Chapter 165

Shawna POV

I nearly collapsed on the bench in Centennial Park. "This was so amazing," I tell Michael as he sits next to me. "I cannot believe you arranged all of this in less than twenty-four hours."

"Believe it babe, the night has an even bigger surprise. We should back to the hotel and freshen up, go eat dinner and then guess where we are off too?" Michael asks with a sly smirk.

"Where?"

"The Grand Ol' Opry. We have a tour before the show," he says as he leans over and kisses my forehead.

"What?" I am suddenly re-energized. "Are you serious?"

"I am very serious," he gives me a serious look and then smiles. "I wanted to make this special for you."

"It has been a great day and I'm so excited, you have no idea," I'm practically bouncing in my seat. My phone rings from inside my bag, and I dig around for it. It's Lynn. The time is just after twelve in Wyoming. "It's my sister," I say and Michael nods at me to answer.

"Is everything okay?" I ask her when I answer.

"Shawna, Ben showed up early this morning saying that the Alpha was sending someone down to see us, but they were intercepted by some guardians and councilmen. Ben had overheard the order and Dad snuck him out on his boat and he ran from the fishermens pier to get to us." Lynn explained without stopping to take a breath. "We have just left town and Ben was heading back. He stayed to make sure we got out safely. In the process though, he will be late for his patrol shift. He let Jarod know, that is who he was relieving but he said he wasn't for certain that the Alpha wouldn't find out. He took a huge risk for me," she's crying now.

"Okay well you're out of there and Ben loves you, so just know he did what he thought was best. Obviously Dad thought so too, right?" I ask as I bite my lip with worry. "We can reach out to him later on, when it's less obvious why we'd be calling. Although I can't see how the Alpha would be monitoring Ben's calls."

"What if he's punished? What if he can't be with Cassidy for the birth of their pup?" she says, her tears now slowing down to an occassional sniffle. I can hear Clint murming to her in the background and I imagine that is helping her to calm down.

"It's going to be fine. Right now you have to worry about yourself and Clint and getting out of there. Ben will be alright. If something happens, then it will be dealt with. I think our Alpha has a lot to answer for and he will be busy handling that. Besides, the Beta doesn't usually tell the Alpha if wolves are late on patrol unless it's a chronic issue or something, right?" I say, trying to be diplomatic in my responses.

"I wouldn't know," Lynn says. "Okay, I'm better, we are driving and we will update you on our progress. I love you Shawna and thank you so much to you and Michael for making our escape possible. I can 't believe we get to live near each other and raise our babies together," she says.

"Me too," I reply. We exchange a few more words and hang up. I look at Michael. "It's going to be fine, right?"

"Of course, it will all be dealt with. Clint and Lynn are on the road and getting their distance. The Alpha is distracted and will be for some time. By the time it all blows over, if it blows over, they will be in Georgia, I imagine," Michael assures me. "Honestly though, if the Alpha was involved and they can prove it, he will be punished. It's hard to say the depth of his involvement. It could be that he attempted to purchase females and wasn't successful. I can see why he'd want to increase the size of his pack, offer those mountain living nearly feral wolves a chance at finding a mate, since the pack is small." Michael holds up his hand before I can reply, "it's not right, whatever his reasoning."

"I'm glad it's being dealt with. It makes me sick to my stomach to think of other young girls enduring what that Kennedy girl did," I shudder with the thought. "Okay," I hop off the bench. "I don't want to ruin this wonderful day you have given me with thoughts of that. Let's get back to the hotel. I want to shower and change before we go to dinner and the Grand Ol' Opry. Can I dress up?" I ask excitedly.

"Of course you can. Whatever you want," Michael smiles and stands and takes my hand to lead me back to the trolley that awaits us for the return to where we left the truck parked. I have ideas about what I'm wearing tonight, the thought of Michaels' wide smile when I come out wearing this beautiful black dress I've had tucked away for a moment such as this. He rarely sees me in a dress, and a nice gown like this one, I have no doubt will make him wild. It's just a matter of getting out of the hotel room still in my dress and not late for dinner. I giggle with the thought and Michael looks over at me. "Everything all right?" he says.

"Couldn't be better," I smile as we near the trolley and then climb aboard. Thirty minutes later we are pulling into the parking lot and getting in the truck, to head back to the hotel. We haven't recieved any more phone calls, so to me this is a good sign. Once we are back to the hotel, Michael tells me we have a couple of hours before our dinner reservation. I take my time in the shower, letting the hot water melt away the stress from worrying about my sister. When I'm done, I step out of the shower and wrap myself in a towel.

I open the bathroom door and Michael is laying on the bed with just his boxer briefs on, one arm flung over his eyes. I can tell he's not asleep though. I walk over to the bed and drop my towel. Michael hears it and uncovers his eyes to look at me. I watch as his pupils dilate and his iris's glow with his wolf pushing forward. "Hey," he says hoarsly. "I see you are finished in the shower. My turn?" he raises an eyebrow.

"I don't know," I put a finger to my chin as if I"m thinking. "I kind of thought you'd want me to get you all hot and sweaty first. You know, make the shower worth the wait. We do have a couple hours, right?" I ask with a smile. Michael moves so fast, I almost don't see him coming for me. He swoops me up in his arms and I giggle with the sheer exhileration of it. He tosses my already naked body onto the bed and strips his briefs off.

"That sounds downright delicious,"he remarks. Then he comes up onto the bed on his hands and knees, shoves my legs apart and clamps his mouth over my core. He hums deep in his throat and I'm already lost to the way this man makes me feel.