Lana's P.O.V. I let out a breath of relief, knowing there would be justice. The murderer before me would be removed from the Earth, and she wouldn't be able to cause any more harm to others. My hand moved from my thigh to touch the back of it against Oliver's leg as Alpha Jones sided in our favor. This was it. Oliver would have closure, and we wouldn't have to worry about Nyla anymore. She could be put behind us, and we could leave this place behind with her. It was finally time for us to move on and go to Oliver's pack, where we could start over. I smiled up at him brightly, expecting to see the relief on his face. Instead, I found him staring down at Nyla with a look of pain. His jaw was tense, and his eyebrows pinched together. He looked hurt, torn as he turned to look at me, lacing our fingers together. The apology was clear on his face, and my smile fell. Oliver looked away and back to the woman who had caused us so much pain. He kept our hands connected but stepped forward.
Oliver's P.O.V. Lana did nothing to hide her anger toward me. As soon as she had Maddie, and my pack had moved the car seat from her old beater car into one of ours, we packed up and were on our way. Maddie sat between us, offering everyone in the car cookies as we began to drive. Hudson was in the third row of the SUV this time. Having been the one who drove the night before, he did his best to stretch out so he could sleep as soon as we began the trip. His mate sat in the passenger seat, and one of the older warriors was driving. Lana leaned against the door, her eyes closed, but I could hear her heart beating faster than normal. She wasn't sleeping, but she was pretending she was, and I took that as a bad sign. While we couldn't talk with Maddie able to hear us, I didn't want her to go to sleep mad at me. It wasn't fair to her for me to have changed my mind. I had left the packhouse with the intent of demanding Nyla's head for the pain and suffering she had caused me and my mat
Lana's P.O.V.Oliver's door slammed a little harder than it should have, and I let out a deep breath to collect myself as the front doors of the car closed as well."I know this is hard for you, but it will get better." The male's voice from behind me made me jump. I turned to see the man who had helped rescue me sitting in the back seat, looking very squished. "I'm Hudson, by the way. I don't mean to be a bother, but can you fold your seat down so I can get out once you do?"I looked to see Oliver talking to a group of people outside with a smile on his face."Of course, I'm so sorry," I said as I opened the back door and helped to get Maddie out. She rested her head against my shoulder, mumbling about how she needed to go to the bathroom as I fumbled with the handle on the side of the seat before finally releasing it."Thank you," Hudson let out in a groan as he climbed out of the vehicle, lifting his arms to stretch once he was
Lana's P.O.V. The familiar green of her eye and the dark brown hair suddenly made sense. They were the same shade that Oliver had. My mouth went dry, and I swallowed hard as water dripped from my hands into the sink. "You can calm down. You look like a deer in headlights. I'm not going to hit you with my car." She laughed before placing a wet hand on her slightly rounded stomach. "I'm Kaylee." Maddie came over, handing us each a stack of paper towels. I grabbed the unnecessarily large wad blindly with a whispered thank you. "Right, that makes more sense. You're his half-sister. He told me about you." I said as I held out my hand in greeting. Kaylee eyed it for a moment before smiling softly at me. "I'm his step-sister now too, so I think just sister covers it. It's nice to meet you. I was so excited when he said he was bringing you home." Her hand wrapped around mine, and I gasped as her eyes turned silver. Her hold on me tightened as she stared blankly ahead for a few seconds bef
Lana's P.O.V. The sound of the door closing behind me made me tense as goosebumps rose along my skin. I knew now would not be like it was in my dream, but my imagination got away from me, sending warmth into my core and wetness between my legs. "You're playing a dangerous game, baby." Oliver's deep voice came from right behind me, making me jump. His breath hit the side of my neck as he leaned in close to me. "I can feel you. I can smell you. You are so fucking irresistible." My eyes fluttered closed as the fingers of one of my hands moved to gently touch my lips, dreaming of what it would be like to turn around and kiss him. But my eyes opened as the heat of his palm rested on my hip, and reality smacked me in the face. I pulled away, taking a step to the side where our bags were piled up. "We need to talk first, Oliver." I could hear the reluctance in my own voice and cleared my throat to regain my composure. "I didn't mean to hurt you or choose her over you. That wasn't my int
Oliver's P.O.V. I shook out my fur as I came to a stop in one of the clearings on our pack land. It was the most popular one among mated pairs. The collection of moon flowers that filled the area provided our beasts with a sense of peace and calm. I had come with a mission, a small step in winning my woman back. My meeting with Parker to be welcomed back into the pack as an official member was soon. I had just enough time to gather a handful of flowers for Lana and leave them on her nightstand for her to wake up to before I needed to be in his office. The stems ripped from the ground easily, and I took off at a jog back to the packhouse, only stopping to grab my shorts and pull them back on. "I take it Lana already yelled at you," Aspen chuckled from the porch, where she sat drinking a glass of tea. Her back was straight, and her eyes scanned the area as she spoke before falling back on me. She was a troublemaker as a kid, and it seemed that bold attitude followed her into adulthoo
Lana's P.O.V. I had been here before. The depression that dragged me down until I felt nothing. The emptiness inside me had me wanting to do nothing more than sleep. The first time it happened was when James had started hitting me. I was so heartbroken, so scared. But my mind shut down, and my body started to follow. I lost a lot of weight and couldn't muster up the energy to even shower or brush my teeth. It all felt so pointless, such a waste of the little energy I had. The only thing that got me out of bed this morning was Maddie. She needed me. I couldn't fall back into my shell and leave her on her own. I had to fight against it. Having it happen again with Oliver was strange to me. After our fight, it was like all of my anger had drained away, and I was left with a hollow feeling. I knew what it was after it happened, but I couldn't stop it. Waking up this morning to a beautiful handful of flowers on the nightstand sent a spark of happiness through me, like a lightning bolt
Oliver's P.O.V. Parker paused mid-step, letting out a groan as he shook his head. The tension in his shoulders from the rogues and the upcoming baby somehow managed to get worse as he turned to look at me. "How mad would you be if Kaylee accidentally told Lana that Lana is your mate?" I looked over at him with surprise. That wasn't how I had it planned. My plan had been to tell her as soon as I could in a romantic setting, but then things with Nyla happened. Now, I needed to win Lana back before I had that conversation with her. I didn't want her to agree to be with me just because of the bond. I wanted it to be her choice. After what she saw and knew about mates, I knew she would feel too guilty to reject me or to fight against it. "Tell me you're kidding." My head dropped back and my hands moved up to cover my face. So far, everything about coming home had not gone as planned. I felt cursed, but I knew it was my own doing. The bond was still there, and as I felt for Lana's emot