Lana's P.O.V. I let out a breath of relief, knowing there would be justice. The murderer before me would be removed from the Earth, and she wouldn't be able to cause any more harm to others. My hand moved from my thigh to touch the back of it against Oliver's leg as Alpha Jones sided in our favor. This was it. Oliver would have closure, and we wouldn't have to worry about Nyla anymore. She could be put behind us, and we could leave this place behind with her. It was finally time for us to move on and go to Oliver's pack, where we could start over. I smiled up at him brightly, expecting to see the relief on his face. Instead, I found him staring down at Nyla with a look of pain. His jaw was tense, and his eyebrows pinched together. He looked hurt, torn as he turned to look at me, lacing our fingers together. The apology was clear on his face, and my smile fell. Oliver looked away and back to the woman who had caused us so much pain. He kept our hands connected but stepped forward.
Oliver's P.O.V. Lana did nothing to hide her anger toward me. As soon as she had Maddie, and my pack had moved the car seat from her old beater car into one of ours, we packed up and were on our way. Maddie sat between us, offering everyone in the car cookies as we began to drive. Hudson was in the third row of the SUV this time. Having been the one who drove the night before, he did his best to stretch out so he could sleep as soon as we began the trip. His mate sat in the passenger seat, and one of the older warriors was driving. Lana leaned against the door, her eyes closed, but I could hear her heart beating faster than normal. She wasn't sleeping, but she was pretending she was, and I took that as a bad sign. While we couldn't talk with Maddie able to hear us, I didn't want her to go to sleep mad at me. It wasn't fair to her for me to have changed my mind. I had left the packhouse with the intent of demanding Nyla's head for the pain and suffering she had caused me and my mat
Lana's P.O.V.Oliver's door slammed a little harder than it should have, and I let out a deep breath to collect myself as the front doors of the car closed as well."I know this is hard for you, but it will get better." The male's voice from behind me made me jump. I turned to see the man who had helped rescue me sitting in the back seat, looking very squished. "I'm Hudson, by the way. I don't mean to be a bother, but can you fold your seat down so I can get out once you do?"I looked to see Oliver talking to a group of people outside with a smile on his face."Of course, I'm so sorry," I said as I opened the back door and helped to get Maddie out. She rested her head against my shoulder, mumbling about how she needed to go to the bathroom as I fumbled with the handle on the side of the seat before finally releasing it."Thank you," Hudson let out in a groan as he climbed out of the vehicle, lifting his arms to stretch once he was
Lana's P.O.V. The familiar green of her eye and the dark brown hair suddenly made sense. They were the same shade that Oliver had. My mouth went dry, and I swallowed hard as water dripped from my hands into the sink. "You can calm down. You look like a deer in headlights. I'm not going to hit you with my car." She laughed before placing a wet hand on her slightly rounded stomach. "I'm Kaylee." Maddie came over, handing us each a stack of paper towels. I grabbed the unnecessarily large wad blindly with a whispered thank you. "Right, that makes more sense. You're his half-sister. He told me about you." I said as I held out my hand in greeting. Kaylee eyed it for a moment before smiling softly at me. "I'm his step-sister now too, so I think just sister covers it. It's nice to meet you. I was so excited when he said he was bringing you home." Her hand wrapped around mine, and I gasped as her eyes turned silver. Her hold on me tightened as she stared blankly ahead for a few seconds bef
Lana's P.O.V. The sound of the door closing behind me made me tense as goosebumps rose along my skin. I knew now would not be like it was in my dream, but my imagination got away from me, sending warmth into my core and wetness between my legs. "You're playing a dangerous game, baby." Oliver's deep voice came from right behind me, making me jump. His breath hit the side of my neck as he leaned in close to me. "I can feel you. I can smell you. You are so fucking irresistible." My eyes fluttered closed as the fingers of one of my hands moved to gently touch my lips, dreaming of what it would be like to turn around and kiss him. But my eyes opened as the heat of his palm rested on my hip, and reality smacked me in the face. I pulled away, taking a step to the side where our bags were piled up. "We need to talk first, Oliver." I could hear the reluctance in my own voice and cleared my throat to regain my composure. "I didn't mean to hurt you or choose her over you. That wasn't my int
Oliver's P.O.V. I shook out my fur as I came to a stop in one of the clearings on our pack land. It was the most popular one among mated pairs. The collection of moon flowers that filled the area provided our beasts with a sense of peace and calm. I had come with a mission, a small step in winning my woman back. My meeting with Parker to be welcomed back into the pack as an official member was soon. I had just enough time to gather a handful of flowers for Lana and leave them on her nightstand for her to wake up to before I needed to be in his office. The stems ripped from the ground easily, and I took off at a jog back to the packhouse, only stopping to grab my shorts and pull them back on. "I take it Lana already yelled at you," Aspen chuckled from the porch, where she sat drinking a glass of tea. Her back was straight, and her eyes scanned the area as she spoke before falling back on me. She was a troublemaker as a kid, and it seemed that bold attitude followed her into adulthoo
Lana's P.O.V. I had been here before. The depression that dragged me down until I felt nothing. The emptiness inside me had me wanting to do nothing more than sleep. The first time it happened was when James had started hitting me. I was so heartbroken, so scared. But my mind shut down, and my body started to follow. I lost a lot of weight and couldn't muster up the energy to even shower or brush my teeth. It all felt so pointless, such a waste of the little energy I had. The only thing that got me out of bed this morning was Maddie. She needed me. I couldn't fall back into my shell and leave her on her own. I had to fight against it. Having it happen again with Oliver was strange to me. After our fight, it was like all of my anger had drained away, and I was left with a hollow feeling. I knew what it was after it happened, but I couldn't stop it. Waking up this morning to a beautiful handful of flowers on the nightstand sent a spark of happiness through me, like a lightning bolt
Oliver's P.O.V. Parker paused mid-step, letting out a groan as he shook his head. The tension in his shoulders from the rogues and the upcoming baby somehow managed to get worse as he turned to look at me. "How mad would you be if Kaylee accidentally told Lana that Lana is your mate?" I looked over at him with surprise. That wasn't how I had it planned. My plan had been to tell her as soon as I could in a romantic setting, but then things with Nyla happened. Now, I needed to win Lana back before I had that conversation with her. I didn't want her to agree to be with me just because of the bond. I wanted it to be her choice. After what she saw and knew about mates, I knew she would feel too guilty to reject me or to fight against it. "Tell me you're kidding." My head dropped back and my hands moved up to cover my face. So far, everything about coming home had not gone as planned. I felt cursed, but I knew it was my own doing. The bond was still there, and as I felt for Lana's emot
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