A packhouse tradesman stood balanced on a step ladder, using a drill to repair the hinges on the door to Alpha Lucas’ office. The man responsible for the damage sat on a couch in the foyer, waiting for a meeting with Lucas.
“Dane, come in!” shouted Lucas over the sound of the power drill.
“Sorry about the door,” apologised Dane. “Although, I guess it was a better option than your face,” he added with a shrug.
“That’s one way of looking at it.”
Lucas wanted nothing more than to get rid of the smug arsehole sitting in front of him, but he was trying to be civil with Dane and keep their relationship workable. Disciplining him and making him more of an enemy than he already was, would affect how Cara saw him. The la
The sun was beating down as the warriors ran with packs on from the centre of town to the marshall post, just as they had the day before. Dane was determined to break a few more of these guys today. When they arrived at the hut, exhausted, Dane allowed a five-minute reprieve. They dropped their packs, guzzled water, and attempted to settle their breathing and heart rates. After only two minutes had passed, Dane had yet another surprise for the warriors. “Time's up, everyone get ready to train,” he barked. With a collective groan, they made their way over to line up, except for one of the younger Green Plains warriors. He dragged his heels and complained about the lack of recovery time. Dane marched over to him, his face only inches away, and screamed at him as his face turned red with rage.
“Henrik!” shouted Cara, waving her arm to catch his attention.He crossed the road in a quick jog, giving her a one-armed hug and a peck on the cheek.“Sorry I’m late. Blame your boyfriend though, he works me too hard,” he apologised with a small laugh as he opened the cafe door.“I was running late myself. I thought I’d be the one having to apologise to you. I’ve been spending so much time traveling back and forth between home and the new pack.”They found a table and ordered lunch. Henrik and Dane were best friends, and Cara had grown close to him over the years too. He was level-headed and easygoing, as well as a superb listener.He was the perfect sounding board
Cara dialled the number that Henrik had given her, tapping her foot as it started to ring. She almost ended the call the moment she heard the sugary sweet voice answer, but focused on the task at hand.“Hi Lily, this is Cara. We uh - met - at the packhouse yesterday.”“I’m hanging up–”“No! Please don’t. I’m not looking to start a fight. I’m actually really embarrassed about my behaviour yesterday and I’d like to meet up to apologise in person. Can I buy you a coffee?”Lily paused on the other end of the phone, trying to determine Cara’s sincerity.“Fine. Todd’s Coffee House near the park in town. Give me half an hour and I’ll meet
The warriors trudged their way off the training ground, utterly exhausted. Dane stood with Henrik as they filed past, making note of how well the old Green Plains warriors were coming along.“They’d still be hopeless in a proper battle, but there’s progress there,” appraised Henrik.“They’re weeks ahead of where I thought they’d be. You’re doing a great job.”Henrik patted Dane on the back as they slowly started making their way towards the warrior building. “We’re doing a great job.”The last warrior to come off the field was Anna, a tough as nails she-wolf from Cape Point. Despite Dane’s protestations, Alpha Lucas was still reluctant to let the Green Plains women join the warrior ranks, but a
“I found a small bottle,” said Dane. “All it had was ‘RW’ written on it. I’m intrigued by what it was used for. Is it something the warriors use? You know, because it was so close to a marshall post.” “Was there any other writing on it?” asked Sam, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “It looks like there was, but it’s been worn off over time.” The Gamma looked slightly more relaxed, but Dane was enjoying this dance and wanted to string Sam along slowly. “You were in the warrior army, weren’t you, Gamma? You ever hear of this ‘RW’ thing?” There was that look again, thought Dane. “Well, no… I mean… it’s been a long ti
Everything went silent around Dane. He felt weightless and numb, as though for a brief moment he was having some kind of out-of-body experience. It was similar to the sensation of shifting, that miniscule second between losing his human form, and Stig taking control.His feeling of triumph at working his way back into the pack’s leadership team and having a rank Cara could be proud of, vanished in an instant.He couldn’t compete with an Alpha for rank, but surely their eight years of history, combined with his new position, was worth more than what Lucas could give her. Cara and Lucas had no history or chemistry. All he had to offer her was the mate-bond and being Luna. What Dane had with her ran deeper than a title. Didn’t it?It was then Dane noticed her suitcase next to the couch, an
Life at the packhouse was taking some getting used to for Cara. The staff were kind, but Cara wasn’t used to the attention. She wasn’t used to having people bow their heads when she entered a room and wasn’t used to them cooking and cleaning for her, either.Even though Dane was Beta and had an entire floor reserved for him at the old packhouse, they never lived there. Being under the same roof as Alpha Patrick was too much, so they chose to live together in their little cottage house in town.But now, she was the Luna and her past no longer mattered. She was free from the shackles of being the lowest class of werewolf. It was a big adjustment.“Good morning, Luna,” greeted Daisy, the packhouse’s head housekeeper, as she pulled the curtains open to let in the morning sun. &l
Lucas’ mind had been in a constant state of turmoil ever since he decided to go ahead with the coup and remove Alpha Marcus from power. He made one decision and triggered a whirlwind of change in his life. His wolf Lando, who was usually his voice of reason, had been fixated on marking Cara, so Lucas felt like he’d been navigating this new path alone.With Cara busy spending time with Kelly, helping her cope in the aftermath of Sam’s disappearance, Lucas relaxed the best way he knew how, and escaped to the lake for a day fishing with his cousin.When they were younger, he and Joseph had spent whole summers at the lake house, swimming, mucking around, chasing girls, and talking all night. He missed those carefree days and needed more of them back in his life.Joseph had only just returned afte