AUSTIN. “He’s my ex,” Lexi told me. “The asshole ex you were telling me?” She nodded. “I thought he was just suffocating you by being possessive. Has he hurt you like that before?” She nodded. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” “Why would I tell you? We were just fuck buddies, remember?” She said in a loud voice before she struggled away from my arms. I loosened my arms around her, and she moved away, heading for the couch. “I finally broke up with him after two years and filed a restraining order for him. But before I could file a case against him, someone reported him for attempted rape. He was convicted and was given seven years, so I thought I would be able to live free of him for seven years. If I knew he was back, I would not have stayed here.” She sat down and wiped her tears. “Why didn’t you tell us? Or Mom or Dad? You know they will not abandon you!” I followed her and crouched in front of her. “I’m not your family! Remember when you said that? You said I kept me

AUSTIN. I leaned my forearms on the balcony railings outside my training building office as I watched Lexi warm up to begin her first training session with Harlene. I would have wanted to personally train her, but she refused. She probably thought I would be too hard on her. But later on, I also realized that it would be best for another warrior to handle her instead of me. Because I was sure I would not be able to get my hands off her. I licked my lips before a sly grin cracked on my face when I saw her bent down, hiking her ass up in my direction as she tried to reach her toes. ‘Tell me you did that on purpose.’ I mindlinked her after checking the grounds below me, and I confirmed no one was there, as well as the grounds between us. I was the only one in direct parallel to her ass. ‘Maybe, maybe not.’ She answered confidently. ‘Am I stretching right?’ I straightened up my posture and crossed my arms across my chest. ‘Hmmm. You can do better. Open those legs wider and a littl

LEXI. “Now, stop being bossy and be a good girl. Let me boss you around tonight.” His breath fanned against my skin, making me swallow hard. I discreetly clamped my legs together. His words sent shivers down my spine and my core, and I was sure something leaked in between my thighs. Austin needed to stop doing this. I just found myself shutting my mouth and nodding my head. “Good girl.” He kissed my cheek before brushing the spot with his thumb. “I will just check on them. You can come with me.” I shook my head. “I’m fine here.” He nodded, and I watched as he walked toward where the Alpha and the Beta were standing with Marshall. I sank myself into the shadowed area of the clearing as I watched young male pups begin screeching in pain. There were seven pups shifting — two females and five males. It was a rare occurrence to have this many, as shifting happens on the last full moon before a shifter turns eighteen. Not many pups were born in the same month, so Austin was excited

AUSTIN. We rounded the perimeters we usually run to for newly shifted pups before making our way back to the clearing where we started. We typically have longer routes, but if we were with she-wolves, we had to use the shorter ones as they tend to get tired easily and would shift back involuntarily into their human forms unless they’d been training themselves for stronger stamina. Although we had female warriors in our pack, we never made it compulsory for females to attend warrior training as we would for males when they turned fifteen. As old-school as it may seem, although we knew females were capable of being as strong warriors as males, we still wanted to be the ones to protect them. But of course, we present them with the opportunity to be trained if they want to, once they turn seventeen. But so far, the two pups with us tonight haven’t trained at all, except for the last few weeks when they had to attend training to prepare for their shift tonight. ‘Where are we headin

AUSTIN. Two days went by swiftly, and everything between Lexi and me was geared in the right direction. We first confided to my parents that we were officially a couple, and my mother burst out crying. She told us that Aunt Lea and she had always thought it would be wonderful if they became in-laws. She admitted they always wanted to pair Lexi and me together until they gave up because we never got along. So our announcement made her happy and sad at the same time. It was a bittersweet moment. But nonetheless, it was a special one. I was already sure I wanted Lexi even before I asked permission to claim her, but seeing the love we were getting, I knew I made the right decision. Being a couple should just be between us, but the support we were getting was overwhelming. She was not my fated mate, yet my whole family and the friends I grew up with were genuinely happy. Although I knew I wouldn’t change my mind, I was still hoping her wolf would surface, and she was my fated mat