Enforcing Boundaries (The Boundaries Series Book 1)

by Eva Harper

  “Maybe she’s just scared,” I offered. I felt bad for the woman; this world wasn’t always an easy one to live in for a woman.

  “Possibly, but I have to look into it. If there’s something in her pack that made her run, then I need to figure out what it is.”

  “Well, can’t you do that tomorrow?” My hand drifted up to his leg, where it touched mine. Childishly, I walked two fingers up his pants, drifting over his lap. He shuttered and blinked his eyes slowly.

  “What did you have in mind, little one?” His voice was husky, he already knew what I was suggesting, but he wanted to hear me say it.

  “I thought maybe this time we could try it in that giant shower of yours.” Theo grabbed my wrist and dragged me behind him excitedly, pulling me up the stairs and into the bathroom.

  I giggled while pulling his shirt off my body. He struggled to get his pants off around his ankles.

  We stumbled into the shower, slipping into each other.

  ✽✽✽

  Theo’s mother called in the evening, wondering what our plans were for the rest of the week. She insisted on spending time with her family after all the chaos, making it known that she would be crushed if we couldn’t come. The next day we woke up in the late morning and headed over to the packhouse.

  “Oh my gosh,” Sloane gasped. I stopped walking towards her and glanced at Theo beside me. He huffed a laugh and looked at his mother, confused. “You two have mated.”

  My face erupted in a dark blush, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl under the table.

  “Aye, there you go, man,” Reese hooted, strolling into the room with a cold beer, cracking the tab.

  “Reese shut your mouth right now and apologize,” Sloane scolded, narrowing her eyes.

  Reese looked down in fake remorse. “So sorry,” he said placatingly, winking at me, bumping his fist to Theo’s shoulder as he walked past. Theo ignored him and greeted his mother with a hug and kiss on her cheek. Sloane pushed him away after a moment and rushed to hug me.

  “So, any grandbabies in our future?” she squealed. I shook my head. I knew wolves couldn’t get pregnant unless they were in heat. She slumped and nodded understandingly.

  “It’ll happen in time, mom,” Theo assured her.

  “You really want a bunch of little Theo’s running around here, sis?” Reese asked, face scrunching up at the thought.

  “Better than a bunch of little Reese’s.” I grinned widely.

  “You know, I don’t like you as a wolf, you’re meaner this way.” Reese looked down, distraught, and took another gulp of his beer.

  “I think you don’t like that she laid you out flat on your ass during training,” Eli noted from his spot on the doorframe. Theo told me he had already forgiven Eli for what happened during the battle, but I don’t think Eli was so sure.

  “You probably don’t like that she calls you on your shit now either,” Gabriel grinned from behind Eli, shoving his shoulder, so he was forced to walk in.

  “Well, I just adore Margo. So, I’m sorry, son, but it looks like you need to grow up a little and get over yourself,” Sloane said fiercely. Reese chuckled and finished off his drink.

  “I’m just kidding,” he told Sloane. “See, I like Margo. We have this love-hate relationship.” He came and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, grinning wildly.

  “It’s hard to tell where the hate ends, and the love begins, bro,” I teased back, shoving two fingers into the side of his stomach. He jumped back and put a hand on his side, protecting himself from me.

  “Not that I don’t enjoy all of your company, but is there a reason we’re all here?” Gabriel asked. Sloane whipped her head to the side and glowered.

  “I just wanted to have my family all together, is that so much to ask?” she said with a warning in her voice. Gabriel shook his head, not fighting her. “I feel like I never see you all anymore, what has been happening in your lives, come, tell me.”

  We all reluctantly settled into the chairs and couches in Sloane’s living room. I glanced at Eli, who was looking at me, wondering what we were supposed to talk about.

  “Alright, so let’s talk.” She grinned. “Theo and Margo are completely mated now; I could smell it the second they walked in.”

  “We don’t need to talk about that,” I rushed out, fiddling awkwardly with my hands.

  “What would you like to talk about then?” Reese said, eagerly waiting for me to speak.

  “We could talk about how you hooked up with January Evers in the pantry during the last pack meeting,” Eli suggested, smiling wickedly.

  Gabriel growled lowly. “That’s where you went?” Reese smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

  “I needed something to amuse me, that meeting went on forever and ever,” he droned, faking falling asleep to solidify his excuse.

  “You’re the Beta of this pack, Reese. You need to start taking more responsibility for your actions.”

  Reese rested his head on his fist in boredom, mimicking Gabriel’s never-ending speech with his other hand like a puppet. Gabriel stopped and smacked Reese’s hand.

  “Boys,” Sloane called. “This is not the time for all your pack nonsense.”

  “Nonsense?” Gabriel nearly growled. “Mother, you were Luna of this pack for nearly twenty-six years, and you think this is nonsense?”

  “Don’t talk down to me Gabriel, I know how this pack works better than all of you combined. I’m tired of you speaking to everyone like you’re the only important one in the room. Rush would never want you to use your power this way.” Gabriel lowered his eyes at the mention of his father. “I just wanted one nice afternoon with my family.”

  “And that’s what you’ll get,” Eli insisted, urging the rest of us with his pitying eyes.

  “Of course,” Reese murmured. Theo and I nodded our heads.

  “Alright, so tell me what has been going on with you all.”

  “Well, I passed the written test to be a Pack Warrior,” Eli said softly, fighting the proud smile on his face.

  “That’s amazing honey, I’m so proud of you,” Sloane gushed. Eli shrugged his narrow shoulders, and I wondered how he would ever pass the physical portion of the test. He wasn’t small by any standard, but he was lanky and still covered in his lean, boyish muscle. He wouldn’t stand a chance against the hulking Warriors who guarded Valkyrie pack land.

  “I know I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but at least I’m making an effort,” he said to spite Reese. Reese rolled his eyes and scoffed.

  “Enough about Reese,” Theo declared. “What’s been going on with you, Gabe, apart from Alpha business.” Gabriel looked deep in thought for a few moments, deciphering the parts of his life we wanted to hear.

  “Well, um,” he stammered. The usual fluid confidence from his voice was lost. “I met a woman last week.” Sloane perked up and leaned towards him.

  “A woman?” The bewilderment in her voice was almost rude.

  “Yes, a woman, mother. She wasn’t my mate, but I don’t know. I’m twenty-eight. I’m beginning to think I’m never going to meet my mate.”

  Theo was instantly offended, opening his arms in a display, shouting, “What am I, roadkill? I was twenty-nine when I met Margo.”

  “You never thought you’d meet your mate either, Theo. In fact, weren’t you thinking of asking Albia-” he was cut short by Theo’s murderous gaze.

  “Thinking of asking Albia what?” I voiced, looking between Theo and Gabriel.

  “Nothing,” Theo assured me.

  “He was thinking of asking her to step in,” Reese said in annoyance. He got up and grabbed another beer from the table.

  “Step in? You mean like step in as your mate?”

  “Margo, it was before I met you,” Theo said regretfully.

  “We can talk about it later,” I whispered, lowering my head.

  The room fell silent for a few awkward moments.

  “So, what was this woman’s name?” Sloan
e said slowly in the silence.

  “Saskia.”

  On The Run

  “Saskia?” Theo asked to clarify.

  “Yes, Saskia,” Gabriel answered, his lip tugged upward as he looked down.

  “I just got a call about a ‘Saskia,’ apparently she was looking for refuge in another pack. Wouldn’t say what she was running from.”

  “Is she okay?” Gabriel asked quickly. Theo’s head tilted to the side peculiarly.

  “Why don’t you tell me,” he challenged.

  “She left here almost a week ago now, she was visiting here with some other women. They were traveling to different packs hoping to meet their mates, but Saskia was the only one that crossed our border. They were unharmed when they left,” he assured Theo, fighting back the dominance that wanted to take over.

  I shrunk back on the loveseat. Eli glanced at me, pursing his lips. Somehow every gathering ended in a show of dominance one way or another.

  “I’m sure Gabriel treated them with nothing but respect,” I said, suspiciously looking at Theo, wondering what he was trying to accuse his brother of.

  “I don’t doubt that,” he said, not looking at me. “But it’s my job to figure out what happened to her. Felix said she was terrified and crying.”

  “Well then something happened between here and the Audacia Pack,” Gabriel spat, his upper lip curling.

  “Yeah, well, we’ll see,” Theo promised, standing up. “It was great seeing you all.”

  Theo walked past his family and out of the room. I sat still, stunned, and slightly angry at Theo’s behavior. His family turned and looked at me for an explanation.

  “Apparently, that was my cue to leave,” I said jokingly.

  “He’s probably just stressed, dear,” Sloane told me lovingly. “You should have seen him when he was an Alpha, he was that uptight all the time. This is a much better job for him.”

  I’m sure Margo also had some part to play in that,” Eli yipped from behind Sloane.

  “We’ll see you soon, Margo. Take care of my son, won’t you?”

  I nodded and hugged her close to me. I waved goodbye to Gabriel and Reese as I skittered past Eli, patting his shoulder as I left.

  My shoes clicked against the linoleum floors, and there was no other sound to drown it out. I tried to remember the way back down to the foyer, but even Sloane’s wing in the packhouse was massive and winding.

  I eventually found Theo standing in the ballroom, hands tucked in his pockets, staring out a large window.

  “Are you okay?” I asked softly behind him. My hand reached up and touched the space between his shoulders. He flinched.

  “I’m fine, Margo,” he said blandly. I moved around him; his answer didn’t satisfy me.

  “What’s wrong? You were so tense in there, and then you just got up and left.” He looked down like a little boy and avoided eye contact with me.

  “I just miss it, I guess,” he confessed.

  “Miss what?”

  “Being an Alpha.” I nodded my head understandingly. “I love what I do now, but I just miss being in charge of a pack. This used to be mine. I knew everybody in my pack, I kept them safe, they trusted me. The Alpha blood inside of me just likes to oversee people.”

  “Theo, you’re in charge of all the other Alphas,” I pointed out, reaching my right up to cup his cheek. “That’s the most important thing. You keep everyone else safe.”

  “Most Alpha’s can take care of themselves. I’m needed for a few days, and then they’re back on their own. I know it’s silly, I just miss it sometimes,” he smiled fondly, the gesture not fully reaching his eyes.

  I stepped closer. “It’s not silly at all.”

  “Do you want to go home?” He asked, hand reaching out to rest on my waist.

  “Sure, do we have to drive, though?” I asked hesitantly.

  “No,” Theo drawled, confused.

  “I thought maybe we could run back, you know, shift.” I gulped and looking down at our feet.

  “You want to run back?” he asked unbelievingly. “Because you’ll lose this race, little one.”

  My head snapped up. He was laughing silently, smirking.

  “I may be new, but I’m still faster than you.” He took my challenge, and we walked outside to the front of the house. He let go of my hand and bent down in a sprinting pose. I followed him and waited cautiously for him to move. He shifted in half a second and took off into the woods.

  It took me a moment longer to shift and start running. Being on four feet instead of two still felt strange, like my body was off-center. I didn’t let that stop me though and trailed after Theo’s large wolf.

  He wasn’t running as fast as he could, obviously waiting for me to catch up. I scoffed, he thought I needed a head start?

  As I gained on him, I bit the end of his tail playfully. He whined and skidded in the dirt, trying to fight back. I outmaneuvered him and ran ahead.

  He growled and ran next to me, brushing his fur against mine. I waited for him to push me out of the way, but he stayed next to me.

  We stopped in front of the house, panting, leaning against each other. After we shifted, we went inside the house, not bothering to cover ourselves from each other.

  “What did your brother mean when he said you were going to ask Albia to step in?” I asked insecurely. We had moved up to lay in our bed on top of the covers.

  “I was hoping you’d forget about that,” he evaded, jokingly. When I didn’t laugh, he let out a deep breath and put his hand over his face. “I never thought I would meet you, Margo. Dorian’s pack was my last stop, and I’d pretty much given up hope before that. It was just an idea, really.”

  “But why Albia?” I couldn’t hide the jealousy in my tone.

  “Because she was a nice girl, and I knew we got along. I mean, she’s pretty, but I wasn’t attracted to her,” he offered. His thumb gently moved across the skin on my hip, little circles, soothing me.

  “I get it,” I said even though I didn’t. For most of my life, I thought I would end up alone. A small part of me thought I would eventually be with Caddy, but I knew he would meet his mate, and I would be left behind.

  He turned on his side, resting his forehead on mine. His eyes still held a sad glint from earlier, but he hid it well.

  “I know you said you missed being in charge of something earlier,” I muttered, gazing up at him through my lashes. He smiled a little. I offered him my wrists slyly. “I’ll let you be in charge of me for a little while.”

  He laughed loudly, boomingly, and threw his head back. When he came back to look at me, he noticed I was serious. His happy exterior quickly melted into groaning seduction.

  “You really want me to be in charge of this little body of yours?” he asked, voice heavy. His left hand trailed down the curve of my stomach and hips, drawing little shapes on the beginning curve of my backside.

  “Yes. Only if you reciprocate the favor later,” I smirked. He tried not to chuckle but leaned in and kissed me nonetheless.

  ✽✽✽

  When Theo finally released me, I wrapped myself up in a sheet and waddled down the steps for a glass of water. I held the sheet up to my skin, but it was so large I kept tripping on the ends of it.

  “Be careful,” I head Theo yell as I made a loud thud from missing a step.

  “Thanks,” I said sarcastically. I made it down to the sink and filled up one glass of water and drank it all in one large swoop.

  Theo’s office phone started ringing loudly as I set the glass down.

  “Can you get that? I’m in the bathroom?” his loud voice came from upstairs. I nodded before I realized he couldn’t see me.

  I slumped down into the large office chair and reached over his desk for the phone.

  “Hello, this is Margo,” I answered.

  “Margo?” a woman’s voice said, surprised. “It’s Joella.”

  “Hi,” I said confused. “Is everything okay? Not that I wouldn’t like to ta
lk to you, but I’m sure you need to talk to Theo, I’ll go get him.” I rambled on.

  “No, actually, you’re the person I wanted to talk to,” she paused, and I waited for her to continue. “I just can’t get that woman out of my mind. That Saskia, something just sits wrong with me. She needs help, and she ran off before we could offer her any.”

  “She just left?”

  “Felix kept asking her what she was running from, and she wouldn’t say. He wasn’t comfortable letting her in our territory without knowing what was after her. When she came onto our lands, she came in from the south, and one of our wolves said he caught her scent on the north end, so we think that’s where she went, but Margo…I can’t get her out of my head.” I scribbled that down on a piece of paper.

  “She’s headed towards Caddy’s pack,” I noted aloud.

  “Cadence? Your friend? Maybe he could help her, or at least keep her there until Theo can question her, and you both can help her,” she suggested. Joella sounded worried and exhausted.

  “I’ll give him a call, thank you, Joella. I can’t imagine how worried you are.”

  “Just, please find her. I don’t know what kind of trouble she’s in, but she might end up seeking help from the wrong kind of people. You and Theo need to find her,” she told me desperately.

  “We will,” I agreed, halfway certain we could never find a lone wolf running across the continent.

  “We’ll talk soon, okay?” she promised.

  As I hung up, I noticed Theo standing near the door. I smiled nervously.

  “How would you feel about going on a scavenger hunt?”

  Interruption

  My legs were shaking, knees clacking together, as Theo drove us towards Caddy’s pack. I bit my lip to hide my excitement and stared out the window. Theo’s warm hand reached over and landed on my thigh just above my knee.

  “You a little excited there?” he teased. I snickered, and my cheeks blushed a faint pink.

  “I just haven’t seen Caddy since the fight, and he left so quickly after.” Theo nodded. We hardly spoke about the fight or anything about that day.