POV Griffin (The night before)
After drinking with my crew until late evening, I had found a girl to take back to my room. I was doing just that when Dad linked me and ordered me to his office.
"I've got to go. Go home" I told the confused and pissed girl. She made a face but shut up when she saw my glare and hurried away.
I stomped to Dad's office and walked in.
"What's going on?" I asked as I looked around.
Graves my Dad's Beta and Boris the Gamma were there along with Dolph, Nik, Theo and one of our trackers named Tom.
"Tom just got back from following those girls today. He wants to tell us about it." Dolph replied and I furrowed my brow.
"Why didn't he just link us?" I demanded and Tom sighed.
"I can't. I've been trying for hours. I can't even shift right now" Tom answered and I looked at him in surprise.
"What!" I exclaimed and Dad put his hands up.
"Everyone calm down. Let's figure this out. Tell us everything, Tom" Dad commanded and he nodded.
"I followed the girls in my wolf form but knew where they were going so I sped up to get to their house first so I could at least get a picture or a recording of them walking in. I got way more than that" he began.
"I got near the house and shifted and changed into the clothes a brought in my bag. I recorded them on my phone. You won't believe what I got" he continued as he pulled out his phone.
We all huddled around his phone. We saw Jasmine and a blonde girl get out of the car as Iris came out of the house with some drinks. A woman that I didn't know was gardening in a large hat that blocked her face.
I stiffened when I saw the blonde girl and Dad did the same when he saw the woman in the hat. The girl was achingly beautiful and I couldn't take my eyes off her.
"Hi, girls! How was the mall?" The woman in the hat asked.
"It's her! I would know that voice anywhere!" Dad whispered and grinned.
"Good" the blonde goddess replied as she and Jasmine took a huge amount of bags out of the car.
I closed my eyes at the sound of her voice and melted. What was wrong with me?
"Jasmine Cabot and Lilly Fowler! Did you leave anything in the stores!" Iris yelled.
"Mom! Lilly has like no clothes!" Jasmine protested.
I looked up in alarm. Why wouldn't she have any clothes? I worried.
Iris shook her head, "Somehow, I don't believe that all those bags are just for my dear, sweet niece."
"Did she just say niece?" Dolph and Dad nodded darkly.
"What are you planting, Mom?" Lilly asked and I couldn't help but sigh.
She had the sweetest voice that I had ever heard.
"Mom?" Dad muttered.
"Is that wolfsbane?" Lilly asked and we froze.
"No way" Nik whispered.
"I see that you've kept up with your botany studies, Lilly. I hope that you can help my daughter catch up" Iris said.
"Why are they studying botany?" Dolph asked but we ignored him.
"Why are you planting wolfsbane throughout the garden?" Lilly asked as she looked around.
"She wouldn't dare" Dad whispered as he clenched his fists.
"Don't worry about it. I have my reasons." Rose replied.
Lilly looked confused but followed Jasmine inside with the bags.
"If he finds out that you're back and that you're planting this shit everywhere, he's going to be livid. You could start a war." Iris warned.
"Well, he just won't find out then" Rose replied.
Iris shook her head and went in after giving Rose a drink. Rose drank it and then went back to planting. After a few more minutes she finished.
"That should keep the wolves at bay" she muttered and went inside.
We were silent as Tom turned off the phone.
"No one came out for the rest of the night. I tried to link right away but couldn't. I didn't want to abandon my post so I waited for Chris to relieve me and walked back here." Tom finished.
"I can already feel the poison wearing off" He added and I nodded.
"Thanks, Tom. Good work. You should go rest and recover" Graves commanded. Tom nodded and walked out.
We sat down in shock and the silence enveloped us again.
Suddenly, Dad exploded. He flipped his desk over in a rage.
"I can't believe that she would do this!!!" He yelled.
"She would rather poison me than see me again?!" he continued.
"It's okay, Dad. At least we know where she is now." I replied and he took a deep breath.
"I want trackers at her house at all times. Anyone who leaves that house is to be followed. Also get someone over there to set up cameras. Make sure that the trackers keep their distance so the wolfsbane doesn't affect them." Dad ordered and Graves nodded.
"You all need to get close to those girls. Especially Lilly. She won't leave without her daughter." Dad said as he turned to me and my crew.
"Tell the whole pack that all four of them are protected. They are not to be touched." he continued.
"What about the Red Spiders? Should we say anything to them?" Theo asked and Dad paused.
After a moment, he shook his head.
"Don't say anything to them at the moment. If they discover that they are important, they might use them against us. Along those lines, make sure that everyone knows not to spread these orders around. The last thing we need is for the Bloodvenom pack to hear about them and take them before we have a chance to move them." Dad replied.
"What are you thinking, long game here, boss?" Boris asked and Dad smirked.
"She won't get away this time and if she needs them to be with her to be happy, then that's what I'm going to do" he answered and dismissed us.
We left and I heard him leave the pack house afterwards. We all heard his heartbreaking howls later.
The next morning, Nik drug me out of bed to get ready.
"Come on, your Dad want's us at school early to make sure that we are in the same classes as Lilly and Jasmine." she explained.
"How are we going to do that?" I asked.
"Easy. You and I will get in all of Lilly's classes and Theo and Dolph will get all of Jasmine's" she replied and I groaned.
"Great, now we're babysitters" I complained.
"Come on, Griff. You know that this is important to your Dad. When he and Rose end up together, Jasmine and Lilly will join us" she said.
I growled. I wasn't fond of humans joining our pack. Human mates were one thing but adding a whole family was a lot to ask.
I took a quick shower and got dressed. I went down to the kitchen and found Dolph, eating.
We all lived in the pack house together with most of the rest of the pack. We liked to live together for safety. Some families lived in their own houses but all the single members and all the ranking members stayed at the pack house.
It was a huge house that we hid out in the woods. It was well protected and we had patrols at all hours watching over everyone. Safety for our pack was our number one priority.
"Hey, boss." Dolph called and I nodded as I grabbed some breakfast of my own.
"You two ready?" Nik asked as she and Theo came in a few minutes later, just as I was finishing. I nodded and grabbed my bag. We went out and hopped on our bikes.
Nik checked her phone after we parked at the school.
"Chris just texted me. They just left for the school. Sam is following them but he's not going to come into the school, just stay to make sure they don't leave" She explained as we walked to the office.
"I just got off the phone with your Dad. Here's your new schedules. They are all the same since the girls had all the same classes" our Principal said as soon as we walked in. He was human but he knew about us and our pack. He always did whatever we told him to. It made school a lot more bearable.
"Thanks" Theo replied as he took the sheets. He passed them out to the rest of us as we walked out.
"They just got here" Nik announced right as that smell from last night came back to me.
I turned to see them walk past us, arm in arm. They both were shooting glares at the staring students, most of which were my pack. They whispered to each other and then glared more while straightening their shoulders and raising their heads, proudly. Luckily, they didn't notice us.
"Damn. Have you ever seen two girls walk through crowds of werewolves and vamps like that?" Theo asked.
I shook my head but couldn't take my eyes off Lilly. My wolf was stirring again. Something about her made me want to protect her although it really didn't look like she needed protecting.
"Jasmine Cabot!" a male voice yelled and we watched as Theo's human mate, Lance approached Jasmine who smiled and turned to hug him. When they split, he turned to Lilly.
We watched them talk for a moment.
"Well, this as good of an in as any" Nik said and pushed Theo towards them. The rest of us followed him over.
"You did? Isn't he the cutest?" We heard Lance say as Lilly and Jasmine laughed.
Her laugh was like music and my heart both rejoiced at the sound and clinched in jealousy since I wasn't the one to make her laugh like that.
"You better be talking about me" Theo said and I smirked.
"Nope. I was talking about my other cute boyfriend" Lance replied and Theo stiffened a put his arm around Lance.
I shook my head. This is why I didn't want a mate. They made you weak. Just a few words from Lance and Theo, the most level headed member of my pack, was ready to bust heads.
"Of course I was talking about you" Lance said and Theo calmed down.
I walked up and glanced at Jasmine but then turned my attention back to Lilly. I stared at her shamelessly. I was upset that she didn't even glance my direction, like I wasn't even worth her time to look at. A part of me vowed to make her pay for such rudeness.
"It's nice to see you both again" Nik said. Jasmine nodded.
"You too, Nik." Lilly replied and I gasped.
Her voice was even better in person. She ignored me and looked at Jasmine. I clinched my fists. She was going to be sorry for ignoring me for so long.
"You remember Theo and Dolph, right?" Nik continued and they nodded.
"This is another one of our good friends, Griffin. This is Jasmine, you probably remember her from last year and this is Lilly." Nik finished and finally Lilly looked up at me.
It was like the world stopped and I heard her gasp. Damn right, about fucking time.
"Hello, Jasmine. It's nice to see you again." I said as I continued to stare at Lilly.
"Griffin." Veronica replied and pulled on Lilly's arm, trying to get her to walk away.
I couldn't help but growl at the action and thankfully, Jasmine stopped and looked confused. I stared at Lilly for a moment longer and took a deep breath, smelling her wonderful scent.
"Lilly, is it?" I asked and she nodded.
I didn't like that she didn't speak to me but I decided to let it go for the moment.
"It's a pleasure to meet you" I added and held out my hand.
She looked at it and hesitated, pissing me off even more. It was like she was afraid to touch me while all I could think of was touching her... everywhere. She shook her head and took a deep breath. Suddenly she looked at me in surprise. I had a pretty good idea why her scent affected me so much but my scent shouldn't do anything to her. She was a human. I looked at her in confusion and suspicion.
She hesitantly reached out her hand and I grabbed if before she could change her mind. Suddenly, I felt shocks go up my arm and heard her moan. It was the most wonderful sound and I almost lost all of my self control. She was full of surprises. She shouldn't be able to feel this too.
I pulled her closer with her hand and smelled her neck. It was then that I knew. She was my mate.
"Mine" I whispered and all my crew looked alarmed.
Well, fuck.
POV LillyI groaned as I woke up and looked around to see Griffin smiling down at me. All the memories from the night before came back and I blushed as he smirked and chuckled."How are you feeling?" he drawled and I glared at him."Sore?" he guessed and I nodded.I looked down to see that I had Griffin's boxers and tank on since we had run to the bathroom before sleeping. He quickly slipped on his pants."Let's go eat." I suggested."Okay but you should at least put on your bra." he recommended and I realized that he was right.
POV LillyI woke up to see Griffin sleeping soundly next to me, arms wrapped protectively around my waist. I smiled at him, admiring his handsome features. I knew he was awake when a moment later, he made a ugly face at me and pulled me into my chest."You sleep okay, baby?" he whispered into my hair and I nodded."Good." He looked at me and sighed."I know today is going to be difficult. Just please know that I will always be here for you. You and your family are not alone." He said."Thanks, Griff." I whispered and he grinned.I unwrapped his arms an
POV GriffinAfter we changed and got ready, Dad, Dolph, Nik, Theo, Penny and I piled into the limo. We picked up Cedric and Ember at the coven house and then stopped to get Lance at his house. Chance and Evan weren't going to make it to the dinner but they said would be joining us in the morning. As we headed to pick up Lilly, Jasmine and Rose, we looked at each other."So we need to watch over these three at all times this weekend. This is a lot for them to deal with along with so many coming to mourn with them. It's bound to be overwhelming. I know that we are all grieving but they are feeling so much more than any of us. We have to be there for them and for each other, agreed?" Dad began and we all nodded."I'm going to be honest, I have no idea what to expect during the ceremony or celebration. It's their ritual and we must honor and respect it. It's fine if we don't want to participate but we must be respectful no matter what" h
POV LillyAfter dinner, we packed up and left. Hugging all our new and old friends good bye even though we would see them all in less than a week. The trip home was uneventful and the rest of the week passed quickly.Jasmine and I were excused from school due to the death in our family. The other's went and were busy the rest of the time with preparations for Iris's funeral. Despite all that needed to be done, Griffin, Cedric and Skol spent every night at our house. They also provided bodyguards for us at all times, whether we wanted them or not. We had one vamp and two werewolves with us always. It was annoying but they did their best not to bother us.We spent the first part of the week making the potions needed for Iris's ceremony and gathering the pr
POV GriffinI was beyond pissed, I was livid. How dare this mutt try to take my mate! I loved Lilly and no one could stand between us. I was already enraged with Chance over Lilly almost dying for him but now? Now, I was going to tear him apart. I might let him live for Lilly's sake but you better believe that he was in for a world of hurt.I looked over at Lilly as Chance approached and felt sorry for her. This was a terrible situation for her. I was sorry that it had come to this but I also knew that it needed to be done. In a way, I was relieved when Chance challenged me. At least now we could get it all out in the open.I knew that he wanted my mate. I knew from the second I saw him look at her. The fact that she saved him just made him want her more, especia
POV LillyI was surprised to hear that we needed to discuss the Blood Venom pack. I had assumed that the pack was completely wiped out. Unfortunately, I was out voted and we had to go have lunch before it could be discussed. I sighed, knowing that Griffin was going to be a pain in my ass about eating something.I wasn't trying to be difficult, I just wasn't in the mood to eat. Could you blame me with everything I had gone through? I knew that Griffin was right, though. I didn't need to get weak or sick, especially now. I sighed as I sat next between Griffin and Dolph. Dolph. That was another issue. What was that all about? Why was he so attached to me? Why did I feel safer and calmer around him? It was all too much. Lunch was a quiet and tension filled event. As