Evelyn POV
I wake to find I am laying on top of Reuben. My body covering his, my hands wrapped around his neck and my inner thighs gripping to his waist. Did I fall asleep in the shower? Did he carry me like this? No I don’t think so, I think we continued long after the shower. His body seems to have offered a cooling effect to my overheated one, hence why I was still straddling him.
A gasp leaves my mouth when I notice the mark on his neck. I tilt my head to get a better look at it, to marvel at what I created on his neck.
He was mine now for definite.
The mark of a large full silvery moon with its reflection in a body of water underneath, I can make out two wolves laying by the water’s edge, the bigger wolf resting it’s head on top of the slightly smaller wolf. That must be the two of us. This is adorable.
I can’t help but touch it and my movement on his mark causes him to shiver in his sleep. A moan escapes him as I run my tongue over his mark and I move off him slowly. I enter the en- suite desperate for a morning wee, when I notice my reflection in the mirror.
Bucker me!
Tiny love marks are littered all over me. I’m covered. I won’t be able to cover these with makeup. They were on my arms, my neck…my chest. His mark should be sign enough that I am his, he didn’t need to tattoo my entire body with hickeys.
“Reuben!” I walk back into the bedroom, shocked by my own image.
“Reuben!” I walk closer, picking up a pillow and launching it at his face. The pillow crashes on his face causing him to wake with a slight start, sitting upright.
“What is it?” He rubs at his eyes, trying to focus them through his tiredness. The penny soon drops. He looks at me and bursts into laughter at the sight of me.
“Look at me…” I can’t help but start to laugh myself, at just how ridiculous I look. His wolf really enjoyed remarking me.
He pulls at my arm, pulling me to him back into the bed. He wraps his arms around me, placing me under him as he starts smelling at my neck.
“Has your heat gone?”
“Yes!” I grunt playfully.
“Then it was worth it…” He starts trying to nip at me again but I push him away, I don’t need even more marks. Showered and dressed we start to head downstairs. These marks would disappear by the afternoon, I hope.
My body had finally cooled down, my wolf was sleeping off the end of her heat, her first heat as a marked wolf. She was feeling very content.
Walking downstairs holding hands, we find Nate, Pierce and Liberty in the kitchen. Liberty can’t help but hide her gasp at my appearance, whereas Pierce and Nate try to hide their laughs behind their coffee mugs.
“Oh shut up…” I smirk back at them, taking a seat at the table.
“What’s all this?” I notice files placed neatly next to Nate with a picture of Liberty.
“It’s a picture of Liberty which is now on the dark web. Odin has approved the search himself.” Nate updates looking up at Reuben.
“What?” I gasp leaning forward to look at the picture. Wow, she was gorgeous. I mean she is anyway, but this was a picture of a somewhat carefree Liberty with long flowing blonde hair, she did look like Reuben. Both of them share similar features.
“I need to get the kids…” I go to stand up, knowing Reuben will want to meet with Nate in his office to discuss this.
“No, I’ll get them. You eat!” He orders at me as he comes up and kisses me on my lips.
“I need to have a word with Noah anyway.” He looks at the photograph in my hand before glancing at his sister.
A tense atmosphere follows in the kitchen between Liberty and Reuben. What exactly happened last night?
Reuben POV
I held the picture of Liberty in my hand. On the dark web? Fuck, things were just getting harder and harder. He’s opened it up to the lowest of scum now. Not even just werewolves. Anyone will try and snatch her back now.
He’s fucking insane, these type of people don’t follow rules. In their minds as long as she is still breathing… just…they’ll consider her alive. What has he done! I groan as I place the picture back on the table.
“What is it?” Evelyn’s voice enters my mind through our newly formed mate mind-link.
“He’s just opened up our fucking lives to anything that moves.”
Walking out of the house, I head straight into the direction of the pack house I assigned to Noah and Cassandra.
The mate bond was buzzing through my body, my wolf still high on the sensation. I could feel everything about Evelyn now. Her emotions, her wolf’s tiredness…everything. And fuck did it feel good. She was mine, completely mine now and this new thing with Father was already plaguing me. We need to be preparing for an imminent attack at any moment.
“Nate..” I mind-link him just as I am about to knock on Noah’s door.
“Alpha?”
“We need to put the alliances…”
“Already done Alpha. I’ve put both alliances on alert, and Pierce has extra men arriving at any moment. But you need to prepare yourself, he’s adamant he’s taking her home with him.”
Fuck sake.
Nate was worth his weight in gold, he’d alerted both alliances as soon as he discovered the picture of Liberty. I can’t believe the contrast from her now and that picture. I was really trying to understand her mindset of trying to runaway last night. Why would she want to leave full well knowing she would be found within a day? What was she afraid of?
Cassandra opens the door and I walk in finding Rex and Elspeth eating at the kitchen table.
“Dad!” Rex jumps from the table and runs up to me.
“Morning kiddo, Mum wants to see you both…”
“Coming, I’m just eating my last pancake.” Elspeth smiles sweetly at me, her face completely covered in chocolate spread.
“How is Evelyn?” Noah asks.
“Much better, can I have a word? I’m outside kids when you are ready. Thanks Cassandra for having them…”
“Not at all Alpha, any time.” She smiles at me, meaning what she says. Our set up was a little odd but it worked for us. We were a family and I knew now any child they had I would also treat just as my own.
Noah follows me out, closing the front door behind him.
“Noah, I just wanted to say thank you.”
“Its fine…it’s my job.”
“No, as always you went above and beyond the role of a Beta. You protected what was mine, time and time again.”
I worried about their bond, worried he would take her from me. But now feeling Evelyn, now feeling our mate bond complete, I can finally feel her emotions towards him. Feeling it, has sated my wolf completely.
“I had a feeling something would happen, an alpha mated by another alpha…I need to write a medical textbook about it. There’s was nothing pre-written that I was able to research with.” He chuckles his voice joking but his eyes showing that he quite likes that idea.
The front door bursts open and both Rex and Elspeth file out, Rex running into the front garden whereas Elspeth stands quietly holding my hand.
We walk back to the alpha house, Rex showing signs of built up energy…I need to take him for a walk or a kick- about. He needs to start training really. Maybe I’ll do that, maybe I’ll start an afternoon training session with the warriors. He can get use to their presence more and build a bond with them.
“Is Mum okay?” He asks, his eyes flickering to the mark on my neck. I glanced at it myself quickly this morning, it was a large full silvery moon over looking water. I’m assuming the lake house that is so close to Evelyn’s heart.
“She’s fine Rex, she just needed some sleep.”
As soon as I open the front door, they both run inside, Rex wanting to make sure Evelyn is okay. He wouldn’t admit it openly but he does worry about her taking on too much. Elspeth climbs onto Evelyn’s lap, giving her Mum a big cuddle and a kiss on her cheek.
Trust a child to not read a room and not care about awkwardness. I could face palm myself for Rex’s uncaring social attitude.
“Why haven’t we seen you before?” Rex asks Liberty, as he stands next to Evelyn. Eyeing her with suspicion, nothing got past Rex.
“Well…” Liberty shifts uncomfortably on her seat.
“…I was locked away in a tower for six years.”
“Like Rapunzel?” Elspeth gasps with excitement.
“But you don’t have blonde hair.” Elspeth adds, sounded slightly disappointed.
“Well actually I do, but I’ve dyed it to keep hidden. Stop the cameras recognising me.” Liberty replies with a hushed voice. Her tensed demeanour finally starts to break down as she talks to the twins.
“Mummy, can I show Auntie Lib my room?” Elspeth hops of Evelyn’s lap and walks over, grabbing Liberty’s arm. Already assuming she likes the shortened version of her name.
“Only if Liberty wants to.”
“Oh, I don’t mind.” She smiles cautiously at Evelyn.
“Come on…” Elspeth pulls her, even if Liberty had said no. I don’t think she would have listened. Once they are both upstairs, I take the opportunity of her being out of ear shot.
“What do you want to do Evelyn?” I place my hand on the back of her chair. We might be mated but I still needed her close to me.
“What do you mean?” She asks looking around at me, as I stand behind her.
“Things are about to change. It’s not safe for Liberty now to be away from us. We will be attacked within days due to the reward on the dark web. I’m not being away from you and the kids, so do you want to stay here or go back to Silver Moon?”
“I can’t willingly put my pack in danger either Reuben, I’d rather we left both packs.”
“I’m taking Liberty home with me, so you don’t need to worry about her.” Pierce cuts in, his aura starting to swirl around the room.
“Like hell you are…” I growl at Pierce, earning a grow from him in return.
“She’s mine Reuben. I wouldn’t presume to tell you what to do with Evelyn…”
“Oh but you did, at the beginning. You revelled in it.” I smirk, knowing full well how he enjoyed teasing me about Evelyn.
“What about the Lake House? It’s remote…it’s away from the main pack lands and will give Liberty the space to try and shift.”
“She’s not there yet.” Pierce cuts in, already defending his mate.
“I know, but she needs time to be around us in our werewolf form. I think it’s the best option. It’s always where me and the kids feel safest…”
