Chapter One

I stand frozen at the entrance of our pack's land. 

Because it looks like my husband, lovingly smiling down at a petite woman I've never seen before, while she holds her slightly swollen stomach with both hands and stares up at him like he was her saviour.

  

This is not how I pictured our reunion to be. I thought I'd run up to him, give him a big hug, then we'd go and I'd surprise him with the welcoming party I had been planning for him for the last week. 

"Killian. Welcome home." I'm swallowing a lump in my throat, and willing my heart to stay in my chest while I try and figure out what's going on.

"Everly. I'm so glad you found us. There's someone I want you to meet."

"Us?" My eyes dart down to the woman he's now gently pushing towards me.

She's very pretty, with long, soft looking blonde hair, lovely thick lips and icy blue eyes. Shorter than me by a lot, she looks to be only five two. She seems sweet and soft on the surface, but I can see the glint in her eyes when our gazes finally meet.

"This is May. She was a member of the pack I went to check in on."

Two months ago, Killian had left to check on a pack that had been giving radio silence for a while. Originally we didn't think too much of it, but after three weeks of no word from them, my husband decided he needed to make sure everything was okay.

It's a good thing he went too. He called me once during his three month absence, during his first week. He told me the pack had been mostly wiped out, by one of the bigger groups of rouge wolves that roam around, stealing from packs and killing the smaller ones. I remember how I had immediately launched into what he should be doing to help, finding survivors and getting them medical care, checking the area for a waiting-to-ambush rouge. I also remember how he had cut me off, saying he already knew what to do, and that someone was calling for him so he'd have to call me back later.

He never did, and now, weeks later, I'm standing here as my husband introduced me to another woman, like I was his mother and not his wife.

"And why have you brought May home with you?" I force a smile at the woman, my eyes never straying from hers as we size each other up.

"May's husband was one of the many who were killed by the rogue wolf attack, and seeing as she is with child and has no family of her own, I felt it was only right to offer her a place here, with us."

"But we don't have a tradition of accepting new members." I look to my husband now, staring at him with what I hope to be an incredulous expression. Apparently I succeeded, because his face suddenly turned sour.

"Then let her become the first one. May has nowhere to go now that her pack is in shambles, was I just supposed to leave her there, alone and with a baby on the way? What kind of man would that make me?" He raises a brow at me, like he's making some irrefutable point. "She's just one person, and she means no one any harm. If you were a kind wife..."

My mind fades out a little as my husband rambles on about why I should let this random woman stay with us. 

Killian and I have been happily married for three years. While we aren’t fated mates, we've claimed each other, and fully bonded in every secular sense. We've built the pack into what it is today. I love him, and he loves me, and I always believe nothing could ever come between us. But then May appears, and suddenly, I start to wonder how things will play out.

"Everly? Are you listening?" I shake my head a little, refocusing on Killian, who was snapping his fingers in front of my face.

"I'm sorry, I guess I'm just misunderstanding why you ONLY brought her back. Were there any other survivors? Why have you not brought them, as well?"

Killian looks a little taken aback by my sudden questing, and he pauses a little. Before he utters anything, May cuts in.

"Please, be kind to him. He was only trying to protect me. He's too nice for his own good." I have to physically stop myself from growling at May when she gently sets her hand on Killian's shoulder in comfort, her bright blue eyes gazing carefully up at me as she does. "I wouldn't want to cause problems for you, Killian. Not after everything you've done for me. I can leave."

I scoff to myself as she half turns away before my husband quickly stops her. “Please, don’t go!”

He then turns back to me, still holding onto May's arm. "She will stay. I know we aren’t fated mates, but May is not the type to fight and compete with men, she just needs my protection. You will continue to fulfill all your duties as the Luna. … one of them being helping May recover from the trauma, yes?"

His tone brooks no objection. I sigh a little, pressing my lips together and deciding to trust my husband.

"Who am I to say no to you, Killian?"

This is your pack, after all. 

I'm just the one running it.