47

47
“Wow. Was he your fated mate?”

“Yes, he was.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I murmured, chewing away. “Did you ever get another fated mate?”

“No. But I have no interest in that. None could ever replace the first man I loved so dearly.”

I couldn’t imagine it would be easy moving on. Some people never did, even ten years later.

“My son takes his relationships very seriously. As much as he does his job and his role as Alpha,” Lyssa added. “I trust you will respect that.”

“I know. What’s important to him is important to me.”

This time, she peered up at me with a tight, judgmental frown. “It’s something you will have to take seriously as well.”

“I was prepared to become Gavin’s Beta when the time came. I’m ready to do whatever is needed of me no matter my position or where I am,” I assured her.

This seemed to satisfy Lyssa, who continued processing her meal. “Good then. Because you know, he won’t stand for his fated mate belonging to another pack.”

I anticipated this conversation might arise. It unsettled me to think that I may have to abandon my friends and family for Everett. But I would be ready for it when the time came. As serious as Everett was about his relationships, job, and pack, I was serious about everything I’d promised to him. I would be here for him, no matter what I had to sacrifice.

As long as Eastpeak was still alive at the end of all this.

Chapter 22: Everett

K

eeping my entire pack close to me was all I could do to feel safe. The situation was so dire that being away from my packmates afflicted me with such anxiety that I couldn’t focus. I was never particularly close to anybody except Taylor, but each survivor I sat down and spoke with, I found myself forming an attachment to out of relief that they were still alive. I didn’t want to take them for granted anymore. They weren’t just my packmates, but my friends, too. I valued them far more than I ever realized. 

The night of the pack meeting was a full moon. If David had gotten a hold of Muriel, now would have been when they would perform the Lycan ritual. I called Gavin, unable to shake the foreboding feeling that accompanied the sight of the bright white moon hovering above. “Where is she right now?” I asked.

Gavin hesitated. “You aren’t going to send the Mythguard to collect her, right?”

“No. I want to make sure you’re keeping safe from David.”

“We’re all staying in the Grandbay Hotel tonight. It offers the most protection, being located in the center of town. No need for us to check the borders. We’ll stay protected from Dalesbloom and the Inkscales even if they somehow managed to figure out where we are.”

“How many of you are there? Seven?”

“Six wolves plus Muriel. We’re all staying in one room.”

“Okay. I won’t tell the Mythguard where you are. Just stay safe tonight.”

“Thanks, Everett. You keep us updated if anything happens on your end.”

“I will.”

When I hung up, Aislin peered curiously at me for the details, so I relayed them to her.

“There’s no way David could get them then,” she said. “And if we keep watch for Dalesbloom and the dragons with everybody staying in the house here, we should be able to prevent an attack on us too.”

“That’s what I’m thinking,” I said.

“So, tonight we just… wait and see?”

I nodded. We stood together by the window of my bedroom, watching the mountainside bathed in pale crystalline light. The Moon Goddess herself was looking down upon us tonight, but I couldn’t help wonder how she could allow such a wicked, vile wolf as David to continue tormenting us. Sometimes, I felt the Moon Goddess didn’t care so much about us as she cared about absorbing what magic was offered back to her. The shifter Gods were fickle and distant entities, impersonal toward the plights of their followers, serving only those who served them. It angered me, the injustices that could persuade them.

Aislin gently touched my back, her fingers trailing up in comfort of what burdened my mind unspoken. Then slowly, she slid in front of me, blocking my view of the window with herself, taking all my attention. There were others on guard for now. I needed the respite she offered, and was happy to take it when she put her hands on my shoulders and leaned forward, pressing her nose against mine. “How are you feeling?”

The question struck me. Rarely did anybody ever ask that of me, and I struggled to answer. “Like everything inside me is floating,” I managed. “Some, in a bad way. Others in a… a good way.”

“You have a lot of uncertainties,” Aislin remarked.

“Yes. I don’t know if we’ll survive this, or if anybody will forgive me for what happened.”

“I understand that.” In her silence, I watched her calculate what to say next. “I can’t tell you they will. The most you can do is try.”

“I know.” I intended to give everything to the survivors of Eastpeak and really show them how dedicated I was. Even though I had failed Taylor and Bree, I would do anything for those who still believed in me.

Aislin kissed me, her lips soft as butter. “What about the good floaty feelings?”

“That’s you,” I said.

She grinned and kissed me again. “You make me want to see the best in people.”

“I feel I have yet to show you my best.”

“Maybe. But we have lots of time.”

I hoped so. Maybe Aislin could help me be the best version of myself possible, and in turn, I could do the same for her. That shared desire only nurtured the bond between us. We stood together, wrapped up in a tender embrace and kissing for long minutes until the proximity of her body elevated mine into excitement. The entire time we’d been together, our bond had drawn us to one another with lust that groomed us for the marking ritual, but our grief had held us both at bay. It was harder to deny it now. With a long, tense night ahead of us, it was too easy to accept the distraction of her slender physique pressed against me. Her curves under my palms, her skin silky and warm. I couldn’t help myself from squeezing her butt as we made out, pulling her closer.

Aislin broke the kiss for a breath of air. “Can I do something for you?”

“Like what?”

Her brown eyes lit up with mischief beneath her thick lashes. She pecked me under my jaw, leaving tender kisses alongside my neck while her hands traveled down my stomach to the brim of my jeans. “I’d like to relieve some of your tension,” she said.