The silence became awkward very quickly. What exactly did one say to a sister whose mate the person had sort of stolen?Breeana had no idea.Ariana sipped the wine in her glass daintily. Okay so she was the only one feeling awkward here. The diner was almost empty. They were the only guests there. The way Ari had wanted it."Ari–""It's so quiet here." Ariana tucked her short hair behind her ear."Never thought there would come a day when I would pick a human establishment over a wolf's."Ariana explained to her earlier on the reason she wanted them to meet outside their pack lands for this. It would seem like it wasn't only Breeana that had been on the receiving end of so much backlash.Ariana couldn't go anywhere without scrutiny or ostratization by some members of the pack. And with the increased patrols even the woods were no longer a secure location for delicate conversation. Much less one of this nature that was extremely fragile already.Hence the location of their dinner. It w
It was getting old. It was like Reece could not catch a breather even if he tried. He was beginning to understand why his father had aged so quickly. He woke up in the wee hours of the morning to an emergency.Reece got up quietly so as not to wake Breeana up. She needed as much sleep as she could get with her burning the candle on both ends. She was training as if her life depended on it and at the same time finally immersing herself in the pack's social life with help from her sister.It was wild. Reece could almost not believe that Ariana had forgiven Breeana so easily while she still gave him the cold shoulder. It was like the life-and-death experience had bonded the sisters in a way he failed to comprehend. Not that it mattered, it wasn't like he needed her friendship anyway.Breeana's parents were still distant but less distant than they had been before the sisters had made up. But that wasn't the problem now. The problem now was the wolves at their border. Reece shifted and ran
Breeana watched in shock as her brother found his mate. They gazed at each other as though the world had stopped just for them.Breeana stole a glance at Reece wondering if that was how they had been entranced with each other at that very moment of discovery before they had realized who they were to each other.The cheers from the Primo pack members cut into this deep reverie. They whooped and cheered so much that Alex and his mate looked away from each other abashed."Zinora has been given an able-bodied mate." Adelaide nodded. "He will do."Breeana wanted to congratulate her brother but felt that he would want to know his mate a little bit better before he would talk to her about it. She couldn't wait to tell her parents and Ari about this.She wanted to just mind link them about it but it seemed like a piece of news to share in person.She gestured for Allen. "Tell Ari to come to the pack house once she's done at the clinic. Don't tell her about Alex. I want to do it myself."Allen
"The Primo pack cannot stay here." Elder Elvis announced and the others concurred. Reece was more frustrated than usual. That might have had something to do with the fact that he had been cockblocked by his sister-in-law who was also his ex, or the tense conversation with his father-in-law the day before. It might also have been because he had been up since the crack of dawn explaining to the elders who were way older than him that the ancient laws of seeking refuge could not be revoked."I don't think I have to explain to you the relevance of the ancient laws. You of all people should stand for the upholding of this law.""Alpha," Elder Asher said, the voice of moderation and Elder Elvis's counterweight. "You must understand the reason the law is almost obsolete. It is because two Alphas cannot dwell in the same territory. One must give way to the other. As much as we care for our displaced brethren, we cannot destabilize the structure of our pack for them."Reece contemplated it. He
"We will divide our wolves into three. The attack group, the reserve group and the ambush group."The plans for the attack were underway.Reece unrolled the map of the Primo pack territory drawn up courtesy of Adelaide and the other scouts that had been checking out the lands for the past couple of days to bring intel about the rogues that had settled there.He glanced at Breeana as he laid out the plans for the strike tomorrow. She seemed more composed now. No one would suspect that she was even more nervous than he was about the entire strike thing.After Breeana's shocking declaration over a day ago about being ready to consummate their bond, they hadn't spoken much about it. Mostly because Reece was doing his best to fix the Primo pack problem so that they could face their normal lives again.The Connor family had finally resolved their issues and Reece felt that might have inspired Breeana's change of heart.In fact, Alex had spoken to him like a human being when he had come to i
The day a person's life changes doesn't often start dramatically. As Reece walked up to his room, every joint of his body whispering in pain, he thought only of a hot bath and Breeana. He had no idea that his life was about to be upended.He pushed open the door and his life changed again. Breeana was on their bed asleep and naked. Wrapped around her was a male wolf from Adelaide's pack. His erection pushed up against her back as they slept oblivious to his arrival.Reece died a thousand deaths at that moment. Breeana made a sound in her sleep and the wolf's arms tightened around her as though to comfort her even while they slept.When he'd caught Ariana with that wolf he thought he had felt the most betrayed he could feel in his life. It had nothing, absolutely nothing on this.Reece growled, rage electrifying his veins. They woke up but he paid no attention to Breeana's shocked gasp. Instead, he dragged the sleepy-eyed wolf out of his bed and out to the hallway."Hey let me go. Bree
"Ariana." Breeana said.Ari stopped in the middle of her work. She was helping their mother dice up some veggies. She looked up at Breeana, a sweet smile on her face. "Bree!" She hugged her sister."It's wonderful to see you. Do you want any snacks, food, …" Ariana gestured at the spread she was making.Breeana gave a smile that didn't reach her heart. She was way too keyed up to smile."I would like to discuss something with you in private."Ariana looked up at her with what looked like mild surprise. "Sure."They took a brief detour from the house into the woods. The silence between them felt uneasy and charged or maybe that was just the way it felt to Breeana since she was about to call her sister's character to question…."What is so urgent that you wanted to talk to me about so soon?" Ari asked congenially as they moved through the forest."What drug did you give me?” Best to rip it off like a bandaid."Pardon?" Ari said with a confused look on her face."When you stayed with me
"Strip Luna Breeana of her rank.""We reject her as our Luna.""The Mountain Coast pack refuses to take orders from a treacherous Luna."Reece didn't have high hopes for that day. He had woken up with a hangover to end all hangovers. He vaguely remembered kissing Breeana and her pushing him away. He wasn't quite sure if it was a dream or reality. The connecting door was firmly shut and he didn't see Breeana till he left the room.He had gone to his office as he did every day. They had postponed the family dinner because Zinora had gone to Shawn's funeral while Alex was still angry at him as though he had personally sent his mate away.Word had leaked that Reece had killed the wolf but Adelaide had sworn her people into secrecy so no one knew the main reason why he had done so. Just that he had hence Alex foul mood.But that fateful morning as his head throbbed so bad that he could barely read what Alex put in front of him, Allen raced in as though the host of hell was pursuing him."W