Grace

“Because I’m very, incredibly sorry.” Owen murmured as he trailed kisses down my body.

“Mmmm… well then you’ll just have to show me over and over and over again before I’ll believe you.” I smiled down at him as he pulled my pajama pants from my body and threw them across the room.

And show me he did. He went down on me for over an hour. Bringing me orgasm after orgasm like gentle waves on the ocean shore. When I finally pulled away from him there was slick coat of sweat on my entire body and my muscles felt like I had run a marathon. I fell asleep in his arms completely at peace.

The next morning, I woke up to sounds of knocking down the hall. I heard Liam call out “Owen?” a few times. I rolled over to find him still sleeping, his arm lazily draped over my waist. I wanted to sit and look at him for a while, but Liam sounded annoyed. I leaned over to kiss him awake. He opened his eyes and gave me a groggy smile that made my heart swell.

“Liam’s looking for you.” I whispered.

“Fuck him. I’m staying right here.” He pulled me in tighter and I laughed just as another “Owen!” came from down the hallway, louder than the last time. Owen sighed, got out of bed and slipped on his pants. I admired his bare back as he walked away. He wrenched open the door and walked out in the hallway.

“What?” he snapped at Liam.

“What are you doing in there?”

“What the fuck do you think I’m doing in here Liam? What do you want? You interrupted a perfectly good morning.” I giggled when he turned back to wink at me. I pulled up the covers so Liam didn’t get an accidental glimpse at anything he wasn’t supposed to. It’s too early in the morning for Owen to murder his brother.

“We need to talk with the rest of the ranked pack members about what we’re going to do about the vampires.” Liam looked at Owen like it was obvious what he wanted. “A lot of the pack members are nervous about more attacks. They don’t want to leave their houses. We need to set up more patrols, maybe call warriors from other towns in our pack.”

“I don’t like calling more people here if it’s not absolutely necessary.” Owen looked thoughtful. “I hate disrupting their lives.” Here it is! I thought. A chance to prove my Luna-ness!

“Maybe I can help with that.” My cheeks blushed as both brothers looked at me.

“How so?” Liam asked. Owen growled at him when he caught Liam looking at me and Liam shot an annoyed look back at him.

“I can put a protective spell around the town so nothing can get in. I’ve never done one so large, but I could try it. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about vampires getting in. The pack members could come and go as they please still, it would only keep out anyone who isn’t a member of the pack.” Owen put his pointer finger to his chin like he was considering it.

“I think it’s a good idea. What about you Liam?”

“Yeah, I think it sounds great.” A bright smile flashed on my face and I nodded.

“Great. Owen can you get my witch box? I’m going to take a shower. And… close the door please.” I looked at them sheepishly.

“Witch box?” I heard Liam ask as the door closed.

An hour later I was standing outside in the town square with a small fire, a pot, my spell book and some herbs. Quite a few pack members had stopped to watch what I was doing and some of them looked concerned. Owen stood about twenty feet away from me with his arms crossed watching me intently. I muttered the incantation a few times and put my hands in the air. I lowered them slowly down to my sides and looked up at the sky. A barrier had formed, it was clear, but I could see the ripples as it lowered like a giant dome all the way out to the edge of town where the forest sat.

“I think it worked.” I called to Owen.

“How can you tell?” he asked. I waved my hand at him to take off the charm given to pack members.

“I made you an outsider temporarily. Walk to the edge there and try to get back in.” He walked just outside the barrier, turned and tried to come back. As soon as he touched the barrier, he was flung back at leave five feet and landed on his ass. The other pack members started to laugh as he stood and brushed himself off. He gave me an annoyed look as I walked up to put the charm back on him.

“You could have warned me you know.” I gave him a wicked smile and giggled.

“What fun would that be?” I leaned up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss which he returned heartily. He wrapped his arms around me and turned to the people watching.

“Spread the word, my mate has protected our town from further attacks. It is safe to leave your homes.” Owen turned to me, “You said you’ve never done that before. What gave you the idea?” I shrugged and started looking through my box.

“The last Harry Potter movie.” Owen laughed and walked up next to me.

“You and your movies.” He muttered. I took five white crystals out of my box.

“I need to spread these around the town, so they form a pentagram. They will act as an alarm. If something hits the barrier that isn’t allowed in, they emit a loud screeching sound to alert us.”

“That’s a long walk.” Owen looked at me.

“What if you shift and I ride you?” I asked. I had been dying to see Owen’s wolf. “I’ve been here for over a day and with you for weeks and I have yet to see a freaking wolf. I showed you mine, now show me yours.” I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively and Owen chuckled.

“Sure thing, love”

Before I could blink, Owen had shifted into a beautiful gray wolf with black paws. He was huge, but his eyes were still that gorgeous greenish blue. He came up to me and nudged my hand with his snout. I lifted my hand to pet his head and scratched him behind his ear. He gave me a contented sigh and kneeled on the ground so I could climb on him. I put the crystals in a bag, slung it over my shoulder and held on for dear life. He didn’t go very fast, but I still needed to hold on to him tightly. His fur was soft under my hands and I leaned onto him, enjoying the warmth and closeness. I directed him around town, trying to gauge the proper placement for the crystals to form the pentagram. I didn’t just want the town safe from intruders, I wanted to be able to catch and interrogate them. Actually, I wanted to kill them. I had never lusted for blood before but keeping this pack safe was my priority. I was questioning if that had something to do with my mate and our bond when we came up behind the pack house. Owen let me down and shifted back.

“You’re naked!” I screeched with my eyes wide as he stood outside wearing nothing.

“Well, yeah. My clothes shredded when I shifted. I could have taken them off but the surprise on your face was worth it.” He chuckled as he headed inside, presumably to put clothes on.

“I have to meet with the rest of the ranking members of the pack. I’ll be back this afternoon. Feel free to roam as you please.” He gave me a kiss on the forehead and ran out the door. I went outside and wandered around, saying hi to people. I didn’t like walking around with no purpose. I was used to helping people, to making a difference and I wasn’t sure what my place would be in this pack or how to make myself useful. I was pondering this when a black truck pulled up next to me as I was heading back to the pack house. Alex rolled down the window and he and another wolf, Jacob I think, waved at me.

“Hey, we’re going into the city to get supplies to prepare for the attack on the vampires. You need anything while we’re there?” A lightbulb went off in my head.

“Yeah, can you get me some clay pigeons?” Alex’s eyebrows shot up and he looked at me confused.

“For what?” I gave him a devilish smile and shrugged.

“Target practice.”