I’m in the process of a feed with Christine and Jared when my phone rings. I’m sitting on the couch, holed up in the corner against the arm with a Boppy holding Jared up on one side and a pillow propped up on the couch arm supporting Christine. Both pups are in a football hold and feeding simultaneously, which is what I’ve found is the easiest for all of us. But, as they get bigger, it’s getting harder to do this by myself. They’re only two months old and I need either Brandon or Zak to help me just getting them settled in, since getting them to latch without hurting me is a two hand job. Can’t imagine what it’ll be like by the time we hit summer time. Looking down at my phone on the table, Zak says, “It’s Bella.” “Hands a little full here, babe. You’re gonna have to answer it,” I say. He rolls his eyes, as if to say ‘No really?’, but doesn’t say anything as he answers the phone, putting it on speaker. “Hey, Bella! It’s Zak, but you’re on speaker with me and Charlie. She’
We call the Alpha Council meeting an hour later, not just looping in Bella and the witches with her, but also the witches that are in Bella’s covendom, the wolves that are flying to help with the tracking, and the alphas from the West Coast that Roman and Erick had rounded up so far. Teleconference calls were never as popular as they have been since we started a war seven months ago. Wouldn’t the humans be surprised to know that their companies are doing well because of werewolves and a pack war they knew nothing about? They’d lose their ever-loving minds. “We all on?” Zak asks. “Yup,” Jamal says. “We’re here,” Bella responds. “Yo,” one of the West Coast guys says. Based on Slade’s eye roll, I’m assuming that’s Roman. Zak gives a little chuckle. Based on what Slade has told us, Roman and Erick are going to fit in with the group perfectly. “Alright. This is the first time that all of us have gotten to talk with each other and it’ll be a while before we all meet in person, b
That voice. I don’t know what it is about Bella’s voice, but I just want to talk to her all day. It’s mesmerizing. I look over and see Gregory has a faint smile on his face, his eyes slightly dazed. I can tell he likes listening to Bella just as much as I do. She’s obviously a very strong and independent female, but there is also something compassionate and vulnerable there too. Something sad. I’d love to talk to her more, but we’ve got other things to worry about. Like tracking down these sadistic, psycho witches. Once we’re off the call with the big group, we have our own conference call with the witches on the ground at Bella’s covendom and Bronwyn, Arthur, and Nissa. After a round of introductions, we quickly get down to business. “So we’ve got a total of 10 witches and 20 wolves. I think that all the wolves at least need to go to the Riding Hoods’ encampments and to Celeste’s covendom to see if we can get the scent of the witches,” Gregory begins. Ever the planner my
“I’m saying that Bella is your second chance mate,” Meredith says. No. No. No, no, no. I’m not ready. I’m not ready at all to meet this mate. Not that I don’t want a second chance mate. Eventually, I’d be happy for us to find her. But Jenny hasn’t even been dead for six months. It’s too soon. It’s too fucking soon. I don’t realize until Jamal has his hands on my face, his fear-laced voice cutting through my brain fog, that I’m hyperventilating. My heartbeat is pounding in my chest like I’ve been running marathon, though I haven’t taken a step. Sweat breaks out on my brow, upper lip, and under my arms. Sounds echo in my ears and I can’t understand what’s being said. “Sit down,” he says firmly into my face. He basically shoves me into a chair and pushes my head between my knees. “Breathe, Gregory. It’s ok. Just breathe.” Meanwhile, Meredith’s panic-stricken voice is screaming from the phone, “What the fuck is going on? Are you guys ok? What’s happening? Somebody an
Celeste really had nothing to tell us. She came out of the woods along the portion of forest at the main entrance to her territory. She had no idea where she came from, how long she ran, what direction she came from. Nothing. All that Celeste remembered was horror and pain. The sheer panic and the knowledge that if she stopped, they would kill her. We really didn’t get anything from her. Luckily, for us not for her, they retrieved seminal fluid from the rape kit. We had insisted that they do one, along with giving Celeste the morning after pill. Charlie had texted Bella while we were talking to the trackers with the interesting notion that maybe the reason that Celeste hadn’t been able to have a child was because she hadn’t been with her mate. It might happen now. And as badly as Celeste wanted a child, she didn’t want one with her mate. Can’t say that I blame her based on what she told us about her experience with him. I had thought that the trip back to our covendom wou
We sit down at a table off to ourselves with our mate’s father. This is probably the weirdest “meet the parents” in the history of mates. We figured out that our mate was our mate based on a phone call, came to her covendom where a faint scent of her keeps tickling our noses, and then meet her father, all before we have actually laid eyes on her. It’s nice that Arthur is so happy to meet his daughter’s mates. Shit, I didn’t expect a witch to be happy to have wolves for mates, let alone the rest of her family and coven. But, to hear Arthur tell it, Bella is ready to meet us and excited to find the mates that Selene and Hecate had made for her. Gregory and I pray quickly as we wait for Arthur to join us.“So, where should we begin?” Arthur asks as he sets his food on the table and sits down. I clear my throat. “Why don’t you tell us about this prophecy?” “Yes, quite right. That would be important for you two to know. So, how much do you know about the communion between witch
Tonight is a full moon. Both Arya and I are so excited to see Xander tonight that we wake up at sunrise, unable to sleep any longer. That early in the morning, Jakey wasn’t awake yet. So, I went for a run around the pack, taking about 30 minutes, before coming back and allowing Arya to do the same. While she was gone, I showered and finally woke up our sleepyhead to change and feed him. Little Jakey was in a great mood, almost as if he knew that we were going to see his parents tonight and he wanted to make sure that we gave them a good report. He’s been smiling a lot lately, loving cuddles and tickles. During tummy time, he holds his head up and loves playing in his little floor gym. I had never thought that I could love someone as much as I loved Arya and Xander, but this little guy has a special place in my heart that is all his own. I’ve known him since the minute he was born and he was as much my son as he was Isaac and Lacey’s. Now having three pups in the house th
Between one breath and the next Dev and Ari appeared in the bedroom that Selene had provided for us. We spirits didn’t need to eat or sleep, so there was really no use in giving us a place to lay down or a house. But, because Dev and Ari came to see me once per month, I had a two room hut containing a bedroom and bathroom. A large shower and huge jacuzzi made up the bathroom. The bedroom was fitted with a fireplace, California King sized bed, furs, a couch, and a few large body pillows. It was the perfect place specifically designed for our carnal nights together once per month. Seeing Ari and Dev took my breath away. Ari looked as beautiful as ever, her hair in a naturally curly afro that framed her face. She wore a short, razorback burnt orange dress that perfectly complemented her latte colored skin. Ari’s eyes immediately locked with mine, her cheeks heating and eyes becoming alight with happiness. Dev wore an emerald green pullover and jeans, but his casual attire did n