Ben I was shaking. Nearly consumed. There was at least one. Two? Goddess, could there be all four? I wait, distracted on the sidewalk and wave stiffly as Lo gets into the back of Charlie’s SUV. Oh my Goddess. All four? How could any of them, let alone all four, just be casually dumped into a box of old books? There’s no way Lo’s mother even knew what they were. Lo had been complaining these weren’t even her books. But Salindra wouldn’t have carelessly sent these– Stay calm. Charlie pulls away from the curb, his turn signal blinking. But there’s no way. How could these books out of the millions across the werewolf Archives and across the country end up here? My brain is moving at lightning speed, moving through a series of possibilities and posits and cogently sorting through options. It was as if my mind was finally stimulated after two weeks of disuse. I was practically buzzing now. This was better than any type of buzz that bottle upstairs could give me. How did the Chiyad

Ben The car ride is quiet. Which is good, because I’ve never been so frustrated in my entire life. I’m so angry I could rip apart the books in my hands. Deidre sits poised in her own seat, rifling through emails on her phone. She frowns at an incoming text message as we arrive in front of the infirmary. I unbuckle my seatbelt but she doesn’t move. “Luna?” She’s so engrossed in her phone that she doesn’t even look at me. “Something just came up. I’ll circle back later. Charlie? Pack house please.” I get out of the car with the books, clearly dismissed. So, I’m stuck at the infirmary, stranded with books for Kira. Wonderful. I look down at the books. In my rush I hadn’t even realized some of my notes were slammed in between the pages. I attempt to get them all out and stuff them in my pocket, making my way inside. “Good morning Lorrie.” “Round two?” “Uh, yea.” She gives me a visitors pass and a map with a labyrinth of directions. I suddenly feel like I’m being set up. Agai

Perrin“You’re joking, right?” Kira looks at me with a look of mixed incredulity and annoyance. I shrug. “It’s not my call. The Alpha wants to leave tonight, so… we leave tonight.”“Let me guess,” she says, folding her arms across her chest. “Something about security and keeping everyone on their toes?”I smile. “Probably. And if my suspicions are correct, he’s going to try and unsettle Neil’s security as much as possible.”She grins. “Payback for their engagement bombshell?”“Exactly.”I watch Kira as she studies me, trying to fight her insecurity at being left out. “Well, have a good time then.”I reach over and squeeze her shoulder. “We’ll be back before you know it, okay?” She huffs in disagreement. “Have you called your brother yet?”“No,” she scoffs, jaw thrust forward in defiant mocking. “I thought I had another few days to do it before you left.”I roll my eyes. “That’s not an excuse and you know it.”“How long do I have to stay here?”“Stop trying to change the subject.”“I’

Perrin “As if I could forget you,” she muses, before drifting off into a deep sleep. Silly, really, I think, flirting with the edge of consciousness as I feel her steady breathing on my chest. I’m tempted to allow her breathing to lull my own body to rest for an hour, but I can’t help but think of her words, and they keep me hedging on the side of being awake. It was silly, what she had said. Because there was never any chance that Lo would escape my every waking thought and sleeping dream while I’m away. She will, and I know it, float in every thought and feeling as I spend time away from her. She won’t be the topic of every conversation, but she’ll be the driving reason behind everything I say, every decision I make while I’m in Texas. Because the truth of it all was that this bond between us could not be broken. Because this was love, and yet somehow so much more than that–something including love but also entirely beyond. This is what being a mate was truly about. It wasn’t a ch

Perrin “You may come in, Perrin.” Deidre steps back and holds the door open, waiting for me to enter. To my relief, Lo is sitting up in bed, drinking water through a straw. She has an IV attached to her forearm and a heart monitor beeping with steady regularity to the right of her patient bed. I rush to her, my own heart thumping wildly in my chest. “Are you alright?” I ask, visually inspecting her as if I’m qualified to know. “I’m fine, Perrin.” She says between sips. She’s slurping happily away at some red slushie-type concoction. “The baby?” I search her eyes, hoping to find some indication. But she wouldn’t be sitting up in bed if something was wrong, would she? “They’re both fine,” Jennivah reiterates. She’s standing at a nearby desk and types notes into her computer. “But you two need to sit down.” I instantly stiffen. “I thought you said they were fine?” “I am–” Lo starts. “I mean, we are–” she stutters, mouth full and a little at a loss for words. Her face turns a litt