تسجيل الدخولOllie’s POV“Well, shit,” says Keiran, letting out a startled huff of a laugh. “You know I was just kidding about the whole fated mate thing yesterday. I didn’t actually expect you to go out and find one.”“I wasn’t expecting to,” says Lucas. He presses a kiss to the top of my head. “But I’m not complaining.”Keiran walks toward me, grinning and holding out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Ollie. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m Keiran, and the guy looming in the doorway is my fated mate and Alpha of the Madison pack, Julian Matisse.”“Nice to meet you,” I say, taking Keiran’s hand.Julian gives me a warm smile over his mate’s shoulder. “Welcome to the family, Ollie.”“Uh, thank you, Alpha Matisse,” I say.Keiran snorts. “You can just call him Julian. We don’t stand much on formality here.”We all file inside and Keiran leads us into a comfortable looking living room with two overstuffed couches set up in front of an entertainment center. In the corner, there’s a carved wooden box o
Ollie’s POVNo matter how much I slept yesterday and last night, my body is still exhausted. Not surprising given the circumstances, but also a little frustrating since we’ve been driving less than ten minutes and I’m already struggling to keep my eyes open.As the world outside shifts from rolling hills to flatter expanses of farmland, my eyes grow even heavier and my mind drifts into a light doze, my senses coasting along the surface of sleep while still semi-aware of the real world around me.Instead of dreams, a sideshow of disconnected images flashes behind my eyes, each one too fleeting for me to fully grasp. More memories? Probably, but nothing that sticks out enough for me to hold on to and nothing that makes any sense to me.Swimming in a cold river.An imposing female figure.A teenage alpha with his arm around my shoulders.There’s no dialogue, no greater narrative to the images, and none of the people or places are clear enough for me to connect them with anything else flo
Ollie’s POVLucas tosses the tracker onto the nightstand and pulls me into his lap, pressing his lips to mine, his tongue pushing into my mouth. He devours me, his touch almost frantic as he kisses me.After a few moments, he pulls back, resting his forehead against mine.“They’re never taking you back. I won’t let that happen,” he says, eyes closed and half-panting. “Never. You’re mine now. No one is ever going to hurt you again.”The urgency to his words and the force of the emotion behind them make it clear I’m not the only one with some anxiety—and trauma. I don’t know enough about Lucas’s past to know where this is coming from, but that doesn’t mean his pain is any less valid than my own.I wrap my arms around him, running my hands up and down his back in a soothing motion, as his body gradually relaxes. He buries his face against my neck and lets out a long, slow breath.“Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to make this about me.”I press a kiss to the side of his head. “If I get t
Ollie’s POVWith all the ups and downs of the morning—the dream, the tears, the conversation, the intimacy—my emotions are already all over the place, and the thought that there’s something inside me, something the humans put there… ugh. That just makes everything worse.A quiet, distressed whine builds in my throat, and I plaster myself to Lucas’s chest, brushing my nose over his arm and taking comfort from his scent. He curls his body around me protectively and rubs his cheek over my hair. I burrow in closer, wanting nothing more than to hide, using his arms as a shelter from the sudden onslaught of anxiety caused by those humans. And, well, everything else.“Don’t worry,” he says, his voice soft. “We’ll get rid of it.”He swings me into a bridal carry, then yells something to Nancy about going to pack, before carrying me upstairs to the bedroom and kicking the door shut behind us. Placing me on my feet, he tugs at the hem of my shirt with a single-minded intensity, his brow furrowe
Lucas’s POVHer reaction isn’t what I expected though. Instead of backing off, her eyes narrow and a thoughtful look comes over her face. A cold smile twists at her lips, curling her mouth upward. “I see,” she says. She leans to the side, trying to look past me to the interior of the house. “So, our little runaway found some friends. How many of you are there?”I give her a blank stare, my jaw clenching.“Probably not many then,” she says, nodding as if agreeing with herself.“Enough to get rid of you two,” I say, my growl amping up into a more audible threat.She scoffs. “Don’t be so sure of yourself, puppy. We know how to deal with mongrels like you.”One of the man’s hands shoots forward, a syringe wrapped in his fist and aimed for my neck. The effort is almost laughable as I easily intercept him, grabbing his hand and squeezing until the man cries out and I hear something crack.I let more of my wolf shine through, my teeth elongating in my mouth as my nails sharpen into claws. My
Lucas’s POVThere aren’t many reasons I can think of for someone to show up here uninvited at this particular point in time, and none of them are good. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like whoever’s at the door is going to do me the favor of simply going away, so I’m going to have to deal with them either way.I step back into the bedroom, turning to take Ollie’s face between my hands, and place a gentle kiss on his furrowed brow.“Nothing to worry about,” I say. “I’ll handle it.”“Crap timing though, right?” He flashes me a tiny smile, his cheeks going pink.“You can say that again.” I give him another kiss, then quickly slip into some clean clothes before heading toward the stairs.Ollie slips into the hallway behind me, a shadow on my heels, and though the feeling is faint, the connection between us thrums with his anxiety. He slides his hand into mine and I give his fingers a gentle squeeze.I move through the house near silently and when I reach the foyer by the front door, I pull







