Adea
Odis looked around the room and I did the same. This was a very large table, there were a lot of people that I was sure I would eventually get to know better. Darci looked forward. We hadn’t told her what Shane looked like but I’m sure Ethan or Odis brought her up to speed. Ethan’s hand was on his armrest, mine was in my lap.
“The Desert Moon pack has arrived and everyone in our party is present, plus one,” Odis said, nodding to Leo before taking his seat. Most of the people here didn’t seem to mind our plus one. A handful of people turned their eyes on Leo standing directly behind me. There were four empty seats across the table. Shane would be seated directly in front of us when he arrived.
“Who is the plus one?” An alpha I didn’t recognize asked. He had light blonde hair and even lighter skin. His nose was sharp and his lips were thinned as he stared
AdeaAs if on a mission, Shane scanned the room like a hawk. I had hoped maybe he had given up on his obsession with me but as he searched around the room, I knew he hadn’t. He was in search of someone and I had a feeling that someone was me. I steadied my breathing and readied myself for when he found me. I would not show weakness here or any sign of fear. Shane was like a predator and could smell fear.His gaze froze on each Luna with brown hair and I steadied my breathing and readied myself for when he found me. The last time I had seen Shane was during the trial and the time before that had been the night of the Crescent Moon Ball.Without meaning to, images from that night spilled into my mind. Shane’s hand on my throat, the anger on his face, and his body pressed against mine. My breath hitched as I recalled the way he’d forced himself on me, my lack of fight, and the fear that coursed th
Adea“Everyone present has an alliance with the previous Alpha of Half Moon,” Alpha Rich said. “Your attendance shows you would like to take his spot here at the Alpha’s Table and continue said alliance.” When Shane didn’t speak, he continued. “Does anyone have any questions?”When no one answered, Alpha Rich nodded his head. “There is also a peace treaty.”“Explain the details of the peace treaty, would you?” Shane asked, his voice a low rumble.“It’s a simple one. The peace treaty stands for every Alpha and his pack present,” Alpha Rich looked around the table. “By coming to The Table, you swear there will be no wars waged against any other pack here.”“What happens if the Peace Treaty is broken?” Shane asked.He said it as if
AdeaFinally. I’m as ready as you are, Adea to leave this room. Seriously. Let’s hope we can dip out of here before anyone attempts to spark up a conversation, Kor. As long as we don’t have to talk to him, I’m fine. I know. I’m sure Ethan will stand up soon. We can’t appear anxious. But we are anxious. Are you whining like a pup? Maybe.Korra's whining lightened the mood and I had to fight a smile from spreading across my face. Since Alpha Rich had ended the meeting, it had grown loud with conversation.Most of the member
Adea No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t calm down. So, I worked on relaxing my face, calming my breathing, and the bite in my tone. I knew this wasn’t the time or place for this conversation. I didn’t even want to have this conversation. The only thing I wanted to do was rip Shane’s heart out. This alliance, this peace treaty, and this meeting was the only thing stopping me from doing it right here, right now. The moment, I lunged at him, the treaty would be null. Desert Moon would be out and Ethan would lose his seat at The Alpha’s Table. Even if we had every reason to want his blood, to demand his life, we couldn’t have it. Not right now at least. Not in this room. When I had my mind and temper under control I focused my attention back on Shane. I hated the way he still looked at me like I was his. I hated the warmth in his eyes, he got when he looked at me, I hated the people he hurt in the name of this twisted idea of love he had for me. I hated bein
AdeaWow.I know.I. can’t believe you just did that.I can’t either!It’s about damn time, Adea!I knooooww.How do you feel?Jittery.I bet. Well done, Adea.Thank you, Kor.Suspicion mixed in with the excitement coursing through my veins from telling Shane off. I’ve never felt so free in my life. Even though his words had my mind churning trying to find the meaning behind them, I felt as if a burden had been lifted from my shoulders.
AdeaEthan kicked the door and the minute the door closed, his hands were all over me. I felt his firm grip on my hips and when they were on my back, I arched into him. One hand wrapped around the back of my neck and pushed me closer while the other grabbed my ass. His lips smashed against mine and I sighed as my soft body molded against his hard one. Our tongues danced and we kissed as if our lives depended on it.We separated and I was about to protest when Ethan dropped to his knees. The words died on my lips. His chin was lifted, and his eyes were on mine as his fingers lifted my dress up revealing the thin material separating my lips from his.Ethan leaned forward and nipped the material between his teeth. His breath on my skin had my hips bucking forward. Slowly he pulled down the material and pushed it down with his hand the rest of the way.Slowly, his fingers slid up my thigh and
Adea I’m sorry, what? What is it, Adea? I ignored my wolf. I was too stunned to speak. My heart dropped out of my chest and the happiness I’d been feeling was gone. My body froze and I stopped breathing. I couldn’t have heard him right. Did he just? I’m failing to understand what’s going on, Adea. Ethan’s our mate. It’s natural for us to have pups. What’s not natural, is your reaction. I wasn’t sure what to think or how to feel. I knew when I found my mate, pups would eventually come. There may have been a time that pups crossed my mind but that was before. Had I not had the dream where I felt my despair so clearly this wouldn’t have bothered me. If I didn’t have a pup, I wouldn’t have to
AdeaThe running water shut off and Ethan reappeared in the doorway. His I-just-had-sex hair only made him hotter. My eyes took in his strong muscular shoulders, before dropping to his flexed biceps, and chiseled torso. I was the luckiest woman alive. No matter what happened, I’d been blessed with the time I’d had with Ethan.His expression was one of clear unease. He made his way toward me on the bed with a cloth in hand. My heart warmed at the sight of my mate coming to take care of me like he did every night. I was blessed with a mate who not only loved me but one who was consistent in expressing that love. Even though he didn’t need to, Ethan has taken care of me as no one else has since the beginning.There was one problem, the only problem with the plan I’d been cooking up in my head, was Ethan. I did not account for my overprotective mate. I didn’t have to ask him to know wha
The first month back at Desert Moon had been hard. Not a day went by without us fighting. Ethan rejected Mavy as his mate before we came home. A part of me knew he was hurt about it, missed her like I missed Shane. I felt like he was only with me because I was his Luna, because of obligation and duty. I didn’t know why he wanted to be with me. He didn’t know why I was with him when I loved Shane. We were at our lowest. We were ugly, we were at our rawest. It wasn’t until month two that we finally talked about everything. We talked bout what happened and we talked about the past. The one that I remembered and by this time, the one that he remembered. It was hard, facing the man I loved in this life and the man I hated in the past. He wasn’t him anymore, he hadn’t been him for a long time. We dug into the past and were completely honest with each other. He fell to his knees and apologized for what he’d done even though I told him it wasn’t him, that wasn’t him anymore. He asked me if I
Mavy fell back as if she’d been physically struck. She collapsed on the couch, her eyes watering. She didn’t look back at me, she kept her gaze focused on Ethan. I watched as her world crashed around her again for the second time in five minutes.“Where does that leave me?” Mavy asked. “I’m… your…” she shook her head and turned to look back at Ethan. “That’s not possible. I’m… I can smell it. I can feel it. Can’t you?” Mavy whispered. I heard the desperation in her voice.“I don’t care what you think or how you feel. I am already mated and my mate, my partner, my love, MY QUEEN sits in this room. Don’t disrespect her again.” The emotion in his voice caused me to choke up. Mavy bit into her lower lip and tears streamed down her cheeks. She dropped her head.“Yes, Alpha,” she said submissively.“I killed your Alpha,” Ethan said. “I’ve killed your brother.”“Yes,” she murmured.“Will you fight me on this?” Ethan asked.“As the next in line, I submit to you,” Mavy whispered.Ethan dismiss
The voices were getting louder, my head was hurting. I wanted to roll up into a ball and disappear from the world. Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to drown it all out, trying to ignore everyone. I wasn’t ready to deal with it.“She’s in shock…”“She’s confused…”“Enough!”A door slammed and footsteps paddled quickly towards me. Soft frail arms wrapped around me. Tears soaked my cheeks and my neck as Mavy cried. Did she know? She had to know.“Are you okay?” Mavy sobbed.I wrapped my arms around her and nodded. The tears started up again and streamed down my cheeks. Her t-shirt bunched in my fingers as I held her close. We cried and held each other.She inhaled deeply and froze. Slowly, she lifted her nose into the air and took another deep breath. Turning from me, she tried to follow the scent. She stopped, her gaze locked on someone, I turned and followed her gaze.I should have known, expected it but I’d been so caught up in my feelings that I didn’t think. I don’t know how it w
I didn’t have an answer for him and I don’t think he would have liked what I would have said. Hell, I didn’t know if I liked what I thought or how I felt. Instead of hurting him and cutting myself open for him, I didn’t say anything. I remained quiet. My world was crashing around me and my ears were ringing. I lowered my head and the tears flowed of their own volition.Ethan leaned down and I flinched as his arms wrapped around me. They were strong and broad. His embrace was warm and promised I could lean on him. I attempted to get to my feet only to fall. My face twisted from the pain and I wanted to cry and wallow in my own self-pity. Standing, he pulled me up and held me as my body gave up. I collapsed against him.I wanted to get to Shane, needed to. As if on cue, the weak mate bond snapped, and just like in my dream, it was gone. Only, this time, the pain I was feeling was because of Shane and not because of Ethan. The world was cold, the warmth I’d been able to feel from Shane f
Did what I do to him last night not bother him? I betrayed him. Did he not care that I came here to hurt him? Did he not care that I chose Ethan? I wanted to cry and scream. I wanted to run into his arms. I wanted this to stop. I wanted them to stop fighting. I wanted it all to stop. I screamed, it was painful and gut-wrenching but I screamed. I cursed the Goddess, damn her, she was useless in all of this. She sat up there above the clouds and did nothing to help us. Did she enjoy watching us suffer? When I couldn’t scream anymore, I inhaled deep breaths of air. I looked up and froze as Shane stared back at me. The way he looked at me told me he knew he was going to die. The look in his eye told me he knew he lost but for me, there was a small spark as if he wouldn’t just lay down and take it. I watched Ethan punch him. It was as if he was moving in slow motion. He hit his jaw and Shane’s head snapped back hard against the ground. Shane’s body tensed and he punched Ethan in the gut.
For a moment in time, they stood glaring at each other. The sun was blaring down on us. My gaze darted back and forth between the two. Shane’s eyes wandered away from Ethan and landed on me. “Look at me, mutt. You don’t get to look at her after what you’ve done,” Ethan spat. “I’m not so weak that you can look away from me in the middle of a fight.” “What have I done?” Shane taunted. “You’ve touched what’s mine,” Ethan growled. “I haven’t done anything other than touch what is mine. I haven’t done anything but make love to what is mine. I’ve claimed her. She may not wear my mark, thief but she is mine. Don’t claim her as yours. She was mine, she was always mine. She doesn’t belong to you, she never did.” A look came over Ethan’s face as if he knew as if this was confirmation as if he was reminded of something he’d forgotten. “You’re the one who touched someone who wasn’t yours. You are the one who took what was mine. Don’t try to play the victim. Don’t pretend to be something you’re
No.Not Odis.“Devin,” I gasped.Devin heard me but didn’t stop. He didn’t look up at me, didn’t even hesitate as he continued to stomp Odis into the ground. Blood spurt from Odis’ mouth and I think I heard his ribs crack. I took a step closer to stop it, to stop him. In a flash, someone was on top of Devin. Strong arms held Devin’s prisoner in a headlock and his legs wrapped around Devin’s abdomen.I wanted to scream but it quickly died in my throat as Odis and I realized the man in front of me was Gabe. Gabe. It was Gabe and he was on top of Devin. Well, he was wrapped around him like a python ready to suffocate his prey. Gabe grunted as he continued to squeeze Devin’s head, blocking his airflow.I wanted to cry out happily but I couldn’t. Gabe was here. Why was he here? He wasn’t supposed to be here. Things were going differently since he was alive. He was standing, breathing, his head was still attached to his body. Maybe things were turning out differently.Maybe Gabe was safe, ma
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Odis asked. I couldn’t find the words to speak, so I nodded. “Good,” Odis said as his grip on me loosened. “Why don’t you let her go?” A voice called out to us. Looking up, I searched for the source of the voice. My eyes widened as I found Devin watching up. His gaze locked around Odis’ arms that were still wrapped around me to his hands that gripped my arms. “I promise I’m more fun,” Devin teased. I know what it looked like. It looked like I was being held back from moving. It looked like Odis was stopping me from helping Shane. It looked like I was stuck between two packs, two men. The situation I found myself in was precarious. I was now stuck between two Betas who were supposed to protect me, despite their conflicting thoughts regarding me. I hadn’t had much time with Devin since I’d been back. He hadn’t been the nicest, shit, I don’t think he even liked me. That didn’t change the fact that Devin was Beta of Half Moon pack. Shane was his
I didn’t have an answer and I prayed I didn’t have to make the choice. Not only had everyone stopped moving but it had gone deathly silent. For a moment, everyone and everything froze. There wasn’t a whisper of wind in the air, the trees stood still, and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was the calm before the storm. It felt like someone had pushed the pause button and all at once the play button was pressed and all hell broke loose. As if planned, the two of them ran toward each other. I looked past Ethan and my gaze landed on Shane’s chest. The sword had been taken out, a gaping hole was left in its place right next to his heart. Now that it was gone, I could see I had barely missed his heart. If I’d been one inch to the right, he would have died. How had I missed that? I didn’t kill him. Was I not paying attention? Why hadn’t I looked at his heart? I had aimed, hadn’t I? Had I meant to miss it? No, I had meant it, or else I wouldn’t have stabbed him at all. I tried to