| KALEB

The Luna placed a plate full of saucy spaghetti in front of me as my mouth practically salvitated. My stomach released another growl but I was too focused on my food to be embarrassed. I felt Zev's amused stare on the side of my face but ignored it as I was trying to put as much spaghetti as I could on my fork.

I practically inhaled the forkful of spaghetti, making a mess but not particularly caring. Zev chuckled looking at my stuffed cheeks. I met his eyes as a red glaze flitted over my skin. "Maybe I should call you my little chipmunk now, puppy just doesn't seem accurate anymore." He joked playfully, a heart stuttering smirk pulling at the edge of his lips. My blush deepened as I swallowed.

Taking a napkin off the table, Zev made a point to clean the sauce off of my cheeks. I avoided his gaze and let him have his way. I was glad that the alpha family wasn't paying close attention to us. The Luna sat on her mate's lap all smiles and giggles as they took turns feeding each other. Darren sat at the island in the kitchen, which shared an open floor plan with the dining area, his back to us.

My attention was drawn back to Zev as the pad of his thumb swipped across my bottom lip. I swallowed thickly as my thoughts turned to our earlier activities. Since the first time that we touched each other so intimately this one had to be the most intense and I loved every second of it. I was completely caught off guard by the appearance of my slick, I guess I've never been so aroused as to where it needed to appear before.

And in the bathroom... I had to avert my eyes from Zev's at the memory, slightly embarrassed. Usually I had pretty good control over my wolf but some of that control slipped and I was overwhelmed by both mine and my wolf's desire to please our mate. I was honestly surprised that Zev allowed me to take control and have my way with him. It was nice but I still preferred having him hovering over with all the control in his hands. I knew Zev would never intentionally hurt me, it filled me with so much warmth and the feeling of safety and of being protected made my heart swell.

"Come back to me, puppy." He cooed through our mind link, his hand still secured around my chin. Our gazes met once again and he finished cleaning the mess I made. "Adorable." He thought absently probably not intending for me to hear it. I blushed as he let go and his gaze turned stern. "Slow down, I don't want you to choke yourself," he said brushing a curl out of my face. I nodded

"Yes, Zev," I responded like the obedient puppy that I was. Satisfied, Zev turned to his own plate and began eating. I did the same, sneaking glances at him frequently, although he captured my gaze almost every time.

Unfortunately our bubble of peace was destroyed when the scream was heard. My heart stopped as my blood ran cold and my stomach dropped. The fork slipped from my fingers just as the second scream sounded. My ears didn't even register the resulting clang as I flung myself from my chair and rushed toward the front door. Zev was hot on my heels along with the alpha family. I opened the door and almost wished that I hadn't. Zev pulled me into his chest as the alpha made his way to the mangled corpse that was surrounded by pack members.

"How'd this happen?!" He barked out angrily, hands curling into fists as his gaze once again landed on the former pack mate. My eyes watered, the state of the body was... The head was missing, along with the person's clothes, their genitals had been burned off and etched into their chest was a message.

Kaleb belongs to me.

I could tell the exact moment that Zev had read it. His whole body tensed as a blood chilling roar flew passed his lips. He pushed me behind him and I pressed my forehead onto his back as I clutched onto his arm for dear life. I closed my eyes trying to control my breathing and heart beat. My mind was whirling. I couldn't seem to think straight and the smell only made it harder.

Zev was murderous, practically shaking with the effort to not shift and kill every living thing within a hundred feet of me. I wanted to try and calm him down but I was honestly too shaken to do anything but try and calm myself down. I was useless.

Zev was releasing a stream of absolutely horrifying growls and snarls yet he stayed put in front of me, letting me take comfort in his presence. I could feel the fear emanating from my pack mates but what the cause was between the murderous tiger in the middle of their land or the mangled corpse of one of their pack mates, I couldn't decide. It was probably a mixture of both.

We have to calm our mate. My wolf urged me and I tightened my grip on Zev's arm even though he could easily rip free if he really wanted to. I know. I replied shakily taking a deep breath. I opened my eyes, removing my face from Zev's back. Darren tried to step close to us his eyes filled with concern and confusion, Zev all but roared at him, causing the soon to be alpha to step back raising his hands as a sign of peace.

I took another deep breath trying to steady myself. "Z-Zev, calm down, please," I whispered weakly. Zev growled again. " Calm down. " he seethed.

"CALM DOWN?!" He roared taking a step toward the corpse but stopped once he realized I was still holding onto his arm. The wolves surrounding their dead pack mate turned their attention to the raging tiger on the steps of the pack house. "" he promised, his voice deeper and more calm than I'd ever heard it before and for some reason that scared me more than him going into a blind rage. The alpha himself was shaking, the Luna too was holding her Mate's arm trying to appease the volatile wolf within him before he went on a man hunt with no leads.

"P-please, Zev," I all but begged, my distress seeping into my voice. That seemed to be enough to garner the large felines attention as he turned, gathering me into his massive arms.

"It's okay, little one, I've got you." He whispered softly, holding me to him tightly.

"Who. Did. This?" The alpha asked once again.

"We found the body on the edge of the territory this morning, alpha," I heard one of the enforcers say. " We tried to find a scent, but there were none. Whoever did this made sure not to leave a trace." The wolf reported solemnly. Alpha Drake growled just as a snarl spread across Zev's face.

"A member of my pack has been killed and his corpse has been used to threaten another?" The alpha male asked rhetorically. Anger was practically dripping from every word.

I peered around Zev in time to see the massive enforcer wolf come running from the tree line. The giant wolf shifted after dropping what was in his mouth. A head.

Bile rose up the back of my throat at the sight of the severed head and the unblinking eyes that seemed to be staring right at me. Your fault, they practically screamed. Tears began running down my face without my permission as a sob tore through my body. I was terrified.

Why was this happening, who was causing it and why did they believe I belonged to them? I belonged to Zev, no one else. Zev growled again making the decision to look away for me as he blocked my view with his body. I knew he wanted to get closer so that he could investigate himself but at the same time he didn't want to leave my side, no, he wasn't going to leave my side.

"No scent and no tracks, Alpha," the wolf who'd shown up said. The alpha growled once more.

"Double the guard on the border and take the body to the pack doctor to see what she can find out." The alpha commanded. The two enforcer wolves nodded and set about to do their task. Once the body had been taken away, Alpha Drake addressed the assembled wolves.

"No one is to leave pack grounds alone, not even for hunting, the curfew is 9:00 ." He stated leaving no room for argument or doubt.

I was shaking like a leaf as Zev lead me back inside the house, not even allowing me to hear the rest of what Alpha Drake had to say. He was pissed and on a mission. Once we were through the door he picked me up and carried me to my room. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest, taking deep breaths full of his scent.

The door to my room closed behind us and Zev set me down. I walked toward my bed to lay down when I noticed the flower petals strewn across it and in the middle of the assortment of brightly colored flower petals was a piece of paper that had been folded in on itself multiple times.

The sweet smell of the flowers made me sick to my stomach and I backed up against the wall, practically scurrying away from my bed. Zev was deathly silent as he walked toward the bed and plucked the note from the sheets.

He opened it, his eyes scanning it's contents before a fearsome roar tore from his chest. He crumbled the note letting it fall as his eyes searched widely around the room, searching for some kind of intruder.

I walked forward shaking and picked up the note, smoothing it out so that it was easier to read.

Take care of my little omega for me. I will be collecting him soon...

The note itself was horrible but the signature had me falling to the floor.

Signed, Josh.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

begins... but what exactly?

Thanks for reading and sorry for the wait

with love,