Caine

I followed Caine, even though he kept ‘ordering’ me to stay in the room. He was walking faster than I was, and something told me he was doing it on purpose.

When we reached the stairs, there were two Wolves being held apart by Scott and Alpha Dylan’s Beta, Jace. The gray Wolf was Liam. I didn’t recognize the large black Wolf, but it must’ve been Alpha Dylan.

We caught the attention of almost everyone downstairs, especially Liam’s. He growled in our direction when he saw Caine and me descending the stairs. He shifted into his human form right after.

Alpha Dylan didn’t shift back, but it seemed like he and Leila were communicating through their mind link.

“What is this?” Liam asked, closing the distance between us.

Macon— as discreetly as he could— handed Liam a pair of shorts. He put them on, keeping his accusing gaze on me.

“Charlotte, explain,” Liam ordered.

“What are you talking about? You’re the one who’s fighting with Alpha Dylan! You should be the one explaining!”

“What the hell were you two doing?” Liam snapped, looking between Caine and me.

Caine, who had been watching Alpha Dylan and Leila go, turned back to look at Liam guiltily.

“We weren’t doing anything,” Caine said, and he even took a few steps away from me.

“I can smell him on you,” Liam growled at me.

“Calm down, Liam,” I said, frowning at his behavior.

“She’s a fucking a little girl. What the fuck are you trying to do to her?” Liam snarled at Caine.

“Oh,” I mumbled, realizing what he was talking about.

“That isn’t any of your business. What Caine and I do is between us,” I told him.

“We didn’t do anything,” Caine repeated, and the fact that he was right, hurt.

I wanted to do everything with him.

“I know you didn’t do anything,” Liam told him, sourly. “I can smell her perfectly fine. She’s still pure and she’s staying that way,” Liam said, snatching my hand, and tugging me up the stairs.

Caine followed after us. I was surprised and annoyed that he walked a few steps away from us, keeping a distance from me.

“I’m talking to Charlotte. Get a different room because she’s not sleeping with you tonight,” Liam told him.

My jaw dropped when Caine had the nerve to nod his head in agreement. “I’ll wait out here. Victor will escort you out. Dylan is staying here, and I think it’s best if you two don’t see each other during the trip.”

Caine walked a few steps down the hall, while Liam pulled me into the room I shared with Caine.

If I hadn’t witnessed it, I wouldn’t have believed that Caine had done what Liam said. He had followed an order— from Liam.

“You’re not sleeping with him,” Liam stated, firmly.

“Right, you get to sleep with that girl, but I can’t sleep with my mate. In case you forgot, he’s my mate. He’s mine!” I retorted.

“I don’t give a damn! You’re not sleeping with him, at least not yet. You’re not even eighteen yet, Charlotte!”

“He’s my mate!”

“I don’t care,” Liam growled.

“This is my decision, not yours. Besides, he doesn’t even want to touch me. You don’t have to worry about him,” I replied, bitterly.

If Liam hadn’t arrived, Caine and I would’ve mated. I was pissed off with Liam because he had stopped us. It had taken a lot to get Caine in that position. He felt guilty enough as it was for touching me. He didn’t need Liam making things worse.

“Good,” Liam said, and he calmed down a bit. “I’m leaving. Lesley’s at the apartment, and she’s staying there with me tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Before leaving out the door, he turned back to face me.

“I’m coming back tomorrow, and your scent better be as it is now. With the claim, his scent isn’t as strong on you. If you two mate, I will find out,” he said, threateningly.

I narrowed my eyes at him, but Liam was already leaving out the door. He slammed it shut louder than necessary.

I heard him and Caine talking as they made their way down the hall. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I imagined that he was handing out more threats to Caine.

Those were the moments when Caine should’ve gone Alpha on him.

I hated when they fought. I didn’t want them to be against each other. But I wanted Caine to stand up for our relationship. I needed him to do that.

Caine didn’t return to the room.

I waited for him, but he didn’t come back. I paced around the room most of the time, waiting around for him. Finally, after almost an hour of waiting, I went in search of him.

I ended up finding him in his office, sitting behind the desk chair, with the laptop open in front of him. My entrance had been subtle, and I’d caught his attention as soon as I walked in.

“I was waiting for you,” I quietly told him.

“I got busy with some things,” he replied, and his eyes returned to the laptop screen.

“Let’s go to bed.”

I went to his side, knowing there was no way he was going to get up on his own and go to me. I was going to do anything I could think of to get him out of there and back in the bed with me.

“Your brother is right,” Caine solemnly said.

“Liam?”

“Yes,” he nodded.

“So now he’s my brother,” I said, smiling at him curiously.

“He acted like your brother. Liam’s right. I lost control with you, and I shouldn’t have.”

I shook my head at him. Out of all the times I wanted him to agree with Liam on, he’d chosen the worst thing to go along with him.

“This should be our decision, not his.”

“You know what I decided. I want us to wait,” he said.

I climbed on his desk, sitting directly in front of him. His eyes roamed over mine, but he looked away after a few seconds. I got comfortable on his desk, liking that my feet were grazing against his legs. He leaned back against his desk chair.

I closed his laptop, and shoved it away. Caine looked up at me, but he made no attempt to touch me or approach me.

“You decided that, but it isn’t what you want,” I said, leaning closer to him.

I felt naughty by teasing him like that, but the cautious look on his eyes was pushing me to keep going. I wasn’t sure if he felt it, but his grayish green eyes were darkening.

“Your Wolf will always want me,” I told him, sounding more sure than I really felt. Really, I was spewing what Leila had told me earlier.

“He does, and I want you too,” Caine said, scooting closer to me.

His hands were firmly pressed against my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and rested my feet on his desk chair, rest next to either side of his legs.

“I want you to be sure of this when it happens,” Caine huskily whispered against my ear.

His voice was pure seduction. I wasn’t sure how he expected me to not want anything with him. The Wolf spirits had really blessed me, because Caine was more than I could ever want.

“I’m sure of us,” I said, nibbling on his neck.

Caine chuckled at my words, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he pressed closer to me, nestling his head in my neck, inhaling my scent.

“You love me?” I quietly asked.

He brushed his lips against mine, which was all the answer I needed. Caine rested his forehead against mine, and I could feel his breath softly blowing across my face.

“More than anything,” he whispered, kissing me again.

Caine slid me down onto his lap, so that I was straddling his waist. His hands were tightly wrapped around me, resting on my lower back.

I wanted for that moment to mean something. I wanted for him to not stop what we were doing, for him to let it happen.

He didn’t, but unlike the other times, he let it go on for longer.

I ended up undressed. I felt shameless though. He had already seen me practically naked. I wanted to do whatever it took to tempt him enough to mate with me.

The only piece of clothing I managed to remove from him was his shirt. He kept on his pair of jeans, but it was fine. Having his hands roam every inch of my body made up for it.

I was kissing him hungrily, not wanting to give him time to back out. His hands ran over my back, down to my bottom, before sliding down my thighs. His touch was electric. It ignited something in me that made me want everything from him.

I could feel his member pressing against my core, which was only covered by the small pair of panties. I smiled every time Caine would stop kissing me. Whenever his eyes roamed over my body, he would growl, and bite any part of my skin that was closest to him.

I loved that his canines were out. It showed me that he was so close to losing control.

“When Dylan and Leila leave,” Caine huskily told me.

I pulled away from him. There was no way I could hide the surprise on my face.

“Find a way to keep Liam away for now. After Dylan and Leila leave, we’ll have the house to ourselves,” he said.

“We don’t have to wait,” I told him, even though I was willing to agree to anything.

“We do. If only you knew all the things I want to do to you,” he growled against my ear, and bit into my neck rougher than he had before, while his fingers dug into my thigh.

I woke up early in the morning while Caine was getting ready.

“Are you going to the pack building?” I asked, lazily sitting up in the bed.

“Dylan and I will be there most of the day.”

I looked at him appreciatively, while he was slipping on a shirt. He was wearing a pair of basketball shorts, very informal. I assumed that he and Alpha Dylan were going running.

“Can I tag along? I want to go see Theo,” I asked, getting up from the bed.

I had done it on purpose. I had gone to bed the previous night wearing only my panties. Caine’s eyes followed my every move. I was really enjoying the attention.

“Theo,” Caine repeated distractedly, but his eyes were still on me.

“Yes, Theo.”

“Macon and Lesley will go with you,” he said, making his towards me.

He picked me up from the ground, leaving me at eye level with him.

“Perfect,” Caine said, looking at me intently.

I smiled up at him, while wrapping my legs around his waist. He was already carrying me, but the position we were in felt more intimate.

“You’re perfect,” he growled, before attacking my lips.

“We need to tell the Alpha about this,” Macon told me on the way to the pack building.

Lesley didn’t show up. I didn’t expect her to make an appearance. Macon was hopeful, and angry that Lesley hadn’t even called. I was sure that was Liam’s doing.

“I already told you that Caine won’t mind,” I assured him.

I had waited around for Leila, but when we bumped into Eric, he told us she was still sleeping. I wanted to go check on Theo, and I was going to be back later in the day. I had so many questions for Leila, most which I wanted to ask away from everybody else.

“I don’t think the Alpha cares whether Lesley is with Liam or not. He doesn’t want you alone with me,” Macon said, uncomfortably.

“Too bad then, because Caine’s the one who shoved Lesley in my face,” I shrugged. “If anything, this is all Caine’s fault.”

“You should be glad that the Alpha hasn’t picked up on your jealousy,” Macon told me, shaking his head.

“What are you talking about?”

“Lesley and Liam together? I caught on to it pretty quickly,” Macon replied.

“I’m not jealous of Lesley!”

“You are,” he stated flatly.

“I’m not! I’m simply worried about Liam. That’s all.”

“You’re worried about Liam?” Macon asked, incredulously.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked in a snappy tone.

People from the pack passing by us turned to give us questioning looks. One nod from Macon and they all started minding their own business. The power of a title in a pack still impressed me. When I belonged to Knight Pack, I had rarely been affected by it.

It was taking me too long to realize that when I was part of Knight Pack, I did all I possibly could to stay away from them. It wasn’t so hard, since most of them hated to hang around me —the weak human.

“If there’s anyone to worry about in that relationship, it’s Lesley. Lesley is the best She-Wolf fighter in our pack, but she’s too naïve with Liam,” Macon said, shaking his head disapprovingly.

“Liam is awesome,” I said, but Macon didn’t share the sentiment. “Besides, no one is forcing Lesley to be with him. I would be happier if she wasn’t with him.”

“Why? You’re jealous?” Macon asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“No, I’m not jealous. I have seen Liam with loads of girls. I just don’t like Lesley. She’s so— uptight. I guess I’ll just worry for now. I doubt they’ll last long. Liam doesn’t do the relationship thing.”

Macon stopped in his tracks when I made that comment, and he grabbed my hand to keep me from walking.

“You say something like that and still have the nerve to say that you’re worried about Liam here?”

He shook his head at me, and walked away. It seemed like I had upset him. I didn’t know what to say, so I quietly followed after him.

I was glad when we finally made it to the pack building. The tension between Macon and me had grown. Every time I asked him a question, he replied with brief answers. I tried to make a few jokes to lighten the mood, but Macon simply brushed me off.

We had just walked into the pack building when we bumped into Victor.

“Is Caine here?” I asked, looking around the area.

Most of the guys there were doing their own thing. Whenever one noticed me, they would bow or nod, and continue whatever they were doing.

“I’ll walk you to him,” Victor said, nodding Macon away.

Macon nodded at me, and waved, before making his way out of the pack building. It looked like he needed the fresh air.

“Where’s Lesley?” Victor asked, looking around the area.

“Outside,” I lied.

“Good,” he said, as he guided me into one of the rooms.

Alpha Dylan had been in the middle of talking, but he completely quieted down when I entered the room.

“Alpha,” I said, nodding at him.

He regarded me with a nod, but his eyes drifted over to Caine soon after.

“Can I talk to you for a bit?” I asked.

There was the hint of a smile on Caine’s lips, and he got up from the chair where he’d been sitting.

I recognized a few of the guys inside the conference room. Most were part of the pack. Jace, Alpha Dylan’s Beta, was there. He gave me a small wave, which I returned just before Caine guided me out of the room.

“You were quick,” Caine said.

He walked me down the hall, and opened the door to one of the other rooms. I had to admit that the first floor of the pack building wasn’t half bad. It looked comfortable while also being formal.

The floor on the lower level was creepy. I was partly scared of it because I had personally experienced being a prisoner of Locus pack. But every time I visited, it was full of prisoners, most from my former pack. It was unnerving.

“I wanted to see Theo early. Leila is still asleep, so I wanted to come while I waited for her to wake up.”

“We’re just getting started here,” Caine told me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

I smiled at the gesture. Caine returned the smile, and lowered himself to brush his lips against mine. I wanted to glue myself to him. Caine chuckled when I tightened my arms around his neck.

“Where did Macon go? I should get back with Dylan.”

“I think he got mad at me.”

“What did you do?” Caine asked, sighing and walking closer to the long oval table to lean against it.

He pulled me along with him, and I ended up standing between his legs, while he half sat over the table.

“It was more what I said than what I did. I think everyone in the pack is just against Liam. You guys all think he’s a bad guy,” I replied, frowning.

“He’s a Rogue,” Caine shrugged, while running his hand over my cheek.

“That’s hardly a reason to be against him.”

“I am keeping an open mind with Liam. He’s hardly a problem.”

“He’s not a problem at all!” I said, raising my voice.

“I might have a problem,” Caine said, and it seemed like he was changing the subject.

“With Liam?”

Caine shook his head, and he pulled me closer to his chest, his hands tightening around my lower back.

“Dylan and I are disagreeing on something. I’m not happy with it,” he said, sighing loudly.

“About what?”

“I’ll tell you when I get home. I really need to get back. Do you want me to call Macon?” Caine asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Can you and Alpha Dylan take a break? I want you to meet Theo. You can meet Tempo too.”

“I’ve met them. I don’t remember the girl, but I remember Theo very clearly,” Caine said, his voice sounding serious.

“Remember I told you about letting Tempo-”

“I’m not releasing anyone from Knight Pack,” Caine stated.

“You should change your mind,” I suggested.

“I can change my mind about other things. Prisoners are nonnegotiable, especially with how bad things are right now. It’s bad enough that they all have a mind link with Derek. Who knows what they have told him,” Caine said.

Caine reluctantly agreed to accompany me down to see Theo. The only way I finally convinced him was by telling him that I was safer with him than anyone else.

I wanted him and Theo to talk, to get along. It would be hard work, but it wasn’t impossible. Liam and Caine were on better terms. They still argued and fought, but they would never really hurt each other.

“Hey,” I waved at both Theo and Tempo, who had been talking before we arrived.

“At least you don’t give up,” Tempo said, but she still waved at me.

I considered that progress, and took it in with a smile on my face. Theo on the other hand, was glaring at Caine.

“You’ve met my mate, Caine,” I said, looking up at him.

Caine’s hold on my waist was tight and strained. Despite that, his face was mainly expressionless. He acknowledged both Theo and Tempo with a nod, very much like the one Alpha Dylan had given me earlier.

“Any progress?” Theo asked, and his eyes moved from Tempo back to me.

“I’m not releasing any of you. You should know why,” Caine answered for me.

“That’s just for now,” I assured Theo.

Caine didn’t add anything to that. I thought that might be good thing. There was still a chance he was thinking about it.

“What’s the point of keeping us locked up?” Tempo asked.

Her expression looked guarded, and she had walked a few steps deeper into the cell. When Caine turned to face her, I noticed that she took one small step back.

“Telling you would defeat the purpose,” Caine replied. “You’ve seen them, Charlotte. They’re fine. Can we go?”

“Caine,” I ground out in a low voice.

“We’re fine, Char. He’s right, you shouldn’t be here,” Theo told me.

Caine was trying to pull me up the stairs. Before he got me too far, I stepped away from his grasp and went back to Tempo.

“I will get you out of here,” I told her.

Tempo shook her head at me, but she cracked a smile. It was probably the first time she wasn’t glaring or scowling at me.

“I doubt it,” she said, nodding towards Caine, who was looking at me impatiently. “But at least you’re trying,” she shrugged.

“I would love it if you at least let Tempo go,” I told Caine on the way up.

“She’s a girl,” Caine replied, sternly. “She looks about your age. I expected an older She-Wolf.”

“Older?”

“At least Lesley’s age. Lesley is only twenty-one, but she’s a trained Wolf. She has already been through one war and she used to be one of my trackers. Tempo, she looks like an untrained girl forced into this battle.”

“Is this your way of calling me young?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. I intended to ask the question playfully, but my voice sounded too tense.

“Why would you think I’m talking about you?”

“You just called her a ‘girl’. I know you did it to imply how young she is, and you compared her to me. Are you saying that we’re the same?” I asked, frowning at him.

“You’re not the same. She’s a Wolf and you’re a human,” he casually replied.

“And you think that’s bad?”

“You’re feisty, but you’re not a Wolf,” Caine slowly said.

He stopped walking, and looked down at me. One of his hands tangled in my hair, while the other softly trailed down to my waist.

“You’re soft, and your scent is the most enticing thing I’ve ever smelled. My Wolf knows that you’re a human, and we both love that. When your Wolf comes in, some things about you will change.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, frowning, because his explanation only managed to confuse me.

“Since you’re a human, all I can think is that you’re perfect. You’re a lot softer than a She-Wolf would be. You’re strong, but fragile at the same time. When your Wolf kicks in, I’m sure my Wolf and I will find a way to reason that you’re better because you’re a Wolf,” he said.

“I’m still confused.”

I didn’t miss the fact that Caine had somehow changed the subject from my age, to talk about me and the possibility of shifting in the future.

“I don’t know how to explain myself well, do I?” Caine asked, offering me a small smile. “What I mean is that since you’re a human, my Wolf prefers humans. When you shift into your Wolf, my Wolf will prefer She-Wolves. It’s you that shapes what I want. You’re my mate. It doesn’t really matter if you’re a Wolf or human, or you’re young, or if there was something else about you. I will love you no matter what.”

Caine smiled at me, and cocked an eyebrow. He was giving me an expectant look. Although his words left me stunned, in a nice tingly way, I managed a smile.

“Good, I love you too,” I told him, getting on my toes to reach him.

He was still much taller than me, but he lowered himself and connected his lips to mine.

On the way back to the mansion, we caught up with Liam. He was holding hands with Lesley, while they made their way towards Macon and me.

“You didn’t show up this morning,” Macon harshly told Lesley.

“The Luna gave me permission,” Lesley told Macon, lowering her head at him.

It was one of the few times she actually showed due respect to Macon. He was her third in command after all.

“What are you doing here, Liam?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

Liam grinned at me. He dropped Lesley’s hand, and walked over to embrace me.

“I missed you, Charlie. And I came to check that you still smelled like you,” he said, giving me a pointed look.

I couldn’t contain the blush that coated my face. I felt warm all over. I didn’t like that he made that comment with Lesley and Macon present.

“You know that I don’t want you to run into Alpha Dylan,” I reminded him.

“I can handle Dylan,” Liam said, waving off my words.

Macon was looking disapprovingly at Liam’s arm, which was lazily slung over my shoulders. We continued walking, with Lesley and Macon following close behind.

I could hear Macon scolding her for being irresponsible, and apparently, taking advantage of my kindness.

Macon definitely had it wrong. For me, Lesley was just Liam’s current entertainment. If she helped to keep him out of danger, than I was okay with that. It wasn’t like I approved of their relationship in any way. But at least Lesley was keeping him out of trouble.

“If I remember clearly, Alpha Dylan got a few bites and gashes in you last night. You didn’t even scratch him,” I teased.

Liam was not amused. He frowned down at me, and flicked my nose.

“Dylan is an Alpha,” he said.

“Uh huh,” I muttered, knowing it would get to him.

“Hey, at least I can handle your mate pretty well,” Liam told me, grinning.

“You don’t have to convince me of anything. I’m not like you guys, caring about who’s stronger than whom,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“So what’s up? Where’s Leila? I was hoping to get in a few minutes with her,” Liam said, looking around the area.

“I’m meeting up with her right now. She’s at the house.”

“Lesley and I are having a late breakfast. Dylan wanted to get together in about an hour,” Liam said, taking out his phone and looking down at it.

“You two are barely having breakfast?” I asked, and turned back to look at Lesley.

Liam disentangled himself from me, and he reached out to take Lesley in his arms. She yelped lightly at the sudden movement, and giggled once Liam had her tucked under his arm.

Macon wasted no time in coming to my side. We had all stopped walking, while Liam was looking down and whispering God knows what to Lesley. She had a smile on her face, and was blushing up at him.

“What does Alpha Dylan want?” I asked him, hoping that he and Lesley would stop their PDA.

I wasn’t sure how much I could take of that. Just looking at them together bothered me.

“I’m going to find out,” Liam shrugged.

Macon and I argued about Liam and Lesley the rest of the way home. Alpha Dylan’s name was thrown in the mix a couple of times. I was worried about what he might want from Liam.

Caine had promised he would do everything he possibly could to convince Alpha Dylan to cool it with Liam. I understood that Liam had betrayed Alpha Dylan’s trust by taking off, but Liam had done it for me. I couldn’t exactly blame him.

I met up with Leila, Scott, and Eric as soon as I arrived at the mansion.

Leila had just woken up, so we all had breakfast before making any plans. It didn’t escape from my attention that her main guard, and the guy who appeared to be closest to Leila, had been avoiding me.

Eric didn’t have breakfast with us, he kept a distance, and he didn’t even turn to look at me. It wasn’t that I craved the attention, but Macon had picked up on how distant Eric was being.

He wanted to tell Caine about it.

While Leila made breakfast for Eric, because he had refused to eat with the rest of us, Macon and I went to the living room.

“The Alpha should know about this. It doesn’t feel right,” Macon told me.

“He’s not doing anything to me, Macon.”

“Eric touched you!”

“Keep your voice down!” I whispered loudly. “He barely touched me, and that was yesterday. There was nothing to it. Leila said it herself. She sent Eric to stop me because she wanted to thank me for yesterday.”

It felt like something was wrong, but I doubted it had anything to do with what Macon was imagining.

Macon and I continued talking about Eric for a while longer. I was glad that he was relaxed around me. Ever since Lesley told Caine that Macon and I had sent her away, and Caine had beat him up, Macon had been really distant.

We used to joke around and talk casually. It was nothing compared to how Leila was with Eric, but Macon and I got along fine. I noticed that ever since Alpha Dylan and Leila had arrived, Macon had been comfortable around me, a lot more than before.

He wasn’t as serious when it was just us, and he even gave me his opinion on things. I liked that. It made time pass by faster, and I felt like we were finally patching things up between us.

Leila and Eric didn’t go find us. When Macon and I went in search for them in the kitchen, we found Leila, Scott, and Jace.

I frowned when I noticed that Eric was gone. Macon gave me a questioning look, which I returned with one of confusion. Something was definitely going on.

“You ready to go?” I asked Leila.

Jace gave me a nod. There was a smile on his lips, and he had been looking teasingly at Leila. At least she seemed to get along with her people. Eric and Leila were really closed— I had caught on to that. But she got along just fine with Jace and Scott too. I barely managed to talk to Macon. Victor and I usually disagreed on everything.

“Hey man,” Jace said, waving at Macon.

“Eric left?” I wanted to ask so much more, but it was all I was willing to do in front of the guys.

They were too formal, at least Macon and Jace were. If we said something they didn’t like, I felt like they were going to tell Caine and Alpha Dylan about it.

“He…” Leila slowly said.

I was waiting for her to say something else, but she seemed at loss for words.

“Dylan needed him. I’ve been updated on pack plans. Dylan wanted to explain things, especially because Eric is Leila’s usual guard,” Jace finished.

“Caine didn’t call me,” Macon added, looking down at me with a frown.

I was wondering if that had anything to do with Alpha Dylan wanting to see Liam. From what Leila had told me, Liam and Eric were friends. Something must’ve been up though.

“I have no idea how Caine works your pack. He’ll probably update you later,” Jace casually replied with a shrug.

“So where are we going?” Leila asked.

Macon was all tensed up beside me. It seemed like Jace’s words had worried him. I had to admit that I was feeling curious as well, but it couldn’t have been so bad. Jace was there with us. If something important was going on, I imagined that Alpha Dylan would want his Beta with him.

“You can go anywhere in the pack. It has to be at least a mile within Locus Territory,” Jace told us.

“Fine,” I agreed, and took a seat on one of the stools.

Macon stood behind me, and he was closer than he’d been before. Even though Jace wasn’t doing anything, Macon was looking at him suspiciously.

While Leila once again prepared something for Jace, we waited for them to be finished. Leila and I made small talk for the most part. Macon was serious the entire time. He would be in and out of it. I assumed that he was mind liking with someone from the pack.

Jace, unlike Victor, was very playful. He and Leila joked around a lot, and I noticed that he found any chance he could to be close to her or to touch her.

Macon stood close to me, but he kept a distance and rarely touched me. In fact, the only times he had placed his hands on me was to pull me somewhere.

Jace wasn’t like that with Leila. They were comfortable with each other. I found it strange, but shrugged it off. Liam and I were like that. Macon on the other hand, was frowning at their behavior.

“What was it like in Knight Pack?” Leila asked me.

We had just made our way outside. I had been anxiously waiting for Jace to finish eating so that we could go somewhere.

Leila interlaced her arm with mine, which brought us closer together.

“Restricting,” I replied, chuckling lightly. “I can’t say much about the pack in general. I barely spent any time with pack Wolves.”

We walked a few steps ahead, with Macon, Jace, and Scott following close behind. I noticed that other Wolves were also watching us. Some were from our pack, and others were from Midnight Moon. Alpha Dylan had Leila well protected.

“Was Derek a good Alpha?”

“Tristan was my Alpha most of the time. Alpha Derek was given the chance to take some responsibilities very recently.”

Since I was no longer part of the pack, I allowed myself to think back of those days. The time I spent with Caine had shown me that Tristan and Derek were making a huge mistake by trying to lead the pack together. It made me wonder if Tristan and Derek were to blame for how repressed my former Luna had been.

Caine, on his own, was confident and imposing. I had heard that all Alphas were like that. It was a thing about them, which made the pack function properly. The Luna was supposed to bring in what leveled all the power. After all, it was a shared title. But Tristan and Derek collided in a lot of their opinions and views. The Luna was left hanging, and it just wasn’t right.

I was going to bring it up to Leila, when Jace suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. She was strong, and I stumbled a bit because she had dragged me along with her.

Macon quickly took me into his arms and steadied me.

“I’m fine,” I told him, feeling shocked by Jace’s actions.

“Fuck!” Jace growled. “Dylan needs me.”

He was looking at Leila intently. I looked up at Macon, wondering what was going on. Jace’s expression and his tense posture were perturbing.

“I’ll watch over her,” Macon offered.

“I can’t leave Leila’s side. But I think you might want to come with me,” Jace told him, his eyes hard.

They had shifted from a nice greenish hazel, to a dark deep color.

“Did something happen to Dylan? Is he okay? Is Liam here? Don’t tell me they’re fighting again,” Leila asked him, her voice sounding anxious.

“Liam is here. That Wolf just doesn’t learn,” Jace replied, shaking his head. He pulled Leila closer to his chest because she was starting to look frantic. I waited for him to continue, because it didn’t seem like he had said the worst of it yet. “But this isn’t about him. Eric found his mate.”

“What?” Leila asked him. She sounded agitated. I didn’t know what to say, not that either of them should have cared.

“It has to be someone from our pack,” Macon whispered against my ear.

I raised an eyebrow at him. When I turned back to Leila, I noticed that she was looking at Jace with a shocked expression on her face. I wanted to reach out to her, but I didn’t know what to tell her.

“Everyone is in the pack building. Luna, maybe you should come to,” Jace said, giving me a small nod.

He wrapped his arm around Leila’s waist protectively, even though there was no danger around us. I noticed that the Wolves from Midnight Moon were circling closer to us. Macon in response pressed me to his side. The Wolves from our pack started to surround us too. Something was definitely wrong.

“What happened?” I asked, trying to catch up with Jace and Leila. They were walking faster and Macon was trying to keep me away from them. He was holding me back.

“Caine and Dylan are arguing. Some of our Wolves think that they might shift,” Jace answered.