The packhouse is right where Aurora said it would be, it’s just larger than any of anticipated. We linger in the woods, waiting to see if he has wolves running guard or waiting at the entry points in case of attack but surprisingly, my brother doesn’t seem too concerned with being attacked outright. He doesn’t know I rejected our father’s pack so he could be left vulnerable like this if I hadn’t and instead showed up with every royal warrior available.But we’re here to get a commoner back, and the royal warriors wouldn’t be interested in that.We’ve made it here in the dead of night and for a second, I truly think this place to be dead. Not a single light is on inside or outside the massive packhouse. It still smells of fresh cedar, most of this house unpainted, and I can tell it’s still new from being built. It’s surprising to see Xander getting this much done, though, he was never one to take charge. Only in taking my mate does he take initiative.I look to Paul and Row, wishing we
JaxsonI used to let my brother win.We grew up playing as an Alpha, like our shared father, but we played two very different games. He was a tyrant, never leaving mercy for the pretend members of his pack, daring them to slaughter and torture any one who even considered challenging him.I just wanted to establish a community, a pack for all, like my mother envisioned. I suppose my father sat somewhere between our fantasy’s, living the life he had always dreamed as Alpha, as a king, but at the fault of commoner blood and torment. He never seemed to care once my mother passed away. He went cold, and in turn he bore a child who was just as hostile as he.For a long time I pocketed the fact that Xander was an angry kid. I assumed I would be the Alpha, the king of the pack my father built, and my brother would be my beta, my most trusted sidekick. Seeing him now has changed the future on what I predict will become of me and my half-brother. I have Aurora to thank for that.Before my mate,
I’ve known Ann Hastings the longest. She is a small spitfire, a fighter, and I’ve envied her a lot throughout my life. She is tougher than anyone other girl I’ve ever met, so seeing her in worried shambles makes my heart hurt. She is anxiously rattling her leg as we sit on the porch steps, the stars splattered all over the dark sky overhead.We point out shooting stars as we wait, as though it will make things better. As if mindless wishes on stars will make a damn difference in this situation. We want everyone to be okay, we want everyone to be safe, and afterwards we will settle into this new normal. Whatever this new normal may come out to be.“When did life get so difficult?” Ann asks, speaking to the moon above like a star will fall into our laps with an answer tied to it.“When I found my mate,” I mutter. “Or I should say, he found me.”She glances over to me for a moment, as if examining me, and I feel on display. “You rejected him, right?”I only nod.“And he hasn’t accepted i
AuroraI don’t know who rips my clothes off of my body, whether it be him or myself, I’m just happy to be free of them. The wind is cool, the sand glittering through the air and drizzling down my body. I shiver, his warm arms squeezing around my body and pinning me to his chest.I’m happy he holds me, feeling us fall as he makes out with my jaw, my neck, kissing every spot anywhere near where he would mark me as he mate once again. I refrain from moaning but fail miserably. I let out a howl, a practical scream, and watch as he steadies his body over mine.Parting my knees in anticipation, he groans a laugh against my throat.“What?” I pant, grabbing his shoulders, praying he keeps his little kisses going.He shakes his head, nuzzling his lips just behind my ear, my skin tingling as he does so. “You think it’s going to be that easy?” he hums, almost growling. “I’m not letting you go tonight. Not for one second. I hope you’re ready, sweetheart.”I try to make sense of his words, cut sho
Aurora“Eggs?” Jaxson asks, moving fluidly in the kitchen, his hands working to cook pancakes. I taught him how make the perfect flipped pancake a few days back and ever since I have been waking up to warm, syrupy breakfast. “Sweetheart,” he hums, craning around the kitchen partition to meet my eyes here in the living room. “Do you want any eggs?”I shake myself out of the haze I’ve been placed in, my hands working on stroking our little kitten that seems heavier and more lanky than I recall he is being when I left. “No, thanks, Jaxson. Are you going for another run this morning?”He gives a sure nod before returning to his cooking capades. He has been building a routine here since we’ve settled two weeks ago into this new life. He goes on his morning run; let’s his wolf take a sprint down and back up the length of the beach. Then he works for the new Alpha, does a few little chores around the tiny pack in exchange for some gold coins that we take to the market a few packs over, buyin
JaxsonThe market is a trivial affair, stands of food and fruit, a variety of groceries, and also a few small shops where they sell furniture and clothing. We have started a nice new groove with our new lives and the days we go to the market are probably Aurora’s favorite. She is always doted on by the vendors selling accessories, calling her beautiful and pretty before trying to place a shell necklace on her neck or drape her in a colorful scarf.At the palace, she was embarrassed and despised the attention, but here she grins and thanks the vendors, wanting me to pay them for their kindness, and not the cheap necklaces. Being a prince, I had money to spare. Being the Alpha’s workhorse and errand man, we have certainly taken on a new lifestyle.Aurora leaves my side for the first few shops, built with wooden frames and tin roofs, setting their merchandise on the tables around the stands or on racks nearby for her to shuffle through. She takes to a wax vendor, the many smells of the v
AuroraToday has been a whirlwind, but I can’t keep my hands off of Jaxson since we got home and he showered off all the blood. He didn’t have to step in, and he could have talked the warriors out of hurting the commoners, but he showed which side he is truly fighting for. he stuck up for commoners like me, scared unmated females who I always thought would face the same fate as I; killed by royal warriors looking for a kick of pleasure.He is still damp from the shower. I don’t care. I am hiked up in his arms, letting him hold me to his chest, while our lips tingle against one another in a long, breathless kiss. I don’t want to stop, I don’t want him to let go of me, and thankfully he doesn’t want that either. He sits down on the couch, letting me straddle his lap, still pressing his tongue into the lower bay of my lips.His hands lightly press into the small of my back, taunting me under the cloth of my shirt, feeling his warmth and needing it all, needing it to never stop. I press m
AuroraI see Jaxson.In a strange way, he seems taller, more full of muscle, and settled into a new age. He isn’t young, but he could be in passing. He has light hair, longer than I’ve ever seen it, cascading down his neck in thick, tight curls. He stand with his hands in his pockets, wearing a suit adorned with a single red rose hooked onto his pocket.He is smiling, overjoyed really, and the wrinkles from his grin mask the ones sewn into his features from being a cold, powerful Alpha’s son. He is practically bouncing in anxiousness, grinning ear to ear, as I feel my body stride toward my mate.I know he is my mate. I can feel it in this scene more than I ever thought I could feel it. My wolf knows it, too. I feel the pull that brings me closer to him. It’s only now, in this moment, that I see hundreds of wolves adorned in gala attire, standing around us both as I meet my mate in a field, the only place capable of holding this many people at once.“My mate,” he says, grabbing for me,