GINAKarli is fuming! I’ve never seen this girl get angry, but right now she looks like a cartoon character who’s about to have steam shooting out of her ears! It was endearing how angry she was for me and the fact that I had previously been rejected by my mate, but I reminded myself that she didn’t truly know me. She might be more understanding of my mate’s decision if she knew about my past, but I had no intention of giving her all those details.“Gina, I’m so sorry that you went through that,” she apologizes, “It totally makes sense that you would avoid any sort of relationship after that kind of hurt, but you must see that the moon goddess is trying to set things right by giving you a second chance mate.”I smile at her attempt to comfort and reassure me. I appreciate her concern for me but remain guarded. She might feel differently about me if she only knew the truth. I earned that rejection with my own stupid choices. I had already proven that I was not deserving of a mate
GINA“What the hell do you want now?” Jericho is standing there with the door open, but he’s not looking at me.He’s only wearing a pair of sweatpants, sitting low on his hips, putting his muscles on display in a way that makes my mouth water. His gaze is focused on the open book in his hand rather than on me, and I realize that it’s been quite some time since I last saw him. I can’t help but notice that his hair has grown longer. It hangs down past his eyes, blocking my view of them, but his hair has more wave in it than I remembered. Maybe my memory is a bit fuzzy, or maybe it’s the extra length that allows the body to show more. Either way, I take a moment to study the man in front of me.There is a bit of stubble on his face, as if he hasn’t bothered to shave in a few days, but I can still see the lines of his strong jaw that perfectly match his straight sharp nose. He’s a very handsome man, and I’d be an idiot to deny that fact.Jericho sighs loudly as he closes his book an
GINA As I ran through the forest, back to my room, the cool night air helped to clear my head. I can’t believe I almost kissed him! So much for keeping my distance and remaining neutral. Half of me was kicking myself for letting my guard down, while the other half was upset that I didn’t move in for the kiss sooner before I had to leave. I was a mess. The next day I prepared myself to go with Silas and see Jericho again. Jericho and I had already discussed how this would go and what we would say to one another, so I wasn’t worried about that part, but after the way I ran out on him last night, I was nervous about seeing him again. When Silas and I arrived at Jericho’s house, my heart felt like it would beat right out of my chest. It was probably a good thing because if I seemed too calm, Silas might be suspicious. Jericho played his part perfectly and the meeting with Silas went exactly as we had planned. I kept Jericho “on the hook” without fully giving in to the mate bond,
GINA “What are you doing out here?” Mathias mind-links me. If I play it cool and act casual enough, there’s no reason for him to bring it up to Silas or anyone else. “Just out for a run. I needed a break, so I let my wolf take control.” “Well, we have patrols to keep an eye on this rogue here,” he tips his head back indicating the house in the clearing behind him. “We have to make sure he isn’t doing anything suspicious, like making contact with his old pack to give them a heads up about us.” “Good idea. I’ll head back now. Have a good night.” Quickly taking off back towards the pack house, I make sure that Mathias sees me leaving just in case it comes up and there are any questions. If Silas does find out I was here, he should believe that my wolf brought me here without my knowing about it. He knows about the mate bond and how strong the pull can be, and I can truthfully tell him that I left when I realized where I was. Although now, I won’t be able to stop thinking abou
GINAKarli and I went over the modified plan about eight times before we had to go our separate ways to fulfill our pack duties. It rained a bit as well, which was a stroke of luck! I was back in my room by 9:00 PM, but couldn’t stop fidgeting and thinking about the task ahead of me.Everything must be perfect, or it will all fall apart, and I can safely assume that I’ll never see my mate again. I’m not sure how he would do it, but I’m convinced that Silas would find a way to keep us apart indefinitely.Watching the clock, the hours crept forward at the slowest pace I’ve ever experienced in my life. Finally, 11:30 PM rolled around and it was time for me to head out. I need to make it to the first checkpoint before midnight.After double checking my satchel for the elixir, I snuck out the east entrance. Upon entering the more dense section of the forest, I glance around to make sure no one else is out or watching me, then I take off running at a steady pace.The woods are quiet a
JERICHO Pinning Giovanna to the wall by the door, it was so hard for me not to crush my lips to hers and devour every inch of her, but I promised myself I would not push her or make her uncomfortable. Although she looks pretty uncomfortable with her wide golden eyes. I need to keep my cool until we can talk, but the next round of patrols will arrive any second and I don’t want them to see her or hear us talking. The patrols always go by the back of my house, and I’m sure if we talk in the front living room they won’t hear us. I have no idea why she’s here now, but I had the craziest dream last night. The moon goddess herself came to me and told me to be ready at 1:17 AM for a visitor. At first, I didn’t think anything of it, and went to bed at my usual time. Typically, I can sleep through that she-wolf’s late night rendezvouses. Yes, her and that male have done this before, but for some reason I was a light sleeper tonight. When I first woke up I was angry. I’m tired of hear
JERICHOWhen she froze, I worried that I’d pushed her too far and she’d pull away, maybe even leave, but she just sat there motionless.“I never want to make you uncomfortable or push you too far,” I reassured her as I waited painfully for her to respond in some way, but she stayed silent.Her legs began to quiver, and I couldn’t tell if it was from desire or exhaustion, or both, but I wanted to respect her boundaries, so I gently pushed her off to the side, so she was once again seated next to me on the sofa.Whatever has happened in her life before we met has caused her to close herself off and avoid intimacy. The mate bond has insured that I’m already completely in love with this woman and would do anything to make her happy, even if that means suffering my own discomfort for a time.“Tell me what you’re thinking.” I urge her.She stares ahead, avoiding my gaze. At first, I think she is going to clam up and not respond at all, but then she takes a deep breath as if she’s prepari
GINAIt was 4:45 AM when I got back to the pack house, and casually made my way down the hall hoping to run into Karli before Silas or Quinten found me. The elixir had worn off about 45 minutes ago, so I thought my tracks were pretty well covered.A few wolves passed me in the hall, but no one gave me any extra attention or second glances. The halls were pretty quiet and most of those that I passed by were headed out for a run or early morning training. I appreciated the peaceful atmosphere, but I still remained on edge due to my circumstances.After wandering the halls for about an hour, with no sign of Karli, I headed back to my room to shower and get ready for training. I briefly considered knocking on her door, but I was too worried that Silas or Quinten would see me.A cold shower was refreshing and helped to wake me up a bit more. Since I was out all night, I didn’t get any sleep and it was starting to catch up with me. I’m going to have to find time to take a few naps dur