I have to tell you--I rewrote this scene several times! I've never given birth so I was totally clueless. A bunch of moms and a couple labor and delivery nurses gave me feedback on this scene so that it would read accurately. Hopefully I got it right, but definitely feel free to let me know if something wasn't!
TYSON "Okay, so what's the story?" I asked Sara as she navigated the boat back to the Spruce Winter Pack. "There's not much to it. I swam back like I said I would. I found a storage closet, that I was easily able to break into and steal some clothes. Then I walked the dock and picked the boat that looked the least fucked up and hotwired it. And here I am." "Damn!" "She's amazing," Trav remarked. "Best mate." Sara glanced his way and gave him a smile. "You did really good, Blondie Baby Badass," Trav swooned. I choked, trying so hard not to laugh. I couldn't believe that was actually the nickname he'd come up for her and she was okay with it. But, I supposed, that was the mate bond. "Tyce, they're waking!" Blake called for me. I walked past Gigi and Jasmine, who were snuggled up together with the pups. We'd found a spare blanket in the boat that we'd wrapped around them to keep them warm. I entered the inner part of the boat, closing the door behind me, and made my way to the v
*Almost three weeks later*JASMINE"Gigi!" Paige and Heidi screamed as their sister made her way out into the airport arrivals area. They both rushed over, wrapping their arms tightly around her. Her parents followed, doing the same.Blake grabbed her luggage from her, and then I gave Gigi my own hug. "Welcome home, well, sort of," I said."Thanks," Gigi hugged me back. "And how are the miracle pups?" She asked, looking into my double stroller. "Wow, they're so big compared to the last time I saw them!""Do you want to hold one of them?" I offered. They were staring up at her with their big blue eyes."I'd love that," she replied, with a big smile on her face. I pulled Aria out of the stroller and handed her to Gigi. "You're so much cuter in person than over Zoom, Aria," Gigi swooned, cradling her in her arms."Welcome, Tyce," I said, pulling my cousin in for a hug next."Congrats, again, Jaz," he replied, hugging me back. "We've been looking forward to this run since you left to go h
*Three weeks later* GINGER "Goddess, it's been such a long week!" I flopped onto the bed after showering and throwing on some sweats on a Saturday night in late October. "Your alpha schedule is no joke," I griped to Tyce. "I'm ready to go to bed now." "Do you think you could stay awake for a little bit longer?" He came over and sat on the bed. "Because I have a surprise that just came today." "A surprise? Have I been so busy that I didn't even realize it's my birthday already?" I joked. "It's a 'just because' kind of surprise." "Goddess, stop, Tyce. I can't do all this sweetness. I need a dentist! I think I'm getting cavities." "Okay, the surprise isn't really for you. It's for Splinter anyway. Are you ready for me to bring it in?" "Well, if it's not for me, you should ask Splinter," I teased. "Splinter already said he's ready." "Okay, rat whisperer." Tyce gave me a cute little smile that made my stomach flip-flop. Fuck, why did he affect me so much? Even though we'd now bee
TRIGGER WARNING: This final scene contains torture and is not recommended to the squeamish. It is not necessary to the plot of the book and was only added to give readers some satisfaction with tying up some loose ends. --- TYSON I picked up my ringing phone. "Sara caught the culprits," Trav said, not even bothering to say hello. "Damn," I replied. "She's already tortured them, but offered to let you finish them off. You know, for pack alliance reasons." "I have a feeling that allowing someone else to do the final deed is a gift of generosity in her eyes." I chuckled to myself. Trav's mate was something else. But I'd be damned if I didn't want to watch the motherfuckers that killed my grandfather take their final breaths. Before I hung up, I asked, "Can I bring Dad?" "Obviously that's still a bit of a touchy subject but…" his voice trailed. "But you know that Dad, more than anyone, would want to be the one that does it." I finished his sentence for him. Trav let out a breath.
GINGERSecrets. Everyone has at least one, right?Mine was that I lost my wolf. It happened a long time ago—it was an accident. It was one of those moments in life that changed everything. You know what I mean. One day, everything was normal, great even, and the next thing you know, your life is destroyed over one bad decision.Yep, all it took was one stupid decision and my wolf was gone. I kept crossing my fingers that there was a chance she might come back—that she was still somewhere deep within me, stagnant, in a coma, just needing a little shove to wake up. That's why I went to see a witch on a regular basis.That was my other secret.My parents were suspicious of witches—us werewolves and witches didn't exactly have the best relationship. Lots of old wives' tales, I think—that whole 'be careful what you wish for' thing. Apparently, when a witch granted you your wish, it never quite worked out like expected. But I was desperate. It was the only hope I had to ever be a werewolf a
GINGER"Gigi!" my sister Paige wrapped her arms tightly around me as soon as I entered the house. I hugged her back, so appreciative to be reunited with her again, returning to my pack in Vermont after finishing up the school year. Being twins, we had a special connection. It had been much stronger when we were younger, a lot of my own resentment toward her pulling us apart over the years. It wasn't her fault, but I couldn't help but feel envious that she was able to accomplish all my dreams. An unsettling feeling that someone else was living my life constantly choked me, salt rubbed into the wound.The thing is, becoming a warrior was always my dream. Our dad was a warrior, and I was always way more into it than Paige. I'd love to go with Mom to watch him spar on nice days out. I loved when he spent time training me to fight and defend myself in the backyard. Yes, I was a daddy's girl through and through. And the way I hung onto my dad was the way Paige hung onto me. Even though she
TYSONIf I were being completely honest, it was nice being away from my pack for once. That place could be so suffocating most of the time. I mean, my grandfather was a complete dick, and my dad wasn't much better. It's like they say, alphas always have to be in charge, and more than one alpha is volatile—an explosion just waiting to go off. In the case of my pack, there were three of us, which made the whole thing pretty combustible. I'm actually surprised we hadn't battled it to the death yet.Granted, things weren’t exactly smooth sailing coming to Alpha Blake's pack either. We were still two alphas with competing personalities, but it was better than dealing with my father and grandfather. Blake was pretty reasonable and wasn't hell-bent on making my life miserable. Although, I'm pretty sure Blake wanted nothing to do with me coming to his pack to "check things out". But he was desperate to make his mate's family happy, so he agreed to the arrangement for the summer. That worked o
GINGEROh Goddess, fucking Artemis. My head hurt, my stomach burned, my chest wheezed. The sun was so bright. I kept trying to open my eyes, but the light streaming in through the window made it very difficult. I moaned, in terrible pain, my whole body sore. This was worse than my worst hangovers. Even when I blacked out it was never this bad. I really did need to go to the pack clinic. I'd cry out for Paige to carry me there. She was a full-time warrior—her muscles were definitely strong enough by now.I finally forced my eyes open and was instantly confused by my surroundings. This wasn't my bedroom. I'd never been in this room before at all. Had I hooked up with someone the prior night? I tried to think back. What had happened?The full moon! It all hit me at once. I had taken the double batch of the potion and then everything got blurry. And, oh my Goddess, was that a dream, or had that douchebag from the fortune-telling shop really appeared? It had to have been a dream, right? Bu