Benji’s POVOnce Ashley and I have the beakers and equipment set up and the flames lit, we get to work. Smashing the petals, we add them to the bubbling solution to one of the clear glass beakers. The Dragon desire emanates a soft Firey glow as the petals heat to the desired temperature. The purple flowers bleed their color into the solution, changing the clear liquid to a deep purple.I discuss the changes while Ashley takes down notes and runs the calculating math equations on paper. The lab is slowly being permeated with the strong smell of floral. The same floral scent from earlier in the dining hall.“I think this is what caused Bennet and Gray to go a little lustful towards Hazel.” I have to admit, the floral smell is causing me to feel horny and stoned at the same time which is a weird sensation.Ashley fans herself, her cheeks are pink and her breathing is a bit labored. “I know what you mean. I am going to open a couple of windows to get the smell out. It’s doing funny things
Conrad’s POVAfter Bennet told me he would talk Benjamina into coming to breakfast after our first encounter at the lab, I returned to my office to go over paperwork and meet with my Alpha Squad. As hard as I tried, my mind wasn’t processing the words on the papers I was supposed to be reviewing. Benjamina’s stunning face continuously invaded my thoughts. She looked so frightened and I caused it. I knew she wasn’t scared of me personally, but of the mate bond with me.I was her second chance mate. It made me wonder what happened to her first mate. Did he reject her? That made me growl in anger. She was too perfect to be rejected. I wanted to look into it, find him and destroy him until he was nothing but ground meat for the buzzards to feed off of! I know all too well the pain of rejection because she was my second chance mate as well.I met Rebecca on her 18th birthday. I had gone to her birthday celebration as a representative from the leaders of the northeastern territory. When I w
Conrad’s POVA knock at the door breaks me from my memories of the past. Being stuck in those memories always brings anger and rage, so I was thankful for the sudden disruption. Sean, Shamus and Canice walk in for the final meeting of the night.Shamus plops himself down on the couch, sprawling out his large body with his hands behind his head. Sean takes a seat on one of the chairs in front of my desk, and Canice stands close to the door in a warrior stance with his hands behind his back. Their usual positions. I think about the evening’s events with the mix-up about Bennet being my mate and also finding my true second chance mate. Was I in the mood for their teasing? Definitely not right now. Knowing my men, they would enjoy my stupidity for years to come. I was thankful we ended up focusing our meeting on the territories’ finances, warrior training schedules and the list of things we had planned on working on the rest of the week.I lay awake most of the night thinking about what c
Conrad’s POVThe last 48 hours have been a cluster fuck of everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong. My breakfast with Benjamina ended before it even started. Hazel refuses to give me space, so I had to alpha command her to stay home and not come to work or the packhouse for the next five days. I ended up getting into a vocal confrontation with Bennet and that Gray guy over Hazel, so I wasn’t able to go after Benjamina to explain what was happening with Hazel. But what could I say to explain? I don’t even know what happened.In addition, I wasn’t able to take my twins to dinner like I promised because there was an emergency at the high school. Two werewolves went feral and attacked a bunch of people, so I had one of the Omegas get them a quick dinner which ended up being Mcdonalds. Falon spent part of the night throwing up from it. The warriors and I were up all night trying to find the two feral wolves because they had disappeared into the forest.Now I am standing In front of
Benji’s POV“That bitch! That skanky, cheaper than a two-dollar whore, bitch!” Bennet was seething. His face was scrunched up, ready to explode as he reviewed the results of the exam Gray had just printed out. “I am going to rip her to shreds! I will pull out her fake ass extensions and bitch slap her with them til next Tuesday… NO Next Friday!!”Ashley leans closer to me, her eyes filled with concern. “Is he normally a violent person? Because I don’t want my books being hurt.”I pressed my lips together to stifle a laugh. I knew Bennet, he was more words then actions. I also have been at the other end of those words before so I know he is capable of doing some damage when he is upset. I shook my head hoping that would ease some of her worries. She seemed to relax some, but did take a few steps back from being in the vicinity of Bennet’s rampage.“Are we sure these results are accurate? I mean computers are as reliable as the ice cream maker at McDonald’s at times.” Bennet says still
Conrad’s POV“I think I need my alpha squad for this tale…” I say to the most beautiful woman in front of me. I can tell she is irritated with what I said about Hazel being treated poorly in her old pack. When she first arrived here with her parents, Hazel use to wake up crying and rush to me in the middle of the night when she had nightmares about how she was treated at Crystal Lake. I used to console her and that’s how we started dating. Come to think of it, she hasn’t had nightmares in a while. Could it all been a rue to get my attention? I mind-link my men to come to the laboratory.“Bennet texted asking if you or your squad want any coffee.” Benji asks, looking down at her phone. Her caramel color blonde hair covers part of her face and I don’t like it. I reach out and tuck a few of the loose strands behind her ear just behind the rim of her glasses. “Do you always wear glasses?” I ask, keeping my eyes fixated on the perfect curves of her cheeks and lips.She blushes and bites
Benji’s POV“Ok, OK, Mr. Comedian. Thank you for the comical relief.” I roll my eyes but can’t stop the smile on my face. For the first time in a long time, my smile reaches my eyes and it’s a genuine smile. I look at Conrad and he is staring back at me with such intense eyes that my knees want to buckle. There’s a hint of a smirk on his beautiful kissable lips. Dammit, I wish he would stop looking at me because I feel a dramatic swoon coming on. Thankfully I am already holding on to the side of the lab table.Delta Canice takes the small vile from my hand and looks at it curiously. “So, you think Hazel is spelling Conrad with this? Why? How do you even know that damn woman?”I take a deep breath; we are at the point that the situation can go two different ways. They could believe me or they could think I am lying and send me to the jails. Not sure how this pack works, but we are about to find out.“Yes, I do. And to answer your second question, Hazel and I went to school together. Sh
Conrad’s POV“Go back to my office, now!” I let my Alpha aura surround everyone, except Benji. I am furious with Sean. How could my Beta speak like that, especially with HIS mate in the room. I always tried to understand his hatred towards State wolves extended deeply because of the way his father abandoned his mother with two young pups, but his accusations crossed the line today.Sean turned on his heel and stormed out like a whirlwind of fury. Thankfully all the doors in the hospital are on hydraulics so he couldn’t slam it behind him or he would have been in real trouble. The door closed with a soft swoosh, very melodramatic if you ask me. After a few seconds, Shamus and Canice bowed their heads towards Benji and filed out. I turned back to Benji to see her looking down at the floor deep in thought. I hope she didn’t think I felt the way Sean did about state wolves. “I… I’m sorry… for his actions. He’s got some deep-rooted family drama towards state wolves.”She nods her head, b
Benji’s POVI was sitting in the passenger seat of the Black Jeep Wrangler watching the sun set in the distance. The trees lining the abandon dirt road swayed quietly in the evening breeze. The car was parked about twenty miles outside of the border of Conrad’s pack waiting for the rest of the expedition group to arrive. This was all part of the plan to keep our trip to the mountains a secret. Conrad and Sean were still at the pack preparing the lie that they were taking the twins camping for a few days to get away. Ashley used the excuse she planned on returning to the states for a while to visit her family. Honestly, I was surprised no one questioned so many people leaving at the same time. I would have been curious. I let out a deep sigh. As calm as the outside world is, my mind and heart are wildly fighting against each other.I had been avoiding Conrad since I told him the truth about not being able to shift. I just couldn’t face him. I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but he hasn’
Conrad’s POVThe soft click of the door was louder than any noise I have ever heard. Everything went still. What did I just do? She said she couldn’t shift and my brain stalled. I wasn’t expecting her to say something like that. She is such a strong person, I was completely caught off guard about it.‘STOP THINKING YOU IDIOT! AND GO AFTER OUR MATE!’ Titus growls at me. ‘Does it really bother you that much that she can’t shift?’Does it bother me? No… but it does make her more vulnerable during our expedition through the mountains to find the moon root. Should I make her stay so she doesn’t get hurt? Should I take more warriors with us? Should we see if there’s a way around through a different route from the one we plan so we can take vehicles?‘You don’t even realize what you did. You hesitated with your response to her.’ My wolf, Titus, growled. His hackles up, his fur brisling. The rage coming off of him was overwhelming. I had never seen him so pissed, not even when our first mate
Benji’s POVI stood at the end of my bed, looking over all the items that I planned on taking with me on the expedition. A few neatly folded leggings and tops, hiking boots, rain jacket, what else? UGH! My mind was not focusing on packing right now. It was on my wolf, Dahlia. I closed my eyes, seeing her snooze deep in the concaves of my mind. Somewhere along this trip, we were going to have to shift into our wolves. I haven’t shifted in years, not since before my first mate, Gregory, passed away. For over 5 years Dehlia was dormant, I couldn’t reach her to heal a papercut. I was practically human. Heck I’m practically still human since I don’t know if I can shift.The expedition plan was to leave in two days at night under the false blanket that Conrad needed a break and wanted to take his kids camping for a couple of days. Sean would go as protection detail. Since I wasn’t part of the pack, it was easy to say I was closed off in my lab, not wanting to be bothered.“Where would the k
Third Person Conversation “What do you mean, you think they are planning something?” A deep male voice barked on the other end of the phone. Hazel scanned the hidden hallway one more time to make sure no one was coming down in her direction. Her conversation with Alpha Nathaniel didn’t need to be overheard by eavesdroppers.“I don’t know! After you had the rogues attack and destroy the medicine and water convoy, they went into the conference room and have barely come out in days. They only come out of the room to check on the sick patients.” Hazel was glad her information about the route the convoy was helpful to Nathaniel. It was just another step towards her becoming the Luna of the Northeastern Territory with Nathanial as her Alpha. She could already count the dollar signs in her future. She was tired of working and not living the lifestyle she deserved. “A few hours ago, everyone but Conrad and that Bitch Doctor came out. They looked like they were done. The human was talking abo
Benji’s POV“I’m sorry, what?” Conrad asks. We both stared down at the twins with unsure expressions on our faces.“Orion Mountain.” Falon rolled her eyes, giving us a ‘duh’ expression. “Didn’t you two go to elementary school?” She signed smoothly with her hands. Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. My superior intelligence and my title of Sherlock was being challenged by a pre-teen little girl.Finnley tapped his sister on the shoulder and signed to let him explain. She gave an overly dramatic bow and stepped away from the table. She plopped herself down in one of the chairs, spinning it around and around to entertain herself while waiting for something to magically happen. I am assuming for the light bulbs to flash on over Conrad and my heads. There was a lot of eye rolling going on and no explanations being explained! Even Finnley rolled his eyes at his sister’s sassy demeanor.“Where’s Orion Mountain?” I asked while looking over at the large map that is spread over the conference t
Benji’s POV“No, I am telling you! I bet you the root is at Raytale Peak!”“Can’t be, that’s a popular destination spot for tourists, wouldn’t someone have noticed some magical glowing flowers by now?”“But what about this part here? This doesn’t make sense, how can rock be burning?”“Time isn’t a thing to touch! And Who is the mother and father then huh?”We have been going through the book’s passages and maps for several days now and have come up with nothing substantial to work with. Each time we think we have found a potential location for the flowers, someone would contradict it. Tempers were running high, fatigue was settling in and braincells were running low.My team hasn’t been much help since we aren’t from the North, nor do we grow up with the folktales like Conrad and his squad did. Ashley and Gray have been more involved then either Bennet or me. I guess research and technology are key at this point. I try to add my own ideas, but they haven’t been very useful.“Timeout!
Conrad's POV “A Cure?” I say in disbelief. Ashley, Bennet and Benji all look at each other. Their eyes seem to be having a silent conversation that only smart people would understand. After a few minutes, they look back at me, nodding their heads in unison.“I think this story holds the key to curing the sick wolves.” Ashley says, her eyes filled with so much determination its hard to look away. I glance at Benji, she is looking at Ashley with such pride and adoration for her. Benji’s faith in her teammates is overwhelming.Sean picks up the book, flipping through the pages with a scowl on his face. “I know this ratty old book. It used to be my great aunt’s before she gave it to mom. Doc always loved this book, but I always thought it was boring. I think it was the reason he went into medicine. My mother use to read the stories to us as kids to help us fall asleep. Babe, where did you find this book?”Ashley pouts his lips at him and shrugs. “Doctor Lancon gave it to me after the lab
Benji’s POV“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU DON’T KNOW HOW IT HAPPENED?” Conrad yells through his phone in the far corner of the conference room. “YOU WERE IN CHARGE OF THE MISSION! GET ME ANSWERS AND GET ME ANSWERS YESTERDAY!!”“Alpha King Mars, I understand you are unhappy with the situation, we all are, but I can… Yes… I… As head of the security on Sherlock’s team and your friend, yelling at me isn’t going to help… UGH! Just put your wife on the phone… Yes, I know you are the king, but she is easier to talk to then you…” Artemis walks passed me without looking at me. One phone in her hand while she talks on another. She leans over Nathan’s shoulder to look at the computer screen he is pointing at. She nods her head and continues pacing while talking to Alpha Mars.“You can’t just make more? Why Not? How much time does it take?” Bennet says walking by me next. He listens to whoever is on the other end with a scowl. “I am a doctor not a pharmaceutical Guro, how am I supposed to know…” He rubs
Conrad’s POV I have come to realize I can’t go back to how things were now that I have my second chance mate. After dinner with Benji, we went to pick up Falon and Finnley from their school’s bingo event. Everything I had ever desired for my life clicked into place watching Benji with my kids. Sitting in a red and white booth at the small 50s diner, surrounded by the vintage deco, I found my life. Benji animatedly talking to my pups as they scan the dessert menu. She sings along with the jukebox while using sign language so Falon can enjoy the music as well. Finnley comes out of his quiet introvert self to sing along to “Rock around the clock” and for once there is a smile on his face. Benji’s presence in our lives is glueing back the pieces of what was once broken. ‘I doubt she even knows what she is doing to us.’ My wolf, Titus, purrs in my head as he watches through our eyes. ‘I wish I could talk to her wolf. She is weak, but I can feel her and sense her. I can sometimes hear her