LIAM

Azalea and Lily put a lot of effort into the baby shower for Lacey. I was surprised at how quickly they pulled it all together. With this being for Lacey and Felix, I decided to attend to keep an eye on Azalea so Felix could enjoy himself. Although, it was hard to determine if he was or not by his expression. He gave an only clue every time his eyes went to Lacey; he would almost grin.

The whole backyard of the packhouse was a pumpkin patch. Orange, blue, and silver pumpkins with greenery covered everything. A banner with ‘Our Little Pumpkin’ was strung up over the present table. They even painted Lacey’s belly to look like a pumpkin. I laughed when Felix blatantly refused the ‘Daddy Gourd’ shirt they tried to force him to wear.

Since Abigail was in attendance, Austin followed Azalea around on guard duty for the afternoon. It was comical to watch him get exasperated with her running around the party, jumping from one task to another.

Since snapping on her, Azalea had been docile. She also started wearing the watch she got from Greyback’s box. I still wasn’t sure exactly what it did, but if it anyway could be used to protect her, I was all for it.

We had barely spoken since her apology. That was in part due to Maddox and Langston returning. I felt slightly remorseful as I watched her host the baby shower. After calming down, I recognized she never saw the danger in her actions. That was the problem with it all; she couldn’t always see the risk she took.

Lily came over to stand with me at the back of the party. “What’s the look for?” she asked, leaning against the wall of the packhouse. “Not into baby pumpkins?”

I chuckled softly. “You guys did a fantastic job. Lacey looks happy, and I am sure Felix appreciates you being so welcoming,” I told her.

“Lea and I are good at these things. Plenty of practice,” she laughed. “But I also know that look, Liam. What’s going on?”

I sighed. “Just keeping an eye on her,” I said.

“You’re still not over what happened,” she observed, looking back at the party. “And before you say anything, yes, she told me. I agree; she should not have done it. I do not condone you throwing her over your shoulder and locking her in your room like a prisoner, however.”

I could feel Lily’s sideways stare at me. “That probably wasn’t one of my best moments,” I admitted. “I saw red. I just…” I couldn’t put into words the unmatched rage that had taken over when I got in that room.

“I get it,” Lily said. “You’ve always been this way with her. You guys should talk, though. She feels lost with you being distant. We need you both at 100% if we stand a chance at winning this thing.”

I turned my head to look at Lily for a moment. She was watching the party with a somber expression. “I feel like maybe you should be taking your own advice. How is everything between you and Damien?”

She let out a hollow laugh. “Are you asking as his friend or his Alpha?”

“I’m your friend before your Alpha. Lily, he can’t find a way to cope with this if you aren’t there. He needs you,” I told her.

“I’m just not so sure of that since he woke up,” she sighed.

“He isn’t going to ask for your help. Even with you, he is terrified of being weak. This is new to him and you. Go out to the woods with him tonight and shift. Help Cage. This time, he needs you to be the strong one and show him it’s okay,” I told her.Content rights belong to .

She pursed her lips but didn’t say anything else. I figured Damien wasn’t relying on his mate to help him work through this problem with his wolf. Damien was a provider; he liked to be relied on, not to rely on others. Lily used to know how to help him, always knowing precisely where she was needed or helpful. It seemed since he got hurt, she had lost her confidence.

After a few more minutes of watching the party, it looked like the games were about to start. Lily pushed off the wall to help Azalea.

“He likes to go out right after the kids go to bed. I can handle Delilah and Lucas tonight,” I said to her. She paused for a moment before she continued on her way to rejoin the party.

–

After reading bedtime stories to the kids and getting Azly settled in her crib for the night, I entered our bedroom to find Azalea curled up on the bed with a book. She looked up at me for just a moment with shy eyes before they went back to her story.

I studied her for a moment on the bed. She had a light sweater wrapped around her shoulders and her hair was long and loose over one of them. I could see my mark clearly from here.

I padded over and sat on the edge of the bed. She sat so close to the edge on her side, it felt like there was a chasm between us. Normally, she would get comfortable right in the center and wait for me to join her.

I crawled over to her and pulled the book from her hands. She gave me a wide-eyed look as I set it on her nightstand. I leaned over her, cupping her jaw so my thumb could lightly trace over her cheek.

“I’m sorry for how I reacted,” I apologized. She swallowed, silently looking at me with nervousness in her eyes. I wanted her to be more cautious and stop blindly running toward danger, but I didn’t want to take away the things that make her my Azalea. “I shouldn’t have been so rough with you.”

“It’s okay,” she said in a quiet voice. “I owe you an apology, too. I disrespected you by meeting with Warwick behind your back. I also disrespected Robert, which was not fair to either of you. I am so sorry.”

We were both quiet for a drawn minute. I simply took in the beautiful creature the Moon Goddess blessed me with. “I know you don’t mean to hurt me with your protective nature,” she broke the silence. “I promise I will stop making it so hard for you. I won’t go behind your back like that ever again.”

“I love you more than anything,” I told her. Relief settled in my chest at her understanding.

“I love you, too,” she said. I leaned down and captured her mouth in a gentle k**s. She slowly reached up, her hands coming to my face. I brought my other hand to her waist, gently sliding her bottom toward me to lay her down. Her tongue parted her lips, then mine. She deepened the k**s as our tongues danced gently against each other.

I settled myself over her and pulled the blanket up over us. She pulled away from the k**s, looking up at me with serious eyes. “I’ll be better,” she promised. I ran my nose along hers before kissing her forehead.

“I will, too,” I promised back. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me closer.

“Liam, I don’t want anyone else to get hurt,” she whispered.

“I know,” I told her. “It’s almost over. I will end this soon.” I peppered k****s down her jaw, and her head fell to the side with a soft, needy sigh. I nibbled and sucked my way down the supple skin of her neck right to my mark. I planted open-mouth k****s there as her grip on me tightened.

LILY

I crept through the trees, moving towards Damien’s scent. I didn’t know how he was going to react. He refused to talk to me about the problems he had with his wolf.

I finally caught his scent in one particular direction and made my way to it. He was standing in a small break within the trees wearing just shorts. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and I could tell he was frustrated with Liam’s apparent lateness. When I stepped into his line of sight, he turned to me, shock registering on his features.

“Lily, what are you doing out here?” he asked.

I stopped in front of him as he looked down at me. “You don’t need to do this alone, Dai,” I told him. His face flinched momentarily.

“You don’t need to be here for this,” he said quietly. I reached out and grabbed his hand. I turned it over in mine, feeling his callouses and the warmth he had.

“Dai, I’m your mate. You aren’t strong without me, and I’m not without you. The best thing for Cage is me. I’ll keep him grounded. You can rely on me,” I said quietly, my eyes still on his hand in mine.

His fingers curled, making a loose fist. “If he hurt you…” he mumbled.

“He won’t because you wouldn’t. We can do this together, okay?” I said, peering up at him. He wouldn’t meet my gaze, and I could feel his shame through our bond. I stepped back and slowly stripped off my clothes. I let myself shift, bringing my wolf into control. She was worried about Cage dismissing her, but I was confident it wouldn’t happen.

Damien stood there for a moment, frozen at my wolf’s appearance. “Shift,” I urged him. He sighed and slipped his shorts down his powerful thighs. All the obsessive training brought back his remarkable tone and definition lost during his coma.

He crouched over on the ground, planting himself on all fours. His shift was slow, and I could feel his pain, but it was better than with Doctor Ron here to observe. Maybe this was becoming easier. Cage looked around wildly when the shift was completed, then his gaze finally fell on me. He sat back on his haunches, appraising me.

I turned away from him and took a few steps before looking back at him. Cage’s head was tilted with curiosity. My wolf took off at a run, deeper into the trees. It only took a matter of seconds before I could hear Cage bounding through the trees to catch up to me.

–

“Cage, it’s time to let Damien come back,” I told him. We had run and played for a few hours, much later than Damien was usually out.

“Come back tomorrow,” he bargained. I licked his face in agreement. I wandered back over to the place I dropped my clothes and shifted back. I gave Cage and Damien a moment of privacy to shift back as well as I pulled my clothes back on.

As I put my shirt in place, I felt large, warm arms wrap around me. I yelped but then immediately giggled, and Damien lifted me up. “What are you doing?” I squealed as Damien started to trudge through the forest, unceremoniously carrying me by my midsection.

“Showing my mate the appreciation she deserves,” he growled. His tone was playful and lusty. The sound went straight to my core.

As he broke through the treeline, I tried to get out of his hold, but Damien just laughed. “You aren’t getting away, Lilypad,” he mused as he headed for the backdoor of the packhouse.

I continued to struggle with him playfully. He started tickling my sides, making me squirm against him more. I realized that at this moment, I could make him feel dominant and strong again by letting him have control.

“Shhhh,” he nipped at my ear, and he carried me into the packhouse. “You’ll wake everyone up.”

“Stop tickling me!” I gasped. Damien’s lips planted themselves right below my ear, sending a pleasurable trill through me. He hummed, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin.

“Are you going to put me down?” I whispered as he climbed the stairs.

“Do you want me to?” he whispered huskily.

I didn’t; I really didn’t. I shook my head, and I could feel him smile against my skin as he got closer and closer to our room. Without watching where he was going, he started kissing and nipping at my neck and shoulder.

I stopped fighting him and melted into the feeling. He shifted his grip on me to one arm and threw open our bedroom door. Kicking it closed behind him, he marched to our bed, climbing atop it before dropping me. I landed on my front, but he quickly flipped me over.

I was panting slightly from the excitement of his mood. He looked down at me, his eyes full of longing. He leaned over, covering my mouth in his to k**s me deeply while one of his hands inched underneath my shirt. He kneaded his way up to my breast, palming it.

His calloused hand groped and caressed my skin, the feeling wildly familiar and wanted. Small, needy m***s erupted from me as Damien explored what would always be his.

“I think it’s time for me to show you just how strong you make me,” he whispered as he pulled away from our k**s. Every nerve in my body lit up as he did just that.