Roger is concerned when Lia arrives late to training. She looks upset, and he does not like it.
"What's wrong?" He asks. "You are never late to training."He has already sent the rest of them off on their warm-up run."I know…you won't believe what just happened." She goes on to tell him what happened with George and how James and Gunnar stepped in. Roger is less than happy about the whole thing."It just doesn't make sense to me, or Nova. Like, Nova agrees, he's our mate, but…I don't even know him, and his sister hates me. James seemed unsettled by it.""Tell that beta kid you barely know him and that you want to go slow. As James said, if he can't accept that, then let us know. He doesn't get to force you into anything just because you are mates.""Thanks, Roger." She hugs him."You know we will always be here to help. Cam, James, all of us," Roger assures her. "Now, why don't you catch up to the others and see how*mild adult content in this chapter*They sit at the small table in the living area of the beta family section. Lia begins to eat. "It's Dahlia, right?" George asks. "Briar's your sister." Lia stops. Fork halfway to her mouth. He wasn't even sure what her name was. She nods. "Most people call me Lia," she tells him."Okay, Lia," he says. "And you live with your brother. He's a Warrior, right?""Yeah, Nash.""And your parents are dead."Lia sets her fork down. She is quickly losing her appetite. This is not going anywhere near as well as she was told finding her mate would be. She nods. "Right," George says.“But Delta James is my godfather. Between him, Roger, and Cameron, they raised me until Nash was old enough to do it. They’re my family, really.”“Hmm, okay.” It is quiet as they finish eating. He reaches over and pulls her chair closer to him, and starts touching her arm. Her skin tingles when he touches her, but it doesn't really make her feel much better."Mate," his eyes
At the edge of the woods, Lia ducks behind a tree. She carefully takes her bracelet off and tucks it in her pocket. Then she quickly removes her clothes and shifts before anyone could possibly see her. Nova was nowhere near the largest wolf in the pack. She was more lean and agile than most, but her white coat gave her an almost glow during a full moon. George quickly shifted. Axel was a large grey wolf. Much larger than Nova was. He seemed to be made of pure muscle. Axel nipped at the slightly darker tips of her ears and tail. Nova returned the gesture before taking off in a full sprint into the woods. Once she put enough distance between them to make him actually work for it, she slowed to a more acceptable pace. “That’s a dangerous game, Nova,” Lia caution her. “He wants a game, I gave him one,” Nova counters. “And we’ve already pushed their limits by asking for what we did,” Lia reminds her. A loud howl came from the woods. A mate’s call. Nova answers but keeps h
“Dahlia…” Nash starts. “I know Nash. I’m sorry,” Lia says.“Sorry? You’re sorry?” Nash runs a hand through his hair and tries to hold back the growl his wolf wants to make. “Dahlia. I got home, and you weren’t there. Joan said you weren’t there. I text Roger. Next thing I know, Roger is here. He is here and pissed. James was blowing up my phone, and I’m being told that George is your mate and everyone is worried about you. Then I hear howling. Everyone does. And yeah, I know that was Nova. If you don’t think I’ve memorized every little thing about both of you, then I-” Nash sighs. “Soren wanted out. He was so close to busting out and going after you. And I almost caved after the sun went down. I waited, but I was ready to let him. Then you text me. I’ve never felt so-”She rushes over and hugs him. “I’m sorry, Nash. I’m sorry, Soren. I didn’t mean to. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. But I will tell you that George agreed to let me finish school and training before ma
She knocked on the Delta office door before peeking in. “Come on in, Dahlia,” Gamma Beckett Harwell says to her. He waves her in from where he was leaning against the desk, looking at James’ computer screen. “We were just finishing up, Petal,” James assures her. “Then we can get dinner.” “Sure,” she tries not to blush as she drops down into one of the chairs in front of the desk. He hasn’t used that nickname in years. It was one that her dad gave her, and it had stuck. Briar had been their dad’s little flower, and Dahlia was his little petal. James, and by extension Gunnar, had picked it up along the way. She had insisted she was too old for such a childish nickname years ago. But honestly, she missed it. “Do what you need to, sirs.”Beckett chuckles. “You weren’t kidding, James. She is so much like Daphne it is surreal.”Lia stares at him. Most people didn’t openly talk about her parents much anymore, especially around her. To hear her mother’s name mentioned so casually felt stra
Nix and Jael had come to check on Lia early the next morning. Jael had been worried because she hadn't heard from her best friend since training. Nix had been preparing for duty at the pack house when he ran into Jael. The friends decided to just go up to the Delta suite. James had a more open-door policy than the others.Dahlia woke up panting. Her nightmares were of vicious rogues and one very angry grey wolf. Nova hadn’t been strong enough. Lia had been too weak. It didn’t help that she wasn’t sure where she was when she woke up. She started to panic. “You’re safe, Lia, I promise,” Nova tried to calm her. “Scent the room, Lia. You’re-”Dahlia could hardly process the fact someone had rushed into the room. Three people had. “Shhh, Petal, it’s okay,” James said beside her. “Lia, it’s okay,” Jael said from where she had hopped up on the bed next to her. Jael looked up to where Nix was standing at the foot of the bed. James gripped Lia’s face. “Breathe, Dahlia,” James tells her. “
"What?" Lia gapes as she stares at the pack Gamma and her brother."No, I'm not leaving. James is hurt because of me. I have training and-""It's only a few days," Gamma Beckett says. "A long weekend. You'll miss one or two days of school and training. And this was James' idea.""He…" she pales slightly. "He's sending me away? Is this punishment?" Nash is quick to shut down that line of thinking. "Absolutely not," Nash puts a hand on her shoulder. "James can barely send you to your room. Gunnar doesn't let him.""But-""He wants you to have a fair chance to clear your head outside the range of your incomplete mating bond," Beckett tells her. "Somewhere you will be safe and able to sort out how you feel.""Oh…" she sighs. "George and Axel are not going to like that." James was putting himself in the crosshairs so she could get some space to think."George and Axel mauled the pack delta in the delta's own suite. He lost a say in this when he tried to rip someone's leg off," Nash practi
Lia gets out of the car and looks around. It's the middle of the night, and she can't see much other than the packhouse, and a few buildings. She has never been to this pack before.“Dahlia!” Her sister rushes over and hugs her. “You’ve gotten so tall. Riley, look at her!”“Hi Lia,” Riley says as he joins them. “Welcome to the Stanton Pass Pack. ”“Hi Riley,” she hugs him too. "Come on, let's get you home." Riley grabs her bags, and they head towards the pair's home. It is very late, so they show her to her room, and they all catch a few hours of sleep.Briar makes eggs and toast for breakfast the next morning, and after they eat, they give her a quick tour of the area and t
"Let's go for a run, like old times," Briar suggests. "When have I ever said no to that?" Lia grins."Probably never," Riley replies."Exactly," Lia says. At the same time her sister says, "Right!""You two go have fun, I'll get stuff for dinner and see you guys tonight."The afternoon is spent exploring the reserve. Both in and out of shifted forms. Nova enjoys the change of scenery while Lia does the one thing James asked her to do. Think about her relationship with George outside the mate bond. She tells her sister about everything. And Briar does her best to offer advice. Briar was the only sibling with a mate. So her perspective on the matter was important to Lia."The bond can be overwhelming in the beginning, I do remember that." Briar chuckles. "But I can see why Uncle James is so concerned. Your mate should love you and respect you, Lia. I'm not saying he has to worship the ground you walk on or put you up.on a pedestal. But he should repeat your autonomy and your wishes. R