Lana's P.O.V. My cheeks burned as he stared at me. The longer we sat there, the more comfortable I felt with him. I still knew nothing about him, but I wanted to. I wanted to discover this new world that I had been blind to all these years, and I wanted to know more about the man that my daughter and I both felt such a deep connection to. My hands clasped together in my lap as I tossed around where to begin before settling on the beginning. "Why were you hurt when you first showed up here? What happened?" I glanced over his exposed chest, my eyebrows pulling together in concern as I looked over the scars covering his body. "Can I give the short version?" The way his head tilted to the side made the deep green of his eyes look lighter than before. I couldn't help it as my gaze traveled from them, over his tanned cheeks and to his perfect lips, remembering the way they had felt in my dreams each night as he ran them over my body
Oliver's P.O.V. Having her so close and not being able to touch her was torture. All evening she made a point of avoiding any physical contact with me. It almost made me want to go back to the way things were before she knew the truth. A week ago, she would run her fingers through my fur or pat my head as she walked by. Now, there was an invisible barrier surrounding me, and she made a point to stay at least three feet away at all times. It was an impressive feat, given the limited amount of space in the house. When she was cooking dinner, I couldn't help myself any longer after not having contact with her for so long and rubbed my head and shoulder against the back of her leg, making her jump. She sent me a glare to knock it off, and I tried not to laugh, letting out a choking, snort sound until she turned and set down a dog bowl of food, sending me a smirk with a sarcastic, 'good doggie'. This resulted in a lot of attention and love
Lana's P.O.V. It felt so good to have him hold me in real life. The bliss I felt in my dreams was nothing compared to the way he felt, and how he made everything in my mind go quiet. His skin was warmer than what I would figure to be normal, and his heart was beating fast as I placed my ear and cheek on his chest. I had to wonder if I was having an effect on him too, or if it was due to him being a shifter and his body working differently than humans' did. I knew I was being stupid, cuddling up to a man I didn't know very well, but the bond he kept mentioning was very much there. It pulled like a rubber band whenever I walked away from him, and when I was close to him, the world grew brighter, and my senses were brought to life. Everything tasted better, smelled better, and felt better. A single touch from him had sparks running across my skin and butterflies swarming in my stomach. I wanted to know what it would be like to taste him
Oliver's P.O.V.I could smell them as soon as I stepped outside. They were too close for comfort. The putrid smell of the rogues encroaching on my territory was something I wasn't going to let slide. Especially with my family such a short distance away.Lana was finally opening up to me, and I wasn't going to let anyone get in between us. Her laughter tonight was so pure and relaxed. It was the first time I had heard it sound like that, and I wanted more. I wanted her to talk to me about everything. Sitting outside the past week and listening to the stress, frustration, and sadness in her voice was torture. But now, she sounded like herself, like the woman who had taken me in to heal me.Hearing the lock on the door close behind me, I stormed off toward to tree line. The sooner I could get this done, the sooner I could come home. I had lost one mate before even meeting her. There was no way in Hell that I would let anything happen
Lana's P.O.V. I woke up significantly earlier than I had intended, but as soon as my mind started to rejoin reality, all I could think about was Oliver.I hadn't laughed that much since I was a teenager. I was twenty-five. Yet, until last night, I felt like I was fifty.But, he was outside protecting us and working while I slept in my comfortable bed. It didn't seem fair. As soon as I was conscious enough, I pulled myself out of my bed and made my way to the living room.The pull to him told me that he was right on the other side of the door, but I still glanced out the window first. Guilt wracked through me as I watched him tremble with the cold while he slept, curled up in a ball. His brown-furred ear twitched before his beautiful green eyes opened and met mine.I couldn't help the smile that graced my lips as he climbed to his feet. The sun had yet to rise, and as I opened the door, that cold night's air wafted into the room, s
Oliver's P.O.V. The bathroom door did nothing to hide the way Lana smelled. I hoped she wouldn't be turned off by me flirting with her so soon after she let me back into her life, but I had also wanted nothing more than to make a move… to let her know that I was interested. Scaring her away with my comments seemed to be one thing I didn't need to worry about. I didn't even need to see the pink flush on her skin or the dilation in her eyes. The second I got out of the shower, I could smell her arousal. It was the best scent I had ever come across, and if she'd let me I would drop down to my knees and taste it. She wasn't ready for that, but as soon as she was, it would happen. As I stood at the entry to the hallway, I could smell her desire thickening as she scanned me over. My muscles coiled, and I did everything I could to hold myself back, but the small whimper that left her throat as she stared at me had me losing control.
Lana's P.O.VI felt out of my mind with pleasure. Part of me was screaming that I needed to stop, but the more dominant impulse demanded that we continue. I didn't want him grabbing my breast over my tank top. I wanted his rough and warm palm cupping my bare skin as he pinched, rolled, and sucked on my nipple.His cock pulsed against my clit, and I cursed the fabric between us.A confidence that I hadn't ever experienced before took over, and I reached down.Oliver pulled back slightly, a look of torment in his eyes as he separated from me but still held me up.I pushed the fabric to the side, tightening my legs around his waist to pull him back to me. His cock was large and hard still as I slid the tip of it between my lips until his entire shaft was laying against my pussy, sliding in the wetness he caused.I tightened my hold on him with my fingers laced through the short hairs on the back of his neck as I kissed him, bit
Lana's P.O.V.After a race to my bedroom to change clothes, I couldn't help but feel like a giddy teenager all over again. It was like when James and I had first started dating in high school... but so much better. I had never felt it this intense before.Everything with James was smooth, easy, and comfortable. I thought I loved him, and we got married right out of high school against my parent's wishes. Right away, the romance died. Within a year, the abuse started.I had been working as a personal assistant at the time, trying to stay busy even though James wanted me to be a housewife.It was when my boss would call me after working hours that James started getting angry. He didn't like that my male boss thought he had access to me twenty-four hours a day. He especially didn't like it when those calls would result in me leaving the house to bring my boss one thing or another.He would accuse me of cheating. The talking turned to
Oliver's P.O.V - 14 years later There wasn't a single person who knew where I was. I had snuck away in the middle of the night and left. I needed to get to her, and that desperate need caused me to chase her over a hundred miles away. I had been lying in bed next to my beautiful mate, and yet all I could think about was her. There was a desperate need to see her. My wolf was on edge and sad with her so far away. I hated that she left me. So, we went after her. The sun was beginning to rise, and I sat in the tree line impatiently, waiting for her to leave for the day. The door to her building was just barely visible, but I knew that as soon as she stepped out, I would be able to see her. She hadn't been responding to any of my messages, and it was driving me insane. A simple 'hello' or 'I'm okay' wouldn't be that hard. I would even accept a, 'please stop messaging me'. One of the last things she said to me had broken my heart, but I would never stop
Lana's P.O.V. The pack had been over the moon when we announced our pregnancy. Having a baby who had been directly blessed by the Goddess was huge to our people, and I could only hope that they wouldn't put too much pressure on him. It had only been a few days, but I had already given up arguing with Oliver over the possibility that it could be a girl. He was so positive we would have a son, that he convinced me. We had picked out several names, prematurely as we hadn't even made it past the first trimester yet, but the excitement was driving us to do all the things they say you shouldn't. We told everyone, picked names, and started thinking about how we were going to design the nursery. The news that our house was next on the list to be worked on made me giddy. Everything was falling into place. The front door to the pack house slammed open, and I watched as several members of our pack split in different directions. The party was still in full swing, but no
Lana's P.O.V.For the past several months, I couldn't help but feel like I was failing Oliver. He was so calm and collected, yet each month when I took that test and received only one pink line in response, it broke me. He knew that it did.Oliver would come to find me, and he would hold me until the tears stopped, whispering that it would happen and that it just wasn't our time yet. But I wanted it to be. More than anything in the world, I wanted two pink lines to look back at me and tell me that our next child was growing inside me.Maddie was more impatient than I was, and her disappointment hurt me even worse. Her smile would fall when she would ask when her sibling would get here. We would tell her that we were still working on it, and she would get really quiet for the rest of the day. It was heartbreaking.But Oliver continued to insist. He would tell me that he knew for a fact it would happen when it was the right time and that we would have a whole litter of children by the t
I hope you enjoyed Oliver and Lana's story!Don't forget to follow me for updates on my new releases! Also, as I'm sure you know by now, any votes comments and positive book reviews are much appreciated! I'm feeling really good about the hard work I put into this book, and I am so grateful for the positive feedback! This was part of The Cards of Fate writing contest, and whether I rank or not, I want to thank you all for your support! Results are to come out in January, so please vote, comment, leave a review and share with your friends if you enjoyed it!I am still loving seeing the comments and votes on these. So, Im going to ask again. Whose story do you like best so far?Olivia and GabrielParker and KayleeOliver and LanaWith every book, I am doing my best to have it be better than the last. I read every comment for feedback! Stay tuned for bonus chapters!You are the best!
Maddie's P.O.V. Twenty Years Later My fingers pulled at the hem of my dress as I sat sipping my champagne. I had thought attending my college roommate's wedding would be fun, but it was pretty boring. While I had imagined, men and women our age drinking, dancing, and flirting, it was the complete opposite. The best part about it was the food. They had invited their entire families but only a few friends. I grabbed another roll of bread from the basket on the table, ripping it up before popping small pieces into my mouth. I had learned my lesson before, getting caught stuffing my mouth at functions that had a lot of cameras. Those photos would haunt me for the rest of my life. But this, this was not a wedding to remember for anyone other than the couple. Which was as it should be. This was their night and money. The guests didn't matter to them in the couple's blissful bubble. But as one of their attendees, I could vouch that their guests sure were bored. The couple was swaying ba
Oliver's P.O.V. As much as I loved Aspen, I had to get out of there. We had grown up together, almost as siblings since her dad was the Beta and mine, the Alpha. But even as a kid, I could only take so much of her dramatics or lack of a filter. Things moved through her brain and out of her mouth without considering whether it was appropriate or hurtful. As a teenager, I heard way more about her sex life than I wanted to, and the last thing I wanted was to get suckered into sitting down and having to listen to her go on about her lack of sexual freedom while I was trying to eat my breakfast. Instead, I packed up the majority of the pancakes into a Tupperware as soon as they left the frying pan, much to Hudson's annoyance, and stole the bottle of syrup before dashing after Maddie. She screamed with joy as I threw her over my shoulder and carried her away from that clingy little pup, Nicholas. He really wasn't so bad, but I resented him for the idea that he could one day take her from
Lana's P.O.V.There was still tension between Adeline and Oliver as we made our way to the kitchen at the insistence of my very pushy daughter, but Mr. Blake looked over the moon. Getting a second chance with his son seemed to be just what he needed during this hard time, and I knew Oliver needed it too.I don't think Oliver would have been able to live with himself if he went back to shunning his father. Especially after the man sacrificed himself for Oliver and lost his arm in the process.The guilt would have driven him mad.Kaylee and Parker were sitting at the kitchen island with Olivia, eating heaping piles of eggs, sausage, and several pieces of toast. They smiled widely at me as I entered with Maddie right behind me. But their excitement seemed to rise as Oliver entered, being dragged by Maddie's hold on his hand."Liv! I'm glad you're still here!" Oliver exclaimed as he lifted Maddie and placed her on the empty barstool ne
Oliver's P.O.V."I don't want to leave," Lana mumbled, her lips rubbing against my chest as she pressed her warm, naked body firmly against mine beneath the blanket. The morning sun beamed in through the edges of the curtain, reminding us that it was time for us to get up and get to work.I hated that while I had been sleeping for the past two weeks, my pack had been busting their ass to restore our homes and way of life. Even though I was injured and in a coma, I wanted to make up for it and contribute.I was disappointed when we entered our room yesterday evening to find it was occupied by multiple other people. Their mats and blankets spread out across the floor. But when I got out of the shower, Lana was standing in the middle of our newly vacant room with a wide smile.I didn't waste another second in swooping her up into my arms and taking her to bed. We had been apart for too long, and all I wanted was to be close to her. What star
Lana's P.O.V. There was a collection of us, at least a hundred, who were going from house to house, tearing out all of the damaged sections and rebuilding them back up as quickly as possible. A few homes would have to be completely demolished, but we would have to come back to them. For now, we needed to get as many as we could into livable conditions, and as soon as possible, so our people could have a roof over their heads. It was bad enough that I had multiple strangers sleeping on my bedroom floor. Maddie was having a blast sleeping in the room with the other kids. It was like a giant slumber party every night. But even if I wanted to rest for a minute during the day, my bed was out of the question. Having strangers in my space, in mine and Oliver's personal bedroom, made it feel compromised. It was no longer my safe space. They were diluting his scent, and coming in and out at random times throughout the day. I had tried to close my eyes once for a quick nap, and as soon as t