Savannah sees me coming first, her eyes narrowing, and she makes a concerted effort to move closer to Artemis. Everything she does is to keep him focused on her, and that’s fine. I won’t win his attention by being fake and deceitful. I’ll win it just by being in the room. I grab a mug and sneak to the fridge, grabbing out the creamer, and I smile to myself. There is no way he won’t see me getting into the fridge. I turn and tiptoe to the coffee machine, not at all trying to hide myself, but it’s a nice little show to prove I’m not trying to impede. “Tatum,” his velvety voice calls cheerfully and I spin to look at him like a deer caught in the headlights. He looks handsome, as always, only this time he is dawning a little stubble and it pronounces his jawline more. My eyes find his perfectly pink lips and I know he sees me checking him out as the corner of his lips twitch up.“I’m sorry. I know you guys are chatting. Just pretend I am not here. I just needed some coffee.” I say, poin
Artemis smiles before he sighs and pulls me to his chest. He holds me close, clinging to me like I’m some life-sustaining source. He seems more open to me, vulnerable than he has been before, and I can’t tell if it’s because of the run or just the amazing dates we have had. “What should we do on this date of ours?” He asks, pulling back and looking down at me. His eyes are full of mischief and I notice a dance between his usual color and black, as if his wolf wants a moment of my time, too. I can’t help but smile up at him and he looks like he is going to crumble. It can’t be easy balancing an entire world, going on nine years without a mate, all while trying to find the suitable woman for not just him but all of us. The stress this gentle man has had to live with is not easy. Artemis pulls me close again and I breathe deep. I don’t know how to feel about all of this, but at this moment, all I know is it feels right to be in his arm. He leans down, pressing his forehead to mine, hi
*Maverick*“Are you mad at me?” Tatum asks tentatively, and I clench my jaw.Mad? Mad doesn’t scratch the surface of what I feel. These pesky emotions I have zero right to but drown in any way. Am I mad? No. Im fucking livid. I’m aching. I had tried to convince myself any feelings for her were gone. That they just keep resurfacing because she is the first person I’ve talked to from my past. All this entire debacle has done is reaffirm how fucking wrong that notion is.Tatum’s eyes fill up with tears again and my stomach sinks. I thought seeing her kiss another man was bad. But this, this is a whole other level of maddening. There is nothing I can do about tears or anxiety over actions. Shit, I can’t fight off the invisible. Add in the factor that she probably would recoil at my touch if I tried to console her and I’m lost on so many levels. How to act, what else to say, how to help her? I’m already breaking my own rules. My oath’s in a way. Thankfully, I can quantify it as protecting
*Tatum* I roll over, checking my phone for the hundredth time tonight. It has been four days of radio silence from Artemis. I haven’t been able to bring myself to text him again since the first text, but there is no way he hasn’t thought of texting me and seen it. I mean, it was just a kiss, wasn’t it? It got a little heavy, yes…but is that entirely uncommon when people like each other? My phone dings and I see a text from an unknown number and my heart flutters at the thought that Artemis might just be using a different phone. I swipe over the message, opening it with a giddy smile, only for it to fall from my lips in an instant. –Go to sleep– I furrow my brows –Who is this?-- –Don’t ask stupid questions– I scoff loudly and sit up, already annoyed with this anonymous texter. –How is it stupid a stupid question when this is an unknown number in my phone?-- –Wow, so you really erased every memory of me– I tilt my head, looking up at the open doorway leading to Maverick’s roo
The high of Artemis’ text response to Clem has officially worn off and in its place is now an anxious energy. Artemis is due back today. In fact, he is probably already back; I remind myself, looking down at my watch.Shit. I push myself further, running harder. Maybe I can outrun the anxiety I have over confronting him. This morning when I laced up my shoes I was a little nervous. But with every passing second, my confidence sways and I realize the text really means nothing. Artemis didn’t send it to me. He sent it to Clem who he was texting all night while still actively ignoring me. It was never meant for my eyes, so why would I assume he meant in a good way? He could have meant it in a ‘yeah, she is’ plus a grimace type way. Or maybe he said it because he didn’t know how else to respond to her bringing me up. It must have been awkward.I pass the fountain in the middle of the woods and choose to go past it. This is the furthest I have ever gone before. But if I found this out her
*Maverick*The odds are not in my favor as I take a hesitant step back, cursing under my breath. Where the hell are these assholes even coming from and why the hell are they not the usual rogues? They die like a rogue but they fight like well-trained warriors. That’s enough to make my wolf and I feel on edge, like something is off. Like there are things we don’t know but should.I’m surrounded, waiting for the attack, yet no one moves, as if they are waiting for the green light from someone. I growl, low in my chest, my patience officially gone as I take the lead, rushing the two rogues ahead of me. Their eyes grow wide, the one on the right ducking intime to miss my tackle as I take down the other. We roll, both of us fighting for the upper hand as we tumble over the jaded rocks. I can feel them slicing into my back and I push myself over once more, landing me on top. There’s no time to give him a moment to breathe, so launch my fist into his face, my knuckles creaking with every bl
*Tatum*I see Maverick’s outline, the general size of his imposing figure as I look up at him, unwilling to pull myself out of bed. I killed someone. An actual living, breathing person with a life and friends. I didn’t just kill him; I laid in his entrails and was showered in his blood like some sick fucking right of warrior passage. One I didn’t ask for.“Are you in pain?” He asks softly. I shake my head no. I was fortunate enough to not have any serious injuries, other than a chewed up ankle, the rest of my cuts and bruises have already healed. The healer even took the time to wrap my ankle in some type of leaves with some herbs that have taken my pain away. “Then why the hell are you crying?” Maverick asks. There is an edge to his voice, almost as if he is angry with me, and it only makes my lips quiver as more tears flood down my cheek. These damn emotions, these damn eyes.“I killed someone.” I whisper, guilt sliding up my spine and making me shudder. I can still smell him on m
“How’d she take it?” Maverick asks, following along behind me down the hallway.“As expected.” I mumble, unable to pull myself out of this grumpiness surrounding me. “So she cried then?” He verifies, and I toss him a glare over my shoulder.“No, she assured me it’s fine and that my safety comes first.” I snark at him before looking back down the hallway and rolling my eyes. “Hmmm.” He hums and the sound irritates my ears, feeding my already sour mood. I whip around to face him, my hands on my hips. “‘Hmm’ what, Maverick?”He slides me a grin. “Wasn’t sure if she was a crier like you or not.” He simply shrugs, as if he didn’t just verbally attack me for the shit I went through yesterday. Does his dickishness know no bounds? My lips twitch into a sneer as my eyes narrow and I open my mouth to say a smart ass comment, but instead I snap it shut. He wants to be an asshole? Fine, I’ll make sure he feels like one. I turn back around, ambling into the kitchen, choosing to ignore his stup
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