Grace

Great. Now I’ve done it. I blew my cover and now everyone knows what I’m capable of. Now they will all walk around terrified of me.

“Grace?” The sound of Owen’s voice pulled me out of my melancholy thoughts. “Can you please explain exactly what the fuck that was?” He looked at me with surprise and… awe. Like he was impressed by me. Huh. I am kind of a bad ass. Maybe he thinks it’s sexy.

“I have the power to slow down and speed up matter. When I slow it down, things freeze. When I speed it up… Kaboom.” I made a motion with my hands of a bomb exploding. Owen looked at me thoughtfully when another wolf, Alex I think, walked by us and said, “That was freaking awesome Grace!” Then Liam chimed in, “Yeah, it was. I had no idea you were so powerful.”

“Neither did I.” said Owen.

“You’re probably more powerful than Owen. Maybe you should be our Alpha!” Alex laughed.

“Or Luna…” Liam said, giving a pointed look at Owen. Owen gave him a harsh look in return like his brother had said something he wasn’t supposed to.

“What’s a Luna?” I inquired of Owen. He sighed, like he wasn’t ready to talk about it.

“A Luna is the highest-ranking female of a pack. Usually she is mated to the Alpha, but not always. If an Alpha has lost his mate, he can choose another female to help him lead the pack. It is a position that comes with a lot of power and responsibility.” My eyes narrowed and I felt anger rising in my chest.

“And were you going to tell me about this at any point? Maybe before I made the decision about completing our mate bond? Or were you just going to spring it on me once you knew I was locked in? God, Owen. I get why you kept the mate thing from me, but I’m in this now. I just killed a fucking vampire to protect your pack. The least you can do is be honest with me.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure how or when to tell you, but I would have done it before completing the mate bond I promise. I just didn’t… want to scare you away.” He looked at the ground with a sad look in his eyes. I wanted to forgive him, I did. But this seemed like such a big thing to not mention before I came here.

“It’s been a long day and I’m tired. Liam, could you show me where I’ll be sleeping tonight?” Liam looked at me surprised.

“Um, yeah, sure. Follow me.” Owen stepped up to me quickly.

“I can show you.” I stepped around him, not allowing him to touch me. I knew the sparks would make my resolve falter and I wasn’t ready to let this go yet.

“I just need a little space from you right now. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I walked away without another look back at him. I followed Liam down a dirt sidewalk for a few minutes in silence. We twisted through the streets, me completely caught up in my thoughts before he finally spoke.

“I’m sorry about bringing up the Luna thing like that.” I gave him a halfhearted smile.

“It’s not your fault. He should have told me before.” I reached out to touch his arm to assure him I wasn’t upset with him.

“Yeah, but I get where he’s coming from. He’s always wanted a mate and he waited a really long time to find you. He doesn’t want to screw this up.” I looked over at him, I could see sincerity written all over his face.

“Do you think he’s disappointed? In me, as his mate? Do you think he would have rather had a powerful she-wolf?” He grinned a little and his eyes lit up.

“After what you just did to that vamp? I don’t think any wolf would be disappointed to have you as a mate. Especially not an Alpha whose main responsibility is to protect an entire pack.” I gave Liam a true smile this time and wrapped my arm through his as we continued walking the path.

“Thanks. That means a lot to me.” We came up to a two-story house that looked similar to a southern plantation house. White with black shutters, a wraparound porch and two large columns in the front. It wasn’t a mansion, but much bigger than I expected.

“This is our packhouse” Liam explained. “There are two wings, one side for the beta and his family and the larger side for the Alpha. You’ll be staying on Owen’s side obviously. There’s also a library, sunroom, theater room, living room, dining room and kitchen.” We walked in through the foyer. I could see a dining room to one side and a living room on the other with a large spiral staircase in the middle. The house was decorated in shades of blues and greys with sparse decorations. Such a bachelor pad.

“Liam, have you found your mate?” He looked at me with a frown.

“No, not yet. Why?” I giggled a little.

“This house screams bachelor pad.” Liam laughed and the corners of his eyes crinkled.

“You’re not wrong about that. Here, your room is up here. Owen had us fix it up for you.” I walked into a beautiful room decorated in soothing shades of cream and browns. There was a large four poster bed and a bouquet of fresh pink lilies on the dresser. The attached bathroom was large and had a giant jetted tub. “Owen mentioned how much you love baths so he thought this room would be perfect for you.”

“He was right. Thank you, Liam.” He turned to leave and closed the door quietly behind him. I showered and got ready for bed. The bed was extremely comfortable, but I tossed and turned for what felt like hours. I had already gotten used to sleeping next to Owen. I drifted off for what only felt like five minutes when I heard a light knocking at the door. I wrapped myself in a blanket and cracked the door open. Owen stood there in front of me in all his glory. Wearing nothing but low hung pajama pants he was leaning against the door frame on his forearm while his other arm was at his side. I wanna lick his abs. Oh wait, I’m mad at him.

“Hey pretty girl. It’s tomorrow.” He gave me a mischievous smile.

“What?” I asked groggily.

“You said you would see me tomorrow. It’s tomorrow.” He pointed behind me at the clock on the bedside table that read 12:10 AM. I smiled and shook my head as I turned back to him. He nudged the door a little trying to push it open. “Can I come in?” I swung the door the rest of the way open and motioned for him to come inside. He almost had to angle himself to fit his broad shoulders through the doorway. On his way by me he grazed his arm against mine. Part of me thought he did it on purpose, knowing how much his touch affects me. He went and sat on the bed and I stood with my arms crossed a few feet away from him.

“I wanted to apologize, Grace. You were right. I should have told you about the Luna thing when I explained that I’m the Alpha. I was just nervous. I wasn’t sure how you would handle it.” I went to sit next to him on the bed and held his hand. He looked at me with his puppy dog eyes and I felt the remaining anger wash away.

“I know. Liam told me. I stopped being mad at you a while ago. I was more worried that you didn’t think I could handle the job, or you didn’t think I was good enough to be your Luna.” I looked down at our entwined hands, his so much larger than mine. He reached out with his other hand and pushed my chin up to make me look at him.

“That’s not it at all Grace. You would be an amazing Luna. But it comes with risks. If I mark you as a Luna, you would automatically be a target to our enemies. Hurting the Luna means weakening the Alpha. Before I knew how powerful you were, I wasn’t sure that was a risk I was willing to take. Your safety means everything to me, but now I can see that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself.” He smiled at me and I giggled at him.

“You’re damn right I can!” He laughed and wrapped his arms around me, bringing me close to him.

“Can I be forgiven? Please?” He nuzzled into my neck and traced light kisses up my jaw.

“Yes. You’re forgiven.” I turned my head and found his lips with mine. He pulled away and looked at me.

“Well, I’m still hoping you’ll let me show you how sorry I am.” He grinned and pushed me down on the bed.