The bed slowly dipped in, rousing me from my sleep. I didn’t need to open my eyes to know that it was my mate joining me in bed. I finally opened my eyes, noting that it was still dark outside. Callan pulled me closer to him.
“What time is it?” I asked, knowing that it was too early in the morning.
“4 am,” Callan grumbled, his nose in my neck as he inhaled deeply.
I turned and looked at him, surprised by the time. “Did you get any sleep?”
He peppered kisses along my jaw. “I went to sleep after we mind-linked last night, but I woke up just a few hours later. I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I decided to come here. Rollo and I made it in about four hours.”
I sighed and threw my head back on the pillow. I missed Callan greatly over the last few days.
“What time are you supposed to be meeting with Michael to speak with the rogue?” He asked, running his hand across my stomach
I made my way back to the packhouse. As I walked, I noticed the progress in setting up for the ceremony. Three tents had been set up. There were lights being strung from each of the tents as I walked by. Flower arrangements were already placed around each tent. One tent was set up with chairs and a small table at the front, which was where the Luna Ceremony would take place. The other two tents were set up with a DJ booth, dance floor, two long buffet tables, and other tables and chairs for sitting and eating.I entered the kitchen. It was 10:00. The rest of the girls would be here at 11:00 to start getting ready for the Luna Ceremony. I decided that this bit of down time would be a good opportunity to process what happened with Lela. I have found it to be very useful to talk things through with Lela whenever we have used our abilities, whether it be using it simply, like I had done with Maria, or using it more substantially like I had just done with the rogue.I
Part 2 Chapter 10I woke up early, for some reason sleep eluding me for most of the night. I had a nightmare shortly after going to sleep, and my sleep the rest of the night came in fits. I ultimately decided that I would stop trying to sleep and got up.It was around 5:00 when I finally decided to get out of bed. Throwing on one of Callan’s sweatshirts and a pair of shorts, I made my way down to the kitchen, grabbing myself a cup of coffee. I looked over the back patio, deciding that I would take a seat and enjoy the early morning before others got up and it was time for the long drive back home.I sat and looked out along the tree line. This was a dense forest compared to our tree line at home. I could feel someone looking at me from the trees and I noticed that Michael was coming out from running patrol. It seemed very early for him to be out, especially after the Luna Ceremony last night.“Raina, you are up already?” Michael asked, w
ALPHA CALLAN POV A growl erupted from deep within my chest and Rollo came roaring to the surface. I instinctively pulled Raina behind me, my need to protect her ever present as I tried to process what the witch had just told us. Sarah took a step back at the growl, moving behind my desk. Beta Jack stepped in between me and Sarah, clearly aware that Rollo was on the brink of taking control. “What do you mean they want to kill her?” I roared, my anger and frustration creeping higher and higher. Raina placed her hand on my back and before I could speak further, I could feel a sense of calmness go through me. It was not a lot, but enough my anger to decrease to a reasonable amount. “Thank you.” I spoke to Raina through mind-link. I was still upset, but the calmness was enough that Rollo was not ready to attack someone. I pulled Raina in front of me, embracing her. “That was just through the mate bond, but if you hadn’t calmed down, I would have us
RAINA’S POV I could feel Callan’s eyes on me. I turned around and found him standing at the patio door. I smiled at him. The look on his face told me that Callan was upset. I had been sitting out here since I left Callan’s office, deep in contemplation about everything that had happened over the last few days and everything that Sarah just said. I ran through things too many times in my head. So many times, in fact, that Lela had to tell me to stop. I was thinking too much, and it was hurting her head. Deciding that it was not getting me anywhere anyway, I had stopped and sat meditating. Callan’s eyes on me had pulled me out of the meditation. Callan came towards me. I moved from the chair to the couch so he could sit next to me. When he sat down, I snuggled next to him, pulling my legs up to my chest as I rested my head on Callan’s shoulder. He put his arm around me and pulled me closer against him. “I spoke with Councilman Desmond. He said tha
The morning came much too quickly. I grabbed my phone to check the time. 7:30. That was much too early for me to get up. I turned back over in the bed, looking to see if Callan was still in bed. I was met with an empty bed. I had gotten used to Callan getting up before me. He liked to run patrol early. Every morning, he would run along two of the pack borders. He also would run along the rocky terrain on the third side of the pack territory line. The fourth border line was about 60 miles from the packhouse, so Callan would only typically run that border on the weekends. There were very few houses along that part of the pack territory, but six warriors and their families maintained the pack border out there. That land also served as a good location for more housing if we needed to expand beyond our initial plan.I got up and showered, thinking through the plan for today. I was meeting with the builders to discuss the renovation of the two bedrooms to expand our suite. Callan t
The sound of construction awakened me. I groaned, pulling the pillow over my head. Yesterday was stressful and I was hoping to benefit from sleeping in this morning, especially since Callan’s mother was returning today. I threw the pillow across the room, frustrated when I realized that the sounds were not going to stop. Callan had promised me that they weren’t going to start before 8. I should have negotiated the start time better. I liked my sleep too much to get woken up every morning for the next week until this construction was done. But it was a compromise. If the construction started too late in the day, they wouldn’t be able to be done in a week. I sighed and decided to get out of bed. There was a lot going on today, so it wouldn’t hurt if I actually got out of bed at a decent time. But I woke up early yesterday and getting up early two days in a row was definitely not my thing. I could do it, but I hated it. I jumped in the shower, hoping that the wate
I was sitting on the back patio when Callan approached. I couldn’t stay in the hospital room after the rogue chose for Callan to end his life. About a half an hour had passed since I had left the room, and I had been sitting, just staring out across the open field. Lela was upset, but she could not specifically explain why she was upset.‘I just feel uneasy. I think that it is because of the loss of the mate bond. What would we do if something happened to Callan?’ Lela spoke while pacing.‘I know. It is nothing that I want to think about. You know we can’t worry about things that may or may not happen in the future. Thinking about all of the ‘what ifs’ only increases our anxiety and makes us think the worst. If we go down that road, we will both feel like shit.’ I knew that Lela was uneasy and that the thought of losing a mate was stressful. But there had been no threat to Callan, so we couldn’t sit around worry abo
I awoke again to the sound of construction. I groaned but could not be upset about it. The check that I made prior to going to bed last night showed good progress. Unless something came up that stopped the progress, I was assured that the work was still on track to be done early.Stretching, I slid out of bed and I got myself ready for the day. When Callan got back from walking his mom home last night, the plan was to meet with his mother this morning for breakfast. I wasn’t sure if I was expected to make breakfast, and Callan was already out running patrol.Entering the kitchen, I was surprised to see Callan’s mom making breakfast. “Good morning, Raina! How are you this morning?”“Good, thank you. Can I help you with breakfast?” I asked, stepping around the counter to see if what I could help with.She waved her hand. “No, I am almost done. Waffles, eggs, bacon, and sausage.”I smiled. “It seem