~Nikki~“Baby?” I’m startled at the sound of his voice. I look around the dark room, wondering how long I’ve been sitting here. I swear the sun was shining when I sat down, but now it’s pitch black. Sparks erupt on my shoulder, and I lean into the feeling.“How long have I been sitting here?” I feel his heat on the side of my body as he sits next to me on the couch. We are in the family room, which we don’t use very often, but it’s a quiet room and exactly what I needed.“It’s been a few hours, baby, but that doesn’t matter.”“Why doesn’t it matter?” Paul turns my body towards his. I adjust my eyes so I can see him in the dark. He has a look of pure sorrow on his face, and it compounds my pain. I don’t want him to feel bad because I feel bad.“Baby, you just lost a child, and I have no idea how that feels. I couldn’t imagine losing one of the boys.” Paul is rubbing my lower back, and it’s beyond soothing. It got Aluma to stop whimpering in my mind. She lost a pup just as much as I lost
~Paul~When Nikki said she needed to get some air, I had a feeling she would end up at her former home. She’s been taking the news pretty hard, and I get it. I don’t know what I would do if one of my boys ended up gone. The devastation is something I don’t even want to think about, let alone feel.As soon as the sun shone through the window, I popped up and checked the bed. Nikki’s side was cold, and she wasn’t there. I jumped out of bed and threw some clothes on to go find her. Now I’m standing in the doorway, watching Nikki and Stuart asleep. The moment Nikki senses me, her eyes pop open and land on me. She sits up quickly and detaches her hand from Stuart’s. Goddess! I’m so sor- This isn’t what it looks like. I….I just….Nikki, stop. Do you honestly think that I would read anything into this? We are fated mates, so I would have felt that if you had been unfaithful. You and Stuart have children together, and you have lost one. I don’t fault you in finding comfort in him.But I should
~Mark~I know that being a ranked member is a lot of work, but I never considered how disruptive being an Alpha can be. Here I am, trying to seduce my pregnant mate, and I’m being called away. I don’t regret coming here or tying my life with Jenna; it can just be a lot of work sometimes. I understand why she didn’t want the role, even though she’d be an amazing Alpha. I imagine I could be a good Luna and wouldn’t have an issue in that role.I run out the back of the pack house, and the minute my feet hit the ground, I shift into my wolf. We bound through the forest, heading to the Western border. When I get there, I have three warriors waiting for me. I shift back and walk up to the group. They nod to me, and I nod back. “What’s going on here?”“Sir, we found Jimmy out here. He was on the border. It looks like he’s had his blood drained.” I walk toward the body and see how pale it is. There’s a message written on his body.“What’s that say?” The warriors look at each other before look
~Lynn~Mark fills me in on what he found on his lands. I ask the usual questions: who are their enemies, and what new Alphas are trying to prove themselves? When he had no valuable information to contribute, there was only one thing that popped into my mind, but I didn’t want to be the one to bring it up. I said my goodbyes and hung up the phone.“Well, that was an enlightening conversation, I think.” I put my phone down and lean back on the bed. I haven’t spoken to my brother in a while, and I feel bad about that. We both just got caught up in our lives, and checking in wasn’t the top priority.The bathroom door opens, and a shiver runs through my body. “Who was that, babe?” I want to answer, but my mouth is suddenly dry. Devonte is standing in the doorway with just a towel hanging low on his body. There are drops of water running down his chest as he rubs his hands together. Just remembering what those hands do to me regularly has me leaking all over myself. “Uh, babe?” I shake my h
~Tia~Lynn’s right. I grieve for my sister because of the type of person I am. If the roles were reversed, she wouldn’t give a damn about me dying. She probably would have been the reason why I’m gone. I can’t suspend my life grieving for someone who didn’t give a damn about me.I take a super short shower and throw my clothes on: a pair of jeans, a V-neck short-sleeved shirt, and some Airmaxs. Lynn is sitting on the bed waiting for me. She stands when she sees me and links her arm with mine as we walk out of our suite.It doesn’t take long to make it to the daycare, and they are surprised to see me. Our daycare is amazing, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that if I don’t need their services, I’d rather leave the spots open to those who do. I have enough family to care for Kian, so I’d rather take advantage. “Luna Tia, here he is. He hasn’t been here long. He’s such a good baby.” I grab Kian from her and kiss his cheeks.“Thank you for that. He will probably start coming when he’s older
~Landon~It did my heart good watching Tia and Kian come into our office. I’m beyond grateful that she’s up and about. I know that Adela’s dying was taking a toll on her, and I was getting worried. I don’t know what Lynn said to her, but I owe her a big thank you.Tia kisses me on the cheek, and I take Kian from her. She walks to Lincoln’s desk and sits on his lap. Kian sits on my lap and starts to reach for the items on my desk. I move the dangerous items out of the way, leaving some loose paper for him to play with.Lynn walks into the office and plops on the couch. Surprisingly, she’s alone, but that doesn’t last long as her mates walk in minutes later and sit next to her. I would prefer that my dad was going to be in this meeting, but I know he’s helping a grieving Doc, and I don’t want to disturb them.“So you wanted us to meet. What about?” Lincoln’s voice is slightly muffled since his face is buried in our mate’s neck. I find it funny, but reserve my chuckle for later.“I spoke
What a mind-numbing hour, a complete waste of my time. Every visit of his is a complete waste of time, and I hate it. However, I do have to admit that it’s nice that there is someone who cares enough to visit me. As nice as it is, he’s making no effort to get me out of here, so there’s that. I don’t belong in anyone’s cells because I didn’t do anything wrong. I simply tried to fight for what was rightfully mine.I didn’t say anything to my father and didn’t answer any of his questions. He filled the void by telling me all sorts of things I don’t care anything about. I don’t care about the pack news or what he’s doing as an advisor. The only thing I want to know is when I can get the hell out of here.My mood elevates the minute I hear the door open. My mood soars when I see that my favorite jailer is still on duty and will take me to my cell. My father says goodbye, but I don’t pay him any attention. I’m much too focused on the gorgeous man uncuffing me from the table.He’s 6’5 with l
~Vonte~I know that’s her brother, but WTF?!I know, but he’s the Alpha here, so we have to eat it. I really want to rip my brother-in-mate’s head off right now. He’s being way too aggressive towards my mate. Honestly, it’s not me that has an issue; instead, it’s Abel. I know how sibling love can get, and I think it’s cute.Luna Jenna leads us up the steps and into the packhouse. We stop right inside the doorway, watching Lynn plead for mercy. Mark has her on the couch, tickling her with everything he has. I didn’t realize my mate was ticklish, but now I have something to use to my advantage.I sit in an armchair across from them, and my brother sits in an armchair next to mine. We are both enjoying the show. I turn to Luna Jenna, who decides to stand between us and notice the smirk on her face. “Are they always like this?”“To be honest, I don’t know. Mark and I had a rocky start at best and left right after accepting each other. I’m sure you heard about the mess that pack has dealt