AMBER POV
He's really doing it. He is taking me back. I don't think my brain has worked adequately through my shock yet, but I am excited. I can't wait to see dad and maybe even Kenny. I miss them so so so much.
"My pack won't be in North America any more...but I. I will be close by. I have stuff to do here, so I won't be leaving for some time," Lucian says in a low voice, drawing my attention away from the passing trees.
"Okay," I reply in an unsure voice.
I'm still confused about how I should behave around this man, and I never know how he wants me to respond or what mood he is in.
"I know you probably won't, but I will leave my number with your father so that you can call me. I will never be far," Lucian says in an even lower voice.
I pull my eyebrows together as I take in his rugged features.
"Okay
AMBER POV It's been thirty minutes since Lucian left, and already I feel out of place in my father's new home. After dad and I hugged at the door, Lucian left, but not before threatening Thatcher. He let him know that he had broken werewolf law by revealing them to the world, and as an Alpha, he would be hunting him to kill him, as are the other Alpha's. Once Lucian disappeared, so did my dad and Thatcher. They locked themselves up in father's new office and told me to go watch something on TV...Like nothing they were talking about involved me, which is a lie. Anything they discuss involves me if it pertains to werewolves. Ever since I learned that pups have died because of what dad and Thatcher did, I have felt guilty. I know they decided to out werewolves because of me, which makes me somewhat responsible for their deaths. I unders
AMBER POV Rated R "Amber, Amber, sweetheart. Can you hear me, honey? Oh please, Amber, wake up honey," Dad whispers from right next to me, and I jump awake. I try to squirm, but I instantly realize I can't. I look down to find myself tied tightly to an office chair. I immediately panic. I start thrashing back and forth, but the movements are no use. Thatcher is skilled with knots. I should know I saw him apply his talents a thousand times in Alaska. "Dad, what's happening," I finally cry before actually looking over to see him in an identical situation. I gasp at my father's beaten appearance. "Daddy," I whisper, and my father tries to smile even though his swollen face is obviously hurting him."I'm okay, honey...just a few bruises. Nothing compared to the last time I stood up to one of them," Dad says, and
AMBER POV Blood drips down the sides of my neck as Thatcher's hands rub themselves all over my exposed body. From my butt cheeks to my thighs and breasts...nothing is off-limits to him in this position. I feel so vulnerable and alone. My sobs choke me as realization sets in. I can't even beg for mercy as Thatcher gets closer and closer to my vagina. I can feel the heat rising from his genitals, hitting my sensitive skin, and my breathing spikes even higher. I am practically hyperventilating while sobbing. But what else can I do? I can't fight. He is holding my neck! What do I do? What can I do? More tears pour down my face as utter despair consumes me. My brain is coming up with no solution on how to save myself. I feel something hot and hard poke at my vagina, and I scream just as the door to my father's office explodes ap
AMBER POV When Lucian comes back into the room, I expect to see my knight in shining armor, but instead, the look on his face reminds me of the first time I ever saw him. The look when he was staring at me with his gun pressed to the back of "other" Amber's head. "What's wrong," I ask, even though the situation all around us is wrong. I mean, my dad's body is in the other room, and I was just seconds away from being raped, so a lot is wrong. But Lucian was not like this before he walked off. He was actually pretty calm. "Thatcher...that pervert took pictures of you," Lucian growls, and my eyes drop down to his hand. A stack of at least thirty pictures are being crushed in his fist, obscuring my view, but I can still see the pink color of flesh printed on a few. A knot twists in my stomach as I go to step towards Lucian, but he
LUCIAN/BEAST POV Solitude. Protection. Solitude and protection. I need the pack. I need my mate to be surrounded by security while I comfort her. The pack is two hours away, and the quickest path involves humans and highways. But I can't lead humans to pack...must take a slower way. My mental capacity falls lower as Amber's tears begin to make rivers through my dark fur. My arms squeeze her tighter as my body tries to communicate my protection wordlessly. It's as if her mental breakdown is causing me to go complete animal. All of my basic instincts are returning from pup hood. The only cognitive thought I can think of is "get to pack." I need to get to the pack. I need to have my comrades around me so I can adequately provide for Amber. So while my focus is on her protection, their focus can be on our protection. A doub
LUCIAN POV "What will you do with them," Amber asks as soon as we get to my office. Different ideas pop into my mind, but none are truly ideal. I need more time to decide. I don't want to decide too quickly and make the wrong choices again. "I'm not sure. I don't want to leave them high and dry, but I can't risk the pack by not relocating tomorrow. Brazil is our best bet," I explain while heading towards my desk. "Umm. Can you...can you put on some clothes please," Amber asks while getting a good view of my butt, and I smirk before nodding. I open a drawer and pull on the gym shorts I keep there before turning back towards her. My eyes zero in on the fatigue under her eyes and the dried blood on the sides of her neck. And my amused attitude immediately evaporates. Remorse punctures my soul and guilt pract
AMBER POV "What will you do with them," I ask as soon as we make it to Lucian's office. "I'm not sure. I don't want to leave them high and dry, but I can't risk the pack by not relocating tomorrow. Brazil is our best bet," he says while walking butt naked towards his desk. My cheeks blush a little as I check out his muscular back and tight butt. I have no idea how old Lucian is, but he is definitely all man. Maybe I shouldn't be kissing him...I'm only a sophomore in high school. Oh my gosh...I made out with a man. A naked man! "Umm. Can you...can you put on some clothes please," I ask as I begin to feel more uncomfortable rather than attracted. He nods and immediately opens a drawer to his desk. He pulls out a pair of gym shorts and tugs them on before facing me again. When he does, his happy demeanor seems to shift instantly. His eyes roam over m
AMBER POV "And they are okay with all of them coming," Kohn asks as we watch pack member after pack member board a private plane that is massive. After last night I am still a little annoyed at Kohn for causing more friction between Amber and I. I am his Alpha. He might be my friend, but I miss the days in which he feared me. "Kohn, do not question me again. I have fixed the situation. The females are coming with us. I still haven't forgotten last night," Lucian growls, and a shudder runs down my back at the memory. "Where will the pups be," I ask curiously, trying to pull Lucian's attention to me. I don't want him trying to submit Kohn on the asphalt. I am so tired of seeing violence. "In the cargo hold. Our lives will be very different in Brazil. Much of our material possessions won't be c
"Please, Selene, slow down. Where are we going," I ask as the Goddess in front of me practically sprints down the wide corridor? Selene makes no sign of hearing me and presses forward at the same speed. Forcing me to run to keep up with her. It continues like this for a while until she reaches a door that looks like it has been carved out of the night sky. Stars included. "Wow," I breathe out in amazement. Selene stops and brushes her hands over her long white dress before finally looking at me. The stark difference in her Goddess appearance and her mortal appearance is still a little unnerving to me, but I am adjusting. Gone is the brunette hair and blue eyes I met in the fairy pit. In their place is nothing but black. Black hair. Black eyes. The angelic face is still the same, but the colors are all wrong. But I must admit I have grown to like the pitch-bl
LUCIAN POV "What was mommy like," Octavius asks as he skips next to me excitedly. I look down at my five-year-old son as thousands of memories begin to play over in my mind. His light blue eyes stare up at me, waiting, and I gulp before answering him. "She was wonderful. She had a kind heart and cared about the wellbeing of others more than she cared about herself," I manage to whisper, and he gives me her signature smile. "I wish I got to meet her," he says, and I smile at the innocent wish before continuing down the familiar path. "You did meet her. You just don't remember her. You and her were both very special to the werewolf species, so she had to leave us after bringing you into the world. But you did meet her, son," I explain for what seems like the millionth time. He nods, already knowing my words are true
LUCIAN POV "I don't know, Kohn. She's only nineteen. How can her body do this? I mean, have you seen Mouse. She is tiny. I don't like it. I should have never knotted her. She can't do this! And if my child kills her, I will never be able to love it," I growl as I pace back and forth in my office. All my fears over the past few months are exploding out of me. Something about the labor is terrifying me. I don't know if it's the pain she will experience or something else. But I am scared of my pup coming. I glance over at Kohn and grit my teeth. He is watching me sympathetically, but he is just like all the others. He has held off having a pup with his mate, just so his wouldn't be born cursed, just like all the other members of my pack. They are all excited to have my Little Mouse go through childbirth. They don't care that it has been a difficult pregnancy for her. They don't care that her
AMBER POV I can't stop pacing. Three minutes has never felt so long. I mean, it's only 180 seconds. Why does it feel like I have been pacing this bathroom for an hour? Probably because I have. I mean, it took me at least an hour just to work up the courage to take this damn test. Another fifteen minutes to convince my bladder it was okay to pee. Then another thirty minutes for me to drop that pee on the test. I glance down at my timer and groan when I see that I have 36 more seconds. I need to know now. I need to know if the miracle that will free all werewolves is growing inside of me. "Knock, knock," Marie says from the other side of the door, and I pull it open. She quickly slides in and shuts the door behind her. "Does he know," I ask, and she shakes her head. "I told him you we
AMBER POV R-Rated My hands slide over the small silky piece of fabric I chose to wear tonight nervously. I can't believe it's happening. Tonight the ache in my chest will be connected to Lucian. We will experience the same type of connection Lupin had with his mate. We will become one! A special bond meant to repair all future werewolves. I meet my own gaze in the mirror and smile. My graduation makeup has held up pretty well, and my hair still looks nice. I can do this. I can accept my mate's knot and get marked. I have experienced being marked before, and Marie said that when it happens, you are too consumed with pleasure to feel the pain. I can become a true Alpha female. I have trained for this position. And it isn't like Lucian, and I haven't touched and kissed before. This is just the next step. The rightful step. "Mouse, are yo
THIRD-PERSON "I can't believe my baby sister is graduating," Kenny yells as he grabs Lucian's shoulders and shakes them excitedly. Lucian grins but keeps his excitement to himself. Today his mate finishes high school. Marie graduated last year, so Lucifer isn't here to enjoy this moment with his brother, but Lucian is happy about that fact. He has been waiting for this day for two years, just as Senator Gavens has. Gavens didn't have any faith in Lucian's self-control for one second during these past two years. He thought his daughter would graduate mated to a werewolf, but he was wrong. Lucian held true to his promise to wait, and that fact has built a good foundation of friendship between the two. "She looks so grown up down there," Kenny squeals before screaming out Amber's name and waving. Lucian smirks as he w
AMBER POV My leg is bouncing up and down faster and faster as my excitement builds and builds. I can't believe I am about to see my dad and Kenny after all this time. I knew I would never see my dad again, but I thought Kenny was lost to me as well. "Excited," Other -Amber asks from the backseat, and I nod before looking back towards her. "Very. I know to them it's only been five days, but for me, it's been three years. I am so excited to see them I could dance. I am worried about Lucian explaining what he did...but don't worry, my dad is amazing, and my brother, Kenny, is a sweetheart. All their anger will be directed at these two," I say, gesturing towards our two quiet mates, and she smiles. "Telling your father the truth is the best option. The two of you completing your education is important, and if we are to see you every day....your father n
LUCIAN POV How could I have ever harmed her? She looks so fragile. She can't weigh more than one hundred and fifteen pounds. All it took was an hour in her presence for me to come to my senses. This little female is mine. She was made to be mine. No matter if she is a human or leopard. Yesterday I was cursing the Goddess for giving me such a young human for a mate, but now none of that matters. I only had to be around her for an hour for me to feel nothing but compassion for this tiny creature. How could I have possibly hurt her? How did I stand to make her cry? Even if I lost Lucifer, I shouldn't have been able to stand it. It must have been because I met her while I was already grieving. But that doesn't matter now. She is mine. Her timeline doesn't exist. Her timeline has vanished, along with my lust for anyone but her. I can't even imagine touching another female now that I have
AMBER POV "After you made me eat, my friend, I wasn't able to eat anything, so I got real weak. I guess I freaked you and Kohn out because you actually called a human doctor here to check on me...The next part is a little rough, but it was the turning point in our relationship," I say softly as I meet Lucian's eyes again. His deep brown eyes lose a little bit of their hardness, and I sigh before continuing. "I don't know if it was Kohn or you, Lucian, but after the doctor came, you decided I needed to see the house and learn about werewolves. You wanted me to meet the pups to properly understand where you come from also. So Kohn explained how Selene cursed her ex-lover, Lupin. And then he took me on a tour of the house. During the tour, I met Jolene and Tabitha. Your little bed partners...they growled at me, and you attacked Jolene. I begged you not to kill