by Belle Harper
“Ranger, it’s okay. It’s not your fault. There was nothing you could have done. Father makes his own rules, and you can’t blame Galen. It’s part of the contract for being here with the pack. If he went against Father, you know he would have no protection and would have to leave.” Maverick was behind me now, his hard body pressed against mine. I wrapped my arms around Ranger’s neck and pulled him down to kiss him. It was small and chaste, but he kept his eyes on Maverick.
Okay, maybe this was weird for him because his brother was touching me too. I’d kissed them both in front of each other, but touching them both…this was a first.
“Ranger?” Galen sounded concerned as he moved over to us. “Talk to me, I didn’t mean for this to upset you so much, I’m sorry for the way I reacted.”
Ranger’s eyes were huge and he opened his mouth, but again no words came out. Then a lonely tear fell, and I could feel my own eyes start to prick with tears. This was really upsetting him, and my heart was breaking. I knew his father didn’t seem to trust Ranger with much, I had noticed that since I’d been here, but if he could see him now… He was breaking, and it hurt me so much to see him like that.
He didn’t say anything. It was if he couldn’t speak. Wait, wait…
“You said for him not to ta—” A hand was placed over my mouth before I could get the word out as everyone in the room stared at Ranger. It was Jett’s hand that was stopping me from saying anything more. I had no idea where he came from.
“Office now.” Galen’s voice was very teacher like at that moment as he ushered us all from the movie room and down to the big office of Alaric. We all busted through the door, and Alaric and Nash looked like they were about to attack us.
When they saw the looks on all our faces, Alaric stood up and called out, “Family meeting.”
Chapter Seven
Lexi
Lyell entered the office and closed the door behind him. Everyone turned to Galen and Ranger, because Galen was still holding onto Ranger’s shoulder as he watched me. I could still see Alaric looking between Galen and me. I knew he didn’t like the fact that there was something between us, that I was playing with the idea of bringing a vampire into my relationship with his sons, but now was not the time for this.
“Speak,” Alaric said as he took a seat.
“I believe that when I was compelling Ada, I have also compelled Ranger. I told him not to talk and now…”
All eyes were on a very quiet Ranger. Ranger grabbed his throat and said nothing.
“Is this true?” Alaric got up from his desk and made his way over to his youngest son. Ranger just stood there. His mouth opened, but again, nothing came out. No words.
“How?” I heard whispered from beside me. Nash was watching, and he looked uneasy. I wanted to smile. Maybe Galen could compel him to be nice. But this was about Ranger. This wasn’t right. Galen couldn’t compel shifters, he’d told me that. He also couldn’t compel me.
“It has to be Lexi’s blood. I can still feel it. It makes me stronger in every way.”
“You’re right—it’s my blood. It has to be.” I looked to Galen, and I could see the wheels ticking over in his head. Everyone in the room looked to me.
“Wow, do you think it’s her blood, Galen?” Jett asked, stepping closer to and looking at me with curiosity.
Galen gave me a puzzled look, and cleared his throat.
“I didn’t say that,” he told me, and he looked serious about it too. What the hell?
“Um, yeah you did. Just then. You said it has to be my blood, it makes you stronger.”
Everyone looked at me again, and then back to Galen.
“What?” I felt uncomfortable with all of them staring at me. Their expressions making me feel a little uneasy. It wasn’t my fault this happened. Like I didn’t know what I was or that this could happen, so how was I to know Galen could compel Ranger.
“No, he didn’t, Lexi.” Raff held my hand tightly. “Galen didn’t say anything about your blood. You did.”
My legs felt heavy, and I swayed a little. Raff pulled me to a chair and dragged me into his lap and held me tight. Alaric was pacing the large room, and Galen was staring at me like I was crazy. Everything was so messed up. Yes, Galen did say that. He said it had to be my blood. Shit, was I going crazy and hearing him in my thoughts?
“Think about something,” Lyell spoke up from beside Galen. “Galen, think about something, anything.” Galen raised his brow, then his eyes found mine. I moved closer into Raff. This was so messed up, what the hell did Lyell think was—
“Lexi can you hear me? Can you hear my thoughts?” I could hear Galen, but…but his lips didn’t move.
My breathing sped up, and I sat up, looking around at everyone.
“Holy fuck.” Maverick gasped as he moved closer to me. “You heard him, didn’t you?” I swallowed the huge lump in my throat as I nodded. I did. How the fuck did I hear that?
“Yes,” I squeaked out, and Raff tensed behind me. Oh my god, was I going to always hear his thoughts? Was this a new power? Would I be able to hear others’ thoughts? Did I even want to?
“Fuck,” I hissed out.
Alaric cleared his throat, bringing the attention of the room back to him.
“Galen, get Ranger to speak once again. We will figure out what is happening and why Alexis can now hear your thoughts.” Alaric didn’t seem worried or maybe he was good at hiding behind that alpha tone of his.
I could feel the change in the room almost instantly as Galen turned to Ranger.
“Ranger, you may speak now.” I heard Ranger gasp and grip at his throat.
“Fuck, this… I never want that to happen again.” Ranger pointed his finger at Galen as he took a few steps away from him. “I wanted to speak, but I just didn’t know what was wrong with me. I just knew I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t form words. I never want to be compelled again.” Ranger made a wide berth around Galen as he walked over to me.
“I think we should test this out further. Can you compel Lexi?” Lyell asked.
Fuck you, Lyell. He was so quiet, I just assumed he was shy and sweet. But now he wanted to use me as an experiment? Hell no.
“Yes, that’s a great idea, Lyell.” And of course, Alaric thought that was a great idea. Though, I could tell Galen wasn’t happy about this as well.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” His lips didn’t move, that was just for me. Okay, so maybe that was kind of cool. I shrugged like I didn’t mind and gave him an encouraging smile, to let him know I wasn’t upset with him. Just this situation.
“Fuck, did he just talk to you in your head again?” Ranger held onto my hand, and I turned to him. His eyes roamed my face, and I could tell he was really worried about me. I just nodded, since I didn’t want to say it out loud. It would make it…less special. Because this was special… But this was also just a dream that I was going to wake up from, right?
Galen’s eyes were so dark as he got down to my level. That feeling on my skin happened again. But this time, I liked the tingles.
“Lexi, you will stop hearing my thoughts,” he said in that strange voice. I laughed. At least he didn’t ask me to bark like a dog or act like a chicken. Because that would be something I would do.
“Okay,” I said, not knowing what I was supposed to do or say. The pressure in the room died down, and Galen’s eyes returned to his beautiful hazel ones.
“I don’t believe for a moment I can compel you, and even if I could, I would never do it. Even with orders. I’ll be more careful with my thoughts around you, and I’m sorry if you have heard anything you didn’t want to.”
I thought back to earlier when he said I was fucking sexy in front of Ada and she never said a thing. Holy crap. Reading his thoughts was…kinda cool, but could also be a curse. I might hear something I didn’t want to. I didn’t know if I liked the idea or not yet.
“Thank you, and yes, I totally agree he is annoying.” I smirked and gave him a wink. Galen just laughed, an
d the sound gave me butterflies. He was so sexy and that laugh had me melting into Raff.
Everyone started talking around us, but I just watched Galen, his eyes never leaving mine. His hands were warm on my legs, so he must have warmed up. I liked his hands touching me. I wondered if I could tell him things too. I think you’re sexy. He didn’t even blink at it.
He smiled. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
I just laughed, and his smile grew wide. Oh yeah, I was trying to tell him something alright, but maybe some thoughts were best kept secret. Especially with the way he looked at me now, as if I was the most beautiful woman in the world… I really wanted to kiss him.
“Galen, try to compel Lyell. I’m curious if this was a once off.” Alaric’s voice was always so loud and scary and it shocked me out of my thoughts… oh crap he probably could tell I what I was thinking… that was weird. Galen winked at me before he stood up and went over to Lyell, who stood taller than he normally would. I was happy it was going to be him. Payback, bitch!
“What do you want me to do?” Galen asked Alaric.
He just waved his hand and said, “Something we can all see this time.”
I saw the wicked glint in Galen’s eyes before he turned back to a very worried looking Lyell. Oh, this was going to be interesting. Then the room felt tight again as the power Galen held came out to play. I didn’t think I would ever get used to it.
“Lyell, you will strip down and shift into your wolf form…and chase your own tail until your father tells you to stop.” Galen took a step back, and I could see Lyell rip his shirt off. Dang, he had a nice chest. I wasn’t expecting that from—
Wow. I squeaked and I turned away when he dropped his pants. I could hear Ranger laughing from beside me. I reached out and slapped his arm, but then everyone was trying to hold back a laugh. Even Raff behind me laughed, his chest was rumbling with it. I looked over, and there was a gray wolf who was chasing his own tail.
My eyes widened at the sight. Oh shit. I and the realization hit me. I just made Galen the most powerful vampire on earth. I didn’t know how I felt about that. I looked over to Alaric and saw he was watching me before his eyes flicked back to Lyell, who had caught his tail in his teeth and was trying to chew it off. My eyes widened as I flinched. Wouldn’t that hurt?
“Enough.” Everyone in the room shrank down an inch as Alaric’s voice boomed in the room, bouncing off all the walls, the power behind it affecting everyone but me.
“Shift back now, Lyell,” Galen said, compelling him again. I looked away as Lyell shifted back to his human form. It was something I wanted to see again, but not with him. With Raff, Ranger, and Maverick.
“This is very serious. No one is to talk about this outside of this room. If Lexi was to get into the wrong hands…” Alaric didn’t finish. He didn’t need to say anymore. We already knew just then how powerful my blood really was, and how much danger I was going to be in if anyone found out.
Chapter Eight
Ranger
I’d never felt more wary of Galen than I did now. Yeah sure, I liked to fuck with him at school and at home. I was the only one who did, since everyone else was too scared of him and mostly avoided him. But he could do anything to me now… he could kill me, I knew he would never do that. He loved it here and wasn’t about to fuck that up by hurting me. Plus, I honestly think he liked the fact that I messed with him. I gave him a little fun in his boring life. And he was very much in love with Lexi, and it was clear she was too. So he wouldn’t want to hurt me if he wanted to join our little family. Lexi wouldn’t allow it.
It was my wolf—who had never been rattled by Galen before— was now all out of sorts about what had happened. How long would he be able to compel me? Shit. I didn’t even realize he had done it to me. It had been like there was a little voice in my head that told me not to talk when I wanted to, and I’d listened to it without question every time I tried to open my mouth to speak.
I would never shift in front of a human again, as I don’t want them to have to go through that after I messed up. And yeah, I had messed up in the past—a lot—and Galen has had to come in and fix it. I felt horrible that those people had to go through that. Would still be going through that.
Nash approached me as I paced on the lawn beside the edge of the forest. It was late afternoon now, and I needed to shift and run. I needed to think, and my wolf was pacing just as much as I was. I was surprised I had held it together this long after everything that had happened.
Not just getting compelled by Galen, but from almost losing her. I never knew what love really meant until I almost lost her, and I knew I loved her. I loved Lexi with all my heart, and I would do anything to protect her. She was my mate, and I almost fucked that up.
I’d told Callum I wouldn’t be his packmate anymore and I wouldn’t be sharing Lexi with him, but never in all my years did I think he was capable of that. He almost took that away from me. He almost lost me my own mate.
His rage, his jealousy… She called to him as much as she did all the shifters, and I knew he was jealous that she’d chose me, but this was… I didn’t think I could ever forgive him. He was my best friend, had been since we were pups, but fuck.
I know I was in the wrong too… It was my fault this happened. I didn’t even think twice about throwing him away just so I could be Lexi’s mate. God, I was such a dick. I didn’t even really give him a chance to win her over. Or to have her meet him properly and maybe have her get to know him, the way I knew him… well I thought I did.
But that didn’t give him the right to bite her, to give her his venom. He should have fought with me, not her. Did he think she would choose him if she was a shifter? I didn’t understand why he did that. And I wouldn’t, because if I saw him, I would hurt him. Shit, I would probably kill him.
I could never forgive myself for what I did. It was my fault that Lexi almost died.
Pack Bardoul had arrived after all the fun we had with Lyell in the office, and yeah, I was calling that fun. If I said it was anything else, I might just shift now and destroy my clothes and all the strength I was using to keep myself together for Lexi right now.
I was trying to not be worried at all the power Galen now had. He couldn’t be killed by our venom with Lexi around. Shit, he was now indestructible. I guessed for Lexi, that would be good, since he could protect her from so much more than we could as shifters.
“Do you think she’ll be long?” I asked Nash, he was an asshole this morning, but I didn’t have time to care about that.
“Not long, they’re at Galen’s place,” he said, making sure not to give anything away. He watched me—fuck, they all watched me like I was going to explode.
“Fuck it, I’m gonna go for a run now.” We were waiting for her—Raff, Mav, and I. She wanted to see us shift before we went on our run, and I really wanted her to see me before I shifted. I was so excited that she asked me, but I needed it too much to wait.
“I’ll wait here and let her know you’ll be back soon,” Jett said as he walked over to us, and I hesitated. He’d been interested in Lexi when she first moved in, and now, he seemed to hang around her more than I liked. But he was just her friend and following fathers orders, so I didn’t have to worry. Right? Fuck, I gotta stop this over thinking shit it had my wolf even more on edge. And I needed to control him better, for me, for Lexi… for everyone around me.
I nodded to Jett, as Raff started to strip. I guessed I wasn’t the only one needing this.
“Wanna race?” I challenged him. He was fast, super-fast in wolf form. He cocked his head and smirked. Yeah, it was on. Mav wasn’t as enthusiastic about going for a run now, since he’d been running most the night. I didn’t care, serves him right. If we were going to be Lexi’s mates, then he needed to come with us. This was good for bonding, Father had said earlier we needed to bond together for our mate. That it helps with jealously.
“Can you give her this?” Mav sighed as he started to strip down.
I watched as he passed over a green throw blanket he’d swiped from the movie room and what looked to be a tablet. Jett took it without question and nodded.
“What’s that?” Did he get her a gift? I didn’t get her anything, not that I had time to just go down to the shop and get her something, when so much shit had been going on.
Raff moved closer to take a look at what Jett was holding.
“It’s just a Kindle, and it has some books that I downloaded for her in there.” Mav just shrugged if it was nothing. Jett started to play with it and laughed.
“It’s full of shifter romance books.” What? Everyone started laughing.
I’d never seen Mav get embarrassed before, but he turned pink all over. He didn’t say anything he just turned and shifted. I chuckled after him.
“Oh, you totally wanted Jett to give it to her. Even your wolf is blushing,” I teased Mav. He turned his head around and snapped his teeth at me and growled. It didn’t stop me from laughing again. Raff had shifted, and I was the last. This was a first. I smiled to myself, see I could hold it together. I was stronger than I gave myself credit for.
On all fours I could see Mav and Raff already racing ahead of me. Fuckers didn’t even wait. I was hot on their heels, but Raff was too quick. I never expected him to be, but I guessed with his smaller size, he did have the ability to move more swiftly. Not like a few weeks back, when we tracked him down…he wasn’t as fast then, but he didn’t know the forest here as well then. But I didn’t want to think about that now—what we did to him. That was messed up, and I was so grateful he’d forgiven me. I knew I didn’t deserve his forgiveness, but I had fallen for Lexi just like he did, and he was a much bigger person than I was and would ever be.
I pounced onto Mav’s back, and he turned, snapping at me until he lost his footing and tumbled. I didn’t wait to see what he was going to do as I took off after Raff. I couldn’t see him, but I could smell him… and Saint. I turned to the left, just as a huge gray body barreled into me. I flipped and tried to pin Saint, but he was too quick and was off again, obviously headed towards Mav.