Sounds like Rich could be in big trouble with the council.
When Richie and Gwen left for the council meeting together, I wasn’t sure if I was happy to have Gwen out of my hair for the day, or sad that Richie decided to take her instead of me. When Xander lets me know that they are staying the night away from the pack, sad wins out. My heart hurts knowing that they will be spending this time together, just the two of them. Later that night, we’re all sitting around the table for dinner, Leana, Xander, Cayd and I. I’ve been pushing my food around my plate. I know I need to eat, but I can’t make myself. The thought of trying to get food down right now makes me feel as sick as I still feel every morning when I wake up. “Em, you need to eat.” Cayd says quietly, nudging me. I take a bite of whatever is on my fork, I don’t know or care what it is. He watches me while I try to choke it down as it lodges in my throat. “Here.” Xander says, pushing my glass of water over to me. I drink it, forcing the food down. “I’ll be fine, you guys, I just….I……”
I must not have heard her properly. “What?” I ask, looking at her like she’s crazy. We were always so careful. I have condoms all over the fucking packhouse and forest for just that reason. “I’m pregnant.” She repeats. I open my mouth, not sure what I’m going to say. “If you fucking ask if it’s yours, I’ll rip your balls off.” She growls. “Of course, it’s mine, Emlyn. I would have known if you’d been with someone else.” I say but my mind is reeling. I’m already struggling with the fact that I can’t get it up with my mate unless I’m thinking about Emlyn and now, she’s telling me she’s pregnant with my child. I stand, turning and going to the window, running my fingers through my hair. “This is a fucking mess!” I whip back around and see Emlyn mouthing an apology to Xander. He’s apparently as taken off guard as I am. “How far along are you?” “Three weeks.” I do the math quickly. “The day that I killed Alpha Samuel.” She nods and I run my fingers through my hair again. There’s
It’s been two weeks. Every night I suffer through the pain of Richie’s mating with Gwen. Some nights, I’m lucky and it’s quick, others he takes his time. I know it’s taking a toll on me. There are dark circles under my eyes from my lack of sleep. My body is covered in bruises from the pain. I’ve begun to worry about my child. I have no idea how this might impact him. And it is a boy. Xander told me he could smell Richie on me two days after I told him I was pregnant, then Cayd confirmed it. But to be sure, I had Leana go with me to the pack hospital to have an ultrasound. I can’t look at Richie, so I had Leana take him the picture. I’ve started to show, so it’s not like it’s a secret anymore. Richie forbid me from sparring at warrior training and I can’t shift while pregnant, so I’m stuck running on my human legs through the forest to get my exercise and try to clear my head. Every day, I’m getting less and less sleep. I’m exhausted and when I finally start to fall asleep, the pain
Gwen finally convinced me to have sex last night. I’d put it off as long as I could, which is ridiculous. Why am I waiting to have sex with my mate? And it was terrible. I could barely stay hard. Her moans and grunts only made it worse. I tried going down on her but her taste…I don’t understand why she doesn’t taste better than Emlyn. Emlyn tasted better than anything I’ve ever tasted. Shouldn’t my mate taste even better than that? Instead, I felt like I was going to gag. I finally had to get her off and then, unlike any other man in history, I faked my orgasm. No matter what I did, I couldn’t make my dick work. And let’s not even go there about my canines. When I was with Emlyn, my canines extended almost every time I was inside her. I had to constantly be careful to NOT mark her. Last night, Gwen had lifted her neck, inviting me to mark her and…nothing. My canines didn’t extend, and Finley was quiet, almost like he was embarrassed that his body wasn’t responding properly either. So
Cayd drove me to Safe Haven. I’d never put much thought into the name of our pack. I know my parents came up with the name and that it’s a place where anyone that needs a safe place to live can come and be welcomed. But, as a kid, it was just our pack’s name. Now, as we cross onto my brother’s pack lands, I recognize the poignancy of the name. Here I am, running from a place where I can’t live any longer. And, of course, my brother welcomes me with open arms, just like he does with every other supernatural that requests sanctuary. I feel a tear roll down my cheek. I don’t even belong to a pack right now. I know my brother will rectify that quickly, but currently I’m a rogue. I rejected Richie as my Alpha and until I’m accepted into a pack, I’m packless. I don’t know if it’s the emptiness caused by rejecting Richie, or the loneliness of being a packless wolf, but either way I feel so lonely that all I want to do us curl up and die. I’m beginning to understand why rejected mates just
As soon as I recover from Emlyn’s rejection or recover enough to be able to function, I contact the council. I let them know what happened and ask them for any information that they can come up with. Not long after that, I get a call from Emerson. “Don’t show your face on my pack lands, Alpha Richard.” “She’s carrying my son, Emerson.” “She’s also carrying the proof of the mate bond that you cheated on. So, unless you want my father to kill you, or me to wage war against your pack, I suggest you stay away.” “You can’t keep me from her forever.” I say, my heart aching. “That is up to her. You lost the right to have any say in her life.” “Emerson…” I say just as the phone goes dead. “Richie.” That scent of patchouli fills my nose. I don’t have the time or the energy for Gwen right now. “What do you want, Gwen?” I ask her. “I….” I hear her sniffle. I really don’t have time for this. And now that I’m confused about what’s going on with the mate bond, I have less tolerance for her
It’s been a month since I came to Safe Haven. Emerson reinstated me in his pack before I left the hospital. It helped to feel like part of a pack again. Cayd basically moved into our packhouse. He is so angry at Richie that he has decided not to live in Shadow Falls. He hasn’t rejected Richie as his Alpha, but he’s unwilling to live close to him. Leana apparently went to live at the council after telling Richie how disappointed she is in him. Only Xander has remained by his side, trying to help him fix things in his pack. I even heard that Uncle Liam threated to challenge him and take the pack from him. However, the problem isn’t Richie, it’s his mate, Gwen. Almost every day, his pack members come to our pack lands asking for refuge, a new pack and a new start. Every one of the sprites and their mates have moved here. But they aren’t the only ones. Several omegas and their mates have moved here as well. Emerson has taken every one of them into his pack. All of them were happy to see
“What do you suggest, Xander? I’m all ears?” Things have gone from bad to worse. My pack is falling apart, and I can’t focus. Ever since Emlyn rejected me and left, I can’t get my head on straight. “Get her out of the acting Luna role.” He says. “She’s making everything worse. The pack hates her. And why don’t you see what is happening? Everyone else sees it. It’s like you not being able to smell your son. How is that even possible?” My son. I turn and look at the picture I received from Emlyn a couple days ago. My beautiful boy. It was wrapped in a letter. All it had were lines from a song. I know because I looked it up. The Woman Makes the Man. I used to be a hero, and a lover She brought out the best in me But now I’m just lonesome, with a broken heart Not the man I used to be It took losing her, for me to finally understand That the woman really makes the man I felt like Emlyn looked into my heart and wrote the lines of my life. Everything has fallen apart without her. My
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