Veronica “Ronnie, calm down. It is going to be fine.” Mari said, her words halting me in my tracks where I had been pacing across the small kitchen the next morning. “You don’t know that for sure.” I couldn’t resist adding as the worry hung around my head like an encroaching storm on a cloudy day. “You are right. I don’t,” she stated, giving me a severe frown before she went on in the next breath, “but I do know that you need to stop stressing over every detail and try to accept what Luna has blessed you with.” Mari was not one to usually call it like she saw it, being shy and introverted with most people unless something sparked the fire that I knew was deep within her. Consequently, if she was being this candid with me, I opted to seriously consider her argument as I took a seat at the table. Nevertheless, I heard the crunching of heavy boots traipsing up the path towards the front of

Veronica “Did you get to everyone that you needed to this morning?” Mari asked as I reentered the room from packing Roxi’s diaper bag for our upcoming trip to the training grounds in about an hour. “I did, thank you again for keeping an eye on her for a couple of hours. I don’t have many patients presently, and I was able to meet with a few of them last night so that helped a lot.” As I set the bag on the counter, I allowed my eyes to trail over to where Roxi was hard at work, banging her cardboard books against her table while Mari gathered the rest of her lunch. “That’s great! I am happy that Ryker seems to be up for the challenge of parenthood. Don’t get me wrong, I revere Roxi unconditionally, but it has been tough recently with Scarlett’s absence. I didn't realize how much she helped out around here. Roxi misses her too. S

Ryker I noted the immediate dip in Ronnie’s mood when her friend’s abrupt absence was highlighted as we discussed the past. I could sense her annoyance, but it was also evident how much the other woman meant to my mate by the concern that outshined it by a long stretch. “I know Reese would never let any harm come to her, but I will ask him about more specifics if he is in range tomorrow. I need to try to contact the others again anyway.” I supplied, knowing that her pride and stubbornness was hindering her from demonstrating her caring nature like she typically would have. I shifted my position next to her, nudging her knee with mine as I did so and glancing down to measure her reaction in response to both my words and prior actions. I didn’t think so little of her as to believe that she would forget her yearning for information that easily.

Veronica My head remained firmly in the clouds as I ambled inside after Ryker kissed the living daylights out of me and then left like I wasn't in shambles, trying to peel myself off the ground due to the puddle of goo I had melted into with his clever mastery. Okay, so maybe I was being a bit melodramatic, but the mating bond made this sweltering desire seem a thousand times stronger now that he was in my presence on a more regular basis. In fact, I honestly believed it might have been rallying to a new intensity the longer I resisted its call. I found Mari in the living room with her latest book, curled up on the sofa where she looked up upon my entrance, saying in a lighthearted manner, “It’s about time you showed up, Ronnie. I thought we were supposed to be planning a ball while Roxi was asleep?” I knew she was only jestin

Ryker I dithered before giving chase to my mate, observing as she shifted into her gorgeous midnight colored wolf and took off for what I hoped would soon become our home. My wolf had been gnawing at the edges of my mind, slashing at my skin to spring free since the second we had broken from the confines of Ronnie’s house and into the fresh air. I couldn’t hide the degree of his hold over me as I finished talking, but I reveled in my mate’s reaction to my wolf’s presence, regardless. I stopped resisting the impulse to switch shapes when Ronnie kicked up the dirt beneath her paws, transforming into my own inky black colored wolf, though I was much larger in comparison to Ronnie’s. My wolf also had white on his muzzle, whereas hers was totally solid. I sank my claws deep int