LyraNow that we no longer have some kind of thing hanging over our heads, it’s as though I can finally breathe. I can shift and run with the pack on hunt nights. I can go to town and just shop without worrying. I don’t have to hide from anyone.It feels as if I’m free for the first time in my life, and I want to celebrate that freedom. Thankfully, Silas feels the same and when he suggests a pack bonfire, at first, I think it’s just for our pack, but it quickly becomes clear that it’s not.Even better, Helena finds information in the hunter’s database that proves there are other Lycans in the world, and Silas agrees that they should also be invited to this celebration. If we can find them. Helena is positively beaming the day she makes contact.Three weeks after we got rid of the man that captured me, Silas, Helena and I are greeting guests at our gates. We’ve set up tents for all the visitors since what was meant to be a one-night celebration has turned into an opportunity nobody wan
Lyra“I want us to try for a baby.” My voice sounds strange to my own ears when Silas and I get into bed later in the evening. We have Hunter, and I love him more than life itself, but I want more.“Uhm, okay. But where is this coming from?” Silas looks amused as he pulls me into his arms and I lay down with my head resting on his chest. His heartbeat is calming, and I trace his muscles with my fingertips while trying to find the words.“I was out walking in the clearing today and I remember having all the people here. It felt so good to have them all here. I just. I want more of that. I want us to have a bunch of kids.” I prop myself up on my elbows so that I can look into his eyes. Silas looks a little confused and amused at the same time. He jokes about it and I feel a little hurt, but I realize that it sounds a little nuts. I mean, we shouldn’t have that huge of a pack. It would definitely draw attention to us.Besides, I can’t imagine being pregnant all the time while trying to
IsabellaI burst into my room a couple of minutes later, and suddenly my beautiful dress is just in the damn way. I can hear the brothers still growling at each other downstairs while I pace back and forth in my room. My parents walk in and look at me as though I’m supposed to have all the answers right then and there.“How could this happen? How is this possible? Is one of them lying or something?” I pull at my dress that is suddenly getting in the way of my legs being able to move fast enough. My eyes shoot from one parent to the next and neither of them have any answers for me.“I guess it is possible.” My mom’s hands are so tightly clamped together that her knuckles turn white. She looks at my dad and I feel a knot start to form in the back of my throat. Isn’t this just my life? First, I find out I’m not a werewolf like my brothers and now this!“What do I do now?” My voice goes up an octave as I search their eyes for answers, and they look at each other for a moment before lookin
IsabellaIn the morning, I wake up with an enormous headache. I make my way downstairs for some coffee and am grateful when I find only my mom in the kitchen. Usually, by this time there is an army of people preparing breakfast and no peace.“Hi, mom.” I sigh as I take a seat, and she brings over two mugs. I could smell the coffee all the way down the hallway and I take a long sip as soon as I get my hands on the mug.“Morning, sweetheart. How are you feeling?” She frowns and I know I probably look terrible.“I have a headache. Do we have aspirin anywhere?” I frown, looking around and she shakes her head. Werewolves rarely ever get sick, so we don’t keep any medication in the house.“No, we don’t. I’m sorry, honey, but I will send someone to get you some.” Her eyes glaze over for a second before I can stop her and I know she’s already sent an omega to the pharmacy in town.“Thanks mom. I still don’t understand how this happened. Have you ever heard of anybody having two mates at the s
Isabella“Okay, Isabella, I know what you said, but …” He holds up both his hands in submission, but I interrupt him.“There are no butts! I told you to give me time. I told you I will pick who goes first and bugging me isn’t going to get me to my decision any faster.” I try my best to focus on anger and not the incredible hunger I suddenly feel for him.What the hell is wrong with me?! I nearly roll my eyes when my mind tries to figure out what is underneath his clothes. It won’t take much to figure it out. I’ve seen him in his swimming trunks. I’ve seen him without a shirt. Besides, his dang clothes are so tight, it leaves very little to the imagination!“Isabella, just hear me out.” He is pleading, but I don’t want to hear any of it. I really don’t want to give either one the advantage over the other. I’m about to say something when Jack bursts through the front door, and he goes straight for Andrew.“You bastard!” With his momentum, he pushes Andrew up and over the chair which top
Isabella“Hey, Babygirl. I’m so sorry about my boys. I swear they are going to be the death of me.” Auntie Helena has been one of the most incredible women in my life. She’s not family by blood, but she has been like my mom’s sister all these years.She has been my aunt since the day I was born, which kind of makes it really strange that I’m mated to both her boys.“Hi, no, it’s fine. It was just a vase.” I don’t believe it’s her fault that they are acting the way they do, and I honestly don’t want her to apologize.“A vase?!” She sounds confused, and I know instantly that Andrew and Jack didn’t tell her what happened.“Yes, they broke one of mom’s vases.” I sigh, wondering if I should even have told her, but I’ve never felt the need to lie to her. I’ve never hidden anything from Helena. “Anyway, it’s okay. It wasn’t one of her sentimental pieces. You know mom. She’s probably already forgotten about it.” I have to focus her attention on what I need to know and not the broken vase.“I
IsabellaThe second I hear them aiming to go at each other, I threaten them with rejection and they stop. It makes me feel a little like they are unruly toddlers that are in serious need of a spanking! How on earth do they run the pack as alpha and beta when they can’t get along?!I hang up, still feeling frustrated. I’m convinced that Andrew is going to try and crash the first date and decide to send him a text to tell him that if so, much as dares crash the date, I’m going to reject him. It’s infuriating that I even have to put up these boundaries, but I have no other choice.If I’m going to get through this process and pick one, I’m going to have to be the one in charge. I can’t give either of them an inch. I really want to give them each the opportunity to sweep me off my feet. I want to give them each a fair shake, so to speak.I would love to just have my mate and live the happy life I see my brothers having. I’ve also decided that there is no way in hell I can be mated to them
IsabellaWe arrive at a restaurant and I feel Jack's hand softly rest on my lower back as he lets me walk in front of him to our table. He even pulls out the chair for me and I take a seat. He almost runs to his chair and makes himself comfortable.The waitress hands us the menu, and I’m happy to let Jack order some wine for us. We silently wait a minute for the waitress to return with the wine, and I have to fight to not smile when I see Jack fidgeting with his tie.He is nervous. He is probably even more nervous than I am. We place our order for dinner and then an awkward silence falls as we sit there in the beautiful restaurant. Jack fidgets with his tie and then his napkin, and finally I can’t do that anymore.“So, what are your plans for your future?” Yeah, not my best moment. He is the beta. I know that.“My brother …” Jack starts, then frowns. “Well, he is a huge part of my future, I guess.” He starts to fidget with his cutlery and our food finally arrives, giving us a couple o
JemmaWe walk in, and suddenly my apartment feels really cramped with both men hanging around behind me looking at my personal space. I slowly turn around and look at them.“Look, I don’t need a roof and all that. I can figure things out on my own.” I shrug but Sam doesn’t move. He looks at me for a moment before nodding at his bodyguard. I watch as the man leaves my apartment, but I get a feeling that he is standing just outside the damn door.“Jemma, pack your things. You are coming with me.” Something flashes in his eyes and it honestly scares me. I have been joking about the kidnapping and all that, but the fear has become incredibly real.“NO! I’m not, and you can’t make me!” I shouted, not meaning to. When he moves closer, I flinch, but he scoops me up and throws me over his shoulder so fast that I can’t even fight him off. “Put me down!” I slam my fists against his back, but it doesn’t seem to have an effect. He does have a nice butt!“You have one of two choices, Jemma.” He pu
JemmaSadly, I’m forced to turn around and go back inside.“I need my things from my locker.” Sam follows me as I walk right past Mr. Nash and almost shout it over my shoulder. I’ve already quit. What is he going to do? Fire me?! I storm into the change room at the back and stuff everything into my bag.It is astounding that I have collected so much in such a short time, and by the time I’m done, my bag is positively bursting, and I can’t even close the zipper. I turn around too fast and slam the bag into Sam’s chest by accident.“Sorry.” I look into his eyes only for a second as relief floods my body. At least it wasn’t my chest that slammed into him. He takes the bag from me and hands it to the man that always seems to be following him. It’s probably a bodyguard or something.“Do you need to do anything else?” Sam looks amused. “You know? Before we leave and have to come back again.” His amusement is irritating, and I shake my head, keeping my lips pursed tightly together so I don’t
SamI follow the direction of her gaze as she pushes past me. I’m not surprised to find that thin-lipped manager glaring at us, and it’s the final straw. Marching over to where he is standing, I make sure that he can feel my power flow through the air.“Mr. Nash, I intend on asking Jemma out on a date as soon as we’ve booked out tomorrow. I will also make sure that we never have our conferences here again, if you so much as think about firing her.” A soft growl vibrates through me and I note the fear in his eyes.He nods and leaves without a word. I turn to find Jemma, but she is gone. I wanted to take the chance of asking her for a dance, but each time I do see her, she is busy. The last thing I want is for anyone here to be neglected.I’m relieved when the night ends. All I can think about is signing for the bill and then finding Jemma.JemmaI saw them talking right before I walked into the kitchen. My heart is racing. My palms are sweaty and I just need a moment. I rush into the s
SamI don’t like that she looks so nervous. I don’t have time to think about it as the other alphas walk into the conference room. I carefully watch them to make sure none of them react to her scent and I almost breathe a sigh when I see it seems to be just me.“Hey, alpha, are you okay?” Mark hands me my folder and we take our seats.“Nope.” I frown as the meeting gets underway. I have a hard time focusing. I’m concerned about Jemma and the fact that she looked so nervous. It’s clear the hotel management makes sure that their staff don’t get involved with guests, and I guess it makes sense.I just don’t like to see her like that. I have to find a way to speak to her without any of them around. Yes, that’s what I will do. I will speak to her when I’m not a guest. It’s going to be really tough to stay away while we are here, but I have another twenty-four hours, and then I won’t be a guest anymore.JemmaI’m relieved when he doesn’t try to speak to me again. Usually, if I just tell the
Jemma“I hate conferences. Why can’t people just come to the hotel for a holiday?” Mandy complains. She always complains. When there are only holiday guests, she complains because she can’t earn enough to be the one just enjoying the hotel.“Just keep your eyes open. I’m sure one of these guys at the conference will catch your eye.” I wink, hoping it will distract her.“If only! Mr. Nash told me this morning I’m working in the restaurant for the next three days. Apparently, he wasn’t happy with the way I arranged the conference room the last time these guys were here.” Mandy sighs.“Besides, all of them have been here before. There are no new faces.” A sly smile crosses her lips. “Or bodies to look at. Have you seen how their wives dress?!” She rolls her eyes and leaves the kitchen. I grab my tray and pack the water bottles before making my way to the conference room.After giving the room a quick once over, I leave feeling confident that Mr. Nash will be happy. It is the first year t
SamOur pack’s history is filled with love stories and war. It is filled with betrayal and reconciliation. So much has happened that I sometimes feel as if my own love story won’t be enough. It won’t be as impressive. Thankfully, I don’t have much time to think about it.Becoming alpha isn’t easy. Taking over isn’t easy. Finding a mate is the toughest part of it all. Every mother keeps looking at me as if expecting me to pick her daughter and every daughter is looking at me as if I’m a piece of meat she has to devour.All I can see are black widow spiders who want to catch me, mate with me and then kill me! What was supposed to be an exciting time very quickly turned into me trying to hide from literally everyone. Whenever one of those mothers tries to speak to me, I have something urgent to take care of.Finally, the time comes for the alpha conference, and I can escape for a couple of days. After years of war, there seems to be far too many rogues and rogue attacks and a lot of the
Noah“If you are watching this, I’m no longer with you.” Tears fill her eyes and it breaks my heart. “I told you so!” She laughs while pointing her index finger at the camera. “I’m sorry for leaving you so soon, my love. If I could have it any other way, I would never have chosen this.” She sighs deeply before wiping away her tears.A huge smile forms on her face and I wonder when she recorded this. She is heavily pregnant in the video and all I can think is that she did it in the days before she gave birth to Sam. She is sitting in the nursery from the looks of the background.Sam sits down on the edge of my table and I realize it’s the first time he has seen her like this. Sam has only ever seen pictures of Summer.“My beautiful baby boy, please know that you were made in love. That I wanted you more than anything I’ve ever wanted. Please be kind to each other. Support each other. Take care of each other.” She looks up and over the camera and nods at someone.“I have to go now.” Her
SummerI love being in love. I’m still shocked that Noah is my destiny, but I’m grateful. Although he makes it clear that I’m his, whenever a young male gets too close, he is always kind and loving towards me. It’s the perfect balance of a protector and lover rolled into one very handsome package.Noah and I decide early on that we want to spend some time alone together before we start a family. It’s not the most popular decision, and we keep it to ourselves, so there won’t be backlash from anyone in the pack.Life as a Luna is interesting, and I find myself sounding like my mother far too often, but I love my new life. I find that I’m more of a nurturer than I thought I would be, and I love taking care of things for our people.Two years after our mating ceremony, we announce that I’m pregnant, and I can’t help but laugh when I hear the mumbles that people were beginning to think I was a dud or something. They clearly believed that I couldn’t have children, and our announcement is a
SummerIn the morning, I can’t get our first kiss out of my mind. There were many more after it, but nothing compares to that first one. We say goodbye to my parents after making arrangements for them to come to our house.Over the next couple of days, my days are filled with everything we had to arrange. I found the perfect dress, and to me that was just the best thing ever. The day of our mating ceremony arrived, and I was just bubbling.I thought my life was going to start when I graduated, but here I was thinking again, that this is the moment my life will finally start. After an entire day of preparation, I finally got dressed and my dad walked me down the aisle.As I saw Noah waiting for me at the end, I almost sobbed with happiness and I had to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall. I still can’t believe that my destined mate is scrawny Noah. It’s become our little joke, and I just love that he isn’t fazed by it.He isn’t scrawny Noah anymore. He sure as hell isn’t