The next morning, we are all downstairs to greet Alpha Gael of the Diana Pack and his mate.  The elders of the pack are also there, along with Xander and Devin.  It is obvious that Xander and Devin haven’t slept much.  Their eyes are red rimmed, their faces pale, and dark bags bruise their under eyes.  They are holding hands, their knuckles almost white from their grips on each other. Their pain is evident in the very air that surrounds them.  Though they know that Arya will return tomorrow, it is of little comfort when they know that their mate is being beaten and abused.  Any attempt to console them is met with blank stares, almost as if they have retreated so far into themselves that they cannot understand what is being said to them.  We told them they didn’t need to come, but they just got out of bed and followed us.  We figured that at the very least we could a

Guau!  (Wow!) That is all I can think when our mate steps into the conference room.  She is beautiful.  She is nearly as tall as Hakeem, her body slender, her movements graceful.  Her beautiful hazel eyes are large in her face, her skin pale, and her cheeks have a light flush from smelling her mates.  Her full lips have formed a perfect “o,” sparking thoughts of that mouth on me and my pants become quite tight.  Her long chestnut colored hair falls down her back and perfectly frames her heart-shaped face.  Her legs are encased in a pair of skinny jeans and one of her shoulders is bare from the loose fitting peasant top she wears.  Her creamy, pale skin seems to glow in the light from the room. Hakeem and I both stand at the same time.  Our movement seems to break our ciel

Something in Lucille’s words rings true.  The same feeling that sent me to speak with Brandon two days ago is pushing me towards Gael and Hakeem.  It’s telling me that, even though it is years too early, that I have found my mates.  That I have to claim them and be claimed.  I can feel their power radiating off of them and I know that our mating will only increase that. Biting my lip, I think about how badly I want to get our mating underway.  I had completely forgotten Hakeem’s warning. Hakeem’s growl rumbles in his chest and he lunges at me.  But Gael beats him, wrapping his hands in my hair and pulling my lips to his.  He kisses me hungrily and Hakeem buries his face in my neck. “Um, guys?” Brandon clears his throat a few times to get our attention.  When we finally look

Devin   “Well.  That was unexpected,” Zak says dryly after we watched Meredith lead her new mates out of the room. Many in the room chuckled, but Xander and I just felt even more pain and despair.  Someone else had their mate and we had lost ours.  Yes, we know she is coming back, as early as five hours from now.  Yes, we know that she will be ours from now on.  But she isn’t here now.  She is hurt.  In pain.  And we couldn’t change her mind and keep her here. “Well, I guess that’s it,” Zak says.  “Lucille, would you like to stay in the packhouse tonight?  You haven’t been alone for a while.  It might be difficult to go back to being by yourself.” “Honestly, Zak?  As lovely and wonderful as Meredith is and as much as

Devin holds Lucille’s hand as we walk to her house, ensuring that she doesn’t fall.  I carry food and clothing for Arya in a bag over my shoulder. Arya.  She is all that Dev and I have thought about since she left.  Her pain.  The fear that was in her eyes.  The pain from her rejection, though that is secondary to our worry for her. We’ve barely eaten, barely spoken, barely slept since she left. I check my phone for the time, seeing that it is 8:30.  Three and a half hours.  That is the earliest time that she could arrive.  Dev and I have decided that we will wait at the southern border for her return. We walk through the forest with Lucille, none of us speaking, each lost in our own thoughts.