I never imagined I would be sitting in Charles McKenna's office. It was even more unbelievable than Sloane and I being fated mates, destined for one another by the Goddess. I had always known we were meant to be together, regardless of the Goddess choosing her for me. She would have been mine with or without divine intervention. “Son,” Charles said, and my lip curled up in disgust. “Don't call me that,” I snapped, feeling my anger instantly fade as Sloane laced her fingers with mine. Taking a deep breath, I tried again. “I am here out of respect for your daughter, nothing more.” “I understand that,” Charles said, staring at my hand in his daughters. “However, now that you are mated, we will want to discuss a treaty.” I felt my beast bristle at the idea of being connected to this man and his pack by more than just Sloane. He didn’t have anything to offer me that I couldn’t find elsewhere, but as we were a new pack, we needed support and fast. I was resistant to having an alliance
I hugged Aiden one last time, not ready to let go as I stood under the midday sun by the pond with Greyson. My little brother had insisted on walking me back, but this was the farthest he wanted to go. I wouldn't admit it to him, but I was secretly happy he had come with me. I wasn't ready to say goodbye, even if it was only temporarily.I hadn't been exiled, but I was moving away, about to start a new life and my own family.Aiden, Ellie, and I would still be close, but not as close as before. There was no way for us to continue as we once were. Our relationship, as it was now, spending every day together would be brought down to texts, phone calls, and the occasional visit.Although, I was hoping to have Aiden come stay with Greyson and me whenever he wanted.I had the feeling Ellie wouldn't be staying at my parent's place long. She was eighteen and old enough to receive a mark if Declan chose to gift her with one.I anticipated that would be soon so Ellie could avoid going through t
Four months later: I couldn't help but giggle as Freya, and I slumped back onto the couch. The giddy excitement caused me to sound pretty unstable, but I couldn't calm down if I wanted to. I was too excited for Greyson to get home. He had been out all day, running patrol and helping the pack fix Earl's house. The poor, grumpy old man had broken his good leg trying to cliff dive with the pack after having a few drinks and could no longer justify refusing the changes that needed to be made in his home to make it more accessible. Due to his age, his healing was slower than most wolves, but he was determined to refuse help…not that anyone listened to him. The pack had rallied together and gathered all of the necessary tools to make his two-story home more usable. He reluctantly gave in under the condition that we rip it all back out once his leg healed in a few weeks. Jessi was busy with the diner, so she hadn't had the time she would have needed to help Earl around his house, even th
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey! I have loved writing Sloane and Greyson's story and seeing all your comments, votes, and reviews. I read every comment and appreciate all of you for the feedback and engagement. As most of you know, I normally love to write other character's stories to continue the series like I did in The Alpha's Girl Series and The Beast and The Blessed Series. Sadly, this book did not perform as well as I had hoped, and I must move on with new characters and a new world, so this will be a stand-alone novel.I love and appreciate you all so much! Thank you! I'll see you soon with my next book release over the next month!
A branch scraped my arm as I raced through the trees, a wide smile on my face as I could hear the guards trailing after me. They wouldn't catch me. No one ever had. I prided myself on my speed. It came in handy when I needed to escape, as I had to now. Running was nothing new to me. I enjoyed escaping for a day or two at a time and being surrounded by nature. "Stop!" One of the men shouted from behind me, and I rolled my eyes and pushed myself to move faster. Whether they remained on two feet or shifted into their fur, it didn't matter. They wouldn't catch me, and they knew it. The scrape on my arm tingled as my body healed, and I was grateful it hadn't drawn blood. It would have made it too easy for them to track me if it had. I would have to be more careful if I were going to evade their attempts to drag me back to my father, the Alpha. Alpha was a bit of a loose term, as the other pack’s reported to him. He was their king. "Sloane!" The growl of frustration mixed with my name
The cold rush of water around me was refreshing, washing away the morning, but it caused my dress to wrap around my legs and restricted my movement. I pulled myself through the hole in the rock wall about six feet down, regretting not stripping out of my dress before diving in, but I didn't want him to get away without getting answers. The dress was slowing me down enough as it was. It could have been another decade before I saw him again. By then, I would be mated and probably would have been forced to pop out several children for the man my parents had given me to. Unable to use my legs, I used the rock walls to pull myself through the hole before reaching the other side and surfacing for a large gulp of air. The cave was cold and sent a chill through me as I drug myself from the water, kicking out my drenched skirt. But when I looked around, he was nowhere to be seen. "Why did you try to help me?" I called out, lifting the heavy, water-logged skirt as I looked around at the open
The castle was silent when I entered, and I tiptoed toward the stairwell. I knew I would be scolded for running away today, but my priority was getting to my room and changing out of my ripped and drenched dress. If my mother were to see me like this, her perfectly healthy heart would give out, and my father would send out an army to avenge me. They would probably call the pack doctor in to examine me and confirm whether I had been raped, and even though my lip had already healed, I would be checked from head to toe for injuries. I ran up the back stairwell on the balls of my feet, trying to stay as quiet as possible, but every breath I released sounded like an alarm bell blaring through the small passageway. Just as I reached the door to my room, my sister's opened just across the hall. "What happened to you?" Ellie asked, but there was no concern in her tone. She was still bitter about the contest, but I didn't understand why. She was only eighteen and still had plenty of time to
I couldn't get her out of my mind. Her scent…her taste. The soft gasp she released when my tongue slid across her bottom lip. Never in my life had I seen a mouth as perfect as hers, and I couldn't be satisfied with just one taste of those pouty lips. No man could be. The scent of her fear made her that much sweeter as her desire filled the air with it. She enjoyed our meeting as much as I had. It was exhilarating and tempting. There was something about her that my beast couldn't resist…that I couldn't resist. From the second I caught her scent at the pond, I wanted to claim her. She smelled so sweet, like a sugar cookie, and I had been desperate for a taste. So, I took one, but it wasn't enough. I didn't think it ever would be.Blood dripped from my hands as I moved through the small passageway, heading toward the water. The men who had scared her yesterday had been wise to run but stupid to think they could ever escape me. They were almost too easy to kill. It was disappointing.