TYSONAfter my body was able to metabolize all the wolfsbane and finally heal properly, my brother and I started planning the memorial service we'd have to hold later that week. The final count for our pack was ten dead, which was a very good number considering, especially since we had never trained for battle with wolfsbane. The experience still traumatized me, and I was determined to follow through on my dedication to becoming tolerant. No more fucking around. Practically dying out on that battlefield was a huge wake-up call.The Wednesday following the battle, after all our warriors had a chance to recover, we boarded the chartered flight back to Alaska. A part of me was desperate to get back to Vermont and see Gigi again, but as alpha I knew it was my duty to visit all the families of the fallen warriors and give my condolences. Considering it was my idea to fight this battle, I knew it would be wrong to expect my dad and grandpa, or even my beta or gamma, to do that. No, it was t
GINGER My heart pounded in my chest as I read Tyce's DM to me over and over again. I kept wondering what it meant. I mean, duh, I knew what it meant. But what did it really mean? Was he just looking to fuck me or did he maybe want something more? Why did I do this to myself? Reading his message, it was clear as day he was only looking for one thing. But still, sometimes it just seemed… No, I had to stop over-analyzing. Plus, either way, it was going to end in disaster. While I would probably never have the opportunity to meet mine, Tyce had a mate out there, and he was going to eventually meet her. And if there was one thing that was very clear—getting involved with Tyce was going to get me hurt. He was not the type of guy you called a 'fuckboy' and just moved on from. No, he was the type of guy that could give you four orgasms in a matter of minutes, and, yes, could most likely literally make It so you couldn't walk straight for a week. I let out a deep breath and threw my phone a
TYSON Thankfully, it was just my dad this time. He was at least semi-rational. My grandfather, on the other hand, was a total nutcase. My dad was giving me an intense stare, his forearms flat on his desk, fingers intertwined. "So, care to explain why you had Trav load up a good chunk of our warriors and send them to the east coast for a battle that had nothing to do with us?" "I'm the alpha. I'm allowed to make decisions for the pack now. Technically, I don't have to run it by anyone." He let out a deep sigh. "Yes, but battles are a huge cost to our pack. We can't be making rash decisions." "Why do you assume the decision was rash?" I cut my dad off. "Tyce," he said in a very patronizing way. "What else am I supposed to assume when you don't even discuss this with your grandfather and me? We're the ones that have been running this pack while you're off fooling around with your porky skanks." "Don't call them that!" I bellowed, clenching my hands into fists. I'd always let my fa
JASMINE Tears welled up in my eyes from happiness as Blake stepped into the packhouse. I ran and jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs tightly around his body, attacking his mouth with mine. "Blake, I thought I lost you. I honestly thought I lost you." Tears ran down my cheeks as I choked out words between my kisses. I shoved my tongue into his mouth, wanting to taste him again desperately. "I'm still here, Misses Alpha," Blake whispered between kisses. "I'm home now. You don't have to worry anymore." He carried me up the stairs until we were in our bedroom, and he lowered me gently onto the bed. He crawled in and hovered over me, his piercing blue eyes staring into mine. I slid my hands under his shirt, feeling every groove of his well-defined torso, memorizing the structure of how each muscle felt under my fingertips. I moved my hands up his body, easing his shirt off him, wanting desperately to feel his whole naked body against mine, to reunite with him. "Well, this is a nice w
JASMINE The service was held the next day. I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to find an appropriate dress to wear that would disguise my belly bump. In the end, Lucy came through and let me borrow one of her pregnancy dresses. I could sense that she was finally coming around and getting over the whole Luke debacle. "Can you tell?" I kept asking Blake. He was probably super annoyed with me after being asked the same thing for the hundredth time that day. But I was in anxiety overdrive. My parents still didn't know, and we had to tell them before other people started noticing. "Jaz, don't worry," Blake pulled me against his body. "It's a memorial service. No one's going to even be looking at you." He then pulled away, looked down, and shook his head. "That thing is like a potato sack and I hate it. Can't a man that almost died at least get a chance to admire his mate's fine ass?" He smirked. "I can't even believe Lucy owns something so frumpy." "Blake," I pushed on his che
BLAKE "Hey, man. Nice speech." Jack gave me a friendly punch in the arm. "I'm liking the suit." Tyler grinned. "I always thought less was best, but there's just something about an attractive man in a well-tailored suit." I rolled my eyes and laughed. "So, where's my sister?" Tyler looked around. I, similarly, began looking around, wondering where Jasmine was, and then I sensed that she wasn't nearby. Suddenly, I began to worry. "Where is Jasmine? Shit, I need to go find her." Just as I was about to mindlink her to see where she went, her parents strolled over, and I realized it wasn't good. Her mom had her sour face on, one that I'd become familiar with. While I had a good relationship with Jasmine's mom, she was tough, and it was easy to put her in a bad mood. "Hey, Blake!" Jasmine's dad greeted me, but he didn't seem as jubilant as he normally was. Fuck. "Hey, Drew, Miriam. How's it going?" I went to hug both of them, acting normal. "Where's Jasmine?" Miriam asked. "She's been
TYSON I sat with my family for an early dinner before I'd be flying back to Vermont later that evening. "Miriam called this morning," my grandmother spoke. "What's it been? Months? What, did she have a cancellation in her busy schedule or something?" my mom remarked. "Must have been important?" my dad added. "Yes, she had absolutely wonderful news to share." My grandmother broke out into a huge smile and I instantly knew what it was. But I stayed quiet, not wanting them to know I already knew. "Well, what is it, Catherine?" my grandfather asked. "Our little Jasmine is pregnant. With twins!" She gushed. "With twins?" Terri repeated, leaning forward in her seat. "Wow! How exciting!" "Hmph." My mom didn't look pleased. "Well, Artemis knows best I suppose." She paused, and then clearly not able to help herself, continued. "It's not like I don't have my own grown alpha son that's far older than Miriam's daughter. And it's not like our pack isn't depending on him to give us an alpha
GINGERI stared at my phone. He contacted me again after I did my best to ignore his existence since days earlier when he'd followed me on Instagram, as fruitless of an exercise as it was. I was definitely getting in too deep.Tyson Chicken: Have any plans for the 4th?Tyson Chicken: We're having a BBQ at the packhouse. Bring your sisters tooTyson Chicken: We can discuss Salem. Blake's backI let out a heavy sigh. I did want to go, and, yes, I absolutely wanted to discuss plans for Salem. The next full moon was now just over a week away, so we were cutting it really close. But I had an internal battle, wondering if I should continue seeing him socially.Finally, my hormones gave in. I found Paige in the living room watching TV. "Hey, do you have warrior duty tomorrow?""No, why?""Wanna check out the barbecue at the packhouse? We were invited.""Invited through you?" She narrowed her eyes at me. "I didn't realize you'd become closer to the people that live there than me.""Why? Are y