Marcus POV“Hayley’s Luna ceremony,” I spit out, speaking the vile conclusion that everyone has come to, but nobody wants to say out loud. It’s either that or the wedding. Cooper snarls in my direction, but there’s no real heat in it. He's pissed off at the situation, not me.“Anyone have any other ideas? Any that don’t involve dangling my human mate in front of him like a carrot?” He brushes a hand back across his messy brown hair and looks at each of us one by one, hoping desperately, but not really expecting, that someone might have come up with a better idea. But he's met by silence and furrowed brows.It’s the best opportunity we have, and he knows it. As Luna of an allied pack, everyone would expect Lucia to attend, along with her father, Alpha Anderson. And what with both Hayley and Cooper there, along with the entire Jones family, surely, it’s too good of an opportunity to pass up. It would be hard to resist trying something while everyone that he hates most are gathered in t
Leila POV I can’t see anything except Marcus’s spectacularly firm backside as he carries me through the front door and into his cosy log cabin. His scent is engrained into every surface, and I draw in a big lungful of him. His essence, his smell, his taste. I hum in pleasure as I feel it melt my insides and calm my raging nerves. Marcus is my mate. Some of the suggestions he was taunting me with in the truck are a little outside my comfort zone. I can’t deny they have stirred my interest. My arousal is thick in the air, but would I want to act them out in reality? I’m not so sure. But I know one thing, he would never make me do anything I wasn’t ready for. As I kick and flail in his hold, giggling and trying to get him to let me down, he slaps my ass with enough force that I’m sure I’ll have a large red handprint on that cheek. Which is exactly what he wants. “You brute,” I tease, still wriggling in his iron grasp. He silences me with another stinging slap to my behind, and I gasp a
Marcus POV Fairy lights have been draped along every imaginable surface, tree and building around the packhouse, and there are pillars and urns spilling over with masses of pure white flowers. Marie has outdone herself; the lodge and the gardens look magical. The entire pack is patiently waiting for the ceremony to begin, so we slip in the back and hurry to the front row, where the rest of the Jones family is seated. Before we sit, I make a show of pressing a kiss to her forehead and holding her tight, while I scan the area, looking for signs that anything is amiss. Everyone is on edge. I give Leila’s hand a quick squeeze as her anxiousness seeps into the bond. Nobody knows what’s going to happen, even if something is going to happen at all, but we’ve baited the trap as best we can, and now we wait. They’ve purposely left security lighter than they have done over the last few weeks, under the pretence that they want as many wolves present at the ceremony to welcome Hayley officially
Leila POVA yawn escapes me before I even know it’s coming and Marcus tucks me into his side, letting me lean some of my weight on him. Between worrying about what would happen today and this cub that is really starting to make its presence known, I am beyond exhausted. Marcus’s soothing presence and his hand rubbing gentle circles on my lower back are making me drowsy, and after a slow blink and one more yawn, I’m ready to throw in the towel. I tip my head towards the dancefloor, and he follows me over to the guests of honour.“I love you, but I’m out. I can barely keep my eyes open,” I say to Hayley and Cooper, who are wrapped around each other on the dancefloor. Cooper has his arms resting on her hips, his head angled so that he can whisper into her ear, and Hayley has her cheek pressed to her chest, letting him lead, but gazing adoringly up at him. They seem completely at peace despite the darkness we thought might threaten tonight. I’m happy for them, even if I would have preferr
Marcus POVLeaning back against the bar, I wait for my whiskey. Normally I’m a beer drinker, especially if I'm out in the town that I'm in charge of, but tonight I’m feeling on edge. Hopefully, this will help. The party is getting a little wilder now. These crazy wolves were obviously just pretending to be civilized for the duration of the ceremony. As the moon bathes the wide-open space in its calm reflective glow, the volume of the chatter and laughter rises, getting more and more raucous. I cringe as I see a barmaid filling a tray with shots of tequila and carrying it out to one of the tables. I’m glad I won’t be the one cleaning this mess up in the morning.Cooper strolls over and leans across the bar to place his order. He rests his elbows on the counter and sucks in a deep breath, eyes closed. Steadying himself. He looks exhausted, and this is as close as he’ll get to taking a break from the dancing and the socializing for the rest of the night.“How do you cope with this?” I as
Leila POVToby’s claws dig painfully into my hips as he unceremoniously wrestles me to my feet and drags me away from the overturned car. Natalie has wriggled her hips through the window now and is dragging her legs through, painfully scratching the front of her thighs along the broken glass. As soon as she is on her feet, she takes a couple of slow steps in our direction, but Toby doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to get moving. Instead, he watches patiently and waits until she gets a little closer to us, backing away at a leisurely pace.“Now, now, Deputy, let’s not get any ideas,” Toby teases. “We don’t want anyone to hurt, do we?” he asks as he tugs me back again his body and wraps an arm around my waist, pressing an extended claw into the front of my belly.My wolf rages in my head that he would dare to threaten our baby, but I know I have to be clever here. Marcus thinks I’m safely tucked up in bed, I can’t shift, and Natalie has no way of getting to him without risking me or the
Leila POV“What the hell was that?” Toby whispers incredulously, rubbing his sore head and staring blankly out the windscreen at where the giant bear had been standing only seconds ago. I’m still looking around frantically, hoping to see his animal’s large brown form lumbering into the trees, when the drivers door is pulled clean off its hinges with a loud screech, before being flung across the road. A large tanned hand reaches in and grabs Toby by the front of his slightly grubby blue shirt. His arms flail out in front of him attempting to grip onto the steering wheel but it’s already too late. I gasp in shock as Bodhi leans down and with one tug, snaps the seatbelt and hauls him out the door. I blink in disbelief and look at his now empty seat. Did I really just see that happening? He was gone so quickly it was like he was never there. I shake myself from my dazed stupor and scramble out of my seat, moving quickly around to the back of the car where Bodhi has Toby pinned against th
Marcus POVIf Leila hadn’t stopped me, there is no doubt in my mind that I would have torn Toby limb from limb, and my bear would have relished every bloody, horrifying second of it. The red mist had descended and he wanted pain, to hear Toby beg for his life and then end it anyway. I had just about been able to contain my rage when he had come after Hayley and her family, and nearly killed me in the process. Even though that time in recovery in the hospital was torture and my injuries extremely painful, it had given me a chance to calm down, to gain some perspective. Toby is a wolf problem. Or was a wolf problem up until he decided to take my mate, and my child, and use them in his sick plot for revenge against the Jones’s. For something that was all his fault to begin with. Given he was hiding out with my father, I wrongly thought that I would be the last person he would mess with. But that was giving far to much credit to good old dad. The news that he was involved somehow shoul