats, but rather than sit, he waits for everyone else to take their places. “Family, friends, pack members. Today we celebrate one of the most amazing women I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting. And that’s saying something since we all know our packs are full of Guardians.” Everyone laughs at that. “We’ve all had a rough year, none worse than Emlyn.” He pulls me too him, wrapping his arm around me a
I know Emlyn is nervous about her birthday. I can feel her nearly constant anxiety through our bond. I love always knowing what Emlyn is feeling or if something is wrong. So, I knew this birthday was causing her stress. I also know, she has nothing to worry about. There is no way that history will repeat itself. It can’t. We’re marked and mated. I want her to realize the past is in the past. And unlike last year, I want to finally give her the watch I had made special for her. It’s been in my drawer for a year. And this year, I had a necklace made for her too. I didn’t want a birthday to go by without getting her a special gift. I don’t ever want to miss celebrating these special moments. However, I nearly cancel when she starts getting sick. I was terrified that I had underestimated her level of stress, even with our bond. Once I realize she’s pregnant and the similarities from last year are making her stress even worse, I make a point to push a calming aura to her even more freque
If I’d thought that Richie and I needed time to reconnect, our time on the island was exactly what we needed. We made love, swam, made love, ate, made love, slept. Finley chased Morrigan, Finley caught Morrigan, Morrigan chased Finley and they each marked the other in wolf form, solidifying our overall bond. The weekend was amazing, and I didn’t want it to end, but we both had to get back to the real world. We still have a pack to run. When we get back, Richie schedules an official Luna ceremony, having me take my oath again in front of the pack and having them swear their loyalty to me. It’s not necessary, the pack has already recognized me as his mate and their Luna, but he insisted that we make it official in front of the entire pack. Afterward, we begin to fall into the same pattern we used to have. Richie and I always made a great team. The pack is again running smoothly and before I know it, I’m planning a party for Cayd’s going away. He will be starting college and like Xande
This week has been exhausting. If I thought the funerals for our pack members and those of Safe Haven were difficult, listening to the stories of a great Alpha and Luna was gut wrenching. Listening to everything Alpha Anders did, most of which was before I was born renews my passion and desire to be the best Alpha I can be. I know I can be that man with Emlyn by my side. But in order to do that, my mate needs to wear my mark. As soon as we’re home, I speak to my mother about going away with Emlyn. She is thrilled to be able to watch Leander, grumbling about having to fight Aunt Grace for time with her own grandson. I meet with Jackson, my Beta to ensure he’s prepared to run the pack in my absence. “It looks like Xander is going to remain in the pack, or in the city and continue to take online classes, so if you need anything…” “I have your dad, and both your brothers. Don’t worry, Alpha, I’ve got it covered. After the decimation of one pack, the dismemberment and absorption of anoth
It was nice to be back in Safe Haven, even if it was for a terrible reason. I hadn’t seen everyone since I went to Araphyra. While Richie spent time with Quinn, I spent time with Riley. It’s strange now that both of us are adults and mated. Clint obviously adores my sister and he’ll be a good mate. Her flamboyance seems to have become a bit muted. That could just be the funerals, but it feels more permanent. It feels as if Clint calms my sister. She and Quinn were already best friends, just like I was with Cayd, Cohen and Clint. So, it will be seamless for them to begin working together now as a team for the pack. I spend a few minutes with Clint, catching up and threatening him that he better be a good mate to Riley. “You know I will be, Em. I’ve always wanted to find my mate. And now I have and she’s my best friend’s sister. It’s perfect. She’s perfect.” It’s been a very sad couple of days and as Richie and I pack Leander into our car, I know today will be even worse. Alpha Anders