แชร์

One

ผู้เขียน: Phoenix Storm
last update ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2021-10-15 12:27:23

Veronica

I leapt a solid foot into the air, my heart pounding a thousand beats a minute at the quiet snick of the door as Marigold entered the room behind me and water sloshed down the front of me, bringing my mind flying back to the present.

“I’m sorry! I did not mean to startle you.” She apologized in her soft-spoken voice while I dried my now sopping shirt with the dish towel.

I took a moment to collect myself before responding, “No, you’re fine. I was lost in reminiscing and did not hear you come in.”

“Hmm, maybe about a certain someone? You know you are going to have to tell him when he gets here right?” She casually tossed the last part over her slim shoulder as she walked to the pantry and returned a moment later with the broom and dustpan.

She gave me a knowing glance before she started sweeping up the food off the floor, as if her last statement had not completely sent my thoughts into a hectic tailspin.

“I know, I know. I am just not sure how to at this point.”

I rinsed off the last dish before placing it on the counter with the others to dry. Then, I began wiping down the remaining counters and stovetop, beating myself up about what I knew was the right thing to do but also trying to find a way around it anyway.

Ryker hurt me badly when he had left the morning after without a word. I had thought that we were starting something beautiful in the wake of all the tragedy. That night was indescribable, but it hurt too much after the fact to allow myself the luxury of reliving it often.

It was doubly worse when he outright avoided me on his return trips to check on my safety at Jax’s behest. I always knew when he was near one way or another, but he never came to see me. Not once.

It had made the decision to keep my secret easier, but with him returning to the territory for the foreseeable future, it would be impossible to keep for much longer.

I noticed Marigold brushing the last of the mess into the dustpan. Accordingly, I grabbed the bucket to run the mop water while she finished tidying up the room, hoping the distraction would take my mind off of the pressing issue, at least temporarily.

Next, I retrieved the mop, but I had only swabbed one stroke when a loud knocking resonated from the front door. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I had not paid any attention to the footsteps approaching until the sound of rapping had rung out unmistakably.

“I can do this. You go get the door.” She motioned to grab the mop from me as she spoke.

“Thank you, Mari. I don’t know what I would do without you.” I shot a sincere look her way before concluding, “I’ll be right back.”

I arrived at the door as an additional series of pounding reverberated from the other side of the thick slab of wood. I opened the heavy door without further delay and immediately ducked out of the way of the fist that was swinging straight for my face.

“Shit, I’m sorry Ronnie! Are you okay?”

I looked up and met Asher’s jade-colored eyes as my own ran over his harried appearance, surprised to see him standing at my front door.

“Yeah, I am fine, but what are you doing here? Is everything all right?”

I righted myself as I answered, but I could not help as the worry began to creep in. Asher and I were not well acquainted, so him being here was strange, to say the least.

He seemed to shake himself out of whatever train of thought his mind had wandered down, replying with a grim look on his face, “Zeke launched another attack against Willow, in accordance with the bears at the boundary of the Northern Province this time. Ryker and your brother handled the situation, but Ry insisted that I bring you with me to meet the others at the pack house in the North.”

The first part of his soliloquy took a moment to register, as I was busy fuming internally about Ryker making decisions for me yet again without any input from me whatsoever.

My wolf was riled along with me, equally as pissed on my behalf, at least that was what I was going with.

I wanted to refuse sheerly on principal, but as my brain caught up with my ears, my next question spilled forth unbidden as the muscles in my shoulders began to bunch with the stress.

“Wait. Is everyone all right?”

Asher hurriedly responded before I could panic too much, saying, “As far as I know your family was safe but passed out and completely lost to the world at the moment.”

His words left me feeling a bit uncertain. While I had refused to return with my brother to our home territory, it had had nothing to do with him personally. There was simply something stronger rooting me deep into the rich soil here in the Southern Province.

I was sure that my brother and sister were fine, but as a new healer, I felt obligated to check on them in person. I was also a smidge worried about one other person, but I would never admit it aloud.

It would be difficult to ask Mari to do twice as much, but I also knew that she would not mind.

So, I replied, “Give me a few minutes to pack a bag and I’ll meet you back here in 15 minutes.”

“Actually, let’s make it the pack house in an hour, if that’s okay. There are a few things I need to take care of before we go.”

“Yeah, that works perfect. See you then.”

“Later, man.”

I moved to shut the door, but Asher stood fixed in place momentarily before he jerked his head away and strode off in the direction of the pack house.

I quietly trod through the house until I located Mari dumping the last of the mop water down the drain.

I plopped down in one of the wooden chairs, waiting until she joined me before saying, “You truly are amazing. You do so much already, which makes it more difficult to ask my next question, but do you think that you could cover for me here for a couple of days?”

“Of course, Ronnie. By the way, I heard what happened, werewolf hearing, remember? I hope your family didn’t get injured badly.”

“From what Asher said, I’m thinking that they are probably just worn out from the adrenaline crash. It’s normal, but I would feel better seeing them in person.”

“Well, I will hold down the fort here while you’re gone. Make sure you get some rest on the trip there. You deserve it, girl. You do twice as much as me on any given day.”

I shot a genuine smile her way before leaving and slogging my way down the hall to my bedroom. I gathered a few items, not paying much attention to what my hands grabbed, before I hopped into the shower for a hot, steamy cleansing session. I stood under the water for way too long, until it turned lukewarm, in fact.

I did not waste much time with my outward appearance as I pulled on some sweats and an oversized t-shirt after I was dry, and I decided to forgo my hair care routine altogether, throwing it up in a messy bun and calling it good. I loathed brushing my hair, and it was ten times worse when it was wet, so I gladly took any excuse to put it off.

Following, I grabbed my bag on my way out of the room in search of the other she-wolf, pausing to make a detour along the way.

I found Mari reading a book in the living room, snuggled up in the faux leather recliner with a pink blanket resting in her lap. She looked up with a smile and a wave before diving back into the pages of her novel.

I rolled my eyes at her half-hearted farewell, but I knew better than to interrupt her when she was reading. Therefore, I set off for the pack house without further delay, shouldering the straps of my backpack over the toned muscles of my right shoulder as I went.

อ่านหนังสือเล่มนี้ต่อได้ฟรี
สแกนรหัสเพื่อดาวน์โหลดแอป

บทล่าสุด

  • Mated to the Alpha of the South   Update

    Hello wonderful readers, I am so sorry for any confusion, but all four books in this series will be separated. Unfortunately, my editor received some untrue information that was then passed on to me. To limit confusion, the order of the books is as follows: *Mated to the Alpha of the North *Mated to the Alpha of the South *Mated to the Alpha of the West *Mated to the Alpha of the East Thank you for your continued patience, understanding, and support. (I am also loving all the comments and encouragement. You guys are awesome! Thanks for sticking with me!!)

  • Mated to the Alpha of the South   Epilogue

    Veronica I was awoken way too early for my liking the next morning, but I wasn’t complaining once I realized what had brought me back to the land of the living. I could see the sun had already risen through my squinted eyes, but the fatigue seemed determined to stick around. The sensual feeling of Ry’s stubbled beard rubbing against my inner thighs as he gently ran his tongue in circles around my bundle of nerves had my hips rocking up of their own accord. My mate’s husky chuckle was the only warning I got before he suddenly sucked my clit into his mouth, slamming me into awareness as he brought his fingers into the action now that I was awake and fully onboard with his plans. It didn’t take him long to bring me to a screaming climax then, and I was enthusiastic to return the favor after I recovered from the stars orbiting my head and took a few moments to catch my breath, that was. Ry moved up my body while I was lost in all-

  • Mated to the Alpha of the South   Fifty-Two

    Veronica I was stunned when Ry’s voice intruded, anxiously warning of his impending arrival with a severely injured Ruby in tow. I had only just taken my seat to dig into the hearty stew Willow created, but I didn’t dither to explain to the others as I jumped up to meet him at the door. Even as I scurried forth, I couldn’t help but think there had been some type of mistake. Ruby had sworn to me she would not leave her house during the fighting. I knew she had chosen to stay behind, and I had advocated for her to join the patrol groups, but we had agreed she needed more training before taking on real adversaries. I didn’t give a damn that the bears had invaded early, I was pissed at Ruby for lying to me, but then I felt horrible for being angry at a wolf who was struggling to remain with us. I zoned my concentration in on her abdomen, where it appeared the most damage had occurred. There were multiple large gashes stead

  • Mated to the Alpha of the South   Fifty-One

    Ryker My concentration was zeroed in on getting Ruby to my mate as I ran through the forest, but I also observed the fighting appeared to be over entirely as I pushed myself faster through the trees. I didn’t let myself ruminate on our victory or the losses we undoubtedly suffered, rather I diverted all my attention towards letting Ronnie know I was on the way. {Incoming! Ruby’s been injured. It’s serious. I’ll be there in two minutes time with her.} I could barely detect the girl’s shallow breath as I continued onward. The uneven beating of her heart had me frantically hurtling forward, dodging obstacles, and darting through the trees at a risky speed with the precious cargo I carried. It wouldn’t matter, regardless, if I couldn’t get her to Ronnie in enough time. Thankfully, Ronnie was waiting with the front door thrown open wide when I reached my destination, but she was advancing towards me in the twinkling of an e

  • Mated to the Alpha of the South   Fifty

    Ryker Pain rippled down my spine as I transformed mid-stride, but it was forgotten as soon as the pinprick registered. My wolf’s keen eyes took in the dim tunnels as we ran onward, and I had to admit his vision was much clearer than mine was in my human form. On the other hand, I was having a difficult time discerning which direction Holden had disappeared with his scent seemingly surrounding me at every turn. Sight and smell were two of the biggest senses I normally relied on when tracking prey, but both were limited down here to my chagrin. Magnus’ and Holden’s scent trails were down every dark corridor I took, taunting me from every turn. I was forced to slow when I lost the elder again, but it did give me the opportunity to identify the subtle differences within the lingering scents. It didn’t take me long to narrow the options down to only two possible paths of egress he might have taken once I was focused, though I conce

  • Mated to the Alpha of the South   Forty-Nine

    Veronica Relief poured through me as my eyes alighted upon the weapon the former Southern Elder was brandishing. I wasn’t stupid. I knew it was dangerous after my own encounter with it prior, but I had something to fight back with now. Ryker and Jax blocked the older male’s line of sight, so he didn’t see me whipping out my own identical cylinder. Willow’s chocolate eyes turned up when she saw what I was holding, and her lips stretched into a victorious grin as she spoke up, giving me the opening that I needed. However, she also unwittingly aided our enemy in the process, forcing me to act quickly as the noxious fumes began to spew into the air. Ryker yanking me off my feet didn’t help matters, but I still managed to initiate the container in enough time to combat the unchanged one Holden had set off. I didn’t hesitate as relief at my foresight spread through me, reaching into my pocket, and instigating another cannister so we would be able to keep going. I knew Ryker would never

บทอื่นๆ
สำรวจและอ่านนวนิยายดีๆ ได้ฟรี
เข้าถึงนวนิยายดีๆ จำนวนมากได้ฟรีบนแอป GoodNovel ดาวน์โหลดหนังสือที่คุณชอบและอ่านได้ทุกที่ทุกเวลา
อ่านหนังสือฟรีบนแอป
สแกนรหัสเพื่ออ่านบนแอป
DMCA.com Protection Status