CHAPTER 13: STALKING THE SHADOWS

Max’s POV

After I finished eating, I asked where I could take a shower, since the bathroom in my room was being remodeled. The closet had me forgetting all about wanting to take a shower, though.

“Sure, you can use the shower in the shared room,” Luke said, leading the way.

“Why do you call it the shared room?” I asked. Amelia had called it that when we were paralyzed.

“All five of us have our own rooms if we want to be alone,” Luke explained. “Then we have a shared room, so if we want to sleep together, we can. It helps with bonding between mates.”

“Or brothers,” I stated with a chuckle, and Luke smiled.

The shared room was right next to mine. It was the same one I’d slept in when I woke up from being paralyzed. So, the room I’d just slept in earlier, the one they called the Luna’s room, was where they put me when they rescued me from the wolves.

Luke led me to the bathroom and explained how everything worked. It was one of those smart showers, all electronic. After he finished, he left and closed the door behind him.

I turned on the shower and let it warm up as I used the toilet. When I was done, I stripped and stepped in.

I was in heaven. I could stay here for years. The shower was huge, with four showerheads on the ceiling. On opposite walls were four vertical showerheads, and on the back wall, there were four sets of four vertical showerheads. I was getting cleaned from every angle, and I was living for it. It was obvious this was meant to hold myself and all four of my mates.

The shampoo, conditioner, and body wash all smelled like green apples and were brand new. I loved it. When my fingers and toes began to prune, I finally decided to get out of the shower. I dried off and put on the shirt and shorts that were left on the counter.

When I opened the bathroom door, all my mates were sitting on the couch with the TV on, but they weren't watching it. They were talking in hushed tones and stopped when they heard me. I stepped closer as they looked at me.

“How was it?” Jason asked, getting up and coming over to me with  his signature smile on his face.

“If I could shrink it and take it everywhere I go, I would in a heartbeat,” I said, laughing. “It is amazingly perfect.”

It looked like he was going to say something, then changed his mind. Knowing him, it was probably something sexual. It was weird how well I knew them; it was like I’d known them my whole life.

“We were getting hungry and weren’t sure if you wanted more to eat, so we got a little of everything.” He led me over to a table covered in different types of meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, and desserts.

I couldn’t help but tease them a bit. I turned to them all and, with a disappointed look, said, “What the hell did you do? Bring up the whole kitchen? You know there are starving children in the world.”

At first, they looked shocked, then Luke and Dean turned red with embarrassment.

I couldn’t help it. I started laughing so hard I cried.

Wiping my eyes, I said, “You should have seen the looks on y’all’s faces. It was priceless.” As I continued to laugh, they joined in just a little bit.

“That was not funny,” said Dean, to which I replied, “Yes, it was.”

After settling down, I put some barbecue chicken, shrimp, broccoli, grapefruit, and a triple chocolate cake on my plate. At first, I was just going to grab a small snack, but when I saw the spread up close, I got super hungry.

Luke followed behind me and got the same things, then filled a second plate to almost overflowing.

Then the other guys grabbed a plate. The table was almost empty by the time we all sat down. Now I see why they brought so much up. I kind of felt bad for teasing them.

We ate in silence, and when I was done, Zane pushed the plate Luke had filled over to me.

“You need to eat more. As a shifter, we have a higher metabolism, so we burn calories almost three times faster than humans,” he grumbled. If I didn’t know better, I would say he didn’t really care for me.

I didn’t argue because I was still hungry. I ate almost everything on the second plate.

“Thank you. Any update on the kids?” I asked Dean.

“No, they are still asleep. They were sleep-deprived and malnourished. Doc wants to take a look at them before sending them home. Besides, Doc is the only trauma specialist for shifters in the area. Most packs will request Doc for his services. We were hoping to keep them one more night and send them home tomorrow.”

I nodded and continued to eat. After I finished half the plate, I couldn't eat anymore. I was starting to get tired. We sat and talked for a couple more hours, and before long, it was dark outside. I started to yawn. It was nice to get to know more about them. Except for Zane, he didn’t say much.

I stood up and went to the closest closet, which smelled like Zane and his woodsy scent. I grabbed an oversized shirt from one of the walls and changed into it. Then, I walked back into the room. I’m used to sleeping naked, so a shirt and undies will have to do.

As I left the closet, the guys started to get up and headed to the door like they were about to leave. I got a pit in my stomach, and my heart tightened.

Without thinking, I blurted, “Wait—I’d like you all to stay.” Then, catching myself, I hurriedly added, “Only if you want to, of course. You don’t have to…” My voice trailed off uncertainly.

For some reason, it felt wrong to have them leave. I’d literally met them hours ago, but it felt like I had known them my whole life. The feeling of loneliness when I lost my family was nothing compared to how it felt thinking of them leaving… much worse.

Honestly, I was tired of feeling alone. So, starting now, I was going to allow myself to be happy.

“You deserve it,” was all Cece said.

I could feel myself blushing a little, so I quickly turned around and climbed into bed, scooting to the middle. Once I was settled, I looked at them at the door. All four of my guys looked at each other, then back at me. They were silently asking if I was sure, and I nodded my head yes. They started to walk to the bed and climbed in after me, one at a time.

Luke lay on my right. Jason had me sit up, resting his back on the bed frame behind me, so I was in between his legs. Jason set a pillow in his lap so I could lay my head on it. Dean lay down to my left.

Zane just stood at the foot of the bed with a blank expression. I grabbed a pillow and put it on my lap and patted it, telling him to lie in between my legs like I was with Jason.

Dean and Luke put their arms on me, so they were both touching me. I liked it, but wouldn’t they feel weird lying like that?

“Wolves enjoy contact. It is a comfort thing, especially between mates. Since you haven’t completed the mate bond, they feel it even more. Just remember not to let anyone touch you, especially if they are not mated. That will only trigger their protective side tenfold,” said Cece, and it made sense now.

Jason ran his hands through my hair as I drifted off to sleep.

Several hours later, I woke up to Zane getting out of bed, which left my legs cold. I watched as he walked into the closet that I’d gotten the shirt from last night. I didn’t realize how much heat he put out until he was gone.

I looked at my other mates, and they were still fast asleep with their arms wrapped around me.

I gently removed their arms. As soon as I picked up Dean’s arm, he snorted and turned to his other side.

Then I tried to move Luke’s arm, and he tightened his hold. I slowly lifted his arm just high enough for me to slip out from under it. When I let go, he snuggled Jason’s leg, and I giggled.

Then I put Zane’s pillow between Jason’s legs, so he didn’t feel the loss like I did when Zane left, and I climbed out of bed.

I looked at the clock, and it was 3 AM. I followed Zane into the closet to ask him if I had a closet in this room or if I needed to go to my own room for clothes. I quickly closed the door behind me so the light didn’t bother the others who were still asleep.

“You’re awake,” Zane said, surprised.

“Yeah, you seem surprised. I felt it when you left,” I said, looking around. “Do I have a closet in here, or do I need to go to the other room?” I asked.

Zane opened one of the many doors, and there were clothes for me.

“You have clothes in each of our closets. We asked the Omegas to buy you more clothes, and they went a little overboard. All the clothes in the Luna suite, the room that you stayed in yesterday, are yours as well,” he said with a deep chuckle of embarrassment.

Holy shit, he actually chuckled. I think that was the first time he had laughed or even smiled. It was always the others that laughed. It also made me all wet and aroused. Damn, he has a good laugh.

“Good, because I was wondering who I needed to kill to take over that closet. I am not a girly girl, but damn, that closet is my dream closet,” I said with a chuckle, trying to distract myself.

I don’t know why, but I felt an intense pull towards Zane, towards all of them. When he went to walk away, I stopped him by putting my hand on his shoulder, and he turned to me. I reacted on instinct, and I stretched up on my toes and gave him a light kiss on the lips, which froze him in place.

When I pulled away, I whispered, “Thank you.” Still frozen with shock, I turned around and smiled.

I went to the open door to pull out some workout clothes. I pulled on some black leggings and a black sports bra. I opened five different drawers looking for socks.

“I really need to label what is in each drawer,” I said to no one in particular.

I turned around, and Zane was dressed and leaning against a closet door. He was watching me with an unreadable expression, as always.

“Ready?” I asked, and he just nodded.

As I was about to reach for the door handle, Zane pulled me back by the hips, spun me around, and pressed me up against the closet doors with a thump. I was pretty sure it woke up the others.

He then stepped up against me so I was pressed firmly between him and the wall. He was a wall of solid muscle. I wanted to run my hands up and down him, but I couldn’t since his front was pressed against mine, so I put my hands on his incredibly solid arm muscles.

Huh, I guess he does like me, I thought.

He looked at me for a second before crushing his lips against mine. I immediately moved my arms to wrap around his neck to pull him closer.

His tongue swept the bottom of my lips, asking for entrance, and I let him in. I wanted to taste him too.

The first stroke of his tongue against mine, I moaned. He tasted divine. Like his woodsy scent, but 100 times better. We battled for dominance as we continued to kiss passionately.

I felt it from head to toe and deep in my pussy; I was wet and needing more. Much, much more. Realizing what I wanted, I pushed him back a little so we could both catch our breath.

“Unless you are going to fuck me right here, right now, we need to go to the training yard,” I said, out of breath.

Then I pulled him back to me for another searing kiss, because damn, he was irresistible. They all were.

This time, it was Zane pulling away. He rested his forehead against mine as we both breathed heavily.

“Fuck,” was all he said. My legs had somehow gotten wrapped around his waist, with his hands on my ass holding me up.

I chuckled, “You have such a way with words.” I teased, which earned me a slap on my ass.

I put one foot on the ground, then the other. I gave him one more peck, then said, “We will finish this later,” as I turned and opened the door. That earned me another slap on the ass, and I giggled.

I saw that my other mates were awake and grinning at us. Obviously, they heard us. I went over and gave each of them a searing kiss goodbye, too, so they didn’t feel left out. As I got off the bed, they all slapped me on the ass. I headed over to Zane, giggling.

As we walked down the hall and outside, Zane and I held hands. I thought about what happened this morning, and I didn’t know what came over me. I had only known them for a day, and I was ready to jump their bones.

“It’s the mate bond. It pulls you together,” said Cece, which made me pause.

“What happened?” said Zane, looking around for a threat.

“The mate bond. Is any of this real?” I asked, pulling my hand away. What if I were only feeling this way because a bond was forcing me to?

Zane looked a bit confused and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Cece said that the closeness I feel towards you all and the fact that I want to jump your bones at all hours of the day is because of the mate bond. So, are any of these attractions real or just a result of the mate bond? I don’t want to be manipulated into loving you all if I wouldn’t normally choose you,” I said honestly, and there was a flicker of hurt before he softened a little.

“The mate bond does not force you into anything. It only amplifies what we already feel, but only towards our mates. It cannot invoke feelings you didn’t have before,” he answered understandingly.

“So, if I didn’t like what I saw, I wouldn’t have felt as strongly as I do now?” I verified.

“Exactly. The Moon Goddess tries to pair together like souls, but sometimes she gets it wrong, and she knows it. She doesn’t want to force a mating if either party doesn’t want it. She still allows free will,” he explained, which made me feel so much better.

“Okay, that makes me feel much better. Thank you,” I said, grabbing onto his hand and continuing to walk down the stairs.

It wasn’t until we reached the hill over the training grounds that I let go. He stopped, and I kept walking as I felt his gaze on my back.

This was the first time they would officially meet me as their Luna. I wondered if they would have serious reservations about me being on the training grounds. From what I had heard, no other Luna had ever been a warrior. So, it was even more important that they saw a warrior right now and not the alpha’s mate.

Luke had told me that while I was helping Amelia with the pups (that’s what wolf shifters call their children), the alphas told the pack that I was their mate and future Luna. I didn’t know how they were going to react to their Luna becoming a warrior, and I was a little concerned.

I didn’t want them to respect me because I was Luna. I wanted them to respect me because I had earned it. So, I was going to start training with them. If they ran, I was going to run. If they sparred in the rain and mud, I was going to spar in the rain and mud. If they had mass punishment, I was going to join in.

As soon as I got to the bottom of the hill, I started running laps to warm up. I kept a steady 9-minute pace. I usually ran 8 miles before starting my workout routine, but with being a shifter, I would have to learn my new limitations.

However, soon I was joined by all the other warriors. They kept up right behind me, so I picked up speed to a 7-minute pace. When we got to 5 miles, I felt like I hadn’t done anything, so I decided to keep running to see how many miles it took until I started to feel warmed up.

John always made me run uphill. He said that endurance is important because you can have the best techniques, but if you run out of steam before your opponent, you die. Plus, I loved running. Connor and I would run marathons together every year.

After about 7 miles, some of the younger warriors started to drop out. So, I picked up the pace again. Now we were at a light run, at about a 4-minute pace. The competitive side of me wanted to see how long they would keep up with me.

Six more miles, and a good majority dropped out, but I still had about 15 people keeping up with me. So, I picked up the pace again. Now we were at mid-sprint. We went another three miles, and it was just me and 5 others. Another lap, and I was the last one to fall out, and now I knew my warmup mileage was 17 miles, but I think I’d just run for an hour and go from there.

I finished the lap I was on, then jogged back to where the last 5 were stretching. I began to stretch beside them and held out my fist for a fist bump from each of them. I smiled and said, out of breath, “Damn, you are tough fuckers.”

They all chuckled.

The last one to give up spoke, “You’re not so bad yourself, Luna. I’m Beta Marcus. This here is Delta Charles, Gamma Jackson, General Grayson, and Captain Carlos.” He reached out his hand for a shake and heard a loud growl, and the training area grew quiet. I knew it came from Zane, so I winked at Marcus.

He smiled and said, “I like you already, Luna.”

Since everyone was quiet, they heard Marcus’ comment. Then the whispering started.