Nate Hunter, Beta Mateo and Kai Nebriski stood in the Alpha's office while they waited for the man to finish his talks with one of the alliance packs. It had been a month since Crystal Appleby had joined the pack and not a day had passed when Nate Hunter had not tried to convince his brother to send back the girl to the boonies. But his brother had not budged.When Nick heard that Kai was set to report her first month of training and Mateo was going to the Appleby mountains to bring back Juan, Nate could not help but run to his brother's office to see if he could convince his brother to send the Appleby pup back where she came from!But now that he was here, he seriously regretted it. His brother was in a mood. And the best place to be when his brother was in the said 'mood' was to be furthest away from his brother. But now, he had been thrown into the lineup in front of his brother."Stop fidgeting Nate!" Ace growled making him freeze as his icy voice rolled over him. Uhh. It had bee
Crystal turned away from Ace and hugged herself, worried if she was making a mistake in trusting him with her secret. She had observed him all the time they had been together and knew that she could be wrong about him. He was a man who had killed his own father and she had not yet discovered why. But she knew that this was the only course forward. It was better to trust the devil you know. However, before that, she would have to put forward some conditions of her own. At least that way, she could fool herself that she had some semblance of control. Sighing, she turned back to him and the pity in his eyes almost broke her before she hardened her heart and spoke," You can rest assured that I will not endanger your pack in any way. If anything, I'd rather die than harm the innocent."Ace scowled at this but he was not going to give up until he knew the truth about the monsters who had poisoned a little girl. He knew she was not happy about confiding in him and he wanted to tell her that
Ace stared into her eyes, for the first time in his life... shocked. She knew. Crystal already knew they were fated mates when he hadn't been sure until last night...when he had finally caught a whiff of her..."You knew?" At this moment, it was not just him and his wolf that felt betrayed. It was as if his whole body had been doused in ice. She knew that she was his fated mate and had chosen to not tell him. In fact, she had actively worked to hide it by not letting him get her true scent.Crystal only stared at him quietly as she said, " I knew and I have no intention of accepting it."A tearing pain ripped through him almost making him collapse to his knees so that all he could utter was," I see."Without a word, he turned to walk away, knowing that at this moment, he dared not ask any questions. She was still too young, he reminded himself. The anger, pain and betrayal, he would get over on his own and then he would ask her the questions that he wanted the answers toAs his hand h
"All in its time, Ace. I'll tell you everything in time. But not right now. I have said all I wanted to say.""And what about what I want to say?" Ace asked silkily. Ace had always been used to taking split-second decisions and even though he had been shaken by the recent revelation, he had already planned his further course of action."If this is regarding anything other than what we earlier agreed upon, then no. I am not willing to discuss this with you.""Neither am I."This caused Crystal to look up at Ace in confusion. Just now he had been furious that she had been unwilling to have him as her mate. And now he was being so blase about it? What was happening?'Ha. Dreamy is an alpha Crissy. Do you think he is going to wait around for you to accept him?' Erin whispered in her mind. And even though it was said casually by her wolf, she could feel her wolf's slight twinge of pain that mirrored hers.'Hey. You are the one who is thinking too much and rejecting our mate. So why are you
Crystal opened her eyes and almost jumped out of her skin to see the stinky face in front of her. "Hey! Nate Hunt. Get out of my face! You had to go ahead and ruin my day first thing in the morning."Nathan Hunt moved back and leaned against the dresser as he bit into an apple and smiled at the grumpy face."Well, Happy seventeenth Apple. And it is not your day that has been ruined. My brother made me come down here to bring you to him and be the first person to wish you. I had a hot breakfast date and now I have to come and look at that ugly mug of yours."You are the ugly one. And why has your brother sent for me? Doesn't he have any more rogues to kill?""Hey! Don't jinx it!"In the last six months, his brother seemed to have contracted some kind of disease or insanity. He had been going around tracking rogue wolves who attacked other wolves and humans and killing the said wolves. It was almost as if his brother had a personal vendetta against them. Thankfully, news of his brother
"All in its time, Ace. I'll tell you everything in time. But not right now. I have said all I wanted to say." "And what about what I want to say?" Ace asked silkily. Ace had always been used to taking split-second decisions and even though he had been shaken by the recent revelation, he had already planned his further course of action. "If this is regarding anything other than what we earlier agreed upon, then no. I am not willing to discuss this with you." "Neither am I." This caused Crystal to look up at Ace in confusion. Just now he had been furious that she had been unwilling to have him as her mate. And now he was being so blase about it? What was happening? 'Ha. Dreamy is an alpha Crissy. Do you think he is going to wait around for you to accept him?' Erin whispered in her mind. And even though it was said casually by her wolf, she could feel her wolf's slight twinge of pain that mirrored hers. 'Hey. You are the one who is thinking too much and rejecting our mate. So why a
The rogue in the basement had been chained to the walls with silver chains that hung from the walls. One look and she recognized the man as one of the people who had abducted her and her parents. Crystal looked at the unconscious man and then back at Ace. He had actually found this man for her. "Open the door, Ace." Crystal spoke softly. Without a word, Ace opened the door before letting her go in. Even as every instinct inside him protested wanting to stay by his side and protect her, he stepped back and let her go.Once inside, Crystal pulled out the blade strapped to her thigh and immediately slashed the man's arm. The pain caused him to wake up and groan. In the next moment, his eyes widened and he almost screamed. With a cold smile, Crystal stared at him," So you remember me? That makes things easier, doesn't it?""I don't know where your human parents are." The man screamed like a girl."Well, then you better start thinking fast or you are no use to me. Or at least quick
Happy Birthday to You...Happy birthday happy birthday.. happy birthday to you..."As all her classmates from high school and warriors sang on top of their voices, Crystal felt her heart beating peacefully. She was lucky to have found Ace and even luckier to have him as her mate. She felt proud of what he had done with his pack. This pack was like the family that she had when she was young. These people, this atmosphere, this security she hoped that she would be able to give that to her pack. The cake was passed and served, and as in all parties, the warriors were only interested in meat and drinks. Shrugging, Crystal made her way to sit with Kai and Beta Mateo. They were the only ones who were comfortable with her from what she understood. Maybe she'd grab a piece of cake for each of them to sweeten the deal when she questioned them about their Alpha. His mate had actually not shown up for the party and she had a feeling that during the next few days he was going to be AWOL. In the