Richard’s POV:“Mmm, Richard,” her voice had said my name in a breathy sigh, and I could not help the instinct that jumped out at me. I wanted to kiss her.Still, i had to be careful not to display too much of how aroused i really was. In fact, a huge part of me was angry at Darren so suddenly for being in the room, stopping me from reacting to her the way that I wanted to.My annoyance rose when I heard a chuckle from behind me - my best friend intruding on what was clearly a private moment. I made a mental note to get him back one of these days, before I then brought my hand up to lightly touch Arielle’s arm.“Wake up, sleepyhead,” I said to her, careful to keep my voice low so as not to startle her. “I’m here with Darren, love.”The endearment that was so new to me just slipped out of my lips like they belonged there. I couldn’t take it back, and I noticed how her eyes opened slowly, blearily looking into my eyes.It was an intense gaze she gave me, even as she was tired and clearl
I was restless now; despite being very tired, that my eyes hurt and felt strained, I was pacing up and down the hallway of the clinic, passing the door of the room that Devin, the injured pack member, currently was. Richard and Darren were also inside, and that was what made me feel this anxious.Were they interrogating him?I brought my hand up to my mouth to stifle a yawn.I didn’t know whether or not Richard thought that Devin had done something that caused him to be injured.No matter what, I felt very protective of my patient, also because he was a pack member. I had felt his pain through the pack bond that I had in my chest.No matter what, his safety was somehow important to me.I was so endorsed in my thoughts that I didn’t even notice when the ward doors opened. I only noticed when the footsteps sounded in the hallway and I turned my head around, feeling the strands of my hair that had come out of its ponytail fan my face. I used my hands to tuck the strands of hair behind my
Richard’s POV:This was the night of shocking news it seemed, whether it was welcomed or not, and another surprise had just come out of my mate’s mouth that I certainly needed the time to process.I was speechless after she had finished her long explanation.At first when Arielle had looked extraordinarily serious, with her brows furrowed and her lips pursed, I had thought that she was about to tell me something grave.But to my surprise, it wasn’t a situation of life and death matters. Instead, she was telling me something that I had definitely not expected to hear.By the time she finished, I was thinking on what to say.“Arielle, you mean to tell me that you have these… abilities,” I began to speak and noticed how her face now suddenly looked so fearful. What did she think I was going to do to her?A wave of protectiveness rushed through my body and I touched her arm lightly.“Angel,” her eyes snapped to me. “Talk to me.”“I told you, Richard,” I was surprised by the tone her voice
Arielle’s POV:I think I was giddy with happiness. Even though I was tired, it was so easy for me to act so energetically, having only gotten about three hours of sleep the day before. It was now last 8am in the morning, and I was checking up on the other patient files that my assistant had so graciously arranged for me. We were not going to have too many patients, it seemed by the lack of a large piling of folders.But it was the thudding of the mate bond within me, and the feeling of assurance I felt through it, that made me feel ever better.Richard did not reject me.And I loved him.It seemed like everything was moving along for the better, now that I had finally gotten to tell him about my abilities and all that had come along with this mate bond. This was truly the first time in which I felt like I belonged in a pack. When I was in my previous pack, it always felt as if I had to work ten times as hard to prove myself, for the time I was a young pup until I left.But this was dif
Richard’s POV:It was certainly not a restful night for myself or for Darren.After I left Arielle, the two of us walked down the steps and out into the streets.“So,” Darren began to say and I could have glared at my best friend even through the darkness of this night, because I could tell by his tone that he was about to be mischievous.“Whatever you’re about to say, please drop it,” I told him, sounding strict. “Besides, we have to check out the forest. There must be tracks somewhere leading to where Devin had been attacked by this rogue.”“You’re right,” his tone suddenly turned serious. If there was anything I knew Darren for, it was that he cared so much about our pack members, just like I did. “Do you think it could be him?”“You mean Leon,” I replied after a few seconds. By now we were reaching the edge of the forest.I was not a fool; by this point I definitely knew that there was something connecting the attack of my pack member to that of Leon’s Rogues being present and cir
Arielle’s POV:What the hell, I thought to myself.But of course, Richard heard it too and responded with a chuckle.“Damn it,” I whispered out loud in the comfort of my office.A mind link. If being mates and suddenly developing these abilities was not enough, we just had to have one of the uncommon abilities for mates to share.I knew what it was of course, but I had never met anyone that had one at such a young age. Only fictional stories and historical tales of couples mates, especially those that ended up having a bond so strong that they ended up dying within minutes of each other during their old age.That kind of bond was hard to find in an instant. Especially with younger couples, such as Richard and I.It was usually taken as a sign of commitment and the deepest form of bond that mates could share.And that scared me. Of course I loved Richard, so much that it made my chest ache at the thought of it. But I wasn’t ready for such a thing. At least, I thought I wasn’t.I hated
Richard’s POV“I want to hit the Rogues with something bad,” I told Darren plainly. “I want them to regret ever even thinking of attacking my pack member and warrior. I need to show them that the Redding Pack will not take that lying down.”The anger in my voice was clear, and I was fuming deep inside. The image of Devin lying in the hospital bed and looking so pale, still was in my head.We were both seated in my study that morning, and Darren had barely made any jokes this morning in fact. He only gave me a greeting right before I went down to business, which was normally out of place considering that he was normally a jokester and mischievous to boot.It was clear to me that the battle to deal with the Rogues was just beginning for him.“You’re right,” Darren sighed. “I tried to sleep, but it wasn’t as restful. My mind couldn’t even take a rest.” He gave me a pointed look before continuing. “I had to tell Lilian that you had called me regarding an injured pack membe, but it was all
Arielle’s POV: I didn’t know how things were going to go with Richard. And this had less to do with the mate bond and more to do with the fact that he had apparently kept news of Devin being attacked by a Rogue, though nameless away from me. “Ugh,” I pressed my palm against my forehead. I was back in my room, having closed the clinic up early in order to prepare for my date with Richard. “What is wrong with me?” I decided to jump in the shower quickly, and then proceeded to scrub off every inch of my body. meanwhile my mind kept on whirling, and the gears in my head turning. What was Richard’s motivation for not telling me about what had happened with Devin, that a Rogue had been involved? Was he doing this to keep something away from me? Or was there something else involved? I didn’t want to think that Richard would mean harm for me. After all, he was my mate, and now that I finally had the guts to admit that I loved him, I didn’t want to begin to let my fear get the better of m