*Nikko's POV*I was already sitting in the office when I heard my phone buzz and saw Jo's message. Despite my conflicting feelings, I still couldn't help but smile. However, I set my phone back down on the desk, feeling too guilty to reply.I had spent the night in bed with this girl, and I was falling in love with her, but I still couldn't see myself making her Luna. And based on how she was last night, I knew this revelation would crush her when I finally revealed it.It had been harder than I had imagined to see her laying there crying…and over me. I felt like a piece of sh*t. Maybe it had been a mistake to have her come before I had made my choice, but it had been so hard to be away from her.My head hit the back of my tall black chair as I turned to stare out the windows. I was exhausted. Most of the night was spent just watching Jo and thinking of any other possible solutions to my problem. But I hadn't come up with any."You could just make her Luna," Ash said. "Why are you
*Jo's POV*I woke up in the morning and was disappointed to find an empty bed next to me. But laying in the spot where Nikko had been was a little piece of paper with his neat scribble on it.'Sorry, duty calls. See you soon--Nikko'I smiled and grabbed my phone from the nightstand and opened up my messages. There was one from my mom, but I wasn't looking for her name right now.'Good morning, handsome…I missed you in my bed this morning…can't wait to see you…hope you are thinking of me…'After sending the message, I looked back at the piece of paper. The note seemed sweet."That's not good enough for us," Cressa announced in my head louder than she had ever been. "He could have easily waited for us to wake up, or he could have woken us up to at least tell us bye.""I agree with you, but it's still early," I said. "Plus, being close to him seems to be making you stronger.""And? Something doesn't feel right," she said. "He kept avoiding your questions.""He said we would talk
*Nikko's POV*"I'm going to make her mine." I said again, this time outloud, with my head against the shower wall."What?" Ash said. "You don't mean…""Come on, there's no use denying it anymore. I cannot be away from that girl, I cannot think about anything except that girl, I cannot be with anyone but that girl," I told Ash. "I will make Jo my Luna."Ash let out an actual howl of excitement that echoed around the bathroom."That doesn't mean I will do it right away," I said, backing up slightly. "But there is nobody else I want in my life in that spot. It'll be an adjustment period, but she is worth it.""Just watching her train changed your mind?" Ash asked."No, I think I've known it all along, but just didn't want to admit it. It was impressive to see how well she learned though," I stepped out of the shower and started getting dressed. "The pressures of the pack are a lot to handle.""You can handle it better with her."There was a small knock on my bedroom door, so I st
*Jo's POV*I opened my eyes in defeat as the bedroom started to lighten. The sun wasn't up yet, but it would be soon.I had spent all night tossing and turning, and hardly getting any sleep. Nikko hadn't texted me back at all, and it had me concerned that I had done something wrong again. But I had held up hope that he would possibly sneak into my bed in the middle of the night again.That wasn't the case.I didn't want to be that girl, constantly overthinking things and creating problems that didn't truly exist, but at this point I was certain I wasn't crazy. However, that didn't mean I wasn't confused. I felt like Nikko's words and Nikko's actions weren't always matching up, and I needed to know the truth.I still hadn't heard or seen from him. My phone was sitting on the charger, so I grabbed it and checked it again. Still no message. So, I climbed out of bed and threw my shoes and a light jacket on. There was no point trying to get more sleep.I tiptoed through the house, try
*Jo's POV*Kissing. They were kissing.I couldn't get it out of my head as I sprinted through the trees, thankful for the path I could follow back to the cabin. The rage that was boiling through my veins kept the tears at bay, but I wasn't sure for how long.The cabin came into view and I let out a tearless sob. Then I saw Byron standing outside looking all around, and realized he must be looking for me. As soon as I cleared the trees his eyes found me, and relief turned to concern as he saw my face."Jo? What is it? What's wrong?" he asked as I got near, but I just ran past him into the cabin.I forgot how fast they had told me wolves could be though, and he caught up with me and grabbed my arm to hold me back at the base of the stairs."Hey, talk to me," Byron pleaded. "What happened? What can I do?"I stared at him coldly, my rage still hadn't subsided. Or maybe it was Cressa's rage. At this point, I didn't even know."You can get me a car. I'm leaving.""I can't just get a
*Jo's POV*The sound of splintering wood echoed through the bedroom as Nikko shoved the door open with his shoulder. He had only broken the frame around the door lock instead of the whole door itself. He still had the knob in his hand when he looked and locked eyes with me.Seeing Nikko in front of me made me see spots. I was worried I would get emotional if I talked to him, but that wasn't the case. At least not yet.Despite being so angry at him, I noticed that the clothes he was wearing almost seemed too short for him. I realized he must have shifted to get to the cabin as fast as he did, and then he must have had to borrow some of Byron's clothes since I had the door locked. Nikko saw me staring at him, and looked around.His eyes seemed to take in the scene before him, with me standing in front of my half full bags, and I saw them switch to worry. For the first time I think he realized that I was really planning on leaving."Are you f*cking kidding me?" I yelled at him. "What
*Nikko's POV*My mate has a wolf?Byron kept me calm as we tried to help her.It took us a few minutes after Jo passed out to bring her back to consciousness, and make sure she was alright. She still looked weak, but at least she was alert.I stared down at her shivering body pressed up against my chest, and couldn't help but feel worried. I glanced up at Byron, but he looked just as shocked as me. But now that I was focusing on it, I could smell her wolf barely on her."What do you mean she's not strong enough to shift, Jo?" I asked. "Is she talking to you?"Jo nodded, and opened her eyes to look at me. They were still glowing a brilliant gold color.While we had been talking I had seen her eyes flash a few times, but I had chalked it up to the rising sunlight streaming into the bedroom. But when she had started to growl, Byron and I both became cautious and concerned. I had never heard of any human doing that before.It became obvious that it was wolf-related though when I he
*Jo's POV*I took a deep breath as I walked into my room and closed the door. Hugging my mom had made me more emotional than I was expecting, and I was trying to calm down before heading back down.After only a couple of breaths, I heard a knock on the door. I turned and opened the door to find Nikko standing on the other side. He looked at me in surprise."You actually opened it this time."I stepped aside and let him walk in without a word. Then, I walked over to the window and looked out over the backyard, mostly so I wouldn't have to look at him. I heard the door shut quietly behind me."I just wanted to come and check on you," Nikko said slowly. "But if you want me to leave, then I can."I still didn't say anything. I didn't want him to leave, but I didn't want to admit that to him either. It was quiet in the room, so I got worried that he might have actually left and looked around. But he was still standing by the door, staring at me."Please, just talk to me, Jo."He loo