The One 53

THE ONE 53

Chapter 53: A Long Night Sophie When we got back to our room, I knew Hunter and I both needed something to get our minds off of Brooklyn. Hunter especially was struggling with his frustration at not being able to protect one of his previous, vulnerable pack members. So, I did what any good mate would do, I chose a position that put him in control. Only, that’s not exactly how it played out. Hunter desperately needed a shower so after he washed off Brooklyn’s blood and her scent no longer lingered on him, I chose our first position to be in the shower. However, rather than facing the shower wall, I wanted to see him. I wrapped my legs around him and while he still had me pressed against the wall, his arms were wrapped about me and he kissed me, holding me close, until he brought both of us to our release. He had put his forehead against mine as both of us were panting. “I need you again.” “Bed,” I said. We’d quickly dried and then I told him I wanted to be on top. I had planned on trying the reverse cowgirl again tonight, that was fun, but I needed the connection to my mate, and I could feel through the bond that he needed it too. When I straddled him, he sat up, wrapping my legs around him again. We had kissed as our bodies held each other, his hands 0.00% Ш 12.02. helping me to lift my hips up and down until we both came undone together. “Again,” he said. And it had gone on like that for hours. We switched positions, but we never weren’t wrapped around each other, holding each other, connecting every part of our bodies as moved slow, fast, gentle, rough, finding our release together over and over until we were both spent. When we’d finally fallen asleep, my mate’s mind was finally settled, at peace, at least for now.

It was less than an hour later when we got the mind link from Dr. Felicity letting us know that Brooklyn was out of surgery and stable. She also let us know that Leah had been given painkillers and medications to help her relax, to boost her system, and help her wolf heal her faster. Hunter had pulled me closer to him and I snuggled into him and fell asleep. It was less than an hour after that when we got the mind link from the border patrols letting us know we had more she- wolves at our borders. ‘Ranked she-wolves?’ Hunter asks as we rush downstairs before shifting and heading to the border. ‘It’s both, Alpha. It seems as though some of Alpha Owen’s pack members weren’t happy with what happened to Brooklyn and have left his pack, coming here to ask for safety.’ ‘Hunter…’ I say privately. ‘I know. We’ll figure it out,’ he says. If pack members start 111 Chapter 57: A Long Night 12387 leaving other packs, coming to our pack, it’s even more likely that we’ll have a war on our hands. The problem is, if these are omegas or even inexperienced warriors, it means we have more people that we have to protect, which means we need more fighters to fight. When we arrive, I shift, quickly, then hearing Hunter’s growl, I turn, letting him pull a shirt over my head before turning back to the patrols. There are five of them, two ranked, one additional adult and two teenage pups, all female. “Hello, my name is Sophie Reynolds. You may know me as Sophie Meyers. That was name before I was mated to Alpha Hunter,” I say gesturing to him as the two ranked members suck in a breath. “So, it’s true?” one of the ranked she-wolves asks. “Is what true?” I ask. “You were claimed?” the other she-wolf asks. “I was, privately and against our laws, Hunter claimed me.” They all glance at him, then back at me. “How about you three? What are you doing here?” “They said you might give them refuge after one of your Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

previous pack members was assaulted by their Alpha,” one of the ranked females, a Beta, says. “That’s correct. Brooklyn came out of surgery just over an hour ago,” I say. 32974 12:52 Chapter 5 & Long Night “She survived?” one of the young teens asks. “She did.” The adult woman steps up. “These are my daughters. I don’t want what happened to that poor girl to happen to them. It’s against the law, but unlike with what Alpha Hunter did to you, it’ s not right. He…” she covers her mouth, holding back a ***b. “What he did was wrong. That would never be tolerated in my pack. Hell, I wouldn’t even allow my own mate to go through that process,” Hunter says. He stays back, not wanting to scare the women. “If you want sanctuary, you are welcome and you will be safe here.” “How can they possibly trust that? You have no way to prove it,” the other ranked female says. I lift my nose and sniff. She’s also a Beta. “Are you sisters?” I ask. They look at each other, then back at me. “Yes. We’re twins. Identical.” This time, it’s Hunter who sucks in air behind me. I turn and look at him, then back at the young women. “What?” “Identical twins tend to share mates. Our mate would have had to claim both of us publicly.” My mouth opens and closes. I can’t even imagine what that would have been like. “Oh, well, that’s…are you looking for sanctuary?” I ask, unsure ווו 12 02 how else to respond. If I thought was afraid of being claimed publicly, these girls must feel it even more strongly. I can’t imagine standing by before or after being claimed and watching my twin suffer like that with everyone watching.

They look at each other again. “I don’t know that we can trust you. We just wanted to make sure that these three got here safely and that Alpha Hunter would be willing to accept them.” “Hunter, what time is it?” I ask. “It’s 3am.” “It’s too early to wake the three girls who came here a couple days ago. There’s an Alpha, a Beta, and a G**a. You can hear it from them. If you’d like to wait to enter our pack until later today, I’d suggest that you go up to the mountain where we provide food for she-wolves on the run. It’s about an hour run from here. Be careful but once you’re inside, it’s safe. We won’t force you to do anything here, but if you decide to trust us, or you want to speak to Nikki, Allison, or Letti, the women I just spoke of, come back later. What are your names?” “Tiffany and Tammi. We’ll come back. But we just need to be sure.” “Just be careful. My mate was almost claimed by Alpha Owen on that mountain. Be smart and on guard until you get inside the mountain. Follow the scent of my Beta female. It should be stronger than any other scent as she goes there every day to leave food,” Hunter tells them. “You three can come in. If you accept, you’re now under my protection.” “Thank you, Alpha,” the mother says, holding her daughters’ hands in each of hers before stepping onto our pack lands. 6277% ||| 12:02 Chap 53 A1 “Are you hungry?” I ask, stepping up to them. “Yes,” one of the girls says. “Come on, we’ll get you some food and then find you a place to sleep. You’re safe now,” I say, wrapping my arm around the shoulders of the nearest girl. “Can I get your names?” I ask, turning to see that the Beta twins are still watching us. “You’re still welcome,” I say to them. “We’ll be back later,” they say and turn, jogging off into the darkness. I turn back to the ones I can

help now. “Your names?” “I’m Chloe and these are my daughters, Lillian and Addison. How is Brooklyn’s mother, I think her name is Leah,” Chloe asks. as we walk. “She’s in the pack hospital as well,” I say. I’m not sure how much the other pack members know, so I’m not going to assume that they know that Leah rejected her mate. By the time we get the girls settled, it’s nearly time for training. I look at Hunter. “I doubt I’m going to defeat you today. I’m way. too tired.” “If our visitors weren’t here, I’d say we could go back to bed, but we missed them last night. We need to be here for them this morning.” “I know. The joys of running a pack. That’s okay, I want to see Allison this morning, see how she’s doing.” We rush to our room and shower before heading down to warrior training. When we arrive, I see that Hunter was right.

Allison’s neck is covered in h**ys and Kayce’s scent is all over her.