James POVI looked at Addie and was worried. She seemed beaten. I haven’t known her very long, but she’s never acted like this, even when she was in the hospital after her escape. She had woken up and made a plan to get out, even in her weakened state. I wasn’t sure what to think.One of the guards sidled up to me. “Alpha, I just want you to know that your mate didn’t eat the at all while she was down here. She spent the entire time on her cot with the blanket over her head. She would fall asleep and wake herself up screaming.”I nodded my thanks at him, touched that he was concerned for my mate.I caught up to Addie and Matthew and helped Addie into the car. She felt thinner in my arms, even though it had only been thirty-six hours. I didn’t like it at all.“Do you want to stop for something to eat?” I offered as the car pulled out. “I know a restaurant that serves really good food and it’s on the way.” Matthew had caught my glance and he could tell I was worried.Addie sm
ADDIE POVI dozed off in the car, James’ hand providing relief for my splitting headache. I was barely coherent when he helped me out of the car and into the elevator of the hotel. I leaned against him, not paying attention until the bell dinged.When he opened the door to the room, I gasped. It was over the top ornate. There was even a piano in the middle of the room. James grinned at me and then picked me up and carried me into the room. I squealed. He sat me on the bed, and I turned towards him, lifting my arms for him to take off my sweater. I saw his eyes turn liquid black and I knew that Scout was barely below the surface. I licked my lips, looking deep into his eyes, teasing him. With a roar, Scout took over.I heard the sweater rip, and I felt a moment of regret; I really liked this sweater. My bra was unbuckled and tossed to the floor before he fumbled with the button on my jeans. I giggled a little; Scout wasn’t very dexterous with the small details like James wa
ADDIE POVI woke up feeling really good. The memory was still there, but it didn’t hurt as bad, if that makes any sense. I looked at James, sprawled on his back still asleep on the bed. He had dark circles under his eyes. I slipped out and let him sleep.I blasted myself with the hottest water the hotel had, scrubbing myself down with the sample sized scented soap that was provided in the bathroom. I used the entire bottle of the shampoo, carefully washing my hair, and then putting a dollop of conditioner on the ends when I got out of the shower. I finger combed my hair, hoping it would look okay. I then wrapped myself in one of the complimentary robes and went out to survey my shredded clothing.I literally had nothing to wear that wouldn’t overtly show something I didn’t want shown. Scout had shredded my jeans and panties and my sweater was ripped down the front. I tried piecing them back together to see if I could do something makeshift with them, but it wasn’t working. I
JAMES POVI woke up that morning, completely exhausted. Sometimes that happens when I use my gift for a long time. That, and Addie’s memories were exhausting. I couldn’t believe she had gone through all of that, and my heart ached for my mate.I woke up to piano playing. It was soft and beautiful, and I could feel the peace in Addie through our mate bond. I smiled and stretched. It was so worth my exhaustion if it could make her feel good.After breakfast we found ourselves lounging in bed again, her in her new tank top and a pair of undies. She looked so good I considered postponing my plans so I could see how good she tasted.“When are we going back?” she asked, idly twirling one of my hair strands around her finger. I pushed myself back so I could see her whole face.“A or B?” I asked.“What?” she was confused.“A or B? Or one or two, if you prefer numbers.” I couldn’t keep the sneaky grin off my face. “Ummm, B.” Addie decided and then raised one eyebrow at me. It was
ADDIE POVThe next few days were a whirlwind for me. There was so much I have never seen and never experienced before. I was trying to be as elegant and sophisticated as a Luna should be, but I couldn’t help squealing over the soft sand, the vast ocean, the palm trees, the tiny monkeys that ran right up to me; the list was endless.The Fiji Islands was a place that a lot of werewolves travel for vacation. Unlike the USA where werewolves live in secret and pretty much stay in their packs, the Fiji Islands celebrates shifters. The humans are the ones regulated to a few islands and the shifters run most of the territory. Our plane landed and we were immediately put on a little boat and taken to another island.“That is the human island,” the boat captain said, lip curling, looking at the island we just left. I looked at James for explanation and he just smiled at me.“Most of the Fiji Islands are predominately werewolves and shifters. They keep the humans regulated to just a coupl
JAMES POVI smiled at Lexi and headed into the bathroom, grabbing my phone without her seeing me. I turned on the shower and sat on the closed lid of the toilet and put in a call to Toby.“Yo! You having a good time? Does Lolly still work at that bar? Tell her Toby says hi.”I smiled wryly, my brother’s enthusiasm overwhelming, as per usual. “I had a vision and I need your help,” I stated, no preamble.“Okay, tell me.” He sounded serious. I loved that about him. He knew when to be serious he knew when to cut loose a little.“It was Addie. She was in the back of a car. The backdoor opened and someone took her out of the car. She was screaming and kicking.” I took a deep breath, nausea threatening to overcome me.Toby could hear the anguish in my voice. “Calm down, bro. Let’s talk this out. What kind of car?”I gulped air. “A town car. Like what I usually use for service when I go into the city.”“Okay. Was there anyone with her in the backseat?”I thought back. “No,
ADDIE POVA moment ago, I was happily shopping for friends and then I thought I saw Vanessa. It would be super weird to see her here, on this island, at the same time we were, so I told myself it wasn’t her. But then James started acting odd, almost pushing me into the next store. I started to wonder.I found a very ornate sweater that I wanted to buy for Sophie and when I looked around to find James to get his wallet, I saw that he was outside of the store talking to the woman I saw. It was Vanessa. I stood in the window, watching them, and I saw her lean up and kiss him on the cheek. He moved away, thank goodness, and I breathed a sigh of relief when he walked into the store.“Find something?” he asked with a grin. I waited for him to bring up Vanessa, but he didn’t so I went along with it. Maybe he thought I’d be upset, and he didn’t want to start something in front of the shopkeeper. I’ll wait until the plane to talk to him about it, I decided.We finished up our shopping
JAMES POVI could tell Addie was upset as soon as she saw Vanessa. I should have warned her, but I honestly didn’t think Vanessa would get to the plane before we did. I had hurried Addie through the shopping and even had the concierge pack our bags so that I would have more time to talk to Addie before Vanessa showed up. I should have found a quiet corner and talked to her.I was beyond irritate with Vanessa’s stunt with the seatbelt but, to my surprise, Addie didn’t comment on it. I was grateful. I didn’t really want to spend the whole flight refereeing between the two.Vanessa and I were deep in conversation when I could feel Addie’s hurt through the mate bond. I didn’t know if she had overheard something or why she was feeling the way she was, but I tried talking to her. She refused and I figured we would just have to sit down and talk about it. I texted Beckman to be ready to take us back to the hotel tonight instead of the Pack. Addie and I needed to sit down together, a