Kiera wasnโt sure what he said, or did that made her feel like sheโd been lulled into a trance where she did as he wanted her to do. It felt like she could only give up at this point. Dean proved he could and would hunt her down when she left. His story never changed, and heโd been repeating it along with his assurances that it wasnโt changing. They were mates and he no longer schemed to use her as the butt of his jokes. That thereโd be no more games where he competed with James to be the bigger, badder, and best alpha. What James told her in front of witnesses is the exact things Dean repeated to her face. His enforcers were there to witness it. He may not have bitten her like James did Trisha. Dean announced his intentions for her before them, and Kiera practically watched the enforcersโ faces take note and their attitudes change as Dean spoke. But she wasnโt a wolf shifter anymore. She was now a Lycan. A twisted mockery of a wolf shifter. Kiera wondered
Kiera wasnโt expecting any of this, though she knew she should. Dean was determined to have things his way, though Kiera wasnโt sure what his way really looked like. Sheโd planned to find the answers and prove that the changes in Dean and James were false and this was all wrong. Now, as he kissed her and pulled her close, she wasnโt certain anymore. Heโd brought up so many things from their past that brought a new light to this. Someone, possibly his father, their father, might have made what it has not happened? This was fated for them? Her thoughts became muddled as his kiss and hands became more insistent. Kiera felt her body respond to him. They were in a car with others. Kiera pushed back away from Dean just enough to say. โDean, we arenโt alone in here nowโs not the time.โ He grumbled and went back to kissing her. โMy car, my pack, my mate, and my rules.โ โYour mate, as you insisted on telling everyone I am, isnโt comfortable ma
โDean, whatโs going on?โ Dean ushered her into his study and was rummaging around a rather messy desk. Distractedly, he pulled out a page and frowned at it. โWhat do you mean?โ โIโve never seen so many people on the road here coming or going at any time of day or night. Whatโs going on? The way they were staring at us.โ โKiera itโs really bad time around here and youโre running away like that didnโt help. That guy claiming to be my father and James. Geez, is that a weird thing to think about? Anyway, Iโm calling the investigator now to see if they have anything. But that Gingham wolf was selling his blood for something, and we need to know the reason. Or he was being forced to sell his blood. Now, Kiera, any idea you might have about why he did this?โ This was a change from what he was like in the car. It took her a moment to catch up on what he was saying. โWell, if I had to guess, I would say it had to do with his plan and whatever the spell was for
โListen to me Dean. Please. Make me feel okay about this. I need to know you are aware of all the complications.โKiera wanted him to know all the gory details. Heโd have to back down for the packโs comfort and continue. โKiera, I know. Iโve read all there is and then some. Before they returned you here, they sent files, reports, and videos of you. Iโve seen you at your worst and I accept it.โ Dean was trying to reassure her, but she was having none of it. Kiera shook her head and turned from him. โYou donโt get it. Thereโs no information on if we can have pups, mates, or anything. Youโre alpha line would end with you. Do you think the pack would want that? How about being led by a Lycan alpha pair? Seriously, Dean, thatโs not considering the chances of you dying. This is part of the reason I left here on top of everything else. Iโm trying to keep the pack safe from me and who knows who else. Right now, I look like a threat or a losing bet. Fated Mates or not. Iโll s
Kiera ran through the forest pretty oblivious to the fact she was off trail, and sheโd have a devil of a time finding her clothes. She didnโt care right now. She needed to think. Wrap her head around what was happening, she felt too much from this. It practically physically hurt to leave Dean, but she needed to hear her own thoughts. She couldnโt stop it this time. Kiera had to stop, sheโd shifted, but she was too close to the pack. It wasnโt fair. Why did it have to be her? What did she do to deserve all of this? Then Dean wanted her to go through it all again? He completely floored her when he said heโd see videos of her. It felt like her private hell was on display for everyone at the movie theatre. Her thoughts broke off. It was all too movie cliche, with bones snapping and twisting. Muscles and ligaments realigning. No one ever talked about how you could feel your organs shift. This time she was glad Faye was on her side and sheโd fully shifted int
Dean got the message from the communications centre. They used satellite phones for reliability in the area. It was lucky for them they could afford it. Satellite towers were still sketchy, human politics and business. In their case, the Ruling Council would control the foundation equipment and then lease out access to it. But humans had a thing about government interference in their lives. Now, he, Oli, and a couple of enforcers were headed out to the location. When he got there, two bodies in wolf form, one far larger than the other, were being loaded up onto flatbed trailers pulled by an ATV. โWhat do you think happened?โ Dean demanded as he stood there surveying the wreckage of the small clearing. Branches and leaves were down. There was very little they could go on or hide from the fact thereโd been a fight. Wolf and Lycan fur dotted several broken branches. A few spots of blood lay on the ground where two must have lain. โWell, neither have shifted back, so we canโt tell, a
Dean entered the quiet healing centre. Around him, the space was clean and spacious. It was there to provide the pack with healthcare, not the entire community. In the past, it was open to the Jasper Springs Pack when the previous alphas ran the packs. But the noticeable sounds of a human hospital werenโt there and there were more wards because of a shifterโs injuries. It might not be possible to shift from their fur to their skin without incurring further damage. So they divided most wards into small wards where the wolves and humans got what they needed. There were a few cages. He couldnโt deny that. But that was for the safety of everyone if the wolf became too aggressive. Right now his mind wasnโt on the differences. He needed to know what was happening to Kiera right now. Why her run go so badly? How did Elder Evans find her, and why did he clash with her? He appeared afraid of her. Dean thought he would avoid her. He felt like a fool when it came to him. Someone might a
Oli got the text from Dean as he stood by the restrained elder. He hated to see the old wolf like this. Who wouldnโt? But trauma did bad things to every creature. His son wasnโt a young wolf, either. His son left a mate and six pups that were all in at least high school. The old wolf couldnโt get past his sonโs death to help raise his grand pups. His sonโs mate had her hands full with her little army of pups and her own grief. The pack helped where it was welcome. But heโd pushed aside any help. His moods and opinions changed noticeably, and the council struggled to work with him. But in his wolf form, if he awoke, he couldnโt shift to his skin to speak without risking further injury. Sure, shifters healed faster, but they needed magic for a miracle like some movies portrayed. It always got on his nerves by some weak woman telling a werewolf to just shift and heal. Annoying any mate would swear at their mate to shift, not pleading. They just didnโt have a clue about s
- One Year Later -Kiera stood watching a group of lone wolves returning to a pack. Many were raised for generations outside of pack life. But things change, situations change. These wolves are literally come in out of the cold, unprotected woods and their pack was opening their arms to them.It divided humans as always on what they thought about supernatural creatures. If nothing else, there were very few humans that didnโt care one way or the other.These wolves were coming in from other places in the world where the humans made it impossible for them to live. Now they were picking up everything they can and leaving everything they knew for a chance at a future.Their lycan members were now well established members, and the pack looked to them as the public faces of the pack. It wasnโt unusual to see one or more on the news as they work as a security team for various celebrities and figures of note. The pack now ran a small but lucrative security firm, because several of the lycans
Hours. They only had hours to get ready. With much of the pack working together to get things done and sooth disgruntled feelings, they pulled off a makeshift welcome for the thirty lost souls coming to stay with them. Dean struggled to get through thirty files on the different lycan. It was as if each one came with a warning label of their own. No two had the same difficulty. Some were complete loners who theyโd have to work with to bring back into the pack and life within it. They bonded others, who had thatโs why they had so many lycan arriving. They wanted bonded pairs together so that a community could grow from the families that would form. It meant that theyโd not planned correctly, but that could be adjusted again. Dean agreed with Oli and Jerome that the Ruling Council screwed up sending the lycan to them. The order was off and there wasnโt enough time given to prepare for their arrival. Also, theyโd agreed to a few new lycan members, not t
Their mating went on after the cleanup and Kieraโs world was addressed. Dean ended up marked as well at some point by Kiera and, finally exhausted, they fell asleep hours later. With the sun coming up and the mating over, Kiera felt a disturbing calm between them. Like this took away the jittery need to find a stable footing. Kiera could swear she could feel Deanโs mood as he slept. Heโd exhausted her so much that sheโd not been bothered by any of her usual nightmares. Kiera felt delicious and loose-limbed. She couldnโt remember the last time she felt like this. If she were a cat, sheโd be purring at this point. โMorning. Luna Jonas.โ Dean stated with a proud grin like heโd accomplished something last night. Kiera wouldnโt tell him, but he had accomplished something. The jerk got his way. He had the pack and her permanently. It wasnโt fair. She wasnโt ready for this, but she didnโt know what she was ready for. She wasnโt sure if she should be unhapp
In the bathroom, Dean had the shower running, and he was making sure they had everything they need within easy reach. He remembered to heat the towels and lay out the mat. Whoever built this bathroom put down super smooth tiles on the floor and it was like skating on ice when you stepped out if you werenโt careful. The mat had rubber grips to prevent that while drying your feet on it. Dean heard Kiera sigh as she settled under the spray of their large shower. A standard wolf could bath in this shower while in their fur. Now Dean wondered if he needed to remodel the bathroom to fit their new size. Kiera was smaller in her dire wolf form, and he didnโt think sheโd fit in here. That was something for another day to think about. Right now, he had an eyeful of his mate and a promise to keep. There was no question for him if she was his mate. Just seeing her like this made everything right. Dean followed her into the shower and cornered her under
It took another week before Dean managed to shift into his alternative forms. Heโd noticed a lot of changes in him. He needed to get larger clothing because his entire body went up to two clothing sizes while he lay in bed. That surprised him quite a bit. Finally, he could hold Kiera and kiss her without feeling like heโd been hit by a steamroller. Once they were home, Kiera wouldnโt speak of their mating and she wouldnโt set a date for the mating or acknowledgement ceremony. So he surprised Kiera with an evening to mate with her. He didnโt need an acknowledgement ceremony. His daily pain was almost nonexistent now and he want to give her what she deserved. Dean wanted Kiera to love their new form and position within the pack. So this evening theyโd start with a private dinner in his apartment and then enjoy the evening with his soon-to-be mate. His mind kept wandering to what was to come. By dawn, theyโd be mated, and thi
Two days later, Kiera and Trisha waited outside Deanโs room as Dr Graves examined him and looked at the latest test results. James returned to his pack to manage a few things. โSo what are you doing for your mating ceremony? When will it be?โ Kiera asked Trisha to try to find a different subject that didnโt revolve around Deanโs or her recent decisions. โOh, I have him waiting until we can have both packs in the same place without there be fighting. I figure in a few years. I mean, technically, weโre mated. Itโs just the ceremony of recognition of the mating thatโs not been done. It seems so old-fashioned to me.โ Trisha tried to brush it off. โHon, if that were true, then youโll be waiting forever to have the ceremony. Why donโt you just have it, and weโll threaten to string up anyone and post signs of what they did? Like those photos of cats in their harnesses. โI shredded all the toilet paper while my owner was pooping.โ Or โI pooped in m
โThat bastard. Deanโs a jerk. He knew heโd do this and didnโt tell anyone that heโd do it. Kiera went there to discuss if it were possible. I know Kiera. Sheโd want to plan for all the worst things before trying anything. I bet he pushed her to let him do it.โ โEnough Trisha. Iโll get us the earliest possible portal to there if you just let me think and listen to the portal booking system.โ The mages ran the portal system and with itโs high risks of danger, they kept a stranglehold on almost all portal travel. When, where, and how long it would take are just a few of the questions James needed to answer. โCrap. I forgot to ask Kiera if she needed me to bring her anything. I donโt know if she has a change of clothes.โ โWell, Iโll leave you to create a care package for Kiera and Dean. Let me get this booked.โ โWith four bags, James. Weโre taking four bags with us. We can carry them if we have two duffle bags and two packs.โ โFine, Iโ
At some point, Kiera looked up at Dean. โDid you call your sister and tell her you were doing this right now?โ โNope, because you know very well what Trisha would say and I wasnโt going to listen to it, because this is between you and me.โ โGoddess save me. Fine, Iโll do it. But when sheโs pissed, Iโm laying all the blame at your door. So you better be prepared when you see her next, because youโre going to hear about it.โ Kiera couldnโt take it. She needed to talk to someone other than Dean. Trisha was the first person she thought of. Her mind did flit to April and Mary, but right now they were too busy trying to impress her to be reliable. For two who claimed they wanted to help her part-time, that changed when they understood she wasnโt dreaming that Dean wanted her as his mate and Luna. Kiera wasnโt leaning toward either of them because right now she didnโt feel she could trust them to receive the unvarnished truth. She hoped that would change.
โAre you both in agreement with this? If so, I can get you admitted Alpha Jonas, Kiera. Weโd only need permission to draw your blood. If all goes well, you could be home in a day or two. Free to mate in a more relaxed and traditional manner on your own timeline.โ Dr Graves looked calm and understanding. He didnโt press them further than that. โIโm game if you are Kiera.โ Dean knew he was taking risks with his life. If it meant his life would finally be on track and he could see a happily ever after, heโd do it. He knew it was risky, but something in the back of his head was pushing him to do it and he wasnโt strong like Kiera, and he couldnโt resist listening to it. โFine. I will let them take some blood. As long as I donโt need to be admitted for this. How long will it take to know whether itโs working or not?โ โOnce your blood is within his body it, we can test his body to see if thereโs any rejection or damage to his organs. But since you