*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
*Delilah*Everything had played out exactly like my nightmare. The other pack was sneaking in but now we knew. We could see them coming and after the first wolf was spotted, our pack had sprung into action. Thankfully, we were able to catch them mid-sneak attack. We weren’t as prepared as we would have wanted to be but once everyone knew what was about to happen, they were ready and they were not going to let another pack infiltrate ours and destroy everything Andrew and his family had worked so hard to build. They were not only fighting for everything Andrew’s family had built but for their family as well. The pack was starting to feel like one big family and I knew they would do anything to protect that family. I was still worried about our children though. They were at the forefront of my mind. I had spent so many years alone with them, protecting them all by myself, that I felt weird leaving them behind while I went to fight. It was so stressful but I knew I had to trust
*Delilah* The race to the children’s room feels like the longest distance I have ever had to cross. My heart was beating out of my chest as I shifted once again to get there faster. I bounded up to their room, taking on my human form once more as I arrived in the doorway. It was empty.I had to be sure it was empty. At first glance, there was no one there but the children were good at hiding. I began to frantically search the room.“Children!” I called out, my voice high and scratchy, showing off how worried I was.“Flora! Please respond,” I begged, needing to hear their beautiful little voices. “Kyle! Answer Mommy!” I tried again, calling for a different child. “Cody! Please, I won’t be mad. Stop playing games,” I tried to keep myself from sobbing as I called out, louder each time. “Please, someone answer,” I said with a quieter voice, looking around the room and searching the rest of the house for them. I called out each of their names, multiple times as I des