Missy

Lea was a mess when Maddox and I got back. I guess some wrong instructions were given, and the warriors who usually keep an eye on us while we are here were sent elsewhere. Lea wasn’t expecting Maddox and me back for a while still, but Liam had urgently linked me and asked us to come back.

When we walked inside, Lea was pacing back and forth, chewing on her l*p. When she saw me, she started to fall with a small bit of relief on her face. I caught her, and she hugged me tightly. I had her almost calmed down when Leo and Junior burst through the door. She grabbed them up immediately as Liam came in the door behind them.

When I asked Liam the question that had been burning in my mind since we started running back here, he confirmed it. When we took off back towards the Inn, I picked up the slightest putrid scent on the wind, but it was gone quickly. Of course, my mind immediately went to rogues, but no one was going to tell me even if I asked.

I looked over at Maddox, who was standing nervously at the side of the room. I walked over to him. “Don’t worry. She worries, but it’s mostly the pregnancy. Everyone is fine,” I told him.

“By the look on the Alpha’s face, someone is very lucky that his pups are alright,” he said, raising an eyebrow. I looked at Liam, who was still pretty angry. He watched Azalea fuss over the boys for a moment.

“Yea. He is pretty protective. But he sort of needs to be,” I commented.

“Why did he leave his mate here instead of bringing her to find all of you? Seems odd she would sit here and worry about her pups instead of coming to find them,” he asked.

I bit my l*p. It mainly was common knowledge around the pack that Azalea didn’t have a wolf. Only some people actually knew all the details. Lily had only told me a couple of years ago because I wore her down about it. But Maddox wasn’t a pack member yet, and I didn’t know how much I was allowed to tell him. I realized he was watching me watch Lea.

“If it’s some big secret, you don’t have to tell me. I understand. I am not part of the pack after all,” he said. I looked up at him, but he didn’t look upset at all.

“You two should go clean up. Lemon is sending back some dinner for all of you shortly,” Liam linked me. I caught his eyes on us and nodded.

“Let’s go clean up. I’ll explain later,” I told him. He nodded, and we both headed to the back.

–

I showered first and then told Liam we would pass on dinner. It seemed like one of those nights where they needed some alone time. Then, there was a knock on the door, and I turned to see Maddox standing there, drying his hair with a towel, shirtless again. He smelled really good fresh from the shower.

“Hey,” he said, smiling.

“Hey,” I choked out.

“Today was fun,” he said, coming all the way into my room. I was sitting on the bed against the headboard, waiting for V to text me back. Maddox sat down on the bed.

“Yea, it was. Although, I don’t think hunting is my thing. I think I will stick to normal food,” I laughed. He laughed back at me.

“You were sort of terrible,” he teased. I gave him a mock scowl. He put his hands up in surrender. “I will admit, though, you move very gracefully for a wolf. Since I spent most of our run chasing you, I would know.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Even though I won’t be Alpha, I did make Liam train me for a while there. Some things must have stuck.”

“I hope he lets me train to become a warrior,” Maddox sighed, looking down at his hands.

“Why do you want to become a warrior so bad?” I asked. He had mentioned it before, but I never pressed the issue. I tried to avoid talking about his old pack, too, ever since that first day I met all of them. Maddox was quiet for a minute. “You don’t have to tell me. I get not wanting to talk about things.”

“Like your parents?” he asked softly, looking up at me. I just nodded my head. I didn’t particularly appreciate talking about my parents. Maddox sighed. “I guess it’s only fair. I figured the Alpha and Luna would have told you before they forced you to entertain us that first day.”

“Tell me what? All Lea said was that you guys would be joining the pack soon. I sort of wondered how you all just sort of appeared, but you guys didn’t seem to want to talk about it, so I left it alone. I didn’t think it was really my business,” I said.

“Sol, Sulien, Alex, and I are all from the same pack. We’re rogues, Missy,” he admitted. I knitted my eyebrows. But how could that be?

“That doesn’t make sense. Rogues are bad. They want to hurt people. Being out of a pack makes them sick,” I rambled.

“We belonged to a tiny pack a long way from here. So small that when we first got to this town, we thought this was the whole pack. One day, we were attacked. Someone came in, beheaded our Alpha, then murdered our Luna in front of everyone. We couldn’t do anything to stop it. Then he started killing people and burning our pack to the ground. Everyone ran to try and get away. My mom has been gone for a few years now, but my Dad and older sister were with me. Neither of them made it….” he squeezed his eyes shut, and my breath caught in my throat. “My Dad was trying to help people get out, my sister and I included. When that thing came after us, he tried to stop it and give us time to escape. We managed to get away at first, but it found us. My sister and I ran, but when it was getting too close, she shoved me into the river and sacrificed herself.” Maddox was clenching his fists in his lap, and it looked like he was fighting back tears. I inched forward a little.

“Maddox…” I whispered.

“After I managed to get out of the river, I didn’t see anyone for a couple of days. Eventually, I found the rest of them. We started looking for a new pack because we weren’t sure what else to do. We got rejected a lot. One pack chased us off, and one of their warriors almost hurt one of the kids with us. I stepped in between them and got hurt. My arm wasn’t healing right after that, too,” Maddox said. His voice was tight as he looked up at me. “When we got here, they took us all to a room. They wanted a representative to speak with the Alpha and Luna. I thought we were done for. Then your mom came in the room asking for the person who was hurt, and everyone offered me up. I couldn’t believe it when she healed my arm. I’ve never seen anything like it. The Alpha and Luna were so kind to us. They gave us a chance when so many packs hadn’t because peaceful rogues aren’t a thing.”

“You want to become a warrior because you couldn’t help your family or your pack….” I concluded. He nodded, holding my gaze.

“If my mate is out there, I want to be able to protect her. I never want to feel weak and helpless again,” he said. I could feel the pain in his voice. I scooted closer to him.

“I don’t think you’re weak, Maddox…” I said softly.

“Can I tell you something?” he asked. We were sitting very close now. I nodded my head.Content rights belong to .

“I was a little disappointed when you told us you wouldn’t be Alpha. I know girls aren’t really made Alpha, but I had thought maybe one day I would like to be protecting you….”

“Really? Why?” I asked, confused now.

He couldn’t answer my question because Leo came into the room yelling. “Sissy! Can we have stories?” He ran right up to the bed, stopping and looking between Maddox and me with a smile. This poor thing was so oblivious.

“Leo, you are supposed to knock before you run into someone’s room!” Junior scolded from the doorway.

“Oh, right,” Leo said. He made a fist and bumped it on Maddox’s leg. “Knock, knock,” he said. “Now, can we have stories? Daddy said he was going to put Mommy to bed because her eyes are all leaky.” Maddox laughed at his innocence. I cracked a smile too. I looked over at Maddox, and he gave me a warm smile and shrug. I guess our conversation could continue another time.

Lacey

My mate is odd. I never in my dreams thought I would find a second chance after Harry passed. It took me so long to pull myself back together, and I never considered being with anyone else. My Harry was amazing, sweet, kind. He was nothing like Felix. Where Felix is enormous, quiet, and brooding, Harry was small, talkative, and easy-going. The Moon Goddess sure threw me a curveball.

After the meeting was over, I finished up with Jax and left the dining room to find Felix standing near the steps leading to the guest rooms. His eyes were immediately on me, and I felt butterflies in my stomach. It was a feeling I had missed for sure. I asked him to wait while I put my things away. I ran up to my room, put my work away, and quickly freshened up before going downstairs to find him.

When I got downstairs, he said nothing. Instead, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me along behind him to another room. The telltale sparks erupted where his hand made contact with my arm. It was my understanding that there were no guest rooms on the ground floor of the main building, so I assumed the room was specially reserved for him or other pack members. When we got inside, he let go of me but then just stood there staring at me, saying nothing.

After a few minutes of awkward staring, I started looking around the room. There wasn’t a whole lot in the room; it looked like any average travel accommodation. The only personal items were a small travel bag sitting on the desk with clothes folded neatly inside. He said nothing as I walked around the room, looking around for anything that gave me an idea about who he was. Eventually, I sat on the end of the bed and just stared back at him. He just continued to stand there and watch me. All I could gather from this is that he is a man of very, very few words.

It had been at least an hour since he dragged me in the room when he finally said something. “Dinner. Let’s go,” was all I got. Having nothing better to do for the moment, I went with him. The mate bond was pulling me towards him anyway. I wasn’t going to give in until I got to know him, though. The Moon Goddess may think this weird giant was exactly what I needed, but I wasn’t sold yet.

Instead of eating at the Inn, Felix left the building and led us through town to a small diner. He strode right in and sat at a table away from others. A waitress came over and was surprised to see me. She seemed to know exactly what Felix wanted and brought me a menu so I could decide. After I ordered and our food was brought out, we ate in silence. I would look up at him occasionally, and he would be staring right at me. It was the most awkward meal I ever ate with someone.

After we finished, we walked back to the Inn, and Felix headed straight to his room once more. When I moved to go to my room, he stopped and gave me a weird look. He looked legitimately puzzled. Was not talking for hours on end while in the presence of someone else genuinely normal for him? I was curious if I would be able to get him to say anything, so I followed him.

When we got inside his room, it was much the same as before dinner. I started trying to ask him questions. I quickly realized I could ask him a yes or no question, and he would shake or nod his head. When I asked him something that required words, he was just quiet. All I was able to find out is that he works for the Alpha and Luna, who I had already met, and that I am his second chance as well. When I asked if he wanted to know more about me, he paused before tentatively nodding.

I told him that I would tell him anything he wanted to know if he asked me. Then I sat on the bed once more and waited. We just looked at each other while I waited for him to speak. Being in such close proximity to him for a while now was getting difficult. He smelled delightful, and it was making my body want him. I was getting ready to call it quits when he finally broke the silence.

“Am I your second chance?” he asked. I smiled, feeling victorious.

Nodding, I said, “Yes. My mate passed away four years ago.”

“How?”

“He was human. He got sick,” I told him. It didn’t hurt as much to talk about anymore, but I didn’t want to get into details.

“Pack?” Very, very few words….

“Do I belong to one?” I clarified. He nodded. “Yes, I do. Although, I live in a predominantly human city.” He c****d his head to the side only a fraction. I smiled the tiniest bit. That minimal gesture made him look almost cute in his weird broody, angry demeanor. Oh, Goddess, what is wrong with me?

He went to open his mouth once more and stopped abruptly. His eyebrows screwed up in confusion, and for the briefest moment, a look of panic crossed his features. I sat up straighter. “What’s wrong?” I tried to ask.

“s**t,” he said. He didn’t spare me another glance as he turned and threw his door open, almost running out. Seriously, what was that?