*Delilah*“I’m really not that tired,” Cody said but his big yawn proved otherwise. Flora was fighting her sleepiness off too but Kyle had eagerly climbed into bed. They were all up way past their bedtime but it was a special night and I wanted all three of them by my side. Andrew stood beside me as I put the kids to bed. Cody reluctantly let me tuck him into bed and then he was out like a light, faster than his siblings. It made me chuckle. Andrew kissed each child on the forehead and Flora made him give her a big hug.“Thank you for the amazing party for Mommy,” Flora said in her tiny, sleepy voice. The words melted my heart and seemed to have the same effect on Andrew. He held her close and kissed her once more before releasing her and tucking her back into bed. Then he stood and faced me. He offered me his hand and I accepted and let him lead me out of the room. “Goodnight, my loves,” I whispered into the dark room. I heard a quiet little mumble and knew Kyle was tr
*Kendra*Spending the day with Delilah wasn’t as unpleasant as I thought it would be, I even started to like her a little, but not enough to be friends and give up on my dreams. Her pleasantness had almost made me feel bad that I had plans to take her place in this pack. Andrew was meant to be my mate. The revelation that Andrew and I weren’t growing as close as I thought we were was a shot to the heart. The revelation came when we got to the party. Especially when I saw Andrew’s reaction to her arrival at the surprise party. That immediately dampened my mood. He was so excited to show her what he had done for her and show her off to all his friends and family and the whole pack. The rest of the night, he wouldn’t leave her side at all. I had zero chance to talk to him and I wanted to tell him how well our day together had gone, I’m sure that would have made him pleased with me. I also wanted more of an opportunity to just spend time with him. But instead, he spent all of his t
*Delilah*I woke up with Andrew’s arm wrapped around me, his gentle breathing told me he was still asleep. I slowly slid out from under him and walked silently to the bathroom, closing the door softly. I started the water, turning it to basically boiling and letting the steam build before I stripped my overlarge T-shirt off and climbed into the water. The hot water rolled over my body, soaking my hair through. It felt amazing and I stayed in longer than I meant to. I heard the door crack open as I shut the water off and saw Andrew standing there, staring at me unabashedly with desire in his eyes. I chuckled and wrapped a towel around my body as I walked toward him. “Like what you see?”“More than I can express,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist. I blushed. I still wasn’t used to the way he wanted me, and the way I wanted him. Our bond was strong. I couldn’t deny it and I didn’t want to. But everything between us was all still so new. I’d been alone for so long
*Andrew*It had been two days since Delilah’s birthday and things between us were great. I really felt like we had started to turn a corner in our relationship. I played with the ring in my pocket under the table, anxious to give it to her.I was at the pack house for the day, working on negotiations with the Gallaway pack. We were discussing the best trade routes and I couldn’t keep my focus on our conversation. I already had arrangements made for tonight. I arranged for the park to be closed down for the night starting around dusk. A chef was going to set up an outdoor kitchen to serve us as well. I hoped it would be a romantic night for us both. I wanted her to have the world and I was going to show that to her with how I treated her tonight. Being Alpha had its perks. Our meeting finally came to an end and I tried not to sigh in relief. This tedious work was hard to focus on when I had a ring burning a hole in my pocket. I looked at my watch seeing it was time to head
*Delilah*I walked quickly down the path and kicked off my heels, holding them as I left the park and walked back toward Andrew’s house. My hands were shaking and I let out a pent-up breath as I walked, rolling my shoulders.Andrew was about to propose to me! The dinner was so romantic and the appetizer was to die for but I couldn’t stay. I just knew what was coming and I saw him reaching for his suit jacket I felt my heart leap into my throat. I hated the look on his face as I walked away but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t know if I was ready to be married. Yes, he was my mate and I felt drawn to him, extremely drawn to him. He had looked fantastic in his suit tonight and his scent was intoxicating. But was I really ready to take on a Luna role in this pack? Being with him was so much more than just being with him. It was committing to staying with the pack and making it my home. And beyond all that, I didn’t know if I even wanted that. Yes, we’d grown close and I did love
*Andrew*Delilah’s swift departure from our lovely dinner had left me confused but I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Delilah so if she needed space, I would give it to her.“Andrew,” Kendra said from the doorway of my office. I paused before I looked up at her. I wasn’t interested in dealing with her today. “I just spoke with Delilah,” Kendra said, not elaborating so I sighed and gestured for her to come into my office. She came in and sat down across the desk from me. She settled in like it was her home and the comfortability annoyed me and set me on edge. “What is it then?” I asked, wanting this conversation to be over soon. “We talked about what happened the other night,” Kendra said, continuing with her short and frustrating sentences. “Okay? I didn’t know you two were close,” I commented, looking back down at the paperwork in front of me. If she was going to take her sweet time then I had other things I could be doing. “Yep, super close now
*Delilah*With Flora and Kyle happily playing in the living room and Cody running around the house entertaining himself, I walked into the kitchen to fix myself a snack. I had to do so while they were distracted or else they would want something too. I didn’t mind making them a snack normally but it was so close to dinner, I couldn’t risk spoiling their appetites. Plus, I wanted a little treat for myself, something that they weren’t allowed to have. My feet pattered against the tile floor as I walked into the kitchen. I went to the cabinet to get a glass and my hidden stash of chocolates. When I closed the cabinet door, it groaned louder than I had expected. I paused to listen, just in case any of the kids had heard me. Thankfully, after a few seconds, no one came running so I knew I was in the clear. I grabbed an already-opened bottle of wine and filled the class a third of the way and took a sip before popping a delicious chocolate into my mouth. The flavors together were del
*Delilah*The nightmare wouldn’t let me wake up. I knew it wasn’t real and that I was asleep but I was stuck. I was stuck in this horrible sequence of events. I kept seeing the same thing happening. It was a warning, the most terrifying warning. Something horrible was coming and it was coming soon.I woke up with a start. My heart was beating out of control and I couldn’t find my breath. I jumped out of bed and started pacing the room. I spun on my heel and walked into the bathroom to splash water on my face. The water helped a little bit but I could still feel my heart beating out of my chest.I stood in the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked pale and I was shaking. I braced myself against the counter, my fingers gripping the edge of the sink. It felt cool against my skin but it made me shiver.The bathroom was dark and eerie so I decided to go back to the bedroom. Andrew was sound asleep and I wished I could join him in that slumber.I climbed back int