-Jackson- I grew worried right away when I saw my mate and my mom returned. My mom looked fine, but my mate was clearly upset, and when she sat down beside me, I hurriedly moved closer, wrapping my arm around her and bringing her to me. “What happened?” I asked, my face close to hers. She shook her head, which worried me. I could see she was clearly upset, and I wanted her to talk to me. I waited until the dinner was completely over, and then we went back to the room we were now staying in. I could feel her trying to slip a little away, like she didn’t want to burden me with this, but that was not how it worked between mates. “Daphne?” I called. “Yeah?” “What is wrong?” She shook her head while looking out a window, and I moved up behind her, wrapping my arms around her and giving her neck a small kiss. I felt her lean against me, and it felt perfect having her so close. “Talk to me.” “The… phone call went bad,” she whispered. “How bad?” “Bad…” I stood like that with her fo
-Jackson- I woke up to a very soft and warm mate nuzzled against me, with her back to my front. I smiled as I opened my eyes, then buried my face in her neck, stroking her skin with my nose and lips. Daphne whimpered a little, reacting to me even in her sleep. Or was she dreaming of me? Oh, that was a huge compliment. Even in her sleep, she couldn’t get enough of me. I believed she might be dreaming of me, because when I leaned over her, I could see she was smiling in her sleep. I turned her head a little more, then pressed my lips softly to hers. Her eyes sprung open, and she looked at me surprised. “Morning,” I whispered. Her cheeks grew redder, and then I knew she had been dreaming of me. “What were you dreaming of?” I teased. “Eh… nothing.” “Nothing? Didn’t sound like it.” “What?” “You moan in your sleep,” I told her. “What?!” she exclaimed. “Did you dream of me?” “I…” Her cheeks just grew reader, and I kissed her again. “Tell me.” “Well, maybe…” “Maybe?” I rewarded
-Jackson- I was right. The moment my dad could get me to the office, he practically dragged me there, pushed me down in the important alpha chair as I called it, and then made a show of throwing a huge stack of papers in front of me, telling me to “go for it”. I wanted to call him an ass, but he could see it in my eyes and warned me not to push it without words. We could have an entire conversation with just our eyes. It was quite impressive. I raised an eyebrow, and he just stared at me. Then I sighed and shook my head. “You’re the one who wanted to run off with your mate, now you pay for that,” he told me. “Actually, you kidnapped her.” “No, she came with willingly, as she has already expressed.” “Was it that willingly?” he asked and sat down in front of me, looking a little disappointed. “It’s not like I threw her over my shoulder and took her with kicking and screaming.” He raised an eyebrow this time. “Okay, I threw her over my shoulder, but she wasn’t kicking and screaming
-Daphne- I was with a group of women from the pack, including Jackson’s mom. I really enjoyed being around the older luna. She had a lot of advice, and not just about me and my family and how I dealt with them. Just in general and what it meant to be mates. She had apparently not been that accepting of her mate to begin with because he had a player reputation, but she couldn’t fight the bond and had ended up with him. Now she was happier than ever because she fell in love and they worked through hard times together. Like her only being able to have Jackson. She had wanted more kids, but it simply didn’t happen. She had raised Ana though after she lost her family at a young age. It was all Roman’s cousin’s fault we had learnt. I had been at the dinner where he kidnapped her. It was some show. I had thought Ana acted weird that night, but it turned out she had learned Shane’s true colors before the rest of us. “So when will I be getting grandchildren?” Jackson’s mom suddenly asked. I
-Jackson- I barely heard the hurried steps coming up the stairs. I wasn’t even awake yet, but the door burst open, and both Daphne and I were startled awake. In the doorway stood my cousin. She looked at us and we looked at her, not understanding a thing. Then she let out a joyful sound and jumped on the bed. “Ana! What the fuck?!” I exclaimed, not at all dressed and neither was my mate. “This is so great!” Ana yelled, scooting in between us, so I couldn’t reach my mate. I was rather pissed about that. I wanted to wake up with Daphne in my arms, kiss her, get her hot and ready for me before I fucked her again. But no, my cousin thought it was a good idea to come here, jump into bed with us, and scoot into the middle. Daphne was laughing though, and since she found it funny, I felt a little less pissed. “Have you heard of knocking?” I asked her. “I am naked.” Ana cringed before shaking her head. “Worth the risk to see all this happiness.” “We were sleeping,” Daphne chuckle. “Sl
-Daphne- It was definitely an interesting way of getting woken up. I had not expected Ana to come bargain in and join us in bed or for Roman to join us as well. Roman and I knew each other well, but we had never seen each other naked, and I believed we both wanted it to stay that way. There had been a time when I wanted to see him naked, but now, as I looked at him, and we joined the big breakfast group, I felt nothing. I felt nothing but platonic feelings directed towards him, making me feel lighter than ever. It was nice not having to love someone who would never love me back. Of course, I still loved Roman, but it was as a friend, and I knew he held the same sorts of tender feelings towards me, but it was purely a friendship, and it made me very happy to think about. I hoped from here on out, we could just focus on that friendship. Let it grow. Be happy with our mates, because I was definitely happy with Jackson and I knew Roman loved Ana more than anything. We sat down in front of
-Daphne- Roman and I were walking beside each other outside. Jackson and Ana decided to spend some time together after Roman asked if he could have a moment with me. I was glad he asked, because I had missed my friend and I needed his guidance. It wasn’t just Jackson I had been hiding from. It was Roman and Ana too. After the dinner with Shane, I had simply gone back to my old life and acted like I could be the same person again. The one who could be the perfect lycan luna, and get mated to a complete stranger. The one who pleased her parents, no questions asked. I wasn’t that person, though. I had never wanted to be that person. On the inside I was so much different, but I didn’t know how to escape them. “So, how is it going?” Roman asked. “It’s… good,” I said, searching for the right word, but not even good could describe how wonderful I felt, and when Roman saw the smile on my lips, he began smiling too. “You look better.” “Better?” “Taller,” he said. “Yeah, Jackson brings so
-Jackson- Later in the evening, as rain began to pour, and we had eaten dinner, my family gathered in one of the living rooms. Just my parents, me and Daphne, and Ana and Roman. We were all sipping drinks, munching on snacks, and talking. I really enjoyed being there with them. I loved them all so much, and when I turned to look at my mate, I could feel it in my heart too. I was falling for Daphne, and I couldn’t wait until we could start our life together, with no one trying to interrupt our happiness. “So, when are you heading home?” I asked Ana. “Oh, want to get rid of me that fast, huh?” We all chuckled. “Just asking.” “No, you are trying to kick me out,” she teased. I shook my head, and she finally turned serious. “No, we are going home tomorrow, and then will begin setting everything up for the party.” “It will be the party from hell,” Daphne said. “No, it will be fine,” Roman assured her. “Is there anything special we should be prepared for?” my mother asked. “Just t