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anniesocsandgeneralstore · 2 years

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the echo (or the answer) - a werewolf au (Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC)

Summary: Jeremiah Bellmoral is alive. He has taken Ronnie to bate the Alphas into a fight. But will his plan succeed?

Pairing: Alpha!Jake Seresin x Human!OC (Ronnie Bradshaw)

Word Count: 16,542

Warnings: bellmoral being a creep, blood, injury, violence, fighting, gore, angst, parental death mention, EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT 18+ONLY MINORS DNI (size kink, fingering, slight breeding kink, belly bulge, unprotected pinv, creampie, multiple orgasms, sex while injured)

FOUR | FIVE | SIX

-> likes are great but comments/reblogs are even better!

-> thank you to my werewolf love @blue-aconite for beta reading. for helping me with ideas. for encouraging me. for being an amazing friend and creative mind. i am eternally blessed by you. thank you.

-> this is the end, my babies. it has been a wonderful, crazy, sometimes intense ride. thank you all for reading. for engaging with my content. for commenting and reblogging. your love for this series has made me love it all the more and has filled my days with such joy. so please, feel free to come into my askbox at any time with questions, with ideas, with thoughts. i love to hear them all. my love to you all.

It started to rain. The dark sky rumbled and cracked as it finally released the heavy weight it had been carrying upon the world. This deep in the woods, Ronnie could hardly feel the rain. But she could hear it.

The droplets of water pattered softly against the hemlock, spruce, and adler leaves that made up the canopy above. At another time, she would have found the atmosphere calming. The gentle sounds of the rain, the tree trunks stretching before her for miles, the fallen pine needles soft beneath her as she leaned back against a tree. If she had a book and a thermos full of hot coffee, it would be a perfect relaxation spot.

Except she was far from relaxed, calm, or safe. Pale blue eyes watched her every move. Blood dripped from the wounds that marred her face. Her shoulder and hip screamed in pain just sitting there and breathing.

Jeremiah Bellmoral still crouched in front of her. Very much alive and very much amused by her horror. Elbows on his knees and long fingers threaded together as he observed her with a tilt of his head. Not watched, observed. Like she was a specimen in a jar.

He was supposed to be dead. He should be dead. Jake had the power of the Alpha, won it in the challenge against Bellmoral. Tore it from the wolf who did nothing but hurt him and his pack. And that could only occur when the other wolf was completely defeated. Ronnie couldn’t wrap her head around how he could possibly be before her now.

It made it hard to move, hard to think under the calculated, pale gaze of what was surely a ghost.

“Your fear…” Bellmoral whispered as he reached out to her, Ronnie flinched as he ran his finger along her jawline — collecting the blood that wept along that edge. “Smells so sweet.”

He pulled back his hand, pointer finger coated in crimson. Then he put the digit to his lips and tasted it with a groan. Ronnie clenched her jaw tight as her stomach turned.

Get out, run, don’t let yourself become a part of his plot, every instinct inside her screamed as he leaned back on his haunches with a face-splitting grin. She knew she couldn’t just start running. He was clearly faster and stronger than her. If she had any chance, it would be to attack him with something first. Catch him by surprise to give herself a head start. Only the pockets of her fleece were completely empty save for some lint, and it seemed that Bellmoral had taken every stick from the clearing.

As he continued to stare at her, lips now stained with her blood, she tried to move her hands imperceptively on the ground in search of something she could use. Anything.

Her eyebrows jerked up as her fingers caught on the smooth edge of a rock. Just behind her back in front of the tree trunk she leaned on. She glanced up at Bellmoral’s face to see if he noticed, and maybe he did. His head was tilted to one side, his smile fallen from his face. Shit. She needed him distracted if she was going to do this. The more she felt around the rock she could tell that it was buried in the dirt — it was going to take time to dig it out without being able to look at it.

So no matter how much she didn’t want to, she started talking to Jeremiah Bellmoral.

“How did you — ?” She coughed to clear her throat, her voice sounding underused and horse. “Jake’s the Alpha…How’re you alive?”

“I am the Alpha!” Bellmoral roared as he pounded his fist into his chest, then he repeated, quieter. “I am the Alpha. Your mate…Was too weak to finish the job. Left me barely clinging to life — gave me these.”

He ran his fingers along the litany of raised scars on the left side of his face. Ronnie’s nails dug into the dirt around the cold stone.

“But it was enough for the power of the Alpha to go to him. No need to fret, no need to fret. I will be getting it back soon. The power that is rightfully mine, that is wasted on that ungrateful scum.”

This made Ronnie pause, even as she continued to dig out the rock. It was bigger than she first thought. Good.

“How’re you going to take it back if Jake and Bradley are going to kill each other?” she asked.

Bellmoral shook his head at her. “I really thought you were supposed to be smart. You know — you know — I read a few pages of that little book of yours. What did you call it? The Blue River Pack: A Werewolf History?”

A shiver ran down her spine, her blood turned cold. He had been in her house. In her room. Without anyone noticing. She dug into the dirt just a little bit faster, the scrape of her nails more frantic.

“So — So tell me what you wrote, about the Spirit of the Alpha.”

“It’s — It’s the embodiment of werewolf strength and power. It grants the wolf with the ability to hold control over the Betas in their pack and — and turn humans into werewolves with a single bite,” Ronnie explained quietly, eyes trained on Bellmoral’s filthy boots. “It was given as a blessing and a curse to Augustine Bradshaw and it’s passed down from firstborn to firstborn. Or taken in a challenge.”

“But-But, have you ever thought about what would happen if an Alpha were to die with no firstborns…And no challenge won?” Ronnie’s brow furrowed as Bellmoral crawled closer to her. “You see, your family isn’t the only one with ancient texts left for the generations to follow. I found that if that were to happen — the Alpha Spirit then goes into the wolf most worthy of its power. Called a True Alpha, because-because they received the power without birthright or fight.”

The rock finally broke free of the dirt. Ronnie had to resist the noise of success she longed to make. It was as wide as her palm, flat and sharp. The ridge dug into the fingers of her left hand. Finally.

She adjusted her grip on the stone as she said, “So when Jake and Brad kill each other over me…The Alpha Spirit will go to you?”

“See, there you go.” Bellmoral smiled as he gestured at her, both palms turned towards the sky — a few raindrops slipping through the foliage to land on the pale skin. “Now you’re getting it. The Spirit, the power, is mine. By birthright and by the divine. The Moon Goddess…Chose me for a reason. All of this — these six months of torment and your mate running wild — was just a test. Soon, what is mine will be mine again. And you…Veronica Bradshaw…”

She pushed herself back against the tree as he reached for her. As his hand wrapped around her throat.

“Will be able to do nothing but sit back and watch as your life gets torn apart. But really you won’t be able to blame me. They killed each other after all…And maybe…You’ll find some comfort in my embrace when this is through.”

Ronnie screamed as she lifted the stone and brought it down hard onto Bellmoral’s head. He made a sound of surprise as he fell back, his grip on her throat disappearing as he clutched his bleeding face. As soon as he was out of her line of sight, she scrambled up from the ground and took off at a sprint.

White spots danced in her vision but she didn’t care. She needed to get away. Get somewhere safe, find Jake or Brad and explain what was going on. This wasn’t how she wanted any of this to go down. But none of that mattered anymore when lives were at stake. She couldn’t let Bellmoral’s plans come to fruition. Even if that meant telling her brother in the worst way possible that she was mated to his rival.

But she barely made it past the edge of the clearing before Bellmoral tackled her to the ground. All the air was forced out of her lungs as she hit the hard earth with a thud, Bellmoral’s entire weight on her back as she struggled and writhed to get away. She managed to roll over onto her back, the rock she had managed to hold tightly in her left fist raised to hit him again. But Bellmoral had learned his lesson. He grabbed her wrist with a snarl and squeezed until there was an audible pop. Ronnie cried out as a sharp pain went down her left arm, fingers falling limp and the stone plummeting with them.

“You are proving to be — “ Bellmoral rose to his feet, leaving Ronnie stunned on the ground, holding what was surely a broken wrist lightly. “More trouble than you’re worth, Veronica Bradshaw.”

He took hold of the front of her fleece and began dragging her back into the clearing. She struggled feebly, booted feet digging into the dirt as she repeated: “No, no, no!”

She gasped as Bellmoral suddenly yanked her to her feet before him, lifting her until only her tip-toes were touching as he bared his sharp fangs at her. The stone's mark on his forehead and face was already beginning to heal. She whimpered, bottom lip trembling as she tried to lean away from him.

“Maybe I should just rip out your throat.” This only made her struggle more, feet scrambling for purchase as her uninjured hand scratched at his forearm. “Leave you here for Jake and your brother to find. Fighting over your dead body will surely end in the same result.”

“No,” she sobbed softly as she tasted the salt of her own tears on her lips.

Bellmoral perked up, ear turned towards the west. Then he turned back to her with a grin. “Your mate approaches — drawn by your call.”

He set her down on her feet and retracted his hand. She wobbled unsteadily, broken wrist cradled against her chest. Her stomach heaved as reality set in. She couldn’t stop this. Jake was so close that Bellmoral could hear him. Bradley was surely not far behind. His plan was in motion and there was no stopping it.

“If you try to warn him, I will attack…And he’ll watch as I finally get a real taste of your blood.”

After that, he disappeared into the woods. Leaving Ronnie trembling in the middle of the clearing, unshed tears blurring her vision. She could still hear the rain. Pattering against the canopy, rare drops landed softly on her skin. Mixing with the dried blood on her face. She stared out at the trees infinite before her, like a silent audience to her tragedy. Bystanders who just stood there and watched as everything fell apart. No warning. No guidance.

Just silence.

For a moment, Ronnie wanted to scream. It expanded in her chest and filled her throat until there was nothing left to do but open her maw and unleash her shriek upon the world. Her defiance. Her pain. Her call for justice. Her call to a goddess of the moon who had now joined the audience. Who seemed to withhold all Her blessings from a daughter who sat on the fringes of the world She resided over. But the scream got caught in her throat. Threatened to strangle her as she screwed her eyes shut, tears pouring down her cheeks. She gasped and gurgled around it as she fell to her knees.

Do something, she pleaded to the trees, to the goddess above.

Just silence.

Through blurred vision, she saw a large, golden wolf break through the treeline. Despite everything, the fear and the pain of her injuries, relief flooded her veins at the sight of him. Released from her in a sob as Jake shifted before her. Behind him, the rest of Red Sky followed after — noses upturned as they sniffed out anything suspicious.

“Jake!” she cried as he came to his knees before her.

They crashed into each other like tectonic plates that formed entire mountain ranges. He pulled her into his chest with an arm around her shoulders, his other hand threaded into the tangled hairs on the back of her head — holding her to him with that gentle strength. His heart was beating erratically, his shoulders heaved as he assured himself that she was there. His hands snaked under her layers of clothes to feel her bare skin, clammy against his warm palms.

But then she hissed in pain when her wrist bent only slightly and he pulled back to look at her. He inspected her wrist first, eyes still glowing that deep crimson of the Alpha as he touched the delicate bones gently. The flesh was already beginning to swell and turn red. Then he looked up into her face, fingers trailing along the edge of her jaw coated in dried blood. He took in the state of her. The claw marks on her face, the tear streaks in the dirt coating her cheeks. And she watched as his expression darkened. As his lip curled and that crease formed between his brows.

“Who did this to you?” he whispered, voice trembling with barely there restraint.

“I…” For a moment, she considered telling him the truth anyway. Anything to save him, to save everyone. But then she saw Bellmoral’s white eyes flash somewhere in the distance just over Jake’s shoulder and she relented. “It doesn’t matter right now. Can we just go, please?”

“No, we’re gonna find whoever did this.” Jake looked over his shoulder at his pack. “Fan out, they couldn’t’ve gotten far.”

The pack trotted into the trees and Ronnie desperately wanted to call out to them to stop. But she couldn’t. Bellmoral was out there somewhere. And how could she explain without telling the truth, without giving some warning?

Jake helped her get back to her feet tenderly. And as soon as she was stable, he wrapped her up in his arms again, pressing firm kisses into the top of her head. She sagged against him, let him take the brunt of her weight. If only for a moment. The danger was still real and ever-present, but she needed just a moment. A moment of respite, a moment to think, even. She needed to find a way to save Jake, save Bradley, and save herself. But how could she? She was just one person, one unpowered, unsupernatural person.

“S’okay, little one, I’ve got you,” Jake whispered as he ran his hand up and down the length of her aching spine.

It was only a few hours ago that she would have given anything to be with him. But now the only safe place for him was miles away from her.

“Jake…” She pulled weakly away from his chest. “Take me home, please.”

Wherever home was. The hostel? The house in Marnmouth? It didn’t matter as long as he got both of them out of there.

“Okay, if that’s what you want, Ronnie,” he replied.

“Please.”

She couldn’t help the urgency that slipped into her tone, making Jake pause as he looked down at her. It was hard for mates to hide things from one another. He knew her in a way no one else could. There was something, deep inside, that revealed her truest feelings to him. Being only human, it was something she couldn’t experience herself — that connection to him. Her father described the bond once as a place in his heart that was solely Carole, that whispered to him what she needed and what she felt. Ronnie was sure Jake could feel the anxiety roiling around inside her, the urgency, the horror.

“Who did this — ?” Jake started to ask, but was interrupted by the sound of yelping in the trees.

He turned, holding Ronnie behind him as the pack ran back into the clearing.

Closely followed by the entirety of Blue River — absolutely massive in comparison to Red Sky — Bradley at the lead with his lips pulled back in a vicious snarl. Jake’s grip on her tightened and for a moment, she was frozen.

God, this wasn’t how she wanted this to happen at all.

Bradley skidded to a halt. He looked so much like their father in wolf form. Deep chocolate brown, with no fur growing from the pink scars that littered his face and neck. Pete and Bob were hot on his heels, Bob towering above all the other wolves in the clearing. Pretty soon, all of Red Sky was corralled and surrounded on all sides by Blue River wolves.

And Ronnie never felt so hopeless. She promised they wouldn’t get attacked again. But it was because of her that this was happening. If she had just told Bradley sooner. If she just wasn’t a coward. None of this would be happening.

Over Jake’s shoulder, his grip on her waist tight, she watched as Bradley shifted back into human form. His cheeks were bright pink, his eyes fiery red as he approached the two of them with stomping steps.

“Get the fuck away from my sister, Red Sky!”

Bradley spat the pack name like an insult. Jake stood his ground, his arm tightening around her with a low growl. But Bradley wasn’t going to stand for it. She could see his perspective clearly. Entering the scene to see his sister bleeding and hurt, in the presence of the rival Alpha. The wildcard. The threat. It was only logical that he would jump to the conclusion that Jake had done this to her.

Bellmoral’s plan was working perfectly.

Bradley collided with Jake, his growl loud and menacing, and it all happened in a blur. One second she was standing behind Jake, his touch affirming and strong against her, and the next she was falling back.

On instinct, she reached to catch herself. Then she felt the already fractured bones in her wrist crunch and she shouted, gargled and broken in her throat. It hurt all the way up to her elbow, like a freshly forged knife was dragged along the nerves. Ronnie let herself fall back onto the pine needles with another cry of pain, right hand cradling her left against her chest as her head swam with nothing but white-hot agony. The canopy of leaves above shifted and swirled as her mind fought the pain, her stomach swooping.

“Ronnie!” she heard Jake call as she willed herself to stay awake, to grit her teeth and bare it. “Get out of my way!”

Bellmoral was watching, somewhere in the distance. In the back of her mind, she wondered how he was able to cover his scent from all the werewolves present. Not a single one of them, even the ones who would be familiar, seemed to know that he was anywhere near them. He was watching and waiting and puffing up with pride at the way it was all falling into place.

She needed to get up. She needed to stop this. But it fucking hurt. Everywhere. All at once.

Ronnie couldn’t let that happen. She just couldn’t. It didn’t matter that she was just human. That everything hurt. That she had no power and no strength. It was all up to her now. Even with a broken wrist and so much fear.

Rolling onto her good side, she pushed herself up onto her elbow, forcing herself to move despite the discomfort.

Bradley was pushing Jake back, away from Ronnie. Just another thing that was going exceptionally well for Jeremiah Bellmoral. She was injured. Jake was her mate, her Alpha, and Bradley was getting in the way. He was keeping Jake from protecting her, comforting her, helping her. He didn’t know it, but he was pouring gasoline on an open fire that was already more than willing to burn the world down to get to her.

Ronnie sat up completely, gasping when she noticed that she was starting to lose feeling in her hand. That couldn’t be good. Reuben and Mickey knelt down on either side of her, keeping her upright with gentle hands on her back.

Jake’s roar echoed through the trees; Ronnie felt it ring her soul like an ancient bell. And when she looked up, he was shifted into his wolf form. His hackles raised as he stared her brother down with eyes red as blood. Bradley muttered something about killing him for hurting his sister, then he too shifted back into his wolf form. This was the first time she had seen them together. She knew Jake was smaller than Bradley, not by much, but he was leaner — muscles well attuned to fighting rippling beneath his golden fur.

Ronnie knew that Bradley had never fought another wolf in his entire life — not for real. But he was bound to be stronger than Jake with the size of his pack. Every Beta under his control giving him strength. Something that he more than doubled Jake with.

“No! Stop! Please!” she shrieked as she tried to get to her feet.

To get between them somehow, make them stop. But as soon as she knelt on the ground, one foot planted to propel her into the impending fight, a set of muscular arms circled around her waist and lifted her off the ground. She shouted as she struggled against their strong grip, her mind turned to the worst. Bellmoral forcing her to watch. But when she looked back, it was Jake’s second-in-command, Javy, pulling her away to safety.

He dragged her back just in time.

Jake lunged at Bradley first. Growls, barks, roars, and the snapping of great teeth filled the air. It was a haze of gold and brown fur as they moved around the clearing. Rolling and biting and clawing at one another. None of the other wolves attacked, knowing that this was a fight between the two Alphas and the Alphas alone.

Ronnie went limp in Javy’s arms, heart seized in her chest — refusing to pump her precious lifeblood to the rest of her body. It was happening. She wasn’t able to stop it. She really would just sit back and watch as her life was torn apart. As her brother and her mate killed each other over what they thought was the right thing, over her.

She could see, across the clearing, that Dylan and Natasha were trying to get to her. Get her away from Red Sky and back where she belonged. But they were stopped by Pete and Bob, and for a moment she was grateful. And looking over, she saw that she was surrounded by her pack.

Her pack. Not her family’s pack. Not her ancestor’s pack. Not her legacy’s pack. Her pack. Her own.

And it was up to her to save it. Just her in her human strength. In her human wit. In maybe her kindness and truth. Her father always said she was human for a reason. And maybe this was it.

Suddenly, a yelp echoed sharp and clear through the canopy.

Jake lay on the ground, his great wolf body heaving with the effort to breathe. Bradley stepped back from his prone form, posture proud. Ronnie heard the sob she released before she even registered that it was her that made the noise. Wrenched violently from her throat like a rusted nail from stubborn wood. An answer to her mate’s cry of agony.

Bradley turned to her with a shake of his head, looking nearly surprised when he saw her crowded on all sides by Red Sky wolves instead of Blue River. Jake still lay on the ground, soft whines escaping him as he pawed at the earth. He looked like he was about to get up, lips pulled back from his sharp white teeth as another Alpha looked at his pack.

The strong arms holding her back released her before she even had to tell them to. Ronnie walked slowly into the clearing, her own injuries forgotten — numb — as she padded across the pine needles. The rain was coming down harder now. More drops slipped through the foliage to wet her cheeks, make her tears disappear with them. The wind howled through the trees. Its own wolf’s call.

Bradley looked expectant. He thought she would come to him, thank him for saving her, and tell him to take her home. But she didn’t. She walked right past him without sparing a second glance. His massive, furry head turned to follow her movement with a noise of confusion.

Everything felt so slow, as she walked up to Jake’s massive golden form. A single red eye followed her as she knelt down by his head. There was a large gash that started at his neck and went down to his chest, rendering the muscles of his shoulder asunder. Crimson blood poured out onto the ground, but she could see that the wound was already healing. Ronnie placed her good hand on his face and he stilled, his breathing less ragged as he pawed gently at her leg.

“It’s okay, my Alpha,” she whispered softly as she stroked his furry face. “We’re okay. You and me.”

Behind her, Bradley growled with a stamp of his massive paw.

Pete took a step closer, speaking calmly and clearly as he said, “He wants to know what’s going on.”

“Can you stand?” Ronnie asked, hand hovering over Jake’s gaping wound.

He huffed but lifted his head. And, as Ronnie slowly rose back to her feet, so did Jake. He had to hold up his front left paw so as not to put any weight on it, and she found it fitting as she held her left hand against her stomach. Bradley growled again, insistent and impatient.

But any of the agitations on his wolfish face disappeared once Ronnie turned to face him. A sad, understanding sort of smile tugged at her cracked lips.

“We’re mated, Brad.” She didn’t fumble for words, she didn’t even feel any fear as she looked directly into her brother’s chocolate brown fur and beaming red eyes. “And I accepted him — because I love him.”

A hush fell over the world. Nothing but the sounds of rain and Jake’s labored breathing filled the air.

“I knew as soon as he walked into the tavern that night. But I — I was scared to tell you. I almost rejected him I was so scared. And…And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. That I let it go this far. I just — I didn’t want you to hurt them.” She looked over to Red Sky, huddled together like Roman soldiers ready to take on attack, and when she looked back to her brother, she couldn’t help the way her chin quivered. “I didn’t want you to hate me.”

Jake moved in closer to her side, now able to put weight on his leg, albeit gingerly. She felt his blood-matted fur brush against her shoulder and it brought her some comfort. Even as she stared into Bradley’s shocked wolf face. Felt the eyes of every Blue River wolf trained solely on her.

“But I…He was chosen for me by powers beyond our control. At first, I didn’t understand it. Why we would be mated. But I — I choose him, now. I-I irrevocably choose him. Over Blue River. Over the packs’ history. Even over you. Even if you hate me. Because I love him. And I belong with him.

“So if you’re gonna kill him.” Ronnie took one step forward, placing herself between Bradley and Jake. “You’re gonna have to go through me first.”

Just silence.

The audience was gathered to witness the final tragedy. The unhappy ending. Antigone’s brother left unburied and her betrothed doomed to death for his father’s mistakes. The trees, the goddess, the wolves wait on bated breath for the news to come to the hard-hearted king. Everyone is dead, and he would be left to live out the rest of his days praying for the end.

But then applause resounded before the tragedy was finished. A continuous, monotonous, clap clap clap from somewhere deep in the trees.

Ronnie’s heart dropped into her stomach. She reached out to Jake and tangled her fingers in his fur, gripping the golden strands tight. She had nearly forgotten he was hiding in the forest, waiting for his plan to unfold. But she had just thrown a wrench in it, brought it to a screeching nearly-driving-off-the-road halt. There was no telling what he was going to do now. And that terrified her more than anything else. The unpredictability of a man driven mad by the power passed on to him by his ancestors.

Jake curled his body around her as the clapping got closer, as a gentle, hollow chuckle harmonized along.

“Leave it to you, Veronica Bradshaw, to find some way to ruin my plans!” His voice echoed through the trees, distorted, like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere. “The key — you were supposed to be the key!”

“Ronnie, what the hell is this?” Pete asked as he looked around for the source of the voice.

“I — “ she tried to explain.

But Bellmoral cut her off. Somewhere in the trees. His wailing an echo and an answer.

“No! This wasn’t how this was supposed to go! We were going to be okay you and I…After you saw the light. After you saw that I was right all along. He was never meant to have it. It was always supposed to be mine. Which-which meant that you were always supposed to be mine, too. Don’t you see? Veronica?”

Jake pressed around her tighter, growl rumbling low in his throat as his lips curled back away from his teeth.

“And you…Jake Seresin. Ungrateful. Arrogant. Unworthy. I gave you everything. I gave you that family you always wanted, that belonging. On top of that, I gave you a power that you could never even dream of. And what did you do? You spat in my face! You danced on my grave — or at least, what you thought was my grave.”

Bellmoral laughed, the sound ricocheting through the trees — making the few birds that had stuck around take off into the rain-filled sky. Jake went rigid around her, ears flat against his head that was tilted low to the ground. Nearly every hair on his massive body stood on end. Ronnie looked over at the small Red Sky pack as she placed a reassuring hand on Jake’s shoulder. Every single one of them was pale, eyes wide as they stared out into the trees. Like they were encountering a ghost.

Their greatest horror. One they thought was long behind them.

Bellmoral stepped into the clearing with a smile on his face and a tilt of his head. Ronnie could feel, as Jake somehow wound his body around her tighter, shielding her from Bellmoral, that every muscle inside him was wound tight. Ready to snap. Ready to fight or fly or stand paralyzed before the monster who had done nothing but destroy his life, mar and kill those that he loved. She pressed her hand more firmly into him. Jake relaxed only slightly beneath her touch.

“Ronnie, who is this guy?” Pete asked as the Blue River wolves fanned out, each golden set of eyes trained on this new threat.

“Jeremiah Bellmoral,” she answered, voice shaking despite the strength she wanted to show; for Jake and Red Sky.

“A pleasure to meet you all, truly.” He looked around at the Blue River wolves with that Cheshire-cat grin. “I’ve been watching you for months and can I just say…You’re a mess. A mess that I sought to clean up.”

“It’s over, Bellmoral. Enough,” Ronnie snapped, a grimace pulling at her lips and brow.

Bellmoral jerked his head over to look at her, white eyes of the Omega shining. “Is it? Now more than ever — it’s clear to see that the Bradshaw line needs to be broken. I mean just look at him.”

He gestured wildly at Bradley, his skeletal face pulled back in some expression like he was looking at a puppy with only three legs. Doomed to fall and fail as it teetered around the yard. Almost sympathetic, almost pitying. But there was a hidden malice, a rushing river just beneath the ice. The Blue River Alpha stiffened under the sudden attention, head raised and red eyes unblinking as he stared Bellmoral down.

“I can practically see the silver spoon between his teeth. What has he worked for? For what has he toiled? Fought for? I know that — “ Bellmoral turned to look at Jake with lips pulled back into a smirk — whether it was at what he was about to say or the way the Alpha nearly flinched away from him Ronnie couldn’t tell. “Jake would agree with me. I heard you talking about him. It really is not fair. All Bradley had to do was wait for his dear papa to die, and then he got all that power, all those Betas, all that respect! While you, Jake, you had to fight tooth and nail for scraps.

“Little Bradley here has everything he could ever want — and when you want just one thing? His little sister as your own — as the Moon Goddess has ordained? He can’t bare it. He throws a tantrum. He blinds himself to the signs that were there! He refuses to see what was so clear.”

He turned on Bradley, taking a step closer as he roared, “How did you not see it, Bradshaw? How did you not know that your own sister had found her mate? Even I could feel it coming off her the moment she stepped out of that tavern four weeks ago! Sickeningly sweet and bright as the moon! Is it because you would rather keep your sister at a distance, keep her on the outside looking in? You would rather deny her any sense of belonging than let her leave your control — find her own place in this world.”

Bradley snarled and snapped his teeth, great paws digging into the ground as he lowered his head at Bellmoral. Ronnie could see it, however — see the river beneath the ice, the malice under the pity. This was Bellmoral’s backup plan. Pull at all of Bradley’s strings until he attacked, playing him like a fiddle, or a harp, or some other instrument that could very well snap from misuse. And she knew her brother. Knew that those words would reach something at the core of him, touch all his insecurities and make him lash out in some attempt to defend his hurt pride.

It was something she had done before, in their youth. When she really wanted to hurt him but knew she stood no chance against him physically. It was always in that way that siblings do. When she would say something so scathing, and then in the next hour walk close beside him to the corner store for snacks. Then at school the next day when someone said something behind his back she would threaten to knock their lights out.

She wanted to defend him now. Even after all he had done, all he had said. Even if, maybe, Bellmoral was even right. That didn’t matter. Because he was her brother. Her family. Her flesh and blood, with eyes that matched her own and a smile just like her father’s.

“Brad, don’t listen — “

But it was too late. Bradley roared before he dove at Bellmoral, who shifted into his wolf form in an instant. Prepared and ready for Bradley’s attack. Bellmoral’s wolf was nearly as big as Bob — but he was malnourished. His bones stuck out at odd angles, his once brilliant grey fur now matted and balding in places. His white eyes shown great and terrible as his teeth sunk into Bradley’s shoulder.

Ronnie cried out as Jake moved her away from the fight. Shoved her back as gently as he could until she was amongst the other Red Sky wolves. Mickey took her shoulder and pulled her in closer, his fingers dug into the spot where Bellmoral’s teeth had held her and she hissed against the pain. Everything hurt. Her shoulder, her hip, her wrist, her face, her heart. Maybe her heart most of all. It weighed heavy in her chest, spilled into her lungs, making it hard to breathe as she watched Bellmoral pin her brother into the dirt.

Bradley and Bellmoral grappled, teeth clacking and bodies rolling around on the ground. Blue River could do nothing but watch. A fight against their Alpha meant they couldn’t intervene. It would mean that they thought their leader weak, and none of them thought that of Bradley. None of them ever could.

Especially Ronnie. And despite everything, a sob left her lips as Bradley yelped. A sound she knew so well, a sound she had heard throughout her life. Bellmoral had him pinned down by the throat, Bradley’s paws moving feebly to try and get him off. Ronnie took a step forward before she even realized she was moving, but Mickey and Reuben held her back.

She remembered a time when they were as close as could be. When they would sit together on the roof of the pack house and watch the full moon with a kind of longing adventures were born from. When they would ride their bikes to school together. When he let her ride on his back through the woods. When they fought and forgave and hugged and cried and screamed and laughed. But then she went away to college and he stayed put. Then she stopped calling back home as much and he only texted when he needed something. Then she didn’t come home the last two summers, opting to find work in Seattle instead. Then when she graduated and moved back home, she didn’t move back into the family house. She took the hunting cabin their dad had built years ago.

A rift chipped away at both sides. A symptom of growing up. Of wanting different things. Of being different things.

But he was her brother. She was born knowing him. She was born loving him.

“Jake,” she called softly before she could put more thought behind her words. His giant golden head turned to look at her instantly. “Help him…Please.”

He stared at her for a moment. And she could see his reaction written all over his face. The fear at fighting Bellmoral again. The defiance at helping the wolf who moments ago wanted him dead. He was still bleeding, the wound Bradley gave him healing at a slower rate, he could barely put any weight on his leg. Ronnie glanced over his golden shoulder to see that Bradley had stopped struggling, Bellmoral’s lips pulled back as he watched the life drain from him — as he took Bradley’s death slowly.

Ronnie looked back to her mate with a pleading quiver in her lip. “Please.”

Jake turned to the losing battle.

And then he roared.

Bellmoral looked up just in time for Jake to tackle him off of Bradley’s prone form. The previous Alpha of Red Sky stared down the one who usurped him, pale grey head hung low and eyes glowing white. They may have been talking to one another, but Ronnie couldn’t hear a thing. Only Bradley’s hacking as he got back to his feet. Jake and Bellmoral met with a furious growl, raised up on their back legs as they swiped at one another. But Jake was clearly weakened, his shoulder refusing to heal. He landed back on all fours with a yap of pain. But he had gotten his claws into Bellmoral’s face. The grey wolf staggered back as he shook his head, trying to clear the blood from his vision.

Then Bradley came to stand at Jake’s side.

A laugh seemed to spill from Bellmoral’s red lips as he looked at them. The Alphas of two packs who had been warring for centuries. Standing together just to defeat him once and for all. Ronnie wondered, as she leaned against Mickey for support, if he was beginning to worry. If he was beginning to regret.

It didn’t seem like it as he charged at them.

He swiped at Jake as he went for Bradley’s throat with his teeth. But even wounded, the two Alphas together were too fast and too strong for him. In what felt like only an instant Bradley had Bellmoral pinned down at his waist. And Jake had his jaw clamped tight around the grey wolf’s neck.

Then Jake began to pull.

Bellmoral screamed.

And with one final yank, the grey wolf was ripped in two.

Jake arched up with the force of it, up onto his back paws as he pulled the top half of his body free. Leaving behind limp legs and entrails spilling out. Blood sprayed in every direction. Ronnie felt the warmth of it on her face as she stared wide-eyed at the scene before her. Jake spat out Bellmoral’s mauled neck. Bradley got off the rest of the body with a huff.

Ronnie slumped against Mickey completely. A relief-soaked sob echoing in her throat as he steadied her. When she looked back up, Jake and Bradley were shifted back into their human forms. Their shoulders working as they breathed, as they stared down at the body at their feet. Bellmoral was back in his human form as well — shifted one last time in the Goddess’ mercy so they couldn’t be caught in death — torso separated from his legs. Eyes staring unblinkingly at the grey sky. Mouth still pulled back in a smile.

Bradley nodded, a subtle curt thing, at Jake and he nodded back. A thank you. An acceptance.

It was over. It was finally over. Red Sky was truly free. Maybe it wasn’t a tragedy after all. Maybe there was still hope.

A fractured wrist, the bones now held in place to heal back together by a thick plastic brace. Deep muscle bruising to the shoulder and hip. Four gashes to the face, one requiring stitches and the rest held together with medical glue.

They told the doctors it was a mountain biking accident. That she was thrown from her bike when she snagged on a root. That they got her to the hospital as quickly as they could, seeing as they were pretty deep on the trail. Everybody believed it. Nobody even gave it a second thought. The injuries lined up.

And it wasn’t like they would have believed the truth anyway.

Ronnie was discharged around eleven at night with a pain medication ready to be picked up at the local pharmacy by morning, instructions to take it easy for a few days, and teasing remarks about being more careful on those biking trails. She smiled and thanked everyone for their help as she left, Jake’s arm secure around her waist.

Blue River was waiting for them out in the parking lot. Gathered around their vehicles and sipping on beers that wouldn’t inebriate them in the slightest. They all perked up as the Red Sky Alpha and his new Luna approached.

Natasha was the first to meet them — an overnight bag clutched in her fist.

“Figured you might want some of your clothes,” she said as she handed the bag off to Jake.

“Thanks, Nat,” Ronnie replied with a tired smile.

She could see that her friend wanted to say more, but she kept glancing at Jake. Nervously shifting from one foot to the other under the weight of the power he put off. Ronnie gave his hip a squeeze as she looked up into his firmly set expression.

“Go wait in the truck, okay?” she suggested quietly, and at his hesitance to leave her, she reassured him with another squeeze. “I’ll be okay. Just a few minutes.”

Jake pulled away from her reluctantly with a curt nod. Then he stalked off towards his truck parked haphazardly in the spot closest to the door. Natasha instantly relaxed once he was gone.

“Does — Does this really mean you have to leave?” Natasha asked softly.

She refused to look Ronnie in the eye. Hands shoved in her back pockets. The tears caught in her dark eyes reflected in the fluorescent light of the parking lot. It felt like Ronnie’s ribs were too tight as she reached for her friend — but then retracted her hand. Natasha caught it anyway, reflexes fast as she snatched Ronnie’s fingers in her strong grip. She gave a reassuring squeeze as Ronnie took a shuddering breath.

“If I could stay, if I could keep both packs, I would. You know I would,” Ronnie replied, eyes focused on their joined hands. “But I can’t. Red Sky is my pack now.”

“I wish…I wish you would’ve told me.”

Ronnie looked up at her then, at her rosy cheeks and soft little nose, at her dark hair slicked back into a bun and that sad look in her eyes. Reasons pricked at the very tip of Ronnie’s tongue. It all happened so fast. Everyone was showing animosity towards Red Sky. The less people that knew before Bradley found out, the better. But they all died in her mouth, turned to ash, to something sour. None of that mattered. Natasha was her friend. They grew up together. They worked together. Natasha always had, and always would be, a confidant and an ally. Everything would have been so much easier with Natasha at her side, so much lighter — someone to share the load. Tears gathered at the corners of Ronnie’s eyes as she squeezed her friend’s hand tight.

“Me too.”

“I knew that something was off.” Then she laughed lightly. “I thought it was because of Bob…”

Ronnie laughed too.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t say anything, Nat.”

The dark-haired she-wolf shook her head. “None of us made it easy, but…He’s your mate, ya know? And a really fine one at that, like, Jesus Christ.”

They both laughed now. Little chuckles accompanied by shakes of their heads as Ronnie smoothed her thumb over the back of Natasha’s hand. The tears welled up anew, her chin quivering as she looked at her friend. At her friend from this point forward she wouldn’t see nearly every single day. It was all so eerily similar to when Ronnie went off to college. They knew they would still be friends after this. Still connected. But it was going to be different from then on. Morphed into something else. Something more distant. Something more nostalgic rather than present.

“I’m really gonna miss you,” Ronnie said, voice wavering as her tears fell.

“M’gonna miss you too.”

Natasha pulled her into a tight hug, but minded her injuries. Then the friends parted, and over Natasha’s shoulder, Ronnie caught Bradley’s intense gaze from further down the parking lot. Natasha gave her hand one last squeeze before letting go of her completely.

Bradley was leaning against the back bumper of his Bronco. Arms crossed and body cleaned of the blood he had spilled. Bob and Pete stood on either side of him. His face betrayed no emotion, and that was somehow worse as Ronnie approached him. If he looked mad she could prepare for that. If he looked sad she could prepare for that too. But that neutral expression on his face, that blank stare, was nearly painful to her.

Pete met her first. She could see the tears clinging to his lashes just before he pulled her in for a hug. It felt like being hugged by her father. She clung to him tighter, buried her face in his neck as he felt his tears wet her shoulder. He pulled away, and Bob was standing behind him. The bespeckled wolf fidgeted with the edge of his flannel as he flashed her a tight smile. Ronnie smiled at him too. Knowing that Jake was watching, that he was still on edge, she reached out and patted Bob’s shoulder as she passed. Hoping that it would tell him just how grateful she was for all that he had done for her. Bob and Pete moved along, opting to talk with some of the other wolves, when Ronnie finally stood before her brother.

There could have been an entire canyon between them, not just that tiny strip of cracked concrete. An entire continent. An entire ocean. Standing face to face with Bradley now, she never felt further away. She wanted to be close to him again. Like when they were kids and adventure was just around the corner. But she didn’t know if this was a canyon that could ever be crossed. A continent that could ever be charted. An ocean that could ever be tamed.

Bradley finally broke the silence. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ronnie coughed, held up her braced wrist for a moment. “I’m okay. Just…Really tired.”

Just silence. Was this the tragedy she had been waiting for?

“Bellmoral was right you know,” he muttered, eyes focused on the way his boot scuffed against the concrete. “About keeping you on the outside…Keeping you under my control.”

She took a half step forward, longing to comfort, but unsure if she could. “Brad — “

“Don’t try n’ deny it, Ronnie. You know it’s true, too. S’just — “ He huffed, uncrossing his arms to shove his hands in his jean pockets. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, eyebrows furrowed as he searched for the words. “First it was Mom. Then Tom…And then Dad. I guess…I just didn’t want you to leave me.”

He looked up into her face then and there were tears in his eyes. Ronnie tried to swallow around the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. She felt her tears flowing freely down her cheeks, surely wetting the fresh bandages that had been put over her cuts.

“Fuck. M’sorry. For all of it,” he said.

Then she crashed into him like a head-on collision. Her arms around his middle tight as she pulled him into her. As she buried her face in his chest. As she wept openly, like sorrow and relief all at once. He was stiff beneath her touch for a moment. Only a moment. And then Bradley caved in. Released. Melted into her hold. His own thick arms wrapped around her shoulder tight, his lips pressed into her hairline. The ocean had been crossed. The continent trekked over. The canyon closed together. Somehow, he felt closer than ever before.

“You’re gonna be an amazing Luna, Ronnie Bradshaw,” he whispered to her as he continued to hold her, continued to love her. “You were born for it. Leading. Helping. More than I ever was.”

She managed to blubber out between sobs. “We’re children of wolf kings.”

It was what their father used to say at the end of pack meetings. On nights of the full moon. When he would sit them down and tell them stories about their ancestors. It was nearly a joke he said it so much. But now that he was gone, they came to some solemn understanding of the power behind it. The faith. The strength. The history.

They were children of wolf kings. Destined for crowns that neither of them thought they could bare.

Prying herself away from him, Ronnie sniffed back the snot that had clogged her nose and wiped tenderly at her cheeks — making sure to avoid her bandages. Bradley quickly swiped at his own face, looking around to make sure no one saw him. It made her smile.

“Where’re you guys gonna go?” he asked, hands back in his pockets.

“The hunting cabin,” she answered, “We sent a few wolves ahead to get it ready.”

Bradley looked at her for a moment, a smile ticking up the corner of his mustache. “You really love him?”

“I know it sounds crazy. I barely even know him.”

“God.” He shook his head as he laughed, something like realization on his face. “You really do love him.”

“I do.”

They hugged again. And then Ronnie turned away. It felt final. It felt terrifying. It felt like walking into darkness and into the unknown. What was out there? What awaited her in the shadows, around the corners, just over the hill? What was in store for her in a world without her family at her side and an entire life to start over?

But then Jake.

Jake stood beneath the yellow light of the parking lot. Hands in the pockets of his jeans as he leaned against the side of his old beat-up truck. He smiled softly at her as she approached. He was her guiding light. Her steady shore. Her foundation and her architect. It didn’t matter what waited for her as long as he was there. He would be with her through everything.

Her mate. Her Alpha. Her love.

She fell asleep on the drive and Jake carried her inside.

The a-frame cabin was small, but nice. Jake smiled as he kicked the door shut quietly behind him. The space was so incredibly Ronnie. There were maps and pictures from her world travels hanging on the walls. With no space for bookshelves with the slanted ceilings, there were tall stacks of paperbacks and hardcovers lining the wall by the couch. Candles were scattered about that had been relit — unscented because they gave her headaches.

“Where’s the bed, little one?” Jake asked as he walked further inside, noting the small hallway further back and the short set of stairs that led up to the loft.

“Upstairs,” she muttered, voice laced with sleep.

Her eyes were barely held open. She felt heavy in his arms, though his muscles didn’t strain. The only thing that kept her awake was the way Jake’s heartbeat directly into her ear.

He carried her up the steps, careful not the jostle her too much as he came up into the loft where the slope of the roof was at its peak. Mickey and Reuben had made the bed, the linens freshly washed and warm as Jake laid Ronnie down in them. He pulled the soft blankets, flannel sheets and down-filled comforter, over her as she curled up on her side. Nearly like a cat. Her long, dark hair was still a tangled mess but she didn’t seem to care. She blinked up at him slowly. A soft, on-the-edge-of-dreams smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she reached up and touched his cheek. Just the tips of her fingers, the majority of her hand covered by the thick brace. Still, Jake leaned into her touch with a grin of his own.

She hummed contentedly as Jake gently placed her hand back to rest at her side.

He pushed the few hairs that had fallen into her face out of the way, tucking them behind her ear. Never before had she felt so comfortable underneath a gaze so intense. He could look at her like that for hours and she would never feel the need to hide.

“Reuben said he left some clothes for me. I’ll be right back,” he said.

“I’ll wait for you,” Ronnie replied.

“You don’t have to — “

“I’ll wait for you,” she repeated, a bit more sternly, her eyebrows set in a way that nearly made Jake laugh.

The bed creaked as he rose from the edge and went back downstairs. Ronnie felt instantly colder without him there. Even though she was under the thick blankets and the heater hummed loudly in the background. Everything felt so heavy yet so weightless. Her eyelids slid shut despite her best efforts. Her body sunk further into the mattress; it felt like she was going to sink right through to the floor. But she was also floating. High up in the sky, above the trees, above the mountains. She was untethered as she teetered on the edge of sleep, detached, falling. Balanced on the edge of a knife.

But then the other side of the bed dipped. The covers pulled back for an instant and she shuddered at the sudden cold. But it was soon forgotten as Jake settled in behind her, pulled her back into his chest. He was so warm. She sighed deeply, some release, as she burrowed further back against him. His chuckle reverberated in her own ribcage. Jake was her anchor, her stake in the ground. Settling her in this plane of existence with a gentle grip around her waist and a soft kiss against her jaw.

Pure bliss. Sunshine incarnate. This was what it must have felt like to burn. Complete joy and complete belonging. This was where she was meant to be. Happily drowning in a golden ocean of pure warming sunlight, wrapped up in the citrus and bonfire scent of her mate. It was like looking into a grain silo on her grandmother’s farm. Mesmerized by the colors and suddenly falling in, surrounded by that earthy scent of wheat that lulled until dying didn’t sound so bad. But as she lay there, held and loved completely, she felt she was coming more alive.

“You love me?” Jake whispered into the place where her neck met her shoulder.

Ronnie, though half asleep, could hear the question bubbling like lava just beneath. You love me despite everything? You love me after what you watched me do? You love me injured and covered in blood and terrified?

“I think I always have.” She smoothed her fingers over the arm curled around her waist. “Even when I didn’t know you. I think I’ve been waiting my whole life for you.”

There was that calm confidence again. That assuredness the very foundations of the earth were made of.

“I feel like I’ve known you my whole life. Like I’ve loved you from the moment I started breathing, Ronnie.”

She smiled, a joyful noise humming in her throat, as sleep finally overcame her.

When she woke up, Ronnie wasn’t entirely sure it was morning. The sunlight streaming through the window above the bed was too bright, too powerful to be anything but brought on by midday. For a moment, she just basked in it. Too warm and too comfortable to move.

But the space beside her was empty. Cold.

As she rolled onto her back, her fingers trailed over the rustled sheets. The indent in the other pillow.

Was it all just a dream? The whole of it? Her father’s death. Going to live with Bradley while the dust settled. Finding her mate in the Alpha of Red Sky. She couldn’t decide if it was joy or sorrow that filled her heart at the possibility. To have her father back would be a joy beyond words. But to lose Jake to have him — that was a sorrow unmatched.

Then her broken bones screeched in a sudden pain that made her suck in a sharp breath. That was real. She lifted her braced hand to drape across her middle, fingers rubbing over the tough plastic in some attempt to soothe the discomfort. And if that was real — that injury, that hurt — then the rest of it was real too. It wasn’t just a dream. It was a beautiful, yet dimmed reality. Loss for gain. Her father was gone but that was okay. He might not have been around to take care of her anymore, but she had her mate now.

She had Jake now.

But where was he?

Ronnie sat up slowly, a soft noise of effort slipping from her lips as she pulled herself to sit up against the wall. Every muscle in her body felt tired, used up, and sore. It took some great effort, like Atlas willing himself to shrug with the weight of the world on his shoulders, just to get herself upright. She rubbed at the sleep that still clung to her lashes. Her tongue suddenly felt heavy and dry in her mouth, like it didn’t really belong there. Opening her mouth to flex her jaw, she looked over to Jake’s empty spot in bed again.

Where was he?

Somewhere inside, she knew he was close. He wasn’t too far.

But before she could will herself to get out from beneath the covers, Jake’s golden head of hair appeared as he came up the stairs. All the tension that had wound itself up in her shoulders suddenly relaxed at the sight of him.

His soft smile. That lock of dark blond hair that fell against his forehead. He looked comfortable. Wearing a pair of sweats and a waffle-knit long sleeve, the clothes that the pack must have brought. Ronnie was glad to see him out of the bloodied flannel he had been wearing the day before.

The smell of toast and eggs suddenly hit her and her stomach grumbled. He carried the breakfast, coffee, a glass of water, and her prescription bottle on the tray from her small dining table strictly used for decoration. But she didn’t mind in the slightest as he set the tray down in the spot he once occupied.

She opened her mouth to speak, but she could feel it. The way her throat gurgled with underuse and overuse at the same. The first noise of some greeting barely escaped before she was trying to clear her throat.

“Here,” Jake said as he snatched the glass of water from the tray.

He held it up to her lips as he sat down at the edge of the bed. She took it from him gratefully, taking a few sips to wet her throat. When she pulled the glass away, she smiled almost shyly at him.

“Hi.”

Her voice came out as a croak that made her wince.

But Jake didn’t seem to mind as he pushed her messy hair back away from her face. “Hey, little one.”

“How long was I out for?” she asked quietly, not trusting her voice to get any louder.

“About fourteen hours,” he replied as he reached over and grabbed the pill bottle from the tray. “It’s two in the afternoon.”

“Jesus — you should’ve woken me up.”

“No. You needed the rest. Still do.” He undid the cap and poured out two pills into his palm. “Take these, then I need you to eat.”

Ronnie put up no argument. Her stomach felt like it was eating itself as she eyed the eggs and toast laid out beside her. She took the pills, tongue smacking against the grainy taste they left in her mouth. Jake watched to make sure she did it before handing her the plate and a fork.

“Aren’t you gonna eat something?” she asked around a mouthful of toast.

How did he know just how she liked it? Golden brown and coated in a thick layer of butter. Classic and simple and honestly, in that moment, the best thing she had ever tasted.

“I already ate,” he replied with a smile. “Breakfast and lunch.”

She felt a heat rise in her cheeks as she took the coffee from the tray, leaving it empty. “Sorry.”

“S’okay. I didn’t mind. Got to figure you out a bit.”

“Yeah?” She sipped on the hot beverage. Black how she liked it. “What’d you figure out?”

“That you’re a huge nerd,” he said with a grin.

Ronnie made a face, but couldn’t help but smile knowingly. “I….Am. Yes. I can’t deny it. What gave me away?”

“Well, for starters, you own at least ten books on Greek mythology.” Jake got up from the bed and set the tray on the floor, taking his place beside her with a sigh as he relaxed back against the wall. “And you have the other Lord of the Rings books. No one has those except huge nerds.”

“Okay, okay, number one, sir — I have a degree in Classics and Linguistics so anything to do with Greece or Rome down there is warranted. And second…Tolkien was a master of his craft and he made a fascinating world. You should read it sometime.”

“I’m not really a reader,” he chuckled lightly.

“I’ll read it to you then.”

“I’d like that.” He smiled over at her warmly.

His presence was comforting, safe, and warm as she continued to eat. As she continued to feel like she was coming back to herself. Jake was a part of that now. A part of her that she could never reject or deny. Just as she was a part of him. She leaned into his side and it felt like a consecration. Something holy. Something divine.

But it felt like anticipation too. A string about to snap. A storm looming on the horizon. A finger hesitating over the trigger.

She could feel it in Jake most of all. As she set her empty plate on the nightstand and leaned back into his arm. He was tense. He nearly flinched away from her. Or towards her. She couldn’t tell. When she looked up into his face, his brow was pulled down in some agony, in barely there restraint.

Picking her head up off his shoulder she asked softly, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah — “

He was cut off by his own sharp intake of breath when Ronnie put her hand on his thigh. It was supposed to be a comfort, but his reaction only made her worry increase. Like a weed in a crack in the pavement. She twisted her torso to look at him completely. His eyes were screwed shut, mouth turned down in a grimace.

“Jake, are you sure?”

She turned to him further, nearly up on her knees to inspect him closer. And with her movement, her hand floated higher up his thigh. The soft whimper that tumbled from his mouth was enough to make her pause. His hand, which shook with some effort, shot out to gently take hold of her braced wrist.

His eyes slipped open and they were hazy, his blinking slow as he whispered, “Please don’t.”

Looking down at where her hand had been touching him, she expected some injury that just wouldn’t heal for reasons unknown. But she gasped softly at what she did find.

The outline of his cock, thick and heavy and hard against the fabric of his sweatpants.

Ronnie couldn’t help the way her mouth popped open at the sight. The way a sudden heat and pressure bloomed between her legs. The first few chords of the string were broken. The first drops of rain were falling. The finger was beginning to squeeze the trigger. She looked back up to his face to find Jake already looking at her, his green eyes hooded but hesitant. And now that her pain medication was kicking in and her stomach was full, only one ache remained. One that surprised her still, that throbbed somewhere deep inside her chest.

She knew what it was and knew that Jake felt it too. Felt it stronger than she ever could. Had probably been feeling it for hours while she slept.

“Jake…” She lifted her hand to his face to make him meet her eyes. “How long’ve you been like that?”

“Since I crawled into bed with you last night,” he replied, voice strained. He swallowed something thick. “I — I got up a few times to take care of it myself, but…Nothing’s worked. It just — it won’t — “

He looked guilty. His eyes downcast and his hand moving to try and cover himself up. He refused to meet her gaze, opting to burrow into the palm still resting on his cheek.

Ronnie’s grip became firm as she slowly, her body still sore and tired, pulled herself into his lap. Knees straddling his thighs. She settled down onto him with a huff, relief and effort, and Jake instantly reached out to hold her waist in a firm, yet gentle grip. Like he wanted her to stay but was prepared for her to go.

“It’s okay, my Alpha. It’s only natural,” she assured, her braced hand coming up to his other cheek as her right hand trailed down his neck and chest. “Our mate bond needs to be settled. Your body is telling you so.”

She watched the way his chest heaved with shallow breaths for air as the very tips of her fingers ghosted down his chest and stomach. Watched the muscles there jump beneath his shirt. It made her core clench in some desperate cry to be filled, her slick dampening her panties as she thought of what was to come. The ache that had once been housed in her chest now nestled between her thighs.

Jake took in a sharp breath, his fingers curling into the fabric of her sweater, tugging her closer. “Fuck — I can smell you.”

“Yeah?” she asked softly as her fingertips danced around the waistband of his sweats.

“We — I shouldn’t,” he said, even as his hips bucked up into her touch. “You’re hurt. You need rest. I should…I should be able to control myself. But…Fuck. I need you. I can’t stop thinking about it. R-Ronnie…”

His head fell back against the wall with an audible thud when her palm came in contact with his hard length. His expression looked nearly pained as she continued to feel him, working him through his sweats. He was big. Bigger than any man she ever had before, which were few and far between. For only an instant, she worried about getting all that to fit inside her. About him splitting her open. Then she felt the muscles in his legs spasm and flex beneath her, one knee rose — forcing her to slide further down his lap.

Her cunt, now burning with desire, nudged against his length and she gasped. All her worries were forgotten, replaced by her need to be filled by him. She was made just for him, designed and knit together in the most intimate way. Chest falling against his own, her hand moved to support herself against his shoulder. She nuzzled his cheek with her nose, a hum reverberating in her throat as his hands slid up the length of her back beneath her sweater. His breaths hot and heavy against her ear.

“You can smell it — how much I need you too?” she asked and Jake nodded. She pressed her fingers to the center of his chest, just below his sternum. “Can you feel it, right here?”

“Yes,” he breathed, tugging her closer, pushing her hips down against his own. “It hurts. I can’t…”

Ronnie kissed his cheek again, pulling him into her with a furrowed brow. She shushed him as he whined softly, his legs spasming beneath her again as she rolled her hips against the erection that had been paining him for hours. Having to bite back her own moan at the way the tip caught against her clit.

“I know, I know it hurts. But I want you. Want you to claim me as your Luna.” She drew close, her lips brushing the shell of his ear. “Make me yours. Completely.”

She tried to drag her clothed cunt against him again but he stopped her with a firm grip on her waist, mindful of the injury on her hip that she had long forgotten about.

“I don’t wanna hurt you,” he confessed, green eyes roving her face for any semblance of hesitance.

Ronnie pulled back to look him in the eye. Tone laced with that calm confidence that world leaders would envy.

“You could never hurt me.”

Jake was on her in the next instant. His kiss hungry and bordering on desperate as his fingers tangled into her hair. It was like he was trying to drink from her very soul as he nudged her to lay back on the bed, lifting her effortlessly and gently. He slotted himself between her spread legs, urging her to wrap them around his waist with a broad palm on her thigh. Ronnie obliged him happily, heels digging into his ass to get him to move against where her cunt throbbed in time with her heart.

Hands sliding over the back of his neck and into his hair, she made some noise of apology around his tongue in her mouth when her plastic brace knocked against his skull. Jake pulled away from her to laugh, breathless and shoulders shaking as his face fell into the spot where her neck met her shoulder.

“I hate this thing already,” Ronnie grumbled, displaying her left hand briefly before letting it flop back against the bed beside her head. “I wanna touch you.”

“You are touching me,” he replied, his eyes fluttering shut at the way her fingers traced over his bottom lip.

“Wanna touch all of you. Hard to do with one good hand.”

Jake groaned as he surged into her again, like water on rock — his kiss powerful but gentle as he explored her mouth with his tongue. Despite just how hot and hard he felt against her, he still tugged at the hem of her shirt. Fingers dancing around the edge of the fabric with a kind of respect that left her breathless as he pulled away to mouth at her neck.

“Please?” he asked quietly against her pulse.

“Yes, yes.” She couldn’t say it fast enough. “I’m all yours, my Alpha.”

Sitting up on his knees, he pulled her sweater up and over her head slowly. Like he was unwrapping something preciously fragile. They struggled to get her sleeve off around her brace and it made them laugh. But the chuckle died in Jake’s throat once he took in the sight of her. Laid out beneath him, having chosen to take off her bra sometime the night before, in nothing but those little shorts. Her nipples pebbled once exposed to the cooler air of the cabin. Her chest heaved beneath his intense gaze, but she didn’t feel uncomfortable or self-conscious. If anything, his attention empowered her as her hips rolled to relieve the ache in her cunt.

His calloused fingers trailed over her pale skin, between the valley of her breasts and down her stomach where the muscles twitched in anticipation. She gasped as the hairs on her arms stood on end, as her flesh pimpled beneath his ghostly touch. His eyes bled with the power he fought so hard for as he watched her body react to him.

“Your skin’s like moonlight,” he mumbled.

Then he reached behind his back and tugged his own shirt off, discarding it somewhere in the small room. Jake was thick and broad. Body carved by years and years of hard work. His chest and stomach were muscled, covered in a thick layer of hair that only made him more inviting. Made him look soft despite all that power. Ronnie bit down on her lip as her eyes trailed over him, taking in the way his hips started a V that disappeared into his sweats.

It felt like her heart swelled to a few sizes too big. It was surely about to burst out of her chest, snap into Jake’s waiting hand. She wanted to say something back. Tell him his skin was warm as the sun and his eyes reminded her of the Spring grain fields she saw in Italy. But the words never made it to her tongue. They were morphed, twisted, until they came out of her mouth in nothing but a moan as Jake kissed her collarbones.

His tongue and his lips laved down the slope of her chest. While his warm palm enveloped one breast, his mouth latched onto the other. Ronnie arched into his touch with a gasp, fingers of her uninjured hand tangling in the strands of his hair. His tongue swirled around her nipple, sucked on the tender flesh until he released it with a soft pop. Ronnie jerked beneath him, hips working in some effort to feel anything against where she needed him most.

“Mm, J-Jake?” she asked, a soft whimper quickly following as he dragged the attention of his mouth to her other breast.

He hummed against her heated flesh, sounding completely content.

“I need — mnh — I need you to touch me. God, please.”

She felt his smirk against the swell of her breast, heard it in the way he whispered, “I am touching you.”

“Touch all of me,” she replied and Jake groaned, loud and deep directly into her sternum.

“God, I want to. All the time.” He rose back up to his knees, leaving her a panting, wreathing mess beneath him. “Wanna do this right — wanna make you feel good, sweet girl.”

Ronnie whimpered at the nickname, at everything. She heard rumors and read tales about Alphas claiming their Lunas in the most brutal of fashions. Archaic and animalistic. But Jake was putting her pleasure first, even if it hurt him. She could see, as he tugged her shorts down her legs — past her bruised knees — that a wet spot was forming in the crotch of his pants. He was achingly hard, and kept that way by his instinct to fill her. It wouldn’t have surprised her if he took what he wanted with promises of making it up to her later. But that wasn’t Jake. That wasn’t who he was.

He was the kind of Alpha that risked his own life to save his pack. That kept his distance when she asked it of him, even though it pained him. That took the smallest room. That respected her enough and cared for her enough to wait until she was ready.

A high-pitched kind of sigh slipped past her lips as he pulled her shorts and underwear off in one go. Jake’s eyes now shown red as rubies as he drank in the sight of her, hands moving up her calves and into the crooks of her knees to prop them up — spread her open for him. He growled, eyes caught on the apex of her thighs. At her glistening cunt, at the dark thatch of curls that framed her.

She squirmed beneath his gaze now, every sense heightened and attuned to the near-desperate need that filled her. Trying to press her thighs together in search of some friction, some relief, Jake’s knelt form sat in the way. Keeping her from that balm. She whined softly, her cunt clenching around nothing at the way he watched her.

Reaching out to him in some attempt to keep her own fingers from slipping between her folds, she called, “My Alpha…Come here.”

He grinned as he lay back over her, forearms keeping him propped up as he kissed her sweet and slow. Gone was the hurried desperation, replaced by nothing but that strong love and longing that had been building upon itself for weeks. One of Jake’s hands slipped down her form, over her soft and bruised skin. Until finally the very tips of his fingers ghosted through the dark curls at the joining of her thighs.

His hand dipped into her cunt and she grunted at the sudden attention, sudden relief, sudden white-hot pleasure.

“Fuck, you’re dripping,” Jake muttered breathlessly, thick digits exploring as he teased at her entrance.

“J-Just for you,” she replied, hands latched onto his shoulders, his grin pressed into the side of her neck.

His fingers passed over her clit and she gasped, hips rocking, trying to get him to touch it again. He moved back over the correct spot and pressed in, her head pushing back into the comforter as she clawed into his back. How could it possibly feel this good and he had barely even touched her?

“There?” he asked against the line of her jaw before kissing feather-light at the burning hot flesh.

“Yes — there.”

Jake hummed as he began to circle her clit, rubbing slow and sweet in a way that made her lungs burn. That made her hands scramble for purchase. That made her back arch despite the dull pain that coursed through her at the action. But, of course, he sensed it — in that spot hidden deep within his chest. He pressed down with more of his weight, keeping her from straining herself. She wanted to say thank you, but all that came out was a wail as he added just a bit more pressure.

“Sound so sweet, little one.” He inhaled slowly at her pulse point, hips rutting against her thigh. “Smells so good.”

“W-What do I — smell like?” she managed to stutter out.

“Like lavender…And old book pages,” he replied, lips moving down the column of her neck, beard scratching at her skin. “Second one makes more sense now.”

She chuckled breathlessly, head spinning with pleasure as he increased the speed of his fingers. A quiet whine escaped her as he pulled his attention away from that little bundle of nerves, but it was short lived as the heel of his hand pressed down into it. Two of his digits instead focused on her entrance.

“Oh.”

The sound echoed around the room before she even realized.

Jake pulled back to look into her face, all movements stopped save for the gentle nudge of his palm against her clit. “Okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. It’s just…” Her braced hand lifted to cup his jaw as best she could. “It’s been a long time, for me.”

A heat rose in her cheeks as he smiled gently down at her. Red eyes of the Alpha so soft just for her. He kissed her once, twice, then pulled away to nuzzle her cheek.

“I’ll go slow,” he said, then his hips jerked against her leg. “Need you good and ready for me.”

Ronnie whimpered softly as he slowly sunk two fingers into her, nails digging into his biceps, sure to leave crescent moons in her wake that would fade before she got the chance to see them. He just rested there for a moment, let her adjust. Then he curled his fingers up experimentally and the sound she let out was something primal, something she had never heard herself make before. It made Jake groan, teeth clenched, as he began to pump his fingers in and out of her. Stretching her out with his palm grinding against her clit.

Her fingers tangled in his hair and pulled, guiding him up to kiss his swollen lips. They breathed into each other as her hips rocked into his hand, her eyes barely able to stay open against the mounting pleasure. He curled his fingers up against her walls and with each breath, she was spilling some noise to him like treasured secrets.

Her release was building in the deepest pit of her gut, hot and heavy and begging to be poured out. Her cup nearly filled to the brim. It was a feeling she never wanted to leave but so desperately wanted to take over the edge.

“Jake…” she managed to pant out as some warning.

“Can feel it, little one — squeezing my fingers so tight. Think you can take another?”

She sobbed something frustrated as he retracted his hand, but all of it was smothered into whimpers when she felt the tips of three of his thick digits prod at her entrance. Jake pushed back in slow, moving onto his knees between her legs so he could hold her down with his palm flat against her stomach. Keeping her from taking too much at once. Her walls spasmed around his fingers once he was down to the third knuckle, his thumb pressed into her clit and rubbing tight circles that eased the ache. Ronnie’s chest heaved, the stretch delicious as her hands fisted the sheets until her knuckles turned white.

She cried, nearly a scream, when he flexed his hand. Head thrown back to expose her pale neck and eyes screwed shut. She felt so full, but she knew it wasn’t full enough. It wasn’t him. Jake moaned at the sight.

“Fuck, little one — you look so good like this,” he breathed, flexing his fingers again and watching as she mewled.

“Please, move, Jake — please, so close,” Ronnie babbled, rolling her hips as much as she could under his strong hold.

He began to pump his fingers, never fully leaving her cunt as he curled them against some spot inside her she was never able to reach. She cried out as she was brought right back to that edge, as her cup threatened to overflow, as her pleasure became intense and burning hot inside her.

“That’s it, sweet girl, that’s it,” Jake panted as he removed his hand from her belly, letting her ride his fingers at her own quickening pace. “Feel so good already — can’t wait to be inside this pussy. Claim you as mine. Have me dripping out of you.”

Her cup spilled over. Wrenched from her with a scream and her back arched and her walls around his fingers like a vice — sucking him back in as he worked her through it. It made something like a sob get caught in her chest as she blinked up at the ceiling, trying to come back down from an impossible high. Her bones went limp, tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. But Jake kept going, kept curling and pushing. He had slowed down to prolong her pleasure, but he was quickly getting back to that brutal pace.

“W-Wait,” she whined, already feeling herself teetering on the precipice.

“Just one more, gimme one more.”

A feeble sound of protest slipped from her parted lips as she burrowed her face into the wrinkled blankets. But she made no move to stop him as he leaned back over her, lips and tongue hot and heavy against her neck. The muscles in her thighs twitched in time with the press of his palm against her clit.

She came with a soft cry, a moan directly in Jake’s ear, though it was just as intense. Just as brutal. Just as overwhelming. And when it all became too much, she grabbed weakly at his forearm and tugged. He obliged her, pulling his thick digits from her dripping core. Ronnie whimpered at the sudden emptiness. Eyes unable to focus as she gazed up at the wood of her slanted ceiling.

But then Jake took over her field of vision and she smiled. His hair was messed, dangling over his forehead from all her pulling. There was sweat on his brow and his lips were swollen and pink. He looked beautiful. Otherworldly. A true Alpha.

Her fingertips reached and traced the line of his beard across his cheek. Jake’s eyes slipped shut at the gentle, barely there touch.

“Hi,” she whispered.

He chuckled lightly as he pressed his forehead into her own. “Hey, little one. D’you feel okay? Do we need to stop?”

“I feel more than okay,” Ronnie replied, fingers threading through the hairs on his chest. “And if you stop now I might cry.”

“Thank, God,” he laughed, relieved.

A sudden thought occurred to her.

“You should know — I have an IUD,” Ronnie said, hooking her legs around his waist in some subconscious effort to keep him as close as possible. “But, I’ll…I’ll make an appointment to get it removed as soon as possible.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want — “

“I want to. God, I want to,” she insisted, pushing her forehead harder against his own. “Wanna be full of you, my Alpha.”

Jake growled. His hand, still wet with her juices, trailed down her front to ghost over her stomach. His cock twitched against her thigh. No doubt thinking about putting a pup inside her. And she wanted it. She wanted it more than anything. It was what she was made for, chosen for. To give him all the pups he could ever desire, to make his pack stronger, to pass his legacy and power on to. She longed to be full and swollen with him, with her Alpha, with his seed.

But all of that would have to wait for now.

“Ronnie,” Jake whispered into her neck as he drove his hips into her own, his still-clothed length brushing against her.

She took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. His eyes, red as rubies, were hooded with desire, but reluctant. She pecked him on the lips once, twice, before nodding against his forehead.

“I’m ready. Make me yours.”

Jake nodded back before jumping up from the bed and ridding himself of his sweats, revealing himself fully to Ronnie who still lay blissed out in the center of the bed. He looked like the muse of an ancient Grecian sculptor. All that muscle, that perfect V pointing down to his cock, erect and perfect. All held up by strong, thick legs. He was golden and hairy and all her’s and the thought of it made her smile.

Crawling back into the bed between her legs, Jake grabbed his shaft and aligned himself with her entrance. The moment his tip stroked her folds, Ronnie gasped, unable to tear her eyes away from his face. Overwhelmed tears began to prick at the corners of her brown eyes as he positioned himself at the base of her core. Then he began to push inward. At first, it felt good, her mouth dropping open and eyes rolling to the back of her head. Then there was an acute and peculiar pain as she widened for the head. But all she did was grimace through the discomfort. She was made for this. It would only last a few minutes. It was the pleasure she would remember, it was Jake’s nearly pained face as he used every fiber of his control, it was the way she heard the sheets ripping beneath his clenched fists, it was the way everything felt like Jake and it felt like home.

He paused halfway inside her, breathing heavily as he bumped his head softly against her own.

“Alright?” he asked gently.

Ronnie nodded, afraid what sound would come out of her if she did open her mouth. But a whimper fell from her lips as he continued to push forward. Oh, God, there’s more? Jake immediately stopped again. Eyebrows pinched in concern.

“Don’t stop,” she croaked, taking a few calming breaths. “I can take it.”

Jake nodded before he finished out his thrust, slowly, both of their breaths ragged. But he stilled once he bottomed out inside her. Ronnie continued to breathe deeply, head tilted back as she adjusted to his size. She felt stretched to the limit, filled to the brim. It was everything she ever wanted and too much and never enough. The overwhelmed tears that had been building in her eyes finally fell. But Jake wiped them away with ease.

One hand releasing from his arms, Ronnie swiped her hand between their bodies — fingers brushing over her sternum and abdomen. Until she found what she was looking for.

The lowest part of her belly bulged around him. It made her moan as she pushed down on it gently.

“Oh — fuck,” Jake hissed as he spasmed on top of her, fist pounding into the mattress.

“My Alpha,” she whispered. “Feel so full.”

“F-Feel so good, little one, so tight. Shit. Could — Could come just like this,” he babbled, mindless, lost in the feeling of her. It made her smile. “Can I move? Unh, please?”

Ronnie nodded as she moved her hips slightly. “Please.”

He pulled out only the tiniest bit before grinding his hips back into hers. She made some noise like she’d just been punched in the gut. It felt like he was holding her heart in his hand, squeezing it to the point of bursting. She could barely breathe. He kept his thrusts slow and deliberate, not wanting to hurt her or go too fast.

“Jake,” she sighed as a heat bloomed through her veins, like the light from a freshly born star — white hot and spreading.

“Feel good?” he asked, voice strained.

Her hands on his shoulders, she could feel the tension there. The restraint. He was holding himself back. Holding back the beast inside him that longed to take what was his. Just for her. For her pleasure. For her pain. She put her hand on the back of his neck and forced him to meet her gaze — meeting him thrust for thrust.

“Let go,” she told him softly, reverently, “Jake, claim me.”

He stared down at her for only a moment. Searching for any hesitence. Any uncertainty. But she knew he would find none as she kissed him soundly.

With a growl, he pulled nearly completely out of her, then slammed back in. The moan she released ripped from somewhere deep inside her. Ronnie brought him down to her for a teeth-filled kiss, sloppy and desperate and noises captured in one another’s throats. The now rough snap of his hips sent her rocking back into the mattress. Ronnie clawed at his back, moaning into his mouth, as she resisted the urge to close her eyes against the mounting pleasure. At just how good he felt as he pounded into her. She wanted to see every expression that passed over his face, every noise that came out of his mouth.

She felt him twitch inside her as he bared his teeth, revealing his sharp fangs that she could never fear. Then he scraped them against the side of her neck, marking her as his and his only. His scent bloomed around her, citrus and bonfires, overwhelming her every sense. Made her dizzy as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

A cry tumbled from her lips, wanton and echoing, as she came around him. As her entire being became electric, a live wire, a roaring flame prepared to burn the world down. Jake’s thrusts became sloppy and rough, stunted as he roared — spilling his seed and coating her walls with it. He gave a few more short rolls of his hips, letting her milk him for all that he was worth.

She smiled as she ran her fingers through his sweaty hair, as she relished the feeling of being his. In every sense of the word. Marked and stretched and claimed and filled with Jake. Her Alpha. His Luna.

Ronnie’s eyes opened wide, however, when she realized he was still hard inside her. He hadn’t gone soft at all.

“Shit, R-Ronnie…” Jake whimpered as he propped himself up further, looking down at the point where their bodies met with a furrowed brow. “It’s not — it won’t — “

She groaned as he started moving again. Her cunt so sensitive after just coming. She could feel his spend leaking out of her and onto the sheets. Jake planted his knees and drew her up into his chest, her legs wrapped around his hips. She choked at the change in angle which somehow drove him deeper inside of her — making him hit something that made her forget everything except his name.

“Jake,” she gasped softly as she tangled her arms around his shoulders, pulled him as close as she could get him.

“I can’t stop,” he replied, his hold on her hips tight as he thrusted up into her at a brutal pace. “Feels too — too good…”

“Jake,” she whimpered again.

Ronnie came sudden and sharp and powerful. Another cry dead in her throat, turned into a choked moan that barely slipped past her lips as she buried her face in her mate’s neck. Then he filled her again with a soft oomf — one arm bracing her lower back as he fell forward onto his hand. Shoulders curled around her as he buried his face in her hair.

He laid her back down on the bed completely, untucking her legs from around his waist and pulling out with a pained sound. All Ronnie could do was grunt at the loss. She now felt so empty without him. But she also felt so incredibly tired. So incredibly happy. So incredibly home.

Something warm was pressed against her aching core and she hummed appreciatively. Then she was lifted, set back down where the pillows were beneath her head.

“Rest, my little Luna,” Jake whispered to her as he pulled the covers over her naked form.

“Wake me up if you need me,” she muttered back, eyes already closed and thoughts already drifting between awakeness and dreams.

He chuckled. “You’d be awake forever if I did that. You’d go insane.”

“What a wonderful insanity it would be, though,” she sighed.

And then she was asleep.

“God, the fire really did a number on this place, huh?” Ronnie asked as she compared the photo Jake had handed her and the structure standing before her now.

In the photo, the log cabin was beautiful. Made by Jake’s own two hands. Months, maybe even years of hard work. There was a front deck. Green tile roof. A chimney made of stone. She could just make out carvings in the stair posts. There was even a pair of rocking chairs sitting out on the deck. She had to wonder if he made those himself too. He probably did.

But what laid before her now was nothing but a foundation, the chimney covered in scorch marks, and the still remaining pieces of the framework. The rest was all reduced to a black and grey heap.

Jake heaved a heavy sigh, hand carding through his hair, as he looked at the place. At what remained of the home he built.

Then he said, around yet another sigh, “Yeah.”

Ronnie slipped the photo into her back pocket before wrapping him up in a hug. He threw his arm around her shoulder, wide palm rubbing up and down the fabric of the flannel covering her arm.

“Just think, we get to build this one together this time,” she said as she continued to look at the frankly pitiful remnants.

But she could see the potential. What they could build together. The new deck with the new rocking chairs. The beautiful kitchen where she could cook hearty meals. The living room where the pack could feel at home. The bedrooms filled with the sounds of children. She leaned into him further as she grinned.

Looking down at her, Jake smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

“I’m only gonna do it though if you let me use the power tools.”

“I’m not gonna let you use the power tools.” He shook his head.

“Oh, come on, please?” she whined, squeezing him just a little tighter.

“Just once,” he relented, and she cheered.

The rest of the pack pulled up the long gravel driveway. Each of them ready to work. They hopped out of the bed of Frank’s truck with toolbelts and buckets and trashbags ready to haul the ash away. To make the place ready for the rebuild.

It was a symbol of a fresh start for all of them. For Ronnie. For Jake. For Red Sky. Gone were the things that held them down, that haunted them, that held them back. They were free. Free to move forward, free to forge their own path, free to grow and soar and be. Together. As a pack. As a family.

“Let’s get to work.”

werewolf!topgun taglist: @blue-aconite @darkestbeforethedawn16 @supernaturaldawning @illisius @hope-love-equality2 @wanderingdetectives @sqrlgrl22 @dempy @theforevermorereject @the-untamed-soul @emandems10 @xxshea-barnesxx @piceous21 @sopheeg @ollyoxenfrees @luckyladycreator2 @newlibrary @himbos-on-ice @gigisimsonmars @agentminnesota187 @indynerdgirl @mellark-studio @smoothdogsgirl @kkrenae @laracrofted @mayhem24-7forever @abaker74

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lunarcovehq · 2 months

Text

CAMPFIRE RETREAT - RECAP

Camptown ladies sing this song doodah doodah Ah the Camptown race track's five miles long oh doo-dah day

Good morning campers! We hope you all had a great weekend. The event is now officially over and we will return to our regularly scheduled programming, but before we do...

ANNOUNCEMENTS

This is the last plot drop for our Summer event. A recap of the discord party is below.

With this plot drop, the event is over. You can return to your regularly scheduled starters and threads. Feel free to have your characters react to any of the events that occurred above or below.

Given that we have so many fun event related starters, we're not going to reset the starter rule at this time, though we will be having regularly scheduled acceptance come Wednesday.

We will also be having a Council Meeting in the weeks to come, though we are planning to change up the format for how those meetings will work moving forward so please keep an eye out, leaders, for that.

Last by not least, we hope you have fun!

RECAP

LEADING UP TO THE DISCORD PARTY:

Amrita had the most points out of any character with 508.

As for the events leading up to the camping weekend that determine points, for the trust falls, you had the opportunity to win up to 57 points at the time (1 per each character in the RP at the time when the trust falls happened).

The only character not caught during the trust falls was Elena (who fell into a pile of tripped wolves trying to catch her).

For the Field Days (including Capture the Flag) the witches walked away with the most points, vampires were in second, CONs were in third, werewolves in forth and fae (who should have been in third or fourth) had the most points docked from them losing a total of 44 points from- Aiyla (1 point down per fae given that Aiyla’s throw could have been an accident in the midst of the heat of the game), Rangi (the other 43 points from choosing violence as not part of the game in retaliation to an activity) & Suresh (only Suresh lost points for being disqualified given that Team Cove did not win but he lost half of his points losing another 44).

Dilan also lost points at the Werewolf BBQ for pushing Aiyla twice.

Then we gave everyone points for the free days (same amount across the board) and points if you completed your pairing threads. You received points if you participated in the talent show and additional points correlating to the number of votes you received for your talent.

Amrita & Bri won the Talent Show with Efe coming in second

DURING THE DISCORD PARTY:

The campers teamed up into the following pairings:

Team Lunar Cove Fire Department: Efe & Julian - 892 points

Amrita & Tommy (Team Bite & Bark) - 870 points

Team The Final Boys: Altan & Todd - 849 points

Team Flower Power: Briar & Poppy - 845 points

Team Snap, Crackle, Pop: Kitty, Suresh & Gia - 840 points

Noel & Frankie (Team Sexy Back) - 799 points

Team Les Amis: Aiyla & Royce - 796 points

Team Sense & Sensibility: Ben & Bri - 792 points

Team Moon Prism Power: Aspen & Daphne - 739 points

Team Witch & Wolf: Nate & Cece - 725 points

Team True North: Jonah & Rohan - 711 points

Team Spring Spirits: Skye & Rae - 707 points

The Meena & JC Team: Meena & JC - 692 points

Team Twilight (aka Jakeward): Ronnie & Elif - 691 points

Team Flip & Sip: Elena & Wendy - 671 points

Team Midnight Rain: Nyra & Safiye - 685 points

Team Vigilantes Aaliyah & Dilan- 664 points

Team Big and Lil Spoon: Jake & Song - 650 points

Team Formaldehyde: Ralph & Rangi - 623 points

Team Neverland: Ken & Leyla - 622 points

Aysun & Scott (TBD team name as the players couldn't make the discord party) - 622 points

Team Hercules You Mean Hunkules & Meg: Nico & Jas - 619 points

Team Meddling Kids: Jo & Eren - 592 points

Team Moose: Kui & Remmy - 576 points

Team B Squared: Billie & Bexley - 567 points

The teams all attempted to compete for sleeping arrangements, searching for flags hidden all over the campsite and trying to steal flags from each other.

Some highlights from the event include:

Rangi & Dilan getting into a fight to which Dilan pulled out a knife that was confiscated from Meena who handed it off to Aiyla

Aaliyah then had to pick Dilan up to prevent the fae from continuing to go at it

Team Moose (Kui & Remmy) failed to procure flag #5 and in turn, Moose slipped and fell into the riverbank when trying to find the flag. Remmy & Kui had to go in to save them.

Team Lil & Big Spoon (Song & Jake) were chased through the woods by a Mamma Deer when they tried to take the flag from the baby deer's mouth

Team Vigilantes (Dilan & Aaliyah) slipped and fell into mud, sliding all the way back to camp trying to procure their flag

Team Midnight Rain (Nyra & Safiye) tried to get the flag in the mud as well and also slipped and fell into the mud, sliding all the way back to camp

The Meena & JC Team tried to get a flag from a baby bird, only for the bird to peck at their hand.

The Spring Spirits (Rae & Skye) tried to get a flag out under a heavy rock. They were able to lift it a tad before it slammed down on the flag and they were unable to procure it.

Team B Squared (Bille & Bexley) got attacked by a bunny trying to take the flag it was laying on.

Team Witch & Wolf (Nate & Cece) went looking for a flag hidden in a wolf hiding spot, only Nate couldn't remember where the clothing hiding spot was.

Team Hercules You Mean Hunkules & Meg: went looking for the mud flag, only to come sliding back all muddy.

THE SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS:

Team Lunar Cove Fire Department: Efe & Julian - 892 points

For stealing the flag hanging like an ornament from a nearby pine tree (found by Altan & Todd), drum roll please... now you get a chance to be a tree ornament! You have won a hanging tent with one rather thin blanket to share inside. You do not have to set up this tent yourself. Lucky for you, it is already installed. Though there is no ladder up to the tent and the door is precariously on it's side, so have fun climbing?

Amrita & Tommy (Team Bite & Bark) - 870 points

They won a luxury tent! If you came to glamp, now is your chance. This tent may only be made up of two rooms, but it has a couch! A COUCH! And a bed! A real one. You're practically all set up to move into the woods if you so choose.

Team The Final Boys: Altan & Todd - 849 points

For taking the flag from an annoyed raccoon who is hungry for food, you have won drum roll please... the jungle gym of any kid's dreams! This jungle gym comes equipped with multiple hammocks for you and your teammate. You can have one each and then have hammocks to put all of your belongings. There is also a colorful play mat/gymnastics mat beneath you and a lawn chair to lounge in.

Team Flower Power: Briar & Poppy - 845 points

You didn't crawl in the mud to find your flag for nothing. You've won drum roll please... the pièce de résistance, the luxury camper of luxury campers! The RV of all RV's. You will spend the next two nights living it large with a swanky two decker RV. You each get your own bedrooms with king sized beds, egyptian cotton sheets, pillows, you name it. There are living rooms, kitchen space etc. Anything you think an RV may have? This one does. It also has a roof to lounge out on to watch the stars and it comes with its very own hot tub. You heard us right - a hot tub!

Team Snap, Crackle, Pop: Kitty, Suresh & Gia - 840 points

For stealing the flag hidden in a cave in the small mountain range bordering the town that was at risk of caving in (that was found by Nico & Jas), you've won drum roll please... a camper! You get your very own RV to glamp in. The RV has beds for the both of you as well as a king bedroom in the back, a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room space and is all fully equipped. You also have two lawn chairs and your very own personal fire pit.

Noel & Frankie (Team Sexy Back) - 799 points

They won a luxury three room tent! When you walk in the tent you will find a stocked mini fridge and two lawn chairs to lounge around in with a blue tooth speaker for your phone. While both rooms come with air mattresses, blankets and pillows for a good night sleep.

Team Les Amis: Aiyla & Royce - 796 points

For stealing the flag buried somewhere along the river bank (that was found by Ken & Leyla), you have won drum roll please... a glamping tent! This tent not only has a luxurious bed and pillows and blankets, you also have a full meal prepared, catered in to your taste buds as well as an electric tea kettle, research desk etc.

Team Sense & Sensibility: Ben & Bri - 792 points

For stealing the flag located on a small mound on the other side of the river (found by Ken & Leyla), you have won drum roll please... the most pastel pink, glamorous tent with florals framing the entrance, blankets, pillows, poofs, you name it - it is definitely a tent you'd want to lounge in.

Team Moon Prism Power: Aspen & Daphne - 739 points

For stealing the flag that Kui & Remmy found tucked away in a prickly bush, you have won drum roll please... a changing tent! These tents are all the rage with social media influencers who need to make a quick change in public. Though, the tent is vertical with not much room to stand. Have fun sharing it with two. But, you do get a picnic blanket to share too for the aesthetic of it.

Team Witch & Wolf: Nate & Cece - 725 points

For finding the flag tucked away in a nook of a tree (werewolves may on occasion use this nook as a storage spot for their clothes), you have won drum roll please... a blanket fort! This blanket fort comes equipped with plush pillows, turkish rug, plenty of blankets and privacy while also have a good view of the sky given how your ceiling is made of blankets and scarfs tied together.

Team True North: Jonah & Rohan - 711 points

For stealing the flag hanging from a low hanging branch a half a mile out from the campsite (found by Jo & Eren), you have won drum roll please... a hammock of some people's dreams and other people's nightmares (let's just hope you're not afraid of heights). You do not have to set up this hammock yourself! The net hammock is already set up, high up overhead amongst the trees, but the only way to get to it is to climb and once you are up there, the net is see-through, so try your best not too look down and maybe avoid bringing small objects that can fall through up there with you? You do get four pillows for you and your partner though so yay for that!

Team Spring Spirits: Skye & Rae - 707 points

For finding the flag tucked under a heavy rock somewhere in the woods, you have won drum roll please... a two person tent! This tent comes equipped with a mosquito neck, a rain protectant cover, sleepings bags, pillows, a cooler and a cheese platter (don't worry, the cheese has been kept cool this whole time).

The Meena & JC Team: Meena & JC - 692 points

For finding the flag for this location is in a tree with a bee's nest dangling above it, drum roll please... you have won a hammock! Just one hammock that you will have to set up yourself, but hey, hopefully you and your partner enjoy snuggling?

Team Twilight (aka Jakeward): Ronnie & Elif - 691 points

For finding the flag hidden at the bottom of the river, you have won drum roll please... a giant, multiple room turtled shaped luxury tent! This tent has so many rooms, you won't know what to do with them all. One of the rooms even comes with a ball pit. There are bedrooms for the both of you, lounge rooms, a blow up couch, a mini fridge - it is safe to say, it is fully decked out.

Team Flip & Sip: Elena & Wendy - 671 points

For finding the flag somewhere in the woods up in a tree, you have won Drum roll please... a luxury bubble! You heard me right, a luxury bubble. Brought to you by Bubbl. the restaurant, this bubble is completely indoors. It is essentially a cabin with a queen sized bed, luxury mattress, pillows, sheets, lights, chairs etc. It even comes with a telescope. It is perfect for star gazing! The only catch- while you can see everyone else, they can see you as well.

Team Midnight Rain: Nyra & Safiye - 685 points

From stealing the flag from a bird who had claimed it as their own, you have won drum roll please... a glamorous two person tent! This tent has enough room for both you and your partner. It also comes equipped with twinkly lights, candles, so many fluffy pillows you won't know what to do with and blankets! The tent even has a rain protectant cover. What more could you ask for?

Team Vigilantes Aaliyah & Dilan- 664 points

For stealing the flag located around the bottom of the small mountain range bordering the town (found by Billie & Bex), you have won drum roll please*... a party blow up bubble tent! This tent looks straight out of something from a Space movie and you will feel like you're in another world when you're in it! Enter the entrance hallways where you can leave your stuff before making your way to the main bedroom where there is a king sized bed with pillows and blankets and a surround sound system. Jam out to your favorite tunes and relax in comfort. Let's just hope you brought sleep masks, since unfortunately, when the team was setting up the tent for you, the buttons for the lights broke and are now permanent set on. As you sleep the entire tent will change colors from bright blues to neon purples to pinks etc. But, some people would love to sleep in a rave tent, wouldn't they?

Team Big and Lil Spoon: Jake & Song - 650 points

For stealing the flag that is hanging from the flag poll in the center of the square (found by Billie & Bex) you have won drum roll please... Two sleeping bags! That is it. Just two sleeping bags. But, hey at least the outside is waterproof right? Or at least water repellent?

Team Formaldehyde: Ralph & Rangi - 623 points

For acquiring the flag that was floating in a tiny raft long the river, you have won drum roll please... an air mattress with pillows and sheets! The only catch - someone when you were collecting your flag, moved your sleeping arrangement. It is not in the river too! Guess it's time to live out your very own Parent Trap, Meredith Blake moment, and go save it.

Team Neverland: Ken & Leyla - 622 points

For stealing the flag in the rasberry bush (found by Billie & Bex), you have not only won a snack for later, drum roll please... you've won the hammock of kings! It is still only one hammock and you do have to share it with your partner, but it is preset up and comes with pillows and blankets. There are lights overhead that you can turn on and off. Stargaze in a set up that is straight out of the movie Tarzan.

Aysun & Scott (TBD team name as the players couldn't make the discord party) - 622 points

They won a hanging tent that looks like its straight from animal crossing! Have fun in your own hanging bubble. It comes with blankets and pillows, multiple zippered windows and doors, though there is no ladder to get to it, so you'll have to figure out your way to get yourselves up in your tree tent and down.

Team Hercules You Mean Hunkules & Meg: Nico & Jas - 619 points

For stealing the flag hanging from a low hanging branch of a small tree with poison ivy lays beneath it (found by Billie & Bex), you have won drum roll please... a canopy tent. Perfect for tailgating! Only you're not tailgating are you? Instead you're camping... out in the wilderness... for two nights straight. At least it comes equipped with two lawn chairs and a table! But no aloe or ointment so hopefully you didn't end up with poison ivy... (the RV depicted in the background of this image is not included in this sleeping arrangement. That is sleeping arrangement someone else can win, while your canopy tent will be set up in view of them where you can watch in jealously and, yes, you do still need to set up the canopy tent yourself.)

Team Meddling Kids: Jo & Eren - 592 points

For finding the flag that had been nabbed by a baby deer whose mother wasn't too far behind, you have won drum roll please... one bivy sack! Don't know what a bivy sack is? Have no fear. A bivy sack is a one person sleeping bag esque tent. It will protect you from all of the elements. Though, you do have to share it with your partner, so you'll have to decide if you're going to squeeze in real close or if one person gets the bivy sack, while the other gets left out in the cold.

Team Moose: Kui & Remmy - 576 points

Congrats! You chose the easy way out (choosing the flag sitting in the center of the clearing out in the open for anyone to take) and, in doing so, you have won, drum roll please nothing! That is right, your sleeping arrangement is mother nature at it's finest. You have no sleeping bag. You have no tent. You must sleep in the clearing in the grass and the dirt.

Team B Squared: Billie & Bexley - 567 points

For finding the flag that an adorable bunny has made its new bed, you win drum roll please... a standard single person tent! There are no bells or whistles, though this tent does come with a rain cover in case and you both get a pillow and a thin blanket to sleep with even if the tent is only made for one person to sleep in.

#lunarcoveevent #lunarcoveevent12

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anniesocsandgeneralstore · 2 years

Text

the echo (or the answer) - a werewolf au (Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC)

Summary: Everything is coming to a head. The tension between the packs is at its peak. And Ronnie meets a strange man on the road.

Pairing: Alpha!Jake Seresin x Human!OC (Ronnie Bradshaw)

Word Count: 5860

Warnings: language, slight fake dating, bradley being an ass again, kidnapping, violence, blood mention, ANGST, mating things, a cliffhanger

FOUR | FIVE | SIX

-> likes are great but comments/reblogs are even better

-> thank you to my werewolf love @blue-aconite for reading this over and talking through it with me

The water turned cold a while ago. Ronnie couldn’t remember how long she had been standing there, staring at the white tile of the shower as her mind slipped away. Her skin was rubbed raw, red, and irritated from how many times she had scrubbed herself down. But still, she could smell Bob’s scent over the coconut — eucalyptus and wet earth.

Something inside her ached. Made her stomach turn and her head pound. Made it impossible to move even though every fiber of her being screamed at her to run — to run to her mate. He was the only relief she would be able to find now. There was no ignoring it, no brief moments to satiate. Until they were reunited and the bond between them was settled, this deep and irrefutable ache would live within her. Would claw at her like a beast desperate to escape its cage. Her soul howling for Jake and Jake only.

She picked up the loofa again and loaded it down with soap. Her skin stung the moment she pressed the coarse material to it. But she had to get Bob’s scent to fade. It only seemed to make everything worse — smelling like him instead of her mate. Jake would kill him if he caught even a lingering hint of Bob’s scent on her. And Ronnie carried far too much gratitude in her heart for what Bob did for her to let that happen.

So she stood under the cold spray of the shower until she was sure she scrubbed off the entire top layer of her skin. Until Bob’s scent was completely gone. Until she thought of what she was going to say to Bradley.

God, what was she going to say to Bradley?

As she dressed, her mind fumbled over some words that didn’t seem tact enough. It was a secret that she couldn’t keep forever. Eventually, it would get out. Bob was terrible at keeping things from anyone, let alone his Alpha who could simply flash his red eyes and Bob would be gushing like a geyser. And if he didn’t get it from Bob, he would see it in Ronnie herself. See the distress, the pain that being away from her mate caused. Even now, as she walked down the stairs, she was fighting a grimace at the way her insides twisted.

She couldn’t stay away from Jake for much longer. If it was this bad for her, it was ten times worse for him. Even as she went about the start of her day, making coffee and breakfast, she didn’t know if she would last another hour let alone until sundown — or worse, another week.

The front door opened and several pairs of booted feet padded inside. Ronnie poked her head out into the hallway from the kitchen where she was cooking eggs — but she immediately ducked back inside. Bradley was there, closely followed by Pete, Bob, and Dylan. His most trusted wolves.

Fuck.

“Ronnie!” Dylan called as he marched down the hallway. “That smells amazing! D’you make enough for me?”

He sauntered into the kitchen with one of his classic lopsided grins, his hat on backward overtop his long blond hair. Ronnie rolled her eyes as she pointed her spatula at the fridge near the doorway.

“If you help me maybe I’ll think about it,” she chuckled.

“What’re you makin’?” Dylan asked as he opened the fridge.

“Egg scramble and avocado toast.”

He groaned, pulling the eggs and bacon out of the fridge that she had just finished putting away. “Ugh, that sounds so good, right now.”

Dylan Kazansky. That bright-eyed, bushy-tailed wolf who just turned eighteen. He was the youngest in the pack, just a pup. A Born Wolf from the legendary Kazansky line. His father, Tom, had been an integral part of Blue River and a true friend to many. Until he got sick two years ago, and no amount of werewolf healing could save him. In a lot of ways, Ronnie saw herself in that young wolf. Just a kid with expectations heavy on his shoulders — desperately trying to fit himself into a mold that wasn’t made for him.

The rest of the men walked into the kitchen then. Pete gave Ronnie a pat on the back as he went by, opting to hover by the dining room table and not occupy any more space in the small room. Bob moved into the kitchen and she stared at him wide-eyed as he stopped directly behind her.

It took everything in her power not to cringe at his proximity, to not slink away from him as he put his hand on her waist. She screwed her eyes shut when he kissed her cheek gently. Her fingers white-knuckled around the spatula she held, continuing to flip the eggs she was cooking despite everything inside her telling her to flee. But he was only trying to help, trying to give her more time. She saw that in the sympathetic pull of his brow behind his glasses.

“Morning,” he whispered to her, loud enough so everyone would hear — so Bradley would hear.

“Morning,” her reply came out through gritted teeth.

Bob kissed her again before drifting away. She sucked in the gasp of relief that wanted to escape her, covering it up with a cough. Glancing over at Bradley leaning in the kitchen doorway, she spotted the fond smirk that pulled at the corner of his mouth. The pride that filled his eyes. His strongest Beta and his most beloved sister. In his eyes, it was a match that surely even the Moon Goddess would approve of.

But Ronnie knew better. She nearly wanted to scream it at him but found the strength to keep her mouth shut.

“How about — “ Ronnie scooped up a plate and scraped the finished egg scramble onto it. “We make enough for everybody?”

Pete and Bradley mumbled out their agreement to the idea of a home-cooked breakfast.

“To be clear, this is not what I signed up for.” Dylan huffed as he set the remaining avocados out on the cutting board.

Ronnie was thankful for the distraction. “Oh, really? What did you sign up for, then?”

“You making me breakfast, obviously.” He grinned even as he pulled a knife from the block and began the process of cutting up the avocados.

Bradley squeezed past and into the dining room with everyone else, the three men taking seats at the table. Ronnie sighed in relief now that his eyes weren’t on her. Now that he was caught up in conversation. But without that fear that Bradley brought about in her now, the ache came back ten-fold. That pained pull between her brows reformed and the slight shake of her hands returned. Luckily, Dylan didn’t seem to notice anything as they moved around each other in the kitchen. Him making the toast while she cooked up the rest of the eggs.

Once the food was ready, they ate in relative silence. Sat around the table with coffees and nearly whispered conversations about the day's plans.

Now Dylan could sense that something was off. His blue eyes darted this way and that as he looked around at everyone. Trying to find the source of the weird. It definitely wasn’t his Alpha, who sat there eating his breakfast with a content smile. So maybe it was Pete, his second-in-command, who was observing with a calculated air as he usually was — trying to find the truth. Or it was Bob sitting nearly rigid beside Ronnie with cheeks as pink as cotton candy. Then there was Ronnie herself, sitting there with her fist clenched on top of the table and constantly moving this way and that like she was in pain.

Dylan decided that this was the weirdest thing of all, even though Ronnie had been hoping he would just drop it.

“You okay, Ron?” he asked around a mouthful of food.

“I started my period,” she blurted out without taking a moment to think.

She felt her cheeks burn hot as the wolves around her ducked their heads. Dylan mumbled out an apology. Ronnie shoved her toast in her mouth to keep herself from groaning at her own stupidity. They bought it, for now, unwilling to prod about something like that further, but she knew for a fact that if she were actually on her period they would be able to smell it. Bradley made sure to remind her of that fact every month when they were growing up — shouting from down the hall that it was disgusting. But then he would always bring her chocolate and the rice heating pad fresh from the microwave.

She huffed as she pushed away her plate.

“M’gonna go take an ibuprofen,” she grumbled as she got up from the table.

As she took the stairs two at a time, she thought that maybe taking some painkillers wasn’t such a bad idea. It couldn’t hurt at the very least if it wouldn’t dull the gnawing feeling in her chest. After downing the pills with some water, she sunk down onto the edge of her bed — arms wrapped around her middle in some weak attempt to keep everything inside.

Bending herself in half to double her efforts, the tears came. Childlike and hot and uncontrollable. She couldn’t take much more of this. Surrounded by wolves that were her family but were no longer her pack. Miles and miles away from her mate and her Alpha — the bond between them unsettled and left to fester like an open wound.

“I need Jake,” she whispered into her knees, soft and broken.

Her bedroom door opened. And for a brief, albite idiotic second she thought her Alpha was about to walk through it. She lifted her head instantly, relief flooding her body like salve to itching sores. But then Bob walked inside, shutting the door behind himself quietly, and she curled back into her knees with a groan.

“M’sorry,” he muttered as he walked further inside the room. “Brad told me to come check on you…”

“S’fine,” Ronnie said, voice muffled by her face still pressed into the tops of her thighs.

Bob sat down on the bed but kept his distance. “Sorry about…In the kitchen. He was watching and before we came inside he even asked if I was excited to see you.”

“Bobby, it’s okay.” She righted herself, pushing her hair back away from her face and tucking the strands behind her ears. “I appreciate you keeping my cover for…At least a little longer.”

The thought of doing this any longer, even another minute, felt like being stabbed in the gut.

“Is — Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked as he watched her rise from the bed and begin to pace, a new type of ache forming in her legs — like her body was begging her to just run.

“Mm, no,” she huffed as she rubbed at her thighs. “Do you know anything about settling mate bonds?”

Bob shook his head, but he had some inclination about what it could entail if the blush that bloomed on his cheeks was any indication.

“Long story short, there’s nothing anyone can do except Jake. Even if he was just close by…That would be better than this. I need to tell Brad today. I can’t do this much longer.”

“I can sense it,” Bob said, his blush deepening to rosy red and down his neck. “It’s-It’s subtle but your body’s putting off something…Like you’re calling for him.”

Ronnie tilted her head towards the ceiling, eyes screwed shut. Of course. It made total sense. Everything inside her screamed for Jake, for her Alpha, for her mate. It only made sense that there would be some pheromone, some signal, coming off of her to pull Jake in. To call him to her so the bond could be settled. In the back of her mind, she made a note to write that down in her book as she had never seen this made mentioned anywhere before.

But at the forefront of her mind was the fact that sooner, rather than later, Jake was going to break. He was going to come find her — no longer able to ignore her body’s natural call for him. And Bob wouldn’t be the only one able to detect it. Sooner or later, someone else would pick up on it.

“Fuck,” she whispered.

Bob fidgeted with his glasses for a second, before huffing to himself and saying, “Y-You should tell Bradley before sundown.”

“Why?” Ronnie narrowed her eyes at him.

“God, he’s gonna kill me.” He shifted on the bed so he faced her completely, pushing up his glasses in the process. “Look, we had a pack meeting this morning — “

That stung. Pain on top of pain. She didn’t even know. No one thought to tell her. Bradley didn’t think to tell her, invite her, include her. Only bringing to light what she confessed to him just days earlier in the pack house. Understanding stood resolute in her heart. Ronnie may have been a Bradshaw, may have been a part of a legacy that she tried desperately to cling to, but at the end of the day, she was still only human. She was still only Bradley’s little sister. She was still nothing but the weakest link. She was always going to be an outsider, always going to never fully understand. No matter how much she helped. No matter how much she wanted it.

With Jake, with Red Sky, all of that was different. With them, she may have been only human, but she was also their Luna. Their Alpha’s love and support and help. With Red Sky, she belonged. With Red Sky, she got what she never could with her own family.

“Brad could smell your Red Sky Alpha from outside. He — He just thinks that he was around the house or something. But…But he said that tonight we’re gonna go to the hostel where their pack is staying and…And make the message to stay away crystal clear.”

Ronnie’s stomach dropped. Her knees buckled as she teetered for balance. No, no, no, no.

She didn’t think, couldn’t, before she bolted through the door and down the stairs. Her mind only alight with thoughts of keeping her pack safe, of keeping her promise to them. Bradley, Pete, and Dylan were still sitting around the dining room table laughing at something when she stormed in.

“You’re going to attack Red Sky? Again?” she demanded as she stared Bradley down, her teeth grinding together to keep the rest of what she wanted to scream at bay.

Stay away from my pack.

“Ugh, Bob,” Brad groaned as the Beta came into the room after her looking sheepish. “Don’t worry about it, Ronnie.”

“Yes, I’m gonna worry about it! That Alpha wasn’t even here! Bob would’ve sensed it if he was,” she argued, “I just don’t want you doing something senseless without taking a moment to think.”

Pete butted in with a calm demeanor. “No, Ron, we’ve thought it over. Brad smelled that Alpha — here — and we don’t wanna see you get hurt.”

“Plus, Bobby Boy was apparently a little distracted when that Alpha was around.” Dylan wiggled his eyebrows at the other wolf and Ronnie seethed.

“That other pack is small, weak, you’ve made your point clear enough,” she went on, ignoring Dylan’s comment completely.

“Clearly I haven’t!” Bradley raised his voice and Ronnie flinched back. “If he’s still stalking around our places and going anywhere near you!”

“Ronnie, Brad’s made his decision as Alpha,” Pete said with a type of finality that made her blood boil.

“No — clearly he’s not acting like an Alpha because the only thing he’s thinking about is himself! Clearly, he’s just acting like an insecure hothead who feels threatened by a pack of seven wolves — when his own stands strong at sixteen! He wasn’t here. You’re just telling yourself that as some excuse to show your power.”

Bradley shot up from the table, chair falling back behind him with a clatter. Ronnie stepped back, mouth downturned in a near snarl, as she watched him flash his red eyes at her.

There was no fear now. She leaned in closer, voice unwavering and full of power, “That shit doesn’t work on me.”

Then, she suddenly remembered that there were other people in the room. Dylan sat there with his mouth hanging open, eyebrows raised as he stared at her. Pete didn’t betray a single hint of emotion, but he was watching her like a predator does its prey. Waiting for the patterns to make themselves known, waiting for the weakest parts of herself to break free for him to grab ahold of. And Pete must have found it as she turned from the room and walked away.

She marched to the front door, stopping only briefly to yank on her boots and pull a warm fleece over her head. The only thoughts in her head get out, get out, get out. Get away from Bradley and his anger. Get away from her fear of the truth. Get away from Bob and his kind heart. Get away from everything just so she could breathe. So she could think. Think past the ache in her soul and try to redeem her entire life.

Her past in Blue River and her future with Red Sky.

How could she possibly save it all when she felt crushed beneath the weight of it too?

Pete had followed her into the entryway. With her hand wrapped around the door handle, Ronnie paused at the sound of his quiet footfalls.

“You should tell him,” he said, with that stern gentleness only a father could have.

Ronnie turned to look at him with a downturned mouth, hand still ready to pull open the door. “Tell him what?”

“You know what I’m talking about. I’ve had my guess for a while now, but…Brad smelling him here last night? You sneaking off into the woods during a full moon? The way you’re acting today? Ronnie. I know.”

He took a gentle step forward and Ronnie tensed, her entire face pinched in some effort to keep everything at bay.

Oh, God. Oh, no. He knew. Ice, like the great frosts that would leave Marnmouth in deadlock for days at a time, stole over her very veins. Tears, uncontrollable, fell down her cheeks. He knew about Jake. He knew about the mating. He knew that she accepted it. He knew that she betrayed everything and everyone just to selfishly be with the one hand-picked for her by a goddess of blessings and curses.

She glanced towards the inside of the house, praying that no one was listening in. Pete noticed her worry with a shake of his head. “Bob took everyone out back to cool off. It’s okay.”

“And do you hate me?” she finally whispered, voice trembling.��

“No, no — God, no.” He pulled her into a hug as she shuddered, gasped like a man revived. “I could never hate you, sweet girl. But you need to tell your brother before he goes after Red Sky.”

Ronnie collapsed against him, let his arms and his strength hold her up as she buried her face in his shoulder. This was Pete. Her dad’s best friend. One of the last remaining pieces of an entire generation of wolves. And it was in his arms, feeling his comfort and his love, that Ronnie realized just how much she had been wishing her father was there. There to help her, there to guide her, there to tell her that everything was going to be okay even if he didn’t fully understand. But that was the thing about Nick Bradshaw, he always understood. Even when it was hard, even when it went against even himself.

But being held by Pete Mitchell felt like being held by her father. Felt like help, guidance, and understanding.

She took another deep, shuddering breath, fingers fisting the back of his jacket tight. “I’m scared, Pete.”

“I know, I know,” he said before kissing the top of her head, swaying them back and forth. “Bradley may not show it very well at times, and he may need to work on being gentle, but…He loves you more than anything Ronnie. After Nick — it was the first thing he talked with me about. Keeping you safe.”

“And he knows our laws, our traditions, just like you do. He knows that a mating between an Alpha and a Luna is sacred. I have a feeling he may not show it well, but deep down he’ll be happy for you.”

“Are you happy for me?” she muttered into his shoulder.

Pete held her out at arm's length with tears glistening in his blue eyes that he was trying to hold back. It made Ronnie laugh despite herself as she wiped at her reddened cheeks.

Then he said with a sigh, “I’m a little sad. That girl I watched grow up is gonna leave me. But I know that she’s gonna be taken care of — and loved…So there’s nothing more I could ask for.”

Ronnie crashed into him again as the tide to the shore. Fingers clawing at his shoulders in some desperate way to show her appreciation. The ice was thawed, spring had come — sweet relief flooded her veins now. If Pete accepted it, accepted her, then maybe her brother would too. Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe her past and her future could still be redeemed.

“Thank you, Pete,” she said softly as she pulled away again.

He brushed back her hair and wiped at her tear-stained cheeks with a small smile. “I know I’m not your father, but…If you ever need me, let me know. You can talk to me.”

Ronnie nodded her head and cleared her throat, hands shoved into the pockets of her fleece.

“I’m just gonna — gonna go for a walk to clear my head.” She pointed her thumb back towards the door. “Try to think of what to say.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” he offered.

“No, I — I think I just need to be alone right now.”

“Okay. Be safe.” He smiled at her before turning away, walking back further into the house.

Ronnie watched him go for a moment. But it was a moment too long, as the doubt and anxiety and Jake clouded her brain. She really needed some fresh air, some space to think.

Even the world seemed to notice that Ronnie’s entire life was hanging in the balance. The sky roiled and rumbled in shades of grey, the sun blotted out in preparation for a downpour. The mountains looming above like shadowed guardians overlooking their charge. She thought the mood of it all fitting as she walked down the road with no real destination in mind. Roaming the streets of the town she knew like the back of her hand.

She walked and thought, mumbling to herself words that could relay to her brother all that she was feeling, all that had happened.

He was going to get angry, there was no doubt about that. She had been hiding and keeping a massive secret from him for weeks. But now she knew, underneath all that anger, was going to be understanding too. As she trekked past the city limits and out onto the main road connecting Marnmouth and Bellmoral, she recalled all those times they talked about how one day they were going to meet their soulmates.

It was before anyone knew Ronnie was fully human. When everyone thought, the full moon after she turned fourteen, she would turn. When she and Bradley would talk excitedly about being werewolves together, one day ruling the pack side by side. Before that full moon came and nothing happened. Before Ronnie screamed, tears streaming down her face, for her father to turn her with the bite. Before she beat his chest with her fists at his refusal to do so. Before Brad couldn’t look her in the eyes for three weeks.

When they were both couldn’t have been closer as brother and sister. Before that distance was created between them that neither of them could control.

He was a werewolf.

And she was just human.

They would sit on the pack house roof and gaze up at the stars. She would ask what he thought his mate would be like. And he would ask her in return. Handsome, kind, funny, good singer — in her head she was definitely thinking about her celebrity boyband crush but that didn’t matter. Because just maybe he was her mate. She didn’t know. Only the Moon Goddess did. She would tell him that would miss him once he had to go live with his mate.

“I’ll miss you too, when your mate comes along. But it’s where we’re supposed to be, right?”

Ronnie hoped he had similar thoughts now as she stared up at the grey sky, legs carrying her further down the road.

Shit. She stopped and looked back behind her. The sign that welcomed people into Marnmouth was no longer visible around the bend in the road. She went out farther than she intended by probably a good mile. Sighing, she turned around and started making her way back toward town.

All of the words weren’t there. But it was enough. It had to be.

The road between Marnmouth and Bellmoral was long, surrounded on either side by dense pine forest. And for now, there wasn’t a car in sight. No one wanted to get out with the impending weather. Ronnie glanced up at the darkened sky, cursing herself for not bringing a jacket or an umbrella or something.

There was a rustling in the woods beside her.

Anyone else would have thought it was just some woodland critter, maybe a bird or a squirrel…

But Ronnie knew better.

It was then that she noticed that the road between the trees was eerily quiet. Like the forest was waiting with bated breath. No birds chirping, no other rustlings or noises heard within the canopy of the trees. There was something out there. Something nature itself knew to hide away from. Ronnie’s heart seized in her chest as she began walking a bit faster. She stared down at her boots, afraid to keep a vigilant eye on whatever could be out there. She knew it wasn’t any wolf from Blue River or Red Sky. This was something else. Something far more sinister.

Something that even the ancient, historied forests of Marnmouth were terrified of.

A bird took flight in the distance and Ronnie jumped. A hand came up to press against where her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. She looked towards the source of the noise, wondering what could have caused such a thing.

But when she looked back towards the road that now seemed to stretch infinitely before her, there was a man standing in the center of the road.

Everything felt as white void as she stared wide-eyed at the man. He wore a long, black coat of some kind, a hood pulled low over his face. Like the opposite of the sun, he seemed to sap all the light from the world around them. Casting it all in shadows that stretched and stretched to meet their maker at the center of it all.

Run, a voice inside her screamed.

And so she did. Ronnie turned on her heel and ran — legs pumping beneath her as she swerved into the tree line. She heard a growl, a snarl, and a snap of great teeth. She somehow pushed to run faster as she zig-zagged through the trees, trying to throw whatever that man was off.

The next growl was closer. She could hear the giant paws digging into the ground, stomping and tearing at the earth. In the back of her mind, she thought to scream, call for help — but her lungs burned with the effort to keep her legs moving. Her immediate thoughts only focused on getting away, surviving.

Then something massive, bony, and covered in matted fur collided with her back, sending her tumbling to the ground. The world shifted in shades of brown leaves, grey sky, and dark tree trunks.

And then it was all black.

When Ronnie came to, it was like the world was covered in a thick fog. Everything blurred and shifted at odd angles as she tried to blink it away. Her head swam, thoughts slipping like catching wet soap and dreams only half-remembered.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus one sense at a time. There was something cold and hard beneath her left side. The ground. It smelled like wet earth, rotting leaves, and a freshly put-out fire. She was still in the forest. In a clearing perhaps.

The thought still in the forest confused her for a second as she was finally able to peel open her eyes without the world spinning on its end. Then it all came rushing back to her. The man on the road. The sound of snapping jaws as she ran. Her falling and falling.

Trying to sit up, get her barrings, her skull pounded — like her brain was trying to escape the bone. Then the ache spread to nearly every corner of her being. Four spots on her body screamed in pain as she sat up completely. On her shoulder and hip, and two on her back — each set nearly on top of each other. Like she was pinched between something.

Ronnie put a hand to her shoulder as she leaned back against the tree behind her.

And when her eyes finally focused, snapped into clarity, they brought with it the awful reality that the man from the road was crouched right in front of her.

She jumped back, attempted to scramble further into the great pine tree she leaned against. Let its roots pull her inside the bark to keep her safe. But nothing like that happened as the man grinned something wicked at her.

His hood was down, pooled around his neck — but she knew it was him. It had to be. He was an older man — maybe in his late fifties. His long hair was wispy and grey at the root. His face like leather, pulled taut over sharp, pointed features. His eyes, grey and lifeless, wore deep bags beneath them and were sunk deep into the sockets. The entire left side of his face was mangled with white scar tissue.

“Sorry — about the…” He gestured, fingers and nails long — dirt and blood caked into the cuticles, at her shoulder then around at the small clearing they were in. “Had to get you here somehow.”

Ronnie stared, confused at him for a moment. Then the dots connected, and he seemed to notice as he let out a breathy little laugh and clapped his hands together. He had carried her there in his teeth.

“You know, you know — you should be thanking me. Yeah. You should. ‘Cause, it could’ve been worse. Is all I’m saying. Feeling your soft…Warm flesh between my teeth. Could’ve easily just-just chomped right through ya! Ha!” He sat back on his haunches, arms rested on his knees. “Tasted…Your blood. Bet you taste real sweet — that pure Bradshaw blood. Ah-ah-ah! But I didn’t! I didn’t, so…”

He knew she was a Bradshaw. How did he know she was a Bradshaw?

Ronnie’s voice came out like a croak, rough and dry, as she asked, “Who are you?”

“Who am I?” he asked back, a shout that echoed through the trees. He stood up and began to pace. “Who am I? I meet my mortal enemy and she doesn’t even know who I am! Unbelievable! Ah-ah — mortal. Keyword there.”

Ronnie could only watch as he continued to pace back and forth in front of her. She needed to find a weapon. She needed to get away. Her eyes darted to the ground around her, searching for a rock or even a branch. Just something.

“Oh, wait, key. Now that’s a keyword! Ha! Especially for you, Veronica Bradshaw.” The man suddenly came in close, his face merely inches from her own. “I’ve been working on this plan for six months.”

He counted the points of his plan on his long fingers. “Burn down the forest…Force the packs to be in the same territory…But then you come along.”

He put his large, cold hand to her face and she flinched away from his touch. But he forced her to look up at him, claws digging into her face to keep her right where he wanted.

“The vulnerable, intelligent, brave little sister of Blue River’s Alpha. And I thought, maybe I could use her. But then! Ha-ha! But then, you made the whole thing perfect for me by being the Red Sky Alpha’s mate! It was fate that you would help me take back what’s mine.

“Pulling that tension between the packs until it snapped. And now…I’ve brought you here. Blue River will come once they realize you’re not coming back. And Jake…I bet he can feel your distress — your fear, like a stab to the gut. He’ll — wait. Oh-ho-ho! No! This is my lucky day, isn’t it?”

He shuffled in closer to her, stared directly into her eyes long enough to make her squirm — whimper. Then he sniffed the air around them, took in a great lungful of air before he looked back at her with a massive, nasty grin.

“The bond…Hasn’t been settled yet. I can feel it — festering inside you. You’re calling Jake here without even meaning to. Oh, this couldn’t be more perfect! Thank you, thank you!” He brought his other hand up to cup her face completely, running his fingers through her tangled hair. “I bet you’re causing him so much pain, right now. And soon, he’ll come. He won't be able to resist. And then, your Alphas will kill each other…

“Over you.”

“No!” Ronnie shouted as she tried to squirm away from him.

The man’s eyes flashed white — void of color — as he snapped his fangs at her. He was a werewolf. He was an Omega. His eyes white because he belonged to no pack and answered to no Alpha. Ronnie's chest heaved as she watched his lips pull back into a cruel smile.

“Have you put it together yet? I thought you were supposed to be smart.” He cocked his head to the side.

Her mind raced through everything he had said, every clue he may have dropped. She was his mortal enemy. He set the forest fire. He called Jake by his first name. The scars…Caused by a challenge for power. Take back what was his…

Ronnie’s face drained of all color. Her blood ran as cold as ice. Her insides felt as lead as he released her face — his grin somehow doubling in size as he leaned back on his haunches. She could feel the blood from the freshly formed cuts his claws created well up like tears.

This couldn’t be. He was dead. Jake killed him.

“Jeremiah Bellmoral.”

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