Moonlight Wolves Box Set

by Sarah J. Stone

  “We literally said, like, two words before you butted in, so I don’t know how interesting it was.”

  “I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me,” she said, eyeing him up and down. Kato sighed, deciding to let her in on at least something so that she would forget about the whole Thea situation for a second.

  “Okay, you know how I told you that Hann wants me to take over as alpha once he retires?” Kato waited for Annie to nod before he continued. “Well, I’ve been thinking that I need to get my life together a little bit more. I don’t want to become the alpha of our pack and still be acting like a horny teenager. So, I think it’s time for me to look for a mate.”

  “Wow,” Annie said, looking surprised. “I didn’t see that one coming. And you think Britta is a good choice for a mate?”

  “She’s one of the strongest shifters we have here, Annie, you know that. I think that maybe, maybe, she could have the potential to be my mate as an alpha.”

  “Oh, because no little shifter will do when you’re the big old alpha, huh?” Annie began to tease Kato, making him smirk at her and drink his beer.

  He knew he sounded like an ass, but he was being honest, he needed someone strong by his side if he was going to lead successfully.

  Even though his heart was continuously yearning for Thea.

  Chapter 7

  Thea felt like she was driving herself crazy.

  She was sitting in her room, on her bed, with her cellphone in her hand. She was staring at it, trying to gain some strength and confidence, which never came. About half an hour ago, she’d decided that she wanted to call Kato and hash everything out. They still hadn’t talked since the other night, and she missed him. She’d never gone this long without talking to him, and she couldn’t help but feel like it was her fault.

  However, once she decided to call him, she completely chickened out. And now she didn’t know what she was supposed to do.

  A knock on her bedroom door relieved her from trying to sum up the little bravery she had at the moment.

  “Come in!” Thea yelled, sighing and laying back down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling as Annie dropped onto the bed beside her, both of them lying next to each other and not talking for a few seconds.

  “I saw Kato today,” Annie said, breaking the silence.

  “How is he?” Thea asked, wincing slightly when she realized how desperate and whiny she sounded. She closed her eyes in embarrassment, hoping that Annie wouldn’t pick up on it.

  “He’s fine,” Annie said, not mentioning the way Thea acted. Thea knew that Annie noticed, though. Nothing got past Annie.

  “Oh, that’s good,” Thea mumbled. A little part of her wanted Annie to say that he was miserable without seeing Thea. After all, Thea felt miserable without seeing him.

  “I have some major gossip, but you can’t tell Kato I told you,” Annie said, making Thea turn on her side to look at Annie instead of the ceiling.

  “I promise, now tell me,” Thea said, excited. Maybe Kato told Annie about what happened? Maybe he felt . . . something? Something like what Thea was feeling?

  “When I went to see my father at the bar today, I saw Kato. Guess who he was talking to?”

  “Who?” Thea began to get a worried feeling in her stomach.

  “Britta,” Annie almost whispered.

  “Britta? The girl that’s slept with almost every shifter in the Moonlight Pack?” Thea knew exactly who Annie was talking about, even if Britta didn’t even know about Thea’s existence. Annie had told Thea all the drama in the pack since Thea found out about shifters when they were in high school. Britta, while friends with both Annie and Kato, was known for her extracurricular activities when it came to males.

  “Yep, that’s her.”

  “Why was he talking to her?” The dark feeling that was in Thea’s stomach seemed to grow as they continued the conversation, making Thea almost sick to her stomach. She really didn’t want to hear what Annie was going to say. Thea knew there was only one reason Kato would be “talking” to Britta.

  “Evidently he’s looking for a mate because my father has been talking about him being the next alpha. He wants to be all settled down and stuff before he takes on the role, I guess. I was just so surprised he chose Britta, you know? She’s strong, sure, she may be one of the strongest female shifters we have in the pack. But as a mate? As an alpha’s mate? As Kato’s mate? I don’t know. What do you think?”

  Thea turned her head back to the ceiling, not wanting Annie to see the hurt that she knew was in her eyes. It felt like someone had torn her heart out of her chest, then continued to stomp on it as she watched in disbelief.

  She felt like she was going to break into tears. How could Kato go from making out with her to trying to find a mate in a shifter like Britta? Not that there was anything wrong with Britta. She just wasn’t Thea–she wasn’t her. Britta didn’t know anything about Kato, but Thea did. She knew him better than anyone else.

  “I think that she would be good for Kato,” was all Thea could say. It was all she could get out, and she somehow managed to without choking up, to her surprise.

  She thought Kato had went to Britta just for sex. The truth hurt even worse.

  Chapter 8

  Kato regretted drinking all day yesterday, but he couldn’t help it. He needed something to help him with his roaming mind. He needed something to get his mind off of Thea, even though the alcohol just made him miss her more.

  But now that he was at work the next morning after he went out on a bender, he regretted it. His head was pounding slightly, and even though he wasn’t as hungover as he should’ve been (had he been human), he still felt the effects of the bottles of vodka he drank.

  He was making his rounds and checking on all of his patients when he saw him walking towards him. Jake. Thea’s ex. And the last person he wanted to talk to right now.

  “Hey, man,” Jake said as he walked up to him, stopping in front of Kato’s path so that he had to stop walking and listen to him. “Could we talk really quick? It’s about Thea.”

  “What about Thea?” Kato asked, his eyes narrowing.

  Jake and Kato weren’t friends, they were far from it. Kato had hated Jake the day he met him, and when Jake and Thea eventually got together, Kato wanted to scream in rage. Jake was just a typical asshole that thought he was the smartest human being around, which he really wasn’t. Jake always thought that Kato had it out for him, and even though Kato continuously denied this, Jake was kinda right. Kato did have it out for him.

  And now that he knew the guy was a dick to Thea, Kato was more determined than ever to make him pay in some way.

  “Well, I guess you know by now that we broke up,” Jake told him, running his fingers through his blond hair. Kato had never wanted to punch him in the face as much as he wanted to right then.

  “Yeah, I heard she was sick of your shit and broke up with you,” Kato replied, grinning and crossing his arms over his chest. He felt his white lab coat tighten around his arms as he crossed them, his muscles straining against the fabric.

  “I just want to make sure she’s okay,” Jake said, growing serious and ignoring the insults that Kato was throwing his way. “She’s been a bit . . . well, a bit off recently. And I’m afraid that with our relationship over now, she may do something drastic or stupid.”

  “Wait, let me make sure I have this right,” Kato said, sarcastically laughing and holding up a hand to stop Jake from talking. “You now are worried about Thea, after she broke up with you. And you think that her breaking up with you means that she has to be messed up in some way?”

  Jake held up his two hands and shrugged. “It doesn’t make sense. It came out of nowhere.”

  “No, Jake, it didn’t,” Kato growled, taking a step forward and getting slightly in Jake’s face. “Maybe if you’d worried more when you guys were actually together, maybe if you cared about her more than you care about yourself, maybe then Thea wouldn’t have broken up with
you. Oh, wait–no, she still would’ve. Breaking up with you was the best thing Thea has ever done.”

  “You don’t have to be a dick about it, Kato,” Jake said angrily, taking a step forward in a menacing front. Kato genuinely laughed. They both knew that if they got in a fight, Kato would win. Hands down.

  “Is everything okay here, doctors?” their head physician asked, standing next to both of them with a glare on his face.

  “We were just messing around,” Kato said, slapping Jake’s back hard. He grinned when he saw him wince. “We’re fine now. But great chat, Jake. I hope we don’t have any more.”

  Kato shoved him slightly to the side and continued to walk to check on the rest of his patients that had just gotten out of surgery.

  As he went about his day, Jake’s words stuck in his head, making him angry. But he became worried about Thea. Was Jake right? Was Thea having a hard time from the Elders? Of course, Jake wouldn’t know about that, so he wouldn’t understand why Thea was acting so weird.

  Kato instantly grew worried that Thea wasn’t dealing with the whole situation well. But, why would she? She’d never seen the Elders before, and their appearance alone was freaky. Having old guys that looked like they’d been alive for centuries come and try to take her away to their secret science lab where they were going to wipe her memory probably frightened Thea more than he realized.

  Kato felt like the worst friend in the world. He couldn’t believe that Thea had been struggling with this for this long, and he couldn’t believe that Jake was able to recognize it but Kato hadn’t. Determined to finally go see Thea after their awkward silence that neither of them seemed to be able to break, Kato impatiently waited until he could finally leave work for the night.

  He needed to see Thea. He needed to make sure she was okay.

  And, maybe a bit selfishly, this gave him a good reason to finally have a reason to go see her without making it awkward.

  As he walked to his car after work, his heart began to beat faster and faster in his chest. He realized that he couldn’t wait to see her.

  Chapter 9

  The last person Thea expected to find at her bedroom door was also the last person she wanted to see there.

  Kato.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked him, wrapping her robe tightly around herself, not wanting to show him any of her skin. She was beyond pissed at him for everything she’d heard about him and Britta, even though she knew that she had no reason to be mad at him.

  “I wanted to talk,” Kato told her, clearing his throat, his eyes quickly meeting hers after looking over her entire body.

  She was wearing her silk pajamas that she loved–and that also covered nothing. They were perhaps the tiniest shorts ever, and the silk tank top was tight and clearly showed the size and curve of her breasts. She knew that Kato had seen her in them before she could grab her silk robe that went with the pajama set, but the robe just hit to her upper thigh, so her legs were still out for him to look at.

  And she couldn’t lie, the way his eyes had roamed all over her body as she put on her robe made her smile inside. But she wouldn’t let him see it. She was still mad.

  “Okay, talk about what?” she asked him, closing her bedroom door behind him so that Annie or Lukas wouldn’t be able to hear. She, of course, knew exactly what he wanted to talk about, but she could play dumb. She tucked a stray piece of her blonde hair back behind her ear when it fell loose from her high ponytail.

  “Have you been struggling with dealing with the whole Elder situation?” Kato asked, throwing her for a loop. That was the last thing she thought he was going to say. “And don’t lie to me.”

  Thea scoffed and walked away from him, though she could only go so far in her bedroom. She turned around, angry that he would even ask her that. All she could currently think about was Britta. She didn’t want to talk about the Elders or how she’d been dealing with it. “That’s none of your business,” she scoffed to him.

  “Thea, I want to help you. What happened that night . . . You should’ve never been in that position to begin with,” Kato told her, concern filling his eyes as he walked towards her. Thea backed up slightly.

  “Okay, then answer me this,” Thea said, wanting to change the conversation and feeling her anger towards him come rushing back. “Are you thinking about asking Britta to be your mate?”

  Kato stared at her in shock. “How did you . . .? Annie.”

  “You didn’t think you should tell me about this?”

  “Thea . . .” Kato trailed off as he saw the look in her eyes. She knew he could tell that she was holding back tears, and she didn’t care at this point. He’d hurt her. He should know that. They’d never had secrets between each other before, and she didn’t want to start now. Even if that meant that she would end up embarrassing herself by admitting that she had begun to feel something for him.

  “You didn’t think that I would be a little hurt by what you did?” Thea asked him, her voice going quiet as she stared at him, her arms crossed. “We kissed. We . . . and then you just go and decide that maybe you should mate with Britta?”

  “You’re a human,” Kato choked out. Thea couldn’t read his face, but it looked like he was in shock. It also looked like he was keeping his emotions at bay, and she hated that he had to do that with her now. When did they stop trusting each other?

  “When did that become a problem?” she asked him, in disbelief.

  “When the Elders came and tried to take you away from me!” he yelled, making her jump. His sudden shift in emotions frightened her slightly, and she watched him warily as he began to pace in her bedroom, his hands covering his face.

  “Kato,” she whispered, gaining enough courage to walk over to him and put her hand on his back. He instantly stilled from her touch, and she turned him around so that she could look him in the eyes. She pulled his hands down from his face, looking into those deep brown eyes that she knew so well. “I don’t think I’m the only one that’s having a hard time dealing with the whole Elder situation, huh?”

  “It scared the shit out of me,” Kato breathed, not blinking as he stared into her icy blue eyes. He squeezed her hands in comfort. “I thought I was gonna lose you.”

  “I know,” she whispered.

  “Thea, I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself if I lose you.”

  She pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around his torso and resting her head on his chest. She could feel the tears that she had been holding back slide down her face, but when Kato kissed the top of her head and wrapped his big, strong arms around her, she didn’t feel as sad anymore.

  Thea gently pulled away after a few seconds, looking up into Kato’s eyes. She was so small next to his tall frame, and she loved the way he continued to hold onto her, almost like he was afraid to let go.

  “Do you really want Britta to be your mate?” she quietly asked him, trying to sound strong and not at all as hurt as she was.

  “No,” he told her honestly, making her heart beat faster with happiness. “But you’re human, Thea. I’m not supposed to feel like this towards you.”

  Thea’s heartbeat quickened even more, and she knew that she was red from head to toe. Kato still held her, and he was now watching her face to see what emotions she showed there.

  “So what?” Thea finally said, feeling brave.

  “What do you mean, ‘so what?’” Kato repeated, confusion evident in his eyes.

  “I mean, so what? So, I’m human. Big deal. Tell me to my face that things haven’t changed between us in these last few weeks. Tell me that everything is fine and normal and that it’s all in my head.”

  “Thea–”

  “Tell me.”

  Kato sighed, staring at her intensely. “I guess I can’t.”

  “Okay,” Thea said, nodding while also trying to stay calm now that they both had put their real feelings out into the universe. After staring at Kato a few seconds longer, she realized that there was no going back n
ow. They either forgot or ignored their feelings, or they acted on them without looking back. And Thea knew that she wanted to act on them.

  So slowly, very gently without taking her eyes off of Kato, Thea undid her robe and let it drop to the floor below. Kato quickly took a sharp breath as he saw the thin fabric that she was wearing that barely covered anything.

  Thea could feel that black silk fabric covering her body, and she stepped closer to Kato when she saw him unable to stop looking at her breasts.

  “So what?” she whispered to him again, taking his hands and gently putting them on her breasts, helping him make the first move that she could tell he desperately wanted to make.

  When Kato leaned down and hungrily kissed her, she knew there was definitely no going back now.

  Chapter 10

  Kato couldn’t believe what was happening. He came to Thea’s to make sure that she was okay, but when he saw her in that tiny silk pajama combo, he almost lost it then and there. Somehow, he was able to keep it together. That is, until Thea started talking and making him lose focus. He knew he was quickly unraveling when she hugged him, and he knew that what they were about to do was going to change their friendship forever.

  But he couldn’t think about that right now. All he could think about was the feel of her hands on his chest, the light touch of her lips that made him want more. And when she brought his hands up to her perky breasts, it took everything in him to try and keep himself under control.

  Kato wrapped his arms around Thea’s tiny waist, pulling her towards him so that her body was now pressed up against his completely, with no space in between them. He lifted Thea’s small frame up so that he could kiss her better, as she was so short compared to him.

  As he lifted her up, he slowly walked over to her bed, gently laying her on the mattress and hovering over her, not breaking their kiss. Her body felt so good against his, and it took all his strength to pull away slowly so that he could take off his t-shirt.