LUNA CLAIR. “Hi, Mommy!” I spoke with a broken voice as I fought my tears from falling, but they fell anyway. “I made cupcakes for you. They were not as good as yours, but I made them with all the love and longing I have for you.” Jake’s arms wrapped around me as he held me tightly while my fingers brushed on the flat headstone with Mom's name on it. “I miss you so much, but I know you are happy, right? Because Aaron and I found our mates, and they’re lovely. And they're siblings! So we don’t need to be separated from each other. We can stay together until we’re old and gray, like what Aaron would always say.” I tried to talk clearly, but my sobs were getting in the way. “Mommy, I got mated to Jake. Remember, you kept telling me to convince Jake that being a fated mate was not a bad thing? I did my best. He was so hardheaded, but I finally made him realize there was no better option than his fated mate.” My hands flew to my face as my cries got louder. “I wish you were here, Mommy
A year ago. AARON. "Oh, please Jacob, not him! Where is Beta Gavin?" Janna shrieked at her brother the moment I stepped out of my big truck. Her eyes were narrowing at her brother, and I was sure displeasure was flashing in them. "Beta Gavin is probably in bed, pleasing his mate. But if you want to disturb them, be my guest. I can drive you over to his parents’ house." I answered, annoyed, as I slipped my hands into my jeans pocket, watching as her squinting eyes shifted on me. "Aaron!" My sister Clair, also the Luna of this pack, gasped at my response, while Alpha Jake snickered before pulling his sister into a tight hug. "I could have explained it better, Janna. But the Gamma was right. So, unfortunately, you’re stuck with him." He answered in a coy manner. "Can somebody else drive me? Maybe he’ll throw me off somewhere." She groaned. Janna and I didn’t have a good history. We’ve been at each other’s throats since the first day we met months ago. I thought she was a spy or an
AARON "Why me? Can't the Beta do it? I'm not in the mood to drive." I groaned in my seat before throwing my head back on the headrest of the couch at the Alpha's office. I know it was a lousy excuse and seemed disrespectful, but my Alpha knew me better. I just talked like this, but I would never defy his order. "Aaron, stop asking why. You know the answer already." Clair answered annoyingly. She was sitting comfortably on the Alpha's lap, while the Alpha just looked at me, his lips pursing. "I don't have a choice, right?" I closed my eyes. I knew the answer already. "Fine. But just so you know, I'm already starting to lose my patience with Janna. She fucking knew how to push my buttons. It's not my fault if I end up abandoning her somewhere if she continues to irritate me." "Of course, you're not going to do that. If you leave her, you'll come back to pick her up, right?" My sister, the always goody-good Clair, would always make it a point to
JANNA. In just over a month, I would be turning eighteen. If I had a choice, I would rather stay with the humans, but like what my father kept telling me, this was my fate, and I could never run away from it. My name is Janna Marie Galhart. I am a shifter. And so are my parents. But we live among humans. My father, Jason Galhart, was supposed to be next in line as the Alpha of the Black Shadow Pack after my grandfather, but he gave up his right to become the next Alpha to be with my mother, Jessica Sawyer, his fated mate. In the beginning, he tried to stay away from my mother because he already had a Chosen Mate, the future Luna of his pack, and together they had a son, my half brother, Jacob. But as much as my father wanted to reject my mother, he couldn't fight the pull of the mate bond. In the end, he left his Chosen and his son and ran away with my mother to live among humans. And because of that, my half-brother, Jacob, became the next Alpha. It was only a year ago when m
AARON They just fucking don't look good together. My anger was rising, but I blamed it on her. She was fucking wasting my time here when we should have been driving back to the territory. I wanted to take her away from her boyfriend, but my bladder was already bursting. So instead, I headed off to the restroom. As soon as I was done, I wanted to go to her immediately, but there were two females who blocked my way and started flirting with me. If this was another time, I would have given in since I was a free man now, but my desire to take Janna away from her boyfriend was stronger than my urges right now. But she was nowhere around the bar when I came back. Fuck! Why did I take so long in the restroom? Instead of speaking politely with those females, I should have shoved them away. I could hear my heart thudding loudly despite the booming music and restless crowd. I panicked upon not finding her. If I lost her and Michael took
JANNAI felt my cheeks starting to burn at his words. Did I really moan his name? I won'tdeny I was thinking of him, because who would I think of when he was the one beside me? And he was gorgeous and all, and yes, he was the one beside me. I have a valid reason, right?But I swear I did my best not to open my mouth, so how could it be possible that he heard me?I held my breath as I sank into my seat, wishing for the car to swallow me whole. There was no way I would admit to him that I was thinking of him.We drove in silence until we reached my home, and I left him immediately after I told him he
AARON Jason already knew we were home last night. I sent him a mindlink and told him Janna was drunk and I was already tired. He didn't ask more and just told me to make sure the front door was securely locked before he cut off the mindlink. And this was turning out to be more bizarre. Breakfast was almost done, so it meant they were awake for a long time before they woke us up. Weren't they supposed to be alarmed that their daughter was tangled up with a man on their sofa the whole night? I didn't have time to think more about this since I followed after Janna as she rushed upstairs. My eyes lingered on her round ass as she half ran and half walked along the stairs in those short satin shorts. "Eyes off my ass, Gamma!" She snapped at me without looking back. "Then stop swinging it in my face!" I snapped back at her. She stopped and turned around so suddenly that I almost slammed my head on her stomach. My brows furrowed
JANNA I went down to the dining room and found Clair, Beta Gavin, and Alia in their seats already. Clair said that Jacob was still on the phone with another Alpha and told her that we could start dinner without him. I didn't see Aaron, but I was too shy to ask where he was, not wanting to leave the impression that I wanted to see him. I sat beside Clair. I knew this was Aaron's place, but every time I visited for two days every month, Clair would let me sit here. I was placing food on my plate when Aaron's voice reached my ears. I turned slowly to see him frowning, leaning his shoulder on the pillar of the dining room entryway. "Should I feel bad that I'm the only one always discarded on the dining table?" "Excuse me? What do you mean?" Clair asked her brother, as all eyes on the table were now on Aaron. He shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest, but stayed on his spot. "First, Alia came, and I was thrown out of my seat. And then, now that Janna is permanent