"I-I can't," I mutter and bite my lip. How can I lead a bunch of killers towards innocent people? What if they actually hurt my family, all I have left. Surely I cannot trust any of these men. "I can't tell you, but if you just let me go..."
"I can't let you go alone."
My fingers tug at the bottom of my shirt. "Then come with me. Nothing bad would happen, and I'm not going with him." Glancing back at Landon, he groans, tired of my finger pointing.
He takes a moment before answering. "Is it far?"
"No."
"Do you shift?"
I peer down at my twiddling fingers. "Yes."
My mate gives me time to walk behind a thick tree and strip my clothes off because I don't want to shred them up. How embarrassing would it be to get there and have no clothes to change into? Quickly my body molds, bones rearrange, dark hairs spurt from my skin, and my eyes evolve into an emerald green from my dusky, pale green ones. Immediately, I warm up from my thick coat. Emerging from behind the tree I see the three men with a very large, intimidating, inky wolf. My mate.
Clouds flood from my nose as I take in the wonderful feeling of being shifted. It has been a while since I have had the opportunity since Kendra cannot shift yet. Nervously, I move closer towards him and he motions ahead. Soon enough we are off, running wildly through the trees. Everything moves by in green and brown blurs as I dash beside him. Weaving through the trees, we head further northeast. After a few moments, I realize that I never picked up my clothes from behind the tree, and when I look over to my mate I notice he is holding clothing loosely in his mouth. Hopefully, there are supplies in the safe house.
The dirt kicks up under my paws as I hurry along, know that I am leading him. My mind curses at my body for not moving fast enough, hoping that my mate doesn't think I'm weak.
We pass by the area where I left Kendra, but as I suspected it is bare. Continuing in the direction I glance up at the sky and notice light peeking through the trees— morning. It has been so long since I have seen her or my mother.
Thankfully, I spot a small wooden building up ahead and I rush towards it with my mate behind me. The scent of my sister floods my nose and my heart picks up pace. She's inside.
The door opens and my mother appears in the frame with an expression of relief. "I thought I smelt you." Coming up to her, she runs her hand along my back. "I'll grab something for you to cover up."
"Isabella!" I see my sister come shooting out of the hut and she wraps her arms around me the best that she can. "I thought they got you!"
"Move honey, let her shift." My mother comes back with a blanket and we move to the side of the hut. After I shift back she quickly covers me with the blanket. "What happened to you? Where did he take you? Did he lay a hand on you?"
"I'm fine, everything is fine," I lie and she hugs me tightly.
"Who are you?" I hear Kendra say and my mind darts back to my mate.
My mother looks at me with worry before walking back to the front of the building. I trail behind with my fingers crossed. At the site of my mate with Kendra, I swallow. "Alpha Tate." The words leave my mother like a whisper of pure worry.
"Kendra," I call her over but she only looks at me.
"Please, we don't want any trouble."
I step forward. "Mom he's not going to hurt us. He came with me."
"Came with you? You were running from him?"
A spark of amusement appears on my mate's face. "No mom, he... He's my mate," I explain lowly so Kendra will not hear.
In a flash, her eyes grow wide and her mouth hangs slightly open. "Mate!" She shouts. "Your mate, how?"
"Mate?" Kendra gazes at me with big doe-like eyes of innocence. "Like mom and dad were?"
I feel my throat begin to close up and just to make the situation better another person emerges from the hut. My Luna. "What is going on out... Alpha Tate." She states and straightens up. "I thought I smelt a wild dog."
I curse under my breath.
"Luna, I thought I saw your Alpha struggling out there." He comes closer. "I was going to take your land, but seeing how the tides have changed I'll leave it for you to pick up the broken pieces."
"I would thank you, but knowing you, there must be a catch."
I grab Kendra and hold her close while trying to keep the blanket over me.
"No catch, not this time anyways. My mother would be terribly disappointed if I ruined the pack of someone so attached to me." He explains calmly.
My Luna chuckles. "Someone attached to you, and from my pack? What is this some kind of joke? Are you trying to humor me?"
"Humor? No."
"I'm his mate," I step forward and my Luna looks to me with surprise.
"This one," she motions to me, "she's a good one, a good girl. I won't let you ruin her."
I turn to my Luna in surprise. "What's happening?"
"The Luna is right, you have to stay here with us, with our pack," my mother glances at me. "You'll be safest here."
"Safest here?" He cuts in. "She's safest with me."
A stand in between with Kendra in my grasp. She peers up at me with a confused look, obviously not understanding what is happening, but neither do I to be honest. When he said that I am safest with him, my heart did flutter and I cannot lie to myself that it didn't make me feel good. Even though we just met, I do feel that he can keep me safe. So far that is all he's been focused on. "Why are you arguing about this?" I pipe up and they fall silent. "It is my decision."
Standing in the cold with only a blanket to shield the weather away, I can only hope that I'm thinking clearly. I look to my mate and find that his eyes are already on me. How can I saw no? These feelings I have for him, our mate bond, it's all too strong to ignore. Every time I look at his face I want to attack his lips with my own— and my thoughts are getting off topic. "I feel that... I feel that I should go with him."
Kendra's grip on me tightens.
It is awkward saying these things right in front of him.
"Honey, but..." My mother struggles. "I mean, are you sure?"
"Isabella," the Luna says to me, "I know you feel that you have to do this, but you don't."
"No I don't, you're right. But what happened in the past is in the past and the present is a gift, so I have to run with this. I would never forgive myself if I didn't take this chance. But what hurts me that most is that; If he wasn't this Alpha, then there would be no problem. I have to keep an open mind and learn things for myself, only then can I have my own opinion." My gaze connects with his and I have to fight back my blush. "He may come off as a bad man, but that doesn't mean there's no good inside him."
It all happened so fast: packing clothes, saying goodbye, waiting to watch my pack shrink in the distance as I leave them in distress. Luckily my mate agreed to leave the land alone, for now. I thought we would have a journey ahead of us to make our way back to Tate Pack lands, but there were three large, nice cars waiting for us. I knew everyone would not fit inside, then I figured it was only for important people, and weirdly I happened to be one of them. Now I sit alone in the backseat, waiting until it is time to go.I stare out the car window at the forest scenery as the sun pours through the leaves. Birds sing and I close my eyes as if their songs are slowly rocking me to sleep. It was a long night with no time for rest. Between the attack, finding my mate, finding my family, and preparing to leave, I have exhausted myself.My fam
"These doors are all empty bedrooms, guest rooms, and the last one down here was mine, but now it's ours."Our bedroom. I swallow and make my way towards the double doors hesitantly with Eric behind me. Grabbing onto the handle, I turn it and push the door open. I glance back at Eric before slipping inside.Light floods the room through two large windows on either side of the bed, and I wonder further in. Everything, every piece of furniture is delicately detailed, giving the room a charming aroma. These pieces must be passed down through generations. The bedding is gold and white with looks of being from a fairytale, and I carefully run my fingers along it. "This room is beautiful," I say back to him, though the bed is quite intimidating."I'm glad you like it, and I'm glad we finally
Caroline shouts and I panic. With no time I wrap my arms around the base of the trunk as the branch falls and hangs on by a thread. With my heart slamming against my chest, I frantically try to reach for another branch but I begin to slip down the trunk. "Oh my god, Isabella just hold on!"The bark scratches against my hands and arms while my eyes stare harshly at the hard ground. Below me, I spot another branch and I know I have to descend down to it. Caroline tries to hurry up but I continue to slide, not being able to grip on.Finally, my feet barely touch the branch and I stop myself, letting go of the trunk. My hands and arms sting and I look to see scratches, dirt, and blood. "I'm bleeding!" I shout to Caroline and she curses."Does it hurt bad?"
Getting out of the shower, I wrap a towel around my dripping body. My hair sticks to my back as I grab the clothes I set to the side to change into. A hot shower after a long day is always refreshing. At first, it was weird using a different shower, but I quickly let it go and decided to keep an open mind.I dry off and slip on my clean clothes before taking the towel and drying my hair to the best of my abilities. It still lays damp on my shoulders but I know that is as dry as it will get. Surprisingly I found my clothes unpacked already as if some invisible fairy did it all magically while I was gone.When I finish up in the bathroom I open the door but immediately close it when I notice Eric in the bedroom. Thankfully he doesn't notice as I peek through the thin crack of space left. Suddenly he takes off his shirt and I look away, cl
I lay in bed and stare up at the ceiling, still feeling the trace of his kiss on my skin. After our short moment in the kitchen we headed upstairs and I convinced him to let me sleep in one of the guest rooms, knowing that if I was in a bed smothered in his scent I would not be able to sleep. Though I am cozy under the covers my eyes will not shut. It is simple; I cannot fall asleep. Over the hours I have sifted through different causes: I'm still hungry, I don't feel good, I miss Kendra, I'm worried about my pack, I'm nervous about meeting Eric's Dad, and even that Olivia's acts have me worried.I have tried it all: pacing my breaths, counting sheep, taking deep breaths, progressive muscle relaxation, visualizing a peaceful place, yet no matter what I do one factor stays glued in my mind; the fact that my mate is sleeping in the bedroom beside me and I cannot get to him. Obviously, I ca
Slowly, I lift up my face from the pillow beneath it. I blink, close my eyes, and blink again. Rays of sunlight shine through the windows and blind me. I reluctantly sit up and rub my knuckles onto my eyes. Looking around the bedroom, I find myself alone, so I instantly wonder where Eric is.I slide out of bed and peek into the bathroom, but it too is empty. Raising an eyebrow, I check the guest room I was supposed to sleep in— then all the others. After that my feet carry me downstairs and random noises grab my attention, sounds that are coming from the kitchen. "Eric?" I call out as I make my way towards them, wanting to unmask the creator. "Eric is that you?"Instead of seeing Eric, an older woman turns around and smiles. "Hello, good morning, I'm Marina, the housekeeper. You must be Isabella; it is so wonderful to meet you."
Sitting in the center of the living room, I look around the walls at the family pictures and smile. I especially enjoy the picture of Eric when he was a toddler. There are no pictures of him as a child at the pack house. "They're in here," I hear Evangeline's voice from further in the house.I glance to Eric, who is standing off to the side, seeming rather uncomfortable. His gaze is glued to a random spot on the wall."Sebastian, this is Isabella." Turning to the hallway, I see Evangeline standing beside the man from the pictures. He looks like an older, different version of Eric.Immediately I stand up and reach my hand out. He shakes it. "Hello, it's nice to meet you finally."He smiles in a fatherly way. "Yes, of course, I was wond
I lay sleeplessly in bed, staring at the ceiling while not being able to take my mind off of my sister. I wonder if she is still awake, or if she has found the ability to live without me. It has only been a few days, which makes me sound dramatic, but I cannot help but hope she misses me still. What if earlier she only got upset for a bit and now she is perfectly fine, perfectly asleep in her purple and blue bed. I cannot sleep not knowing how she is feeling; we used to tell each other everything.My eyes roll over to the clock. It is one o'clock in the morning.Silently groaning, in an attempt to not wake up Eric, I turn away from the pillow wall and sigh. I have to see her.Hesitantly, I slip out from underneath the bedding, and my toes brush against the cool, wood floor. Sitting up,