“Sorry, mom, already promised Sunday dinners to her family.” I shrug.

  “Well, what about Thursdays then? You all can come on by right after school.”

  “I’ll talk to them and let you know.”

  We hug each other and say goodbye before I get in the Jeep and drive back home. Hoping the entire time that Castor doesn’t walk in on Hunter with his dick out.

  Fifty

  Leona

  Sleeping alone in this bed at night is not fun at all. When Thorne said someone would be with me, I thought he meant with me in bed, not with me in the same room and sleeping on the floor.

  He’s been such a buzzkill since we moved into the new house and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the stress. And that’s why I’ve been trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s allowed to be grumpy sometimes. We all are.

  But I can’t hide the fact that I’m angry with him.

  He’s been distant and so has Castor. I feel like I’m at the opposite end of where I was just a few months ago. Now that I have Hunter, the other two are backing away.

  I don’t like it.

  Don’t get me wrong, they haven’t been ignoring me or anything like that. We’ve had dinner together, and we’ve watched movies at night, but something is different with them. They haven’t been touching me as much as they used to, they barely look at me as often as they did. I don’t get it.

  And when Castor and Thorne got back the other day, from getting their things from their house, they pulled Hunter into another room and had a chat with him that I wasn’t allowed to hear. I threw a little fit but basically they told me to get over it—in the nicest way possible. I’m still not over it, but whatever.

  Hunter has kept his space in the sense that he isn’t trying to shove his dick into me anymore. Which is highly disappointing considering when he had me up against the wall I didn’t get any dick then. He made me come with both of my legs wrapped around his face and my mouth gagged. It was hot as hell, but that was the end of it.

  I don’t like that either.

  Thorne has been the one to stay in the room with me every night. And every night he tries to talk to me while I pretend I’m asleep. I don’t want to hear any more explanations or excuses of why this pack thing is so important. I’m starting to rethink my decision about joining it but I know it’s too late. The ritual is just a few short days away. Everyone from the pack has been invited. Which is weird as hell. Or so I thought until I found out the mating happens before everyone gets there.

  Still weird that everyone will be showing up to celebrate us fucking…

  “Baby?” Thorne’s husky voice breaks through the otherwise silent room. “I know you’re awake. I know you’ve been awake every night I try talking to you. Why are you so mad at me?” He truly sounds sad and it breaks my heart. I don’t want him to be sad or hurt or upset. But I also know I can’t talk to him about anything because if I do, I may explode. I need to find a way to talk about how I’m feeling about this pack business in an effective way. Yelling and screaming about it won’t do me any good. So I lie there, not answering him until I fall asleep.

  I sit with my back to the wall, the same way I was when I was here last. It’s almost like I haven’t left. But of course, there’s been a big gap between then and now. Though, something feels different this time. I don’t have that urge to get up and walk around anymore. No urge to find something.

  So then why am I here?

  All in good time, my girl.

  He’s here!

  I jump to my feet, trying to decide which way I want to go.

  “Where are you?” I say to myself, opting to go right. I didn’t see him the last time I had this dream and disappointment has been sitting with me ever since. I follow the long hallway as I normally do and don’t expect to find anything. There is no light ahead of me, just darkness. And when I reach a dead end, I turn around and go the other way.

  Another dead end.

  Only I don’t become frustrated this time because I don’t feel like I’m running out of time. I don’t feel rushed to find anything, only eager to see this man.

  Why? I have no idea. I just want to know more about him, who he is, and why I keep dreaming of him.

  What is my mind trying to tell me?

  Keep going…

  I smile to myself as the voice echoes, pushing me to go further. The hallway seems longer than it did last and I know that only means one thing. It’s only ever longer when I’m coming upon that room.

  And I’d love to see it again. I wonder if, during the summer, I’ll find a nice peaceful spot in the woods like this one from my dream.

  Do places like this even exist?

  I doubt they do in the boring state of Ohio, but I can sure look. Maybe I’ll get lucky.

  A dim light begins to glow, only this time it’s at the opposite side. I find it a bit off but I pick up the pace anyway, wanting to get to it. Knowing if I reach the room, I will see him again instead of just hearing him. My feet pad across the cool floor as I go. Finally, I reach the end but instead of being rewarded with a bright forest room, all I find is a closed door with light shining from underneath.

  I don’t hesitate to put my hand on the knob. It’s cold as I grip it. I turn it and push it open.

  Darkness envelops me again.

  I step forward and blink my eyes. Looking behind me I see the door and hall have disappeared. I take another step. The room lightens just enough for me to make out what I am seeing in front of me. I take another step.

  I watch myself as I sleep, I think as I am now. This is the bedroom I am staying in. As I look around I don’t see Thorne though, only myself lying on my side, under the blankets.

  This is the strangest dream…

  I take another step closer but something catches my attention and I stop.

  On the opposite side of the bed, a tall man stands. A dark cloak covers his body, the hood over his head so I am unable to see. He stares down at my sleeping body, but I can’t see anything other than his outline.

  My breathing hitches as my stomach starts to turn.

  I don’t have a good feeling about this.

  I try to slow my racing heart by controlling my breathing. I stare for a long time, looking from me to the man standing there, trying to figure out what to do.

  This is my dream, I can control this. What is happening right now? What is my subconscious trying to tell me?

  I’m staring at myself sleeping peacefully when movement catches my attention. The cloaked figure lifts his head, eyes as bright as mini headlights bore into me. Bluer than blue, almost like mine. Very similar to my own. They illuminate the man’s face in the slightest, but I can’t make him out. When a grin spreads across his face, I’m struck with panic and fear and find myself taking a step back. On my third step back I find nothing but air.

  And then I’m falling.

  Falling.

  Falling.

  Falling.

  I shoot up from bed, my heart racing a mile a minute. I look around the room and thankfully, there is no man standing over my bed.

  That was the craziest dream I have ever had. So vivid. I’m beginning to wonder if I should tell someone about these dreams. Should I ask the guys? Or maybe Callan?

  I shake the thought away, knowing if they think I’m scared of dreams then I probably am too fragile to handle anything else and they’ll probably start keeping things from me again.

  I get up from bed, being as quiet as I can so I don’t wake Thorne. I’m careful to walk around him, though he does take up a large portion of the floor. Luckily, I’m able to get the door open without hitting him with it.

  The hallway is cooler and I make a mental note to keep the door open when I get back. Thorne gives off a lot of body heat. That mixed with my bad dream has my skin clammy and sweaty. I quietly make my way downstairs to the kitchen to get some water.

  I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to this large house.

  I head to the kitchen, pull a glass from the cabinet, and fill it up with water from the filter on the fridge. Every appliance in this house is brand new and top of the line. All name brand, stainless steel. I admire the kitchen, thinking I won’t change much in here. It’s decorated nicely, simple. Granite countertops match the gray, speckled tile on the floor along with the appliances. The white cabinets help set apart all the gray in the room. There is a large window over the sink that looks out towards the woods on the side of the house.

  I stand in front of the sink for a moment, sipping from my water and looking out the window.

  It’s so peaceful, so dark.

  It’s kind of creepy.

  A tiny flash of light catches my eye. I narrow my eyes, trying to get a better look, sure I was seeing things. I’m tired and that dream freaked me out.

  There it is again.

  I grip the glass in my hand, leaning closer to the window to get a better look.

  I close my eyes for a moment, trying to clear the sleep from them. When I open them again, a set of glowing blue eyes meet mine. The glass slips from my hand, hitting the counter and shattering on the floor.

  A blood curdling scream leaves my throat as I take a step back, a piece of glass slicing through my foot. I cry out again, slipping on the water and falling to the ground with a hard slap to the wet tile.

  Fifty-one

  Leona

  I groan as I hit the floor, loud thumping sounds from upstairs as all three guys hurdle down the stairs, coming to my rescue.

  “Holy shit!” Hunter shouts. He’s the first to reach my side. “Are you okay?”

  He helps me to sit up as the other guys rush to my side. They take in the scene, Thorne’s eyes following the trail of blood. “You’re hurt,” he says. Castor’s eyes follow his, landing on my foot and then on the mess beside me. He moves over to a closet to grab a dustpan and broom. Thorne pulls a first aid kit from the same closet while Hunter stays beside me, holding my hand and giving me the support I need to not lose my shit.

  Am I just tired or was that really there? I sneak a glance back up towards the window. Nothing.

  I tell myself it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I had a bad dream. I’m alone in a new house. I’m stressed. It makes sense I would see something.

  I’m pulled from my thoughts as Castor reaches my side, using the broom to sweep up the shards of glass. Thorne squeezes behind Hunter to get to my foot. He sits down with his legs out straight, pulling my leg onto his lap. Blood is still pouring out so I know it must be bad. It burns but doesn’t hurt as bad as I would expect it to. Though I have a feeling whatever Thorne has to do will hurt.

  Castor uses a towel to wipe up the water. When he’s done he inspects the floor for any other tiny pieces of glass he may have missed. Hunter gets more comfortable on the side of me, moving as close as he can.

  He interlocks our fingers and says, “Squeeze it as hard as you need. I have a feeling that won’t feel too good.” His eyes stay on my foot as Thorne continues to look at it. He digs around in the first aid kit, which has a few things added to it that don’t normally come in a kit.

  “How are you feeling? You lost a lot of blood.” Thorne says.

  “Okay, just sore.”

  He nods. “This is going to hurt. You have a decent sized piece of glass in your foot. I’ll need to pull it out. I’m not sure what I’ll have to do to it until I see if you start to heal or not.”

  I take in a deep breath and nod once. I turn my neck to rest my forehead on Hunter’s shoulder. He reaches his other arm around me, comforting me.

  “All right, you ready?” Thorne asks. “On three. One…”

  “Ahh, fuck!” I shout, tensing up. He did not fucking wait until three! Hunter winces on the side of me as Castor blows out a sharp breath.

  “It hurts less this way,” Hunter says in a soothing voice. I just nod into his shoulder, gritting my teeth and letting the tears of pain fall.

  That really hurt, but it does feel better now that the glass is out.

  Something soft is placed on my heel as Thorne wipes away the blood to see how it’s looking.

  “Well?” Castor asks impatiently.

  “It’s… healed.”

  “What? Already?” Castor says, shocked.

  “Yeah. Look.” I peek as Castor bends down and looks at my foot, his eyes going wide.

  “You did good,” Hunter whispers, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

  “Impressive,” Castor mumbles.

  I pull my head back and wipe my eyes of the tears. “I thought all shifters healed quickly?”

  “They do,” Thorne says. “But it usually takes a little bit longer than this.”

  “What does that mean?” I look from Thorne to Cas. They both shrug.

  “I don’t know but it’s nothing bad, that’s for sure. What happened anyway?” Cas asks.

  “I thought…” I trail off, rethinking my words. I let out a breath. “I had a bad dream and came to get some water. I’m just tired, I think I fell asleep at the sink. Dropped the glass.”

  “You screamed,” Thorne says with a bit of a question in his tone.

  “I stepped on glass, Thorne.” My words are harsher than I intended.

  He gives me a sad look before nodding and getting to his feet.

  “Come on, let’s go back to bed.” He gets to his feet, picking up the first aid kit and taking the dustpan and broom from Castor. He puts them away in the closet and turns back to me. “We have a busy day tomorrow.”

  Fifty-two

  Leona

  “She’s not doing awful,” Castor says, his arms crossed over his chest.

  “No, but she definitely needs more practice,” Thorne responds.

  “I can hear you, you know!” I shout at them from across the yard.

  This shifting business is hard. My wolf doesn’t seem to want to cooperate. The guys keep telling me it’s because I haven’t shifted in a long time, which is true, but my gut is telling me it’s something else. My wolf, she’s not struggling, she’s cowering. She’s hiding away. Maybe she’s afraid to be out because it’s been so long? Social anxiety? Is that something wolves deal with?

  I’ve tried coaxing her out. Even tried bribing her with seducing one of the guys, but it didn’t work. I get to the point where I feel the shift coming, my body starts to bend in odd ways, a few snaps sound, but then nothing.

  Just nothing.

  It’s becoming more frustrating by the minute.

  I watched the guys shift so many times today, each of them walking me through their thoughts and their process. It’s so easy for them because they’ve been doing it for years.

  The sun has only risen a short while ago. We came out back when it was still dark and it took everything in me to even want to come outside after what I saw last night. Of course, I didn’t tell them that, just played it off like I was tired. Which I was and still am since I did not go back to sleep last night. How could I after all of that?

  Hunter takes a step closer to me, putting his hands on my waist and gaining my attention. He’s completely nude, as are the rest of the guys. I’m not complaining, not one single bit. I’m the only one with clothes on since I haven’t successfully shifted and Thorne felt it would be too much of a distraction if I was out here naked with the rest of them.

  “Maybe I can give you some incentive?” Hunter eggs on. I raise a brow.

  “Go on…”

  “Well, maybe your wolf will be more willing to shift if she knew there was something worth shifting for. A reward, maybe?”

  “What did you have in mind?” I press closer to him, feeling his cock come to life, hardening against me.

  “Oh, I think you know.” He leans down to kiss me, but pulls back and groans loudly when Thorne starts shouting.

  “No! No, no, no!” He storms over to us, and fuck does he look hot all naked and angry like that. Thorne is definitely the most in shape out of all the guys, he’s also the biggest. Thick thighs, chiseled abs, and pecs. Defined arms and shoulders. His hair is wild today from blowing around in the breeze.

  It’s warm, one of the first warm days we’ve had. I know it won’t stay this way since it’s still February, but it’s nice to have a little break. As much as I love the winter and the cold air, I do enjoy days like today. Where there is a nice breeze, the sun bright in the sky. It’s not hot by any means, but it’s nice.

  “Such a fucking buzzkill, Thorne.” Hunter steps back.

  “You’ll thank me when we still have a house to live in,” Thorne retorts with a snarky tone. He turns to me. “How about breakfast? We haven’t eaten much yet. We can try again later if you’re up for it. We have no time limit on this, don’t push yourself so hard, okay?” He reaches his hand out to brush some hair away from my face and I let him. I miss his touch. I miss the old him. The one who was always there for me. I don’t like this invisible wall that has been erected between us. I don’t like it at all.

  We all make our way inside through the back door. I’m the last one in and I make sure to lock it behind me, both locks. The more I think about last night, the more I believe it was only my imagination. It’s the only thing that makes sense.

  But something else tells me it was more than that.

  I shake the thoughts away and make my way into the kitchen. As my eyes glance to the sink, and the window over it, I instantly decide I want new curtains for that window. Maybe even a shade that I can close.

  “How about we go shopping for the house today? Is that okay?”

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Castor says as he gathers ingredients to help Thorne make breakfast.

  “I’ll pass,” Hunter adds. “I have to get my stuff from my parents.”

  “Aw, come on Hunter! You can do that after, can’t you?” My eyes meet his and I pop out my bottom lip, hoping the pouting will make him change his mind. His face is stern for a moment before he smiles and his features soften.

  “Fine, but we can’t be there all day. I know how you girls are with shopping.”