Missy

Seriously, why is this happening to me?

“You’ve got a bit of drool there….” Sol teased me, wiping away pretend drool from the corner of my mouth.

“Not funny,” I grumbled. Sol and I sat near the edge of the woods behind the packhouse, watching the warrior class. Now that summer was in full swing, the kids my age that wanted to be warriors for the pack were training three times a day, including Maddox. Lea made living arrangements for all the new families in the pack while a few more houses were being built. She helped many of them find jobs too. Only a handful remained in the packhouse. Maddox was now officially living two floors below me which wouldn’t have been awkward before his confession at the Inn. Now my cheeks got warm every time I saw him.

Lea ungrounded me a couple of days ago, and Vlad has been here every chance he got. Every time he and Maddox were near each other, they were stand-offish and tense.

“Can I ask you a real question?” Sol asked. I just nodded my head, my eyes still on the training across the field. Maddox was sparring with one of the older warriors, and he was shirtless. “Why don’t you just dump Vlad? You clearly have it out for Maddox. At least you could enjoy your last few mate-less weeks before your birthday. You could guiltlessly roll around with Maddox, and I am so sure he would oblige,” she said.

I scowled. “Vlad’s my mate. Maddox is just… a distraction,” I told her, peeling my attention away from the sparring. Sol pursed her lips at me.

“Every time he is near you, you blush. You have completely avoided talking to him since you came back from that trip together. And this is not the first time I have caught you staring,” she accused.

I sighed. Sol was right. I made up an excuse every time Maddox tried to hang out with me outside of his training because all I could think about was what he said at the Inn. “I’m not breaking up with Vlad. He is my mate. Just wait for my birthday,” I told her.

“You know Maddox has the same birthday as you, right?”

I turned to her wide-eyed. “No….” I said. Vlad’s birthday was two days after mine. I would know on the night of my birthday, but he wouldn’t for a couple of days.

“Yea. He won’t admit it, but he’s hoping he’s going to find out you’re his mate. Sulien said he’s determined to convince your Dad to let him be a full-time warrior when he graduates, so there is no doubt he would be able to protect you,” she explained.

I dropped my face into my hands. This is not supposed to be happening. I was so confident Vlad was my mate just a month ago. Now, doubt was creeping in.

“For what it’s worth, you don’t seem happy around Vlad. You fit better with Maddox,” she said as her eyes moved from me back over to the training session we were spying on.

–

Liam

I chewed my l*p, considering everything Felix just confessed. Somehow his mate knew Abraham, and they acted oddly around each other. Lacey has been staying with Felix for the last week. Azalea has spent some time with Lacey, learning that things are steadily growing between her and Felix. I still haven’t found someone satisfactory to augment Felix’s protection of Azalea, but we were working on it.

Felix stood in front of me with a passive expression. Whether he was expecting me to be upset or not, I couldn’t tell; I could never tell.

“Let’s bring Abraham in and ask him how he knows your mate,” I said. So far, Abraham had been an asset to me in the Gwen murder investigation. We knew for sure the culprit was a vampire and that they belonged to Clan Warwick. Felix nodded and left the room.

I knew it wouldn’t be long until he returned with Abraham. I started organizing and putting away all the paperwork on my desk that I was sifting through when Felix first came in. Out of nowhere, I had an overwhelming feeling of despair, and I knew it was Azalea. I shot to my feet as I linked her, “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“The boys,” she linked back. I ran from my office, heading upstairs. I wasn’t sure where they were, but that’s where my feet carried me. She was supposed to be with Austin right now, but it wasn’t out of the ordinary for her to spend more time with the kids when they weren’t in school.

“Where are you? What is wrong with the boys? Where is Austin?” I shot my questions at her.Belongs to - All rights reserved.

I took the stairs three at a time and was on our floor. I ran down the hallway, seeing Azalea standing outside Junior’s room. She turned to me with tears in her eyes. I skidded to a halt in front of her, my eyes raking over her to make sure nothing was wrong. Then I turned my attention to the inside of the bedroom, utterly confused to find both my sons sitting on the bed with a book in between them.

“Little Luna, what is going on? The boys are fine….”

“Liam’s reading to Leo….” she sniffled. I turned back to my children. Leo looked up from the book and waved at me. I gave him a smile and waved back before turning back to my mate. Her l*p was quivering, and she looked like she was about to burst. I pulled her close to me, still not understanding what was upsetting her about Junior reading a book. “They are growing up….” she said between sniffles. “They won’t need me soon.”

Oh, Goddess. Oh no. This had to be a hormone thing. Azalea was never like this. “Shhhh…” I tried to quell her as I rubbed her back softly. “They will always need you, baby. You are their mom,” I reassured her.

“You don’t need your mom. You find every reason not to talk to her,” she countered. I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. Now she was comparing me to them. This probably wouldn’t end well for me.

“Little Luna, that is nonsense. You can’t compare me and my mother to you, Missy, junior, and Leo. It just isn’t the same, baby,” I told her. She buried her face in my chest.

“Daddy, what’s wrong with Mommy? Is she leaky again?” Leo’s voice asked from inside the room.

I turned my head to see both boys looking at us. “She is just sad because of how big you guys are,” I told him. “She thinks that you are going to grow too big and leave her.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Junior said. “I am going to be Alpha, and I will always protect Mom.” I hugged Azalea closer to me.

“See, Little Luna? They aren’t going to leave you. They love you,” I linked her. She pulled her head back, looking up at me with her large green eyes. I leaned down and kissed her softly. “Better?” I asked aloud. She nodded her head. “Where is Austin? Shouldn’t he be with you?” She gave me a sheepish smile. I g*****d. “You did not trick him into leaving you alone again?” I asked her incredulously.

“Liam, I have had a personal bodyguard for six years now. There is no reason to keep this up. Let Felix spend some time with Lacey and stop babysitting me,” she argued.

I let out a deep sigh. “Azalea….” I g*****d. This is the fifth time I have caught her tricking anyone looking after her into leaving her unattended. Felix has been spending far less time with her than I would prefer.

“Liam…” she g*****d in mockery. I looked down at her, giving me a wry smile. I could not let her distract me from my point.

“We aren’t debating this. I will be finding someone to help fill in the gaps when Felix is unavailable, but you will have a guard. That is final,” I told her. Her face dropped into a pout. It was really hard not to suck her l*p into my mouth.

“Fine,” she agreed.

“And stopped tricking them into running away. What happens if you get hurt or something happens with the baby and no one is around to help you?” I said, driving in my point.

“There are people around this packhouse all the time. I am never alone,” she said. I raised an eyebrow at her. “Fine. Fine,” she said, laying her head back on my chest. “Just hold me while I watch my middle baby read to my youngest baby,” she sighed.

–

I walked into my office to find Abraham and Felix waiting for me. “Apologies, Azalea needed my attention for a moment,” I said as I moved to sit behind my desk. Abraham was seated in one of the chairs opposite my own, waiting while Felix stood with his arms crossed behind Abraham.

“I am afraid this may not be a comfortable conversation, but I have to ask. Abraham, how do you know Felix’s mate?” I got straight to the point.

He sighed. “I figured this would be brought up at some point,” he started. “Miss Lacey is from my original pack. We used to work together.” My eyes darted to Felix to see if this surprised him; of course, his face remained impassive. “I believe she decided on a carrier change after the incident occurred.”

“What incident?” I questioned.

“The one that led me to move my son and myself from our old pack to this one,” he clarified.

“You stated that was because your mate died,” I said. Abraham nodded his head.

“Yes, it was because she died but more specifically the circumstances surrounding her death,” he said. “I was investigating a murder on my old pack lands for my Alpha. I came to find out that a vampire committed the crime. As my investigation continued and I was getting closer to the culprit, I began receiving threats. My Alpha pushed me to capture the vampire. I did not take the threats seriously enough….” Abraham trailed off for a moment, the pain evident on his face.

“I came home one day, and the vampire had gotten to my wife. He tore her throat out right in front of my son and me. Then he bit Vlad before disappearing. Vlad was sick for some time after that, and I believe it is why his scent is no longer detectable. The wound nearly killed him. Lacey worked for our Alpha, so she knew about the situation as it happened.”

“I’m sorry that happened,” I said lowly. I looked at Felix, who still stood there passively, before turning my attention back to Abraham. “So, this also explains why you know so much about vampires.”

He nodded his head. “Yes. That was not my first investigation into a vampire-related crime, but it was my last until moving here. I chose B***d Eclipse given its history with vampires.”

“Other than the change in his scent, have you seen any other side effects resulting from this bite?” I asked.

“His demeanor has shifted, but I attribute that to the loss of his mother. I sure have changed since losing my mate. The only other thing I have noticed since his recovery is that he has not shifted to his wolf to my knowledge,” Abraham told me. I nodded my head once again, mulling over everything he told me.

“Thank you for being honest with me, Abraham. I appreciate your candor,” I said. Abraham stood.

“Of course, Alpha,” he said with a slight bow. Abraham turned to go, leaving Felix and me alone.

“I see no reason not to believe him,” I told Felix once the door closed behind Abraham. His face remained passive. “You could speak with your mate about it. Ask her and see if their stories align.” Felix gave me a slight nod.

“I will be with Luna until you are finished, sir,” he said before leaving my office. That man may be great at his job, but his interpersonal skills were clearly lacking.