*Maverick* I stare at my phone, my thumb hovering over the compose text button. It shouldn’t be this hard to send a simple text, to type in the number and then strategically ask the questions I need to. But it’s the fact that I typed the number with ease that reminds me of who this is. I remember only four numbers by heart. Both my parents, Tatum’s and Jackson. The best friend I have ever had. The same guy who would have left his family behind happily if it meant he could fight by my side. It was always his dream, this life I’m living. If only I could tell him just how much he would have hated it. There is no doubt in my mind that crossing this mental barrier that I put up for emotional protection for myself will mean there is no going back. Once I send this text, Jackson will never let me out of his life again. Or maybe he will when he finds out that the Maverick he used to know is gone, replaced with a broken, darker version. It’s not my choice to send this text, to track down
Milo sits on the edge of his desk, observing me. Neither of us has spoken since we barged in here moments ago. He then sighs and crosses his arms, motioning for me to take a seat. I don’t move from my position near the door, watching him as he shakes his head. “I can only assume you are here because Tatum has filled you in on what she has heard from Clem?” He asks.“She has.” I offer and Milo frowns. “Should she not have informed me?” “No, she did the right thing. Though I am interested to hear what she has told you.”“That Kira has broken rules.” I state, and he lifts a brow in curiosity. “And Tatum hasn’t?” he asks. “And what about you, Mav. Have you informed me of everything you should have?” My jaw clenches and I look away. “Do you intend to look into Kira or not?” I ask and Milo tilts his head curiously.“She is under Samantha’s watch, and she has reported nothing yet.”“The meeting over pack borders was before you and Alpha Artemis assigned to the girls.” I remind him. “And
*Tatum* When I come back out of my room, the TV is set to my requested show and there are snacks and a few cans of soda waiting for me. I frown seeing that Maverick is nowhere to be found. It’s strange how accustomed I have grown to him being around. Going out for girls’ night was…well it was something, but I couldn’t help but feel exposed. Weirdly alone without Maverick waiting in my shadows.I know it is probably due to him being with me at all hours of the day. But having Maverick back in my life, no matter how much of a dick he can be…it’s been nice. “Mav?” I call out. I hear him grunt in acknowledgement from his room. “What? Don’t you want to watch this show with me?” “I’d rather fight the rogues again, Tater tot.” He responds in an annoyed tone that brings a smile to my lips. “If you want that so bad we could probably go for a run again?” I tease and I hear him heave a heavy sigh. “Don’t tempt me,” he growls back, and I can’t help but laugh at him. “Fine. I’ll watch my show
I find Clem walking along the trail, and she groans, covering her face in embarrassment. A grin slips over my lips and I can’t help but shake my head at her antics. She has been avoiding me since her date with Artemis. A full week of her hiding away in her room or dodging out of the kitchen at breakfast, lunch or dinner. But she knows she can’t hide from me now.“Have you finally stopped hiding from me?” I ask her, and she smirks.“Yes, it’s awfully lonely hanging out with just my bodyguard.”“You know you didn’t have to hide.” I remind her, and she frowns.“I know…”“And you don’t have to tell me more about Kira either,” I tell her, though I really hope she chooses to share. She watches me closely, then grins at me. “It’s fine, Tatum.” she sighs. “Now that one of us is going home and I figure it’s likely to be me, so I should share it with someone,”I roll my eyes and chuckle. “You are not going home. You had a second and third date with Artemis this week.” I remind her. “I know…bu
*Maverick* Tatum bounces around like a fucking balloon tied to a fan at high speed. It’s obvious her anxiety is sky high and I understand why. Someone is being asked to leave today, and no one knows who it is. Other than me and the rest of the guards, of course. But if she doesn’t calm her ass down I’m going to duct tape her to the damn couch.I wish Artemis would have just sent out a mass text telling the girls who gets to stay but no. Apparently that wasn’t a romantic option. I also suggested one big meeting where he tells the girl he wants gone to leave. Again, I looked like an insensitive ass. They may not have been great options but at least she would know and wouldn’t have to fret. Artemis felt it would be wrong to announce who was leaving in front of everyone, so his plan is to visit each girl and either ask her to leave or ask her to stay. I have no fucking idea what is taking him so long to get here and ask Tatum to stay. All I know is that it seems like cruel and unusual p
“Oh shit,” Milo mutters under his breath as I enter the cell. They have Kira tied up. She sits in a chair, her mouth covered and her eyes wide upon seeing me. She’s been crying, sobbing more likely as her mascara is streaked down her cheeks and the bags under her eyes are raw.“Not getting anywhere on your own?” I ask him, and he crosses his arms over his chest. “You know this is not something I enjoy.” He says, eyeing Kira up and down as she frantically looks between the two of us.“That is why I’m here.” I mutter, rolling up my sleeves with a sigh before rounding the small cart set up with various tools. I’m hopeful she will crack easily, but something tells me she is going to be a pain in the ass. “She has refused to say a single thing to anyone since her initial claim of innocence and that she is being set up.”“Is it possible she is being set up?” I ask him, looking up. “It’s always a possibility.” He shrugs.I walk to the far wall, grabbing a metal chair and dragging it acro
Kira’s eyes widen as the blue oil trickles into her weeping wounds and she tries to recoil against her restraints. She cries out, her legs shaking violently as she heaves from the pain. Her face going white as sweat forms on her brow. “How about now?” I ask her, leaning close. “Still nothing to say? Keep it up Kira, we are just getting to the fun part. When I’m done with this, I scar that face of yours.” “Kira…” a male calls out and I spin to see warriors dragging in a beat up male who is trying to glimpse Kira through swollen eyes. She fights against her restraints, her eyes suddenly wild as they dance between her usual brown and her wolf’s black. The corners of my lips quirk up into a victorious grin. Check fucking mate. “Bring him in here,” I insist, and the warriors do as I ask. “Drop him to his knees and tilt his head back,” “NO!” Kira cries, but I ignore her as they push down on his knees and pry his mouth open. He fights against them and I move over to them, throwing a punch
*Tatum*“Are you going to ignore me the entire drive?” I sigh, pressing back into the headrest in the passenger seat.I slide a glance in his direction, trying not to laugh at how serious he looks. He was not happy when I sat up front, but since he has actively been avoiding any proper conversation, I thought it might be fun to make him uncomfortable. “I’m not ignoring you,” He mutters, turning on the blinker. It clicks loudly, an annoying reminder of just how quiet it is in this car. I stare at the side of his face in silence while he pretends not to notice. “Sure feels like it.” I mutter.“I am focusing on driving, Tatum,” He says with a flat tone.“For five and a half hours?” I scoff. “And what about the past two weeks? Were you busy focusing on walking? I would hate for you to trip and fall on your face.”Maverick comes to a stop and finally turns his hollow eyes to face me. He blinks and then looks forward again.“It is impossible to ignore you, Tatum. I have to be with you at
Hey!! SO this is ending differently than my usual they are happy for 5-10 chapters! why? Becuase I felt their relationship was developed along the way, showing them over that many chapters again would have felt like filler which i promise never to give you. I have also left a few things open for specultion. There is a reason for that. There is potential for a Clem and Kit story, a shorter one but that won't happen until I get the second book in the Rebel Rising series up and completed.Clem and Kit's story would pick up from the moment she is traded to him for Tatum so we would also get alot of Mav and Tatum in their story as they are important characters in their lives. As always, THANK YOU, for hanging in there with me. This was a fun one to write. I will be doing some editing and such and may add more to give us more details about River and Artemis but they also may have a small novella coming if I feel like their story needs to be told from their POV. Basically, everything
Tatum sits sobbing in the bed, her eyes locked on mine as I hold the little screaming bundle in my arms. I look down at my sweet, perfect, and very loud son, Maxwell Mason. Tatum rubs her eyes, her chest heaving up and down, and I can’t help but laugh. I know it’s an awful thing to do, especially considering the circumstances, but I can’t help it. Tatum looks beautiful and exhausted. “Babe, go to sleep.” I insist and she shakes her head no.“Why won’t he sleep?” she blubbers. “I am so tired,”“Tater tot.” I say firmly, “Then go to sleep. I’ve got him. He is okay. He just needs a change and a bottle.”“But I should be able to nurse him,” she sobs, looking at her hands in her lap.“Ah.” I sigh. So that’s the actual issue. Tatum’s milk supply has yet to come in and it is the third week. My poor sweet mate wanted nothing more than to be a mother and be a perfect one. And now that she has a baby, she feels like she isn’t enough because she can’t breastfeed him. “Look at me,” I say, walki
*Maverick*The healer walks around me, a look of concentration on her face before she looks at me and clicks her tongue. My heart falls. Clearly, this physical evaluation is going fucking poorly. And here I thought I was going to be giving the go ahead to make Tate mine tonight. It has been two fucking weeks of not being able to make her mine.No strain on my body, no marking and no fucking sex. Worst fucking rules ever, and here Tatum is all happily complying. I have been a patient man all my life waiting for the day I can fuck my mate whenever I damn well please and yet here I am dying to sink my teeth into her neck and make sure every damn single male in this pack knows she is mine.“Janelle,” I growl at the healer who Artemis sent with us to ensure my healthcare was consistent for optimal healing. She shoots me a glower that says to shut up and wait. “I think your healing has expedited with your new title.” She says, finally standing upright and giving me a satisfied smile. “Your
Maverick stares at me, the haziness finally completely gone as he just observes me silently. I reach out to touch him, my heart pounding. I have been touching him, helping him with the bond the whole time he has been injured and out of it.But now…he is coherent enough to realize I am actually here. He flinches as I come close and my heart aches at his fear, who would have thought he was easier to work within when he was fighting during his treatment than he is right now after a solid 4 days of healing sleep.“Maverick,” I keep my tone light and assuring. Even after explaining to him it will no longer hurt him, he is still hesitant and I understand now just how much the oath was tormenting him. The very sight of me seems to cause him pain and confusion. The fucking oath’s attempt to ruin us is still so damn raw. “Y-you’re sure?” He asks, swallowing roughly and licking his lips “I’m positive.” I nod. “The oath is gone,”“How can you be so sure? I don’t understand,” he mutters, lookin
Maverick tries to reach up to touch me back, his eyes distant but happy, as if he is moving in a fog. My tears run unchecked down my cheeks as I try like hell to calm myself. There is so much happening all at once. In my mind and around me, I feel overwhelmed, completely lost in what to do with all of it. “I need you to keep him from moving.” The healer tells me, touching my shoulder gently. “We have to get his arm bandaged before infection sets in and he loses it.”I lower my head, pressing my cheek to his as he turns into me, a satisfied hum on his lips.“Mav, stay still. You have to stay still, otherwise it will hurt,” I whisper in his ear.“I want to touch you,” he says back, his words sounding slurred as he tries to turn toward me.“No, no,” I rush out, splaying my hand over his chest to still him. My stomach boils when I touch his open wound, but I keep my eyes closed, my face pressed to his as I breathe through it. “You need to heal. ““I don’t want to.” He mutters, and I sigh
*Tatum*I fly out of the car before Jackson even has it in park, sprinting up the heavily decorated stairs as the doors whip open. River throws herself into my arms, holding me as my chest beats and all the terrible thoughts one can imagine flit through my mind. I haven’t been able to catch my breath since she told us to hurry. I can only think the worst. It has to be terrible if she won’t tell me over the phone. “Riv…” my voice quivers as I pull away trying to force her to look at me, but she avoids eye contact. Jackson places his hand on my back to comfort me.“That’s enough waiting. You have to tell her, River. She needs to not be in the dark anymore.” He tells her and she looks over at him, biting her lips. “We found him.” She swallows, rubbing my arms in a soothing manner. “But it’s not good, he is—”I move her aside, rushing into the pack house, my eyes trying to locate where he is. IS he in our old room? Or did it cause him so much hurt that he has now moved to another room?
*Maverick*I know I won’t be able to see Tatum tonight, not without the pain that will overtake me like it does every fucking time she comes to my mind. With the way the oath is going, it is trying to burn her from my memory, punish me for the bond that was divined for me.If I had any other option, I would take it. I have searched for two months alongside Artemis and Milo and at times, even River would pull an all nighter looking for something. Anything that would relieve me of my suffering, and Tatum’s as well. There is nothing, just as there wasn’t two months ago. The only way I can think to end the suffering, truly be rid of the pain, is to end it. No, I’m not the type of man to kill himself. That’s not how I plan to go out. I have respect for the life I was given, the talents I have. What I don’t have respect for are the rogues that started this all. The callous, soulless assholes who only wish to maim and murder for fucking entertainment.Their attack is the one that led me dow
The waves tickle my bare feet, the warmth of the sun seeping into my shoulders as I stand side by side with my mom. I couldn’t NOT bring her with me. I wasn’t in a good enough place to go anywhere alone and with Clem and River both busy living their own lives…well. Mom wanted to be with me. I guess she was worried I would wander off and never come home. But this ending with Maverick feels less…I don’t know. It’s different. My heart is in tatters, but it’s different from the first time. Back then there was an ache, feeling like he didn’t love me, or I wasn’t enough. This time…this time I get it. Maverick loves me, and he loves me as much as I love him. Which is why I have traveled the last two months like he asked me to in his letter. I knew deep down if he thought there was a way out of his oath, a way we could be together, I know he would utilize it. “How are you, my sweet girl?” My mom asks softly and I smile, lifting my chin for the sun to kiss my bare cheeks. “Hmm, I’m good to
It’s bitter out. The cold air is relentless as it whips around, the wisps of little snowflakes blowing in my face as I stare at my parents’ grave. Their grave is massive, no doubt costing thousands, and I tilt my head, wondering how Tatum of all people paid for it. The thought of her creates an ache throughout me, my heart exhausted and battered from all the back and forth for the past two days waiting to see her.I couldn’t bring myself to text her back or even attempt to answer her calls, as I hid like a coward. If I would have answered I would have told her, There is no hiding the truth from her and she deserves to be told in person. I deserve to witness her heartbreaking so I can never forget what I have done to her time and time again. “You’ve been avoiding me,” her sweet voice calls out behind me and my eyes slide shut, relishing how she sounds, the happiness that laces her teasing words. I want to hold on to this, fucking cling to it like a baby clings to its mother, but I’m