Willow’s POV
I started when I awoke to the sound of people laughing downstairs, taking a minute to recognize my surroundings. I can’t believe I fell asleep so early. Usually, I am up all hours of the night. I stretch my arms up over my head and yawn, my body contracting to lengthen my stretch. I wish I could just stay in my room and ignore the world. It would be easier than having Alpha Ronan constantly pointing out that he is my mate. I know he is my mate. I’m not stupid. Both Harmony and I feel the pull, but I’m not ready for a mate yet. I still haven’t found anything out about my family yet and I cannot afford to get distracted. Now there is also the concern of dragging anyone else into this. Looking for my family almost got me killed and I won’t risk the lives of anyone else. Especially not the one who is supposed to be my mate.
I don’t want to reject him either. I want to accept him but not until all this is over with. Cal
Ronan’s POVThe seductively inviting taste of warm vanilla and citrus lingers on my lips where she kissed me, making my jeans a little too tight in the groin area. The one good thing to come from this sweet torture is that I know her wolf wants me just as much as Ghost and I want her and Harmony. The only thing standing in our way is Willow herself. I listened intently when she told Ghost why she wanted to wait to let us mark her. Foolish woman. Sure, losing someone after being mated hurts like hell, but doesn’t she see that we stand a better chance against these vampires if we are mated? Everything is enhanced. Our strength, bond, and pack all become stronger when Alpha and Luna are bonded. I just have to convince her of that somehow. Her reasons are selfless to an extent, but at the same time it could be considered selfish to allow me and my pack to potentially go to war while leaving them weaker than they have to be.Hopefully, she doesn&rs
Willows POVI shift my weight from one foot to the other as I wait for this awkward introduction to be over. I understand the politics behind Ronan announcing me to the pack as their Luna, but I hate being the center of attention. I would rather bury my head in the grass and wait for it to be over.“You may rise,” Ronan announces to the pack who was still obediently bowing their heads as a show of respect to their leader, “Pair up and start your warmups.”Not paying too much attention to what the rest were doing, I began to stretch my limbs on my own, bringing my left arm across my chest while pulling it closer to me with the right. Then I switch sides and do the same with my right.I look up and catch Ronan watching me, amused. I ignore him and begin stretching my legs, one after the other before sliding down into a scissor split, holding it for a few seconds before standing up and repeating the same with the other l
Chapter TwelveRonan’s POVI am breaking through that rough exterior of hers quicker than I thought I would. Having the mate bond is helping me too. She finds herself attracted to me and the pull from the bond is making it to where she can’t help herself. I am still going to tread lightly though. I want her to want me because she wants me, not because the Moon Goddess decided that she will. I like that she is feisty and determined. She will make an excellent Luna when she is fully ready to accept that responsibility.We already came up with new ideas for pack training that were inspired by her, and she is willingly helping me solve these murders that keep popping up. I don’t know how she can do her job. She sees dead bodies on a regular basis in her line of work. I haven’t seen a single dead body before these two popped up since I killed my uncle and even then, it was done by potion.I grab my clothes an
Willow’s POVI am not a fan of morgues. Usually when I see dead bodies it is at the crime scene, not in a morgue. Something about the atmosphere is off-putting, making the hairs on my arms stand on end. It’s feels as if my blood has been replaced with static electricity and it leaves a buzzing sensation underneath my skin. The last time we were here I chalked it up to nerves because of everything that had happened to bring me here, but now it is just making me uneasy.I’m following Ronan down the hall, staying as close to him as possible. The unease fades the closer I am to him. I reach out instinctively to grab his hand and he suddenly stops to stare at me.“Hey Doc, can you take Xander ahead. We’ll be right behind you. I need to speak with Willow,” Ronan asks Doc with a seriousness to his tone that added to my tension.Doc gives Ronan a brief nod and signals Xander to follow him. Ronan pulls me into an o
Ronan’s POV“Call Doc and put him on Bluetooth, now!” I bark at Xander, who is trying to get us home as fast as he can.He just sped past a car, cutting it off, causing the other driver to spin out of control. Xander glanced back as if he was unsure if he should stop to make sure the other people were okay. I shot him a glare that told him about my opinion on the matter. Call me crazy, call me selfish, I don’t care. All I care about is making sure that the woman currently writhing in my lap is okay. I just found her and even though she isn’t interested in having a mate, she was starting to come around and I will be damned if I am going to lose her now because of some traffic jam.Xander weaves in and out of the cars traveling in the same direction, and I hear him talk to his phone, “Call Doc.”The phone connects and I hear the phone ringing through the radio before Doc’s shaky voice comes over
Chapter FifteenWillow’s POVI am greeted by the sound of soft snoring when I open my eyes. I look around the unfamiliar room, wondering where I am. It smells like the pack house and Ronan’s scent is everywhere, even all over me I notice as I bring my arms up over my head to stretch.My whole body hurts as if I had run a twenty-mile marathon. A loud snort draws my attention to the other side of the room where I see Ronan asleep at his desk with his head resting on the keyboard of his laptop.This must be his room but how did I get here? I gently toss the blankets off me. Who undressed me? I was completely nude except for a big black t-shirt that smelled strongly of Ronan. I panic and reach up to touch both sides of my neck, feeling for a mate mark. Shoo, he didn’t mark me. Ronan promised he wouldn’t do anything without my consent, but I don’t trust Ghost fully.I climb down fr
Ronan’s POVI seriously messed up last night. I don’t know what came over me. I know that her has no romantic feelings for Pete whatsoever but having her be so comfortable around him and so happy to see him but unwilling to even share a room with me set Ghost off in my head. He is getting impatient waiting on her to let us mark her. It is getting harder everyday because I am determined to honor her wishes and Ghost wants to drop everything to find her family so he can mark her.Even now he is kicking against the barrier that separates us, trying to get me to lay in bed beside her and hold her. When I heard her breathing slow and even out, I picked the lock to the closet and carried her out to my bed. Knowing she wouldn’t be okay with sleeping next to me, I made a bed of blankets and pillows on the floor beside the bed, not wanting to be too far away from her.There is nothing angelic about this fiery woman, but I will be damned if
Willow’s POV“Thanks, Xander. Having something to take my frustration out on really helped. I am sorry about knocking it’s head off those. That kind of put a damper on my fun,” I say as I walk into the kitchen and grab a cup and pour myself some coffee.Not really knowing my way around this kitchen, Xander reached into the cabinet above my head and brought out the sugar and then he grabbed the bottle of French vanilla creamer from the fridge.“Nah, that is definitely not the first time we have beheaded a dummy around here.” He laughed.I look over at Pete who is sitting at the table by himself. I know Ronan was just here because I can still smell his scent fresh in the air.“Hey Pete. Are you okay?” I ask.He gives me a half-hearted smile, “I’m just thinking is all.”I plop down in the chair beside him, and he subtly leans away. I feel a twinge of anger because I know that Ronan’s display last night is what made him afraid to be too close to me.Pushing those thoughts away I ask, “Thi