GRACE
"Mom, can we not talk about this," I groaned, walking up to her and placing a kiss onto her cheek, "I came here with the hope of getting away from it for a while. Just a little while."
"I don't think that's going to be possible because Rykes is on his way to see you," Aphrodite informed, "He's not mad so don't worry about that but he really wants to talk to you."
"Are you sure he isn't mad? I mean, I did attack an alpha wolf that had permission to be on our territory," I began fumbling with my fingers, anxiety rising within me. I was ready to face any punishment he would offer. To attack without reason or cause was against pack law.
"Alpha Silas spoke to Rykes and requested that he let you off with a warning. He seems to understand why you refuse to accept the bond," she said before her eyes glazed over. Aphrodite had the uncanny ability to communicate within a mind link and still talk to someone in person at the same time. I had no idea how she did it, but it seemed to be a special talent possessed only by her.
I snarled at the mention of Silas' name, "I don't need his help. I wish he would just stay out of my business."
"Grace," my mother said in a low warning tone.
"Don't 'Grace' me, mother," I gave her an exasperated look, "You and dad wouldn't know what this feels like because you've been together since you guys met. He's the only mate you've ever known and vice versa. I have these conflicting feelings inside of me right now and I hate having that feeling of betraying Carter. I just can't accept this bond."
"I'm not saying accept it. I'm only saying be more respectful of it. I raised you with the decency to always have manners no matter the situation," my mother said flatly.
I spotted Alpha Rykes' black wolf barreling toward us, his one white ear being the most noticeable thing. He stopped behind a tree, shifting into his human form and changing into the clothes he had in his mouth before stepping out to meet us.
"My Luna," he greeted Aphrodite, the loving look in his eyes as he stared at his mate making me feel even worse than I felt.
I wanted what they had, what my parents had but I wanted it with Carter. He was my first mate, my true mate. If he hadn't given up his life for me that day maybe things would have been better. If I was a normal werewolf that passed on directly after their mate, that would have definitely been better. Instead, I found myself stuck in this position.
"Gloria," Alpha Rykes greeted my mother before turning to me, "Grace, do you mind if we have a little talk?"
Shaking away my thoughts, I replied, "Uh, sure."
The four of us filed into the cottage, heading over to the small dining table my parents owned and taking a seat. The dining table only accommodated four people because there were four people in my family and we hardly received visitors. If we needed to see anyone, we would just take a walk to the pack house. After my sister, Diana, found her mate in a pack located in Washington, she left to stay with him. When I found my mate, we moved into a small cottage of our own but after he passed on, I couldn't stay there anymore. There were just too many painful memories so I ended up at the pack house.
Alpha Rykes cleared his throat, waking me up from my reverie, "About what happened earlier today..." He trailed off, his wife placing a hand on his on top of the table and giving him a reassuring smile, "Alpha Silas has decided to give you a week to think about what you want to do. That is the duration of time he will be spending here."
"And you think a week is long enough for me to change my mind?"
"It may not be but if you still don't want to accept him as your mate then you will have to reject him. We're unsure how that might affect you considering past experiences but we hope your wolf would survive and you will be allowed to stay in this pack," Alpha Rykes informed, "During this week, since you both will be in the same pack house and will eventually run into one another, please try and be civil. If you try to kill him again you could potentially start a war between our two packs."
With a sigh, I relented, "Fine, by next week Saturday, if I still feel the same, I will reject him as my mate."
It made sense that I only had a week to make up my mind. One: alpha Rykes didn't want Silas and his wolves to get too comfortable here. Two: Silas, as the alpha of his own pack, had to get back soon. If rogues found out that Silas was away from his pack for such a long time, they might take advantage of the situation and attack the pack. And lastly, three: because the pull of the mate bond only grew stronger after the first meeting, it becomes difficult to stay away from your mate. The fact that we already slept together didn't help.
Stupid one night stand! First and last time.
After having lunch I made my way over to the pack house. Alpha Rykes had left right after we had our talk, with his wife in hand, leaving my mother and I alone. She didn't push the topic about Silas being my mate and I was grateful for that. My father, Denver Evans, was on border control for the week and would be home late so he was hardly at home during the day but I promised my mother to visit him soon. He most definitely heard that his daughter was proclaimed to be Alpha Silas' mate and he would want to know if it was true or just stupid rumors going around the pack.
Entering the pack house felt like being dumped in the deep end of a pool without knowing how to swim. The looks that came my way by passing pack members and the words that left their lips only irritated me. Sometimes having such good hearing wasn't a benefit. It was even worse when I connected to the pack link. Most of the complaints came from disgruntled girls who wanted to have their way with Silas. They refused to believe that I was Silas' mate, spreading rumors that I had him under some type of spell or some shit.
Well bitches, I don't even want to be mated to the jerk off!
I shut off the mind link completely —something I had been alone a lot lately — and went straight to my room where I found Monica sitting on her bed with a cigarette tucked between her full lips and her phone in her hands.
"Mono, how many times do I have to tell you that I don't want you smoking in the room. Get out!" I gritted, striding over to the window and opening it as wide as possible so fresh air could eliminate the horrid smell of her cigarette.
She stuck her tongue out at me then pressed the lit cigarette onto the soft wet flesh, effectively putting it out. There was a sizzle that could be heard and I internally gagged and cringed at the sight. She then placed the cigarette bud into the ashtray at her bedside.
"I wish you wouldn't do that. It's freaky!"
She shrugged a shoulder, getting up from her spot on the bed and shrugging on her leather jacket over the black tank top she wore. Black ripped jeans covered her toned legs like a second skin and biker boots on her feet, "Sorry, Gracey baby. I'd love to stay and chat, really I would, but I'm racing tonight. Darius got me a slot tonight and the winner gets a cash prize."
Darius was one of Monica's human friends. She had many of them. Although she hated to admit it, even she liked feeling a little normal and living the life of a somewhat ordinary human. Unlike me, she grew up to become an adrenaline junky. At fifteen she got her first motorcycle and had been racing ever since.
"So a usual Saturday night for you then," I groaned, plopping myself onto the bed. My body bounced twice before finally sinking into its comfort.
"Yup, sounds about right."
"Damn, looks like I'm going to be alone then. Now that Gino found his mate, he's going to be stuck to her side like someone lathered superglue on them and mashed them together."
Monica chuckled at that, throwing a pillow at me that landed on my face, "Let the boy have some fun. At least he finally found his mate."
Removing the pillow from my face, I said, "Yeah. Tomorrow we're going to find those Green Forest pack members that came here and see if any of them happen to be your mate."
She rolled her eyes, "If one of them is, then we would be moving to the same pack. It's like I can't get rid of you even if I want to."
I hummed in response, "Hey, be careful tonight. I know you'd like to believe that you're Wonder Woman but..." My sentence trailed off. I didn't want to think of what could possibly go wrong. She had met into countless accidents before but because of her werewolf healing, she came out mostly okay.
"I know, I know. You worry too much. I'll be fine," the sound of our room door opening let me know that she was about to leave, "Don't wait up tonight," she chimed before the sound of the door closing filled the room.
And then I was left in deafening silence. Just me and my thoughts. The perfect way to spend the rest of a Saturday...NOT!
SILAS"What if she rejects you?" My Beta, Xander Payne, asked with concern lacing his words. He didn't have ill intentions, obviously trying to look out for his Alpha but my wolf didn't take too kindly to what he asked.A growl vibrated in my chest, a warning growl telling him that he better tread lightly, "She won't. I won't allow her too." I simply stated, my wolf stirring at the thought of not having her.Not again, this won't happen again. "You can't force her to accept you Silas. From what I heard, she had a mate before and she still seems very connected to that mate," he pointed out, leaning back into the brown leather couch he was seated in. He had his left leg resting over his right knee, elbows resting on the arm rests, and fingers laced in front of him. Clearly, his stance screamed business mode, trying to tell me that he was just stating the facts of the situation.My wolf felt jealous of the strong bond she had with her pas
GRACEI spent my Saturday night and all of my Sunday locked in my room, not even bothering to leave to eat with the rest of the pack. Monica hadn't been to the room since she left Saturday afternoon which left me in a calm, smoke-free zone for the weekend which I took full advantage of. I loved my best friend, I just didn't love her smoking habits. Unfortunately, she listened to no one and did whatever the hell she felt like unless the Alpha ordered her otherwise. Throwing on a hot pink sports bra, black yoga tights, and trainers I had bought just for pack training, I made my way to the back yard where everyone was beginning to do stretches and warm-ups for the session. After I joined the pack warriors, I quickly climbed the ranks, becoming the head female pack warrior. At first, I had been the only she-wolf and the men in the pack didn't take too kindly to that. However, with the alpha's permission, I began training o
GRACEI had been on border petrol that Monday evening; directly after dinner at the pack house, I had to report for duty. To be the pain in the ass I expected him to be, Silas decided to follow me out that night, keeping me company during my entire shift. He kept his distance from me though, and I was grateful that we couldn't understand one another in wolf form. I didn't need him reminding me of the events that happened earlier in the day. My one moment of weakness that I would never show him again.Tuesday followed in the same manner; training in the morning, sleeping during the day, and border patrol all night. Even Tuesday, Alpha Silas followed me out. My wolf loved that. It showed that he cared for his mate's safety. If I didn't know any better, I'd say my wolf was quite content with accepting Silas as our new mate.Although many novels — obviously written by humans who didn't know much about ou
GRACEWhatever trance he had found himself in broke just as fast as he fell into it. He was quick to catch me up again, matching my stride as best as he could, "No-one has ever mentioned my eyes before."I shrugged, "So no-one finds it weird that they're purple sometimes and a honey brown others.""Yours turn obsidian at times and then they turn to this bluish gray," he pointed out. It made me feel a little less awkward that I had put so much time into analyzing his eyes because clearly he did the same."That's because my wolf tends to take over when she's mad. Haven't completely learnt how to control that yet," I admitted, keeping my eyes downcast. Everything came easy to me because I did it on an everyday basis but I hardly ever felt anger so when I did, I simply didn't know how to deal with it."Well the same happens with me, except, my wolf and I have an understanding.
GRACEAfter pulling a double shift patrolling the pack western border, I was officially exhausted. I had only returned to my room at the pack house at sunrise and found Monica still deep in her slumber. She wore a white tank top and silk shots that left nothing to the imagination. Laying on her stomach, she had one hand and one leg dangling off the bed in a position that didn't look too comfortable. Rolling my eyes, I stripped down into my underwear and pulled over a long, baggy t-shirt so I could get some sleep. Luckily, because of how drained both me and my wolf were, sleep came easily but I was never a day sleeper. With the heat and the bright sun protruding through the drawn curtains, I only managed to get three hours' worth of sleep in. When I awoke, I found Monica fully dressed, sitting at the edge of her bed, fully engrossed in her phone.I rubbed my eyes to remove it's tiredness as my groggy vo
GRACEI took a second to calm my raging hormones and buzzing nerves before pushing myself off the wall. Bringing the blouse of my floral jumpsuit to my nose, I cringed when the strong, overpowering scent of citrus and oak bombardered me. It was a scent I recognized as Xander's, Alpha Silas' Beta. I took note that Xander had not found his mate yet and having his scent on me probably pissed Silas off.No one asked him to assign me a bodyguard! An un-mated wolf at that!Because I clearly loved trouble and wanted to prove an unnecessary point to Silas, I decided not to pay heed to his words. He wouldn't really drag me to the bathroom and wash of Xander's scent from my body.Would he?The thought had a knot growing in the pit of my stomach and an uncomfortable feeling pulsating between my legs. I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth as images of his large, rough h
SILAS Adamant little wolf. Those were the only words I could use to describe her. Even after me telling her to cover up, she chose to blatantly disrespect me by walking out in those clothes that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. She was damn lucky that no one was around last night. If someone saw her, if an unmated wolf saw her in those clothes, I would have ripped his eyes out of his sockets and then carried her to my room. That was exactly what I felt like doing to Xander when they got back from wherever they were last night. I had things to sort out yesterday and entrusted Grace in Xander's protection. With me finally signing a treaty with the Silver Dawn pack, it meant that I needed to sit with the Alpha and settle on the treaty's terms and agreements. It took us a whole day but we were finally done with the nitty-gritty bullshit of it all. All I wanted to do after was see my beautiful
GRACEI kept a mask of indifference on my face as he uttered his words. Deep down, my emotions felt like a tornado, wrecking me inside out. I felt angry, not at him but at the Goddess for pairing us together when we each had mates of our own. We were meant to be with that one person forever, our souls intertwined: one soul, split between two bodies. Clearly, that principle didn't apply in this situation.Then I felt jealousy. Jealous that someone else had the chance to touch my mate. I didn't have a right to be jealous but the bond didn't care about right and wrong. It was how he felt whenever I mentioned Carter and I couldn't understand it, always labeling it as jerky alpha behavior but it wasn't. Our bond felt like a normal mate bond, as if our past mates never existed.I, unconsciously, ran a hand over the spot Carter's mark use to be. The spot where my neck met my shoulder. His mark had been a silver paw