Oliver's P.O.V. I could see it clear as day in the pain etched into Nyla's face. Seeing me with Lana was actually hurting her. She felt betrayed. It was as if she were telling the truth, and she still felt the mate bond. But that shouldn't be possible. "Nyla, I'm sorry. It's gone for me. I don't feel anything for you. There is no pull, no feelings…nothing. You still feel it?" The disbelief leaked into my tone. but the way her hands were shaking at her sides as tears silently slid down her cheek made guilt stab its way into my chest. "Were you just about to…" Nyla whispered with shock. Her hand moved up to touch her mark, the one that had been placed by Conner. The sensation of contact with her chosen mate's mark seemed to bring her back to reality, and she shook her head back and forth in disbelief and confusion. I watched her leave, unsure how to react or respond as she sprinted out of the room. The sound of the pack house door slamming shut met my ears only a second later, but t
Oliver's P.O.V. "I don't want to think about anyone else right now, and as for James, I will never let him lay a hand on you or Maddie again. I swear to you." I promised as I slid my hands up her hips to the curve of her waist, my thumbs sliding against the soft flesh beneath her bra line. "The only thing on my mind is how fucking good you taste, and how you sound when you cum for me." Lana's lips parted against the skin of my chest, and I smiled as she looked up at me. "Prove it." Her challenge sent a thrill through me and my beast. I felt him come forward, but I kept control. I lifted her from the ground, connecting our lips as she wrapped her legs around me. "I plan to," I said as I set her down on the bed and pulled her shorts off in one pull. Lana leaned up on her elbow, unclasping her bra with one hand behind her before tossing it to the floor. "I don't know if I've told you this, but I fucking love it when you don't wear any panties for me." Her desire was the sweetest thin
Lana's P.O.V. The control he seemed to be losing snapped right back as he stared down at me in shock. The black of his eyes vanished as he quickly pulled out and came on my clit. The warmth of it sent another shock of pleasure through me. My eyes were wide as I stared at him, wanting him to say it again… needing to confirm I had heard him right the first time. He had declared his love for me, something I hadn't heard a man say in years. It felt right to hear it from his lips. I had dreamed of him saying it night after night, but I never would have imagined that he would say it in real life. Especially given the situation. His soulmate had just been crying over him in the kitchen. Groups of rogues were hunting him down and trying to kill him. My husband could be anywhere, waiting for the chance to take me and Maddie back home, if not, kill me. But he was here with me, declaring his love… and I froze. I wanted to say it back, but my mind was screaming that it wasn't safe. As soon
Lana's P.O.V. The kids' center was different than I expected it to be. They had everything a kid could want except for a bounce house. I moved to the side, trying to catch sight of Lottie or Maddie, feeling panicked when they were nowhere to be found. "How are you liking it here so far?" The male voice asked from behind me. The sudden uneasiness made me spin around with my hand to my waistband, but I was weaponless. My heart slammed against my ribcage when I realized that I had left myself open and vulnerable. I was so distracted by the thought of Nyla and Oliver being alone, that I didn't even think to grab it. Instead, I came down to see Maddie. It was getting late, and the pack was going to eat soon. I didn't want people that neither I nor Oliver knew, especially other Nomads that were only here for refuge and not a part of the pack roaming the house when I didn't have eyes on Maddie. The tall man was familiar, and I kept my guard up as he approached. His caramel skin and deep
Oliver's P.O.V. As soon as we left the room, I was on a mission. Nyla needed to understand that our bond was gone. Whatever she was holding onto needed to end. I wouldn't have her hovering over my relationship with Lana. Not when things were going so well. Conner brushed passed me with a nod in greeting as he made his way into the packhouse, and I dipped my head in return but didn't lower my eyes. I wouldn't ever submit to him as he did to me. He had shown how weak he was when I challenged him and had easily taken him down. But I wouldn't be doing that again. Now that I had Maddie here, I couldn't imagine having to fight someone while she watched. Challenges could be brutal and lethal. No kid needed to witness that. I felt guilty that Conner's children had to watch me take him down, but at the same time, I was following my instincts. We were animals, after all. It was easy to follow Nyla's scent back to her house. The trail was clear as if she had been pacing between her home and
Lana's P.O.V. My fork stabbed down into the bowl of pasta aggressively as I did my best to remain civil and pleasant. Oliver was very aware of my anger and discomfort as Nyla and Conner sat across from us. Sasha and Ky, their children, chatted excitedly with Maddie at a level that was just low enough not to be disruptive to the rest of the pack house. I narrowed my eyes at Nyla as she continued to stare at Oliver like a love-sick puppy from across the table, shoving my forkful of noodles into my mouth. Our escort home couldn't come soon enough. "So, Lana, what do you do?" Conner asked, trying to break the tension. I didn't bother to hide my displeasure that Nyla had herded her family over to sit with us instead of choosing another place to sit. "Nothing at the moment," I said but kept my glare on Nyla as she stared shamelessly at Oliver. "Nyla, what do you do... besides stare at taken men?" She blinked, shaking her head before focusing her vision on me. "I'm sorry if I'm making
Lana's P.O.V. The tip of my thumb was raw as I continued to pace back and forth, nibbling on the short nail. Oliver was in the adjoining room, putting Maddie down for the night. I think he knew that I was frazzled. The realization of what I had just done was weighing heavy on me. I had just publically made an enemy of a fucking she-wolf. Granted, in her demented mind, I was probably already an enemy because I was sleeping with her mate. But if publically calling her out and embarrassing her in front of her pack wasn't going to bite me in the ass, I didn't know what would. I just had to hope they wouldn't kick us out before our escort arrived. Considering that we were different species, I was fucking ecstatic that I had held my ground and stood up for myself against that murderous bitch. How dare she try to kill my man, then pretend to be a caring mate when she realized she failed? My worry shifted to anger as I remembered the way she stared at him with her big doe eyes. Trying to
Lana's P.O.V The issue with telling someone off when your kids are friends is that you still have to see that parent around whenever your children hang out. I tried to distract Maddie. I even offered her cookies and a movie to keep her inside. Unfortunately, she was sick of staying locked inside all the time, and all she wanted was to go see Sasha and Ky. I brought her to the kids' center and sat back on one of the benches they had posted around the gated playground. My hope had been to enjoy a relaxing day in the sun while Oliver helped the pack run patrol. He insisted that he wanted to contribute since they were housing us for the time being. Instead, I was dealing with the fuming rage of Nyla as she sat across from me on the other side of the playground. I wouldn't have a problem with it if she were actually watching her kids. But her black eyes and angry glare remained on me the entire time. I felt like I was going to be attacked when I least expected it. The girls squealed an
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