Kidnapped by My Mate

Second part here: Kidnapped by My Mate

Possession Midnight Confessions

Plans Foiled Awakening the Beast Within

Possession

BELLE

I stared at her. I couldn't believe what she was telling me.

"Is that why you didn't come here once you got to Paris?" my mother asked. "Because you met your mate?"

I nodded my head slowly, still shocked that we were even having this conversation.

She looked away from me with a pained expression on her face.

"Mom?" I asked. "Are you a werewolf?"

She turned back to me and shook her head. "No, no, of course not. I'm human just like you."

"But you have a mate?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes."

I swallowed. How common was it for humans to have mates? And how did I not know that my mother had one? How did I not know that she was part of the werewolf world?

Had my mother really not wanted me in her life that much? To not tell me about one of the biggest parts of it?

"What is his name?" she asked. I assumed that she was asking about Grayson.

"It doesn't matter," I said. "I'm going home tomorrow."

"You're not staying with him?"

I shook my head. "No. No, I can't."

My mother stared at me for a few seconds, looking hesitant. "Belle, is your mate violent?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean.." my mother started. "I've heard stories about how abusive alphas can be toward their mates. They're possessive and controlling.

"I know what it's like to be with a normal wolf; I can't imagine being with an alpha."

I sat down in shock. Grayson had never hurt me, but it seemed like my mother was implying that he would. She sat down next to me and took my hands in hers.

"You know what I'm talking about, don't you Belle? Have you seen your mate express his anger through violence?"

I nodded slowly. "He nearly strangled someone to death. He growls at every person who looks at me."

My mother's shoulders slumped as a panicked expression took over her face. She squeezed my hands harder. "That's why you're trying to get away from him?"

Until that moment, I hadn't actually been afraid that Grayson would hurt me. He was a rough guy, sure — but with me, so far, he'd been pretty gentle.

I had different reasons for wanting to leave him.

I just knew that I would probably be better off on my own. It seemed like every person who came into my life got hurt, and I would not let that happen to Grayson. I couldn't let that happen to Grayson.

I cared too much about him.

"No, that's not why. I just need to go home," I said.

My mother let go of my hands and crossed her arms. She nodded in understanding, but still looked skeptical.

"Do you have a plan? Because there is no way an alpha male is just going to let his mate walk out of his life," she said.

"I was just going to sneak out while he was sleeping and catch a flight home. He doesn't know where I live," I replied.

"No, that won't work. He'll notice you're gone the second you leave him." She stood and began wringing her hands again. "And if he doesn't notice, his wolf definitely will. Dominant males typically sleep with their noses pressed up to their mates to smell them throughout the night. It calms their wolf and helps them sleep. If your scent isn't near him, then he'll immediately wake up."

I didn't know what to say to that, to any of it.

She looked at me. "Is that what you've been wearing all day?" she asked, pointing at my sweater.

I nodded.

"So it has his scent on it and yours?"

"Yes." I said.

"Okay. Okay, then that is what you will put near him when you try to escape. It must smell like you, but it must also smell like the new environment that you are in."

She sat down next to me again. "And Belle, the minute you get away from him, you run like hell and you don't look behind you. Bring nothing. It will only slow you down. If he catches you..." She paused. "If he catches you, you will never have another opportunity. You will be trapped with him forever with no way out." Her expression was so intense, so frightening.

"Mom, you're scaring me," I whispered.

She gave me a sad smile and lifted her hand to cup my cheek.

"Oh, my sweet Belle, mated to an alpha." Tears formed in her eyes. "I never wanted this life for you."

My brow furrowed.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Mom, does your mate hurt you?"

She didn't answer me. She just continued studying my face as if this was the last time that she would ever see me.

Tears flowed down her cheeks.

"I'm so happy to finally be able to talk to you about this, to explain myself. You have no idea how hard it was to keep this from you and your father," she said.

At the mention of my dad, I pulled away. She shouldn't have been talking about him. She hadn't even come to his funeral.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

She fidgeted a bit. "I-"

Before she could say anything else, I heard the front door opening. I thought it would be Grayson, and my heart plummeted into my stomach.

My mother immediately stood and fixed her makeup that had run due to her crying.

"Claire, is that dinner I smell?" a deep voice asked from the other room. "It better be ready on time tonight. We don't want a repeat of last night, now do we?"

A man walked into the living room. I hadn't seen him since I was a kid at the wedding, and even then, we'd barely met, but I recognized him immediately as Carl, my mother's husband-and, apparently, her mate.

His eyes found my mother and he approached her slowly, his gaze moving up and down her figure. He touched thenhem of her skirt when he finally came to stand in front of her.

"Is this skirt new?" he asked. "It's a bit short, don't you think?"

My mother nodded. "I'll change as soon as I get the chance." She smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder. She leaned in. "We have a guest," she said to him. She motioned to me.

I stood. "Hi," I said. "I don't think we've gotten the chance to officially meet. I'm Belle."

I reached out my hand, offering it to him to shake.

He walked toward me, crossing his arms and looking me over in a slow and threatening way.

"So you're the daughter she never wanted."

"Carl!" my mother gasped.

He apparently doesn't want to shake my hand.

He held up his hand to her and gave her a look that made her shrink in on herself. He turned back to me. "Do you have any idea how worried your mother was when you didn't show up weeks ago? Did you stop to consider how it would make her feel, or did you only take your own selfish feelings into account?"

My mouth fell open in shock. Who gave him the right to talk to me like that?

He knew nothing about my situation or what I had gone through in the last couple of weeks.

"Carl, stop it right now!" my mom yelled.

"I-" I began, but was immediately interrupted.

"No. Do you have any idea how lucky you were that I was going to let you into my home in the first place?" Carl shouted. He pointed a nasty finger at me. "And you took that opportunity for granted and hurt your mother in the process!"

I didn't know what to say. I hadn't been expecting this reaction at all.

"I'm sorry I didn't make it. Something came up and I had no way of contacting her. I lost my phone."

A growl came from Carl's chest. He was getting closer and closer to me. "Something came up? Something came up?" he asked. "That's the best excuse you can come up with?"

My mom walked up next to him and grabbed his arm. "Carl, stop it," she tried to say calmly.

He let out an ear-shattering growl and shoved her away; she fell to the floor, knocking into the coffee table.

"You will not give me orders!" he yelled at her.

"Stop!" I yelled when he approached her again. I grabbed him, trying to tug him away from her.

A powerful blow hit my face, and an immense amount of pain radiated from my cheek throughout the rest of my body.

It sent me flying sideways, to the ground. For a second, I couldn't see anything. I only felt blinding hot pain. Yeah, that will leave a mark.

"Carl, no!" I heard my mother yell. "She is an alpha's mate! Look at her neck! She is an alpha's mate," she sobbed out.

I didn't do or say anything. I just continued to lie on the ground, holding my cheek, as tears of pain ran down my face.

I felt someone move the hair away from my neck. "Luna," Carl breathed out. He dropped onto his knees next to me.

"Luna, I am so sorry! I didn't know."

Before I could answer, the door came crashing open. A weight lifted off me and I breathed out a sigh of relief. Grayson ran into the room, his chest heaving. His eyes were the blackest that I had ever seen them. He was twice the size that he normally was, and there were veins coming out of his neck and forehead.

He looked livid.

His eyes found mine.

"Grayson," I said. Without even knowing what I was doing, I reached for him, longing for his arms to be around me.

He immediately ran to me and kneeled down next to me. He wouldn't stop growling and, with every passing second, he was looking more and more like a wolf instead of a human.

He gently touched the bruise that was already forming on my face. I expected it to hurt, but somehow the sensation just brought me more comfort. His hand came away with blood on it.

He growled so loudly that I'm sure the entire building shook.

"Who did this?" he asked. His voice sounded almost demonic.

"Alpha Grayson, I am so sorry," Carl said.

When I looked at him, I noticed that he was already baring his neck to Grayson, kneeling on the ground next to us.

"I did not know she was your mate. I never would have hurt her had I known."

Grayson moved faster than I could comprehend. His hand was around Carl's neck and he lifted him up against the wall in mere seconds.

"You dare hurt my mate?"

He punched Carl's face so hard that one of his teeth went flying out of his mouth.

I heard my mother's sob from the other side of the room. She was on her knees, watching as my mate attempted to kill hers. I knew I had to do something. Grayson was throwing punch after punch at Carl's face at the same time that he was strangling him. Carl did nothing to fight back. He was going to die if Grayson didn't stop soon.

I ran up to him, attempting to put myself between him and Carl, but Grayson wouldn't stop punching him long enough for me to succeed. I grabbed his face and said his name, but he wouldn't look at me.

"Grayson, please stop," I said in a panic. "Please stop. I'm in pain. I need you. Please, I need you."

Grayson looked at me. There was foam dripping from his mouth. His canines were piercing his lips, drawing blood.

I wasn't sure if he'd heard me, so now that I had his attention, I repeated myself: "I'm in pain, Grayson." I touched my cheek softly. "It hurts. Please take care of me. I think I might pass out. I need you," I said desperately.

Of course, that was a lie. With all the adrenaline that was running through my body, I could barely feel anything. But he didn't need to know that. Grayson shook his head violently as if he was having an internal argument. Take care of his wounded mate or kill the man who did it?

Now that he had stopped punching Carl, I could stand in front of him.

His eyes watched me closely and zeroed in on the handprint on my face. He growled.

"Please, Grayson. Please, I just want to go home with you. I'm so tired. Please, just take me home," I whispered.

He huffed, and I knew that he had come to a decision. He got so close to Carl, who he was still holding up by the neck, that I was sure Carl could feel Grayson's breath fanning his battered face.

He looked in Carl's swollen eyes. "Touch my mate again and you're a dead man. There will be consequences for this," he growled.

When Grayson dropped him on the ground, Carl began gasping for air and coughing. My mother was at his side in an instant, cradling his head to her chest.

Grayson didn't waste any time. He picked me up in his arms so he was carrying me bridal style and began walking to the door.

I looked at my mother on the floor with her mate. "I'm so sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry."

She shook her head as she watched me being carried away.

"Don't come back here, Belle. Never come back here."

Midnight Confessions

BELLE

Neither of us said anything during the entire ride back to the hotel.

Grayson kept me in his lap, alternating between nipping at the mark on my neck and licking the wound on my face.

At first, I was completely disgusted by him licking my face, but one loud growl from him had me shutting right up. I'm sure our cab driver thought we were insane. I considered talking to him and trying to explain myself, but I couldn't tell if he was mad at me or mad because I was hurt.

Maybe it was both. I didn't want to risk pissing him off even more.

It took him the entire ride home to calm down. His body returned to normal, although his breathing was still ragged.

Once at the hotel, he picked me up and carried me all the way to our room. We got a few strange looks on the way up, but nobody said anything, thankfully.

In our room, he immediately brought me to the en suite bathroom and set me down on the counter. He stepped between my legs.

"Kyle!" he yelled as he grabbed a towel and ran it under the faucet. "Get me ice!"

He brought the damp towel to the part of my face that had split from Carl's punch and gently cleaned it. I winced.

Grayson growled.

"What were you doing there?" Grayson asked as he washed away the blood.

I hesitated. I knew I shouldn't tell him, but I really didn't feel like lying to him.

"That was my mom's house," I mumbled. "The man who hit me was her mate."

Grayson nodded his head, not making eye contact with me. "Why didn't you take me with you?"

"I.." My shoulders slumped. I looked down at my hands. "I was afraid of what you could do to her if you knew who she was and where she lived."

Grayson sighed. Carefully, he took my chin with his hand and tilted my head up so I was looking at him. His eyes softened.

"Listen to me, Belle, and listen well. I will never do anything to hurt you. Ever. I know you and your mom don't have the best relationship, but know that I'd never do anything to her if it risked losing you."

He leaned down and kised my forehead. Then he placed his forehead on mine and looked deep into my eyes. He cupped the uninjured side of my face.

"I need you to trust me, Belle. I care about you too much to have you running off because you're scared. Talk to me.

Communicate. We'll figure it out together. Always."

I took in a shaky breath, then closed my eyes. "Okay," I whispered.

Someone suddenly cleared their voice. Both Grayson and I snapped our heads up to see Kyle standing in the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt this touching moment," he said, smirking at the two of us.

"I have the ice pack you asked for, Alpha." He handed it to Grayson. "Now I can see why you needed it. You look like hell, Luna."

"Gee, thanks, Kyle," I said sarcastically.

He laughed. "Any time," he said. He winked at me before walking away.

Grayson finished tending to my wound, bandaging it and lightly pressing the ice pack to it.

"You're keeping that on there until all the ice has melted. I don't care how long it takes. Your face is already swelling too much."

I nodded. It hurt like hell.

"I'm going to go get you some ibuprofen for the pain," Grayson said as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"Stay here, okay?"

I nodded again.

Once he had left the room, I sighed and leaned against the mirror behind me. My life had turned completely upside down in just a couple of weeks.

I felt overwhelmed—no, I felt more than overwhelmed.

I felt completely out of my mind.

I felt tears form in my eyes. This was all too much for me to handle. I wanted everything to go back to normal. I wanted to jump in a time machine. Go back to staying with my dad and working at the diner —back before I'd needed to worry about money or where I would live.

I looked around me, trying to control my breathing.

But since a time machine's not available... I want to go home and regain control over my life!

Even my mother, who had always seemed so well put together and in control, had been wearing a mask. She was obviously living in an environment that prohibited her from making any of her own decisions. I didn't want to live like that. I just wanted to go home.

I just want to go home.

I noticed then that Grayson's phone was lying on the counter next to me. I glanced out the door to see if he was coming, then slipped the phone into my pocket.

Grayson returned a few seconds later, holding a glass of water and some medicine.

When he saw the tears in my eyes, he set down the glass and pills on the counter and was in front of me within seconds.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

Because I have to leave you, I thought.

"My face just hurts, that's all," I said.

He frowned and brushed his knuckles lightly over my bruise.

"I hate that you got hurt. I wish I would've been there before it happened. That bastard will pay for this, I promise you that."

I shook my head. "No. No, please don't do anything to him. I don't want to hurt my mom."

Grayson sighed. He handed me the glass of water and ibuprofen.

"Drink all the water."

After I had taken the medicine, Grayson brought me to the bedroom and sat on the bed so that his back was against the headboard. He took me into his lap and cradled me in his arms.

"You have no idea how worried I was," he breathed into my neck.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I needed to see my mom."

He hummed as he continued to breathe in my scent. "Never leave me like that again, okay?" He placed a kiss on my neck. His kisses continued down my neck before I could reply. He kissed my mark and then moved back up to my chin, placing wet kisses all along it.

Finally, he came to my lips, moving his against mine so passionately that it took my breath away. As I got more and more distracted by the occurring events, I slowly forgot to keep the ice pack against my cheek. Grayson growled and grabbed my hand, pressing it back up to my face. I rolled my eyes.

He lay me down on the bed and hovered over me without taking his lips from mine. His hands moved under my shirt, tracing the lines of my rib cage.

Wow, this escalated quickly.

"Grayson," I said through his kisses. He didn't stop.

"Grayson," I tried again.

He lifted off of me a bit and brushed his nose against mine affectionately.

"We need to stop," I said.

"I know, I know," he said. "You have no idea how hard it is not to ravish you every second of every day."

I swallowed. I could feel my cheeks turning bright red. "Um, thanks?"

He chuckled and lifted all the way off me. He brushed a hand through his hair.

"I need to go take a shower, probably a cold one. Would you like to join?"

My blush intensified. "No! That was a onetime thing, buddy."

He laughed again. He leaned down and placed one more quick kiss on my lips before standing up. "Yeah, we'll see about that, baby," he said.

"Now, are you going to be a good girl and stay here and not run away while I'm in the shower, or do I need to handcuff you to the bed?"

I shook my head quickly. "I'll stay here."

"Good," Grayson said and then walked into the bathroom.

I sighed and stared at the ceiling. All I wanted was to go to sleep, but I knew that now might be the only time I had alone. I took out his phone and typed in the password I'd seen earlier.

Do I really want to do this?

Plans Foiled

BELLE

I stared at the phone, my thumb hovering over the screen. Deliberating.

My plan had been to book a flight when Grayson wasn't looking. Then I'd sneak out to the airport sometime during the night. Maybe I could even be home by the morning.

I knew that now would be my only chance to do this.

I glanced at the bathroom door, a deep part of me almost hoping that he would come out, see what I was doing, and stop me. I was just so scared. This was all too much.

I opened up the internet browser on his iPhone but couldn't bring myself to type anything, even though I knew I was running out of time.

Even just thinking about leaving Grayson made the pain in my chest grow more and more. My mark throbbed and tears were starting to well in my eyes.

But what about my apartment? My job? It had already been really irresponsible of me to spend even an extra night in France rather than racing home.

My rent was already late, and my landlord wasn't exactly the forgiving type.

And I knew that if I brought it up with Grayson he would just smooth talk me into staying another day. I was afraid to disagree with him. I'd seen what he was capable of.

I'll never do anything to hurt you, he had said. But was that true? ~Talk to me. Communicate. We'll figure it out together.~

But what would he say if I told him that I was planning on escaping tonight and going home? And that I wasn't sure if I still had a job or even an apartment, and I might be homeless?

I had always taken so much pride in being able to provide for not only myself but also my father after he became unemployed because of his illness.

Would Grayson still want me if he knew about all the baggage that I came with? How pathetic I was? And then there was the problem with my mom and her mate.

Would Grayson treat me the way that Carl treated my mother?

She had seemed so worried when she found out that my mate was an alpha, and had even helped me come up with a plan to get away from him.

But I couldn't imagine Grayson hurting me. I took in a deep breath. I trusted him. I trusted him with my life. If he was planning on hurting me, then I would deal with that later.

For now, I just wanted to enjoy being with him without overthinking it.

I suddenly heard the shower turn off. My heart jumped. Seconds later, Grayson walked out of the bathroom with a towel hanging dangerously low on his hips.

He ran a hand through his hair, his muscles rippling with his every movement.

"I didn't realize how much of your mother's mate's blood I had on me. Sorry if it freaked you out."

Without even knowing what I was doing, I launched myself at him, throwing my arms around his neck. He immediately wrapped his arms around me to stabilize himself.

"Whoa, what's going on, baby?"

I began sobbing into his neck, letting all the emotions from the last couple of weeks flood my body and take me over. I couldn't help it.

Grayson probably thought I was insane.

His grip on me tightened.

"Belle, baby, what's wrong?" he asked in a panicked voice. "Why are you crying?"

I just shook my head. I couldn't speak through the intense sobs racking my body.

Grayson rubbed my back in a soothing way, then picked me up so that my legs encircled his waist. He walked us to the bed and sat us down, with me straddling him.

"Talk to me, Belle," he said, forcing my face out of his neck. Once I was looking at him, he ran the pad of his thumb over my cheek, wiping away my tears.

"You're freaking me out, beautiful. What's wrong?"

I took in a shaky breath. "I don't want to leave you," I said through my tears.

Grayson's body stiffened. "Why would you leave me?" he growled out.

I sniffled. I slowly reached beside us and grabbed his phone that was lying on the bed. It was still on. I held it up for him to see.

"What?" he asked, obvious confusion lacing his voice. He took the phone from me.

I shut my eyes tightly, preparing myself for what was to come next. "I grabbed it from the bathroom counter when you weren't looking. I was going to book a flight home and then sneak out of here tonight.

"My mom said that if I left something that smelled like me next to you while you were sleeping, you wouldn't notice I was gone until morning."

He gripped my hips tighter, and his breathing became uneven.

"Belle, look at me."

I shook my head. I didn't want to see how mad he was.

He grabbed my chin and squeezed it softly. "Look at me, mate."

I opened one eye and peeked at him. He didn't look as angry as l'd thought he would be. I bit my lip.

"First of all," Grayson started, "that would have never worked. Maybe a normal wolf wouldn't notice their mate missing, but not an alpha. I would have noticed right away, or my wolf would have. We're attuned to every part of your body, even during sleep-everything about you, not just your scent."

I began fumbling with my shirt, my cheeks turning bright red.

He grabbed my chin again and forced me to look back at him. His expression became intense.

"Second, you are never leaving me. No matter where you go or how many times you run, I will always find you.

Always. Without fail. You are mine, Belle. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that. You're my mate, my soulmate, my everything.

"Maybe I wasn't clear enough when I explained all of this to you, and for that I am sorry. But we will spend the rest of our lives together. I love you."

I gasped. Did I hear him right? "You love me?"

Grayson nodded. "With all that I have."

"But there are so many things you don't know about me. You don't know about all the baggage I come with," I said.

"Then tell me," Grayson said as he stroked my hair lovingly. "I want to know everything about you. "

"Are you sure?" I whispered.

He nodded and bent down to kiss my nose. "Nothing would make me happier."

I looked deep into his eyes, searching for a reason not to open up to him, but I couldn't find it. Maybe it's time to let somebody else take care of me for once.

"I'm homeless," I said.

Grayson's expression went from adoring to furious within seconds as he processed what I had said. His grip on my hips tightened almost to the point of pain before he stopped himself and instead began kneading them.

"For how long?"

I looked down at my hands, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach.

"Well, I'm not officially homeless yet, but I will be when I go home. My landlord isn't very understanding when it comes to late rent. I'm sure all of my stuff is already out on the sidewalk."

Grayson growled. "Is that why you were so worried about going home?"

I nodded my head slowly, still not meeting his gaze. I could feel the embarrassment coursing through my body.

Grayson said nothing for a while, and it forced me to look up at him to decipher what he was thinking. His face was twisted in disgust, and all of his muscles were tight.

Was he wondering what he had gotten himself into? Was he wishing that he had been given a different mate?

My shoulders slumped as I voiced my next question: "Do you still want me?"

Grayson's eyes snapped to mine and he growled ferociously. He yanked my body into his chest. "You are mine!"

His wolf seemed to speak now as the darks of his eyes took over. "I will always want you!"

I nodded to show that I understood. "I'm sorry," I whispered into his chest.

He pulled away so he could look at me, his animal eyes penetrating mine. "Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry that you're stuck with me. I'm sure I wasn't what you were imagining when you thought of your mate. I might not even have a job, either, so who knows when I'll be able to get back on my feet."

"Is that why you didn't tell me any of this?" Grayson asked. "You thought I would be ashamed of you?"

I nodded again. "Aren't you?"

To my great surprise, Grayson just laughed. He ran a hand down his face. "I have done a terrible job explaining all of this to you," he said darkly.

"I meant it when I said that I will make sure you never pay for another thing in your life. You will move in with me as soon as we get back to Minnesota. You will no longer have or need a job. I will provide for you just like any good male mate does. It is the way of all werewolves. It is not in our nature to have it any other way."

I gaped at him. "You want me to move in with you? After only knowing me for a couple of weeks?"

He chuckled. "No, baby girl, I don't want you to move in with me. You will move in with me. You don't have a choice in the matter. I will tie you to my bed if I have to, just to ensure that I get to wake up next to your beautiful face for the rest of my life."

I knew that I should be afraid, that I should run for the hills. This was exactly what I had feared when I'd thought about getting into a relationship with Grayson: not getting to make my own decisions anymore. But I didn't feel scared.

I felt warm. For the first time in my life, it felt like I had nothing to worry about. Grayson would take care of me.

"As for the being ashamed of you part," Grayson added in a disgusted tone, "that is not possible. I wasn't mad at you for your situation. I was furious with myself for not being there to take care of you when you needed me most. You were so close to me and I had no idea. I could've had you in my arms so long ago."

Relief surged through me. I smiled and leaned my head on his chest.

"I never want to leave your arms," I whispered.

He smiled slightly and pressed his mouth to my hair. "Then you won't," he said.

I sighed as I nuzzled into him further. "It feels good to finally be honest with you. I didn't like all the lies I was telling you. I was just so scared."

Grayson rubbed my back again, massaging the tight muscles that were slowly starting to loosen. "What other lies did you tell me?"

I bit my lip. "Uh, I don't live in Winona. I live in Minneapolis."

Grayson chuckled. "You don't think I knew that? The minute I met you, I had one of my pack members dig up all of your records."

I gasped and looked at him. "You what?"

He laughed again. "Don't look so offended, my love. You belong to me, remember? I have every right to know everything about you."

"Yeah, whatever," I said, still a little upset about the invasion of privacy.

He leaned down and began to playfully nibble on my ear and jaw, obviously trying to lighten my mood. I laughed and shoved him away. He chuckled.

"Anything else you lied to me about?" Grayson asked.

I thought over the last couple of weeks.

"Um, there is no book called Hands of Gold?"

Laughter shook through Grayson again.

"Yes, I figured that one out as well," he said happily and brought me closer in his arms.

And, for the first time in a long time, everything was okay.

Awakening the Beast Within

BELLE

The next morning, I woke up to the feeling of Grayson squeezing the absolute life out of me from behind.

I attempted to shift my weight to find a more comfortable position, but he was making it impossible with how tightly he was holding me. It wasn't painful, but it was very uncomfortable.

"Grayson," I said, trying to wake him up. I rubbed his arms that were wrapped around me. "Grayson, wake up."

I noticed as I continued to caress him that his entire body was shaking and that long, dark hair was growing out of his skin. He was close to shifting. I couldn't see his face, but I could feel his hot breath on my neck and hear his low growling in my ear. What was happening? He must have been dreaming.

With every passing second, his grip was becoming tighter and tighter. I knew that I had to wake him up or he would literally squeeze me to death.

I leaned down as far as I could and pressed a kiss to his arm, then another one. Small huffs came from Grayson with every kiss I pressed to his skin. His arms loosened the tiniest bit.

I continued to kiss his arms and hands, then began to lick and suck. His growls turned into groans.

His hold on me loosened to a normal level, and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

But then he threw one of his legs over me and buried his face into my neck and hair. I could tell that he was still asleep. I could feel something hard poking my butt. Uh-oh.

I grabbed onto one of his hands and traced the lines on his palm. "Grayson," I whispered. He huffed and stirred a bit. I brought his hand up and kissed his palm softly. "Grayson, I need you to wake up."

When he didn't move yet again, I slowly turned my body so I could face him. This proved to be very difficult as Grayson growled and tightened his arms around me once again in his sleep.

Whatever he was dreaming about must have been pretty intense.

Once I was facing him, I noticed how stressed he seemed to be. His face was tight and set in a frown, and his entire body was rigid and unmoving except for his rapid breathing and trembling. I didn't like seeing him like this. I didn't want him to be stressed out or to be having a bad dream.

I found myself lifting my hands from between us and running them over his face. I caressed the frown lines and traced his jaw, mouth, nose, and eyes.

His face was gorgeous, and I found myself wanting to memorize and touch every part of it.

He relaxed a little bit, but his breathing was still coming out in quick pants. I leaned my forehead against his.

"Grayson, wake up."

He stirred a bit but didn't open his eyes. I groaned. Man, can this guy sleep.

It would have been kind of adorable, but I really needed to go to the bathroom. And Grayson squeezing me definitely wasn't helping.

So I did the only thing I could think of: I placed a gentle kiss on his neck. And then I continued up to his face—to his jaw and around his lips.

I felt guilty kissing him without his consent, but I didn't stop. I mean, I was molesting the guy while he slept, but I loved the feeling of his skin on my lips.

It sent electric shocks through my system and made my brain all foggy. Plus, I was sure that he wouldn't have minded if he were awake.

I finally kissed his lips. Fireworks exploded as I moved my lips against his. It took my breath away.

And then, suddenly, I was on my back and Grayson was on top of me, kissing the living daylights out of me. I groaned.

Well, I guess he's awake now.

I had forgotten that my goal in all of this was to wake him up. I'd been too consumed with kissing him to even pay attention to his reaction.

God, this mate bond thing must be really getting to me.

Grayson grabbed onto my legs and wrapped them around his waist, taking full control of the situation. Then he moved his hands to grip my waist under my pajama shirt.

His thumbs were grazing the skin right beneath my breasts.

I was running out of breath from our intense kissing. Noticing this, Grayson removed his lips from mine and moved them down to my jaw and neck, then to my collarbone and around the collar of my cotton shirt.

He paused just long enough to grab the bottom of my shirt and yank it up.

Unable to stop myself, I lifted my arms, allowing him to remove my top.

Grayson stared at my exposed upper half for a long moment, his eyes trained on my breasts. His gaze turned dark and stormy as it moved over my body, seemingly memorizing every part of it. The heat of the moment left me and was replaced by shyness. He was staring at me so intensely, and I couldn't help but hope that he approved of what he saw.

I had never been self-conscious of my body before-Id had other things to worry about-but now I felt myself shifting and squirming in discomfort.

Grayson noticed this immediately and returned his gaze to my face. His expression softened. He reached a hand up and caressed my cheekbone gently.

"Every day I wonder how I got a mate as beautiful as you, how I got so lucky."

I blushed and squirmed some more, not knowing how to react to his compliment. No one had ever spoken to me like that.

He smiled at me and lowered his face to mine to give me a slow but passionate kiss. It wasn't like the kiss from before, which had been hot and demanding.

No, this one was sweet and loving and left my toes curling.

"By the way," Grayson said, lifting off of me just the tiniest bit, "I expect to be woken up like this from now on."

I laughed. "I had to pee and you weren't waking up. It was the only thing that I could think of. I didn't think you would mind."

He leaned down and kissed me again.

"I give you full permission to kiss me whenever you want, conscious or not."

I laughed again and rose up to kiss his lips. He growled softly. When we pulled apart I asked, "What were you dreaming about?"

Confessions in Bare Skin

BELLE

He leaned back. "What?"

"It seemed like you were having a bad dream. You were growling and almost squeezed me to death," I said.

He sighed. "I was dreaming about your stepfather. He was hitting you and I couldn't get to you."

"Oh," I said. I loved how protective he was of me. "But I'm okay now. You saved me."

He ran his hand over the bruise on my cheek. "I'll always save you."

It was crazy how connected I felt to the man on top of me. It was like I'd known him my entire life. I couldn't believe that only yesterday I'd been plotting to leave him.

Today, I couldn't imagine my life without him. I would probably have had a full breakdown if he weren't with me.

Maybe our mate bond was getting stronger the longer we knew each other. I felt Grayson stroking my bare side, leaving pleasurable sparks running through me.

"What's got you thinking so hard, beautiful?"

I smiled. "I.." I hesitated. Would it be weird to say something like this so soon in our relationship? I guess Grayson had already told me he loved me. How much more serious could it get?

"I was just thinking about the mate bond, as you call it. I think it's getting to me."

Grayson's eyes sparkled with happiness.

"Do you now? And why do you think that?"

"I just"-I looked away from him-"this whole thing is crazy. I only met you a couple of weeks ago, but despite that, I still want to give this a try. Which is insane and I know that.

"But I don't care. I just like you. A lot. I enjoy being around you and, um..touching you. I want to be with you no matter how crazy it is."

Grayson grabbed my chin and turned my head to look at him. His smile was huge.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me."

I smiled back at him hesitantly. "Really?"

He nodded and caressed my face. "Yes, really. And trust me, love, all of those feelings are more than mutual." He leaned down and growled against my ear.

"Especially the touching part."

He kissed my mark and I gasped. But he didn't stop there. He kept moving down. And down.

And then his mouth was on my breast. Half of me was ecstatic, loving every bit of what he was doing, but the other half-probably the more sane one-realized at that exact moment that I wasn't wearing a shirt. How did I forget that?

I wasn't even wearing a bra! I was just so comfortable around him, I hadn't noticed that my upper half was completely exposed. I'd had an entire conversation with him while I was half naked!

I gasped and pushed him away from me. Thankfully, he allowed me to, and I grabbed the sheet and pulled it up to my neck, successfully covering myself.

Grayson growled and pouted when he could no longer see my exposed upper half.

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling embarrassed. "I forgot I wasn't wearing a shirt."

I was way too comfortable around this guy.

Grayson chuckled softly and then sighed. He ran a hand through his hair, looking a bit pained, as if he were restraining himself.

"It's okay, love. I was just hoping you wouldn't notice and would let me have my way with you. I really don't think it's fair that I'm shirtless all the time while you're fully clothed. I think you should stay shirtless too," he said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Okay. I'll just never put a shirt on again. I'll just go out in public topless from now on. I bet all the

men around us would really get a kick out of that."

A loud growl left Grayson's mouth, and he quickly grabbed my shirt that was next to him and put it over my head. I laughed.

Grayson lay down beside me once I had my shirt on and took me into his arms so that my head was on his chest. He kissed my forehead gently.

"You know, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Your body is mine. All of you is mine."

I rolled my eyes at his possessiveness. "Uh-huh, sure," I said in a joking tone.

He squeezed my side in warning and I laughed. I nuzzled my face into his neck, simply breathing in his scent and enjoying being in his arms. We stayed like that for a few minutes.

Everything just felt so peaceful, so right.

But then I took a deep breath. "There's something else you should know," I whispered.

Grayson moved me slightly so he could see me. "Okay," he said.

I could already feel the blush spreading up my neck and into my cheeks. Grayson ran his hand up and down my back in a comforting way, obviously noticing my anxiety.

"I've, um"—I hesitated-"I've never done anything like, um, that before."

Grayson raised an eyebrow. "That?"

I shifted and shut my eyes tightly. I had no clue how he would react to what I was about to say.

"I'm a virgin!" I blurted out.

I opened my eyes slowly when I didn't hear Grayson respond. He had an amused smile on his face.

"And you're worried about how I'll react to this?"

I nodded slowly, confused by his reaction. "Well…yeah."

Grayson's smile widened as he brushed his hand across my cheek. "I already knew that, baby."

"What?" I asked as I sat up. "How could you possibly know?"

He shrugged. "I can smell it."

"You can smell my virginity?" I asked in shock.

Grayson nodded. "A male wolf can smell the virginity of his female, or the lack thereof."

My jaw dropped. "So you've known this entire time?"

"Of course," he said. "And it makes me happy to know that I'll be your first." He pulled me closer to him and rubbed his nose lovingly against my cheek. "And your last," he whispered.

I laughed nervously and tried not to reveal how much his words were affecting me. Hot sparks were traveling through my body at the thought of what he was implying.

"You're very presumptuous, aren't you?"

His lips were hovering over my mark as he said his next words: "You don't think I'll be taking your virginity?" he said seductively.

The truth was that I was pretty sure he would be the one. But I didn't need him knowing that. I wasn't ready, and I didn't want him confusing my agreement with being ready.

Plus, he didn't need a bigger head. "Well.I, I don't—"

He kissed my mark gently and it sent my entire body up in flames. I gasped and turned my head to the side to give him better access. He chuckled against my skin.

"I can't wait to be inside you, hearing those noises you make when I kiss you, and making you feel things you've never felt before."

I gasped at his words, and a quiet moan left my mouth. I pushed my body closer to his. I honestly couldn't wait either.

"But right now," he said between kisses on my neck and around my mark, " know that you're not ready also know that you need to go pee."

He lifted the blanket away from me.

"So you better get going before I decide to keep you in this bed forever."

In a daze, I got up and followed his instructions, walking to the door of the bathroom and closing it behind me.

Change of Heart

BELLE

I sat on the bed late in the afternoon, watching Grayson pack up our hotel room as we prepared to go home. We would board our flight tonight around midnight Paris time.

I had tried to help, but he'd just growled at me and told me to sit down. Tired from our adventure-filled day, I hadn't bothered arguing.

We'd spent the day seeing everything there was to see in Paris, and it had been absolutely amazing. My face hurt from smiling so much. I was still smiling as I watched Grayson move around the room, glancing at me every once in a while and smiling back at me.

Everything about him was perfect. I couldn't help but admire the way his body moved and how his large muscles flexed. He was breathtaking; it was hard to believe that a guy like him would want a girl like me.

"Grayson?" I asked him hesitantly.

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Please don't be mad," I said as I wrung my hands.

He turned to me fully. "Okay, now you've really got my attention."

I took a deep breath. "We can't go home yet," I said.

His expression turned shocked. "What? You've been begging to go home for weeks. I thought you were excited." He came toward me and sat down next to me, taking my hands in his.

"I know, but that was before I visited my mom. I can't leave her. She needs our help. Carl is basically a monster."

Grayson sighed. "Yes, I agree with you there. I already have it under control."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I sent one of my men to watch over your mother and send me daily updates. I wish that there was more I could do, but I need to get back to my pack. Once everything is under control there, I will revisit the situation and evaluate how your mother has been treated, and then decide if she needs to be brought to Minnesota and asked to join our pack."

I shook my head. "But what if something happens? I can't just leave her here. We have to go help her now."

"Someone will watch over her and will intervene if anything happens," Grayson said.

"I cannot just simply take someone away from their mate. Carl's wolf will not allow it. He may not seem like it, but he is a powerful werewolf. He is the gamma of the main pack of Paris. He has a lot of power. There is no telling what he could be capable of if his mate was taken away from him."

I nodded reluctantly.

He reached up and cupped my cheek gently. "I know that I would never give up if I lost you. I would tear the world apart first."

I leaned in closer to his touch, loving the feeling of the sparks running through my body. "Okay," I whispered.

That made me feel a little better. There were so many questions that I had for my mom. I just couldn't bring myself to believe that she never wanted to see me again.

Not after how happy she'd been to see me before Carl showed up.

But she had survived this long without me. She could go another month, right?

Grayson wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him.

"Please don't worry too much, beautiful. I will take care of everything." He bent down and kissed my forehead.

I leaned into him further. I couldn't help but trust him.

As Grayson and I boarded his private jet to head back to Minnesota, my stomach rolled with nerves. Mainly because I was about to get back on a plane and I couldn't help but still feel terrified of flying, but also because I was about to go back to Grayson's home and meet his pack. How was I supposed to help Grayson lead a pack? I could barely pay my rent every month. What if they didn't like me or thought that I was unworthy?

I knew Grayson could sense my anxiety. He kept one arm safely around me at all times and was always rubbing either my back or arm--as if to remind me that he was there and I had nothing to worry about.

The private jet was bigger than I'd expected, with several rows of seating and a sofa in the back. When we reached our seats, Grayson pulled me to his chest before I had the chance to sit down. He placed me on his lap as he sat in his own chair.

At first I didn't mind. I simply rolled my eyes and allowed him to hold me. Feeling his arms wrapped around mine was honestly helping to calm my nerves. We stayed like that for a few minutes before the plane moved.

Then I quickly tried to stand and take the seat next to us, but Grayson just tightened his grip on me.

"What are you doing?" I gasped.

Grayson acted like he couldn't hear me and rubbed his nose up and down the side of my neck. I shoved his face away from me and tried to get out of his lap. He didn't budge.

"Seriously, Grayson! Let me sit in my own seat!"

He pretended to think about it, then shrugged. "Nope."

I gaped at him. "What do you mean, 'nope"?"

"I mean you will be sitting right here for the flight. And no one is going to argue with me about it," he said as he held me closer to his chest.

"Oh, you wanna bet?" I asked stubbornly as I pushed him away once again with much more force. His grip on me still didn't loosen. The plane was moving faster.

"Grayson, please! This isn't safe! I have to sit in my seat and put on a seatbelt!"

He pushed his face into my neck and then brought his lips to my ear. "Calm down, Belle. I will not let anything happen to you."

His calming voice made a little bit of the tension leave my body.

"What about seatbelts?" I asked shakily.

"I hired the best pilot that money can buy. I promise you that nothing is going to happen. And if something happens, then my arms will act as your seatbelt," he said.

Is he stupid or something? "Um, I don't care how strong you think you are, Mr. Werewolf Alpha Thing, if this plane

crashes into the ocean, your arms cannot save me!"

He smiled a bit. "Let's put that theory to the test, shall we?" he asked.

I shoved at him yet again, really putting all of my strength behind my blows to his chest.

"No! We are not doing this! Let go of—"

Suddenly, Grayson clamped his giant hand onto the back of my neck possessively, forcing me to turn and look at him.

He brought my face so close to his that our noses were almost touching, and I watched as his eyes darkened substantially, the presence of his wolf becoming clear.

I swallowed hard.

"You will sit here for the entire flight and that is final. Am I clear?" Grayson asked, his voice an octave lower than usual.

At first, I couldn't speak. I was too consumed with staring into his eyes, watching his irises swirl. His grip on the back of my neck tightened.

"Belle, give me your word."

I nodded my head quickly, afraid that he would turn into a wolf if I disagreed.

"I'll stay here."

Grayson grunted his approval.

"Good. Now come here."

He released his grip on my neck and gently brought me closer to him so I could lean my head against his chest. Then his hands made their way under my shirt, where they rubbed my back in a soothing way, just as he had done on the flight to Paris when we'd first met.

His touch calmed my body by a lot, and soon I was completely at peace. Grayson pressed a soft kiss to my head.

It surprised me how quickly he could go from dominant alpha male, demanding respect, to my sweet and loving mate who I knew would never hurt me. After a few more minutes, the plane was officially in the air. And, amazingly, I was fine.

"Hey, Grayson?" I whispered as I tilted my head up to look at him.

"Yes, beautiful?" he asked.

I took a deep breath. "I love you."

Grayson looked taken aback for a moment, but soon his face broke out into a breathtaking smile. In a flash, his lips came crashing down into mine.

Once he released my lips from his, he looked at me and smiled widely.

"I love you too, Belle. More than you'll ever know."

"Aaawww," someone suddenly said next to us. "It feels like my heart is about to explode from the cuteness."

Both of our heads snapped up. Our eyes connected with Kyle's: he was sitting in the row next to us with his elbow on the armrest and his chin propped up in his hand.

I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed him sitting right next to us. Of course, that meant he'd been present for my entire confession of love to Grayson. How embarrassing!

Grayson growled loudly and bared his teeth at him.

"Find somewhere else to sit, Kyle. Go bother the pilot or something."

Kyle raised his hands in surrender.

"Just thought we could all keep each other company during the flight home." He stood. "But I can see where I'm not wanted."

He saluted Grayson, winked at me, and then took a seat as far away from us as possible.

I looked back at Grayson. "Well, that's certainly one way to ruin a perfect moment," I said, playing with the collar of his shirt.

Grayson shook his head. "Kyle is a good gamma, but I'm considering killing him right now."

I ran my hand through the side of Grayson's hair. "Shall we try it again?" I asked.

Grayson raised an eyebrow. "Try what?"

"Grayson," I started, "I love you."

He smiled softly and then brought me forward until my forehead met his.

"I don't think I'll ever get sick of you saying that," he whispered to me. "I love you too, Belle."

Becoming Luna

BELLE

As we turned off the path that had led us through the Minnesota wilderness, and onto a long pebbled driveway that would take us to Grayson's home, it felt like there was a bundle of nerves sitting at the bottom of my stomach like a rock.

It was the middle of the night, so I knew that I probably wouldn't have to meet many people tonight, but I was still nervous. I was about to start my new life in my new home with a man I had only met a few weeks ago but somehow loved. If that wasn't enough, I was supposed to help him lead with no experience of leadership.

I mean, I barely knew anything about werewolves, and now I was about to become luna' of an entire pack. How did that make sense?

We were sitting in the back of a car that he had left at the airport. Grayson, always knowing when I was feeling uneasy, wrapped a comforting arm around me and gently pulled me to him.

He rubbed his nose against the side of my head.

"What's bothering you, baby?"

I shrugged and snuggled closer to him, not really wanting to get into it at that moment. I could barely speak through the lump in my throat.

As if he knew what I was thinking, Grayson said, "Everybody is going to love you. You have nothing to worry about.

You are going to do great."

Still in his arms, I turned my head to look up at him. His eyes were gentle and soft as he gazed down at me.

"Are they going to be okay with a human being your mate? Being their luna? And what is everyone going to expect of me? I don't know anything about leading a pack. How am I going to be any help to you?"

Grayson pulled me closer to him. "My pack will automatically love you as their luna. They felt the connection between us the moment that I met you, just like I did. They know I've found my mate and their luna, and they can feel your strength. They trust me as their alpha and trust the Moon Goddess's choice for my mate.

"You may not know it, but you have all the qualities needed to be the perfect luna. We will ease you into your new job and you'll learn over time. And I have complete confidence that you will find being a luna more enjoyable than you thought. You were born to lead by my side."

I swallowed. Jeez, I'm not feeling any of the pressure now.

I nodded. "Okay," I said. "I can do this."

Grayson kissed the top of my head.

"Yes, you can. And if it makes you feel any better, the only person that you're going to have to meet today is my beta,

Adalee."

"And my mate, Elijah!" Kyle yelled from the front. "He's up waiting for me to get home."

Hearing the excitement in his voice, I smiled.

"Do you think you will be able to handle that? You won't be too overwhelmed?" Grayson asked me in a worried tone.

I knew that he was desperate for me to be happy with his pack. It was almost cute how worried he was. My heart melted a bit. I took a deep breath and turned my body fully so that I was facing him.

"I'm going to be fine. Just stay with me, okay? I don't think that I'll be able to get through this without you by my side."

Grayson smiled and then leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips.

"Always. I'll never leave you."

I felt the love that I had for the man sitting beside me grow. I smashed my lips into his and wrapped my arms around his neck. Grayson moaned against my mouth.

"Okay, so while you guys make out, I'm going to go see my mate," Kyle said.

Before I could even look at him, I heard the front car door slam and the faint sound of Kyle's footsteps running away.

Out the window beside us I saw a giant house with multiple stories. It looked more like a hotel than a house, really. I couldn't help but gape at it.

I felt Grayson's hand on my leg, running up and down it.

"How ya doing, baby?" His voice sounded hesitant as he watched me react to his vast estate.

"I just…..," I started. "Wow."

Grayson nodded as he looked at the house.

"That's as good a reaction as any. This is the pack house and your new home. It houses over five hundred werewolves.

Many of the other pack members live in houses on pack lands as well, but this is the largest."

I swallowed and let out a shaky breath of air. "And you live here as well?"

"Yes," Grayson said. "We both do."

I nodded. "Well…," I said slowly. I looked at him, grabbing his hand and squeezing. "I guess it's time for us to start our new life together, huh?"

He squeezed my hand right back and smiled widely.

"After you," he said, gesturing to the car door beside me.

Once inside the house, the first thing I noticed was that the inside was just as magnificent as the outside. I walked into the grand foyer with my chin to the floor, barely able to contain how beautiful it was. A large, winding staircase greeted me, seemingly going up for at least six floors.

Pillars surrounded us in a circle, and my cheap, not-so-white-anymore sneakers met what seemed to be expensive wood floors that turned into marble as you went through more of the house. All walls were painted pristine white when they weren't covered by giant windows. Wooden beams were on the ceiling, giving the entire house a very cabin-like vibe. It was absolutely breathtaking.

I hadn't even noticed that Grayson was watching me, gauging my reaction, until he tightened the arm that was already tightly wrapped around my waist.

"What do you think?"

I couldn't stop looking around me. "I don't think I've ever been anywhere as nice as this," I said in awe. I looked up at Grayson. "You didn't tell me you were this rich!"

Grayson chuckled. "I'm not. This is all the pack's money at work. I'm just in charge of it."

"But you're the one who gets to decide how to spend it, right?" I said.

Grayson thought about it for a moment. "I suppose."

"Then you're rich," I said. "I don't think I've ever had more than a thousand dollars in my bank account, except for when I saved enough to go to Paris. I've always been living paycheck to paycheck."

Grayson growled next to me and wrapped both arms around me, pulling me to him so that my back was pressed against his chest. He then leaned down so that his chin was resting on the top of my head.

"That will never happen again. Not as long as I'm alive." He pressed a hard kiss into my hair.

The determination in his voice made me shiver.

Suddenly a woman stepped up next to us and cleared her throat. She was tall and fit, with beautiful red hair. She was absolutely stunning.

"Alpha, Luna," she said, acknowledging both of us with her head bowed. Then she got down on her knees and tilted her neck to the side, showing us the porcelain skin of her throat.

I pressed further into Grayson, not really sure what was happening or how to respond.

Grayson leaned down so that his mouth was right next to my ear, his hot, minty breath fanning the side of my cheek.

"She's baring her neck to us just like you did to me a while ago. It's a sign of respect. Be prepared to be greeted like this for the rest of your life," he whispered. He stood straight again.

"Hello, Adalee. It's great to see you again. I hope my absence didn't make your life too hard."

The minute that she was addressed, she stood quickly and smiled, losing all formality in her stance. She rolled her eyes and laughed a bit.

"You know perfectly well that this was probably the worst couple of weeks of my life. You are never allowed to leave for so long again. Your job is way harder than it looks."

Grayson chuckled. "It's nice to finally get some recognition. Thank you for all of your updates. They definitely helped keep me up to date. You did an amazing job while I was gone."

Adalee smiled brightly and then let her eyes drift to me. She approached me slowly, never letting her smile drop.

"It is so nice to meet you, Luna," she said in a kind, genuine tone. "I was unbelievably excited when I felt the alpha's connection to you."

I nodded hesitantly, taken aback by her up-front kindness. Although, it made me feel better that my first interaction with someone here seemed to be going okay so far.

"Um, thank you," I said,

Adalee came closer to me and then reached out her hand to shake. "My name is Adalee, the beta of this pack. I hope that we can be good friends."

I smiled back. "I'm Belle."

Grayson squeezed my side.

"But you will not call her that," he said to Adalee.

Adalee rolled her eyes. "I know that. I'm not some idiot who wants to have an angry alpha hunting me down for disrespecting his mate."

Grayson growled lowly while I just laughed. "I really hope we can be friends too," I said genuinely. She seemed to be really nice. Maybe I'll actually be able to fit in around here.

Adalee beamed at me.

"Oh, Luna! I have someone for you to meet!" Kyle came running into the room, pulling someone along with him.

He wrapped his arm around the other man's waist and smiled. The man was blond and well built, with stunning gray eyes and a ready smile. He looked at all of us nervously as he entered the room, and immediately bared his neck to Grayson, Adalee, and me.

"This is my mate, Elijah," Kyle said as he looked at Elijah lovingly, wearing an enormous smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Elijah," I said. "I'm Belle."

Grayson growled. He leaned down so he could talk to me.

"Stop telling people your name. Only I am allowed to call you that."

I just rolled my eyes. "I can tell people to call me whatever I want," I said.

Grayson ignored me, but I could tell that he wasn't happy with my response. He looked back at Elijah. "This is your luna. You are lucky to be one of the first in the pack to meet her."

Elijah nodded but didn't look up.

Kyle laughed. "You can look up now. They're not as scary as they seem."

Elijah slowly raised his eyes and scanned the room, looking at everybody but Grayson. "Sorry," he said as he smiled at me. "I'm not used to being in the same room as the four most powerful members of the pack."

"Me? Powerful?" I scoffed. "I don't think so."

Elijah laughed. "You may not feel like it, but you have the power to make anyone in this pack do whatever you want." He glanced at Grayson nervously.

"Even the alpha. Some would say that you are the most powerful member of this pack."

I looked up at Grayson questioningly to see if that was true. He met my gaze and did not deny it.

"Come," Grayson said as he pulled me away and toward the large staircase. "We're going to bed."

The others bowed their heads in respect as they watched us go.

Scent of Possession

BELLE

I let out the biggest yawn of my entire life as Grayson and I walked up the stairs. I leaned heavily against him, letting him lead us to his room. He chuckled and swiftly lifted me into his arms. I sighed happily and nuzzled into his chest.

I felt his lips on my head.

"I feel like two human newlyweds as I carry you off to our honeymoon," Grayson said.

I laughed, "Yeah, it really feels like that."

"Well, this is the beginning of our new life, so it might as well be our honeymoon."

The only difference was that newlyweds knew that they were going to be together forever. Who knows if Grayson will really always want me?

The thought of Grayson getting tired of me and not wanting me in his life anymore made me suddenly sick to my stomach.

Who would've thought... Only a few days ago, I was plotting to get away from the man holding me, and now I was panicking over whether we would be together forever.

As we came to a set of wooden doors, Grayson stopped and kicked them open. He walked us into a huge room that was just as nice as the hotel room we'd stayed in while we were in Paris.

I gasped. "This is your room?"

Grayson nodded and set me down on my feet. "Our room."

I turned to look at him. "You mean you want me sharing a room with you?" I asked, shocked but secretly relieved.

I didn't even want to think about what it would be like to sleep without him now that I'd gotten a taste of what it was like to spend the night in his arms.

"I keep forgetting how little you know about the werewolf culture and how different it is from the human world. Yes, you will be sharing a room with me. I'll never have it any other way," he said. "You'll always sleep with me, unless I'm away on important business that I'm unable to bring you along for. So I hope you like this room, because it will be yours for the rest of your life."

I swallowed hard. "Really?" I looked around, taking in the huge California king-size bed, the walk-in closet, the separate living space, and the en suite bathroom.

I figured I could live with this being my room for the rest of my life. It was three times bigger than my apartment back home.

"Yes," Grayson said. "No arguments." His arms were suddenly around me again, pulling me in so that my back was flush against his chest. "Tonight we will get some rest, and then tomorrow I'll give you a full tour of the pack territory so you can get to know your new home. How does that sound?"

I smiled. "That sounds amazing."

Grayson smiled back. "Someone will bring your suitcase up tomorrow morning, but the closet is fully stocked with a brand new wardrobe for you, so I doubt you will need any of your old clothes ever again."

My stomach dropped at the way he said 'old clothes'—as if he was disgusted by the things that I'd been wearing before. Did he not like my old outfits? Did he think I looked bad?

I looked down at what I was wearing at that moment. What about now? I suddenly felt self-conscious.

Grayson watched me cross my arms over my chest and make my way to the huge walk-in closet. Over half of the closet was taken up with women's clothing, all in my size.

I ran my hand over some of the pieces and frowned. It was all so beautiful and expensive-nothing like the clothes that I was wearing now. I turned to look at Grayson, who was leaning casually in the doorway, watching me. He frowned.

"You don't look happy. What's wrong? Do you not like the clothes?"

I suddenly felt extremely guilty. I am given a closet full of expensive and beautiful clothes, and instead of acting grateful, I become defensive and bitter?

"No!" I said quickly. I walked over to Grayson and wrapped my arms around him. "I love them. Thank you. They're amazing."

He leaned down and placed his lips softly on mine. When he lifted away from me he said, "I know something is wrong."

I sighed and leaned my forehead against his chest. "Did you not like my old clothes?"

Grayson immediately pushed me back gently so he could see me.

"That's what's got you so upset? You think I don't like your clothes?" he asked.

I looked down at my jeans and worn-out sweater, then shrugged my shoulders.

"Isn't that why you bought me all these new clothes?"

He shook his head and chuckled.

"Baby, I love you no matter what you're wearing. You could wear a paper bag and I would still think you looked beautiful. I got you all of this because I want you to have the best in life. There was nothing wrong with your old clothes." He put his hands on either side of my face and smiled down at me. "I'm going to spoil you for the rest of your life." He bent down and kissed my forehead. "Better get used to it."

I smiled at him and then placed my lips on his.

"Thank you," I whispered. I turned to look back at all the new clothes and sighed as Grayson hugged my waist and placed his chin on the top of my head.

"I don't think I've ever had this many clothes in my life," I said.

Grayson chuckled in response.

"Well, I'm exhausted," I said, letting out a huge yawn. I turned to look at Grayson. "I think I'm going to get ready for bed. Did you get me pajamas?"

"Actually, no," Grayson said.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "All of these clothes and you forgot to get me pajamas?"

"Actually, when I asked someone to get you clothes, I specifically asked them not to get you pajamas," Grayson said.

"What?" I took a step back. "I don't care how horny you are, I am not sleeping naked."

Grayson laughed loudly. "That is not what I meant, gorgeous." He grabbed my waist and rubbed along my sides. "I didn't get you any pajamas because I want you sleeping in my clothes for the rest of your life."

He walked over to a dresser and took out a pair of his boxers and one of his shirts. It was so huge the bottom would probably reach my knees. I smiled at him. I couldn't help but swoon a bit.

"Why do you like me in your clothes so much? I think I've spent more time in your clothes since I've met you than in mine."

Grayson smiled back at me. "And that's exactly how I want it to be. I want you smelling like me."

My brows knit together. "Why?"

"It's a werewolf thing. Males like their mates to smell like them to let all others know that they are taken."

"I thought that was why you bit me," I said as I brought my hand up to touch the mark on my shoulder.

Grayson bent down and placed a gentle kiss on the mark, causing delicious sparks to spread up and down my body. I gasped and brought my body closer to his.

I felt Grayson smile against my skin, enjoying my reaction to his touch. He lifted himself away from me and kissed my forehead.

"Until we're fully mated, my wolf will be crazy possessive of you. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that everyone knows you're mine."

I gulped at the intensity of his voice. I knew I should be mad that he was referring to me as his-as if I was some sort of object for him to possess-but I knew that he meant no harm by it. It was normal for him. I smiled and lifted my lips up to his. He growled against my mouth. His arms slowly circled my middle and then lifted me off the ground.

Wrapping my legs around his waist, he carried us out of the closet and over to his bed, never removing his lips from mine. Our kiss had now gone from sweet and loving to intense and wild. It was like neither of us could get enough of each other.

He laid me down on the bed and crawled on top of me; his hands traveled all over my body, including places only I had touched. After a while, I separated my lips from his, needing to catch my breath, but was surprised that I didn't want him to stop.

I trusted him and wanted him to keep going.

Grayson sat up quickly and yanked his shirt over his head before leaning back and pressing kisses all along my neck and down to my chest. His hands drifted lower, along my waist, gripping it tightly. I spread my legs a bit, and he immediately grabbed them to spread them wider.

He placed his body between them, growling as the lower halves of our bodies connected.

"Grayson," I moaned out, feeling intense sparks travel between us and knowing that it was our mate bond becoming more powerful.

It made me crave more, and I couldn't help but press my chest up against his, wanting to feel his skin against mine, desperate to feel the sparks everywhere. I ran my hands down his back, feeling his powerful muscles strain and relax beneath my touch as he continued to kiss my mark and throat, leaving hickeys that I was sure would be there in the morning.

I grabbed the bottom of my T-shirt, wanting to take it off, but couldn't because Grayson was pressing me down. He must have noticed me squirming, because, without taking his lips from my skin, he grabbed the end of my shirt.

I expected him to pull it over my head, but instead, he leaned back and looked at me.

He was asking for my permission.

I nodded my head quickly, ready to beg him to take it off.

My shirt was ripped within seconds and thrown across the room. I gasped.

"Grayson!" I yelled. "You ripped it!"

Grayson growled loudly in response. It was then that I noticed just how black his eyes were. His wolf was in control.

But I wasn't afraid. I felt better that his wolf was here, looking down at me.

I felt safe.

His lips smashed down onto mine once again, and he wasted no time in grabbing onto my bra and ripping it in half as well before throwing it across the room to join my ruined shirt.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Seriously?" Although, I guess it didn't matter since he had just bought me an entirely new wardrobe.

He didn't respond, too busy staring down at my breasts. I felt self-conscious but tried my best not to lift my arms and cover myself as his hungry black eyes studied every inch of my exposed skin.

I propped myself up onto my elbows.

"Grayson?" I whispered.

His eyes snapped to mine. He placed his palm on my cheek. "I am so lucky." He touched his forehead to mine and then kissed me once again.

"Tell me if you need to stop, Belle," he whispered against my lips.

I smiled and pressed my lips against his, then said, "I don't want to stop." I put my hands on either side of his face.

"I'm ready."

His thumb ran over my bruised cheekbone that seemed to be getting more swollen every day. "Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded my head. I'd never been more sure of anything in my life. I wanted to be with the man I loved in the most intimate way possible. I wanted to complete the bond.

"I'm sure."

His face broke out into a huge, breathtaking smile. His hands were immediately on my pants, yanking them down my legs. He was moving faster than I'd ever seen him move.

Within seconds, I was naked beneath him. Okay, then. I guess this is happening.

He began kissing his way down my stomach, and I gasped, feeling my back arch of its own accord when his lips touched the insides of my thighs.

I squirmed as he left open-mouthed kisses all around the area. It still wasn't close enough to where I wanted him most.

He chuckled softly and grabbed my hips to settle my movements.

"Patience, baby. I'm going to make you feel so good."

I couldn't wait.

His lips were back on my thighs, drifting closer and closer to their final destination. I arched my hips hungry and let my eyes flutter shut.

But then he stopped.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I heard him growl.

My eyes opened. Grayson was leaning back, staring straight ahead of him. His eyes were a gray color, one I'd never seen them before. He looked angry-pissed actually.

"Grayson?" I asked. Did I do something wrong?

He looked down at me and his eyes softened a bit, turning back to their black color. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh that turned into a growl.

"Shit!" he yelled.

He gazed into my eyes and then at my body, looking like he was about to kill someone. "This is really perfect fucking timing."

I sat up and grabbed the sheet beside me, covering myself. "Grayson, what's wrong?"

He stood next to the bed and grabbed his shirt off the floor. "Kyle just mind-linked me."

I knit my brows together, watching him pull on his shirt. "Mind-linked?"

Grayson nodded his head. "He talked to me in my mind."

"You can talk to people in your mind?" I asked in shock.

"Yes, and someday you'll be able to, too, but I can't explain it right now," he said. He sat down on the bed next to me and grabbed my face gently in his hands.

"Baby, I am so, so sorry, but I have to go. It's an emergency." He glanced down at my sheet-covered body once more and tightened his hands into fists.

"Fuck!" he yelled as he stood up. I watched him walk over to the door, where his shoes were.

"Please know that it's killing me to leave you like this," he said as he put on his boots and growled in frustration.

"Why don't you take a shower and get ready for bed, and I promise I'll be back before you fall asleep."

"So I didn't do anything wrong?" I asked quietly once he had his shoes on.

His head snapped to me. "No, no, baby, of course not!" He walked back over to where I was still sitting in the bed.

"Fuck, you're fucking perfect," he said, placing his forehead on mine and then gently kissing my lips. "And we will be finishing this later."

He licked his lips and kissed me one last time before walking over to the door.

"What happened then?" I asked right before he left.

He turned and looked at me. "Vampires have broken into our territory."

Cold Awakening

BELLE

I woke up the next morning feeling cold and groggy.

I hadn’t slept well. After Grayson had left with his shocking news, I’d taken a shower and put on the ‘pajamas’ he’d given me.

Then I’d sat on the bed for a couple of hours, waiting for him to come back, worried out of my mind. I didn’t know anything about vampires, and, although Grayson had promised he would be okay, I couldn’t control my anxiety.

I'd stayed up as long as I could before the jet lag had gotten the best of me, forcing me into a restless sleep. Once awake, I had rolled over to snuggle closer to Grayson, only to find that he wasn’t in bed.

He didn’t have his arms wrapped around me—wasn’t caressing my face, my back... Playing with my hair. I frowned and sat up. This was the first time since I’d met him that I hadn’t woken up with him by my side. It didn’t feel right. My anxiety immediately spiked as the events from last night came back to me.

Grayson never came back.

I got out of bed and put on some sweatpants before running down the hall, hoping to find another person. I eventually came across a kitchen and was relieved when I found Kyle cooking breakfast with Elijah.

They were both laughing and couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other. I couldn’t help but smile. They seemed so happy. Noticing my presence, both turned around.

“Luna! Good morning,” Kyle said.

“Hey, Kyle,” I replied. “You two are adorable.” I gestured to their entwined hands.

Elijah smiled and wrapped his arms around Kyle. He kissed his cheek. “Yeah, well, weeks apart will do that to mates.”

“Speaking of mates,” I said, “have either of you seen Grayson?”

Kyle frowned a bit. “I thought he would be with you, this being your first day as luna and all?”

I shook my head. “He was gone when I woke up. He never came back after he left last night because of...because of... the vampires.”

Kyle turned to me fully, exclaiming, “He didn’t?”

I shook my head and wrung my hands.

Kyle’s brows knit together. “That’s strange.” He looked over at Elijah, who seemed just as confused as he was.

“What happened last night?” I asked.

“There were vampires on our territory, but we took care of them all in under an hour,” Kyle said. “Alpha was beyond pissed that he even needed to be there. He said that he was going back to you and to not bother him for the rest of the night unless multiple people were on fire and dying.”

This wasn’t helping my anxiety. All the different scenarios of what could’ve happened to him were running through my head.

What if they didn’t kill one of the vampires, and that one did something to Grayson?

“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. He’s probably just in his office. That’s where he spends most of his time,” Elijah said. “I can take you there.”

My heart leapt out of excitement at the thought of seeing Grayson. There was already a dull ache in my chest from being away from him for so long.

I desperately wanted to be back in his arms. “That would be great,” I said.

Elijah nodded and turned to Kyle to give him a quick kiss. “I’ll be back in a minute. Keep making breakfast.”

Kyle frowned but nodded and kissed Elijah one more time.

Once at the grand doors of Grayson’s office, Elijah left me, saying that he could smell Grayson inside. I thanked him for guiding me through this enormous house. I knocked a couple of times on the door, waiting anxiously to see Grayson.

“Come in,” I heard his smooth voice reply.

I opened the door and stepped in. I was beyond relieved when I saw him and he didn't seem to be hurt. His office looked exactly like how I'd expected: all dark wood, bookshelves, and windows, with a giant desk in the center that Grayson was currently sitting behind.

He looked much more intimidating than I remembered him.

I stood for a second near the door and shifted my weight from foot to foot when he didn't look up at me.

"Hey," I said, hoping to get his attention.

He glanced up at me for a second and then looked back at the computer screen in front of him. "Good morning, Belle."

Well, that wasn't what I was expecting. Usually, he was all over me, unable to keep his hands off me. And he never called me Belle, almost always opting for a cheesy pet name.

"How did you sleep?" he asked.

I hesitated, put off by his behavior. "All right. You weren't in bed this morning," I said. "It was weird not waking up in your arms. I missed it." I paused. "I missed you."

I blushed a bit, a little embarrassed by my confession of affection. But I also knew he would love to hear me say something like that.

Grayson glanced at me, then back at his computer again. "Yes, I decided that I had a lot of work that needed to be done after being away for so long, and it was better to get it done now than to wake you up."

I guess that makes sense. "Oh, okay. Anything I can help with?"

Grayson shook his head, typing away rather than looking at me. "This is nothing that concerns you."

I sucked in a breath. He'd never spoken to me like that before. "Oh...okay." I crossed my arms in front of me. I took a step closer to him.

"Is everything okay? You're acting a little weird. Did everything go okay last night? Kyle told me that you killed all the vampires."

Grayson looked at me. His eyes were pitch black, which meant that his wolf was present. Was he.mad at me?

"I'm fine," he practically growled out. "As I said before, I just have a lot of work to do."

Okay, what the hell? Should I leave? I was beginning to feel like a nuisance.

"Well, um, didn't you say that you had plans for me today? Something about showing me around? Should I get dressed and wait for you to finish?"

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He ran a hand over his face.

"Look, Belle, I have too much to do after spending so long in Paris with you. I just don't have time. Sorry, but can you ask Kyle to show you around?"

The ache in my chest grew at his words, but I tried not to let them affect me too much, knowing that he was just busy.

Part of me wanted to be angry, but I reminded myself that I shouldn't have assumed he would want to spend every waking moment with me when we got back to the United States.

He had a job here—a big one. Thousands of people were counting on him.

"Yes, of course," I said quickly. "I'll talk to Kyle."

When he said nothing back, I said, "I didn't mean to interrupt anything. I'm sorry if I did."

Grayson nodded.

"Yes, well, maybe we just make a rule that you don't come into my office during the day. Then we won't have to worry about you interrupting any important business. I'll come find you if I need you." He looked turned back to his computer.

That's when a giant ball formed in my chest and pushed its way up into my throat. I could feel the tears threatening to come out.

Why is upsetting me so much? I'm not some clingy girl... I douldn't be so easily affected by such simple words. "O-okey," I wispered.

Again, he didn't say anything, obviously shifting his focus back to his work. That must be my cue to leave.

I took a few slow steps backward, desperately hoping that he would look up and say he was only joking and then take me into his arms. But he didn't do that. He didn't do anything besides type on his keyboard.

I turned and left.

Once I was out of Grayson's office, I could no longer keep the tears at bay. I had been looked down on and disregarded before, but it felt ten times worse when Grayson had done it to me.

It felt like he had just plunged a knife into my chest and laughed.

One quiet sob escaped my lips, and I immediately covered my mouth. I was still right next to his door. I couldn't let Grayson hear me crying. He would think I was pathetic.

All he had done was ask for space to get some work done, and here I was sobbing outside his door. God, what's wrong with me?

When I'd imagined all of the things that could go wrong when I came here, Grayson not having enough time for me was not one of them.

I'd expected even less to be treated like a bother.

Couldn't he see how desperate I was for him to help me make the transition into his pack? I knew nothing about any of this.

And he was the only person here who I was comfortable around.

I shook my head, trying to clear the tears away. I will not be this girl. I would not be the clingy, codependent girl I was acting like right now.

I was going to be strong and get through this.

I was probably just affected by his words so much because of the stupid mate bond. I squared my shoulders and straightened, wiping away my tears. A new determination ran through me.

I decided to get dressed and show myself around the pack. I thought about asking Kyle to show me around, but couldn't imagine taking him away from Elijah.

They needed time to catch up. And my newfound independence fueled me.

I started with the floor that I was on and slowly made my way up each floor of what Grayson called the 'pack house.'

It was insanely impressive, with too many rooms to count and tons and tons of people. I tried to smile and start a conversation with some we passed in the hallways, but no one would look at me. They'd give me short answers and treat me like I was that one girl from class that nobody liked.

It was beyond strange.

As the day went on, my spirit felt more broken. This was not the first day living with Grayson that I had been imagining. All I wanted to do was to go find him and refuse to leave his side, even if that meant sitting next to him silently while he worked.

But I held myself back, remembering our conversation from earlier this morning.

I would hopefully see him tonight.

It was late in the afternoon, and I was getting really hungry.

I tried going into each of the pack house's three kitchens to find some food, but they were filled with huge werewolves tearing through the pantries to cook.

I was extremely intimidated.

I was so much smaller and weaker than all of them.

Once when I'd tried to snag an apple off a counter, one of the male werewolves grabbed it before me and took a bite while making intense eye contact that said, "Back off."

I had left immediately after that.

I decided to talk to Grayson about food when I saw him later tonight. Maybe he would take me to the kitchen and show me where everything was.

I had no problem making my own food, but I just needed to know how to get around all of the angry werewolves.

I sat in Grayson's room for a couple of hours, feeling like that was the only place I could really be without being a bother. I kept reminding myself that the first days were always the hardest—that it always got better. I'd learned that from all of the jobs I'd had over the years.

Maybe I could find something to do to help out around here and earn my keep since Grayson would be busy during the day. People seemed to always be working and moving.

There had to be something around here that I could do. Maybe tomorrow I could try to find some books on werewolves and educate myself on this new world that I was now a part of.

When the sun set, my excitement to see Grayson rose.

I had no intention of telling him anything about what had happened to me today with his pack or how horrible I felt.

I didn't want to add anything else to his plate. Instead, I had come up with a list of everything I liked about his pack, and was going to tell him about that.

After changing into my-his pajamas and getting ready to sleep, I sighed and walked over to his bed, where I plopped down face-first. It was only eight, but I was exhausted.

This had been the worst day ever.

I tried to stay awake for as long as possible, hoping to get to talk to Grayson, but I couldn't keep my eyes open. I drifted off into a restless sleep.

Sinister Shift

BELLE

Sometime during the middle of the night, I was awoken by the feeling of fiery kisses on my neck. My eyes flew open immediately and I gasped, recognizing the familiar sparks.

"Grayson?" I asked into the darkness, reaching out for him.

"Mm-hmm?" he asked as he continued his kissing and gripped my waist.

I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the light.

My heart soared when I realized that he seemed to be in a better mood than the last time I'd seen him. He seemed to have found his old passion for physical contact with me.

I sighed in relief. I guess he was just stressed earlier.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his lips to mine for a deep kiss that chased all the tension out of my body. After a few minutes, I pulled away to try to catch my breath, and Grayson returned to kissing my neck.

I tried shoving him away from me playfully so that I could see him and talk to him, but he just growled loudly and snapped his teeth at me. Okay... Suddenly, he tore my shirt to shreds so that my bare chest was on full display. Grayson didn't waste any time as he latched his mouth onto my breast roughly.

I gasped and my back arched involuntarily.

My mind was all foggy from his sinful mouth, but somewhere in there, there was logic. This was getting way too hot, way too fast. I grabbed his hair and tried to pull him away from my chest, but again he growled roughly. He wouldn't look at me, so I couldn't see the color of his eyes, but I could only assume that his wolf had taken over.

"Grayson," I tried again. His lips were moving down my stomach now. I was starting to panic as he got closer to my center. "Grayson, stop!" I said firmly.

Acting as though I had said nothing at all, he continued his trek downward until he finally reached my cotton panties.

It was then that I remembered I had only worn underwear and one of his shirts to bed.

This didn't leave many obstacles for him to get through before I was completely naked.

My heart rate increased as I tried to move away from him. I wasn't ready anymore. Something was off, and I didn't want to do anything with him while he was acting like this.

I pushed him away more forcefully and tried to get out from under him.

"Grayson, I mean it. Stop."

A dark chuckle left his mouth. His black eyes connected with mine and he smirked at me.

"Oh, come on, Belle. Have a little fun. I've been dying to have you. Let's finish what we started last night."

I shook my head. "Not tonight. I'm not ready right now."

"I'm not ready," he imitated me in a high-pitched voice. "That excuse is getting old. All you have to do is lie there while I do all the work."

My jaw dropped at his words. I couldn't believe he'd just said that.

What had happened to the man who'd told me he would wait as long as I needed—who'd taken me into his arms when

I'd been embarrassed about my lack of experience?

I tried to pull away again, but he just latched a hand onto my leg and squeezed painfully. His other hand moved up to the band of my panties and began to pull them down. Panic was creeping in.

I grabbed his hand to stop him, kicking my legs upward. "Grayson, I said no! Stop!"

When one of my feet connected with his jaw, he jolted backward. "Are you kidding me?"

I immediately sat up and placed my back against the headboard, trying to get as far away from him as I could. I grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around myself.

I didn't even notice I was crying until I felt tears traveling from my eyes down to my neck.

Grayson looked furious. His entire body was shaking with anger.

"What the fuck kind of mate are you? First, I get stuck with a human, and now you won't give me the pleasure that you owe me?"

A sob escaped my throat. I shrank further in on myself. "What do you mean? What are you taking about?" I paused. "Do you really mean that?" Imanged to get out.

He nodded. "What the fuck are you crying for? If anyone should be upset it should be me. This is your duty as my mate. Your only duty. What else are you good for?"

"Excuse me?" I snapped. "My only duty? Having sex with you is not my job! I am not here to be some object for your personal pleasure!"

I tried to keep my words strong, but toward the end of my speech, my voice began to shake.

I covered my face with my hands to try to hide the pathetic tears spilling from my eyes.

I heard Grayson sigh. There was a shuffling of the sheets and then I felt his hands wrap around my wrists to uncover my face. I flinched at the contact and moved away. Another sigh.

"Baby, I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean any of that," Grayson said. "I just had a rough day and was hoping to relieve some of my tension tonight."

My body was still shaking with pure terror, and I couldn't bring myself to respond.

"Beautiful, please look at me, he said. He put a hand on my kine and began to make soothing circles with his thumb. "C'mon, please?"

I slowly removed my hands from my face and sniffled. I probably looked like an absolute wreck.

Grayson smiled softly. "There we go."

He leaned forward and placed his forehead against mine. He breathed in deeply, and we stayed like that for a while, although his hurtful words were still ringing through my head.

I calmed down as he continued to whisper soothing words and rub circles on my legs. I was starting to feel like maybe Grayson had returned to normal.

With every passing second though, his lips were getting closer and closer to mine, until finally, they connected. At first,

I didn't mind.

The kiss was loving and passionate like usual-unlike the hard and demanding ones he'd been giving me just moments before.

But then I felt him tugging on the sheet, trying to pull it away from my body. I frowned into the kiss. Was he really trying to start something again?

I attempted to pull the sheet tighter around myself, but he just growled and yanked harder until I couldn't hang on anymore. I gasped as my upper half became exposed and his hands moved upward.

I immediately moved away from him and shoved at his shoulders with everything I had in me. "Grayson, no! Stop! We are not doing this tonight!"

I seemed to catch him off guard, and he fell back just the smallest bit - enough for me to scramble off the bed and grab the sheet from the floor to wrap back around myself.

"Fuck!" Grayson yelled. "You are so fucking ridiculous, Belle!"

"I'm ridiculous? Are you kidding me? No means no, Grayson! What the hell is your problem?" I yelled.

Grayson let out a dark laugh. "Well, you weren't saying no last night. You were practically begging me for it."

I gasped. The tears were rushing down my face in rivers now. It took me a couple of seconds to get my emotions under control enough to whisper, "Who are you?"

Grayson was opening his mouth to respond when a loud growl came out of his throat. His entire body flinched, then he grabbed at his hair, holding it in tight fists.

Suddenly his head began whipping back and forth as louder growls escaped his mouth.

"Grayson?" I asked. His entire body began to shake.

I slowly stood and walked over to him, keeping in mind that the last time I'd seen him act like this, he'd shifted and chased me throughout a hotel suite.

His body turned away from me, and a strange hissing noise came from him that was nothing like the growling sounds he usually made.

"If you don't stop, you won't like the consequences," I barely heard him hiss.

I took a step backward, startled by how his voice sounded. "I-I'm sorry," I stuttered.

His body abruptly snapped upright, making a horrible cracking noise.

He turned to me, and a sinister smile spread over his face as he watched me cry.

"Oh, here we go with the crying again," he said. "Your little innocence act is getting old, Belle."

I didn't say anything. I had no clue what to do. I felt like curling up into a little ball and staying like that forever.

"Whatever," Grayson said. "It's not like I would want to fuck you while you looked like that anyway." He gestured to my blotchy face and messy hair.

He lay back on the bed, turning away from me, seemingly going to sleep.

I stood there for a few moments, in complete disbelief of what had just happened.

I wasn't sure what I should do. I didn't want to get back into bed with him, but I couldn't leave the room dressed like this either. And I couldn't go get new clothes without walking in front of him. This sheet didn't cover much, and I wasn't about to give him a show.

I began shuffling toward the bathroom, having decided that would be the best place to collect my thoughts. As I did, I tried to keep my sobs at bay so I wouldn't make Grayson more upset.

"Turn off the fucking lights," he suddenly growled, making me jump.

I quickly ran over to the light switch and flicked it off before running back to the bathroom and shutting the door

behind me, being sure to lock it.

Alienation

BELLE

I fell asleep on the bathroom floor that night. It was a bit demeaning to sleep on the cold, marble floor, but I couldn't bring myself to leave. I didn't want to face Grayson.

I groaned in pain when I awoke, then rolled over and sat up so that my aching back was against the cabinets. I sighed when I finally stood and saw what I looked like in the mirror.

My hair was going in every direction, and tearstains streaked my face and neck.

I'd spent most of the night silently crying, not wanting Grayson to hear me but also not being able to stop myself from replaying what had happened between us.

I didn't know what I had done to deserve all of his harsh words.

It took me awhile, but I finally worked up the courage to leave the bathroom. I felt terrible after last night. What hurt the most, though, was that I knew he was partially right. I was his mate. I was supposed to be okay with him touching me. Wasn't I? Take the time you need... His earlier words repeated in my head...

He had brought me to his home, and was providing for me and making sure that I never had to work another day in my life. The least I could do was make his nights a little interesting. And yet, I just couldn't bring myself to do it—not after the way he'd treated me. Something about how Grayson had behaved last night made me feel used and gross-not to mention terrified.

I'd just wanted to talk, but he wouldn't even talk to me. Was sex really the only thing he wanted me for? It made me wonder if our whole time in Paris had been just an act: he'd acted kind and sweet while we were there so he could get me back to his pack and have his way with me-show me his true colors.

It was the only explanation that made sense.

Had my mother been right? Did all alphas truly treat their mates like this?

Or was he already done with me?

The thought made my heart shatter into a million pieces. What if I'd just encouraged his newfound distaste for me by rejecting him? What if he really didn't want me now?

My stomach dropped. I couldn't lose Grayson. It hadn't been long, but I already didn't know what I would do without him. I wanted to put this all behind us. I wanted things to go back to the way they were before.

Thankfully, when i exited the bathroom, he wasn't there, and I was able to get dressed and go downstairs in peace. The

first thing on my mind was finding some food after not eating anything all day yesterday. And maybe I would run into Grayson and be able to talk through everything that had happened.

But unfortunately, the ground-floor kitchen was jam-packed with people, and none of them were Grayson. It was full of werewolves cooking, laughing, and eating. My stomach growled at all the different smells surrounding me.

I desperately wanted something to eat. I looked at a bowl of apples sitting in the middle of the island. I sighed in relief.

I could grab an apple without getting in anyone's way.

I approached the island as quietly as possible, watching the large werewolves around me warily, painfully aware of the fact that they could all kill me without barely lifting a finger.

However, before I could reach out to grab an apple, a large, burly man I'd never seen before grabbed my arm and harshly pushed me back. I gasped as I lost my footing and fell onto my butt. The man didn't say anything or offer to help me up. He just glared down at me and shook his head slowly while raising his eyebrows, as if daring me to try again.

"I-I'm sorry," I said, scrambling to get up before I made more of a scene. Everyone was already staring at me, looks of disgust painted on their faces.

I dropped my head in shame. I wasn't even sure where this shame was coming from. Some luna I am. Wasn't I supposed to be a leader of this pack? Hadn't Elijah even said I was the most powerful member? He'd been so, so wrong.

I was a joke.

I walked out of the kitchen quickly, wondering what exactly I had done to deserve this. Why were they getting mad at me every time I tried to get some food? It made no sense.

I wandered around the pack house some more, just like I'd done yesterday, trying to find something to fill my time. My hunger eventually passed and was replaced by total and complete boredom.

There's nothing to do around here.

Well, there were things to do, but every time I entered a room with anybody else in it, I'd get stares that made my blood run cold-from a bunch of scary werewolves, at that.

So I just walked. I walked around the entire pack house so many times that I lost count. I thought about going back to Grayson's bedroom, but something always stopped me.

Maybe I didn't want to be reminded of what had happened last night; my heart still ached from the things he'd said to me. Or maybe I was afraid that he would come back to the room and we'd have a repeat.

I didn't think I could handle that.

After a few hours, including some minutes outside in the freezing cold to try to fill my time, I came across Kyle, who was looking down at some papers in his hands and seemed to be in a hurry. I almost didn't bother him, worried that he'd decided he hated me now too for some reason. But I knew that if anybody would be willing to talk to me, it would probably be Kyle.

"Kyle," I said, shuffling my feet. "Hey."

He looked up and immediately smiled when he saw me. "Luna!"

I let out a breath of relief. It was good to see that at least one person was acting normal.

"How have you been? How was your first day as luna?" he asked. "Oh, um.." I smiled nervously. I was afraid if I told the truth, I would completely break down. I needed to talk t

Grayson before I told anyone what was going on. "Good. Really good."

"That's great!" he said happily. "I knew you would love it here."

I nodded my head in agreement. "Yeah, it's great," I lied. "I actually wanted to ask you something if that's okay. If you're not busy, that is." I gesture to the papers in his hands.

"It's more than okay! I was just on my way back to something, but I've got some time. Ask away!" Kyle said.

"Okay. Um, it's actually about Grayson. I was wondering if he seemed a little off to you?"

Kyle frowned. "Off?"

I shifted. "Yeah, just not his usual self."

He thought about it for a second. "Well, I've been with him all morning, and he seemed completely normal to me.

"He seemed happier than his usual self. It probably has something to do with you being here." He elbowed me playfully and wiggled his eyebrows.

I chuckled, but my heart dropped to my stomach. "Yeah, maybe."

I was starting to think that this was all in my head. Was I just being overdramatic?

"Are you going back to him right now?" I asked.

Kyle nodded. "Yeah, we're in the middle of a meeting in his office. I just had to go grab these." He held up the papers.

"Oh, okay," I said quickly. "Then I won't keep you any longer. Actually, could you tell him something for me?"

"You can't tell him yourself?" Kyle asked.

I looked down at my hands and backed up. "I don't want to bother him. You're already going there anyway."

"I'm sure it wouldn't be a bother, Luna," Kyle said. "He would probably love to see you and find out how your day has been going. He—"

"No, no, that's okay," I interrupted. The last time I was in Grayson's office ran through my mind —when he'd asked me to stay away during the day. "Will you just tell him for me?"

Kyle hesitated for a moment, obviously picking up on my discomfort. He looked me up and down as if assessing whether I was all right.

He stood a little straighter. "Okay," he finally said.

I smiled slightly. "Thank you." I paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to phrase this.

"Uh, will you just tell him that I'm sorry? Tell him I'm really sorry about last night, and I wish that I could take the entire night back. I just want things to go back to normal."

His frown intensified. I could tell that he wanted me to explain, but thankfully he let it go.

Kyle wasn't one to ask questions.

"And you're sure that you don't want to tell him this yourself?" he asked, head cocked.

I nodded. "Yes, I think I would rather have it come from you if that's okay."

He studied my face. "Okay. I will be sure to tell him."

"Thank you, Kyle. I don't mean to make you the mediator. I really appreciate this."

Kyle nodded. "Of course. It's no problem at all."

"Okay, I guess I'll stop taking up your time and let you get back to your meeting." I tried to give him a sincere smile.

"Yeah, okay," Kyle said. He looked like he didn't want to go, but eventually, he stepped away from me and began to walk in the direction of Grayson's office.

Before he got too far though, I heard him call, "Luna?"

I turned around and gave him a questioning look.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kyle asked.

I sighed and tried to put a convincing smile on my face. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

Kyle nodded slowly, looking unconvinced. "Whatever is going on between you two will get better. I promise," Kyle said. "You were made for each other, and nothing can change that."

I hope so. I nodded. "Thanks, Kyle," I said. Then I turned and walked away.

Harsh Reality

BELLE

I succeeded in avoiding Grayson's room until late into the night. I was hoping that I could sneak in while he was sleeping and use the couch across from his bed. I didn't want to sleep in the same bed as Grayson until we talked. But I also didn't know where else I would sleep if it wasn't in Grayson's room.

I could feel the anxiety building up inside me as I approached his door, hoping that he wouldn't be angry at me anymore. I opened the door and peeked in to see if he was asleep, then frowned when I saw an empty bed. Maybe he was still working?

But right as I stepped in, I was immediately slammed against the door, my head banging painfully against it. I yelled out in pain and shock.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, huh?" Grayson yelled at me.

I whimpered at the harsh grip he had on my arms. "W-what do you mean?"

Grayson growled loudly, "What happens between you and me stays between you and me, got it? You don't go blabbering to the first person you see just because your precious feelings get hurt."

My anger flared. "Get off of me!" I shouted. I pushed against his chest with all my strength, furious that he would even think about putting his hands on me in this way.

I heard a loud slap, and the most intense pain I had ever felt in my life spread across my cheek. I screamed and grabbed my face as shock raced through my system.

He... he just hit me!

I didn't have time to process what had just happened because before I knew it, Grayson had his hands on my shoulders, pushing me back against the wall.

"You'd better listen to me when I'm talking to you." Grayson said, spitting his words into my face. I whimpered in response, completely terrified. " What exactly did you tell him?"

"Do you mean Kyle?" I sobbed. "I swear I didn't tell him anything! I just told him to "Yeah, That's all you better have told him." His hand came up and gripped my jaw tightly. I winced. I knew I'd have a bruise there tomorrow to add to my new swollen black eye.

"Listen here, little mate. You tell a single soul about anything that goes on in this room, and I swear you will find out just how angry an alpha male can be. Understand?" His grip tightened on my jaw. "I said, do you understand?"

I nodded, "Yes! Yes, I understand!"

"Good," he grunted.

He dropped his hold on me, and I immediately dropped to the floor, holding my face. The tears were streaming again, and I desperately wished for them to stop, remembering how Grayson had reacted the last time he'd seen me crying.

Suddenly, something soft hit my face. I looked down. He had thrown my pajamas at me.

"I want you sleeping somewhere else tonight. I slept better last night without you in the bed." He paused for a second.

"That is... Unless you want to crawl up onto this bed and show your mate just how sorry you really are?"

He raised an eyebrow at me and then slowly looked my body up and down. He licked his lips.

Never had I thought that Grayson's eyes on my body would make me feel this disgusting and used. I didn't even know how to respond.

So instead of saying anything, I just brought my legs up to my chest and shrank in on myself, hoping that would give his eyes less of my body to roam.

A hissing noise left Grayson's mouth, followed by a bitter laugh. "Fine. Room 101 is free on the bottom floor. Use that one and get the fuck out of my sight."

I let out a silent sob. I knew then and there that I was losing him. He didn't want me anymore. I'd only met this man a few weeks ago, and he'd already become my entire life. And now I was losing him.

Grayson began to walk away from me, leaving me sobbing on the floor by the door.

"What did I do wrong?" I whispered through my tears. "What did I do?"

Grayson groaned and ran a hand down his face in frustration. He turned to look at me.

"don't have time to deal with you right now. Just stay the fuck out of my way and don't cause any more problems. didn't sign up for this shit," he said, gesturing to my hunched form.

My heart sank deep in my chest, and I sucked in a breath.

I paused for a second, not sure if I should ask this question. But then I knew that I didn't really have another option.

"Grayson" —I took a breath-"do you not want me anymore?"

His eyes narrowed, and he slowly approached me, moving like a lion that was about to catch its prey. "Look here, mate," he spat. Не lifted his pointer finger, and I watched in fascination and horror as a sharp claw emerged from the tip.

He brought it close to my face. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret: the only reason alphas want their mates is for the power they give them."

His sharp nail traced my chin and then trailed up my swollen cheek. I whimpered, surprised that even such a light touch could cause me so much pain.

I knew that the bruise and swelling would be hard to cover up tomorrow. I hadn't realized that I was bleeding before, but when Grayson took his hand away from my face, there was blood on the tip of his nail.

I watched in horror as he brought his claw up to his mouth and sucked it clean. He smirked at me. "You are here to bring me pleasure and power, that's all."

It felt as if he'd opened up my chest, grabbed my heart, and crushed it in his palm.

I squared my shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes. "Then I'm going to leave. And you can't stop me."

Tearful Apology

BELLE

Without warning, an ear-shattering growl left Grayson's mouth. He clutched his chest and his entire body shook as he bent down and began breathing heavily.

He seemed to be in extreme pain. Having no clue what to do, I just watched.

Grayson shook his head violently and clutched his hair. He screamed "No!" loudly and fell to his knees.

This went on for a few minutes, and while it did I tried to come up with a plan for getting away from the crazy monster in front of me.

Had I caused this by saying I was going to leave? The last time he'd shifted in front of me, it hadn't seemed nearly this painful.

What the hell is happening?

Suddenly, Grayson stilled as he looked down, still clutching his head. And then his eyes snapped to my wide, frightened ones. They were pitch black. "Mate," he said.

I scooted backward as far as I could as I looked at him through teary eyes. I brought my knees up and hugged them close to my chest.

Looking determined, he stood slowly and began to approach me. I whimpered when he finally came to stand directly

over me.

I wasn't sure what to say as he stared down at me. His eyes searched my face, and a growling sound left his mouth.

Then he reached a hand up, seemingly preparing to hit me again.

I immediately brought my arm up in defense and moved away from the imminent blow.

"I'm sorry!" I yelled. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said anything! I'm sorry! I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry..." I sobbed.

But the blow never came-nothing did.

I sobbed for a few moments, not even trying to keep my composure. I felt completely broken.

"Mate," I heard Grayson say in a gentle tone that surprised me. I shook my head, not wanting to meet his gaze or for him to see my pathetic state. "Mate," he said again with more force.

Ilooked up at him slowly and was shocked by what I saw. He had tears in his eyes as well, running soundlessly down his cheeks.

I'd never thought I would ever see Grayson cry. And as much as he frightened me right now, I still hated to see him cry.

He reached down again, and, this time, I didn't flinch.

I watched in fascination as he placed his hand gently on my knee that was still pulled up to my chest. "Sorry, mate," he said with real sorrow lacing his voice.

I realized then as I studied his pitch-black eyes that I wasn't talking to Grayson. No, I was talking to his wolf. His wolf had somehow taken control of his body and was communicating with me.

I wasn't sure if his wolf felt any differently toward me than Grayson did, but I found myself hoping that maybe a part

of Grayson still wanted me. "Do you still want me?" I asked him quietly.

Sadness shone in his eyes, and his shoulders slumped. Slowly, very slowly-almost as if he was afraid to scare me again— he brought his hand up to cup the uninjured side of my face.

He gently wiped away my tears.

"My mate. Mine," he said. He brought his forehead down and connected it with mine. "My mate," he repeated.

That told me all I needed to hear. Grayson might not have wanted me for anything other than sex and power, but his wolf still wanted me for me.

I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him close to me.I desperately neded to be comforted and told that everything was going to be okay.

He returned the hug with full force, wrapping his arms around my middle and then securing my legs around him so that he could pick me up.

He hummed deeply, his body vibrating against mine.

Burying his face deep into my neck, he nipped softly at my bite mark, and my body shuddered.

He continued to hold me for a few minutes as I sobbed and released all of the emotions that I'd been holding in for the last couple of days. After a little while he started to move, and I clutched onto him harder, not wanting him to let go or for his human side to take over once again.

I held on to him so tightly, I forgot about my injured cheek and cried out as it connected with the side of his neck.

Grayson growled when he heard my cry-so loudly I could feel it. It was enough to freak me out and make me loosen my hold on his neck.

He immediately walked us over to his bed and set me down gently, moving back a bit so he could inspect my injured face. I wondered if I looked as broken as I felt.

After a moment, he growled softly, then walked silently into the bathroom. When he came back out, he was holding a wet washcloth.

As Grayson brought the cloth up to my face to clean my wound, I grabbed his wrist gently before he made contact and said, "Be gentle, please. I think my cheekbone may be broken."

This made Grayson's entire body shake, and I could tell he was trying hard to rein in his emotions. He nodded once, then slowly raised the cloth to my cheek once more. I winced when it connected, and Grayson whimpered.

"Sorry, mate. Sorry, mate. Sorry, mate," he said over and over again as he cleaned my wound. I could tell that this was hard for him and that his apologies were sorrowful and genuine.

Once he seemed satisfied with his caretaking, he sat down next to me and pulled me into his lap, wrapping his arms securely around me.

Finally, I built up the courage to ask what was on my mind: "What did I do wrong? What did I do to make him hate me so much?"

Grayson whimpered softly and tugged on my waist to bring me closer to him. "I" —he paused-"I, errr..."

He shook his head, and I could tell that he was struggling to express himself. He was a wolf, after all. He probably had very little experience speaking.

He growled loudly in frustration and tried again: "I... No. Mate."

I frowned. There was no way that he was going to be able to explain anything. He could barely get a few words out.

I sighed sadly. "It's okay," I said, not liking to see him struggle.

"Will you just tell him that I'm sorry? Tell him that I'm so sorry for what I did and that I hope he can forgive me. I don't want him to be mad at me anymore. I want things to go back to how they were before."

Grayson shook his head violently. "No, mate. No."

"What do you mean 'no?' You won't tell him?"

He shook his head again. "No." He put a hand on his chest. "Sorry," he said. He patted his chest again. "Sorry."

"I-I don't understand," I said. "What do you mean? What are you sorry for? It's Grayson who should be sorry."

But suddenly Grayson's wolf growled loudly and clutched his head as his body began to shake again. He snapped upright onto his feet, and I fell off his lap and hit the floor. I groaned in pain.

"Stupid fucking wolf!" Grayson yelled as he grabbed at his hair. Then he bent down and roughly yanked me up by the arm so that I was standing. "Whatever he did or said to you had nothing to do with me."

My shoulders slumped and I nodded my head to show my understanding.

He grabbed my chin and pulled my face close enough to his that I could feel his breath. "You're not going anywhere I don't tell you to, you hear me? You're my mate." He shoved me away. "Sleep somewhere else."

I straightened up, trying to keep my dignity as I reached for the handle of the door behind me.

"And Belle?" Grayson said.

I turned to look at him. "Sleep there tomorrow too."

I nodded and left through the door, closing it behind me.

Grayson was right about one thing: I wasn't going anywhere.

As long as his wolf wanted me, I would be here. I knew now that something was wrong.

And I was going to figure it out.

Interrupted Intimacies

GRAYSON

THE NIGHT OF THE VAMPIRE ATTACK...

Leaving Belle naked and disappointed in my bed was the hardest thing that I had ever done in my life. My wolf was beyond pissed. He wouldn't stop growling in my head, sending me mental images of Belle's beautiful, sad face as she lay nearly naked in a sheet, watching us leave.

I growled loudly. She deserves better than this.

I made my way to the edge of my territory, frowning when I saw Kyle and some of my pack warriors standing around doing nothing.

"What the fuck is going on?" I snapped as I approached them. They all turned and immediately fell to their knees and bared their necks to me.

"Kyle," I said. "Come here."

Kyle stood and approached me slowly, obviously sensing my touchy mood.

"I thought you said this was an emergency," I said when he was in front of me. "What's going on here? You said there were vampires on the territory."

Kyle opened his mouth to speak but then paused. He slowly raised his nose to the air and sniffed.

"Whoa!" he said as a knowing smile formed on his lips and he covered his nose. "Interrupted something, didn't I?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and growled. I didn't have time for his games right now—not when my mate was alone in my bed during her first night here.

"What the hell are you talking about, Kyle?"

Kyle chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "I hate to tell you this, Alpha, but you're giving off some serious alpha-male mating pheromones right now." He wiggled his eyebrows. "You and Luna were having a little fun, huh?"

My wolf surged forward in my mind, immediately bristling with anger. He tried to take control, wanting to remind Kyle of his place and who Belle was to him.

"Kyle," I growled as I tried to rein in my wolf. "I suggest you change the subject to why you mind-linked me here.

"Otherwise I think you might just find out how angry an alpha male who's giving off mating pheromones but was just taken away from his mate for seemingly no reason can be."

Kyle swallowed hard.

"Yes, Alpha," he said quickly, nodding his head. "Uh, Beta Adalee is scanning the territory to see how many vampires are out there. We don't think they're aware that we know about them yet."

I nodded. I was the fastest in the pack, but Adalee was fast and quiet, making her the best for scouting out sticky situations.

"How long ago did she leave?" I asked.

"I'm right here," someone called from behind us.

Kyle and I both turned to see Adalee coming out of the woods nearby. She approached us with a serious look on her face. "There are ten vampires scattered across the territory."

I growled. What the fuck were vampires doing in my territory?

No creatures-not even werewolf rogues-had been foolish enough to break into my pack in years. My pack had too many members for anybody to get through unseen and uninjured.

These vampires were about to learn that. "What are they doing?" I asked.

Adalee shrugged. "I don't know. They're just standing around."

"You mean they're not doing anything? Do they have any weapons?" Kyle asked.

Adalee shook her head. "No. No weapons... Nothing. They're seriously just standing there like a bunch of robots."

"Something is off," Kyle said.

"I don't like this."

"Me neither," I said. "No weapons will make our lives easier, but I don't want anybody letting their guard down.

Something is definitely wrong."

I looked around at my warriors-around thirty of them, standing proud and strong, all awaiting my orders.

"Hopefully, this will go over with no problems." I looked at Kyle. "You know what to do."

Kyle nodded and bowed his head slightly. "Yes, Alpha."

He walked over to the warriors and began giving them orders. I had been through enough battles with Kyle to know that I didn't even need to tell him what to do.

Kyle was a natural leader. He knew how to give orders but still be personal with my warriors.

There was no one I trusted more in my pack, which was why I'd made him the leader of the pack warriors. I watched as they listened to Kyle intently and then shifted into their wolves, preparing to put all of their training to good use.

I was about to shift and join them and lead the fight when I made eye contact with Adalee. She had an amused look on her face, with her eyebrows raised and her hand covering her nose.

I rolled my eyes and growled softly. "I don't want to hear it," I said, knowing she was referring to my smell. "Kyle already told me. Just breathe through your mouth."

Adalee nodded and laughed. "You got it, Alpha," she said. Then she turned to me fully and her eyes went a shade

darker with the presence of her wolf.

"You know, I'm really, really glad that you've met your mate, Alpha." A strange look passed over her face as her lips formed into a smirk. "It's going to make things a whole lot easier around here."

I raised an eyebrow at her. Odd thing to say. "Right..," I said. "I'm glad too."

She smiled wider and nodded. "Better get going. The warriors are going to need their big strong alpha to help lead them."

She winked at me and then, without warning or waiting, shifted into her wolf and ran into the woods without us.

Odd thing to do, I thought dismissively.

***

We were prepared for an intense battle with the vampires. In fact, my warriors-who'd been training for years without being able to use their skills- even seemed excited for a fight.

But we didn't get one.

The vampires allowed us to chase them off the territory without any resistance. Like some sort of game. We chased them for a while, then they slowed down and let us get really close to catching them before speeding up again.

Zigzagging and changing directions, they had us running in circles like we were playing tag.

We continued like this for longer than I'd like to admit, vampires being naturally faster than werewolves. We could keep up with them, but it would've taken the fastest in the pack to catch one.

And usually that wasn't necessary, as vampires liked getting right to the juicy part and attacking- battling it out until there was a winner.

What was happening now was strange. Vampires weren't known for being cowards. They didn't just run away from a fight. What they were doing made no sense at all. And it was pissing me off.

I wanted to get back to Belle. I had told her I'd be back before she fell asleep. All I wanted to do was hold her and watch her cute little face relax as her breathing evened out.

She always did this thing where she would nuzzle into my chest and let out a contented sigh right before she fell asleep. I'd hold her tighter and smile every time.

It was my favorite part of the night. I loved her with everything I had in me. God, I wish I was with her right now.

Thankfully, the vampires eventually seemed to get tired, fleeing the territory all at once as if having decided telepathically that they'd had enough.

Kyle and I stopped next to each other and shifted. We put on the shorts that were tied to our ankles by elastic bands.

We looked at each other in confusion.

"What the actual fuck?" Kyle asked, saying exactly what was on my mind.

I shook my head. "I have no idea. Are they all gone?"

Kyle paused and his eyes went gray as he mind-linked with the other warriors who were likely scattered across the rest of the territory. I tuned in, listening to what the other warriors had experienced.

Kyle nodded when his eyes opened a few seconds later. "The same thing happened to all of them. They've all been driven off our territory."

"We're not going to let our guard down," I said. "I want wolves posted around every section of our territory, all night.

There's something more going on. It cannot have been that simple."

"I agree," Kyle replied.

I looked back toward the pack house longingly, desperately wishing that I was with Belle. I knew now that I wouldn't be able to spend the night with her. I needed to stay out here and keep my pack safe.

"Why don't you go ahead and go back to the pack house, Alpha?" Kyle said, watching me. "I can take care of this. It's what I was trained for."

I shook my head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

I sighed as I imagined Belle waiting up for me, wondering where I was, worrying about me, alone on her first night here. She was probably wet from just getting out of the shower, her chocolate-brown hair splayed out all over my pillow.

I imagined her wearing only my shirt and my boxers, with-oh God—her beautiful long legs out on display. I knew that the minute I joined her in bed, one of those beautiful legs would be thrown over my waist like always as she snuggled into my chest.

I would pull her closer so that she was basically on top of me, then begin to run my hand up and down her back and play with her gorgeous, silky hair.

I could already feel the sparks dancing along my skin. God, I miss her.

"Okay," Kyle said, clearing his throat loudly.

"I'm about to suffocate from your mating pheromones. Go back to your mate, Alpha. I promise you that I am more than capable of handling a few vampires who aren't even in our territory anymore."

I looked at Kyle, then back at the pack house, then back at Kyle once again.

"You're sure you can handle it?" I asked.

"Positive," he confirmed.

I sighed heavily. "Okay," I ran a hand through my hair and began to walk back to the pack house. "Try not to bug me for the rest of the night," I joked. "And I mean, if you do, I want multiple people on fire."

Kyle laughed. "You got it, Alpha. Say hi to Luna for me."

And then he ran off into the night.

Betrayal

GRAYSON

My only thoughts were of Belle and of getting back to her as soon as possible.

"Hello, Grayson," someone said in the darkness.

For a second I thought it was Belle saying my name, as she was the only person allowed to call me that. But this voice didn't give me the sparks that hers usually did. It couldn't be her.

I turned quickly, only to see Adalee emerging slowly from the darkness, an odd smile on her face.

I raised an eyebrow. "What did you just call me?" My wolf came to the surface, growling at the disrespect we'd just received from her.

Her smile only grew. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against a nearby tree. "Did I ever tell you where I grew up, Grayson?"

So Adalee has a death wish? I crossed my arms and tilted my head.

Okay, I'll play along. "No, Adalee, I don't think you did," I said grimly.

"You know, it's kind of a coincidence actually," Adalee said, laughing slightly as she stepped away from the tree and approached me. "I grew up in Paris-right around the area that you just came from."

I actually hadn't known that, which was strange. I'd thought I knew everything about her when I asked her to become my beta. "You told me you were from Toronto," I said.

"Tsk-tsk, Alpha. You really need to get to know your pack members better," she said, coming to stand right in front of me.

"I moved to Toronto with my mom when I was eighteen. Le reste de ma vie j'ai passé à Paris avec mon père."

The rest of my life I spent in Paris with my father, ~I thought quickly.

So she speaks French. I was starting to think I didn't know my beta half as well as I thought I did.

"You're right. I didn't know that," I said, "because you didn't tell me." I stepped closer to her. "Why?"

She laughed softly. "Just you wait. I'm getting to that part."

She looked me up and down slowly, as if she was sizing me up. "I actually think you met my dad while you were in Paris. He's the beta of the pack there."

My brows knit together. "That's not possible. I barely left the hotel while I was in Paris. I was too busy taking care of your luna."

"Carl Aude," Adalee said. "My father's name is Carl Aude. Ring a bell?"

I sucked in a quick breath. That was the name of Belle's stepfather-the werewolf I had nearly killed.

"You're telling me that your father, Carl, is the beta of one of the biggest packs in the world?"

"Was," Adalee spat out bitterly. "He was the beta of one of the biggest packs in the world. But he's not anymore. He had one encounter with you and your bitch mate—"

A growl ripped from my throat and I lunged for Adalee without a second thought, fully intending to remind her of her place. No one got to speak about my mate- their luna-like that. I was about to grab her throat and slam her into the tree behind her when she held up a hand and said, "Stop."

Suddenly I was jerked backward and my feet stopped moving as if they'd been glued to the ground. A painful fire tingled up and down my legs.

"What the fuck?" I yelled. I looked at Adalee, who was just watching me with a smile on her face. "What the fuck did you do to me?"

"Quiet," Adalee said, and my mouth immediately slammed shut as if someone else was controlling it.

How the fuck is she doing this?

"Jeez, you really have anger issues. You need to work on those."

My wolf clawed at my mind, trying to get free, but it was no use. There was something holding me back from shifting, keeping me in my human form. My wolf growled in frustration.

Adalee cleared her throat. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, my father had one encounter with you and...well"-she paused and chuckled menacingly-"my darling stepsister..."

Belle... ~I thought frantically.

"And the next thing you know, he was magically stripped of his position as beta and found beaten to a pulp in an alley." Her expression darkened deeply, all humor leaving her voice as she spoke her next words: "And now he's dead."

I sucked in a breath. Carl was dead? That couldn't be possible! I had sent some men to teach him a lesson, but I'd never ordered them to kill him. Belle had begged me to spare his life, and I had planned to keep my promise.

Another thought hit me: What about Belle's mother?

"Didn't know that, huh?" Adalee said bitterly. "You sent your stupid little minions to beat him nearly to death and then didn't bother to check up on him afterward. You just left him to die; you didn't even care. And all for what? Because he hit your precious little mate? He died-was killed for one simple mistake."

She shook her head. I could see tears forming in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.

"And to think that I actually liked you," she continued quietly. "I respected you. I trusted you as my alpha and wanted to work under you. It's why I chose to be your beta. But you no longer deserve my respect. I never thought you were capable of doing what you did. You're going to pay for it now," she said, her tirade ending abruptly.

She circled me slowly. I was still defenseless, unable to move or open my mouth to speak. And it was pissing me off.

She came to stand in front of me once more and grimaced when she looked at my face.

"There's another thing you don't know about me, Alpha."

I raised my eyebrows at her questioningly. My wolf growled.

"Do you remember the day you appointed me as your beta?" she asked.

I thought about it. I should have remembered it. It was a very important decision-one that I hadn't made lightly. But the harder I tried to remember that day, the more it seemed to slip from my memory. I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out. I was still unable to talk.

Adalee sighed. "You may speak now. Just don't interrupt me, and promise to listen quietly."

My jaw slackened painfully.

"I don't know how you're fucking doing this, Adalee, but let me move my feet right now before I mind-link all of my pack warriors. You're skating on extremely thin ice."

She rolled her eyes. "Add terrible listener to the list of things wrong with you-along with ~murderer~ and ~egotistical asshole~," she snapped.

I growled loudly.

"You can try mind-linking someone but no one will hear you. Go ahead and try," she quipped.

It seemed like I had no option if I wanted to get out of this situation.I reached into my mind and attempted to connet to Kyle, asking him to help. I tried again. And again. And again. i didn't get a single answer.

I looked at Adalee. She stood there smirking at me.

"See? I'm right," she said smugly. "Now, let's get back to my question: do you remember the day you appointed me as your beta?"

I swallowed a vicious reply, instead opting to say, "No. I don't remember that day." I ground my teeth together. "Why can't I remember that day, Adalee?"

Her smile only grew. "Oh, you're about to find out just how little you really know about your beta." She began circling me again. "See, I come from a very powerful line of"-she paused when she came to stand right behind me, and I could feel her breath on my ear-"vampires."

I almost rolled my eyes. I didn't know what she was up to, but I knew she was lying.

"I know you're not a vampire. I've seen your wolf. I can smell your werewolf genes," I said.

She stepped in front of me so that we were facing each other. "You think you know everything, don't you, Grayson?"

"I'm only one-fourth vampire. The rest of me is all werewolf. You see, my father was half vampire. His mom was a werewolf and his dad was a vampire. And my mom was a werewolf. And they had me. Is this making sense now?"

I stared at her in shock. None of this was making any sense. "You're telling me you're a quarter vampire?" I asked.

I clenched my jaw and pushed myself as hard as I could, trying to move my legs forward, but nothing budged.

"Try all you want to move; it's not going to work—at least not until I tell you you can," she said, watching me struggle, looking pleased. "Yes, only a quarter of me is a vampire, meaning that my werewolf genes have almost completely taken over. I don't drink blood; I don't have a sensitivity to light; I don't live with other vampires.

"The one thing I got from my father was these pretty pearly whites." She pulled her top lip up and showed off her sharp white fangs that I'd never noticed before.

"Well, that, and a very special ability that only ~my~ family has." She smiled and looked down at my legs. "And I think you might already know what the ability is."

She stepped closer to me so that our noses were almost touching. I growled.

"With just my voice, I can make you do whatever I want," she said menacingly.

That's not possible, ~I thought. The only vampire family that had the ability to control people with their voices were the Mortars.

The royal vampire family.

Pain and Power

GRAYSON

"You're a Mortar?" I said.

Adalee smiled brightly and took a step back. "Congrats, Alpha," she said. Then the smile suddenly fell from her face.

"You're not as stupid as you look."

That was the final straw. No pack member of mine would speak to me like that—vampire or not. I was her alpha!

I lurched the top half of my body forward, planning on latching my jaw onto her neck and not releasing it until she begged for mercy. But right as I moved-before I could even touch her—she stopped me with a single word:

"Pain."

My body immediately fell to the forest floor as an anguishing pain shot through it. I yelled out, clutching at my chest and head, trying to find any sort of relief. It felt as if each bone in my body was breaking while thousands of knives were stabbing into me.

I was sure I was going to die. This was what it had to feel like.

"Stop," Adalee's voice said.

The pain suddenly stopped. I gasped and groaned as air finally entered my lungs.

Adalee crouched down next to me and smoothed my hair away from my face. I was too weak to move or stop her. My wolf was pacing and whimpering in my mind. He now truly understood the severity of this situation. He was worried for our pack and mate.

"I'm not a bad person, Grayson," Adalee said calmly as she studied my face. "The only time I ever used my ability on you was to be appointed as beta. i wanted to be accepted into your pack in a place of power, but I didn't want to spend months kissing up to you.

"I knew I deserved it and would do a good job, so I used my power to convince you of it as well. That's why you don't remember the day," she laughed bitterly.

A strained gurgle emitted from my throat, interupting her.

"I never planned on using my power on you again after that. In fact, I never planned on using it ever again. I didn't like having that control over people. It felt wrong. No one should get to play God." She paused. "But that all changed when you murdered my father."

I tried sitting up, fighting against the extreme exhaustion that had suddenly replaced the pain. "I never meant to kill your father, Adalee," I groaned. "He wasn't supposed to die."

"Lie back down. Don't move," she snapped. My body immediately followed her orders. "I don't care about what you meant to happen. What matters is what did happen." She growled then, her wolf coming to the surface. "You should've seen what your men did to him. He wasn't even recognizable when we buried him," she said.

"I'm sorry, Adalee," I whispered. "I'm truly sorry."

"It doesn't matter now. The damage is done." She stood. "And you're going to pay."

She whistled as if she was signaling something, then looked back at me. "My father and grandfather had a falling out a few years back and hadn't spoken since then. I never had the opportunity to meet my grandfather because of that.

"See, he's not the nicest man. A little power-hungry. Some might even call him corrupt. It's why the throne was taken away from him."

I felt the blood drain from my face at her words. She couldn't be talking about who I thought she was...

"But I disagree," she continued. "Especially not after I had the chance to meet him at my father's funeral. We got along very well. We felt the same way about some very important topics."

She grabbed my chin tightly, her nails digging into my skin, and turned my head so that I was looking right at her.

"For instance, we both agreed that you should no longer lead this pack. And if that means vampires taking control and the merging of our two kinds, then" —she shrugged—"so be it."

The sound of rustling leaves and breaking twigs came from behind us.

Adalee lifted her head. "Ah, right on time." She looked back at me. "Grayson, I would like you to meet my grandfather."

A figure emerged from the trees, tall and dark, wearing all black.

He had long black hair and blood-red eyes. His sharp fangs were peeking out from beneath his top lip that was pulled into a sinister smirk.

It was Azazel Mortar, the former vampire king.

He approached the two of us slowly, lookingna me with a pleased expresion on hisi face. I growle loudly, baring my teeth at him and trying desperately to move my body.

But it was no use. Adalee had me paralyzed on the ground.

"Well done, Adalee," he said. "I have to say, I almost didn't think you had it in you. I am very happy that I was wrong."

Adalee smiled in return and took a step back.

"Stand," Azazel said to me.

My body moved of its own accord, bringing me to my feet but, other than that, remaining completely frozen. Azazel looked me up and down, and I couldn't do anything other than watch as his smile grew.

"My God, you are huge. I can see why you are alpha of the strongest pack in America," he said.

This was strange coming from him, as he was almost as large as me—though leaner, less brawn.

"It will be extremely interesting to take over your body and test your strength," he said.

"What the fuck did you just say?" I asked.

My wolf was as close to the surface as he could be without us shifting, releasing loud, vicious growls nonstop. They were so loud, they echoed into the night.

"Quiet!" Azazel said.

My jaw smapped shut in an instan, the same way that it had when Adalee had told me to be quit earlier. The growling in my chest stopped, too, as my wolf was also silenced. My wolf wimpered in my head.

"I don't have time to deal with your delinquent wolf right now," Azazel said. "I'm sure I will get enough of that in the near future." He continued to look at me, circling me slowly. "Adalee, didn't you say that he wasn't fully mated yet?"

"Yes," Adalee said. "He hasn't mated with his luna yet."

At the mention of Belle, my wolf began to pound at the inside of my mind, trying to get free.

And with every pound, my body shook. Azazel watched me intently, obviously knowing what was going on.

"If this is how powerful he is when he isn't even fully mature, I can only imagine how powerful he will be when he's fully mated," he said.

My body continued to shake.

"It'll be fun to get to that full power. Especially if that girl I saw you entering with earlier is your mate."

That was it. I was going to rip this man's head clean off his body—after I was finished torturing him until he begged for mercy.

He wasn't going to touch Belle.

He wasn't even going to get close.

Azazel chuckled. "Enough messing around. I have a throne to win back. And your little pack is going to help me get it."

In an instant, he was directly in front of me, moving more quickly than I had thought possible- even for a vampire.

Then suddenly his fangs were deep in my throat, and I was groaning in pain. His original commands over my body seemed to fall away, and I collapsed further to the ground as his venom coursed through my veins.

I felt my consciousness begin to drift away, only to be replaced by something else. Something dark and evil was slowly taking control over my mind and body.

I could no longer move. I could barely even think.

I fought it for as long as I could, but eventually, my body got tired of fighting and everything went black.

"This is going to be fun," Azazel said from inside my mind.

-----------------------------------------

Due to the size, the book will continue on another page:

Kidnapped by My Mate - part 4

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Kidnapped by My Mate - part 3

Second part here: Kidnapped by My Mate

Possession Midnight Confessions

Plans Foiled Awakening the Beast Within

Confessions in Bare Skin

Change of Heart

Becoming Luna

Scent of Possession

Cold Awakening

Sinister Shift

Alienation

Harsh Reality

Tearful Apology

Interrupted Intimacies

Betrayal

Pain and Power

Possession

Midnight Confessions

Plans Foiled

Awakening the Beast Within

Confessions in Bare Skin

Change of Heart

Becoming Luna

Scent of Possession

Cold Awakening

Sinister Shift

Alienation

Harsh Reality

Tearful Apology

Interrupted Intimacies

Betrayal

Pain and Power

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