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TALIA The next morning, after Alex called a tow truck and secured a car rental, we loaded my few possessions into the back of the temporary vehicle. After he shut the trunk, he pulled me against him, staring into my eyes. “It feels too good to be true.” He smiled widely, his whole face glowing. He kissed me deeply and we got into the car, stopping at the packhouse to say goodbye to Blake and Jasmine. “If you need someone to walk you down the aisle at your wedding, just give me a buzz.” Blake hugged me. “And I hope you’re still planning to come to mine!” “I’ll be there,” I replied, hugging him back. Even though we hadn’t known each other long, I could feel that we had developed a close, familial relationship, and I hoped we’d be able to sustain it from a distance. “I’m so glad things worked out with your mate,” Jasmine said. “Stay in touch.” “I will. We’re friends, right?” “Right.” She gave me a huge smile, and I felt a warmth in the knowledge that I was finally making friends and
ALEXANDER It constantly felt like one step forward and two steps back. Okay, maybe it had improved. Previously it was about one step forward, ten steps back. Now it was just a shuffle, back and forth, back and forth. Talia and I had made progress as a couple; we seemed to be back on track. Until, of course, my sister had rained on our parade. And I was stumped. As much as I wanted Sara gone now, and I didn’t care if I ever looked at her face again, I also knew she was right. My mother was very fragile at the moment. One step in the wrong direction and I wasn’t sure she’d survive. Finding out about my mate had already edged her in that direction. “Alex!” my mom called out as soon as I entered her bedroom. I mindlinked the nurses to ask for privacy and closed the door as soon as they walked out. “Mom, how are you?” I sat down at her bedside, taking her hand and kissing her on the forehead. “Where have you been, honey?” she asked, searching my face. “I’ve been asking Sara and the nu
JASMINE It wasn’t long before word got around about what happened to Charlie. Additionally, his two friends that were involved were discharged from being warriors and given jail sentences, now stuck in the cells for the foreseeable future. Sam went from being a sub to a permanent trainer for our group. For strength training that day, Sam set up a circuit for us inside the gym. He went around and paired us off in partners for the different stations. I was, unfortunately, paired with Tina, who was not my favorite person. She’d been a year above me in high school, friends with Alyssa, and was never particularly nice to me. Fortunately, she wasn’t in a talking mood that day. I got through deadlifts, overhead presses, and walking lunges just fine. Then when we got to the plank station where we had to hold a plank for five minutes straight, Sam came by. “Nice form, Dale.” He nodded at me. Then he looked over at Tina and said, “Butt down, Mitchell.” “Are you sucking his cock too, PJ?” Ti
JASMINE After training ended for the day, while exiting the locker room, I spotted Blake with some other guys doing dumbbell exercises. As soon as our eyes locked, he put his weights down and ran over to me. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on my cheek. It felt so good to be in his arms. “I’ve missed you, Miss Alpha,” he whispered into my ear. “It’s only been a couple days,” I replied. “A couple days too long. How long until you finally move into the packhouse?” “Blake, I’ve been thinking,” I started. “What about?” He stared into my eyes with his piercing blue ones. “Maybe we should talk about it later,” I said, looking around at how many people were in the gym now. “You’ve got office duty tomorrow, right?” He smiled at me. “We can talk then. Although I hope you’re planning to do more than talk.” He gave me a mischievous smile. “Let me walk you to your car now. And I won’t stop you if you try to seduce me into the back seat. Although, it might be a bit cramped in you
TALIA Alex was quiet throughout our meal, giving me sad glances as we ate. I could sense his anxiety—it overwhelmed me. I knew whatever he discovered was not good. I almost wondered if I even wanted to know. It was difficult to learn so much about my mother that she’d hidden from me all these years. I not only had to accept that there was so much I never knew about her but also address my grief at the same time. I couldn’t even enjoy the food that came out. I was just eating for the sake of eating. When we stepped out into the cold air after our meal, Alex took my hand and looked down at me, giving me a heartbreaking look, only made more intense by the emotion being emitted from him. “Talia, I want to say I’m very sorry again for all of the pain and suffering my family has caused you and your mom. I honestly had no idea how evil my father was. I mean, he’d always been tough on me growing up, but there were a lot of things he did that I never knew about. And learning about them now, I
TALIA I opened my eyes to a brunette woman standing over us. I gasped and Alex got up off me. “Fuck! Goddess! Mom!” he yelled, grabbing the blanket and throwing it over me, keeping a piece to cover himself with. “I’m safe to assume that’s your mate?” the woman asked. “Fucking Artemis. Of course this would be how my mate gets introduced to my mom.” He chuckled to himself. Then he looked up at the woman and asked, “How long have you been standing there?” “What, you think I just stood here and watched?” “Dear Goddess, I hope not. Do you mind turning around so we can get dressed at least?” “I’ll be in my room.” She walked out, and we listened to her footsteps as she ascended the stairs. “Okay, that was maybe slightly less embarrassing than the time my mom walked in on me rubbing one out when I was a teenager.” Alex laughed. “Anyway, as awkward as that was, I should probably properly introduce you, with your clothes on.” He shook his head and got up, reaching for his clothes. I quic
TALIA A few days after Alex moved me into his house, the two of us went for a walk in the forest. The day was marginally warmer than it had been, now slightly above freezing. We bundled up so that Alex could bring me to where he normally sketched when it was warmer out. Our feet crunched in the snow that was slowly melting from the warmer climate. We made it out to a clearing in the forest with a river running through it, a large tree trunk had fallen over it like a bridge. “I sometimes sit on that trunk and put my feet in the water during the summer. And sometimes I sit on this rock over here.” He took my hands and brought me over to a large rock that was beside the water. “It’s so peaceful out here. I can just forget about my responsibilities for a few hours.” “Is it hard being the alpha?” I asked. “It’s definitely not easy.” He stared into my eyes. “Ultimately, I’m accountable for the pack—from the income that’s generated by the dairy plant to the safety of all the pack members.
TALIA “No!” I cried. “We have to find your fingers! She spit them out!” “The water is freezing, and they’ve probably been taken downstream by now. Sara’s the only werewolf I know who can swim long distances in freezing water—long enough to find fingers in a huge river. And the water will have carried away the scent anyway.” He looked defeated, tears brimming his eyes. “I will find them,” I said resolutely. “No, you’re injured!” He reached for me. Before he could stop me, I shifted back into my wolf form and dove into the river, ignoring all the pain on my face and body—adrenaline giving me strength to persist. It wasn’t too bad at first. My inner layer of fur kept the water from reaching my skin. With enthusiasm, I searched the bottom of the river, weaving back and forth against the ground, coming up for air as needed. It wasn’t long before I found one of the fingers stopped by a rock. I quickly grabbed it and brought it to the surface, leaving it at the side of the river, only to