I frowned.
The girl didn’t scream or try to make a run for it like they usually did.I wasn’t sure what to think of her.When Lucas found her, she hadn’t tried to fight, but then the beast came and she was ready to fight him one moment, and just gave up the next second.Humans were pathetic things…but this girl was...different.A shiver shook her body when the wind started picking up.My eyes dropped, taking in her soaked attire and the goosebumps covering her skin.She wasn’t dressed for a midnight stroll in the forest which made me believe that she might have been kidnapped and escaped, or someone had used her as bait for the rogues.“What’s your name?” I asked her as I stood to pull my cloak off.“C-Cora.”Throwing the cloak across her shoulders, I knelt in front of her again and gently helped guide her arms through the sleeves, and then did up the button at the front close to her neck.“Do you have a last name, Cora?” I questioned.She pursed her lips.I studied her silently. Now that I could get a closer look, I realized that she looked familiar. It took a second for it all to click into place.“I’m going to get you home.”“I d-don’t have one,” she whispered.I was certain that those words weren’t meant for me to hear, so I didn’t comment on it.Reaching out, I pulled the hood up over her head. She flinched slightly when I pressed the back of my hand against her cheek. Her skin was freezing.It was clear that she had been out here for a while before Lucas stumbled upon her.I slipped an arm around her thin waist and pulled her against me as I stood.“Arms around my neck,” I ordered. “I want you to hold on as tight as you can and keep your eyes close until I tell you to open them.”Cora nodded.Gripping her thigh, I guided her leg as high up my waist as I could. I pressed my hand to the back of her head to guide her face to the crook of my neck.“Close your eyes.”I kept one hand pressed to her head, and wrapped my other arm under her ass to keep her pressed against me.Her arms tightened when I took a step forward.I moved slowly at first, and then increased my steps.Within a few seconds, I was back at the clearing where everyone had gathered before the hunt started.I made my way over to one of the cars and opened the back door to lower her onto the seat.My hold loosened. “You can let go now.”Her hold hesitantly loosened and then fell away.“I’ll be right back,” I told her. “Stay in the car.”With a nod, she clutched my cloak tighter around her body.I hesitated a moment before I stepped back and slammed the door closed.My eyes darted around, searching for one particular person. I spotted him a few feet away having a conversation with one of the pack members. Halfway there, he looked up and spotted me.I stopped, and waited for him to excuse himself.“Lucas said you found a human,” he muttered the moment he reached me.“Yes.” I paused. “A female named Cora.”I watched him closely, waiting for him to connect the dots.“Where is she?”Turning, I led the way back to the car.The moment we reached it, Keiran pulled open the back door. Cora slowly raised her head to look at him.“Cora Milton?” Keiran questioned softly.“Y-yes.”Keiran ran a hand through his hair. “This is not how I had imagined our first meeting to go.” He held his hand out towards her. “I’m Keiran Garrison, Olivia’s eldest brother.”Cora hesitated, and then slowly placed her hand in his.She might not have noticed it, but I definitely did.Keiran sucked in a sharp breath. Fur sprouted along his arms for a second before it disappeared again.He cleared his throat, trying to shake off his reaction to her touch.“Axel is going to take you home,” he said huskily. “Once you’re dry and warm, we can talk.”She said nothing.Hesitating for a few seconds, he finally stepped back and closed the door before he turned to face me.“Don’t,” he warned.I pursed my lips, but I needed an answer. “She’s your mate, isn’t she?”“Take her home,” he growled, ignoring my question. “Mom should still be awake. I’ll let her know that you’re on your way.”I nodded.I turned away, but he gripped my arm.“Stay out of her head.”My lips twitched. “I don’t make any promises.”Keiran growled.If looks could kill.It was so easy to rile him up. He hated the fact that I was able to get into his mind.Reading minds was just one of the special abilities I had inherited from my bastard father.In a way, it was similar to the mind-link alphas shared with their packs and the links mates had. Only I wasn’t bonded or…linked to any of them.I liked it that way, but Keiran didn’t. He hated it when I invaded people’s privacy as he called it. However, it came in handy when we found ourselves in enemy territory.I climbed into the car and glanced over at her in the rear-view mirror. Our eyes locked for a few seconds, but she was the first to look away.Starting the car, I turned it around and headed in the direction of the road.What the hell was she doing in the forest on a full moon?Despite Keiran’s warning, I slipped into her mind. It was surprisingly…silent.She was in shock and cold.Probably completely normal after what just happened.I could feel her eyes burning into the side of my face as I drove. It took about five seconds for the sweet scent of her fear to start filling the car.My hold on the steering wheel tightened.“You have nothing to fear,” I told her softly.“Do you turn into…into a monster like those men in that movie Morbius?” she questioned.I chuckled. “I’m not that kind of vampire.”“That’s what he said,” she stuttered.“I’m more…old school, Cora.” I glanced at her. “What I am is nothing like those vampires you see in the movies or read about in the stories. I’m not your modern-day vampire, little human.”“T-that must mean that y-your o-old.”The conversation was not going how I had planned. I wanted to ignore her, but I realized that she was trying to distract herself.“Did Rowan not inform you that you will be coming to live with Keiran?”“In three days,” she whispered.“What were you doing in the forest in the middle of the night, Cora?” I asked her.She didn’t answer.“I can feel you in my head.”“Then you know that I will eventually find the truth,” I told her.Cora sighed. “I’m tired.”I retreated from her mind, and focused on the road instead. Once we got home, I was going to hand her over to Mother and leave them to handle it.But for some damn reason, I didn’t like the idea of that.“If I was human, I would be around forty years of age,” I lied. “How old are you?”“Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to,” she said. “You know more about me than I know about you.”I scoffed.“A-are we there yet?” she breathed. “I don’t feel so good.”“How do you feel?” I questioned, risking a glance back at her.“S-shaky,” she whispered. “C-cold, but hot. It feels…feels like I’m going to faint.”“The shock is starting to set in.”Pulling over to the side of the road, I got out and hurried over to her side of the car. Jerking the door open, I reached inside and pushed the hood off.Her face was sickly pale, but her skin was covered in a fine layer of sweat.I moved the strands of hair from her forehead and pressed my palm against her forehead.“I want you to breathe with me,” I ordered. “Deep breath in through your nose and slowly blow it out through your mouth.”My hand slid down to cup her cheek so she could keep her eyes locked with mine. Her hand shot up to grip my wrist as she mimicked me.As her breathing calmed down, my eyes dropped to where she was touching me. I had no urge to throw off her touch. I wasn’t repulsed by it.It unnerved me.“Feeling better?” I questioned as I gently freed my wrist from her hold.Cora swallowed and gave me a nod.“We’ll be home in two minutes.”I hesitated a moment before I stepped back and closed the door. After sucking in a few deep breaths myself, I got back into the car and started driving again.Mother was waiting for us when I pulled up in front of the house.“The bath is ready,” she said softly.I opened the door for Cora, but she didn’t move. The scent of her fear slowly drifted over towards me.My fangs pulsed as a sudden need to have a taste filled me.“Mother will help you warm up,” I told her. “You have nothing to fear.”Cora still hesitated.I held my hand out to her. “Promise nothing, and no one will hurt you.”Her eyes burned into the skin of my hand for a few seconds before she placed her hand in mine.I helped her out of the car, and led her up the porch steps to where Mother stood.Her smile faltered when her eyes locked on Cora.“This is Cora Milton,” I explained. “Keiran’s new ward.”I blinked at the blue pillow a few inches from my face. It took a few minutes for the sleep to fade and the memories from last night to flood my mind. A shiver raced through me. Turning onto my back, I blinked up at the ceiling for a few seconds before I slowly sat up. My eyes darted around the room. I froze when I spotted the man occupying the chair in one corner of the room. He had a book resting on his lap. The brown leather was worn like the book was being used constantly. “How do you feel?” His voice was deep and accented. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make out where his accent was from. Slowly, he raised his head to look at me. Gray eyes locked with mine for a moment and then lowered to my neck. I watched as his eyes darkened and flashed black for a second before they returned back to normal. “Doctor said that you should stay in bed for a few days until you are fully rested.” He paused. “How are you feeling, Cora?” I swallowed.”F-fine,” I stuttered.
I stood outside the bedroom door, sucking in deep breaths. Fighting my instincts was hard, especially since I was a man who always relied on his instincts to drive him in the right direction. I sucked in another deep breath before I forced myself to move. Everything was a fucking mess. Nate and I had grown close over the years. He was like a brother, and through him I had gotten to know my half-sister. There had been no hesitation when he asked me to take Cora in if something happened to them. But things were different. Everything had changed because the seventeen-year-old girl in that bedroom was my mate. Not only that, but I found out that she had already met her mate and he had rejected her. I frowned. None of this made any fucking sense. Was this a cruel game? Some sort of test? “At least she’s not blood-related to you,” Axel muttered when I entered my office. I snarled at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be locked in your coffin?” “Funny,” he muttered. “You for
I couldn’t see much of the pack from the window. The house was surrounded by other houses, some with colourful gardens. There were more houses beyond with tall buildings. And in the distance, I could make out the tall trees of the forest that surrounded the houses. It looked a lot different than my old pack. I turned away from the window and glanced around at the room once again. It was small but cozy. There was a built-in closet across from the double bed with a chair and a small table next to it. The walls were painted a light blue with white wooden furniture and dark blue bedding. The room reminded me of something you would find in a guest house by the beach. After eating, I made the bed, braided my hair, and then tried to get some sleep, but failed. My mind was too busy. My arrival at my new home wasn’t exactly how I had imagined it. I thought that I would have been calm and level-headed to make a good impression. Not dressed in my night clothes, soaking wet and fee
Keiran’s pack was a lot bigger than Alpha Rowan’s pack. “Everyone in town is a shifter,” Keiran explained. “We occasionally get some human tourists, but they don’t stay long because our…town doesn’t have much to offer them. One of the pack rules is to never expose yourself to humans. We don’t want any hunters coming to town.”“You’ll have no problem with me,” I muttered. “You can misbehave, Cora,” Keiran said softly. Before I could answer him, he opened a door and gestured for me to enter. My eyes darted around, taking everything in. It looked like one of those expensive clothing shops you would usually find in the mall. “You can pick out anything you want.” Keiran followed me around as I took a look at the clothes. It was definitely expensive. “Season’s changing,” he muttered. “If you want, we can only get you some clothes for autumn and winter.”I bit my lip as I stared at the rack of thick winter jackets. It reminded me of Dad’s jacket. “Cora?”“C-can we go somewhere less…
Mine. My hold on Cora tightened as I snarled at him. She didn’t belong to him, she was mine. My mate. Only mine. But doubt started to fill me when his head lowered and he rubbed his snout along her cheek. A deep purr rumbled from his chest. Cora’s low whimper pulled me out of my shock. Growling, I gripped him by the scruff of his neck and jerked him off us. He instantly got to his feet and shook out his fur. My warning growl had him freezing, but not before letting out one of his own. Sitting up, I turned my attention towards Cora. She was pale and shaking slightly. I moved the strands of hair from her face and gripped her chin to turn her attention towards me. Wide jade eyes blinked up at me. She was scared, but she was trying her best not to show it. “K-Keiran?”“Are you injured?” I asked her softly. She hesitated too long before she shook her head. My eyes dropped, darting over her and then lingering on the hand she was favouring. It was the same wrist she had injured t
The doctor at Alpha Rowan’s pack never treated me when I got sick or injured. He claimed that he knew nothing about human illnesses and that I was not important enough for him to learn about them. Whenever I got injured, Mom would treat my wounds. And whenever I got sick, they had to take me to town to see a human doctor. But the doctor sitting in front of me, examining my wrist was nothing like the other doctors I had been to. She was gentle as she touched parts of my skin and put me at ease by asking me numerous questions. “Not broken,” she muttered as she lowered my arm to my lap. “But you’ve made the sprain worse.” Her eyes darted over to Keiran who stood leaning against the wall. “I gave you orders and I expect them to be followed, alpha.”“It won’t happen again, Olive.”“Better not,” she muttered as she stood. “I’ll see if I can find you a brace to wear to limit movement. You also need to try to keep weight off of it otherwise you’ll risk another re-injury.”“Thank you.” Oliv
School. My stomach twisted with nausea as I made my way down the stairs a week later. The doctor had given me the all-clear to go to school much to my disappointment. When I entered the kitchen it was to find only Keiran sitting at the table. My eyes darted around, taking in the various dishes. “I wasn’t sure what you like,” he muttered, standing.“You cooked?” I breathed, wide-eyed. He raised an eyebrow. “Yes, you didn’t think I could?”“No,” I told him honestly. “Dad couldn’t cook. It was always me or Mom that cooked for him.”Keiran pulled a chair out for me and then took a seat again. Placing a plate down in front of me, he gestured to the other plates. “Help yourself.”“Thank you.”I grabbed a slice of toast and took a small bite. I was too nervous to actually eat. But he went through all the trouble to cook and I wanted to show him that I appreciated it. “It’s important for a male to know how to take care of his mate which includes cooking.” He took a bite of bacon and slo
“Your brother adopted a human.”“I heard,” I muttered absentmindedly as I glanced around. “Have you met her?” Dale questioned. “No,” I lied. He already knew the answer. The whole fucking pack knew about it. Those who didn’t see it happen, already heard about it. My mate was the new human my brother adopted. Olivia’s daughter. I clenched my teeth and ran a shaky hand through my hair. My head ached, my body was sore and my wolf was still agitated. We hadn’t seen our mate in a week. Until this morning. She had run from me the moment she realized who she had run into, and I hadn’t seen her since. I was dying to get another whiff of her. But Keiran had warned me to keep my distance. I thought that with my heat over, he would allow me to seek her out. She belonged to me. And apparently to him. As well as Axel. I growled, gripping the table tightly. My claws dug into the wood which made people turn to look at me. I sneered at them, instantly making them hurry away. “What the