FINLEY
Annalise is packed with alpha-female adrenaline. Xillon should stop taking it so easily on her. She needs more of a challenge. I can tell by the way her face scrunches up in annoyance from time to time. It’s only been a month since she gained her wolf. But she has already grown a couple of inches in height and her muscles have grown more taught. Damn, she’s gorgeous with sweat glistening off her sun-kissed skin. The sports bra and spandex workout shorts she has on leave little to the imagination. She’s stealthy as hell, too. Wish I could get a go at sparring with her.
I’m brought out of my daze when Dante’s foot collides with my chin. Flying through the air only to land a few mere feet away from Annalise and Xillon. Halting their sparring section. She glances my way, only to come running over to me and starts fussing over me, like she’s my mother or something.
“Are you alright, Finley? My goodness, that’s going to leave a mark for sure! Dante! Get your butt over here and help me get him to Cadance.”
Swatting her hands away from my face, I grin the best that I can with a broken jaw. Through gritted teeth, and with hardly legible words, say, “I’m fine. Get me some frozen meat and I’ll be right as rain.” Then close my eyes when the world spins.
“Sorry, Finley, but I could hardly take in what you just said. Try to relax and we’ll get you to Cadance.”
I can’t believe I just made a complete and utter fool of myself. It’s been a month of pure agony. Trying to keep my distance from Annalise. Watching her and Xillon, frolic around with each other, has been torture.
I’ve poured all of my sweat and angst into constructing the massive fortress where the ancient crescent moon pack royals, the leaders’ families and royal omegas will live. We’ve also built separate housing to accommodate the pack warriors and their families. The blood moon howler pack residents have helped, of course. We wouldn’t have been able to pull everything off in what little time we had otherwise.
***
Alpha Gabriel acquired a couple of massive shuttles and we’ve just arrived at the airport to retrieve the second-in-command pack leaders and their families, As well as their omega’s, and several of the ancient crescent moon pack warriors and their families.
The anticipation of finally being able to hold my Lorna has my blood pumping furiously. She was my first and has been the only she-wolf I’ve surrounded myself with. We have been together in a relationship for the past four years. She and I have hoped that we would be mates. We agreed with one another to reject our mates, if fate was not on our side. But now that Annalise is in the picture, and is most likely my fated mate. I don’t know if I’ll be able to reject her when the time comes.
Our gazes collide and Lorna bounds over to me screeching with happiness, “Finley! I’ve missed you so much!”
She jumps into my arms. I pull her up to straddle my hips as she flings her arms around my neck. Our lips crash together feverishly. She allows me access for our tongues to mingle and, for a moment, I feel like I’ve taken flight.
Breaking the kiss, I nuzzle my nose to hers, and whisper, “A month was way too long being apart from you, Lorna. I’ll never be away from you that long, ever again.”
“We better get going, Finley. The longer we keep everyone from getting loaded, the longer it’ll take before we can, uh… I’m in desperate need of you.”
Her cheeks flushed as she nibbled her bottom lip. My joy turned to apprehension. What if she meets her mate, as I’ve met mine? There have been two girls in my fantasies over the last month. That I hate to say it, but have used to pleasure myself and keep myself from going insane. Is that a form of cheating? Will Lorna be able to tell the difference in me, now that I’ve met Annalise?
Smirking, I let her down, holding her until I firmly planted her feet on the ground. Hoping that my apprehension isn’t showing, I brush my lips to hers, twist her around and push her toward the shuttle.
She scrutinizes me and dabs the side of my face that got smashed yesterday. “Did you get hurt or something?”
“Had a broken jaw and laid out in a hospital bed overnight. It’s mostly healed now, though.”
“What the hell happened?!”
“Just a sparring hazard. Nothing to worry yourself over. Thank the goddess for Nox’s quick healing powers. If I were human, I would probably be in a coma, with my jaws wired shut.”
“The bruising is minimal now, but I bet it was horrendous yesterday.”
“Wouldn’t know. Passed out and woke up this morning, yanking an IV out of my arm.”
“You should be resting and not sitting beside me right now, Finley.” She shakes her head and glances out of the shuttle’s window.
She’s right. I put up quite a fight with my father and Cadance to be here. Couldn’t take one more minute being away from Lorna. Wouldn’t change a thing either. She lays her head on my shoulder, and soon I can hear her light snores as she falls to sleep.
***
“Lorna, love, we have arrived.”
Grinning, she keeps her eyes closed and states, “Carry me over the threshold, my love.”
When she opens her eyes, she will realize that we are inside the Blood Moon Howler packs, mansion instead of our own. But I’ll play along. Now Annalise can know what torment I’ve been going through over the last month. Retreating from the shuttle, I place her arms around my neck and pull her up into my arms bridal style.
My father catches the sight of me carrying her, growls and firmly states, “That’s uncalled for son.”
Shrugging my shoulders, the best I can with Lorna in my arms, I bring her even closer to me as I march up the steps to the mansion. Nodding and giving thanks to the omega, who opens the doors wide so I can enter. Wish I could remember his name. But there are too many pack members to keep track of. Of course, I know all the pack members of the ancient crescent moon pack off the back of my hand. Simply haven’t been here long enough to get everyone’s names down.
Annalise catches sight of us. She growls and I take pride in her beautiful sky-blue eyes glazing over as she converses with Larissa. When she comes to, I’m standing only a few feet away from her. She rings her hands in front of her, then searches for Xillon.
“Lorna, love. I must put you down now. You need to meet Alpha Gabriel’s niece Annalise. She is to be an alpha for the blood moon howler pack. I’ve told you about her.”
Lorna opens her eyes, leaps from my arms and embraces Annalise, stating, “I’m Lorna! Finley’s girlfriend! I am going to be a gamma soon! You have no idea how happy I am to be here! And to meet you, of course! If you haven’t noticed. Females our age from my pack are few! Not sure what Selene was thinking. How are we supposed to keep the ancient line going if it comprises all males?!”
Annalise smiles and returns Lorna’s embrace. When she’s eyes to eye with me, she grimaces, then grins as she comes face to face with Lorna again and says, “Come. You must meet Yarrah. She’s my boyfriend Xillon’s sister and around your age. You are seventeen, right?”
“Turned seventeen two months ago. But, age doesn’t matter to me honestly. Corissa has told me so much about you and your friends Xena and Zariah! Honestly, we should all band together, don’t you think?”
My heart does some kind of hell. I don’t know how to explain it. It stops, then jumps back to life and then pounds erratically in my chest. These girls are going to eat me alive! I don’t even know how to deal with this!
ANNALISE
My heart plummets to the ground when Finley walks in carrying his girlfriend. Larissa perks up and growls, then yells, ‘I’m going to rip her head off and eat it for dinner!’
‘No! You’re going to go tuck your tail between your legs. And go hide far, far away within my mind. I need you to go elsewhere and leave me alone so I can function. That way, we do nothing stupid. Chill out! I mean it Larrisa!’
I’ve held up to my end of the bargain, right? I’ve stayed away from Finley. Must admit that it’s been hard. You know, when I’m constantly near the guy. I’m perplexed why he would go to such extremes as to come in here cradling her as if they had just gotten married or something.
Did my due diligence yesterday. Aiding Dante to cart him to Cadance’s house. Between Larrisa and me, you would have thought I was his mother. Freaking out as I had. But, I couldn’t help it. What do I get for getting him to a place where he could get the care he needed? Finley, walking into my humble abode, latched on to his girlfriend!
Jealousy takes hold, even though Larrisa has scampered off, as I told her to do. Finley’s girlfriend, from what I can see so far, is far more gorgeous than myself. She has thick, long, curly, dark red hair that I would say probably reaches past her glutes. It’s kind of hard to tell, since she’s all up in the air, in his arms. Man, I want to punch someone so badly. Her complexion is fair. Suppose mine would be as well, if I hadn’t spent most all of my waking hours out in the sun.
It wasn’t until she leaped out of his arms that jealousy really took over. The girl towers over me. Well, sort of. She’s at least six foot eight, and she’s feminine but also built like a freaking a…
“I’m Lorna! Finley’s girlfriend! I am going to be a gamma soon! You have no idea how happy I am to be here! And to meet you, of course! If you haven’t noticed. Females our age from my pack are few! Not sure what Selene was thinking. How are we supposed to keep the ancient line going if it comprises all males?!”
Female gamma shifter! She’s got striking emerald green eyes. Like my cousin and uncle. Freckles to boot. Goodness, she’s freaking beautiful. And I’m just, well… me.
My senses go on high alert, however, when I introduce her to Xillon. I know that look anywhere. Because I’m sure that’s the look Finley and I had with one another upon meeting for the first time. Xillon’s hand retracts from hers, but only after lingering longer than it should have. His pupils dilated, and he had a hard time holding himself together.
Are you freaking kidding me!