Ronan's POV
The pen scratches across the paper as I sign the Pack Funds Allocation, Budget form, and add it to the growing pile of forms on my desk. My ears perk up at the sound of the pack training outside. I shove the chair behind as I stand, walking to the window to look out at my family. That's what my pack is, one big family.
I have done a lot, sacrificed a lot for this pack and they rewarded me with their undying loyalty. Most Alpha's constantly look over their shoulder for the next power-hungry member to attempt to overthrow them. I saved them from the wrath and rule of my uncle by taking him out. He was a vicious and cruel Alpha. Countless pack members were tortured, and some killed just for sport under his rule. Lower ranking women, Omegas were brutally raped and sodomized for his pleasure.
My Father was the rightful Alpha to the Blood River Pack and my uncle, his Beta. The truth came out that my parents died at the hands of my uncle and that is when my plan to avenge my father came to fruition. I was going to kill my uncle and give this pack an Alpha worthy of their loyalty. An alpha who would treat them with respect instead of treating them like they only existed for the purpose of serving his needs.
It was with the help of my best friend and Beta, Xander that I was able to take down my uncle. Neither of us were strong enough to physically take him down at the time. All it would take is for him to order us to stand down and the battle would have been lost before it started. A local witch took a liking to Xander and created a potion to subdue his wolf long enough for us to overpower him. The potion was given to him by his chosen Luna, Katerina. She rubbed the potion into her skin so he would ingest it while forcing himself and his mark upon her. His wolf fought within him to get free, but to no avail. I slit his throat and watched him bleed out.
My guilt is overwhelming as I think of Katarina. Her efforts to help us backfired when the potion entered her bloodstream through his mark and permanently bound her wolf, leaving her unable to ever shift again. She remains with us of course, but I can feel her sadness and emptiness when the pack shifts for our daily training. I have been searching for a way to undo the potion, but so far, we have had no luck.
Olivia, the witch who helped us has been trying different potions to unbind Katarina's wolf, but just like Katarina I am starting to lose hope. I send a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess. It is not fair that she should suffer. She suffered enough at the hands of my uncle, and I won't stop until I find a way to release her from her anguish.
A knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts. I know who it is just by his scent, "Come in Xander."
The door opens and in walks my best friend and Beta.
"Sorry to disturb you, you have a call," Xander explains as he comes to stand beside me.
"Who is it?"
He raises an eyebrow, "It's Pete."
Pete? I haven't heard from Pete in ages. Pete was a member of our pack during my uncle's reign. My uncle killed his entire family including his infant sister while he was away visiting his aunt. When he found out, he denounced our pack and went rogue. We stay in touch every now and again, I even invited him back into the pack, but it was too hard for him to come back home knowing that his family was killed here.
I walk over to my desk, pick the phone off the receiver, and press the blinking button that indicated there was a call on hold.
"Hey Pete, it's been a while. What's up?"
I was expecting to be greeted by Pete's mellow voice, but instead I was greeted by a man wolf having a panic attack. I listened to him recount the events that led him to calling me. He needed my help and I felt obligated to help him and his rogue companion.
"I see. You know you have my help Pete, but you know what has to be done before you can cross into pack territory. Is that something you are really ready to do?"
It has to be something serious if he is willing to give his loyalty to me as his Alpha and is willing to rejoin the pack.
"Does your rogue friend know what needs to be done? I will not force it upon anyone, you know that" I remind him.
He promises that he will inform his friend what needs to be done when the time is right. I will have to trust his word on that.
"Alright, Xander and I will pick you up from the airport. Be careful and we will see you soon."
When I return the phone to the receiver, I hear Xander come over, "What's up?"
"We are gaining two more members. Pete needs our help with a female rogue he is friends with. Seems some Vamper's want to turn her into a meal."
"Yikes. Are you sure you want to take on Vamp's for someone we don't know?"
I nod, "If they are after her, then they are after Pete. I won't leave Pete to defend himself. Not after everything my uncle took from him. Have the Omega's clean two rooms for them on the second floor. I want to keep them close until we know for sure what we are up against. Their flight leaves in an hour, which gives us 12 hours to meet them at the airport. I have to run patrol so I will be back in a few hours."
Xander bows, "Yes, Alpha," and then leaves to get to work.
I follow Xander down the steps. He turns right when we reach the second floor and waves as I continue down. I step through the patio door and begin to undress and place my clothes in a drawstring bag and then secure the bag around my neck before shifting.
My wolf, Ghost is the perfect predator. His fur is white as snow, his eyes a piercing blue. His appearance lures people in with a false sense of security, but what you don't see from his appearance is the hidden monster within. Ghost is a vicious hunter and an even more vicious protector. Even some of our pack members cower at the sight of him in training.
I take off, heading for the wood line surrounding the packhouse. There hasn't been any activity along our borders in months with exception to a murder that happened two days ago, but we won't let our guard down. It's when you get comfortable that attacks happen. So, we run the border patrols every day, taking shifts every four hours. It's great exercise anyway, even if no one tries to cross into our territory.
I pause just inside the wood line and sniff the air, trying to locate my men. I mind link Trinity, the lead patrol on dayshift, "Trinity, what's your location?'
"Running the East border, Alpha.," I hear her reply, slightly winded from the run.
"Got it. I'll cover the West side," I say before ending the link, leaving it open for incoming messages.
I switch direction, heading toward the western border of the property, picking up the pace until I am running at full speed.
I love running. Ghost loves it more than I do. The dirt and moss beneath our paws, the wind blowing through our fur, and the smell of damp earth and cottonwood trees act as adrenaline, getting us more excited to be out in the open.
I exit the woods and enter the clearing on the western border of my pack lands and scan the area for signs of intruders. Nothing.
I release a soft howl into the wind before running along the border. All is quiet for now, but my instincts tell me that it won't be quiet for long.
Willow's POV"Here, it's not much, but it's the best I can do with not having a female in the house," Pete says as he hands me a pair of sweatpants and an old Led Zeppelin T-Shirt.I smile graciously, "My go to kind of outfit. Thanks Pete."He shows me upstairs to the bathroom, "You can shower in here. Towels and washcloths are in the closet here," he says pointing at the tiny linen closet just inside the bathroom door."Thanks again, Pete. I don't know what I would do without you."Pete smiles slightly before wrapping his arms around me in a hug, "You are not just a friend Willow. You are family. No thanks are needed."I nod my head at his reply. I may not know where I came from or who my relatives are, but Pete really is the closest thing I have to family. I hope one day that will change and that I will get to know my blood family one day, if they still exist, but Pete, he will always be family to me. I close the door behind him and lock it out of hab
Ronan's POV"All good things must come to an end," I hear Xander say as I pull my shorts on.He is right though. I love running just as much as my wolf does. It's invigorating. The only downfall is the repetitive need for showers due to my wolfs love of rolling around in the mud."Tell me about it. Have you heard anymore from Pete?'Xander nodded briefly, "He sent a text. They safely boarded and should land around noon tomorrow.""Good. I'm going to hit the shower and then try to finish some paperwork. Let me know if anything else comes up," I direct as I make my way up the stairs to the third floor."Most Alpha's save the rooms and offices on the first floor for themselves because of the convenience. I opted to have my quarters on the highest floor, away from prying eyes and ears. Every night the nightmares come. I relive the nightmare of my parents’ death and the night that I killed my uncle and cost his mate her freedom. It's a horror movie on
Willow's POVI wake to Pete nudging me softly. We had arrived in Montana, and I slept through most of the flight. I lift my head from Pete's shoulder and rub my eyes to adjust."Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."Pete chuckles, "It's all good. Did you sleep well?"I nod my head and move to stand in the aisle with everyone else waiting to exit the plane. I look back at Pete. His eyes are puffy and red, and he looks exhausted."Did you get any sleep at all?" I ask, genuinely concerned about my friend.His reply is a short grunt which tells me that he didn't, and he didn't want me to ride his ass for it. Well tough titty said the kitty."Pete, we were safe on the plane. You should have tried to get some sleep. I appreciate that you want to help me, but never hurt yourself in the process. You look like shit."He nudged me forward without saying anything. Once we are off the plane and inside the airport, Pete pulls me to the side and whis
Ronan’s POVGhost is on a warpath in my head, trying to take control. Hearing Willow deny being our mate stirred him up and made him determined to mark her right then and there, whether she was willing or not. That is the last thing I want. She may be an infuriating woman but marking her while she resists will make it physically painful for her and I don’t think that will help make her trust us. If anything, it could scare her away and I have waited too long for my mate to let her go.She seems to like Xander well enough. Maybe I can get him to put in a good word for me. I put the car in drive and continue down the old dirt road to the packs medical examiner’s office. Hopefully Charles completed his examination. It may help us in figuring out who did this to her. Everything about this case from the outside looking in, screams wolf attack but, I can’t shake the feeling that there is more to it. If it was one of my pack members, it brings a whole
Willow’s POVRonan holds my door open and patiently waits for me to climb down out of the SUV. When he closes the door behind me, I start, “If this about me pledging my loyalty to you and the pack I-,” he cut me off.“I know that we got off on the wrong foot and that right now you are not sure about me. It was selfish of me to demand loyalty from someone who has never met me before today and I know you don’t want it to be true, but you are my mate, Willow. That fact alone means that what is mine is yours, including the protection and loyalty of my pack. So, with that said I am not requiring your pledge for you to enter. I would much rather have you get to know me and trust me before pledging your loyalty. Otherwise, I am no better than the alpha before me.”I think for the first time in my life I am speechless. This was a deal breaker for him earlier and now all of a sudden, it’s not. I look at him suspicio
Ronan’s POVAfter showing Willow to her room, I walk Pete to his. I decide to make the most of the short trip by picking Pete’s brain on how to get her to let me in, but I don’t know where to begin. Pete stops mid-stride and looks back at me.“I may have been gone for ten years Ronan, but I know you enough to know when something is on your mind. What is it?”Pete has always been a friend to me, even though he left the pack and didn’t come back until now. I am happy to have him back. He isn’t the same gullible teen that he was when he left, I’ll give him that. He saw right through me.“It’s Willow. Ghost is going crazy wanting me to mark her. I feel the pull to her as I should, but is it possible that she doesn’t feel it? Or that she doesn’t know that I am her mate?”“I think she knows it, but she just isn’t ready to have a mate yet.”I sigh, &ldqu
Willow’s POVI 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