LILY

The beeping never stops. It goes on and on; I want it to stop. More than anything, I want it to stop. I want my mate to wake up and rip these stupid monitors off himself. I want him to hold me; I want to feel him again.

“Dai, you have to wake up. Liam needs you; the kids need you. Dai, I need you,” I whispered. My forehead rested on his arm; he wasn’t warm like he used to be. A single tear escaped my eyelids.

I was losing hope that Azalea could do it. She came here every day, and I let myself hope each time that I would see his eyelids flutter. But then she would stop, not being allowed to push too far, and all that hope would crash down, further digging me into a grave of despair.

I couldn’t be mad at my best friend. She was doing everything she could, but I could be mad at the Moon Goddess. I never did anything to deserve this, and either did Damien. He was a good man, my perfect compliment. Why would she let him be taken from me like this?

“Just wake up….” I begged quietly to the endless beeping.

AZALEA

Liam made it all the way into the packhouse, supporting my weight but allowing me to still walk. When we were out of sight of the other packs, he scooped me up and carried me right to our room. I appreciated him letting me walk that far and just leaned against him once I was in his arms. He needed comfort just as much as I did right now.

When we got to our room, he kicked the door shut behind us and went straight to the couch, lowering himself down with me in his lap. Once he was sitting, he shifted his arms and took my face in his hands. His eyes bored into mine.

“They hurt you,” his voice came out broken.

“No,” I said, shaking my head softly. “I tripped when Azeron pushed me behind him. I was surprised by everything and tripped over my own feet.”

Liam quietly stared at me. I reached up and caressed his cheek slowly. “They attacked you right under my nose,” he said softly.

“He didn’t think he had a choice….” I reasoned. Liam closed his eyes, his face full of pain.

“I should have killed him,” he growled.

It was my turn to grab his face. “No,” I said sharply. Liam opened his eyes, looking at me. “You didn’t need to kill him. He didn’t succeed, and now he played right into your hand. He helped you convince all those packs to help us. That isn’t the man you are.”

Liam let out a heavy sighed and pulled me close. I curled myself into his chest and listened to his heartbeat. His arms were wrapped tightly around me, one hand cradling my head gently to his chest and the other around my arm.

“Little Luna, when will the world stop trying to hurt you?” he whispered into the top of my head. I tried to sink myself further into Liam’s hold.

“As long as I have you, I’m not scared of the world doing anything to me,” I told him truthfully.

“I am,” he admitted almost soundlessly. There was a short pause before he continued, “I have thought I lost you so many times. I can’t go through it again. I won’t.”

“I guess I can admit that Felix was right. He and Azeron did their jobs,” I whispered.

That elicited a small chuckle from him. “How does your ankle feel?” he asked.

“It’s fine,” I said. I didn’t want him to worry more. It was a shame I couldn’t use my gift to heal myself.

“My uncle is on his way here to look at it,” Liam said.

“How are you?” I asked him. He made a disgruntled noise and nuzzled his face into the top of my head. “How is Gavin?” I asked.

“He wants eyes and hands on you….” Liam mumbled into my head.Belongs to © n0velDrama.Org.

“Why don’t you let me calm him?” I suggested. Liam sat up with a breathy laugh.

“Your usual devices won’t calm him. Plus, my uncle is on his way up the stairs,” Liam said. As if on cue, there was a knock at the door, and Liam called Doctor Ron in the room.

Liam refused to let me out of his lap while his uncle was with us. Luckily, it was a simple sprain and would heal up in only a couple of days, like I thought. Doctor Ron wrapped my foot in a long bandage and instructed me to keep weight off it as much as possible. Liam took that as a license to keep me in our room for the rest of the night. And while I generally disagreed with his overbearing protectiveness, I let it go a while, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the events of the day.

After Ron left, I revisited the issue of Gavin. “You’ll both feel better if you let me calm him down,” I reasoned with Liam.

“You already got hurt, and Gavin won’t be easily assuaged,” Liam said. “Little Luna, first and foremost, he is a beast.”

“A beast that I have been handling just fine for a few years now….” I purred. I looked up at Liam through my eyelashes.

“Little Luna,” he g*****d. “You make it impossible to deny you; you know that?”

I smiled sheepishly at him. “I know.” With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes. I knew he and Gavin were speaking, so I patiently waited until his eyes opened again and Gavin’s dark pools were there.

“Little Mate,” he said in a gravelly voice.

“Gavin,” I said. “Did you hear the doctor?” He just nodded. “I’m okay; you know that?” He nodded again. “Are you going to calm down?” His hand came up, and his fingers tips gently traced down from my temple to my jaw. He watched their path thoughtfully.

“Someone thought they could touch my Little Mate,” he said to no one in particular.

“And he was stopped. I am okay,” I said. A small smile danced on his lips.

“I will be the judge of that,” he said before his lips came crashing down onto mine. There was so much energy in his k**s. All the anxiety, frustration, anger, and even excitement from today came gushing out of him in one rough, delicious k**s.

Soon, he was shifting me so I straddled his lap, my dress pushing up my thighs. His hands gripped them tightly, kneading my skin. I let my hands roam his chest and felt a slight rumble beneath my fingers.

His mouth became more expectant, quickly taking more. His tongue plunged deep into mine, tasting every bit, and I m****d softly at the intrusion. His hands moved north, pushing my dress even further up my waist, and I ground my h**s into his.

“Let’s see if you are okay everywhere,” he growled. His hands came right to the front of my pelvis, and he ripped my panties right apart as I whimpered unintentionally. I could feel his smile under my lips. He adjusted me, briefly lifting me up before I was being lowered right onto his delicious length.

I sighed in pleasure at the delicious length filling me. I was completely healed and clear from Azly’s birth and had been waiting for this moment. Gavin didn’t want to treasure or bask in it, though, because he was soon plunging his h**s into me as his hands pulled my body down, meeting him thrust for thrust.

A delighted m**n escaped me as I leaned forward against him. His lips came to my mark, kissing and sucking on it hard as he continued to piston into me.

“Oh Goddess,” I m****d. His steady rhythm continued, filling every inch of me with coursing heat.

His grip tightened slightly. “c*m for me, Little Mate,” he said in my ear.

“Harder,” I begged, and he happily obliged. He slammed into me harder and faster, pushing me higher up the peak.

“Let me hear you,” he growled as I m****d louder. The pressure built inside, and I was so close. Gavin reached down between my legs, flicking my bud. He pinched and rolled it between his fingers, and it broke the dam.

My body clenched around my mate, triggering his release. I rode his pulsing o****m through my own as we both came down from the high. I slumped against his chest, breathing heavily. I felt a hand come to the back of my head, rubbing gently.

“Better?” I said in between breaths. I felt a slight chuckle in his chest. “I love you, Gavin.”

“Love you, Little Mate,” he said, then followed it up with a k**s on the top of my head. His body relaxed completely under me, and I knew Liam was coming back.

“He’s too rough with you,” he grumbled, hugging me tightly.

“I have no complaints,” I chimed.

–

Liam and I had dinner upstairs in our room. I wasn’t exactly upset about being alone with him and not having to be crowded with questions so soon after everything. But I knew we wouldn’t be able to stay alone together long; we were still hosting this summit after all.

When Austin and Felix came to our door, it was our signal that time was up. Liam reluctantly let me go to meet separately with a few of the others he hoped would help him train and lead this large group of warriors. He was not happy, however, that I got up to leave as well.

“Where are you going, Little Luna?” he asked.

“Downstairs,” I said obviously. He gave me a look that said he disagreed. “I am just going to make an appearance, nothing strenuous.”

Liam just let out a heavy sigh. “Felix will stay with you then,” he said. “If your ankle hurts, you will sit or have Felix bring you upstairs, though.”

“Not going to be carried,” I insisted as I pushed him away toward the door. Felix just gave us a knowing look as Liam headed out of the room with Austin.

I headed downstairs with Felix, slowly but steadily. My ankle still hurt, but the wrapping helped some. When we got downstairs, people were lingering in the dining room still. Lacey spotted her mate immediately and joined us.

“Hey Lea, how you feeling?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” I told her. “Not the worst that could have happened.”

“I’m just glad nothing did happen,” she said. “Jett and Lance and being held in a room right now, Felix tells me.” I turned and gave him a discerning look while he only nodded to confirm. Liam and I would have things to talk about when he was finished.

“Excuse me, Luna Azalea?” I heard. I turned to see Beta Meadow coming toward us.

“Beta Meadow,” I greeted her.

“I hope you are feeling better,” she said, looking over me.

“I’ll be right as rain in no time,” I assured her.

“Well, I can’t stay much longer, but I was hoping to speak with you or your mate. Unfortunately, I could not convince my Alpha to help your cause, but that does not mean you won’t be receiving our support,” she explained. “Aidan may not see it, but this conflict is in no one’s best interest, and I do believe that we are all at risk here.”

“I appreciate that,” I told her.

“I will be in contact soon, as soon as I can get back in the office and figure out how much help I can send without Aidan knowing. He is…. easily distracted by his toys,” she said. I could guess what her veiled words meant, so I only nodded. She gave me a tight smile before exiting the dining room.

The next person to approach was Luna Quinn. “Oh Lea, wait can I call you that?” she said quickly. I grinned and nodded. “Oh, good. Lea, I am so sorry. How is the ankle doing?”

“It’ll be okay,” I assured.

“Good. I would be a limping mess for days. Michael wouldn’t let me out of his sight, I am sure,” she gushed. “You are so brave and poised after such a scary thing!”

“Well, there was a reasonable explanation behind his actions. They weren’t from a place of malice.”

“No, but it was scary nonetheless. You remind me of one of my characters, actually,” she chuckled. “Foolishly brave and overly empathetic. It can be a major character flaw or make her the best person in the room depending on who is reading.”

“Really?” I asked. “I’ll have to read sometime.”

“I’ll send you a copy,” she smiled. She opened her arms and pulled me into a hug. “Oh, I think my mate is almost done speaking with yours, so I should go.”

“Have a good night,” I said in farewell.

“Let’s head back upstairs before I have to endure any more of this,” I whispered to Felix, who nodded. He held up his arm to give me something to hold onto and led me from the room.

“You must have a very understanding mate for an Alpha,” someone said from behind me as we reached the steps. I stopped and dropped Felix’s arm as I turned. It was Alpha Karsyn.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” I said.

“Most Alphas would not allow their mate to be on the arms of another. Just an observation,” he said.

“Well, Liam has nothing to be worried about. Felix is simply helping me along. Is there something I can help you with?” I asked.

“I just felt it necessary to be honest with you, and I know you will relay this to your mate. While we are completely supportive of your plight, I do have some reservations about Liam’s demeanor,” he admitted.

“Oh?” I said.

“Yes,” he said. “You see, there are rumors about you as well, dear, not just this pack and its namesake. While I do not care whether you are human or wolf, I can sense that your mate struggles to appropriate his focus accordingly when you are in the mix.”

“I assure you that my mate is entirely focused on the vampire problem we face and this war,” I said, my irritation rising.

“I meant no offense,” Karsyn said, raising his hands. “I just hope he knows, as well as you, that if his attention is deterred in a way that causes any harm to my pack members, vampires will not be his only problem.”