CH 1-10

Summary

She’s always been the odd one out, but she never let her differences break her…she used them to become stronger. With misunderstandings, unplanned circumstances and a bond that fate won’t let her ignore, Kaylee has faced many challenges…but none of them ever prepared her for Kade.

Chapter 1

Kaylee

All great stories are made great because they contain great characters who face great conflict. I often find myself wondering if that’s what my story is meant to be. I’ve got the conflict part down, but I don’t see myself as some heroine in some epic tale, but who knows…maybe I’m just the supporting character in someone else’s great story.

Oh heavens, where are my manners? Hi, my name is Kaylee Oshay and I’m the youngest child of Mickey and Lira Oshay. Now, my family comes from a long line of betas and as such, we’re known to be strong, loyal and proud…but that’s not me…not entirely. I mean, I’m loyal to my pack and my family, but I’m much smaller than most in our pack in human form and my wolf is…different, so most question my strength and while I’m proud of my wolf, it’s a quiet pride, the kind that doesn’t require boasting or bragging.

I’ve been looked down on by the other members of our pack for the entire seventeen years of my life, but tomorrow is a new day, the day I turn eighteen. Trust me, every unmated male wolf in the pack is terrified of me coming of age because not a damn one wants to be stuck with the beta’s runt daughter as their mate, but I’ll let you in on a little secret…I don’t want to be mated to any of them either.

The only reason that tomorrow holds such great significance to me is because tomorrow is when I graduate from my fighter training, something all the other trainees thought would never happen. Sure, I may be small, nearly six inches smaller than the average she-wolves in our pack, but I’m fast, my senses seem to be more heightened than the other wolves here and my tracking skills are unmatched by anyone in our pack, aside from my father, not even our alpha can match me when it comes to tracking.

Oh yes, a little more about my wolf who fits in here about as well as I do, she came to me early…as in four years early. In the shifter world, most wolves shift for the first time at eighteen unless they’re of alpha blood, then they’ll generally shift at sixteen unless forced to shift sooner which only happens when the current alpha dies. My wolf, Kira, began connecting with me at the age of ten, though my family thought I simply had an imaginary friend, and then we shifted for the first time at fourteen. With this being something completely unheard of for our kind, my parents decided it was best to keep it under wraps.

If her early arrival wasn’t enough to make her different, well, her appearance surely would be. The wolves from our pack are all a rusty red and brown, but not Kira. My special girl is what my dad said is a chimera. The entire left side of her body is solid black with her left eye being a pale blue and the entire right side is the same fiery red as my hair in human form with her right eye being a silverish grey.

Usually a wolf’s eyes are golden, but with Kira, our eyes are the same in human and wolf form, but rather than my wolf’s eye color bleeding into mine when she’s close to the surface, my eyes simply emit a soft glow. While my dad says the other pack members may not react well to how different she is, I think she’s perfect. I guess it helps that the pack doesn’t really react well to how different I am either, so I’m used to not fitting in.

So, a few basics about me, I’m only five foot five, my body is curvier than most of the she-wolves here, my hair is a fiery red instead of the rusty auburn and strawberry blonde shades of my packmates, my eyes, the two tone eyes that aren’t green or hazel like my packmates, actually match Kira’s which, as you guessed it, isn’t ‘normal’.

Something far more important than my looks, is my plans for after I graduate from fighter training. I truly am hoping I don’t find my mate tomorrow because what I really want to do is travel to my aunt’s pack in the United States and my dad agreed that if I don’t find my mate by the end of the graduation ceremony tomorrow, he’ll have me flown out the following morning.

So, I’ve officially made it to my graduation ceremony and as of right now, I haven’t found my mate! As you could imagine, I’m pretty stoked! My mom and grandma spent the last three hours styling my hair that currently sits at my hips when it’s curled, doing my make up that I’m glad they kept more on the natural side, giving me the full mani/pedi experience and helping me to get dressed. Now we’re piling into my dad’s SUV and heading to the grand hall at the packhouse for the ceremony, but don’t worry, I already have my bags packed and ready to go for tomorrow!

“So, Kaylee, are you excited? You might meet your mate tonight! There are members of other packs here to support their family members and friends who are graduating the program, so who knows, one of them could be your mate!” My mom, goddess bless her heart, is far too hopeful, but I know it’s partly due to her not wanting me to move so far away.

“Truthfully, not really. I know you’re worried about me leaving tomorrow mom, but I’m honestly really excited to travel and see new places. You know I’m not looking for a mate here. No one here treats me with respect and I’m tired of being treated like an outcast in my own pack. At least if the wolves in Aunt Linny’s pack treat me like one, they’d be right.” She gives me a sympathetic look, the same one she always gives me. She knows how poorly I’m treated by the members of our pack.

“Well, we’re here. I guess we’ll see what happens.” My dad, the saint he is, sounds as unhappy about the idea of me finding a mate here as I am. We all climb out of the car and make our way to the front of the packhouse, waiting with the crowds of people that are slowly making their way inside. It takes almost fifteen minutes to get in and make it to our seats, but before I can even sit down, a scent slams into me like a brick wall…citrus and pine. I release a groan of pure agitation as my eyes scan the room, automatically seeking out the source of the scent until my eyes land on an unfamiliar pair of green eyes, but they aren’t looking at me in a way you would expect your mate to look at you…though I doubt I’m giving him a loving look either.

“Oh, heavens! You found him!” I shoot my mom a stern glare then look back to where the man was only to find that he’s no longer there. I shake off my wolf’s whimpering and force myself to sit down, but my mom can’t just leave things alone.

“So? Where is he?!” I can’t tell if I’m feeling embarrassed or irritated by his vanishing act at this point.

“I don’t know, okay? One second, he was there and the next, he vanished. Just forget about it. Clearly, he decided he’d rather run away than have me as a mate and besides, they’re getting ready to start.” She must see something in my expression that warns her away from continuing because she gives me a stiff nod and shuts her mouth.

Within ten minutes of the end of our conversation, the alpha is standing on the raised stage, giving a speech about pride, honor and loyalty then another ten minutes pass before they start calling names to the stage. Something I didn’t mention to my parents, or to anyone really, is that Alpha Finn spoke with me yesterday to let me know I was officially graduating at the head of the class…something they all are going to find out right…now…

“It’s my absolute pleasure to announce our top fighter for this class. This is a wolf who’s shown integrity, strength, honor, loyalty, kindness and above all, skill…Kaylee Oshay!” I stand up and make my way to the stage, unable to stop myself from returning the warm smile that Finn is flashing my way. He hands me the certificate with his left hand and shakes my hand with his right, but I get distracted by those damn green eyes again. This time I actually take a good look at the man they’re attached to and, of course, he has to be devastatingly handsome…well…aside from his scowl that’s firmly etched across his face.

“Thank you, Alpha Finn, for all your hard work and dedication to our training. Without your guidance, I wouldn’t be half the fighter I am today.” I give a respectful bow then make my way off the stage. Rather than return to my seat, I make my way to the door and head straight out of the packhouse and head for the dirt road that will lead me home.

I knew I didn’t want to find a mate today, but I didn’t realize until now that part of the reason was that I feared being rejected by my mate…and rightfully so it would seem. Well, screw that and screw him. He was obviously unhappy with finding out I’m his mate, so the way I see it, my plans aren’t going to change. Tomorrow, I head to the United States to join my aunt’s pack in Oregon and my mate can return to wherever the hell he came from.

I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to sleep while your wolf is whining, whimpering and longing for your mate who doesn’t even want you, but if you haven’t, let me tell you…it sucks…ten out of ten wouldn’t recommend this shit storm to anyone. I slept for an hour…and not even all at once either! I finally gave up around four this morning and decided to do a final walk through to make sure I have everything I need then down a cup of coffee…or five. My dad is finally up just before seven and after a round of teary goodbyes, and a round of arguing with my mom who insists I need to figure out who my mate is and find him, we’re finally heading to the airport.

“Alpha Finn is sending you on the pack’s jet, but he said there’ll be four other passengers with you. I want you to text me before takeoff and then I expect a call when you land. This is a chance for a fresh start, princess. Don’t take it for granted. Goddess, we’re going to miss you so much.” My dad has never been a sentimental man and I used to think he might actually be allergic to emotions, but I certainly don’t miss the glistening in his eyes or the heavy emotion in his tone right now.

“I’m going to miss you guys too, daddy, but I need to do this. If I were to stay here, I feel like I would suffocate.” He reaches across the center console and grabs my hand, giving it a firm squeeze.

“I know, sweetheart. I always knew you were meant for more than our little world here. I hope you find what you’re looking for, Kaylee, I really do.” Just as he gives me a final squeeze, he turns onto the road to the airstrip at the edge of our pack lands.

It takes ten minutes to get my luggage loaded, everything but my laptop case because there’s no way in hell that isn’t coming on the jet with me, and after a very painful goodbye, I make my way to the pack’s jet and start climbing the metal stairs. You know how fate can sometimes be a complete bitch? Well, she’s definitely being one right now, a total twat waffle in fact. The second I reach the middle of the staircase, I pick up on the unmistakable scent of citrus and pine. Well, looks like this is going to be a long, tense flight!

“Hello, Ms. Oshay! My name is Maura and I’ll be the flight attendant taking care of you and the other passengers on this flight. Is there anything I can get you before we take off?” This she-wolf is just like the wolves in my pack where looks are concerned, tall, lean and pretty much perfect, but the difference is…she’s not looking at me like I’m some social leper.

“It’s very nice to meet you. Could I possibly get a bottle of water for now and once we’ve taken off, a cup of coffee would be great.” Her smile never falters and she even gives a slight bow of her head.

“Of course! I’ll get that for you right away! Please, find an empty seat and make yourself comfortable.” I move past her, readjust the strap to my laptop case and move into the seating area where I easily spot the current source of my misery…my mate. He’s sitting in the back on the left with two other males while a female sits across from them with her eyes glued to her phone. I settle into one of the seats in the front that has a table in front of it and get my laptop set up before pulling out my phone to text my dad.

Me: Hey, I’m settled into my seat and ready for takeoff. I’ll call when I land. I love you guys!

I have no issue connecting to the plane’s wifi and decide to first send an email to my aunt to let her know we’re leaving and then email Finn to thank him for flying me out on the pack’s jet instead of making me use the crowded and unpleasant human flight services. I jump right into browsing through the email my aunt sent me last night with the information for her pack’s fight training schedule, patrol signups and the guard signup requirements the second I’ve fastened my belt. It’s clear that the Lone Ridge Pack is more structured and has stricter training than my pack which I’m definitely looking forward to.

“Here you go, Ms. Oshay.” Maura sets a bottle of water on the table, her bright smile still present.

“Please, call me Kaylee and thank you so much, Maura.” I can tell by the way her smile widens that she’s not used to people being so polite and informal with her.

“You’re very welcome, Kaylee. I’ll bring your coffee out as soon as we reach cruising altitude.” I thank her before returning my attention to my laptop screen. Even with my wolf’s incessant whining, whimpering and pacing, I manage to skim through everything…even with half my senses being drawn to that damn scent.

We’re eleven hours into our flight, having already stopped to refuel two hours ago, and Maura has made sure my coffee cup stays topped off and I’ve spent most of the trip viewing the pack layout and patrol routes for Lone Ridge, marking places where the patrol route isn’t properly covering and weak points in their patrols…it’s kind of a hobby of mine I guess. This is something I did with Alpha Finn regularly, though I’m not harboring any expectations for the Lone Ridge alpha to be so open to suggestions, especially not those of a newcomer who barely turned eighteen.

Chapter 2

Kaylee

The plane begins its descent at two in the afternoon, so I quickly pack up my laptop and tidy up my four empty water bottles then neatly set the empty coffee mug beside them. As soon as we land, I’m the first one off the damn jet, I practically sprinted off if I’m being honest, needing to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. The second my feet touch the tarmac, my eyes land on the slightly older, but still beautiful face of my Aunt Linny.

“Kaylee! Oh, my goddess, you’ve grown up!” She runs right at me, wrapping her arms around me and holding me tightly.

“Hi, Aunt Linny! I’ve missed you!” She steps back, but continues to hold my shoulders as she looks me over.

“You look so much like your grandma. Now then, let’s get your bags and get you home.” My heart skips a beat when she says home, but then completely stalls out when I catch that damned scent again, but this time, it’s accompanied by a deep, gravely voice.

“Linny, is this your niece you said would be coming to stay with you?” I…want…to…scream. He ignored me at the graduation ceremony then ignored me the entire flight, so why the hell is he suddenly acknowledging my presence now?

“Yes! Alpha Kade, this is my niece, Kaylee Oshay. Kaylee, this is Alpha Kade.” I turn to face him, forcing the most neutral expression I can manage while avoiding eye contact then bow my head in respect. My mate…is an alpha…of course he is…and worst yet…he’s the alpha of my aunt’s pack!

“Alpha Kade, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I appreciate you approving my transfer and hope you’ll allow me to join your pack for training and try out for one of the patrol guard positions.” He’s quiet for a second too long for my liking.

“We’re lucky to have you join us, Kaylee.” The way he says my name…it sounds like he’s savoring it and it only manages to confuse me more.

“Oh, they have your luggage loaded, so we should get out of here so I can take you home and you can get settled in. Alpha, we’ll see you at the pack dinner tonight.” With my head still bowed down, I let Linny lead me to her truck and waste no time climbing in and buckling up. The drive takes us only thirty-five minutes and we spend the whole time talking about what’s changed in our lives since her last visit six years ago, though I definitely avoid mentioning that her current alpha is my freaking mate!

My aunt’s house is a beautiful three-bedroom, three-bathroom home and the bedroom she’s giving me has a bathroom attached, which automatically makes it perfect for me. By the time I finish calling my dad and finish unpacking, I have just enough time to shower and put on clean clothes before we have to leave for the packhouse for the pack’s monthly barbeque that I’d really rather skip out on, especially since I now know my mate’s not only not interested in having me as his mate, but is also the damn alpha which means he’ll obviously be there!

I decide to keep things simple, you know, since I don’t exactly have to worry about impressing my mate. I put on a pair of grey leggings, a white camisole with a black cold shoulder cable knit sweater topped off with a pair of knee-high black riding boots that my mom bought me before I left. With my fire red curls pulled into a high ponytail and my pale skin bare of any makeup, I head out to the living room where I find Linny already waiting for me.

“You look beautiful, Kaylee. Are you ready?” I give her my best smile and nod.

“Yeah, I am.” We make the twelve minute drive to the packhouse that’s far bigger than the one back home. This building is three-stories and the outside has a log cabin look to it with tons of windows. It’s beautiful, really. Linny leads me around to the field behind the packhouse where easily over one hundred wolves are gathered while dozens of pups run around the field just past them, playing what looks to be a game of tag, only it looks like all of them are trying to be ‘it’.

“Linny! We’re glad you could make it! Who’s this beautiful creature?!” I get it, I don’t look like Linny, but I don’t much look like my mom and dad either. My facial features are softer, my skin paler and void of the freckles the people in my pack are most known for. My red hair is like long tresses of fire where my entire pack has either rusty auburn or strawberry blonde hair. Then there’s my eyes…heterochromia is uncommon as it is, but even less so in wolves, but then there’s the fact that my family all have hazel eyes, not blue or silverish grey. Yep, I get it…I’m weird.

“Hi, Nina, this is my niece, Kaylee. Kaylee, this is Nina, she owns the diner in town.” I shake the woman’s hand, flashing a polite smile her way.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nina. I’ll have to check out the diner tomorrow, after all, we all know Linny can’t cook to save her life.” Both women laugh, but that just tells me that Nina knows how true my statement is.

“Ah, there’s Alpha Kade and Kimberly.” Nina points out my impossible prick of a mate and I shouldn’t look, goddess knows I shouldn’t…but I do.

Standing near the glass doors is none other than my mate with a tall, slender brunette she-wolf hanging off his arm, the one from the jet ride from hell. I feel a sharp pain shoot through my chest as my wolf, Kira, begins to whimper and howl at the sight of our mate with another female clinging to him. I fight to maintain my look of composure, but I can feel myself failing, so I decide it’s time to make my escape.

“Aunt Linny, I’m going to walk around a bit, explore my new pack a little. My jet lag is finally catching up and if I don’t get moving, it’s going to have me falling asleep where I stand.” I know she can see through my weak excuse and have no doubt we’ll be talking about it later, but the second she nods, I take off. I walk through the crowd, passing where the alpha and his female friend are standing as they talk to pack members and then finally reach the tree line. I don’t slow my pace and I don’t hesitate to push forward, though I have no damn clue where I’m going.

“Maybe it’s not what it looked like. Maybe she’s his sister, or a friend?”

“Kira, she didn’t exactly smell like a sibling, she smelled like HIM. It all makes sense now. He doesn’t want us because he already has someone. It’s fine. We’ll be fine.”

“Sure, fucked up, insecure, neurotic and emotional. I think you nailed that one on the head. Maybe her scent was just harder to pick up on because they were standing so close together?” It’s possible, highly possible actually, but with how he’s ignored me, I can’t afford to give myself or Kira false hope.

“Well, we’ve never been lucky with anything else, so why should the situation with our mate be an exception?”

“Ugh, too true. You know what we need? We need to go for a run. When are we getting sworn in?”

“Tonight, after the dinner.”

“Then I say we take a run after. I could stand to stretch my legs and you could use a break.”

“You’re not wrong. I’ll ask the alpha.”

“You mean, you’ll ask our mate.”

“He’s not our mate. He clearly doesn’t want us, so I think we need to just prepare for the fact that we’ll very likely be getting rejected in the near future.”

“Don’t say that! Maybe we just need to show him we’re worthy of being his mate.”

“Kira, come on. If he didn’t automatically think we’re worthy based on the fact that the goddess decided we are, then he’s the one not worthy of us. He may be the alpha here, but we’re pretty damn amazing if you ask me.”

“You know what? You’re right. We’re awesome!” While her words sound like she’s agreeing with me, I can feel her emotions…I can feel how much she’s hurting and I hate it. I hate that we were given a mate who would ignore us and act like he can’t feel this damn bond while I’m stuck being constantly suffocated by the stupid thing! I hate that Kira is suffering because of him. We walk a little further, almost reaching the western border, when an awful scent stops us in our tracks…a scent we know well…rogues.

“Well, looks like I’m going to get to stretch my legs sooner than we thought.” I remove my sweater and boots, but by the time I’m about to strip off my leggings, I can already hear them approaching, so I pass Kira the reins, letting her tear through the last of our clothes. She lets out a loud howl to warn the pack and patrols then climbs the tree closest to us, perching herself on a branch that sits about twenty feet off the ground. I hear a howl in the distance, the patrol responding, though they’re too far off still.

I see the first of the filthy beasts step out of the shadows, his tan fur matted with debris. As soon as he’s close enough, Kira leaps down onto him, her mouth wrapping around the back of his neck, sinking her sharp teeth into his carotid artery on both sides as she shakes her head violently until his lifeless body drops to the ground. Another rogue charges us, but Kira moves too fast for him as she dodges to the side and whips around, sinking her claws into his side and tearing open the flesh to expose his ribs. Two more lunge at us, one manages to swipe our shoulder, but we catch the other by the underside of its throat, ripping out a chunk of flesh that Kira drops to the ground before focusing on the bastard that clawed us.

I hear the thundering of paws and judging by the direction it’s coming from, they’re coming from the direction of the packhouse. Now we know it’s just a matter of distracting these bastards until the others arrive. The mangy mutt and I circle each other until three more of the filthy beasts step out of the trees. With his friends backing him, he seems to have a rush of bravery and charges me, but with a single swipe, we tear through the flesh on the side of his face, injuring his eye as well. He charges me again, but this time one of the other rogues jumps forward and sinks his teeth into my already injured shoulder. Before the other two can jump in, nearly a dozen silver and black wolves rush in, easily taking them down.

One of the pack wolves manages to get the wolf off my back, but when another goes for the mutt in front of me, Kira growls, warning them to back off. The rogue snarls at us then lunges, his teeth bared and claws extended, but before he can land his attack, Kira drops to the ground, rolls onto her back and sinks her claws into his belly, shredding through the flesh and spilling his entrails as he falls to the ground. She stands up, her left front leg shaking as the burning pain shoots through us, but she lets out a low growl at the stupid mutt that now lays lifeless on the ground.

“Holy shit…what kind of wolf are you?” Kira looks up at a wolf that we assume must be one of the patrol wolves and tilts her head as she studies him. He doesn’t look disgusted by us or like he’s bothered by our differences…he just looks…curious.

“I have a shirt you can use.” He holds out a t-shirt to us, but that’s when we notice the many eyes on us…including a pair of green eyes that are settling like a physical weight on me. Kira very slowly takes the shirt in her mouth then moves slowly and painfully to where we left our sweater and boots then pushes me forward. I slip the very large t-shirt on then pull my sweater on over it before slipping my boots on. I can hear the others approaching, but I ignore them and head back toward the packhouse, only stopping when the familiar voice of the guard who gave me the shirt comes from just behind me.

“Hey, you’re a damn good fighter. I’m guessing you must be Linny’s niece?” I slow my pace until he’s beside me then look up at his brown eyes and nod.

“Yeah, I’m Kaylee.” He flashes me a bright smile then extends his hand for me to shake.

“My name’s Oliver. I’m Kade’s brother.” Of course he is! Leave it to me to have a mate whose brother shows more interest in me than my mate does.

“Nice to meet you. I should probably get cleaned up before I go back to the packhouse. I’m supposed to be meeting the pack and getting sworn in but…I’m a bit of a mess.” He looks me over then nods in agreement while chuckling softly.

“Yeah, can’t argue with you there. You should also bandage those wounds. You know your way? I can walk you there if you want.” A deep growl sounds out from behind us, causing both of us to look back only to find Kade staring at us with a cold, angry glare fixed on his chiseled face.

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll show her to one of the empty guest rooms where she can get cleaned up. Have Kimberly bring a clean change of clothes up for her.” I don’t even know how to react to the fact that not only did he growl at his own brother just for speaking to me, but he’s actually acknowledging me.

“Sure thing. Which room?” Kade’s eyes are on me as he speaks to Oliver and it makes my stomach churn with something close to unease, but not quite.

“The third floor guest room.” I look over at Oliver just in time to see his eyes widen slightly before he nods and takes off for the packhouse.

“Follow me. We’ll go through the side entrance so your aunt doesn’t see you in such a state.” He steps up beside me and we both move forward as I look down and take note of the blood staining nearly every inch of visible skin.

“Yeah, I do look a little murdery. Thank you.” His steps falter, but only for the briefest moment.

“It seems I should be the one thanking you. You defended our pack before even being sworn in.” I nod my head, unsure of how to handle the praise of my mate who’s completely ignored me since we discovered each other yesterday.

“No need to thank me. I just did what I was trained to do.” Silence falls over us for the remainder of our walk, neither of us saying a word even as he leads me through a wooden door on the side of the packhouse then up the stairs right inside the door, not stopping until we reach the third floor. He leads me down a hall and into the second door on the right.

“You can get cleaned up in here. You should find everything you need in the ensuite. Kimberly will place your clothes on the bed.” Without waiting for a response, he leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Chapter 3

Kade

This is a damn disaster. First, I meet my mate only hours after I had woken up from a drunken one-night stand with some human woman from the bar I went to with my beta, Nate, a one night stand I don’t even remember! This is something I never do! I couldn’t bear to look at her when I could still smell that woman on me.

I had planned to stay with their pack a little longer, try to get to know her and try to fix the mess I made, but then I got the call from Oliver about a large-scale rogue attack that killed three of my pack’s patrol guards. Alpha Finn was sympathetic to my situation and offered to fly me back on his pack’s jet, telling me he had a pack member that was moving to be with her family in the states. Imagine my surprise when my mate is the one who walked onto the damn plane!

Goddess, I wanted to talk to her so badly, but that was when Nate started diving into the reports on the attack. Focusing on Nate’s rambling for sixteen damn hours while the entire cabin of the plane was filled with the scent of Honeysuckle and fresh rain…her scent…it was pure torture! After all the already present awkwardness, there was the intensely uncomfortable introduction after we landed, the one where my mate wouldn’t even look me in the eye.

My cousin, Kimberly, is the only person who knows who she is to me, but that’s because she has the gift of vision, but thanks to that gift, she also knows all about the mess I created out of what should’ve been a beautiful moment between me and my mate. She escorted me down to the barbeque after giving me a thorough scolding and I spotted Kaylee immediately, though it’s hard not to with her beautiful red hair and her pale, but perfect delicate face.

“So, are you going to figure out a way to talk to her?” I barely manage to tear my eyes off my mate long enough to look at Kimberly who’s clearly finding this whole thing to be amusing.

“I need to, but I just don’t know how to. You didn’t see how she reacted when I finally introduced myself. She couldn’t even look at me, Kimmy.” She gives me a sympathetic smile and leans into me, giving me one of her awkward almost hugs that somehow offers me more comfort than the strange gesture should.

“She’s looking at you now…oh, but she doesn’t look happy.” I look up and sure enough, Kaylee is walking past us, but she doesn’t look at us as she passes by. Even without looking at me, I can tell she’s upset.

“Shit…she thinks that you and I…oh, goddess, you need to fix this, Kade! She thinks we’re together! Ew! Oh, that’s just wrong!” Kimberly pulls her arm free of mine and takes a step back, her expression showing nothing but disgust. I turn to head for the trees she just passed through, but I’m stopped by a group of pack members with questions about the attack that brought me home early. Try as I might, it seems like every damn pack member wants to talk, but then everyone falls silent when a howl erupts from the forest to the west…a howl that’s clearly a warning.

“Alpha! That’s Kira!” I look over at Linny who looks slightly panicked as she rushes to my side, though she’s trying not to show it. It takes me a second too long to realize that Kira must be my mate’s wolf and the realization has me and my wolf instantly panicking.

“Stay here and help with the elderly and pups. I’ll make sure we bring her back safe and sound.” She gave a nod and I wasted no time shifting and tearing off into the woods with more than a dozen of my guards following me. It took us too damn long to reach her and Pax, my wolf, wasn’t happy about it.

When we finally picked up her scent, Pax snarled when he caught the strong scent of rogue with an even stronger scent of blood mixed in. We could never have been prepared for what we would see when we made it to her. We didn’t know if we should focus on how unique and utterly amazing her wolf is, or how strong and skilled she is at combat.

By the time we joined the battle, she’d already damn near handled it all on her own, but as Oliver and I approached her, I saw the wounds on her shoulder and Pax was seconds away from losing it. We watched Oliver hand her wolf a shirt, though I wasn’t happy that it wasn’t one of mine. She trotted off with it secured in her mouth, so we figured she wanted privacy to shift and dress. It wasn’t until Oliver linked me that he was following her toward the packhouse that I took off after them. He made it seem so easy to talk to her and while I was glad to see her talking to someone from my pack besides her aunt, I couldn’t help wishing it was me.

I kept quiet until Pax growled at Oliver when he offered to walk her to Linny’s house, but she barely reacted while Oliver gave me a confused look that only intensified when I told him to have a change of clothes brought to the guest room…the one located in my personal suite. That’s where she is now, in the guest room, taking a shower while I try to keep Pax from tearing free and running right into the damn room with her.

“So, I saw how she was dressed when she got here and I figured these would be close enough to her taste. I’m going to take them to her and I think that when she comes out, you should try to talk to her. Your poor mate feels unwanted. She thinks you ignored her because you were disappointed in having her as your mate.” My heart aches as Kimberly tells me just how badly I truly screwed this up. I give her a nod and watch her head down the hall to the guest room. She comes out ten minutes later and gives me a mischievous grin.

“Well, she knows I’m not with you. I introduced myself properly and made it very clear that I’m your cousin and nothing more. Now, the rest is up to you, Kade. Don’t forget, I’ll be leaving to visit the Harbor Peak pack in the morning, so you better have this mess sorted before I get back. Don’t make me kick your ass.” I appreciate her so damn much in this moment, not that I don’t appreciate her every damn day. I give her a firm nod before she heads out of my suite, leaving me alone with my thoughts while I wait for my mate. It’s only around ten minutes after Kimberly left that I hear the door to the guest room open and before she even steps out, I’m on my feet waiting for her.

“Kaylee, could we talk for a minute before we go back down?” I can see the caution warring with curiosity in her eyes, but after a tense moment, she gives me a hesitant nod and makes her way into the living room. Her damp, ruby red hair is pulled into a chaotic knot on the top of her head and the cream colored sweater and black leggings Kimbely gave her look fantastic on her. I motion for her to have a seat on the couch and once she sits on the far right side, I take a seat on the left to give her space.

“So, I’ve handled things like complete shit since yesterday. Finding you at that ceremony was completely unexpected and I won’t lie, I was pretty shocked. I was brought up to always be honest and I’m going to be very honest with you right now, but I want you to hear me out before you react, okay?” She’s been staring at her hands in her lap the entire time I’ve been speaking, but my request has her head raising and her stunning two-tone eyes locking with mine.

“Okay.” One word, only four letters and it offers me a little hope that I might be able to fix this…if the truth doesn’t completely push her away first.

“I’ve been looking for my mate for eight years and if I’m being honest, I had given up hope of ever finding them. The night before your ceremony, I had gone to a bar with my beta, Nate, and the two guards we had brought with us. We drank…a lot…enough that I didn’t remember even leaving the bar until I woke up in a motel room with some human female. I was already ashamed of my actions, but then I saw you and the guilt was suffocating me. I was ashamed, angry with myself and I felt like I completely failed you before I even met you.

“I was so scared to talk to you, especially when I could still smell that woman on me. I was and still am so damn disgusted with myself, Kaylee. That was not the way things should’ve happened when you met your mate and I certainly am not that kind of guy. I don’t sleep around and that was only the second time in my life where I got drunk like that. I was absolutely stunned when you walked onto the jet because I had actually decided to stay in Ireland to find you and try to fix the mess I made, but Oliver called and told me our pack was attacked.

“That’s the only reason I was flying back here, but I was going to go back as soon as things here were settled…but then you got on the jet and…I wanted to talk to you so fucking bad, but Nate started diving into the attack reports and wouldn’t shut up!” I know I’m rambling and tripping over my words, but then I see the corner of her lip twitch when my tone becomes frustrated and frantic at the end, an almost smirk, but not quite.

“Wow, and then I thought Kimberly…goddess, we both really suck at this.” We both burst out laughing, the heaviness of the moment lifting enough for me to breathe and hope growing quickly within me.

“Yeah, she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of someone thinking we’re anything more than cousins and friends. So, do you think there’s a chance we can start over? I know I was absolutely awful and you have every reason not to give me another chance, especially after everything I just shared with you…” She’s already shaking her head before I can finish what I was saying.

“No one’s perfect, not even an alpha. How about we take it slow, get to know each other? I honestly thought your reaction when we met was because of me being…different.” I can’t even help it, I scoot to the middle of the couch so I’m close enough to grab her hands in mine, savoring the surge of sparks that ignite from our connection.

“You are different, but it’s not a bad thing, not at all. You’re so much more than I ever expected my mate would be. And let’s not forget your absolutely beautiful and unique wolf! You’re amazing, Kaylee, so damn amazing.” She gives me a shy smile then shakes her head, her smile slowly widening.

“This is crazy. I spent yesterday morning telling my parents I didn’t want to find my mate because I didn’t want anything to get in the way of me coming here, yet not only did I find my mate, but you’re the alpha of the pack I was already coming to live with. Fate is a fickle thing.” My heart clenched when she said she didn’t want to find her mate, but with her reasoning, it makes sense. I’m glad that her meeting me didn’t change her plans and stop her from doing what she wanted.

“We should head back down before your aunt starts tearing the place apart to find you. Would…would it be okay if we sit together?” I feel so damn vulnerable around her right now, but I honestly don’t even care.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” When she stands up, she lets go of one of my hands, but holds steady to the other as she allows me to guide her out of the room, down the stairs and back out to the gathering in the backyard. It takes less than a minute for Linny to spot us, but only five seconds more for her to spot our hands that are still intertwined, our fingers now laced together.

“Oh, goddess…is…does this mean what I think it does?” I honestly don’t know how to answer, unsure of if Kaylee’s ready to publicly announce our status, but she manages to leave me speechless.

“If you mean Alpha Kade’s my mate, then yeah, it sure does.” Her comment draws a lot of curious glances, but Kylee simply offers a soft smile.

“This is fantastic news! I’m so happy for you, for both of you!” Linny knows how hard it’s been affecting me to go so long without finding my mate, but with her being my mother’s best friend and being around the packhouse a lot, it’s hard for her not to.

“I honestly couldn’t be happier. The goddess truly blessed me.” I know Kaylee can see the sincerity in my eyes because I damn well mean every word.

“Just wait until your mother returns from her trip! She’s going to be so excited!” I can’t help worrying that I might end up overwhelming Kaylee, but she’s still wearing the same soft smile, looking completely unbothered by everything.

“I have no doubt she will be. Come on, let’s find a table and I’ll get us both a plate.” Just looking at my beautiful mate has my lips curling into a smile. Linny waves us over to the table she’d been sitting at when we came out, where there just so happens to be two empty chairs right next to each other. I make sure Kaylee is comfortable then hurry up to the food tables to fill two plates with a little bit of everything. I make it back over to the table and set her plate in front of her only to find her staring at it with an amused smile and her brow raised.

“I didn’t know what you like, so I got you a little of everything.” I watch her nervously as she slowly shifts her attention from her plate to me.

“It’s perfect, but I can easily guarantee I won’t be able to eat even half of what you gave me. Thank you, though. It was very thoughtful of you and everything looks delicious.” My body instantly relaxes when I realize she’s merely shocked by the amount of food I gave her, not bothered by what I gave her. Linny is already eating, so Kaylee and I quickly dive in and I can’t help smiling when I realize my adorable mate is letting out soft hums and moans with almost every bite. After I finish, I notice how exhausted Kaylee looks, but Linny looks nowhere close to ready to leave.

“Let me take care of our plates then we can get you sworn in. After that, I can walk you home.” She gives me a tired nod as I stand up, place a soft kiss on her forehead then grab our plates and throw them away. When I return to the table, Linny is staring at Kaylee with a loving smile as my mate’s head is resting on top of her arms on the table. The poor thing is so tired that she fell asleep right there at the table.

“Alpha, why don’t I bring her by in the morning to be sworn in? I think she needs to get home and get some sleep.” I nod in agreement then carefully pick my mate up bridal style and happily walk her to Linny’s house, though I’d be much happier if I were walking her upstairs to our room instead.

Chapter 4

Kaylee

I couldn’t tell you when I fell asleep, or even how I made it back to my room last night, but the things I do remember have me waking up with a smile on my face. I slowly stretch my stiff muscles, testing my fully healed shoulder and roll onto my side only to find a piece of paper on my nightstand with a single white lily sitting on top, my favorite flower. I pick up the flower first, inhaling its beautiful scent before grabbing the piece of paper and letting my eyes have a few seconds to focus before reading the words written on it.

My beautiful mate,

I hope you slept well and just so you know, it took every ounce of willpower I had to leave your room after I tucked you in. I told Linny to bring you to my office in the morning so we can swear you in, but I’m hoping you’ll also allow me to take you to breakfast after. I can’t wait to see you in the morning and I can’t wait for the day when I can wake to see your beautiful face beside me every morning.

Yours always,

Kade

Well, I guess I get to spend the rest of the morning smiling like a fool, but I can’t even pretend it bothers me. Nope, I’m a lovesick fool and, as much as it surprises me, I’m one hundred percent okay with it! I hurry out of bed and jump in the shower before rushing through getting dressed, grabbing my phone then hurrying out to find Linny. It’s only seven in the morning, but I find my aunt in the kitchen, already pouring me a cup of coffee.

“Good morning, sweet girl. How are you feeling?” I know she can feel the excitement radiating off of me, but like the saint she is, she doesn’t comment on it…but I know she wants to.

“Much less like the living dead. Kade wants to take me to breakfast after I’m sworn in.” Her devilish smirk lets me know that she was already aware of his plans.

“Which is why I didn’t torture you by making breakfast this morning. He’s taking you out and I’m eating with the pack. I’m guessing you’re ready to go?” I nod as I quickly drink half the cup of coffee before setting it by the sink.

“Definitely ready.” Linny drives us to the packhouse to save time, probably because I’m practically vibrating with excitement over seeing my mate, the mate who isn’t disappointed to have me! She leads me inside and down a hall on the left that leads to an open door with a desk where I see my mate waiting for us with a bright smile on his face.

“Good morning, Kaylee. Good morning, Linny.” I want so badly to run to him and just curl up in his lap, but I force myself not to act so damn needy…barely…it’s definitely a struggle though.

“Good morning, alpha. I’ll leave you two to it while I go have some breakfast.” Linny kisses my cheek then takes off down the hall we entered through.

“Alright, let’s get this done so I can take you out.” The swearing in takes only a few minutes, the process much easier than I was expecting it to be. Once it’s done, Kade takes my hand in his and leads me out of the packhouse to a gorgeous black car and he even opens my door for me! Once we’re both settled in our seats, he drives us back toward the main part of the town and, much to my delight, takes us to Nina’s Diner.

“Linny said you were pretty excited to check out the diner, so I thought this would be a good place to bring you.” Oh, goddess, he looks adorably nervous and his cheeks are even a little flushed!

“It’s absolutely perfect, thank you.” He hurries out his door then rushes over to open mine, even offering his hand to help me out. He laces his fingers with mine as he leads the way inside where a young waitress leads us to a booth in the back. We both slide in across from each other as she asks for our drink order.

“What would you both like to drink this morning?” Kade gestures for me to go first.

“Just coffee for me, please.” She nods then turns her attention to Kade.

“I’ll have the same.” She hurries off the get our coffee while we both look over the menu on the table.

“So, why don’t you tell me a little about yourself. I know you graduated top of your class in the fight training program, that your wolf is remarkable and that you make the most adorable noises when you eat, so tell me something I don’t know already.” I sit back in my seat and think for a moment about what I can tell him, but then I decide to just start with the basics for now.

“Well, my full name is Kaylee Moira Oshay, I’m eighteen, my favorite color is green, ironically the very same shade as your eyes, I’ve always been the outcast in my old pack because I’m so different from everyone else. I also got my wolf a lot earlier than anyone else in my pack, but my parents made me hide her away until my eighteenth birthday. I guess it didn’t really matter in the end since no one in my old pack got to see me shift thanks to me skipping out on the pack run after the ceremony. Well, I guess that’s not completely true. Alpha Finn and Magnus have seen my wolf, but no one else has.” Talking about myself feels so weird, especially since I’m always trying to draw attention away from myself.

“Does it bother you that your mate is eight years older than you?” I can tell he’s genuinely worried that it might, but it really doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

“No. Does it bother you that I’m eight years younger than you?” He reaches across the table, holding his hand out with his palm up. My body responds automatically, my hand quickly slides into his and I watch as his large hand practically swallows mine.

“Not even a little. You said you shifted early. How early are we talking?” I open my mouth to answer, but snap it shut when the waitress approaches and sets our coffee on the table then pulls out her notepad.

“Are you ready to order?” Kade gestures to me with his head, silently telling me to go first.

“I’d like the Steak and eggs with the Sirloin, rare please, eggs over easy and hashbrowns instead of toast with a double side of bacon.” The waitress gives me a bright smile before turning her attention to Kade.

“Go ahead and make that two. It seems my mate has good taste.” The waitress nods in agreement then excuses herself to turn in our ticket while I’m probably smiling like a cheshire cat over him so freely announcing that I’m his mate.

“Alright, so when I said I got my wolf early, Kira started communicating with me when I was ten, but my mom and dad thought I just had an imaginary friend or something. It wasn’t until I shifted on my fourteenth birthday that they realized it was my wolf I was talking to the whole time. I guess it wouldn’t have looked so weird if I had known back then that I didn’t have to talk out loud for her to hear me.” I playfully roll my eyes while Kira’s howling with laughter at the memories of our younger years together and our mate laughs right along with her.

“That’s…I’ve never heard of anyone shifting so young except for alpha blood wolves who experience a forced shift when the current alpha dies too early. Even then, I think fifteen is the youngest recorded shift age. Did something happen to make you shift?” I shake my head then smile as I think about what I was doing when I felt the first of my bones break and reshape.

“Nope. I was in the backyard with my parents while dad was grilling elk burgers and mom was pulling weeds in her garden. I was just laying there in the grass, staring at the clouds and then it started.” I shrug, unsure of what else I can say.

“That’s crazy! Were you scared?” I take a moment to consider his question then shake my head.

“No, not really scared, but it did hurt like hell. Kira helped me through it and, according to my dad, it happened a lot faster than most wolves first shifts. I think it lasted for maybe ten minutes?” The smile on his face is something I’ve only seen from my mom, dad, grandma, Alpha Finn and Linny…it reflects sheer pride.

“That’s amazing, Kaylee. You really are an amazing wolf and I’m so damn blessed to have you as my mate.” He gives my hand a firm squeeze while giving me a heart melting smile.

“I feel pretty lucky myself. I was honestly dreading turning eighteen because I knew there was a possibility that I would end up mated to one of the males from my pack. I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life with a wolf who openly hated me and treated me like shit for the majority of my youth. Hell, if my mate had been one of the members of my pack, I’m fairly certain they would’ve rejected me. As it is, I kind of thought you were going to reject me at first.” Admitting how much I was shunned by my own pack and the fact that I doubted he’d want me is more embarrassing than I expected it to be, but his low growl quickly distracts me, leaving me staring at him with a raised brow and a smirk.

“Only a fool would throw away a gift from the goddess, especially one as amazing as you. If they couldn’t see how amazing you are, then they were unworthy of you anyway. Did your alpha know how his pack members treated you?” It’s truly an odd feeling to have someone who isn’t family defending me, but I have to admit…it feels pretty damn good.

“Alpha Finn knew and he did address it on more than one occasion, but that only made them act less cold and cruel in his presence, but he couldn’t be around all the time. I just got to where I avoided everyone except my family and Finn unless I was at training, then I just enjoyed kicking their asses.” The last part earns me a deep, beautiful laugh from him and another comforting squeeze of the hand.

“See? Amazing.” Our conversation is interrupted when the waitress brings us our breakfast and has us both reluctantly letting go of each other’s hand so we can eat. I know he mentioned my unusual vocal eating habits, but I don’t bother to hide it while I enjoy my meal, though I do catch his amused grin every now and then. When we finish our meal, he refuses to let me pay then leads me to the car where he, once again, opens my door for me.

“Why don’t I give you a quick tour of the town before we head back to the packhouse? I was thinking that, when we get back, I can take you for a run around the territory then we can join the evening training?” The way he asks makes it seem like he thinks I’ll refuse him, but the fact that he not only wants to spend time with me, but wants me to join him for training, it greatly pleases not only me, but Kira too.

“That sounds perfect. Kira would really like to meet your wolf properly.” You would think I just offered him the world on a golden platter with the smile that lights up his face. He starts the car then pulls out onto the street before resting his arm on the center console, his hand open in offering and I don’t even hesitate to slip my hand into his. The tour takes only twenty minutes then we head straight to the packhouse where we plan to shift and start the run around the territory. Kira is practically bouncing around in my head, eager to meet our mate’s wolf now that there are no emotional barriers between us…or misunderstandings.

Chapter 5

Kaylee

We reach the edge of the forest and both duck behind a tree to strip down and shift, though I’m honestly only following his lead since nudity isn’t exactly something I’m bothered by. In my old pack, it was quite common to see the members walking around nude after having shifted.

Once Kira has taken over, we walk out from behind the tree and take a moment to appreciate the view of Kade’s stunning black wolf with his golden eyes. Kira slowly approaches him, breathing in his scent, but remaining cautious until he gently nudges her with his nose. Kira begins rubbing against him, starting with his left side and ending with his right then he mimics her actions, thoroughly ensuring our scents are mixed to appease our beasts.

Kade’s wolf lets out a playful yip then takes off, prompting Kira to run after him as he guides us around the territory. We pass several clearings, a few streams, a lake and several small caves on our little tour, but the most beautiful sight is a clearing that’s covered in various colored wildflowers that produce the most amazing scent. Until now, I’ve made no attempt to utilize the mind link after being sworn in, so it surprises me a little when I hear Kade’s voice come through.

“This is one of the areas we seem to have issues with the rogues finding their way through. The other spot is the western border where you helped fight them off.” I can tell it bothers him that he has a weakness in his border security and I hesitate to say anything, but Kira encourages me to speak up, to believe that our mate will trust us and not dismiss our ideas.

“I was actually going over the map of your pack territory and the patrol routes on the flight here. I wrote down some suggestion and marked a few weak points in the route, I found a total of five. If you’re interested, I can show you later.” I hate that, even in the mind link, my voice sounds so hesitant rather than coming out strong and sure.

“That’s what you were doing the entire flight here?”

“Well, the first hour was spent checking my email and messaging a few people, but the rest of the time, yes.”

“I’d love to see what you found and hear your suggestions. What drove you to look into it?”

“It’s something I worked on with Alpha Finn. I helped him rework his entire patrol setup and revamp his rotations to better cover the territory and ensure no area was left with large gaps in patrols and that no area was missed.”

“I’ve said it a few times now, but let me say it again…you’re absolutely amazing.” If it weren’t for us being in wolf form, I’d be blushing like a fool right now! We finish up our tour, returning to the trees so we can shift and get dressed before heading to his office. I watch as he pulls out a large map of his territory, one that covers his entire desk.

“So, the two areas with the red markers are the weak points my head guard, James, identified and are the two locations where the rogues have been breaching the borders.” I spot a stack of sticky notes that he set on his windowsill to make room for the large map and grab them along with a pen. I place one of the sticky notes on each of the other three locations I had considered to be weak points then start writing down the point where the patrols fail to effectively cover each location.

“Okay, so this spot at the south-west border, according to your patrol schedule, has a three hour window where there are no patrols within a five mile radius. This spot at the northern border, it’s where the ravine is located and the entire three mile stretch here isn’t even on the patrol route, but that makes it a prime location for the rogues to infiltrate the territory. I know it seems unlikely that they would bother with such an area due to the rocky terrain and steep walls, but in my old pack, we saw them brave much worse terrain than this. This spot here, it’s where the mountain sits right on the border. Your patrol covers this area, but there’s a two hour gap where the patrols aren’t close enough to get to the location in time to stop them from getting in.

“From what I saw of your patrol rotations, you have ten groups of five guards each, but if you added three extra patrol groups and lowered it to four wolves per group, you would only need to add two extra guards to the rotation and would cover more territory then you can with your current setup, just readjust their routes so they would be able to more effectively cover the entire border.

“The way things are now, the blind spots and gaps in patrol coverage are making it far too easy for the rogues to get through. I’m sure we could set it up some other way too, but this is just the easiest fix I found. It would mean only having to up your fifty wolf patrol to fifty-two, so it wouldn’t require as much of an adjustment as most of the other options.” I know he can hear the uncertainty in my voice, but it’s something I can’t shake after all the times I had to defend my suggestions to Finn because his guards and advisors refused to see anything I suggested as a viable option simply because it was me suggesting it. For the last year, Finn and I resorted to me giving him a detailed report of my ideas so he could present them to his head guard, Magnus, and, unsurprisingly, none of the pack disagreed with a single one of the plans then.

“I want to set up a meeting with James, he’s our lead guard, and Toby, the Fight training instructor. We should be able to get everyone together in the morning and I want you to show them everything you just showed me. I think your idea is brilliant, Kaylee.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder and places a kiss on my forehead.

“I actually have everything on my laptop at Linny’s which has even more information, ideas and some other things I came up with on that unbearably long flight.” He gives me the most gorgeous smile then surprises me when he pulls his chair over, sits down then pulls me down onto his lap.

“I’ll schedule our meeting for tomorrow morning and we’ll hold it in the conference room. You’ll be able to hook your laptop up to the big screen in there to make it easier for everyone to see. Any ideas you have, I want to hear them…all of them. Goddess, I can’t believe how lucky I am. Not only is my mate beautiful and a skilled fighter, but you’re battle smart too. As if all of that doesn’t already make you amazing, you even forgave me for being a complete and utter idiot when we first met.

“I don’t know what the hell I did to deserve you, but I promise you that I’ll never take you for granted, Kaylee.” I don’t know what comes over me, but before I can even think about what I’m doing, my lips are on his. Considering this is my first kiss ever, my body seems to act on instinct and he seems to respond with ease once the initial shock wears off. We don’t deepen the kiss, but for our first kiss, it’s pretty damn perfect.

“Wow.” His soft laughter at my shocked tone makes me smile.

“That pretty well sums it up.” Rather than getting up, I lean into him, snuggling into his chest and simply enjoying our connection, not to mention his glorious scent…until all hell breaks loose.

“Breach south, south-west. Around twenty rogues spotted.”

“Well, time to get to work.” I partially expect him to tell me to stay behind, but when we stand up, he takes my hand and leads me out of the packhouse with him. It takes us over two hours to take care of the rogues and get back to town with the injured guards, but, thankfully, none of the injuries are critical. Once we have everyone situated, Kade and I go our separate ways so we can get cleaned up and changed. Linny is waiting for me when I walk through the door, her expression giving away just how worried she was about me.

“Thank the goddess! I know you told me you were okay, but it’s not the same as seeing it for myself! I can’t believe there have been two attacks since you got here! I mean, we all knew things were getting bad, but I don’t think any of us realized just how bad until now! How many were injured? Is everyone else going to be okay?” Her excitement is honestly a little exhausting, especially after a two hour battle with the mangy beasts, but once I make sure she’s done with her word vomit, I happily answer her questions, just to put her mind at ease.

“We brought back six wolves with some pretty bad injuries, but the doctor assured us they’ll all be okay. Kade and I are meeting with his headguard, James, and training instructor, Toby, in the morning to work on reworking the patrols to more effectively cover our borders. We’re hoping the changes will help lessen the occurrence of breaches, though I can’t help wondering why they’re attacking the way they are. It’s unusual for rogues to be so persistent.” Everything I’m telling her are things I’ve been thinking about rather extensively and plan to bring up at tomorrow’s meeting. The circumstances surrounding not only the attacks over the last twenty-four hours, but also the last ten I read the reports for during the flight, they’re definitely cause for concern.

“Hopefully we can work something out at the meeting tomorrow to help prevent any further attacks, or at least minimize them. I need to go take a shower, but after, why don’t I make us dinner?” I know she’ll agree, mainly because even Linny knows she can’t cook worth a damn.

“Sounds good to me. Will the alpha be joining us?” She gives me a playful smirk that has me rolling my eyes, but I know she can tell I’m hoping he will.

“I was planning to link him and offer for him to, so I guess we’ll see.” I opened the mind link to Kade while I was preparing for my shower and was actually surprised when he didn’t hesitate to respond and he seemed pretty happy that I offered for him to have dinner with us. Getting used to having someone so openly accept me for who I am and who actually wants to be with me is going to take some getting used to. I have to admit that even with everything I learned about mate bonds, experiencing it firsthand is so much more intense. As soon as I finish my shower, I rush to get started on dinner, deciding on spaghetti since it’s the only thing Linny has all the ingredients for without having to defrost anything. I’m just putting the garlic bread in when I hear the knock on the door and I can’t fight my smile as I hear Linny rushing to answer it.

“Alpha Kade, please, come in. I believe dinner is just about done.” Linny’s voice is filled with excitement and I know it’s partly because the alpha is here in her home for dinner and the other part is because she’s excited for me.

“It smells delicious.” Not going to lie, that simple statement has my smile widening as Kira purrs with pride. For wolves, providing sustenance for our mates is an intimate act, almost as intimate as actually feeding them.

“Oh, it certainly does, but that’s because she refused to let me step foot in the kitchen.” I love that she can laugh at her inability to cook as much as everyone else does because, let me tell you, the woman is a walking disaster in the kitchen. Seriously…she should come with a damn warning label! I remember when she visited while I was a young pup and she almost set our kitchen on fire making toast…freaking toast!

“I think the entire pack would thank her for that.” They both burst out laughing while I just shake my head, an amused smile firmly planted on my face as I finish stirring the sauce and remove it from the heat. I hear their footsteps coming closer then my heart skips a beat when I feel his arms wrap around my waist, his chest pressing up against my back as he kisses the top of my head.

“It looks and smells amazing, Kaylee. Thank you for inviting me.” I place my hands over his and lean into him, savoring the feeling of his strong arms and the sparks of the mate bond igniting each inch of bare skin that touches his.

“I’m glad you could come. I won’t lie, Kira was throwing a fit when we left you. I don’t know that we would’ve made it till morning without seeing you. Hell, tonight is going to be hard enough as it is.” He presses his nose into the crook of my neck and takes a deep breath, inhaling our scent as a soft purr vibrates through his chest.

“If you find yourself struggling to sleep, you’re welcome to come up to my suite. We can curl up on the couch and watch movies until we fall asleep. I’m not trying to push you into anything, I’m just proposing cuddling and movies.” His arms tighten around me as another kiss is placed on my temple.

“What if I just go back with you after dinner? Linny won’t mind and then I can avoid the tossing and turning part of the night all together.” He startles me when his arms slip away and he grabs my shoulders, spinning me to face him. His expression is showing so many emotions, everything from excitement, hope, disbelief and unfiltered happiness.

“Really?!” An amused laugh bubbles out of me, unable to be contained when his tone is so full of excitement.

“Yes, really.” He pulls me into his arms, my face buried in his chest as he holds me tightly.

“Nothing would make me happier.” While I could call him on that one, I choose not to. We both know that the one thing that would make him happier is if I were ready to proceed with marking and mating, but I know that’ll be happening soon enough. The timer goes off, cutting our tender moment short as the oven lets me know the garlic bread is done. Within minutes, I have everyone dished up and we’re sitting at the table, enjoying a quiet meal together with Linny.

After everyone is done eating, Kade insists on helping Linny with the dishes, both of them having rushed me out of the kitchen with strict instructions to go upstairs and pack anything I might need for my overnight stay. I know it’s only a matter of time before we’re living together, so I pack close to half my clothes, all my toiletries and my laptop then head downstairs just as they’re finishing up in the kitchen.

“Oh, goodness, are you moving out already?” I know Linny is joking, but she’s only half wrong.

“I figured I’d move some of my things over, so I won’t have to come back for clothes every time I want to stay with my mate, if Kade’s okay with it of course.” He doesn’t even need to respond when his expression gives his answer away before he even has a chance to voice it…but he does anyway.

“You can move in whenever you’re ready to, Kaylee. Hell, you can move everything right now if you want. I’m moving at your pace because if you left it up to me, I would’ve had you moved in last night.” Kira’s all for it and part of me wants to, but the other part of me is urging me not to rush things, still convinced this is too good to be true.

“Let’s start with half my things and go from there.” He doesn’t even show any sign of disappointment, which I appreciate. After saying goodbye to Linny, he insists on carrying my bags for me and, thankfully, he drove, so he loads them into the trunk then rushes to open the door for me. The drive to the packhouse passes in a comfortable silence with Kade holding my hand the entire way there.

Once we get back and get my things placed in his room, we find a movie and settle onto the couch that he shows me turns into a giant bed after he moves the ottomans into place. I don’t even know how far into the movie we get before I can no longer fight my exhaustion, my eyes closing as I drift to sleep in my mate’s arms.

Chapter 6

Kade

I never realized that I haven’t truly had a single good night’s sleep in my life until I got to experience sleeping with Kaylee in my arms. Waking up to her, as I expected, was by far the most amazing experience and I can’t wait until I get to do this every single day. Usually, I’m awake before the sun rises, but when I woke up this morning, it was already twenty minutes past seven and the sun was shining through the windows, lighting up the entire room.

“What time is our meeting?” Her raspy morning voice is beautiful, almost as beautiful as her slightly messy morning hair and the adorable smile she’s blessing me with.

“Nine. We have time to shower, get dressed and eat breakfast before we have to be down there.” She stretches her gorgeous little body out, letting her muscles wake up while letting out a soft moan that has my body responding instantly. Looks like it’ll be a cold shower for me!

“Alright, let’s get moving because I need coffee and bacon before I even attempt to function or socialize.” While I would love to share a shower with my mate, I carry her toiletry bag into the guest bathroom so she can shower there while I use my own bathroom, the one that will someday be ours, hopefully someday soon.

By the time we finish getting ready, we have barely an hour to eat, so we hurry down to the pack dining hall where they’re just wrapping up breakfast, but the kitchen staff are more than happy to bring us out plates of food and coffee, even ensuring my mate gets a plate stacked high with bacon. We’re just finishing up when Nate’s voice comes through the mind link, quickly ruining my perfect morning.

“Alpha, I just got an email from Alpha Knox. Marla is coming to visit our pack and is expected to be here for two weeks.” And that’s all it takes to put me in a foul mood. Marla is the entitled prissy brat daughter of Alpha Knox from the King Ridge Pack to the north of us. The she-wolf has an obsession with me that knows no bounds and she always pushes my boundaries, no matter how many warnings I give her. Normally the frustration of dealing with her is manageable, but with Kaylee being here, I worry she’s going to cause issues for us. Hell, I have a gut feeling she will and my gut instincts are rarely wrong.

“Kaylee, I want to give you a heads up because someone’s coming to visit that tends to stir up trouble everywhere she goes. Marla, Alpha Knox’s daughter, will be here for a couple weeks. She tends to…cling to me and I promise you that I don’t encourage or allow her behavior, but nothing seems to deter her, so I doubt me having a mate will.

“I didn’t want you to be blindsided by her showing up here, but I need you to understand that I’ve never once given her a reason to believe she means anything to me. You have nothing to worry about. I promise you I have zero interest in her and would never even consider touching her, not even before I found you.” I can’t even keep the desperation out of my tone, but when I see the confident smile she flashes me, I feel relieved.

“Okay. Fair warning though, if I catch her crossing lines with my mate, I won’t be shy about putting her in her place, though I promise to do so in a polite way…at first.” Goddess, I’m one lucky bastard!

“I’ll gladly let you, but don’t be surprised if she doesn’t heed your warnings. She’s impossible and extremely annoying.” She seems calm, but I can see the storm brewing in her eyes. I hate when my gut feeling is right. I just hope she’ll trust me enough to not buy whatever bullshit Marla will try pulling while she’s here.

We finished the meeting in under two hours and we ended up bringing Nate and Oliver in so we could run everything by them too. All three of my top wolves were impressed with her ideas, not to mention how she blew them all away with her research on our pack that was completed on just the flight here. My mate never ceases to amaze me! By the time we finish with our meeting, the border patrol has alerted me that Marla’s car has entered our territory and should be arriving at the packhouse in under twenty minutes. I let Kaylee know and I can sense her tension, though she masks it fairly well.

“Alpha, she’s here.” Nate delivers his warning with an exaggerated eye roll, not bothering to even attempt to hide his annoyance. Kaylee stands firmly at my side in the foyer as we await the unnecessary grand entrance that most of us already know Marla intends to make…and she doesn’t manage to surprise us. The self-entitled she-wolf bursts through the doors like a category five hurricane while looking like an ad for plastic surgery and a warning label for cosmetic over-use.

“Kade! I’ve missed you! I assume I’ll be in my usual guest suite?” It’s not a question, but a demand cloaked in false uncertainty.

“Yes, you’ll be in the suite beside Kimberly. Marla, this is Kaylee, my mate. Kaylee, this is Alpha Knox’s daughter, Marla.” It’s impossible to miss the look of sheer disgust as she gives Kaylee a head-to-toe assessment and it takes every ounce of my self-control to keep my wolf, Pax, from forcing his way forward and tearing her to pieces.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Marla. If there’s anything you need during your stay, please don’t hesitate to let me know.” I can’t believe Kaylee is able to deliver such a kind and polite response after the blatant display of disrespect, but I can feel the anger simmering just beneath the surface.

“Kade is always quite attentive to my needs during my visits.” There’s no mistaking the implications of her words, but I’ve never touched the evil bitch, so all she’s managed to do is further piss me off.

“Well, my mate will be rather busy tending to pack matters, so unfortunately, he’ll be unable to cater to our guests. Luckily for you, I’ll have no problem squeezing you into my schedule.” Kaylee remains composed, though I absolutely know she wants to strangle Marla.

“I’m sure Kade can manage a little time for me. He’s never had a problem doing so in the past.” And that seems to be the final straw for Kaylee. I can feel the anger rolling off of her, though she manages to keep the polite smile on her face.

“I hope you enjoy your stay, but I’m afraid my aunt needs my help, so you’ll have to excuse me.” Pax is furious already, but it only gets worse when Kaylee turns and walks out the door without even looking at me. Logically, I know she’s angry and it’s probably not with me, but my beast’s mind is convinced that we’ve upset our mate.

“Marla, I’m going to make this very clear right now. You will show my mate respect while you’re here and you will respect my boundaries. You’re not welcome in my suite, my office, you’re not to be in any room with me alone and you’re not to put your hands on me in any way.” I can tell just by the smile she gives me that she has no plan of listening to or following the rules I’ve set for her which only amplifies the unease I’ve been feeling since Nate told me she was coming.

“Of course, Kade.” The way she practically purrs my name is nauseating in the worst way.

“Alpha, you have a video conference in ten minutes.” I damn well know I don’t, but goddess bless Nate for reading the room and giving me an escape!

“Thank you. Gina, can you please help carry Marla’s things to her suite?” Gina, one of the house staff, nods, though I can tell she’s no less thrilled about this situation than the rest of us. It doesn’t help that most of the pack knows I’ve found my mate and this vile bitch has blatantly insulted her, even if she did mask it with innuendos.

“Of course, alpha.” Gina gives me a respectful bow that I only catch briefly before heading to my office. As soon as I’m in my office with the door closed, I try to open a link to Kaylee, but I hit a block which only makes my worry worsen. After two more failed attempts, I reach out to Linny who, thankfully, responds immediately.

“Did Kaylee go over there?”

“She was here for a few minutes, but said she’s going for a run. She said Marla’s here?”

“Unfortunately. I laid out the rules for her, no entering my suite or office, no being in any room with me alone and no touching under any circumstances.”

“You know she’s going to cause problems, alpha. It’s her mission in life. Kaylee is a trusting girl until she’s been given a reason not to be, so don’t let Marla give her a reason to doubt you, alpha.”

“I’m going to do everything I can to not be anywhere near that crazy mongrel. Please let me know when she makes it back. I just want to make sure she’s safe, but she’s blocking me.”

“She’s blocking everyone, alpha. If she comes back here, I’ll let you know.” Pax wants nothing more than to find her, but I know I can’t crowd her if she’s needing space to clear her head, so I begrudgingly force myself to work on some of the transfer requests that have been sitting on my desk. I get lost in my work, only taking a break twice to leave my office and stretch my legs, and before I know it, it’s a few minutes past three. Feeling unusually tired and my mind feeling foggy, I decide to head up to my suite, hoping that Kaylee will be back soon so I can make sure she’s okay. I settle on the couch with some random documentary playing on the tv, but I feel myself being pulled under by what I can only assume is stress induced exhaustion.

“Nothing to worry about, huh?” My eye lids feel like they’re made of lead and it takes a monumental effort to open my eyes when I hear Kaylee’s voice. I feel my stomach churning and my entire body feels heavy and weak. My head slowly rolls to the side, barely catching the hurt and betrayal in Kaylee’s eyes before she rushes out the door like the room’s on fire.

“Well, now that she’s gone, we can get back to our fun.” The unpleasant and disgustingly seductive voice of Marla is not what I was expecting or wanting to hear. I struggle to turn my head toward the voice and my eyes widen automatically when I see her state of undress, but the churning in my stomach intensifies when I finally manage to tilt my head enough to realize her hand is down my pants!

“Nate! Get to my suite and get this bitch thrown into a cell NOW!” It takes Nate less than three minutes to tear through the door and I know he’s as close to losing it as I am because he doesn’t hesitate to subdue Marla, a lot rougher than he would usually handle a she-wolf, and two guards rush in before he can even get her to the door.

“I linked Doc. He’ll be up in a few minutes. Can you tell me what you’re feeling?” I try to open my mouth to speak, but the struggle is too draining, so I reach back through our mind link.

“I came up here to wait for Kaylee, but next thing I know, I was waking up to Kaylee yelling and Marla was here just how you found her. My body feels heavy and weak, I can barely keep my eyes open and I feel like my vocal chords are paralyzed.” There’s no denying that Nate is furious, it’s clear I was somehow drugged, but I’m more worried about Kaylee.

“Where’s Kaylee now?”

“I don’t know, she ran off!”

“I’ll contact Linny and have the patrols keep an eye out for her.”

“I fucking knew she was going to pull something, but drugging me?! What if Kaylee never forgives me?! If Marla causes me to lose Kaylee, I’ll fucking kill her!”

“I’ll help you dispose of the body, but for now, just think positive. I let Doc know that we need to test you for any drugs he can think of that would cause your symptoms. Let’s focus on this and flushing that shit out of your system, then we can work on handling fixing things with Kaylee.” I know he’s right, but I hate it, goddess how I hate it. I notice something else that’s off and immediately lock eyes with Nate.

“I can’t reach Pax! I feel him, but I can’t reach him!” Before Nate can respond, Doc walks in with his medical bag and wastes no time drawing blood for his tests. I watch as he pulls out several small glass tubes with different chemicals. He uses the syringe with my blood in it to place a few drops in each vial and we all watch as three of them turn dark blue almost instantly.

“Alright, so there’s aconite, belladonna and botulinum toxin, which would explain your inability to talk, weakness, lack of contact with your wolf and why you passed out. I need to go get the antitoxin from the clinic and we need to flush the rest from your system and treat the symptoms.” Nate quickly nods and follows Doc out of the room only to come back in a few minutes later.

“Alpha, the patrol near the ravine spotted Kaylee’s wolf running through and I’ve instructed them to have one of the guards follow her while the rest continue their route.” The fact that I’m stuck here, unable to go to her, it makes me even more angry and I have no doubt that when Pax comes around, he’s going to be out for blood.

“Once this shit wears off, I’m calling Knox. I’ve put up with too much shit from Marla, but this was taking things too fucking far.” He nods in agreement, his eyes revealing that he’s beyond pissed off himself. Less than ten minutes later, Doc comes in with an IV bag and several syringes in his hand which he quickly sets up and injects into me. Once he’s finished, he takes off while I’m left here wishing my mate was with me.

Chapter 7

Kade

Several hours pass with me being stuck on the couch before I can finally move my fingers, though only a little. The biggest plus is that I can feel Pax slowly pushing through, but, as expected, he’s fucking livid. Nate has been in and out checking on me, his last visit was only fifteen minutes ago, so when he bursts through the door, I’m already on high alert, but the panic he’s trying to hide only amplifies it tenfold.

“Okay, I’m going to tell you something, but I need you to not lose your shit. We found Kaylee…but she’s hurt and she’s at the clinic with Doc.” I swear, hearing my mate is injured is damn near an instant cure and before I realize what’s happening, I’m slowly rising to my feet, though I can still feel the weakness that’s still hindering my abilities. Nate doesn’t miss a beat, carefully grabbing the IV bag and draping my arm over his shoulder as he helps me out of my suite. With my weakened state, Nate chooses to help me into his car, deciding that driving will be quicker and I certainly won’t complain.

We reach the clinic in under fifteen minutes and it takes nearly five more just to get from the car to her room. Seeing her already pale skin look impossibly lighter and the many bandages on her arms and torso, it’s enough to completely wreck me. Nate helps me to her bedside and pulls over a chair for me then holds my IV bag up until Doc comes in with a portable IV stand. Once they have me situated, Doc dives into explaining what they know so far.

“Alpha, she was brought in with very clear claw marks on her chest and stomach, three distinct claw marks and a bite mark on her right arm and it looks like she hit her head pretty hard. The guard who brought her in said he found her in a clearing near the ravine with the bodies of nine rogues scattered across the ground around her. She was still in her wolf form when he brought her in and it took me sedating her to get her to shift, so she’ll probably be out for another few hours.” I…am…furious! Not only did that vile bitch drug me, she chased away my mate while violating my unconscious body, but her actions are ultimately what made my mate run off into the forest alone. If it wasn’t for Marla, my mate wouldn’t be hurt right now!

“I’m going to rip Marla’s fucking head off.” I feel Nate’s hand on my shoulder as he gives me a gentle squeeze, silently showing his support.

“You’re well within your right to punish her however you see fit and the council will support your decision to do so. If Knox doesn’t like it, screw him. Why don’t you stay here with Kaylee and I’ll get your laptop and phone so you can notify the prick of his daughter’s little stunt.” I simply nod in response then wait until he leaves the room before reaching over and grabbing Kaylee’s small, cold hand.

“Baby, I’m so sorry. I swear to you that I had nothing to do with what that bitch did and Doc has the tests to prove it. I need you to get better so I can spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I understand if you don’t trust me and I can’t even blame you for being angry, but I promise I would never even consider doing something that would hurt you and I would never do anything that would betray your trust.

There isn’t a whole hell of a lot in this world that scares me, but I’m completely terrified by the thought of losing you. I’m so sorry this happened, Kaylee. Please…please come back to me.” I place a gentle kiss on the back of her hand, my eyes focusing on the heart monitor that’s beeping steadily by her head offering a small comfort for now as it reminds me that she’s alive.

The call with Knox went about as well as I expected with him issuing a demand that I return his daughter to him and me refusing to even consider it. He threatened to declare war on my pack and I promised to not only withdraw all my support for his pack, but to inform the council of his daughter’s stunt. Drugging any pack member is a punishable offense, but drugging an alpha, especially on his own territory, would be considered an act of war by the council which comes with only one punishment…death. I would be more than okay with that outcome, but he seemed to sober up after that and is now simply requesting to be present when we convene to determine her punishment, though I informed him that we won’t be handling her punishment until my mate wakes up.

It’s nearly five hours before she shows any sign of waking up and while some of her wounds have healed, the ones on her stomach and the bite on her arm still have a ways to go. I can feel Pax reaching out to Kira and I have no doubt he’s trying to make sure she knows what really happened. I shift in the uncomfortable plastic chair, trying to get comfortable and letting go of her hand long enough to maneuver myself, but the second my hand releases hers, the alarm on the heart monitor goes crazy as her heart starts racing. I quickly grab her hand, repeatedly placing kisses on her knuckles until the beeping slows back to a steady pace. The door swings open and Doc walks in, looking like he ran a marathon to get here.

“I heard her alarm going off…” I watch his eyes scan every single reading on the screen before scanning her body for anything that might’ve caused her distress.

“I had let go of her hand so I could shift my position in this shitty chair and the heart monitor went crazy. I can feel her starting to wake up though.” He walks over to the other side of the bed and begins checking her over, her remaining injuries already looking much better.

“She’s looking good. If she keeps it up, she should be fully healed in around eight hours. Nate explained what that tramp Marla did. It’s not my place, but I think the luna should be given the choice to decide her fate.” If it were anyone else, my wolf would be pissed at them for even suggesting how to handle such a situation, but I’ve known Doc since I was a pup and his suggestion is a valid one. The one the most hurt by her actions is my mate, so maybe I should give her a choice, at least allow her to decide if she wants to choose the bitch’s punishment.

“You might be right, Doc. I’ll discuss it with her once she’s awake, but I think you should be here to explain things to her when she wakes up. Thanks to that bitch, my mate has every reason in the world not to trust me right now. I need someone who she can trust and who can prove that I had nothing to do with what she walked in on. I can’t lose her, Doc.” He gives me a reassuring smile and nods, but then our attention shifts when I hear the most beautiful voice in the world.

“Pax told me everything.” I look over and find her stunning two-toned eyes watching me though her eye lids are clearly struggling to remain open.

“I’m so sorry, Kaylee. I can’t believe I keep screwing everything up. Please, tell me how I can fix this.” Her brow furrows and her head slowly rocks from side to side.

“Fix what? Pax said you were drugged?” How can I possibly deserve this beautiful creature?

“He was, Luna Kaylee. I found Aconite, belladonna and botulinum toxin in his system. Not a high enough dose to be lethal, but more than enough to incapacitate him and render him not only unconscious, but temporarily mostly paralyzed. Even his vocal cords were rendered useless until the antitoxin kicked in.” Her lips curl, but only slightly.

“He’ll be okay though, right?” Goddess, she was mauled by rogues, but she’s worried about me being okay?!

“Yes, luna, the alpha will be fine. Another round of fluids through the IV should have most of it out of his system, though the wolfsbane might have some lingering effects that can take several days to fully clear out of his system.” His answer seems to satisfy her, but then she starts trying to move, leaving Doc watching her cautiously while I’m about to freak the hell out!

“Stop, Kaylee! What are you doing?!” She stops moving and gives me what I assume is meant to be a stern look.

“I’m trying to make room for you so you can lay down with me. We both need to rest and there’s not a chance in hell that I’m letting you sleep in that goddess awful chair.” Without hesitation, Doc helps me to move her over then comes over to hold up the IV line so I can slide in next to her without ripping my IV out. The second she’s in my arms, I feel both of us relax into each other and it takes only minutes for her to fall into a peaceful sleep with me quickly following behind her.

Sleeping in the clinic is honestly a joke. I managed maybe forty minutes of uninterrupted sleep at a time between the visits from the nurses who insisted on checking Kaylee’s vitals and making sure both of our IV fluids were good. Every single time they came in, they were met with a low growl from Pax a warning to not disturb our mate who clearly needs to rest so she can fully recover from her injuries. Now it’s seven fifteen and Kaylee has just started to stir, slowly waking up as I watch her with eagerness, already missing her beautiful eyes.

“Please tell me we can go home and for the love of all that’s holy, please tell me we can have bacon and coffee.” Her sleep laden voice is music to my ears and even if the pack kitchen isn’t making bacon, I’ll damn well make sure she gets some no matter what.

“I’ll make sure you have some bacon and I just linked Doc to have him come see if we’re good to go.” Her eyes snap open and immediately start scanning me, almost as if I was the one injured, not her.

“How are you feeling? Nate explained everything while you were sleeping a few hours ago.” I press my lips to her forehead, leaving a tender kiss there before leaning back to look at her.

“I feel a hell of a lot better than last night. I was so damn worried about you. I know you were upset and you have every right to be, but please promise me you’ll never take off like that again. It kills me to know how close I came to losing you.” Her small hand reaches up and gently cups my cheek as her eyes glisten with unshed tears.

“I was just going to go to Linny’s, but Kira was fighting me the whole way there. I had to let her run it off or else she might’ve fought harder and if I would’ve lost control of her, I honestly don’t want to know what she would’ve done. I’m sorry I scared you, but if nothing, we damn well know the rogues can come through the ravine. They were scaling the steep rock wall when I got there. We need to revamp the patrol routes as soon as possible.” Goddess, I’ve said it many times, but she really is just…amazing.

“We’ll get it done today. Also, Marla is in the cells and I notified her father of her little stunt and informed him that I’m going to give you the option to decide her punishment. You don’t have to, but you deserve the right to after what she did.” She lets out a heavy sigh and gently nods her head.

“Okay, but bacon and coffee first…then we can worry about the fate of the pathetic bitch.” She snuggles into my chest just as the door opens and Doc walks in.

“Alright, let’s have a look at the two of you and see if we can’t get you out of here, shall we?” He doesn’t even have time to make it to her side of the bed before she’s sitting up with her legs hanging off the side. Doc chuckles at her eagerness, but quickly looks her over, finding all of her injuries fully healed, so he removes her IV and the leads for the monitors. He then moves on to me, but I’m given a clean bill of health too and my IV is removed as well.

“Looks like you both are ready to go home. Linny dropped off clothes for you, luna. They’re on the counter there.” He points to the counter to his left and flashes a tired smile before turning and exiting the room. Kaylee wastes no time throwing on the black leggings and grey tank top Linny brought for her. She meets me at the foot of the bed, grabs my hand and laces her fingers with mine then leads the way out of the clinic. I made sure to let the kitchen staff know to prepare some bacon, eggs and toast for their luna as soon as Doc cleared us and it’s so worth it when I see the excitement on my mate’s face when we walk into the pack dining hall and she smells her precious bacon.

“Alpha, luna, glad to have you back. You both look much better than when I saw you last night.” Kaylee narrows her eyes at Nate, giving him a playful glare.

“Are you saying I looked like shit, Nate?” He quirks a brow at her and can’t even hide his amused smirk.

“No, but you were a bit of a hot mess. I would recommend a shower after breakfast. You may not look like shit, but you sure do smell like shit.” I would never say it to her face, but Nate’s not wrong. She looked like she was on death’s doorstep last night and he’s not wrong about the shower either. I can still smell the blood on her, both her own and the rogues.

“Oh, I plan on it. Hell, I’m going to take the longest shower of my life and scrub every inch of skin raw after I finish eating and get a few cups of coffee in me. The first thing I noticed when I woke up this morning was the stench of filthy rogue blood.” She scrunches up her nose and it’s easily the most adorable damn thing I’ve ever seen.

“I’ll leave you two to eat. I had the rest of the pack take their breakfast to the back field so you would both have peace and quiet when you got home. Oh, Alpha Knox will be here tomorrow afternoon. I figured you both could use a day to recuperate and, let’s face it, Marla could definitely use another day in the cells.” And this is why Nate is my beta. The wolf is loyal, thoughtful and always seems to think of everything.

“Thanks, Nate.” Kaylee and I both speak the same words at the same time which has Nate smiling and shaking his head as he turns and walks out of the room. Kaylee and I enjoy our quiet breakfast and as soon as we finish, she gets a second cup of coffee then takes it up to our suite so she can take a much needed shower while I head to my office to check my emails.

Chapter 8

Kaylee

As I stand under the spray of the shower, letting the hot water soothe my aching muscles and wash away the stress of the last twenty-four hours, I can’t help but reflect on my life since meeting Kade. I was always told that meeting your mate is one of the most exciting moments of a wolf’s life, but I doubt this is the kind of excitement they were referring to.

After everything yesterday, I’m still struggling to get a grip on my emotions, though I seem to have succeeded in keeping Kade from catching onto how much I’m still bothered by what I walked in on. Yes, I know he had nothing to do with it, Nate, Doc and even Pax made sure I knew he had no control over the situation, but knowing that doesn’t erase the images from my mind.

I hate that my heart knows my mate is innocent in this, but my mind just keeps flashing the image of Marla practically wrapped around my mate while she was damn near naked and her hand was down his pants. That’s not an image I ever wanted, but now it’s one I worry I’ll never forget. It would be unfair to punish Kade for it, yet it’s killing me inside. I already knew he wasn’t exactly innocent when we met, especially since he had a one-night stand not even twenty-four hours before we found each other, but I didn’t have to see it happening, so it’s easier to push out of my mind and not focus on it, I guess.

Kira keeps reminding me that we need to be thankful we walked in before she could’ve taken things any further and I know she’s right. If things had gone any farther, I honestly don’t think I could’ve moved past it. Yes, he wasn’t a willing participant, but seeing my mate having sex with another woman would’ve ruined me in the worst way. I finally shut off the water, my skin red from a mixture of heat and intense scrubbing. I wrap one of the fluffy white towels around myself and step out into the guest room where I find Kade sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows resting on his knees and his head hanging, looking thoroughly defeated.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He looks up at me and I see the unshed tears shining in his eyes. Seeing him like this is thoroughly unsettling and I don’t know what to do. I never thought I’d see an alpha on the verge of crying, let alone my alpha mate.

“I can feel your sadness and I know what’s causing it, but I have no clue how to fix this, Kaylee. I can’t blame you for how you’re feeling, but I just don’t know what to do.” I don’t know what to do either, but I do know that I can’t let him blame himself for this. I move to stand in front of him then drop to my knees, snaking my arms around his waist and forcing my way between his legs so I can get as close to him as possible.

“I’m sorry. I don’t blame you, but I just can’t get the image of her touching you out of my head. I’m trying to forget, I promise I am, but it just won’t go away.” His arms wrap around me tightly and he buries his face in the crook of my neck and right there, wrapped around each other at the foot of the guest bed, we cry for all the hardships we’ve been forced to face in our short time together.

“I wish I could make it all go away, Kaylee. Goddess, how I wish I could just erase it all. I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve to feel this way. I’m supposed to protect you, not just your body, but your heart and mind too…yet all I seem to do is hurt you.” I slide my hands up to his shoulders and push him back enough to see his face then slide my arms around his neck, using my new position to pull his lips down to mine. This kiss is filled with desperation, but at the heart of it, it’s filled with love.

It’s at this very moment that I realize the only way to move past this is to give him everything, to erase my absolute worst memory with one that will hold so much more power. With my inexperience, I don’t know how to initiate this, but I decide to just show him that I’m ready. I pull away from him and stand up then let my towel drop to the floor. His eyes almost instantly fill with hunger and lust, yet as he stands slowly, I know he’ll be gentle…because he loves me. This mighty, glorious alpha…loves…me. One second, we’re sharing our emotions through a weighted stare and the next, we’re melting together, our passion burning brighter than the sun as we seal our bond, finally becoming one.

I don’t remember falling asleep, but hell, I don’t remember making it back to our room either. We made love in the guest room which resulted in us marking each other, but then we just couldn’t seem to get enough of each other. We spent the entire afternoon and evening in a tangle of limbs and passion. Now I’m laying here, in the dark, staring at the moon through our bedroom window while Kade sleeps peacefully behind me with his arm still holding me tightly. While mating and marking each other was definitely the right move, skipping both lunch and dinner was definitely not, something that’s impossible to deny when my stomach lets out a loud growl that has Kade waking up with a chuckle.

“I think someone’s hungry. Want to get dressed and go down to the kitchen with me? I bet the cook left some plates for us.” He may not be perfect, but he’s pretty damn close to it.

“Absolutely.” We both get up and throw on some comfortable clothes, sweatpants for him and a pair of sleep shorts with one of his t-shirts for me. We walk down to the kitchen, hand-in-hand, and we do find two plates in the fridge with a sticky note containing instructions for reheating them.

Once our food is reheated, we settle at the island in the kitchen rather than going into the dining hall and once he hands me my fork, I fill it with pasta then slowly raise it to his mouth. Feeding your mate is one of the greatest acts of intimacy and he certainly doesn’t miss that fact as his eyes glisten with appreciation and love. He opens his mouth and allows me to slide the fork inside then he closes his mouth around it, savoring not only the food, but yet another shared moment of intimacy between us. He mimics my actions, letting out a soft, satisfied growl the second my mouth closes around the fork then flashes me a smile as we both dive into eating our meal. After we finish eating, we work together to wash the dishes and wipe down the counter.

“Would you feel up to going on a run?” His eyes light up with my suggestion and his arms wrap around me while his lips quickly meet mine for a tender, chaste kiss.

“Of course, I would.” He laces his fingers with mine and leads me out of the backdoor then straight to the same cluster of trees where we shifted when he gave me the tour of the pack lands. This time is so different from the first because we don’t step behind a tree to shift and we don’t take our eyes off of each other as we strip down and place our clothes in a neat pile.

Watching him shift into his large, black wolf is such a beautiful thing to witness. His sheer power, the effortless grace and his undeniable strength are truly awe inspiring. As Pax stares back at me with his beautiful golden eyes, I allow Kira to push forward, our shift taking place quickly and effortlessly. Our wolves rub themselves against each other, ensuring our scent is thoroughly combined, then Kira crouches down, delivers a playful nip to his leg before tearing off through the trees.

While we’ve already completed the mating process for our human side, for our wolves, this moment is necessary, it’s part of their primal traditions. It’s a challenge issued by the female for the male to hunt her, to track her down and prove his worth as a mate, though we certainly don’t doubt that our mate is worthy. Kira is a skilled hunter, but is equally skilled at hiding. She finds a patch of thick mud beside one of the streams and quickly rolls in it, diluting our scent which will make it more difficult for him to track us. She pushes through the trees, her focus set on reaching one of the small caves he had shown us on the tour and we reach the larger of the caves relatively quickly.

Enough time passes that Kira starts to feel triumphant, but then a large shadow steps into the front of the cave, the towering figure blocking out the moonlight and bathing us in pure darkness. His scent gives him away and his rumbling purr only confirms it. Our mate has found us and he’s feeling victorious. Finding us was only half the battle, though, and Pax knows it. Now, he has to force Kira to submit to him and he looks like he’s definitely up to the challenge.

Our wolves circle each other, assessing the other’s weaknesses until he pounces. We roll across the stone floor, each trying to come out on top. Neither of us strive to inflict injury and deep down, Kira wants him to win. Our mate is a skilled fighter, easily maneuvering and manipulating us until he finally bites down on the back of Kira’s neck, not enough to break skin, but enough to assert dominance. As soon as Kira’s soft purr slips out, he wastes no time claiming his prize, completing their end of the mating ritual and marking each other in wolf form.

With the excitement of our run and the activities that followed, we must’ve fallen asleep because the sound of birds chirping slowly forces my eyes to open. I’m not entirely surprised to see that we’re still in the cave, but my aching body is far from pleased with our little slumber party on the hard stone floor in the cave. Just as I begin to stretch, a sad attempt to relieve that soreness, I feel Kade nuzzle into my neck, his arm pulling me tight against his chest.

“Not that I’m complaining about the events that led us here, but can we both agree that sleeping on a slab of stone is not something we repeat in the future?” I can’t even hold back the burst of laughter, but I manage to nod my agreement.

“Yeah, I can agree to that. Out of a whole forest with soft dirt and grass covered ground, our wolves chose the hard, stone floor in the cave.” His chest vibrates with his soft laughter and he takes one last deep breath, drawing in my scent before carefully getting up and helping me to my feet.

“Let’s get back and shower so we can grab breakfast. Today we’ll have Knox and his beta, Will, here while we decide the fate of his pathetic bitch daughter.” I had honestly been so wrapped up in our time together that Marla hadn’t once crossed my mind, a sign that the wretched memory no longer has a hold of me, but he’s right. We need to handle this because we have other urgent issues to address…like the rogues.

We shift to our wolves to make the five mile run back to where we left our clothes then waste no time getting to our suite and taking a shower, together of course. Once we’ve cleaned up, gotten dressed and had breakfast, we’re alerted that Knox has arrived and is being led to the conference room where we’ll be determining the fate of his daughter.

With our bond fully sealed, I can feel the surging emotions that are running through Kade, a heavy mixture of anger, frustration and a hint of worry. I know how important alliances are, especially when we’re facing frequent attacks from rogues, but how I see it, if Knox is willing to sever an alliance because his daughter was forced to face the consequences of her actions, then his alliance isn’t really one worth having.

Chapter 9

Kaylee

We walk into the room and I immediately see the two large wolves standing near the window, one slightly larger than the other. Alpha Knox is an alpha I know by reputation only, but his looks are pretty much how the texts described him. He has sharp features, a thick, well-maintained beard, cold blue eyes and a body built for destruction. The second he looks our way, I have no doubt that he has no plans to make this easy for any of us.

“Alpha Knox, Beta Will, I’m sorry we have to be meeting again under these circumstances.” Kade’s polite and professional tone does nothing to ease the sharp glare Knox is sending our way.

“I demand to see my daughter.” Kade’s anger spikes, but looking at his expression, you would never be able to tell.

“We’re waiting for Councilman Jacob to arrive, then we’ll proceed with deciding her fate. Then and only then will you be permitted to speak with the accused.” Knox’s face flushes a deep red and just as he opens his mouth to speak, another voice sounds out from behind us.

“I’m sorry if I’m late, but I got caught up reviewing the evidence you supplied to me, Alpha Kade.” A strange emotion flows through our bond, an emotion that feels a hell of a lot like victory. I wasn’t even aware that there was any evidence aside from the blood work Doc ran on Kade, but if there is and it helps cement our case against that bitch, I’m glad we have it!

“Evidence? I wasn’t told of any evidence! Tell me, Kade, what is this so called evidence you claim to have that I assume you think will prove her guilt.” I can tell Knox thinks Kade is bluffing and his insult of not using Kade’s title sure the hell doesn’t go unnoticed. While Kade hides his irritation well, Kira lets out a warning growl, fully prepared to teach this prick a lesson he’ll never forget.

“Oh, nothing much…just security footage of Marla pouring a vial of liquid into my personal water cooler in my office, a video of her sneaking into my personal suite and the footage of her assaulting me while I lay unconscious. The water in the cooler tested positive for the same three substances that showed up in my blood work after she assaulted me. I’m guessing that, much like you, Marla wasn’t aware of the surveillance in the packhouse and, up until now, it hasn’t really proved to be useful. I guess my father’s paranoia wasn’t unjustified after all.” Not even I knew of the surveillance within the packhouse, but I’ve never been happier to know I’ve been being watched constantly!

“I demand to see this supposed video footage!” I expect Kade to put Knox in his place, but instead it’s Jacob who speaks.

“Alpha Knox, you’re in no position to make any demands. Administering any poison to an alpha is treason and your daughter chose to do so after she was welcomed as a guest on Alpha Kade’s territory which can easily be considered an act of war. She was a guest here and was here by your orders. I spoke with your daughter before coming here and I must say, she had a lot to say about her reason for coming here. Kade, it seems Knox here ordered his daughter to come here and seduce you, force you to take her as a chosen mate by any means necessary.

“Now, your actions, Knox, are undeniably an act of war, yet Councilman Andrew just met with your pack an hour ago and it seems they don’t support your decision and actions, not even your gamma, Leon, was willing to stand to your defense. They’ve all taken a vote and the decision was unanimous. You’ll be stripped of your title, taken to the council prison and will face trial for your crimes. Don’t worry though, the footage of Marla’s crimes as well as the full video of her confession, that was made under alpha command, will be played at the trial, so you’ll get to see the evidence then. As for your daughter, I’m leaving the decision to Alpha Kade and Luna Kaylee. Since they’re the ones she directly wronged, they can choose to have her stand trial as well, or they can select her punishment themselves.” Kade knows as well as I do that the trial is merely a formality and the punishment for their crimes is automatically death.

“You can’t strip my title from me! My title is my birthright!” Jacob surprises me when he bursts out laughing as if that’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard.

“Your birthright? Oh, that’s rich. Your father was of a beta bloodline and only ascended to alpha because the alpha before him had no heir when he died. Regardless, your actions endangered not only the Lone Ridge pack, but your own pack as well. If Kade were to declare war for your actions, countless lives would be lost and their blood would’ve been on your hands. Luckily for all of us, your plan was stopped before it could cause irreparable damage. Guards, Take him away. Will, Marla claimed you had nothing to do with her father’s plans, so you may return to your pack if you should choose to.” Kade turns to me, his eyes searching mine.

“How do you want to handle Marla?” I’ve actually thought about it and while revenge would be the easy choice, what we really need, what both of our packs deserve is justice, not revenge.

“Let her stand trial. I highly doubt that we’re the only people those two have harmed and justice should take precedence over vengeance.” I know Pax doesn’t agree, but Kade gives me a smile that’s filled with pride.

“That’s a very wise decision. Councilman Jacob…” Jacob must’ve been listening because he nods and speaks before Kade can finish.

“I’ll have my guards take her as well. Kade, you have yourself one hell of a luna. You both take care and I guess I’ll see you for the luna ceremony?” He arches a brow while Kade wraps his arms around me and nods.

“Indeed. Now that we’ve taken out the trash, we’ll start planning and I’ll let you know when we’ve set a date.” Jacob seems thoroughly pleased, but then again, so is Kira.

“I’ll look forward to it. I should be going, but I’ll see you both soon.” Jacob gives a slight bow before turning and walking out of the room.

“While I’m so damn proud of you for handling the Marla situation like a true luna, Pax still wants to rip her to shreds.” He presses his lips to my temple, giving me the sweetest kiss which is a stark contrast to his tense posture.

“Kira too.” We both let out a unified sigh of frustration, but are quickly distracted when a voice comes through the pack link.

“Rogues have breached the northern border!”

“South-west border breached!”

“South border breach!” Until this moment, neither of us realized that Will was still standing in the room, his expression one of shame and disbelief.

“Will! We have rogues breaching the territory! Either join the others and get to the safe room, or get out there and help us!” My voice successfully snaps him out of whatever strange trance-like state he was in.

“I’m coming with you.” Every emotion he had displayed on his face is overtaken by sheer determination, so I offer him a firm nod as Kade leads the way to the front doors. We all shift the minute we exit through the doors and tear off toward the southern borders. The group of rogues is only about fifteen strong and are easily taken down, so we move to the south-west, clearing out the group there as well. It isn’t until we reach the northern border that we find a formidable group, at least thirty-five mangy wolves attacking our guards, having already injured a few of them.

Will, Kade and I tear through the rogues fairly easily, though I can’t help noticing that they’re much stronger than the ones we’ve faced before and are even a little bigger than them too. Something about this group of rogues seems different…too organized. It takes more effort than it should to take them down and Pax manages to keep one alive, though I can tell it was a difficult task for him to hold back. Once the guards have bound the beast and carried him off to be placed in a cell, we make our way back to the backyard of the packhouse where Doc is waiting to tend to the injured.

“Something isn’t right here. They divided their group and attacked from multiple locations.” Kade’s words mirror my own thoughts, and, from the looks of it, James and Toby are thinking the same thing too.

“The group to the north…they were bigger…stronger than the others. This attack was organized, they planned this…but I don’t think this was an actual attack.” I struggle to speak my thoughts, a result of the lingering insecurities from dealing with the fighter’s and advisors of my old pack and their cruel dismissal of any thought or suggestion I ever had.

“What do you mean?” Kade is watching me, not with judgement, but with curiosity. He’s making it clear that he wants to hear my thoughts on the situation, that he values my ideas…my opinions and that gives me all the encouragement I need to continue.

“I think they’re testing us…seeing not only where our weaknesses are, but how well we respond to their attacks. They’re sizing us up and I have a feeling it’s all in preparation for a much larger scale attack. If you’re all okay with it, I’d like to call in a favor.” I can tell all three men are curious, but Kade gives me a nod before wrapping his arm around my shoulders and leading me inside with James and Toby following us. Kade takes us all to his office then takes a seat in his chair before pulling me into his lap.

“Who exactly would you be calling in to help us, luna?” Toby is the first to speak and the thought of who I plan to contact brings a smile to my face.

“The only wolf with better tracking skills than me.” I grab Kade’s phone and dial a number I know all too well, though it’s one I definitely should’ve called sooner, then place it on speaker.

“Hello, Mickey Oshay speaking.”

“Hi dad.”

“Kaylee?! Oh, sweetheart, we’ve missed you so much! How are you doing?”

“Well, it’s been quite a roller coaster ride since I got here, but I need you to go to Finn’s office, shut and lock the door then put the phone on speaker.”

“I’m not sure if he’ll be in his office, sweetheart, but I’ll check.”

“He will be. Right about now he’ll be finishing up his daily emails before reviewing the training schedules followed by reviewing the patrol schedules.”

“I swear, sweetheart, you know the alpha better than he knows himself. Alright, almost there.”

“Mickey? What can I do for you? Wait, why are we locking the door?”

“Alpha, I have Kaylee on the phone and she said she needs to speak with us in private. Alright, Kaylee, you’re on speaker.”

“Hey, Finn. I have a pretty big favor to ask of you both.”

“If it’s something within my power to give, it’s as good as yours. What do you need, Kaylee?”

“I need my mom and dad to be flown out here right away. I’ve found my mate, his name is Alpha Kade of the Lone Ridge Pack and we’re facing rogue attacks that are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. They’re organized and their most recent attack was strategic. They divided their group, they weren’t like the usual rogues…they were stronger, faster…they were smarter. I need my dad to help with tracking them beyond our boundaries, to gather any information he can and then to help us organize a way to put an end to this.”

“You know your grandma is going to insist on coming too, sweetheart.”

“I’ll do you one better. Give us about an hour to get the jet ready and I’ll fly out with them, but I’m bringing Magnus with us. We’ll help you stop the bastards. We should be there by tomorrow evening.”

“Thanks, Finn.”

“Anytime.”

“I love you sweetheart.”

“I love you too dad.” I end the call and don’t miss the look of pure surprise on both James and Toby’s faces.

“Alpha Finn is coming…here?” I nod, unsure of why that seems to be such a shock to them.

“Yeah, he is. He’s a good alpha and one of the only people in my old pack that I consider a friend. As for Magnus…I’ll warn you now that the man looks like a hardass, but he’ damn good at working out battle strategies.” Minutes after the call to my dad, Will comes in to let us know he’s heading back to his pack, but tells us to call if we should need anything.

With our incoming guests, we arrange for three of the larger guest suites to be cleaned and prepared for their arrival then head to the pack dining hall for dinner. Sitting among our pack members, well, just over one hundred and fifty of our nearly three hundred members, I feel a new sense of determination. These are not just my pack members, they’re my responsibility…they’re my family. Their safety, their happiness…both are things that Kade and I are tasked with providing and protecting. I don’t know what the rogues are planning, but I’ll be damned if I stand by and let them destroy my people…my home.

Chapter 10

Kade

I can honestly say that I had not been expecting for Kaylee to contact her father, but even more surprising was hearing the legendary Alpha Finn insist on coming here with him, like it’s not absolutely insane that a single phone call from my mate is enough to have him boarding a jet to fly across the entire ocean to aid our pack.

Kaylee seemed genuinely confused with why we were so surprised by hearing him declare he’d be traveling here, but she can’t possibly be oblivious to the numerous tales of Finn’s role in not only the great war with the covens, but also how he and his pack defended their pack against an attack from a much larger rival pack without suffering a single loss even though they were outnumbered five to one.

Sure, I met her while visiting her pack there, but I was just passing through as my last stop before I was to head home and only went to the ceremony where I met her because Nate and I were invited by Finn’s beta. It’s not like I’ve ever had the honor of getting to know the legendary alpha, but here my mate is, close enough friends with him that she can call in favors from him!

“Luna, I’ve prepared the suites for our guests. I put a vase of lilies and carnations in the one for your mother and father and a vase of sunflowers and baby’s breath for your grandmother as you requested.” Beth, one of the house staff, addresses Kaylee with a bow of her head as we finish our dinner.

“Thank you, so much. I appreciate you putting in the extra work. It’ll be just the thing to put a smile on their faces when they arrive!” I can’t believe that I’m going to be meeting my mate’s entire family in the next twenty-four hours! You would think an alpha wouldn’t feel nervous over something like meeting his mate’s family, but I definitely am.

“I’m glad I could help, luna.” Beth heads back out of the dining hall and I can tell Kaylee is lost in thought, but her emotions through the bond are simple…contentment and happiness. I watch her scan the room as I feel a new emotion rise up, determination.

“What are you thinking about, Kaylee?” she gives me a beautiful smile and softly sighs.

“We’re not going to fail them.” Her eyes flicker to the pack members in the dining hall, her meaning clear.

“You’re absolutely right, we’re not. Together, we’re going to put a stop to this and protect our pack.” She leans into me, my arm wrapping around her shoulder automatically, pulling her tighter into my side as we watch our pack members talking and smiling as they finish up with their meal. Seeing their happiness, it’s impossible to even let myself consider the possibility of failure. We remain in the dining hall together until the last of our pack members leaves and only then do we retire to our suite for the night.

Waking up this morning with my mate in my arms as the early morning sun begins to shine in the window, it almost makes it possible to forget the problems that lay ahead…almost. I know we have her family and Alpha Finn arriving later, but I decide to give myself a few more minutes to be completely selfish, to just savor this peaceful moment, though it seems I’m not the only one with that idea.

“Can we just stay in bed till they get here?” Her raspy voice is enough to make my breath catch, but my lips instantly curl up as I smile down at my beautiful mate.

“I wish we could, but we have a lot to get done. I’ll tell you what, if you get up, I’ll make sure Mary makes you extra bacon to go with your breakfast.” Much to my amusement, she flies out of the bed and disappears into the closet, emerging before I’ve even made it to my feet with a pair of leggings on as she pulls one of my t-shirts over her head.

“I just need to brush my teeth and pull my hair up then I’ll be ready.” I shake my head at her as she walks into the bathroom and hurry to get myself ready. Within ten minutes, we’re both dressed and ready to head down, but I made damn sure to link Mary in the kitchen who, thankfully, already had started on making bacon for her luna. We walk down with our hands linked together, receiving bows from each member we pass, yet my amazing mate greets them all like they’re her closest friends. Even after we take our seats and while we’re eating, they send her warm smiles and looks of approval, not that she needs anyone’s approval.

“I should give you a heads up about my dad. He can be a little…intense. He might look like a big, beastly wolf, but he’s a total teddy bear when you get to know him.” As if I wasn’t already nervous about meeting her family, now I can’t even hide it from her. She gives my hand a firm squeeze and flashes me a soft smile.

“So, he’s going to hate me when he finds out about how bad I screwed up in the beginning, isn’t he?” Her smile remains, but her eyes show how much my question bothers her.

“No, he won’t. Our story is ours alone and as long as I’m happy, he’s happy. The one who’s the real wild card here is my grandma. That woman is batshit crazy. I love her to death, but she’s certifiable. Don’t worry though, we’re facing them together. No matter what, you’re mine and I’m yours…everything else is just background noise.” Her conviction is inspiring and I can feel the tension ease until it reaches a much more manageable level.

“We should catch the morning training session since we’ll be busy this evening.” Kaylee seems more than pleased with my suggestion and is up and rushing back to our suite to change before I can even process what the hell just happened.

“Our luna sure does enjoy training.” James muses as he stares at the door she just ran out of.

“Yeah, she really does. I guess I should get moving before she starts without me.” The thought of the male fighters touching my mate has me damn near running to our suite behind her.

We both are changed and heading down to the training field in less than ten minutes where Toby is just getting ready to start the sparring matches, which means we missed the warmups. I’m not happy when he pairs her with one of the male fighters, a wolf named Kalen whose skill level is closest to that of Toby and myself. While the thought of her sparring with him has Pax wanting to rip the bastard’s head off, seeing how easily she takes him down, it balances things out a little.

“Alpha, how long has our luna been training?” It’s not really something we had discussed and his question makes me realize that there’s still so much I don’t know about my beautiful mate, but that’s something I plan to remedy very soon.

“I’m not sure, but you can ask her.” I tilt my chin toward her as she makes our way over to us.

“Hey, luna, how long have you been training?” She gives him an amused smile then turns to face the field as the next two fighters prepare to spar.

“I started training with my dad when I was five and joined the pack’s training group when I was ten. By the age of fourteen, I was helping teach the training class for the wolves ages twelve to eighteen.” Toby’s jaw damn near hits the ground, but hell, mine does too!

“That’s insane!” Toby’s comment is met with a soft chuckle as I slip my arms around her waist and, much to my delight, she leans into me, her back resting against my chest.

“That’s the result of being an outcast. I had nothing better to do, so I trained. My dad also started training my tracking skills after I turned three. I became the pack’s second best tracker before the age of fifteen.” She says it so casually, as if it’s not something to be proud of and celebrated.

“Do I want to know who the wolf was that beat you for first? Wait, let me guess, Alpha Finn?” She glances over at him and shakes her head while flashing an amused smirk his way.

“No, my dad. He’s so good at tracking that he’s been called in by the royal guard on several occasions to aid them.” Again, her response is spoken casually, but Toby and I are blown away. I’m going to meet her father, a wolf that sounds like nothing short of a damn legend in the making!

“Damn, luna! You’ve got some connections!” She shrugs her shoulders in response, but now it’s my turn to spar and Toby is my partner which has me releasing my hold on Kaylee then I place a soft kiss on her forehead before making my way to the sparring ring. We take our stance and Toby doesn’t hesitate to make the first move. Our movements are precise, calculated and neither of us hold back. Toby lands a couple hits, but I land more. By the time I have him pinned, we’re both panting, but one look at the pride radiating in Kaylee’s eyes and feeling it through our bond, I can’t get to her fast enough. I make my way to her with long, determined strides, but I swear the universe is against me right now because a pack link has me freezing in place.

“Rogues at the southern border.”

Not a word is spoken as everyone begins shifting and those already skilled in fighting head to the border while the others rush to help the vulnerable members get to the safe room. I can’t believe the rogue attacks have gone from being a rare occurrence to being a nearly daily event. I expected to reach the border and find our patrol engaging in battle with the rogues, but when we get there, we find eight of the unusually large rogues just…standing there? They’re maintaining their position just barely on the other side of the border, but they’re making no move to cross it. I watch them, trying to read them, but their behavior is far from normal, especially for rogues.

“Something’s not right, Kade.” Kaylee’s voice slides in through my mind, but her words only back my own thoughts.

“I know. I don’t understand why they’re just standing there. Rogues don’t hesitate, they just…attack.”

“This isn’t hesitating, this is waiting. There’s something we’re missing…they’re waiting for something.”

“Waiting for what?”

“Look at them. They’re like mindless drones…puppets…I think it’s more a matter of who they’re waiting for, not what. It’s like they’re waiting for instructions…orders.” I look closer at them and she’s right, though I really wish she wasn’t. Their eyes are lifeless, these wolves are little more than zombies. One second the rogues are standing still as statues, the only movement to be seen are the rise and fall of their chests with each breath, then the next, all hell breaks loose. All eight rogues charge in, but every single one of them comes straight for me, a planned, targeted attack. The puppeteer gave their orders and those orders are clear…kill the alpha.

Kaylee and the guards rush them, but with all eight focusing their attack on me at once, I feel teeth and claws tearing into my flesh. I let Pax take full control, but even with me being an alpha, eight of these mutant bastards on one aren’t the best odds and even with us slowly taking them down, the damage is already more than my body can take. I feel the last of them being ripped off of me, but it’s taking every ounce of my remaining strength just to remain standing. I hear a soft whimper which draws my gaze to my beautiful mate whose fur is drenched in blood, but it’s the worry I can feel through our bond and fear flooding her eyes that settles over me as I feel myself slipping into darkness.