by Regan Ure
Blake was waiting outside the room for me when I opened the door.
“I knew you’d be here,” he said.
“I wanted to say good bye.” I said the words as calmly as I could.
“I know,” he said softly as he put an arm around my shoulder and gave me a gentle squeeze.
It was strange that I’d never been one to be affectionate, and that had stemmed from my childhood, but with Blake it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
I allowed myself to relax for a little while and just enjoy the feel of being so close to him. It helped that his touch soothed the buildup of emotions inside of.
“You ready to shift yet?” he asked.
“Not yet,” I told him, turning to face him. “I need to bury my mom first.”
“Okay,” he said, understanding my need to put my mom first today. His lips feathered a kiss to my forehead.
It was the first time I realized that no matter what differences or issues I’d had with Blake, he fit me perfectly. Not just in a physical sense, which was pretty awesome. He fit me in personality as well. He seemed to understand me better than sometimes I understood myself. And he seemed to know when and what I needed.
I wondered if I gave him that too.
It made me realize that fate didn’t just match two random people together; there was so much more to it than that. They matched mates in such a way that you got what you needed from the person who was meant to be yours.
Obviously there would still be disagreements and arguments—those were inevitable—but as I leaned my head against his chest, I took a deep breath of him in. I realized that loving him had been inevitable from the moment he’d come into my life.
Just before my mom’s funeral, dark clouds gathered, and by the time I stood beside the newly dug grave with the members of my pack, a light drizzle of rain covered us.
Blake and Kyle stood on either side of me. Blake held an umbrella above me to keep the rain off me but I didn’t really pay attention. My mind was focused on the sheet-wrapped body that was lowered into the ground.
I never shed another tear, and afterward I walked to the gate with Blake. The light drizzle had stopped although it was still overcast. Kyle held back. It was almost like he knew that this moment was meant to be just for Blake and me.
I hadn’t been out since nearly dying after the attack by Richard. But now that I could shift into my wolf, I felt more confident and knew that if I encountered him again I wouldn’t be so easy to kill.
“Are you nervous?” Blake asked as I watched the gate open.
I shook my head. I was ready for this.
I gave over to the feeling inside of me that wanted to shift and I felt my body begin to transform. I welcomed the pain that came with it, because it meant I’d taken one step closer to being the leader I wanted to be.
Once I finished transforming, I looked down at dark brown fur that covered my legs and I smiled.
I looked back to smile at Blake who smiled at me just before he shifted into his wolf. He walked up to me and nuzzled me softly.
For a moment I inhaled him in, feeling a calmness settle over me. We didn’t need words; what we had was so much more than that.
His amber eyes lifted to mine.
You ready?
Yes, I replied through our mind-link.
I shot off and I could hear Blake running just behind me. The feel of the ground underneath my paws was slightly damp from the rain, but I didn’t care.
My first run through the forest as a wolf was the best and most exhilarating experience of my life. The trees whizzed past and I ran as fast as I could. It didn’t take me long to get the hang of running on all fours and I loved the feel of air brushing past my fur.
I felt carefree. It was such a strange feeling at first, it took a while to decipher what I was feeling. It made all my heavy burdens a little lighter and everything around me seemed brighter. I knew I shouldn’t be feeling the way I was so soon after my mom’s death, but I couldn’t help it.
Feeling overwhelmed by emotions, I stopped. Blake came to a stop beside me.
What’s wrong? he asked as he stood beside me.
I looked at him.
There is nothing wrong…I’m…happy.
His eyes held mine.
I love you.
I closed my eyes as his words washed over me. My mother was at peace while my monster of a father was burning in hell. I opened my eyes again and looked at Blake.
There was still a traitor in my pack who was helping Richard. I also had no idea how I was going to lead one of the most powerful packs but, in that moment, none of those problems mattered.
Blake was magnificent. His fur was a darker shade of brown and it looked soft. I wanted to reach out and run my human hand through it. I’d found my mate and, despite all the issues and deception we’d dealt with, we were together. I’d tried to fight my true feelings for him but I loved him.
For that little time, I didn’t fight the happiness I felt, I reveled in every moment of it. Together Blake and I explored the forest. It didn’t seem to upset him that I never said those important words back to him. Maybe he understood that it would take me a while before I was confident enough to tell him.
Besides, wasn’t it more important that I felt that way about him? Just saying the words to him was more of a formality than anything else.
When it was time to go back, I hesitated. The carefree feeling of happiness felt fleeting and I wanted to hold on to it and never let it go.
What is it? Blake asked, seeing my hesitation.
I don’t want to lose this feeling, I answered him. He studied me for a moment before he walked over to me and leaned his head against mine. The soft brush of his fur against mine soothed me.
I promise to make sure you feel this way again, he promised softly into my mind. I promise to make you happy.
My heart squeezed at his words as I enjoyed the little moment we were sharing.
The sun was starting to set and it was time to get back. I didn’t want to still be exploring the forest after dark, especially when Richard was around somewhere.
I’ll race you, I shot at him before I bounded off into the forest, intent on beating him back to my property. Although I heard him close behind me all the way back to my pack, I was still convinced that he could have beaten me but he allowed me to win.
Most alpha males wouldn’t be able to put their ego aside to do that and that is why I was more convinced than ever that fate chose the exact person you needed. Blake didn’t need to prove anything even though we both knew he could have beaten me. I don’t know how I would have coped had I been fated to spend eternity with an egotistical and high-handed alpha like my father had been.
When I stopped outside the gate, I shifted back to my human form. I felt my carefree happiness begin to disappear, replaced by the responsibilities I held as a leader of my pack, which brought with it the tension into my shoulders. I heard Blake shift behind me and he walked up to me. I leaned against him for a moment, enjoying the last few moments before I stepped through the gate.
“You were so beautiful,” he whispered beside my ear and then he kissed my cheek.
His words and the way they made me feel made me turn to face him. I lifted myself onto my tiptoes and kissed him as my arms wrapped around his neck. I controlled the kiss as our lips moved together. I pushed my tongue against his lips and he opened them. The feeling that curled up in my stomach made me want more than just his lips on mine. I caressed his tongue with mine and I heard him groan against my lips.
Breathless, I pulled away and smiled at him. I liked that I had this effect on him.
“You keep that up and we will be going straight to bed,” he teased with a smile that made him look younger and less formidable.
“Who says that isn’t the plan?” I teased back, feeling a smile tug at my lips.
It took me a moment to realize I liked the person I was when I was with him. I didn’t have to act a cert
ain way, I could be exactly who I was and it didn’t matter to him. He gave me a sexy smile that made me want to lead him by the hand back to my room and do a lot of naughty things to him. But as always, I had responsibilities. He saw the change in me immediately.
“It’s okay. Go do what you need to and I'll see you back in your room in a couple of hours,” he offered.
“That sounds good,” I said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before I walked back into the property. I had to talk to Curtis and start putting my own plans into the day-to-day running of the pack.
Under my father’s rule, he’d refused any children to attend school so we had all been homeschooled. It had ensured that we didn’t escape his vicious rules. That was going to change.
Curtis was in the medical center as usual and as I walked into his office he stood up and pulled me into a hug.
“You okay?” he asked as he pulled back to scan my features.
“Yes,” I replied.
“How’d your first shift go?” he asked as he released me.
“It was good,” I replied, not wanting to tell anyone about the finer details of my first shift with my mate. I felt it was a special thing just shared by the two of us.
“I want all the children and teenagers to start public school,” I instructed Curtis.
“Okay,” he said. “We can’t just flood the public school in one go, though.”
I nodded my head in agreement.
“We’ll have to start some now and some will have to start later,” he advised.
“Sounds good.”
I felt good that I could start bringing change to my pack. It wasn’t fair to homeschool the children. They needed to be able to interact with humans.
“Any other changes you want to implement?” he asked.
“Not yet.”
One step at a time.
“We need a way to catch the traitor,” I informed Curtis. I’d already started formulating some ways on how we could catch the person that had betrayed me to Richard.
The sooner I found that person, the better. I was still torn about what to do with the traitor when we discovered their identity. If my father still ruled, it would be instant death.
I didn’t want to be seen as a weak leader but I would need to come up with a suitable punishment for the person who knew that Richard had been intent on killing me. To me, that person was just as responsible for Richard’s actions.
Curtis and I began to discuss my ideas. I also needed to think of a way to weed out other future traitors whose loyalty lay with Richard. The problems and weight of my duty wore down on my shoulders.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Keri
Blake was waiting for me when I got back to my room. I’d been busy for four hours with Curtis, so by the time I walked into my room, I was exhausted.
The doorway was dimly lit and I saw Blake lying in my bed. He was sleeping so I stripped my clothes down to my underwear and got into the bed with him. To most people the escalation of our relationship would have seemed rushed, but we weren’t human. We were werewolves meant to be together forever so it didn’t feel weird to see him already sleeping in my bed. He mumbled something softly under his breath as his arms encircled me and pulled me closer.
I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of his closeness. It didn’t take me long to drift off to sleep.
My thoughts from my meeting with Curtis about the traitors followed me into my dreams. Faces of all my pack members flitted through my mind and I desperately tried to figure who was the person betraying me.
I was restless in my sleep as my fear of betrayal increased. The fact that if I didn’t figure it out soon then Richard might get another opportunity to try and kill me weighed heavily on my mind. It would be much more difficult to kill me now that I could shift but Richard would still be able to kill me and take over my pack.
A voice nearby soothed me with soft words.
“It’s okay,” I distantly heard a voice whisper into my ear as I felt strong arms hold me safely against a warm body. Somehow knowing I was safe, my dreams changed and I settled into a deeper sleep where betrayal didn’t linger on my mind.
When I woke up, I stretched and yawned. The warmth that had made me feel safe was gone and I discovered I was alone in the bed. I sat up and looked around the small room for any evidence that Blake was still here, but it was empty.
Thinking he might have only left to shower and change, I stood up. It was only when I was about to walk into my bathroom to shower that I heard his voice talking from outside the room.
“Really?” he asked.
It sounded like he was on the phone with someone.
He laughed. I loved the sound of it rumbling in his chest.
“I’m surprised she hasn’t tied you to the bed,” he replied.
I assumed he was probably talking to Cade and from what I’d heard it sounded like Scarlett had gone into heat. Not wanting to eavesdrop, I went to have a shower. The reminder of Cade and Scarlett brought up another issue I hadn’t really addressed until now.
Blake already had a pack that he’d temporarily combined with Cade’s pack. What did that mean for us? We couldn’t exactly both continue living in different territories. I’d need to sit down and talk to him about it. I couldn’t help thinking that perhaps he would take it for granted that I would give up my pack to join his. It wasn’t something I was prepared to do. I was determined to become the leader I’d been trained to be and I wasn’t going to give my pack over to someone else. It wasn’t going to happen.
I let out a sigh as I pulled on some clean clothes. It felt like a never-ending flow of issues. Just as I sorted out one, another one popped up. When I re-entered my bedroom, Blake was sitting on my bed, fully dressed and looking down at his phone, smiling.
“Hi,” I said and he looked up and gave me an uplifting smile that made me feel special.
“Hi,” he said and got up to give me a kiss on the cheek.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Cade called to check in,” he began to explain as his smile widened. “Scarlett’s gone into heat and he is struggling to keep up.”
I’d gathered that much already from the conversation I’d overheard.
“So when are you going to go back?” I asked out of the blue. I wasn’t one to beat around the bush. The fact that he had a pack to run back in his territory told me it was only a matter of time before he left me. I couldn’t get any closer to him emotionally if he was going to leave me.
His smile dropped off his face as he studied me for a moment.
“You think I’m going to leave you?” he asked softly, watching for my reaction.
I kept silent as I let my eyes drop to the floor. I was used to people not sticking around. My mom had just died; granted, she hadn’t left me by choice, but she’d still left me.
His finger on my chin, he tilted my head up so I had to look at him.
“After everything we’ve shared, you really think that I would be able to leave you?” he asked, looking slightly bewildered at the thought.
I swallowed hard. The emotion in his voice touched something inside of me.
“I have my pack to run and so do you,” I began to explain as I pulled my chin away from his finger. “You can’t run a pack from here.”
My anger grew at the thought that he’d probably just assumed I’d give up my pack for him.
“You're right. I can’t run a pack from here,” he agreed.
“So you expected me to give up my pack to be with you?” I asked, feeling my temper rise. It was so typical of a guy to expect a girl to give up everything for them. I tightened my jaw as I crossed my arms.
“No, I didn’t,” he said softly, shaking his head. His words literally took the wind out of my sails and I was left feeling confused.
“Then what are you going to do?” I asked softly.
“I wanted to talk to you about joining your pack,” he told me, and I felt my heart feel like it was going t
o burst from the amount of love I felt for him at that moment.
“Really?” I asked, feeling hopeful that we would be able to work everything out after all.
Despite all my attempts to control it, I loved him and just the thought of being without him was enough to bring me to my knees. I wasn’t used to feeling this way and it was taking a lot to get used to it.
“But what about your pack?” I asked, not quite understanding all the logistics of what he was proposing.
“Cade will take it over, and any members that want can join your pack with me,” he explained as he took a step closer.
I lifted my gaze to meet his.
“You would do that for me?” I asked, not quite believing he would give up everything so I wouldn’t have to.
“Yes,” he said. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
“It’s just, no one has ever done anything like that for me,” I answered softly, feeling the sting of tears caused by the emotions overwhelming me.
“You have no idea how much you mean to me,” he tried to explain as he cupped my face, “and you have no idea what I’m willing to do to be with you and make you happy.”
I tried to brush away the tear that slid down my face but Blake beat me to it and he brushed it away with his thumb. It was sad that there hadn’t been more people in my life who had wanted to make me happy.
“Why are you crying?” he asked, and I bit my lip to keep from releasing the rest of my tears.
“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to pull free, feeling embarrassed for my lack of control over my emotions.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said as he pulled me into a hug and held me close.
“You are what is important to me,” he added. “Never doubt that.”
I’d always said actions spoke louder than words and his actions were screaming volumes. He’d said he loved me but seeing what he was prepared to give up to be with me made me believe it.
“I love you,” I whispered as I pulled away slightly and looked up at him.
“Good,” he said as he kissed me hard, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close.
When he pulled away, we were both breathless. There was no more hiding it; we loved each other just the way our fate had planned. He kissed me again as he held me firmly against him with his hands on my hips. I snaked my arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss and his tongue caressed me.