— Leia Steele —I wasn’t sure how long I had been walking, how many days or weeks had passed since I told myself that no matter what happened, I wouldn’t stop and I would keep going and going.But what I did know was that I was almost back to being skin and bones. It helped that I was able to scavenge food here and there from random campsites that I encountered and animals that wandered around, but still, they were not enough to sustain me as much as I needed.I knew though, that even if every part of my body hurt, that still wouldn’t hinder me from my goal which was to get as far away as possible.I looked up to take in my surroundings. The sun was lighting up the forest I was in beautifully, tinting the vast greenery a gorgeous shade of yellow and orange. It was like a painting in real life. Not that I had many to compare to, but this was one of the few things that kept me going.The feeling of the warm sun against my skin, the smell of freshly bloomed flowers, and even the sound of

— Leia Steele —“Maxie! Maxie boy, come here!” I called out, snapping my fingers simultaneously to entice him to come out.A few seconds later, the beautiful hazel-eyed husky covered in white and gray fur comes out, running to my direction with what looks like a huge fish in the middle of his fangs.He’s got an obvious proud smile as he dropped it in front of me and I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.“You’ve been bothering the fishies again by the river, huh? Okay, well, better get in your fun before it freezes and you can’t get to them anymore.” I said before patting him on the head and he let out a howl of approval.At that exact second, Christopher comes out of the front door.“Great, you found the troublemaker. Lunch is ready, kid. Wash up and come in. I’ll take care of the catch of the day.” He commented before taking the big fish off the snow and giving me a friendly wink.“Come on, big guy. You heard your papa. Time to wash up!” Maxie smiles at me again and lets out his paw a

— Leia Steele —My heart pumped like crazy, the beating getting harder and faster as I half walked half sprinted towards the back of the cabin.Maxie was closely following behind me, even though for a second I thought he would rather stay with… him.I felt a shudder travel all throughout my body almost instantly.Goddess, no wonder he and Maxie immediately bonded like how we did too before. It’s because he was just like me. How in the world did I miss that? I guess I was so caught up in meeting another person that I hadn’t stopped to think about the fact that it was possible he wouldn’t just be a person. “Vera!” Edith almost gave me a heart attack when she popped up from the corner, holding a knife up in the air.She must have noticed my widened eyes on the knife because she quickly put it behind her back. “Oh, I’m sorry, I was cutting a slice of the pie. Where have you been? We were starting to get worried. Chris was on the verge of calling a sheriff over here, but I told him that

— Zane Frost —The clock had barely struck eight in the morning, but the Pack castle was all sorts of chaotic already, though mostly in a good way. We haven’t had a celebration this big, since… well, since the cold-hearted and psychotic wrench of a woman named Ivy, who was River’s ex Luna, had been caught in her web of lies.She didn’t know how to do anything but spend Pack resources for her and only her benefit. I remembered the day she arrived in the Pack, and her first concern was to throw herself a party, claiming that her arrival as Luna needed to be celebrated.Sure, that bit made sense, but after that, she pretty much just celebrated everything, and dear God, don’t even get me started on how River back then ate all of it up like he was a starving fat boy and Ivy was a big chocolate cake.It was maddening the way I had to endure all of that since I was River’s right hand. I had already lost count of how many times I told him to open his eyes and stop being blinded by the mate bo

— Zane Frost —“I’m not going back out there,” with a stern tone I told Keira, who has followed me back inside. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen or felt, but it was right there, and I saw it with my own two eyes. Hell, it couldn’t be even more real and clear even if I was hundreds of feet away from her.I knew instantly who she was to me. She was my mate, my second chance mate. One that I was just saying a few hours ago that there was no way I was getting nor did I want to get.This was… insane.“What do you mean you’re not? Yes, you are!” Keira demanded before taking my hand and forcing me to stop walking or running or whatever it is I’m doing.Well, I am purposely trying to get away from all of this, from her.Even though Jack inside of me is stirring like mad.‘Take it easy, boy. Get yourself together.’ I linked to him, but he whined back.‘Don’t you think I’m already trying to do that? This bond is making me go insane! It’s telling me to run out there and pull her in for a