by Teagan Wilde
“Hungry,” she whispers.
I put my finger to my lips. I don’t want Farren to wake up just yet. She is still recovering from having Axel. Yes, she was allowed to go to the battle with the other pack, but what she didn’t know was that I had no intention of actually letting her fight.
I take Axel out of the bassinet so he doesn’t cry and wake her. Hope is standing in the hallway, and I pull the door closed. I have Axel in one arm, and Hope is holding my other hand. I put the still-sleeping baby into a bed we have downstairs. “Now what do you want for breakfast?”
“Last night?”
I laugh. “No baby, that’s for dinner.” She looks like she is thinking really hard, before she shrugs her shoulders.
“How about you watch some TV and I will make you something?” I open the fridge and take out an Ensure, and I pour it into a cup. Then I help her up onto the couch and turn on some cartoons. She takes the cup and a blanket off the back of the couch, snuggling in. I laugh at her making herself at home. I love that she is getting used to us so fast. Maybe, on the inside, she just knows that she is meant to be ours?
When her beautiful eyes looked at me for the first time, I knew she was going to be our daughter. I don’t even want to think of what she has been without; she hasn’t had a home for so long.
I look at the clock on the wall. The pack members are arriving any minute. We will soon have a few new members, including children. I want a full pack, which is why I am buying more land surrounding our property. I take out some eggs, sausage, and bacon and cut up some fruit for Hope.
I hear a creak on the stairs. “I thought I smelled bacon,” Farren mumbles sleepily.
“Come here and give me some love.” She smiles and presses her lips to mine, fire shooting through my body. This feeling just grows with every touch. My love for her grows every single day; I am enamored with the way she walks, the way she talks, and the way she fucking breathes.
I am hypnotized.
Now I have a son and a daughter; it fucking shocks me how life can change in a split second. One day we only had men in the pack, and then she came; then everything changed.
For the better.
She gave all of us hope.
“I love you, you know that?”
She kisses the underside of my jaw. “I love you too.”
Farren
I went through some of the clothes that Alex brought over last night, and I am surprised to see he also got Hope a couple of toys. She screams with excitement when she sees her new doll. It came with little bottles, and she feeds it, like she has seen me feeding Axel. I text him again, thanking him. I change her into an outfit and put a little bow in her hair. “You look so cute!” She giggles and holds the doll under her arm. We walk back into the living room.
“Oh wow, aren’t my ladies beautiful?” Damon says.
She giggles again; then she climbs up on the couch beside him and I sit next to her. She crosses her little ankles and goes back to watching TV. She is funny, the way she acts like a little lady at her age. She is very smart, and if we encourage her to learn more she will excel.
Damon buries his fingers in my hair, and I close my eyes, enjoying the feel of his nails dragging across my scalp. “They are here,” he whispers to me softly.
Damon gets off the couch, and I look out the window. Vehicles are coming into our territory. I grab a jacket off the coffee table and put it on Hope, and I wrap Axel in a blanket. I find another one for Hope in case she wants it. Damon grabs the diaper bag and picks up Hope.
We head toward the middle of our property, and Brantley meets us in front of our house with his son. “I have this.” He takes out a stroller that will hold both of the babies.
“Oh nice, I forgot I had one!” I laugh and put Axel in beside Aiden. I cover them both up and pull the top down to block the wind.
“How is the princess today?” Brantley touches her small hand.
“Good.”
Damon puts her on the ground. I take her hand, and I know he is going into alpha mode right around now.
She follows me to the field, where the new members are standing, waiting on Damon. “Good morning, everyone!” Damon says. “We will be showing all of you to your new homes. Mated couples follow me, singles follow him.” He points at Maverick.
The older lady from last night walks up to me. She looks at Hope. “She looks amazing, and thank you for allowing us to join your pack.”
“Welcome home.” I touch her shoulder.
She whispers the word home, astonished.
I hear the word mate, and I look around to see one of the guys in our pack staring at a woman. Yes! I watch as they hug each other. “We have another one,” I tell Brantley, thrilled.
The male couple we met last night walks up to Brantley, and Jackson pops out of nowhere and stands by his mate’s side. He gets more protective by the day. I think he is worse than Damon, and that is saying something.
“Hey, I heard you guys are a couple?” one of the guys asks Brantley and Jackson.
“What the fuck about it?” Jackson growls, and I laugh under my breath.
“Chill out man, we are together.”
Jackson relaxes but he doesn’t move from his spot.
“Nice to meet you guys. This is my mate and son.” Brantley points to the stroller.
“Son?” He is confused. “I mean…how?”
Brantley laughs again. “We adopted him.”
The guys look at me. “You allowed that?”
“Why wouldn’t we?”
They have nothing to say to that. Damon shows all the newcomers to their new homes and assigns responsibilities. All packmates have jobs and can work up to something better as they prove themselves.
The hair on the back of my neck stands on end, and I turn around and see the young girl who tried to fight me last night, changing into a wolf. She charges right at me. I hand Hope to Brantley, and I shift into lupine form and meet her head-on. Never fucking attack someone’s back; we allowed her to join our pack and this is what she does?
Elizabeth walks out of her house, and I take a hold of the girl by the back of her neck. She is young and probably confused by everything that is happening.
She wiggles between my jaws. I growl deeply and she stops, and I loosen my grip just slightly. She snaps her head around and nips my chest. I let her go and she takes off into the woods. I follow closely on her ass. I look back to see that Elizabeth is with me, and I slow down so we can run side by side.
We follow the young wolf through the woods. We can’t catch up to her, and she is not even running full speed. What the hell is going on? Then we stop right at the edge of our property. The first thing I notice is the fence is broken, and then I see Ken.
Ken.
Elizabeth presses against my side; she knows who he is.
The girl changes back. She struts up to Ken and wraps her arm around his back. I change back too, sickened at what I am seeing. Ken laughs. “Well, if it isn’t my long-lost mate. Not as pretty as you used to be, sadly, that’s what happens when you have kids.”
Elizabeth changes back to her human form and grabs my hand.
“Now it’s time to stop playing games and come with me,” Ken says, running his hand through the girl’s hair. “This is my sister, and she needs us to take care of her.”
“Ken, I have a mate. The thoughts that are in your head are not real. We are not real. I have two kids and I am an alpha’s mate.”
He puts his hands to his ears. “STOP! STOP! You are mine!” he screams, and birds take off around us at the sudden loud noise.
“Ken, just let me live my life. I can’t be your mate. It would kill me. Your mate died.” I soften my voice at the last part. I can’t imagine losing my mate.
“No.” He laughs out loud and looks at me, grinning. “I killed her. She was not you.”
He is literally psycho. Elizabeth looks at me in pure horror. A man who kills his mate has no shred of humanity. “Run,” I whisp
er to Elizabeth, and we both change back into our shifter forms and flee. I make sure that she is in front of me. I don’t want her to get hurt because of me.
I hear him howl behind me.
I close my eyes and run faster; then I look back. His mouth clamps down on my back leg.
I fall to the ground. Then I change back into my human form and grab his mouth, trying to pry it open. He shakes his head from head side to side, breaking my leg. I scream. Ken drags me back across the grass. I kick at his nose, and my hair is getting stuck in branches and other sharp things on the ground. “Let me go!” I scream. I manage to sit up, and I punch him hard in the nose. Elizabeth comes out of nowhere and bites his neck.
He lets me go, and I change back into my wolf and grab his neck. I look at her from the corner of my eye. I nod and we grab him and hurl him away from us. His head smacks against the side of a tree, knocking him unconscious.
We don’t let him go; both of us drag him by his neck. Hate fills my gut. How dare he try to do this? What gives him the right?
He has brainwashed this thirteen-year-old girl—his own sister—and her life is destroyed. She will never be trusted here. I wouldn’t trust her living among us, especially with kids running around. She tried to attack me in front of everyone, and she led me into a trap. She will be cast out and sent to another pack.
I know she is following Elizabeth and me as we drag Ken, in his wolf form, into the field in the middle of our property. I am ignoring the pain in my leg and my paw and the cut across my back. I bet there are sticks under my skin.
Damon runs out of the house; he looks at us in horror. Elizabeth and I drop Ken on the ground, and I change back into my human form. My leg gives out and I fall to the ground.
“Moon,” Damon whispers.
“Jackson take him, you know where.” Damon doesn’t even look around. He picks me up, cuddling me to his chest, takes me inside the house, and sets me down on a chair. “Baby, what the fuck happened?” he whispers, his voice cracking with emotion.
“The girl that attacked me last night came at me again, but from behind. She got away and ran into the woods, where Ken was waiting for me. He is crazy, crazier than usual, and he thinks that I am his mate. He admitted to killing his mate.” I stop, breathing deeply, and lay my head on his warm chest. I need to feel his protection. I knew I would fight tooth and nail to get away, but the fear is still there. Damon rubs my back. “We ran off and he grabbed my foot. I know it’s in bad shape. Then he dragged me through the woods, and Elizabeth attacked him. I joined in until he was knocked out.”
“I am so fucking sorry, Moon, I was not around.”
I shake my head. “This is not your fault, you were dealing with the shifters and explaining the rules.”
He closes his eyes. “You getting hurt and fighting for your life goes against every part of my being.”
I put my hands on his face. “I know, love, but don’t beat yourself up over this. The important part is it’s over.”
He looks at me. “Yes, it will be.” He runs his hands down my legs, stopping at my feet. “Fuck, Moon, this looks bad.” He touches the tips of my toes and I wince. “I will tell Elizabeth to come and check you out. I need to take care of this once and for all.”
“Okay, baby, be safe.”
He kisses me on the lips, and he takes a shirt off the back of the couch and pulls it down over my head. I use the blanket to cover my bottom half. I need to clean all of these wounds. He walks out the door, furious.
A minute later the door opens, and in comes Brantley with his stroller, followed by Hope and Elizabeth. Hope looks at my foot. “Ouchie.” Her bottom lip trembles with tears.
“It’s okay, baby, I just fell.” I open my arms and she comes to me, and I lift her up on the couch.
Brantley takes Axel out of the stroller and puts him on my other side. I feel much better just holding them. I hope to God that they never have to experience one ounce of violence in their lives, but I know that this is our way of life. Violence is part of being a shifter; we settle our shit with fights. I will shield them from everything I can.
Elizabeth sits down on the coffee table. “How are you holding up?” I ask her.
She looks up at me. “I am fine, I just hate that fucker.”
I laugh. That is the first time I have ever heard her cuss. “I feel the same.”
Brantley cracks a smile and sits down on the couch beside Hope, and Elizabeth pokes and prods my foot. “It’s bad, that is for sure, but you will heal normally. I will give you some medicine to help with the pain, but stay off of this foot.”
“Trust me, it’s too painful to get up,” I tell her with a laugh. My foot is not pretty to look at either but, as a shifter, I will heal in a week or so.
“I will come over tomorrow and spend the day when Damon is out,” Brantley offers. He is literally the best friend I could ask for. And Elizabeth didn’t leave me—she fought with me.
“Thank you guys for being such good friends.” My nose is stinging. “I love you guys.”
“Oh girl, I love you too!” Brantley hugs me with one arm.
“You guys are my family.” Tears fall down my face, and I wipe them away with the back of my hand. “I am a mess.”
“A beautiful one,” Brantley pipes in. I laugh out loud and Elizabeth joins me.
Damon
At the back of the property is a place only a few know about. I am there with Maverick, Lucas, Silas, Brandon, Randall, and Jackson. These are the closest men to me in the pack. When I arrived, Ken was already hanging from a tree with his arms above his head. I look at the stupid fucker, who is just hanging there, limp. I walk over, anger building with every single step. When I reach him, he looks at me, smiling. “Well, we finally meet.” He chuckles. “It seems we have something in common.”
Growls are all around me. “We have fucking nothing in common.” I grab his face, squeezing as hard as I can until I hear the pop of a bone breaking.
“Why don’t you let me go and I will just leave?” he says. Like I am just going to fucking let him go?
I throw my head back laughing, “Did you hear what he just said?”
Ken’s smile falls. I guess it never occurred to him that this would be his last few minutes.
“You are going to die. I would watch what I say—that might determine how painful it is.”
“She is just a stupid bitch, why so much fuss?”
I grab his throat. “YOU HURT MY MATE.”
His eyes close, and I unleash all of my alpha power. He looks deflated as all the fight goes out of him.
“What are you going to do with me?”
“I think an old tradition will do the trick.” I leave it at that.
I back away, taking off my shirt, and my beta and dominates join in. Ken realizes what is about to happen. “Wait, you can’t do this.”
I smile. “But I will.”
I change into my shifter form. They gather at my back and I stomp my foot, then we run as one. We all bite and pull. We tear him apart. I jump, grab his throat, and tear it open. Dead.
He will never hurt my Moon again; he will never speak to her again. He will never again haunt her fucking dreams.
No more, he is dead.
I change back into my human form and stare at the pieces of what’s left of Ken. He did not deserve to be alive. He was a nuisance to society, and this world will be a fucking better place without him.
“Word of how he died does not leave here.”
They all nod. “He needed to die, he could have gone after any of our women,” Randall says.
Lucas and Silas stay behind to get rid of the body. I want to go home to my family. I put my clothes back on and run home.
I stand on the porch, looking through the window. She is asleep on the couch, holding our son and daughter. She is beautiful, on the outside and all the way to her soul. She is an angel here on Earth.
She is loving and fearless, and she is all mine.
I pus
h open the door, and Brantley gets up off the other end of the couch. He picks up Aiden. “Do you need my help?”
I shake my head. “Go on home. Jackson should be getting back.”
Brantley walks out the door, shutting it quietly behind him. I pick up Hope and place her in her new bed, which arrived earlier today. I tuck her in for her nap. Then I walk back down and bring Axel upstairs to his bed.
She is still asleep when I get back downstairs. I push her hair out of her face. Her eyes open. “Hey, baby,” she says. My fucking heart skips a beat at those words. She turns me into a pussy in a split second.
“Come on, Moon, let me get you bathed.” I pick her up, and her legs go around my waist. I carry her into the bathroom and set her on the counter while I get her clothes and turn on the water.
“How did everything go?”
“He is dead and will never bother you again.”
Her whole body relaxes. “Thank you, Pha.”
I kiss her forehead, breathing in her scent. She brings comfort to me too. She gives me the strength to be the alpha I need to be, and she is my home. My life truly did not begin until she came into it.
I lift her off the counter, and I step into the shower with her. The water hits the top of her hair, and she throws her head back and lets it wash over her face.
She is too fucking sexy.
Farren
His fingers move through my folds and I hiss, my body turning to fire in a split second. “You need me?” he asks, and I bite my lip and nod. He finishes rinsing me off; then he steps out of the shower and sets me down on the counter. He winks as he hits his knees in front of me.
There is nothing hotter than seeing him on his knees, grabbing my thighs. He slides me to the edge of the counter, and I close my eyes at the first lick. “How I have missed this,” I say out loud without an ounce of shame.
He chuckles and pulls me harder against him. I throw my head back, letting my back rest against the mirror, and just hang on for the ride.
“Come for me, Moon,” he growls, nipping my clit gently.
I come apart, my whole body shaking. My arms give out and I lean back even further. I’m in the most uncomfortable position, but I can’t bring myself to care. He laughs at the sight of me, picks me up, and pulls a shirt over my head. He grabs a pair of sweats and helps me put them on.
