Andrei

The excitement still feels fresh, my entire body is buzzing. All that, and more, because I know that now, Sage is mine and officially the pack’s Luna.

I am woken by her wrapping her body around mine as she gets comfortable in her sleep. Her leg hooks over my waist, and I am more than content with the thought of remaining in bed with her all day, snuggled up close to her.

We are finally getting somewhere, and she trusts me. If she didn't, Sage would never have agreed to let me mark her or asked me to do it.

That knowledge alone is enough to make my blackened heart leap with joy. Rolling on my side to face her, I brush her hair over her shoulder to admire my mark that lies etched into her flesh. I don’t think there is anything more rewarding or exciting than the sight of my mark, showing the entire world that she is mine. Mine and mine alone.

I brush my fingers over it, and she shivers, her eyes flutter open, and a sleepy smile spreads across her lips.

“Morning,” she whispers, snuggling closer and tucking her face under my chin. I hear her sigh as she inhales my scent.

My fingers trace lazily down her side to her hip. I don’t want to move, I am enjoying the sparks rushing over me everywhere her skin touches. My reaction to having her so close, with her naked body pressed tightly against me, is painfully obvious, I hope she doesn’t freak out. So for now I just enjoy the moment.

As time slips by, my pants become increasingly uncomfortable, and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes and shifts away from me. I remain still, soaking up as much of her scent as possible while silently dreading the moment she notices my situation.

Eventually, I will have to move, and she will freak out like she does every time. However, that scenario is something I really want to avoid, so I roll on my back with the intention of forcing myself out of bed.

Only when I try to escape Sage tugs me back. “Stay, it's still early,” she whines, and I stifle a laugh.

Sage never pouts or whines, but now that she does, I can’t say no to her as she refuses to let go of my arm and keeps trying to pull me closer. Laying back down I pat my chest and she moves, tossing her leg over me again and snuggling her head on my chest.

I try to cross my legs without her catching on, but her thigh brushes against me, and I freeze. Time stops as I hold my breath, expecting the worst to happen. It might be a meltdown, or her fear filling the room, or worst of all - she might have another panic attack.

“Is that why you were trying to leave?” Sage asks with a yawn, and she tries to cover her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Yeah, I didn’t want you to panic, so if you just let me up, I can go get rid of it and come back,” I offer her, but she shakes her head.

“It’s fine, Andrei. Unless you're uncomfortable.”

“Pretty sure I can manage.” I chuckle at her. Sage nods, her hand running up and down my stomach. My muscles tense at the trail of sparks her fingertips leave. “If you keep doing that, you will make me uncomfortable,” I warn her, grabbing her hand and bringing it to my lips to kiss her knuckles.

The newly forged bond connecting us lets me prod to gauge her emotions. One bonus of the mate bond, I can feel her emotions at long last. However, right now I can’t feel any nervous energy coming from her. Sage can feel me too, our bond must feel a hundred times stronger to her.

“It is stronger. She knows we won’t hurt her. She feels safe with us,” Donnie proudly tells me, and I can’t help but smile at his words.

At least she doesn’t think I am a monster, not in that sense, anyway. Sage doesn’t share the same opinion as everyone else, who believes I am the same dark Alpha, from a few months ago. Still, sometimes those urges spring up, but it is getting easier to fight them.

“Just remember to keep your head,” Donnie adds.

His insane urge to kill has completely faded. Not that he ever really shared the same bloodlust for their screams as I did. It has been gone ever since the moment we met Sage. Donnie's desire to hurt others is now a mere memory as if he has had a personality transplant. If only I were the same, yet I don’t think I will ever get rid of the hatred for them. I doubt I will ever rid myself of the anger that resides in me, patiently waiting to be unleashed.

“What are you thinking about?” Sage questions, propping herself up on her elbow and looking down at me. She presses the crease between my brows, smoothing it out with her index finger.

“Nothing and everything,” I admit as she peers down at me like she is trying to figure me out. There is a worried look on her face, one I hate seeing on her. I lift my hand and cup her cheek. She leans into my touch. “I’m fine, Sage. Sometimes I become stuck in my head."

She nods and leans down to press her lips to mine. She smiles against my lips when I nip at hers. My fingers tangle in her hair as I deepen the kiss. Her tongue brushes mine

softly when I pull her on top of me, her legs straddle me, and without thinking, I grab her ass before I realize what I have done a second too late.

Her heart rate spikes, yet she doesn’t pull away. Instead, she kisses me harder, her tongue fighting mine for dominance.

My dick throbs painfully with the crazed need to bury myself inside her. I pull away to break the kiss, but in response, Sage growls at me. It takes a moment for her to understand what she has done as I sit up. Her cheeks turn a light shade of pink in her embarrassment at riling me up more.

“Sorry, I don’t know why I did that,” she murmurs.

As the words leave her lips, her arousal surges through the bond. It smashes into me like a freight train, catching me completely off guard. But with it comes tingles of uneasiness.

“It’s the bond. The pull is stronger now,” I explain. She sighs, and I grip her chin, tilting her face back to mine. “Don’t be embarrassed, you’re supposed to feel like that,” I scold her, nipping her lips gently and sucking her bottom lip into my mouth.

She moans softly, pressing her body closer to me, and a deep purr escapes her throat. It vibrates in her chest while her arousal perfumes the room and I clutch her.

The scent is so foreign to me it burns through my senses. Sage never gets aroused. The closest she has gotten was when she let me eat her out. And yet, all I want and can think of is how much I wish to catch the whiff of this, every second of every day, for the rest of my life.

Usually, the only thing I get is the smell of her fear. She wraps her arms around my neck, deepening the kiss. I roll her hips against me, and she moans into my mouth.

I press her against the bed and move between her legs, and I press some of my weight down on her when Donnie warns me. “Don’t push her too far, Andrei. You know she sits on a blade's edge.”

“She seems fine,” I growl back at him.

“Because of the bond and Sierra, Sage is going off feeling now, and she will break if you keep pushing her too far,” he snaps at me.

I pull away from her lips and focus on trailing kisses down her cheek, jaw, and neck before letting her take my weight, my raging hard-on pressing against her.

A loud, heavy moan escapes her, and the next moment, she freezes. Her hand grips my hair, and she pushes her fear aside, but I don’t miss the slight tremble of her fingers when I suck on her mark. Her hips involuntarily grind against me, and I move away from her neck, aware that her reaction is caused only by me touching that spot.

Her hips are still as I nip and kiss her jaw. I quickly press my lips to hers and don’t let her pull me into another one of her tempting kisses. “We should stop,” I whisper. Her breathing is hard. Her lust-filled gaze focuses on my lips. I smile but stay strong and force down the desperate hunger that burns in my chest.

“Maybe we could try,” she suggests, but her nervousness creeps back in.

As much as I hate it, I understand I need to move away before I do anything that could send her spiraling back. But before I can act like a responsible adult, Sage rushes forward, pressing her lips to mine, and pulls me back to her. Once again, our lips lock, and I doubt I can hold myself back longer if she keeps tempting me like this.

I groan at her warmth pressed against my crotch, and feel her need for release. It overrides her as my hand moves between her legs. Her heart rate spikes again as I graze my fingertips against her slit. A low growl leaves my lips when I feel the moisture between her thighs.

“Mr. Andrei,” I hear a voice in the distance.

My body tenses, but I shake it off. I must be hearing things. Fuck, I hope I am because there is no saying when the next time Sage will allow me to touch her might come. This is already the second time she has given me the green light. I’m not willing to risk it.

“Mr. Andrei!” I hear a child's voice again, but this time, the child is screaming at the top of their lungs. Sage jumps, hearing it too, and then comes the knocking. That’s beyond odd. The steel door barely picks up noise.

“Is that?” Sage asks.

“Jonah,” I answer with an annoyed growl.

“Mr. Andrei!” The voice gets louder, and Sage giggles.

“Jonah likes you,” she points out, her lips twitching.

“He can’t help it,” I sigh as I roll my eyes at the unexpected visit of what I assume is now my new best friend. And yet as annoying as it is, I know it isn’t the boy’s fault, and I can’t blame him for anything.

Children, especially orphans, are drawn to auras they feel to be safest near. However, why he gets that from me is beyond me. I am far from approachable, even

I know that.

I get up, move to the window to wave him off or spot someone to tell him to go away. Only when I toss back the curtain, he is at the window, nearly making me jump out of my skin as he balances on the ledge on the second floor. Sage shrieks, scrambling to cover herself with the blanket.

“Jonah, what the heck are you doing? How did you get up here?” I demand, both terrified and amazed at the same time. This little brat is something else.

“The ladder,” he says, and I look out the window for a ladder but don’t see one.

My eyebrows furrow as I return my gaze to the boy. “What ladder? What are you doing?”

“This ladder?” He asks, pointing to the side, and I look where he is pointing. I shake my head and pinch the bridge of my nose with my fingers.

“That is a drain pipe, Jonah. Not a ladder. Now, get down from there, you don’t look through windows,” I scold him, and Sage giggles behind me like this kid didn't just become the biggest cock-block ever.

He grins at her. “Hi, Miss Sage,” he chirps, waving a little too enthusiastically as he leans too far back.

My heart nearly leaps out of my chest, and I step forward on instinct. My face smashes against the window when he nearly topples backward. A horrified shriek leaves Sage behind me before she exhales in relief when Jonah manages to catch himself.

I rub my nose and glare at him. Pain and initial panic aside, I’m glad the boy didn’t fall. “Jonah, enough. Now climb back down,” I snap.

Little shit is going to give me a heart attack. When his voice reaches my ears again, I turn as I watch him shuffle back to the drainpipe. “Mr. Andrei, I’m scared,” he whimpers. I roll my eyes as I watch him walk back to the window.

“You climbed up here, you can climb down,” I tell him as he clutches the drain pipe. He shakes his head, looking at the ground. He places his foot on the drainpipe

bracket, clinging to the pipe with his hands. The boy freezes and looks back at me.

“Climb down,” I repeat myself as I motion for him to go back down, but he shakes his head.

I can’t and don’t bother to hold back the growl of annoyance that leaves my lips. I was so damn close, so damn painfully close, and now, I have to deal with this. His little green eyes peer back at me pleadingly, and I roll my eyes at him.

“Fine, just hang on,” I growl, turn around, and stomp out of the bedroom, and down the steps. I unlock the door and march around to our bedroom window. Jonah is still clutching the drainpipe. I suppress the next growl that threatens to escape me.

I very much want to snap at the boy, at least for his recklessness. Didn’t he fucking think before he decided to use my house as his playground? He could get bloody hurt.

“Jonah, can you get down or not? That pipe will not hold my weight,” I warn him, shaking the thing gently. Maybe that will encourage him to get down. Worst-case scenario - he will understand how unsafe it is to cling to that thing and at least try to climb to somewhere safer.

Rushed footsteps echo behind me, so I look over my shoulder. “Jonah, I told you to leave the Alpha alone, what are you doing up there?” Malik growls at him.

“I’m stuck,” Jonah cries out, looking down at us. Malik facepalms himself right as a very frustrated sigh leaves his lips.

Me too, pal. Whatever you feel right now, I feel it too.

“I’m so sorry, Alpha. I told him to steer clear of here,” Malik apologizes.

“I wanted to tell Mr. Andrei about his packages,” Jonah whimpers, and by now, tears are rolling down his cheeks.

“Alright, that’s enough. You will be sitting in the naughty corner when you climb down!” Malik scolds, and I raise an eyebrow at him.

His head snaps in my direction. “What? That's what my mother did. It is better than getting the wooden spoon on my backside,” Malik shrugs.

I chuckle, and shake my head, looking back at Jonah. “Jonah, you had enough of playing around, and now, you climb back down,” I tell him, but he shakes his head.

I can’t fucking believe it. The little shit is actually going to make me climb up there and get him down. I wonder where he is hiding that massive audacity.

“Ah, God damn it, just hang on,” I tell him.

I test the pipe looking at Malik, who is obviously judging me for the slip-up that escaped me. “Should hold,” he says.

“Feel free to volunteer,” I tell him, and his eyes widen in horror.

Malik is half of my body weight, if not less, so the chance of him getting up there uninjured is far bigger than mine. However, he is terrified of heights and would rather bite off his own leg than climb anywhere higher than a damn stool.

I mutter a slew of curse words under my breath, and Malik snickers as I clamber up the pipe. It shakes as I climb up, and the thin metal brackets groan under my weight with complaining creaks as I dig my toes into them, pulling myself up to Jonah.

Once I get close enough, I grab the back of his shirt. Jonah turns to look at me, with tears streaking his face, but he is quick to act as he turns his body and clutches my shoulders.

Sage watches me from the window, wearing nothing but that skimpy dressing gown of hers. If there has ever been a moment I hate seeing a little more of my mate’s skin, it has to be this exact moment. How am I supposed to save a life, or I don’t know, a few bones if I’m distracted by the view?

However, once I notice how concerned she looks, I push aside every lustful and filthy thought that is trying to run through my mind. I had my chance, she insisted, and here I am, climbing a darn pipe.

As I try to take a step down, the bracket snaps under my weight, and the pipe pulls away from the wall. I feel myself fall backward, as the rush of adrenaline hits me, and courses through my veins.

Acting on instinct, I let the pipe go, gripping Jonah and shoving him to the center of my chest. I have to fight my instinct to turn and brace my hands out to break my fall. Jonah screams bloody murder, he is so loud that my ears ring right when I smack into the ground, landing on my back.

The impact smashes the air out of my lungs while the little shit is winding me further as his knees smash into my stomach as he lands on me.

I blankly stare at the sky—everything aches. My entire body is experiencing some sort of pain, and I don’t know where it starts or ends. For fuck’s sake, I’m pretty sure even my skin is throbbing, which I thought was impossible before this accident. My head throbs to its own beat as I smack it on the grass.

“Oh,” Jonah murmurs as his face comes into focus. Something warm and wet puddles on my stomach before dripping across my abdomen and sides. Donnie howls in my head with laughter, and Malik snorts out a laugh. I glare at him as he leans over us. “I think I peed a little,” Jonah whispers.

Malik erupts with laughter while I am not only fucking sore, but also drenched in piss. Just to make matters way better, it’s not even my own. Hell, I’d rather piss over myself than experience this, the kid just marked his damn territory on me.

Sitting up I groan, it’s not even just a little pee. The little brat lied. I feel like I could fill a jug if I twisted the piss out of my clothes.

Finally, Jonah scrambles off me. He glances over his shoulder, possibly to assess the damage of the bent pipe. As he does, he confirms my suspicion - I might be covered in his piss, but at least I’m not the only one drenched in it. So is he.

I groan and roll on my side right when Sage comes rushing out of the house. Her eyes are wide, even wild, and she looks like she is just about to have a panic attack. A look of relief crosses her face as I stand up, and her eyes dart between Jonah and me.

“Did you see Miss Sage? I flew off the window and didn’t even get hurt, not a scratch,” Jonah brags. I can’t believe it, but the little shit is actually grinning and acting like he’s some kind of a superhero, and this was merely some stunt or attempt at flying.

The only reason why Jonah didn’t get hurt is that I took the fall for him. In return, I get to watch him brag about his adventures to my mate. While I’m the one who is in pain, has some serious hearing damage, and on top of everything, I now can walk around smelling like a piss factory.

Malik is still laughing and tries to contain himself as he motions for Jonah to come to him. “That was very naughty, Jonah. You don’t climb houses, and you peed on the Alpha,” Malik adds, chuckling at the last part, and I growl at him.

“I need to shower!” I snap at no one in particular and stomp off back inside the house. No way am I letting them have a laugh at my expense.

Sage follows in my steps, snickering as if this situation is amusing her. I stop and turn to glare at her, and finally, she stops.

“Are you okay?” She asks, and she bites her lip, trying not to laugh.

“You think this is funny?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at her. Sage forces her lips together in a line and shakes her head, but I can feel her amusement.

Somehow, she manages to forget that since I marked her, I can feel her emotions. Let’s see how long her amusement lasts. I reach for her and wrap my arm around her waist to pull her towards me. Her heart rate spikes up, and her breath hitches when I press her body against mine. Sage shrieks and pushes on my shoulders.

I lean down to hide my face in the crook of her neck and inhale her scent. Sage relaxes in my arms. Just what I need so I can go in for the attack. I guide my tongue up her neck until my lips reach her ear, and I whisper. “Not so funny anymore now that you are covered in piss, too.”

Sage squirms in my hold, desperately trying to break free from my grip on her. When I finally take pity on her and I let her go, she chuckles. “It’s a little funny,” she admits weakly.

If I weren’t the one being peed on, I might manage to see the humor of the situation. Or at least what everyone else deems amusing, then I would watch from the side. But right now, in my situation, nope, I don’t see the funny side of what happened.

Instead of escalating the situation and providing more laughing material for my mate, I rub my ass and hiss under my breath—each step I take hurts. I’m literally aching as I walk. I feel like an old goddamn man. “My ass hurts,” I groan.

Maybe my beautiful mate will forget about what happened and will have enough decency in her to pity me a little. Only a little, after all, I saved that little shit, and he got a chance to pretend to be a hero at my expense. It’s about time I get some good words too.

“You’re not seriously jealous of Jonah?” Donnie snickers. I huff in annoyance, choosing to ignore him.

“Want me to rub it?” Sage chuckles, as she locks the door after us. She undoes her dressing gown and lets the fabric slide down her arms until she catches it. My eyes are drawn to her like a moth to a flame as I slowly drink in her body.

A smirk spreads across my lips as my eyes focus on her plump ass as Sage brushes past me. Since coming here, she has filled out nicely, with no more frail skin and jutting out bones. She turns and tosses her dressing gown in my face. I scrunch up my face in disgust as the smell of piss invades my nostrils and destroys the fantasies that are already building up in my mind.

Sage laughs at me and darts away. “I call dibs on showering first,” she squeals, racing up the steps.

I growl, toss the gown on the floor, and take off after her. She skids in her haste when she reaches the top step. My heart nearly stops as she slides across the floor. Sage corrects herself and giggles while I feel like I’m having a fucking stroke. That woman. What if she hurts herself?

Sage clearly uses my moment of hesitation as she takes off toward the bathroom door. I pick up my pace, and as she reaches out for the door handle, I catch up to her and snake my arms around her waist. She shrieks and quickly turns in my grasp.

“You weren’t about to lock me out, were you?” I accuse her.

Sage grins at me and wraps her arms around my neck. I swear, she has changed so much compared to how she was the day we met. Her confidence has grown, and she seems so much more relaxed these days. I enjoy every moment we spend together, even if she’s in the mood to tease the living hell out of me.

I reach around her, grip the door handle, twist it, and walk her backward into the bathroom with a growl. Sage realizes she hasn’t given me an answer, so she wiggles her eyebrows and whispers, “maybe.”

I lean in and nip at her lips.

Chapte Three

Andrei

As soon as we finish showering, to my displeasure, Sage leaves for training. I have a couple of things on my mind as my hands slide over her body in the

shower, but I suppose we have enough time to fulfill those fantasies later.

“Patience, Andrei, we’re still on thin ice with her,” Donnie snaps at me out of nowhere. I can’t say I am surprised by this, so I don’t react to his words.

I am aware of this fact. I know she needs time, and so do I, at least in a sense. Besides, I shouldn’t feel worried about anything; we marked each other. Now, our forever after begins.

While my amazing mate is busy learning new skills, I walk outside and head to check the packages that the couriers have dropped off.

Recently, we have had to order a few new traps. Of course, Sage disagreed with it when I brought the issue up, and she isn’t very supportive of the fact now that they have been delivered either.

But, she swears up and down that she understands that safety precautions are highly necessary, regardless of the amount of pack members we have. Plus, now we have these kids here, so she seems to be a little more lenient about the traps.

To be completely fair, I wouldn’t bother ordering any if it weren’t for the fact that someone stole the traps along the river a few weeks back.

Finally, the order is here, and I want to sneak them out to the forest before Sage gets back from training with Casen and Malik. I am not lying to my mate, just to be clear. I am being a tiny bit secretive not to worry her. Some things can stay as my business, so she can worry about Luna stuff.

Since Zane decided to have the day off so he can spend it with his mate, I suppose this task lies on my shoulders alone. Walking across the grass oval to the small post office, I see a few people about and nod to them as I pass by.

Today is turning overcast as the storm clouds roll across the sky. I look up at the clouds and hum to myself. I still should have plenty of time to get out there, and back in time.

As I pass by the huge old willow tree that sits dead center of our small town, I see Jonah facing the trunk, his chin propped on his hand and glaring at the tree as he plays in the dirt.

Ah, so this is where Malik ordered him to sit for a time out. And here I am, thinking his words are nothing but an empty threat. I guess I should be happy he didn’t go for that wooden spoon he mentioned earlier.

I shake my head and keep walking toward the post office, it’s not the right moment for me to get distracted and waste more time. Besides, Jonah kind of deserves that time out. If not for pissing all over me, which is disgusting, then at least for pulling off such a dangerous stunt.

I get it, the kid wanted to tell me something and be the first one to deliver the news, but let’s be real, he went too far with it.

As I get closer to the post office, some uncomfortable thoughts assault me. The small red and white building is the only one that wasn’t ruined during the attack. I can only assume it is because it was the only place that didn’t house anyone.

We use the building for more than one purpose. Aside from the post office, it is also a general store for backup and emergency supplies if the trucks are running late.

Everyone in the pack has their key to get in now that Martha, the lady that used to run it, is no longer with us. Yet another casualty of Jackson's pack and band of rogues.

As I grip the key and unlock the door, I find two medium-sized plastic tubs. I stack them on top of each other before grabbing them. Walking out, I am about to lock the door when I look over my shoulder at Jonah. Damn that little shit for looking so sad.

I groan and decide to grab him a juice box from the fridges in here. My eyes snap to the rows of dry foods, fuck it, we’re not missing much, so I add a small packet of chips. He experienced the scare of a lifetime, and even though it’s only him to blame, he’s still just a kid.

I place Jonah’s treats on the plastic tubs, step out of the building and lock it up. Grabbing the bottom tub by the handgrip, I head back across to the house, detouring slightly to the willow tree.

Right as I near the boy, Jonah looks up at me with a big, toothy grin splitting onto his face. “Malik said I have to wait here until training is over,” he says and then pouts. Jonah crosses his tiny arms in front of his chest and juts his bottom lip as if he is genuinely offended by the punishment. It amazes me how the boy makes it look like he’s suffering and it’s not his fault to begin with.

I huff as I place the tubs down and hand the juice box to Jonah. He smiles, jams the straw in it and slurps away before I hand him the salt and vinegar chips. “Now behave. I will be back soon to check on you,” I order, grabbing the boxes.

“Can I help?” Jonah perks up, sounding a little too eager for my liking. If I have to think back to the last time he tried to help someone it ended with some rather unpleasant experiences and a sore ass. Big, massive fucking pass on that.

I look over my shoulder and shake my head at the boy. “Nope, now stay here. You better be here when I return,” I tell him and walk off toward the house.

I skirt around the back to the treeline and place the boxes on the ground. Quickly, I scan the surroundings and then open them. I grab the traps out by the chains so they are easier to carry and stomp into the trees, heading for the river.

It takes me a good hour to hide and set up the traps. Placing the last one down and setting it, I stand up to stretch my back when I hear the chink of metal. Donnie excitedly jumps around in my head. He is wondering the same thing I am. Has something fallen prey to our traps? He urges me to investigate.

I creep back toward the last one, but it is still fine. But I stop dead in my tracks when I see Jonah standing there. The trap has been set at his feet, and he is trying to pry a large stick from it. The end snaps off, and he nearly falls backward on his butt.

I suck in a deep, very fucking frustrated breath as my lips press together in a thin line. Jonah spins around and jumps when he spots me standing behind him. “Jonah, what are you doing? Why did you leave your spot at the tree?” I demand answers from the boy.

At this point, I am struggling to keep my cool. I get it, he’s a kid and all that crap on top of it, but for fuck’s sake, he seems to be adamant to go above and beyond to ruin my day. Not to mention that he ignored what Malik told him, and now, he’s clearly ignoring commands from an Alpha.

“I wanted to help, but I kept finding these traps, so I set them off,” he boasts.

“How many have you set off, Jonah?” I ask through gritted teeth.

He thinks for a second and looks at his hands to count on his little fingers. “This many,” he says as he proudly holds up both hands, and then adds another finger.

I suppress the growl that really freaking wants to escape me as I keep reminding myself that I am facing a child. Jonah is only a child. Annoying little shit, but a child that doesn’t know better. “So, eleven?” I ask him, running a hand through my hair in obvious frustration.

Jonah nods. His eyes light up like he just did me an excellent service instead of making me waste an hour of my life setting them up.

“You were told to wait by the tree.” I remind him.

The boy averts his gaze to his feet and his shoulders slump. “I just wanted to help, and then I saw the traps when I was following your scent.”

“Why would you set them off, Jonah? You don’t play with bear traps,” I lecture him. I’m not sure if I’m that annoyed anymore since I think I’m a little concerned for the boy’s well being too. Anything could have happened to him.

Fucking hell, his leg might have been caught in one of those traps and he is still too young to heal without a wolf, so the process would likely take an immense amount of time and pain. Reckless little shit.

“Because someone left them out, and I didn’t want you to step on one. I was careful, I used a stick. My dad showed me how to set them off.” Jonah explains as he holds up

the stick he is clutching in his tiny hand. I can tell it has been chomped down considerably from the traps.

I rub a hand down my face, annoyed at this small creature and his troublesome ways.

“You can’t really be mad, Andrei, he thought he was helping,” Donnie prods me, and I sigh.

I give up. My wolf has a point. “Come on, it will rain soon,” I tell him.

Jonah jumps excitedly and immediately leads the way back. He runs off, which results in me jogging to keep up with him. I spot eight traps he has set off on the way back.

“Come on, Mr. Andrei,” Jonah waves as a playful giggle escapes him.

I roll my eyes and pick up my pace to catch up with him. All thanks to my goddamn luck, I step on something that is not ground.

The damn trap catches my leg, and the pain ripples across the lower part of my shin. “Mother fucking bitch ass fucker,” I swear as I drop on my ass to see my foot, caught in my own trap.

This day couldn’t get any damn better anymore. One goddamn adventure after another, all thanks to a little shit. He wants to help me? Help my ass, Jonah! I look at the trap, tightly trapping my leg and cutting into my flesh.

I punch the ground, furious at myself and the entire world. Jonah comes skipping back to me a few seconds later. He stops, freezes in his step, and stares at my leg. The boy’s face turns a little green at the sight of the blood, and I pray to the gods to save me from the risk of getting puked all over. Piss was enough from this boy.

On the bright side, as bright as it fucking gets, my leg isn’t broken. Sill, it fucking hurts like an ass fucking bitch, and right about now, I really want to strangle the life out of my little, oh so innocent helper.

“Jonah, are you sure you counted correctly? And why is this one moved?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“I found that one first, and I didn’t have a stick, so I moved it between the trees,” he murmurs as his little eyes widen in pure horror.

I push the springs down on either side of the trap, the jaws open up enough for me to get my foot out before they snap shut again. I look at my leg, fighting the urge to curse him out or whoop his bloody ass. My leg slowly starts healing and I carefully try to move it.

Everything seems fine, especially since I can still move it and there doesn’t seem to be too much damage, except for the blood loss, but then, I hear a soft thud.

My eyes snap in his direction. Jonah seems to be weak to the sight of blood. The boy has passed out on the ground, face down.

As I haul myself to my feet, I curse every living and dead creature for the luck that I have been having today. Of course, no one but me would have such damn luck - literally.

Although I think about leaving Jonah in the forest, just to teach him a lesson about what can happen to someone when they keep ignoring commands and try to escape the punishments they earn, but I can’t. Thunder rumbles across the sky, the storm is approaching us quickly, and Sage would kill me if she knew I left the little worm here.

I groan, bend down and grab him by the back of his shorts and shirt in my fist.

“Andrei, he is not a bag for you to fling around,” Donnie says disapprovingly as I trudge back toward the house.

I can already hear everyone frantically racing around, securing everything for the storm. Jonah comes back to his senses as I step out of the treeline.

“Weeee!” Jonah squeals, holding his arms out to his sides like a plane.

I chuckle at him, of course, he would think being wedgied and carried like a piece of luggage is fun. I get a few stares as I step between the houses. Jonah is waving at everyone when Malik spots us.

Malik’s mouth falls open and his body tenses. He takes a few seconds to recover from the initial shock, but once he’s back to his usual self, his lips purse with determination, and he marches over to us. “Jonah! I have been looking everywhere for you. Where have you been?”

I place Jonah on the ground, and he scrambles to his feet, looking up at an angry Malik. “I was helping Mr. Andrei,” Jonah beams as he points his finger at me like I’m some animal.

I scoff and Malik's eyes dart to mine nervously. He sighs, rubbing his temples, looking just as over and done with the tiny trouble maker as I am.

Malik opens his mouth to say something, but then closes it and shakes his head. He takes another moment to think before the mask of anger slips back on his face. It looks like he is fighting his own emotions on this one.

Malik groans and points his finger back at the house he shares with the twins without saying a word to him. Jonah hangs his head, looks at his bare feet, and walks to the house.

“And I thought Casen and Vince were a damn handful. That boy,” Malik grumbles and shakes his head. His eyes focus on me. “Any idea when you will put a call out for any family?”

I raise an eyebrow as I cross my arms in front of my chest. As fun as it seems to everyone watching from the sidelines, I am more than ready to get over this mess. We have had enough accidents around here already. “The Alpha meeting, but I will ring Kat and ask if she can send her doctor out to collect blood to see if anything comes up in the blood banks database.” I tell him.

“Yeah, hopefully, he wasn’t born a rogue, or they may not have any records or matches,” Malik sighs as he watches Jonah walk closer to the house. Lightning cracks, streaking across the sky, and the wind picks up.

“Sage?” I ask him.

“Casen took her home. I see you finally marked her.” The look on his face changes completely as Malik grins and nudges me with his elbow.

“Yeah,” I say, unable to contain my happiness. Even my lips tug up.

“So, what happened to your leg?” Malik points his finger at the blood-stained leg and raises an eyebrow at me.

I groan at the reminder of the adventures in the forest and run a hand through my hair. “Jonah happened, it’s fine. He thought he was helping, and it has already healed.” Right as he parts his lips to speak, it starts to rain. I look up at the dark sky, everyone has finished securing everything. “You should head in, Malik. It looks like we are in for it with this storm,” I tell him. He nods, pats my shoulder with his hand and

jogs home.

I head inside myself. I can hear Sage upstairs doing something, but instead of joining her, I head to the kitchen to retrieve my cell phone from the counter where I left it.

Taking it off charge, I dial Kat’s number. I need to ask her some questions about Jonah and the upcoming Alpha meeting that is supposed to happen in two days.

Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, I also want to know when my father is coming back. Hitting call, I listen to the phone ring.

Katya

I let out a heavy sigh as Andrei finishes the call. I haven’t heard from him for a few days and I was seriously starting to worry about my brother and his mate.

To be honest, I still worry about them. I fear so many different scenarios simply because I know all of them are possibilities. But what scares me the most is that Sage won’t let him mark her.

The issue I have is I don’t see any actual progress between those two just yet. Sure, there is some, but not enough to exhale in relief thinking things will work out. Time is slipping away. I can’t stop it and neither can they.

At this point, I just hope I haven’t signed my brother’s death warrant.

“Hey, what’s up with you?” Ezra asks, walking into his office, scaring the living daylights out of me.

I am sitting at his desk because I wanted some privacy during the phone call, but I didn’t expect anyone to look for me this soon. I haven’t got enough time to fully process the conversation with Andrei, let alone discuss it.

I glance at my mate and shake my head. “Nothing, it’s just I’m still worried about Sage and Andrei.”

Ezra moves closer to the desk and stands in front of it, bracing his hands on the surface. “You will see them at the Alpha meeting,” he assures me with a slight smile across his lips.

He is right. I am hoping I can catch Sage and talk to her while we are there. I’m pretty sure we can easily find a quiet place for that talk while the men busy themselves with their own discussions.

Ezra pushes himself off the desk and raises an eyebrow at me. “So, what did Andrei want?” He sits on the edge of his desk and peers down at me as he folds his arms over his chest.

The serious look on his face amuses me a little. I know he is trying to distract me from my worries and fears, and yet, here he is, looking like he is ready to fight the entire world if I don’t disclose the details of the phone call with my brother.

Although I might get irritated by his pushy attitude, all I do is smile and tell him the truth. “He took in some rogue kids. One of them was his Beta’s mate and one is orphaned.”

Ezra loses his cool attitude for a second, appearing to be just as taken aback as I was when Andrei told me this. I’m still surprised by the change in him. I feared he was still

obsessed with torturing the rogues, but here he is, taking in a few and trying to help them.

Sage is bringing positive changes and helping my brother to not only see reason, but also understand life is more than he sees it to be. He is getting better and truly trying to become a better person. I hope this new side of him remains and doesn’t fade in time.

Andrei deserves to be happy. It’s about time he lets the past go and focuses on the future he can share with Sage. But for that, of course, both of them have to take the steps to actually live long enough to share the future. They’re so close, I hope, I so so hope, they will get there.

I almost lose myself in thoughts again, but the hum from my mate brings me back to reality just in time for me to hear Ezra speak up. “Ah, yeah, that makes things tricky without parental or guardian consent. Has he checked the blood database?”

I shake my head. “No, that’s why he rang. Can you see if Mathias or someone can take some blood samples for him?”

“Yes, I will organize it. Have you taken your meds?” As the question escapes Ezra’s lips, I suddenly feel irritated with myself. I should have seen this coming. It’s so typical of him to change the subject to something that concerns him more than it could concern me.

I glare at Ezra. He knows I hate those damn things. They make me feel airheaded. “No, she hasn’t,” Mateo snitches as he walks inside the office with a glass of water in

one hand and my antidepressants in the other. That bloody traitor! Can he call himself my mate after betraying me like this?

Ezra growls and glares at me as Mateo stalks closer. “You have no excuse, Kat, you aren’t breastfeeding anymore,” he scolds as he passes me the glass of water and mimics the judgemental facial expression Ezra is giving me. I can’t believe this, both are working against me.

“I don’t need them,” I object, shaking my head and turning my focus back to the computer screen. I don’t have to look at my mates to know that they are seething as I place the glass on the desk. Their gazes heat up my skin, but I ignore it.

“Kat, there's nothing wrong with needing medication. It doesn’t make you weak,” Ezra lectures yet again, taking the pill from Mateo’s hand.

I know he is switching tactics just to make me drink them. First comes the feeble attempt to intimidate me, then it’s the care and gentle words to assure me, and then there will be anger.

An idea pops in my mind, and I turn my gaze to Ezra and wiggle my eyebrows.

“Then you take them,” I challenge.

“Don’t make me force it down your throat,” he growls.

Ah, there it is, stage three - anger. If anger is what he wants, anger is what my dead mate gets. “You can fucking try, Ezra, and I will put you in your place real quick,” I warn him, and he snarls deeper.

“Don’t make me bring Maddox forward, Kat. Take them. Mathias said your psychosis will get worse without them.” Ezra tries to threaten me.

Look at this, the big bad Alpha can’t take me down on his own. He needs to run to his wolf. “I will just shift, I have been shifting, and I am fine,” I stress.

Why can’t they understand that I’m so damn sick of everyone at this point? I’m sick of their attempts to stuff medication down my throat. I hate it. Those pills stunt my aura and weaken me. Everyone claims I need those pills. But on them, I can’t fight off Ezra's commands. I hate that it makes me unable to put my walls up and shield myself.

“You have three seconds,” Ezra warns, but all I do is roll my eyes at him.

I try to feel out for my severely muted aura. The meds have ruined it, but since I haven’t taken those pills, at least for a day, I can feel my aura, if only a little. I don’t want to lose it again. I’m tired of trying to reach out in the dark and not finding anything I seek.

“We have this stupid Alpha meeting in two days. I don’t want to be weak when we go to it,” I point out. This should be a convincing argument for my mates to understand that I need to be able to protect myself if anything were to go wrong. I refuse to rely on their abilities to protect me.

Besides, I think it is fucking stupid that we even have to go. I don’t want the title of Queen of Alphas. Why can’t things just stay how they are? I have enough shit going on with the twins and our pack. On top of everything, we are still dealing with Jackson’s old pack that needs to be moved and re-housed into new packs.

Most packs are still reluctant to take in new members, and the rogue populations are growing out of control. There are so many more important issues to focus on. I don’t see a point in attending an event while so many shifters are out there, suffering and fighting for their survival.

“Kat, please don’t do this now, just take the damn thing.” I turn in my chair and look up at him.

Mateo shifts his weight from one foot to another, visibly nervous. I know he hates when Ezra and I go toe to toe, but I am sick of him treating me like a child. I swear he likes me being on meds because it gives him control over me.

“I said no. I will take them after the Alpha meeting.” I stand my ground. Ezra has to learn how to listen to me. But more than that, he has to learn how to let go of the crazy control he wants to have over everyone, including me. I’m done.

Ezra growls at me, about to stand up, but Mateo stops him by gripping his shoulder. “Maybe she is right, you know her walking into that meeting will cause an uproar.” Mateo reminds him.

“Why will it cause an uproar?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. This is something new. “Every Alpha in the country will be there, including the Alpha of Alphas. You may

be their Queen now, but they won’t take that lightly, they may challenge you.” Mateo explains.

I furrow my brows. How does that make any sense? “Now, why would they do that?”

Mateo sighs and exchanges a look with Ezra. I cross my arms in front of my chest and wait for an answer. He groans and shakes his head. “Because it is no secret what you did at Jackson’s pack. Rumors have circulated that the Goddess has returned, reborn, made a Queen and blessed you. The current Alpha of Alphas is not going to like to know that you pull a rank over him. They will sense it the moment you step in there.”

“So you think he may challenge me for it?” Mateo nods.

Before I can ask another question, or even try to make sense out of men and their stupid egos, Ezra sighs. “I didn’t think of that. Fine, but you go back on them straight afterward. But Kat, you will have no excuses left after we return home.”

I roll my eyes and focus on the most important matter rather than involve myself in another argument with Ezra. “I don’t see why Dominic would feel threatened. It’s not like I am taking his title.”

“No, but you are female and overrule his title now. The Moon Goddess was always our Luna Queen, our Goddess. Kat, you changed her blessing. You changed everything. Werewolf society has never had Kings and Queens of Alphas. Well, until now, and technically, Ezra is King because I submitted to him and stepped out of the Alpha role. But if push comes to shove, I am still your mate. Even I would pull rank over Dominic. So to Dominic… Kat, we are a threat in his eyes.” Mateo explains.

Ezra nods at his words. “I didn’t think of that, Beta King.” Ezra chuckles as he teases the words and Mateo slaps his arm.

I roll my eyes at how quick these two can change. One moment, they are so goddamn painfully serious, just to turn into a duo of clowns the next. “Ah, this is stupid, I don’t need this stress now.” I groan and run a hand though my hair, barely fighting the urge to tug on it. “So what happens if they challenge me or either of you?”

“They would be stupid to try.” Ezra growls. As always, he appears to be ready to jump into action to defend me. As much as I admire his attempts to show me how much he cares, sometimes I wish he could give me more space.

Mateo is right, at least with some of the things that he pointed out. As soon as we all appear there, our presence will cause quite a ruckus, so I need to be able to stand up for myself. I will never do that if my mates always try to jump in front of me.

Just as I part my lips to point that out, Mateo perks up. “Unfortunately, we heard rumors that Dominic doesn’t believe you are blessed by the Goddess and said that he will never bow down to anyone.” He scoffs, as if he can't believe that someone would ever say something like that.

The thing is that I very much believe that it’s something Dominic could say. The guy is a dick, the only thing that is bigger than his ego is his audacity.

I can’t stop the growl that forces its way out of me. “So he is going to cause drama? Great!”

I'm so damn frustrated by this situation. Why can’t we have a day, or an event, that doesn’t bring our life more unnecessary problems? Don’t we have enough on our plate already? I get it, the Moon Goddess blessed me, and that’s super cool to some, but I doubt anyone would say the same if they were to stand in my place.

Some say the Goddess gives the hardest battles to the strongest, and if I meet her again, I need to ask her when did I sign up for a fucking war.

“Simple, if he doesn’t bow, you make him,” Ezra presses, pulling me out of the miserable thoughts.

“I don’t like using my aura.” I retort, pointing out what he already knows. In fact, he should know that better than anyone, so I don’t understand why he mentioned it. It’s not going to make the situation any better.

“Well, you will have to, or go hand to hand, depending on what he challenges you with, I say he will want to challenge your aura.” Ezra hums to himself.

“Well, that’s stupid,” I chuckle. Although I’ve never met him, I have heard enough about Dominic, and I know he is bad at accepting defeat. I guess he’s in for the surprise of his life, if he thinks he can pull that stunt without consequences.

“Yes and no. Dominic is also touched by the Goddess. Rumor has it that he has certain abilities that put him at the top, but you are a deity yourself, and nothing is stronger than that.” Ezra adds.

Alright, that is something I haven’t heard about him. I mean, his reputation has always traveled faster than he does, but no one mentioned anything like that to me before now. Even the Moon Goddess herself never mentioned anything about Dominic or the gifts she might have given him.

I furrow my brows and look at Ezra. “What sort of abilities?”

“Not sure, most of it is a rumor, no one gets close enough to him to be sure,” Ezra explains.

“But he is the Alpha of Alphas.” I point out the obvious that we already know. The Alpha of Alphas shouldn’t have any extra abilities.

Ezra shakes his head, clearly amused by how confused I am. “Exactly, Kat, no one challenges an Alpha of Alphas. I believe that the only reason he is even coming to the annual Alpha meet is to call you out. He sent a personal invitation, insisting you be there. Whether you like being Moon Blessed or not, Kat, there is no way of avoiding it, you are their rightful Queen, and they will challenge that.”

I push my fingers through my hair, suddenly nervous about tomorrow.

All this pressure that lies on my shoulders is making me feel sick to my stomach. I never asked for any of this or extra responsibilities.

Perhaps I still have enough time to try to reach out to Seline and ask her what gifts Dominic has received from her? It is strange to think I now have a direct link to her, but she has actually grown to be a friend.

On one hand, it is truly amazing how a person can suddenly lose all the people they previously called friends once they have children. On the other hand, while everyone is too busy or tired with their own lives, Seline seems to be happy to see me whenever I call on her. No matter how busy she is.

A loud cry from upstairs startles me and I instantly look at the ceiling.

“I will go,” Ezra offers, but I shake my head to refuse his offer as politely as I can.

The twins are due to have their bath time, and I would rather deal with that myself. Both Ezra and Mateo already do a lot for our kids, and these days, since our relationship is getting better again, I want to spend more time with my children.

As I head upstairs, Mateo trails after me, but doesn’t say anything. My mates are amazing fathers, so if they want to help, even if I don’t need a hand, I try to appreciate their efforts, even if I feel like they are being a little too much.

Mateo grabs some towels on the way past the linen cupboard. He hands those to Ezra and me, and we bring them to the nursery. I love how thoughtful Mateo is. He always chooses the best of the best for our children. Even the small things like fluffy, warm towels are the greatest gesture in my eyes.

“Mathias said he will head over to your brother now,” Ezra announces as he scoops Eziah out of his crib. I didn’t even notice when Mathias mindlinked him. I swear, these days, I get so distracted, and stuck in my own head it’s getting ridiculous.

My eyes focus on the twins. Both of them are growing like weeds under the sun and rain. Eziah is crawling already, though Marabella has not quite mastered it yet. They are early bloomers, our children are barely four and half months old and already advanced for their age. I don’t think it will be long before Eziah pulls himself up on the furniture, as he already tries to when he sits up.

Grabbing Marabella out of the crib, I pop her on my hip. Her big, beautiful eyes look around the room, and then, they glaze over.

“That is what I was telling you about the other day,” Ezra says, pointing at her. I raise an eyebrow as I watch her eyes turn dim and turn back to bright a few seconds later.

A shiver runs up my spine. For some reason, an uneasy feeling creeps up on me and tries to seep into every bit of my body and mind. Ezra is watching her while Eziah is busy eating his hand and drooling all over it.

“Eziah does it too,” Ezra adds. He sounds slightly worried, but I don’t blame him. Not the slightest, because now that I have seen it happen for myself, I am worried about them too.

“She finally caught sight of what we said,” Mateo says, walking in the nursery.

“Yeah, it is definitely strange. It almost looks like she was mindlinking, but that would be impossible, they have no wolf yet, and they are babies.” I object as I run my fingers through Marabella’s short, dark curls.

“Are you coming to dadda?” Mateo asks, clapping his hands in front of her. Marabella flashes him a big gummy grin as she holds her mittened hands out for

Mateo, clearly, more than happy to be carried around by her dad. I pass her to Mateo and look over at Eziah, who is currently slobbering on Ezra’s arm, biting him with his gums.

“He must be teething. I swear, this drooling is getting out of control,” Ezra groans, holding him up and looking at him.

Eziah giggles and Ezra rubs his stubble on his belly. Our boy coos and smiles as drool runs down his chin.

Although the drooling is a little disgusting, I still smile at the view. I don’t think I will ever get tired of watching my mates with our children. They are such great fathers, they don’t fail to amaze me every day. And the love that radiates off them makes me fall for Ezra and Mateo over and over again, each time, harder than before.

I let them enjoy some time together as I waltz out of the nursery, down the hall, and to the bathroom. As I run the bath for the babies, I realize how preoccupied my mind is.

Starting with tomorrow and everything that might happen during the Alpha meeting. All the risks and possibilities circle through my mind. Then in between everything else, there are still my worries about Andrei and Sage. And to top it all off, now I have to figure out what’s the deal with our twins and what their strange behavior might mean.

There is already so much going on, and too much on my mind, but I can’t forget that there are also my mates. I didn’t notice it at first, not much anyway, but since Seline brought me back, there seems to be a power imbalance within the house. Ezra is so used to being the strongest out of us, he struggles with certain things, not to mention he really doesn’t like giving up his control. I don’t think he will ever give up, if anything, I believe he will keep fighting me every step of the way.

Mateo, is the complete opposite, he has always been so chilled out, he never cared to be the Alpha amongst us. He was, and still is, more than content with being Beta, and letting us run things and argue amongst ourselves. The only time Mateo argues with me is an issue about the kids, or my mental health, which unfortunately has been slipping lately.

Being a Gemini and Goddess reincarnate is exhausting, and we all know how that worked out for Josiah. The power of being a Gemini sent him mad, and sometimes I wonder if I am doomed with the same fate. I can feel it at the edges of my mind, but that also makes me wonder and worry what this means for our kids as they grow up.

On the bright side, for the most part, Ezra and I are pretty evenly matched until I tick him off and Maddox comes forward. My aura outweighs Ezra’s, but Ezra knows

Maddox is a force to be reckoned with, and if things aren’t going his way, he is quick to bring him forward.

On the not-so-bright side, when Maddox comes out, all hell can break loose. Maddox will just fight against my aura until I exhaust myself, and then he quickly tries to shove me under his. Neither of us wants to bend to the other, which is why I feel like our bond has become chaotic and a little unstable.

“Kat, the water,” Mateo prompts behind me.

His voice startles me, making me jump. I hadn’t realized that I was stuck in my head and had allowed my own thoughts to get the best of me. I look down to see the bath is overflowing, my knees are saturated, and somehow, I failed to feel the water washing over them.

Mateo glances at me with genuine concern in his eyes. I quickly lean in, drain some of the water out, and shut the water off just as Ezra finally comes in. “What happened?” He asks, and I grit my teeth.

“Nothing, I got distracted.” I tell him. I’m not angry at my mates or their questions. If anything, I am angry at myself for not paying enough attention and letting my mind fade somewhere away from reality.

“Go get changed. We can bathe the babies,” Ezra assures me, and I nod. Maybe I really need to get back to my senses before I try to do anything with the twins. Being so easily distracted is dangerous and worrisome. Thankfully, I wasn’t bathing the kids while my thoughts took over.

I get up off the floor and glance at my wet knees, already experiencing the intense annoyance all over again. I take a step and manage to slip on the wet tile floor, but Ezra is quick to react, and he grabs my arm.

“You alright? Maybe go make a coffee or lay down for a bit,” he suggests.

“I’m fine; I just distracted myself,” I wave him off. He cups my cheek, and I lean into his touch. “We can’t help you if you don’t let us,” Ezra whispers, and I pull away from him.

I am sick of the same argument. They can’t help me being a Gemini. Why can’t they see that? Ezra grips my chin, tilting my face to meet my eyes. “Stop fighting us. You are too stubborn,” he growls, softly pressing his lips to mine. “Go. I will come to find you when I am done here,” he says, letting me go.

I peck Eziah's head and cautiously walk out of the bathroom and head downstairs to make some coffee. Hopefully, it will wake me up, but I can’t stop wondering if something is wrong with the twins. The uneasy feeling I got when Marabella’s eyes glazed over races through my head.