I pack the last of my clothes into my suitcase while Beta Jason is on the phone with Alpha Peter.
“Yeah. Room 12. Mhm. Yes, Alpha. We’ll wait here until they arrive. Thanks,” he says and ends the call. “Alpha is sending a group of warriors to escort us back to the compound. They’ll be here in about 30 minutes,” he tells me.
I nod as I head into the bathroom to grab my toiletries and makeup, packing them into a small bag. Then I turn to leave and crash straight into Beta Jason.
“Shit, sorry,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was coming to see if you needed any help.”
“Oh, I’m nearly done,” I smile awkwardly. “Thanks though, Beta.”
“You can call me Jason,” he says as he moves to the side, my breasts rubbing against his chest as I move past him into the room. I feel his eyes on me as I get the last of my things from around the room and pack them in my suitcase. I turn and look at him, my heart rate picking up as we stare at each other.
‘Today has been a whirlwind of emotions. Hell, the last three weeks have been. Maybe we could let off some steam,’ I think to myself.
‘He’s not our mate, Athena,’ Enyo growls softly.
‘Who cares? Who waits for their mates anymore? Guys definitely don’t,’ I say, my eyes travelling down Jason’s body and back up again.
He leans against the bathroom door frame and crosses his arms, a playful grin on his face.
‘This is a bad idea, Athena,’ Enyo tells me.
I glide over to Jason, a smile creeping across my lips as I stop just in front of him, my nose almost brushing against his. I lock my gaze with his, daring him to make a move. His breathing is shallow on my face, and I can hear his heartbeat matching mine. I’m about to turn away when he grabs me and lifts me, his lips slamming into mine. As he moves over to the bed, I wrap my legs around his hips and sit on his lap when he sits down. He strokes my back and wraps his hand around the back of my neck. I press my hands against his chest and deepen the kiss, our tongues running over each other, tasting and exploring each other’s mouths. I reach down and pull my shirt over my head, and my nipples harden in the cool room. He runs his hand up my side and then across my right breast, his thumb resting on my tight bud. I squirm in his lap and gasp into his mouth, rubbing my moist mound over his hardening length.
I jump when the phone in the room rings.
“Ignore it,” I say as I pull Jason’s shirt over his head. Finally, the phone stops ringing, and I push him back onto the bed, kissing him deeply again. My breasts rub on his hard pecs as I start to grind on him. He moans as he grabs my hips, his fingers digging into me hard as he turns us over and he settles in between my legs and kisses my neck, but stops and hovers over me, looking into my eyes.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” He asks softly.
I nod. “It’s my birthday, and this can be your gift to me,” I smirk, and lift my head to kiss him.
He smiles against my lips, “Happy Birthday,” he says, then takes my hands in his and raises them above my head, holding them in place. He kisses and nips down my jaw to my neck, and I shiver as he drags his canines down my neck.
We both groan when there’s a knock on the door. “For fuck’s sake,” I say harshly, annoyed by another interruption.
“There’s no way they got here this quickly,” Jason says, sounding just as annoyed.
“Miss Argos? It’s Tim from the front desk. Are you there?” The old man says.
I groan and reach for the shirt I was wearing, and Jason rolls over, frustrated. I get up from the bed as there’s more knocking. “Coming!” I yell as I walk to the door.
I look through the peephole and see the old man from reception standing there, so I open the door and greet him, “Hi Tim, what’s up?” I ask as I brush my fingers through my hair.
“Hi, Miss Argos. I just wanted to let you know that there has been a man calling here looking for you,” he says brightly, unaware of his interruption.
“Did the man leave a message when he called?” I asked, wondering who it could be. Only Mom and Uncle Alex knew I was staying here, and they wouldn’t have told anyone.
“No, Miss. They just said they needed to confirm you were staying here but refused to give a name, saying that they were trying to send you something but needed to confirm the address and when you’d be available to receive it.”
Jason gets up from the bed and walks over to the door. “Tim, did anything end up arriving for Miss Argos?”
“No, sir. When he called again this morning, I told him she’s been unavailable,” he says. “There’s something else, though, Miss. About 20 minutes before you arrived today, a man came in looking for you as well.”
“Do you think it was the same man that was calling?”
Tim puts his hand on his chin, his brow furrowed. “No, Miss, the man on the phone sounded older. The man that came in looking for you was younger. Around your age, Miss. Tall, around 6’5, muscular, dark brown hair, amber eyes.”
I look at Jason. “Does that sound like anyone you know?” I ask. He shakes his head no.
“The man today left a number, but no name,” Tim says, as he pulls a piece of paper out of his shirt pocket and gives it to me.
I look at the paper. It’s a local area code, but I don’t recognise the number. So, I go over to the desk and get my phone to call the number, but Jason stops me.
“Maybe we should get someone to investigate the number before you call it. Whoever this is obviously doesn’t have your number if they’re trying to track you down in person,” he says.
I nod and put the number into the pocket of my suitcase.
“Thank you, Tim. I need to come and check out, anyway. I’m leaving earlier than I thought,” I tell him.
“Of course, Miss. Come with me, and we’ll get it sorted for you,” Tim says and turns and walks towards the reception building.
Jason puts his shirt on, grabs my suitcase, and follows us out of the room.
“You can wait here if you want,” I say.
“No way. There’s too much weird stuff going on right now. You need someone to watch your back,” he says firmly.
“I can look after myself, Jason,” I say as we follow behind Tim.
“Of course you can. But some backup never hurts,” he says with a smile and puts his arm around my shoulders.
I roll my eyes but smile.
#
I finish signing the checkout paperwork with Tim, and then Jason and I go back outside to the SUV. Jason puts my suitcase in the back, and I get in the passenger side as my cell rings. I get it out of the pocket and smile when I see that it’s Ryna.
“Hey Ry!” I answer cheerfully.
“Hey beautiful! I know I spoke to you this morning, but I wanted to call and check in properly,” he explains. “Have you learnt anything from Moonstone?”
“Kind of. I’m not sure what it all means or if I believe it. Actually, is your better half around?” I ask him.
“Gino’s at work. Why’s that?”
“I was wondering if you could see if he knows anything about Plato and his theory on incarnation, and if there’s anything in our history books relating to pure or chosen lycans. If anyone is going to know, I’m hoping it’s your mate,” I tell him.
“Plato, incarnation, pure or chosen lycans. Got it. I’ll ask him when he gets home,” Ryna says.
“Thanks, Ry, I appreciate it. Also, I need you to tell Gamma that I need any information on that investigator, Derek, that he might not have given me. The mother fucker tried to kill me today,” I say.
“I’m sorry, what?” I hear panic rise in Ryna’s voice.
“I’m fine, Ry. I just need to know if there’s anything that I’ve missed on the snake,” I snarl.
“Athena… Maybe it’s time to come home. I don’t like this at all,” Ryna says with concern.
“I promise you I’m fine. And besides, I have backup,” I say with a smile as Jason opens the door and gets in the driver’s side.
“You promise me that if things get any worse, you will ring me. I can be there in a few hours if you need me.”
“I promise, Ry. I need to go. But I miss you!” I say sadly.
“I miss you too, my girl. Take care of yourself, please,” he says affectionately.
“Promise. Bye, Ryna,” I say and hang up when he says goodbye, and I put my phone back in my pocket.
“Are you ok? You seem sad,” Jason asks, placing his hand on my knee.
“I’m fine, just a bit homesick after talking to my best friend,” I explain with a small smile as I squeeze his hand.
“Listen… About what almost happened,” he says awkwardly.
I smile and turn towards him, taking his hand in mine. “Let’s just put it down to the adrenaline of the day,” I say. “I think we both would have regretted going further.”
He lets out a breath of relief. “Thanks, Athena. You’re beautiful, but I’ve saved myself for my mate…” he trails off.
“She’s a lucky girl,” I say, placing my hand on his cheek. “You’re one of the good ones.”
I remove my hand from his cheek, and he blushes from the compliment. We turn our heads when we hear cars pulling into the parking lot, and Jason turns towards the steering wheel, clearing his throat.
“Looks like the cavalry has arrived. Let’s get back to the compound,” he says, starting the SUV.
The early morning sun peaks over the surrounding mountains, spreading its warmth over our territory, but I don’t feel it. My breath is ragged as I run hard through the forest. Low-lying branches smack my face as I go past them, but I feel nothing. My only focus is to get to the lake. The lake will calm me before this rage swallows me whole.I finally see it in the distance, the lake that Enyo and I used to soak in after practice. Back when everything was right in the world. Before Daddy was murdered. Before I knew anything about the chosen.I don’t slow as I get closer. Instead, I brace for impact as I dive towards the ice covering the body of water. Enyo’s large, heavy body breaks through, and the iced water takes my breath away as I slowly sink to the bottom. I let the freezing water cool my heated body; the rage releasing from my body and my mind slowly clearing.I can hear shouts from above the water, but I ignore them. As the rage fuelled fogginess leaves my mind, I’m hit with a
“Alpha! Alpha, can you hear me?”I groggily open my eyes and see Leah hovering over me.“Alpha, thank the Goddess,” Leah says with a heavy sigh. “Don’t move, Doc Apollo is on his way.”I grab the back of my head, and I feel that my hair is wet. I look at my hand, and it’s covered in blood.“What happened?” I ask, lifting my head slightly and looking around.“You fell down the cliff side after the rogue charged you,” she explains.I look to my left and up the cliff side. “I’ve been saying for years there needs to be a railing put up there,” I say with a groan and try to sit up.“Please don’t move, Alpha. You fell a long way.”“I see that. But I’ll be okay,” I tell her, sitting up. Then I remember the reason I was in the forest. “Where’s Catherine?” I ask, panicked.“Gamma Michael and Gamma Cole have her in custody,” she explains.“And the other rogue?”She says nothing but looks behind me. I turn and see a young boy, his neck clearly broken from the fall. “Shit,” I grumble. “How did you
“Everything looks wonderful, Melanie,” I compliment her as I look over all the decorated tables outside of the pack hall.“Thank you, Alpha,” she says happily. “I hope you like everything inside, as well.”“I know I will,” I tell her with a big smile.She smiles back and bows before heading off to attend to her duties. Andreas comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, nestling his nose into the crook of my neck. “I can’t believe we pulled this off.”“The pack has worked hard. I’m so proud of everyone.”I see Rich and Noah in the distance, with the Cresent Warriors, and Michael and Beta Castor behind them. I take Andreas’s hand and walk over to them, wanting to keep the conversation away from others. “Still nothing?” I ask, disappointed.“I lost their scent on the other side of the mountain,” Beta Castor says with a frown.“Leah stayed at the Cabin in case she’s stupid enough to go back there,” Tony says.I nod. “We’ll pick up the search again in the morning,” I tell them.
“How is the feast coming along?” I ask Melanie, the pack’s head cook.“Everything is coming along nicely, Alpha. I’ve ensured there’s plenty of food for both packs, with extras.” She says with a proud smile.“You’ve done amazingly, Melanie. If there’s anything you need help with, please speak with Gino,” I tell her.“The Omegas are all taking care of everything, Alpha. They’ve been very helpful, as always.”“I’m proud of all of you,” I tell the rest of the Omegas and they all smile and bow their heads.“Alpha, I need a word with you,” Leah says from the kitchen door.“Of course,” I tell Leah. “Please excuse me, Melanie,” I smile at her.She bows her head and returns to her work, and I follow Leah into the dining room, where I find Rich and Noah waiting.“What can I do for our Epsilons today?” I ask with a smile.“We have a report from our border patrol, Alpha,” Rich says.“There’s been a sighting of a couple of rogues hanging around our borders,” Noah explains.I stiffen. “From the pa
Three hours laterWe watch as fight after fight ends, and the defeated warriors fill the sidelines of the training field, joining the rest of the pack in cheering and enjoying the spectacle.We watch Michael closely as he defeats opponent after opponent.“He hasn’t lost any of his strength,” Cassia says, and I think I see something flash in her eyes, but whatever she was feeling quickly disappears when she notices me staring at her.“Or his viciousness,” Ryna adds.“Nothing wrong with some viscousness in your Gamma, Beta,” Harry says.“As long as it’s towards our enemies...” Gino mumbles.I focus back on Michael as he defeats another warrior, trying to ignore the guilt I feel from Gino’s comment.“Maybe you should have just named him Gamma, Alpha,” Tony says. “He has the advantage of being a born Beta. I don’t think anyone will beat him.”“It is looking that way. But maybe that will earn him back some of the respect he lost.”“Doubtful. But we’ll see,” Ryna says.“Cole could give him
As I walk towards Ryna’s house with Andreas, I can’t help the pounding of my heart as I think of my best friend never forgiving me.I feel Andreas squeeze my hand tightly, and I give him a small smile as we climb the steps of Ryna’s small cottage. I take a breath as we approach the door and knock.Gino answers the door a few moments later, and I’m engulfed with the anger he feels as it radiates from his body.“He needs time, Alpha.” He says shortly.“I understand, Gino. But there are pack matters that need to be attended to,” Andreas says when I don’t say anything.“I will make sure that all pack matters are dealt with,” Gino responds, his glaring eyes never leaving mine.I swallow the lump in my throat and finally find the words I want to say. “I’m not here about pack business,” I say, my voice coming out as a squeak. “I came to apologize for everything that happened yesterday.”“It’s going to take more than apologies, Alpha,” Gino says angrily.“I know, but I can only start there.”