The weather was fine, although the sky was cloudy. The worst of winter had passed, and the wonderful spring was arriving. Birds from the south had returned and sang their beautiful symphony. The wicked snow was gone, replaced by a vast carpet of grass. Flowers of many kinds had blossomed and filled the air with their fragrance. This was the best time of the year to have a housewarming.
It was an intimate party with Rick and Lenora's family. We had also invited Emma, Damon, the pack Betas and some close friends. Aunt Flora was away on one of her impromptu trips. We already had a pack run and the barbecue party with the whole pack the previous evening.
Kids played in the garden while I relaxed with Emma and other ladies on the patio overlooking the river. I gazed at Emma and other girls fussing over their babies and older kids. Even Katherine had Namara to look after. I knew what I had to do. Have Lucian's babies. I picked up my piña colada and smiled absentmindedly.
"Are you even listening to me?" Emma broke my reverie.
"Sorry what?"
I replied, trying to catch the gist of the conversation flying around me. For a change, I had closed my mental link with Lucian. I didn't want him listening to our girl talk.
"I was narrating how annoyingly possessive Bobby was during the early stages of my pregnancy. So, I had to attend this essential lecture. I had to fight with Bobby to let me attend it. Medical school is not easy, after all. I was standing by the car, talking to some of my classmates. Bobby didn't like that, he came flying through his car, grabbed me and hauled me behind him. He growled low in his throat, and said 'MINE'. Turns out he didn't like the group of guys standing too close to me. I have never seen a gang of grown men run away that fast, Bobby can be just a bit intimidating," Emma said with a laugh.
"Was he always this possessive?" I asked shocked.
"No, but he became more possessive once I was with his pup."
Linda and Rain, who had been listening, quietly giggled. Everyone knew how possessive males were, but they go over the top when their mates are with pups. Since pregnant females cannot shift, their protective instinct kicks in.
"Our mate will be very protective," my wolf Lana said appreciatively. She had gone into motherhood mode once I decided to have a baby.
"Alphas are worse when it comes to possessiveness." Linda looked at me pointedly.
"Really? Did Rick give you a hard time?"
"Why else do you think I had to quit working?"
"That's terrible! How could he force you to quit? Rick doesn't seem like that?" I looked at the garden, there the men were playing with the older pups. Keeping them busy. Rick seemed happy and relaxed.
"He didn't ask me to quit, and it was my decision. I wanted a break. But he wouldn't leave me alone for even a minute. He wanted to escort me to and fro to my work. He was so clingy it I decided it was better this way."
"Damm! I hope Lucian doesn't turn into a control freak," I was worried. After several issues and arguments, we had finally arrived at a delicate balance of power. I preferred not to jeopardize it.
Lenora looked at her daughter and baby Matthew and said quietly, "If you have any questions, we will answer anything that you ask. But foremost, let me make this clear. Motherhood is a wonderful gift, especially for us. You know, we go into heat only twice a year. Even during that, chances of conception are slim. Were don't get pregnant easily. So, don't freak out, everything works out in the end. Unlike humans, our mate bond is stronger and at a spiritual level. Plus we have a long life, we have ample time to get back to our careers, speaking of careers. I am going back to business school this fall." Linda grinned happily.
"Oh wow! Congrats Linda, I am sure you will rock it."
"I hope so. Starting college again at 30 isn't easy." She replied.
"You don't look a day over 22, one of the perks of being a werewolf." I laughed.
"Yeah, that's one of the reasons, I agreed to transform, and I was madly in love with Rick" Linda glanced fondly at Rick, who returned the look.
"Awwwwww, that's so sweet," Rain gushed. "It reminded me of how Damon and I met."
"How did you meet? You never told me your love story." I smiled at the Rain.
She looked sheepish and Kathrine snorted.
"It was rather embarrassing." Rain mumbled.
"Really? Now I am curious. " I kept my drink on the table and straightened up.
"Come on, don't force me to use my Alpha command. Spill it out." I said laughing.
Katherine interjected. "I will narrate, before meeting Damon, Rain had a rather distinguished career of being a punk and a petty thief."
My mouth fell open in surprise, while Rain looked sheepish. That explained her bright orange hair and colourful clothes, but a thief! I had no idea.
"Don't judge her, she had a rather rough childhood, having grown up in foster care, she fell into bad company. To cut the long story short. Damon caught her when she was trying to break into Lucian's car. Damon was instantly smitten, and he begged Lucian to not punish her. Lucian understood and allowed him to keep Rain as his mate."
"That's very romantic, I wasn't aware of your past, Rain. Glad to know you met Damon and ended up here." I said.
"I am not very proud of my past. I was young and stupid." Rain replied, she was still embarrassed.
"You are part of the family now, nobody's going to judge you, I am happy for you," I reassured Rain.
I wondered if Lucian was going to be as possessive and decided that I would have to talk to him about it, since I had outside interests that I would continue to pursue, such as my work. Occasional girls outings which I attended, and I had tons of work in the pack. I wanted him to understand that I understood his need to be possessive, but I would continue to have a life of my own, not just as his mate.
"So when are you going in the heat?" Emma asked.
"Next week," I replied.
"Wow, should I expect fireworks?" Emma teased.
"Maybe," I grinned.
Lucian and I were going on a trip to a seaside cabin. He had explained that was supposed to be our honeymoon. We never had any peace since we l were mated. This was a perfect opportunity for us to enjoy some solitude. I hoped this peaceful period would stay forever, but things were not so easy in the werewolf world.
"Hope you have beautiful and healthy pups," Katherine said, smiling. Katherine never failed to remind me of the need for the Alpha's pups.
"Hello, ladies, who are having pups?" Lucian arrived happily swinging his niece Sherry in his arm. The little girl was squealing.
"Alice," Rain replied, making me choke on my drink. She was a loudmouth. Always blurting out wrong things at the wrong time.
Lucian looked at me dumbfounded. "What?"
"Ignore her, rain is just being Rain. Did you eat something? Kids must be hungry." I said trying to change the topic.
By the end of the day, everyone was a little tired, but happy. I thought about how fortunate I was to have these people, my family, with me to enjoy such a time. I thought about how many times we could have done things together, but life always seemed to get in the way; there was always work, pack issues, danger, and betrayals.
There was always something to be done, always someplace to go. None of it seemed important now; the only thing that mattered was these people, this singular second in the infinity of time. I was with people who loved me, with people I loved. The man I loved and who loved me back. Everything else didn't seem significant.
One good thing which had ensued during those troublesome days, when Regina threatened us, was the regular training. Lucian made me get up early every morning to train with him and his betas in the gym. That habit had remained. Compulsory training was part of the pack rule now, irrespective of gender. Whenever I trained with Lucian, I would usually limp out of the gym, sore from all the times that I got pinned down by him. Me being his mate did not prevent me from getting as rigorous training as the rest of the pack. Wolves, respect strength and are instinctively inclined to submit to someone stronger than themselves. Hence, Alphas need to maintain their strength. Lucian was such an exacting taskmaster, he sparred with me himself. And he never held his punches. I loved the challenge and enjoyed it. The sex between Lucian and me was hotter after our training sessions. We would shower together and squeeze in a wild and satisfying romp in the shower after each training session. We wo
Alice - After meeting Rossi girls and convincing them to join the training, I returned with Katherine. Lucian and I needed to talk. If Gregory's brother had escaped, he could be a potential threat. "You seem upset," Katherine said while I drove back to the packhouse. "I am feeling bad about the humiliation and fear those girls went through. I haven't tried reaching out to the new pack members. Things were so busy in the last year that they slipped off my mind. I feel like a failure." I lamented. "Don't say that, Alice. You have been the perfect, Luna. There has always been, and will always be such packs. When the Alphas turn out to be crazy, the pack suffers. My parents belonged to such a pack. " "I thought you always lived here!" I exclaimed, turning to face Katherine. "I was born here, but my parents were from the now decimated Blue-star pack. Their Alpha was weird. They had many rules around ranking. Mating with humans was forbidden. If any higher-ranking female had a lower r
Lucian -It was early morning when Alice and I headed out to Azure beach, our chosen destination. It was the latter portion of March. I could sense her feeling a bit guilty about taking me away from the pack. I smiled."Don't worry, they can live without us for a few days, they are in good hands," I assured her, hearing her thoughts."That's good to know, have you been away from the pack before?" She asked while leaning back in her seat, arching her back a little. She looked a bit odd."Several times, I keep taking business trips. Daniel and my friend Garrett even went backpacking through Europe right after college. So, it's not like the pack has never been on its own before. Alice, what the fuck are you doing?" I asked as Alice moved her hands seductively on my jeans.My muscles bunched and jumped as she lovingly rubbed my thigh. Up and down she went, sometimes barely skimming over my pants, sometimes kneading the muscle underneath. I cast a sidelong glance at her. Her mischievous sm
Alice - By afternoon, we had made it to the spot he wanted us to be in. It was a typical shack on a beach, just at the edge of a forest. "What is this place?" I asked, staring at the crashing waves. "Do you like it?" He grinned at me. The wind blew against his hair, messing it up. He looked cute. I didn't see anyone else around. "Is this a private beach?" I asked. "Kind of. This is the former pack land on the Black Stone pack. I was going to sell it off as the pack has already shifted to our area, then I came across this! Now, I don't know what to do? It's beautiful," he said, enthralled. The beach was indeed beautiful. The sand was softly golden with just the right comforting warmth, like a cosy hug, one only matched by the sunshine-filled sky. Lucian stretched out both arms and legs to look like a boy-starfish, his grin growing slowly into a broad smile. The waves washed the sands in white lace. "It's too beautiful to be sold," I exclaimed. "Yes, but I don't know what to do
Alice -Our time ended much too quickly. I loved every minute of it. We hunted, explored, and fucked to our heart's content. I was sad when it was time to leave.I realized that this was the most amount of time Lucian and I had ever spent together, alone. We blended so well it surprised me. We didn't have anything like a honeymoon or even much of a real date. Our relationship just materialized into existence out of thin air, but it did feel solid.As we drove back towards home. I contemplated our relationship and life. Lucian seemed lost in his thoughts. It was a comfortable silence between us.We reached the pack land in the late evening. I yawned and stretched my body, I badly needed some rest."Go in and get some rest? I have some work to catch up on." Lucian spoke while taking out our luggage."I am not tired. Let's meet the pack. Katherine and I need to talk." I pressed my lips in a grimace.Lucian chuckled."Come on! I am sure she gave you that drug in a good faith. Don't be hard
Author's note - This chapter contains gore and violence. Please be warned.***********Olivia - I was woken by the agonizing screams. Panic and terror momentarily paralyzed me as the memories of rape and brutal beatings overwhelmed me. I tried to move my arms, but a sharp pain shot through my body. One of my eyes was swollen to shut, so I had to make do with one eye. Peering in the dark, I saw one of those monstrous shapes moving.I shivered in a cold cell and pulled myself into a sitting position on the damp earthen floor.I was locked in a nightmare, and there was no escape. Fear had been my constant companion in the last week. I craned my neck to hear the dull slap of flesh against flesh, accompanied by the shrieks that echoed in the murky darkness of the prison. They were doing it again.The smell of blood and death overlaid the dank smell of decay. The shrieks had now reduced to a whimper. I wished to die, it was preferable to the monster I had turned into. I had become a monster
Alice -I felt Lucian sink into the bed next to me. I was already in bed and turned to face him."Hey," I said, placing my hand on his cheek."Sorry, I was delayed." He replied, smiling."It's ok, I heard about those bodies being found. Is it something to worry about?"He seemed to be contemplating something."Nothing to worry about, they were unfortunate human victims. They will be handed over to the cops. Probably, murdered by someone crazy. They were dumped in our shipyard.""That's so terrible, poor humans." "Evil exists! You know it. Don't ponder on it." He said while tracing my face with his knuckles.Lucian scented my neck deeply and once he calmed down he leaned back to look deep into my eyes which were fluttering open and shut as I struggled to stay awake. His hand gently tucked stray strands of hair before moving down to caress my cheek as he whispered, "I love you.""You should, I'm fabulous," I whispered as I fell asleep with a smile on my face. ****************"Hello, G
Alice"Can you please explain what is going on ?" I asked Lucian, as soon as he arrived in the Jade moon. Packs are generally very protective of their territories, it's unusual for another Alpha to get inside the pack boundaries without prior notice and security clearance. There are enough ambitious Alphas ready to attack and conquer other packs. But, Lucian was always welcome at Jade moon and the Reds pack. They were family."Where is Rick?" He asked quickly."Infirmary I guess." He was suddenly calm and gently patted my cheeks. "It's nothing serious.""Wait! You are here because of the bodies, isn't it? ""Yes, but all this could be just a coincidence. You don't have to stress yourself, dear.""Hey, Lucian. When did you arrive?" We were interrupted by Linda, who arrived, chasing after the twins."Aunty!" Clara squealed and grabbed my leg, wrapping herself around it. She had become my number 1 fan ever since our ordeal. I was glad she was doing well. One of the rare true-born witches