Chapter Nineteen

Dylan

Christmas at Dean’s was insane. So many people stopped by the house to leave gifts and Mama Lydia refused to let them leave the premises until she had fixed them and their family a plate. Dean was quick to pull me back to my seat when I got up to try and help her.

“If you value your life, Angel, you’ll let her do this on her own,” he mumbled into my ear, a huge grin on his face.

Apparently this is a yearly occurrence. Mama Lydia works tirelessly through the night cooking and preparing dish warmers for the Christmas morning “gift drop.”  I brought it up again to Dean a second ago and he flew into a story about a few Christmases ago when he tried to help his mother and she smacked him with a spatula until he left out of the kitchen.

“It’s her domain,” he explains, taking his eyes off of the road for a second to connect with mine, “She likes to do every ounce of the work so that when she complains for the next two weeks about how tired she is no one can say they helped her.”

We both laugh and I look out the passenger door window. My mood is instantly brought down as I remember where we’re going. The road is a constant reminder. I watch it flashing it’s white and yellow stripes at me as we eat up the space between here and my mother’s home. It won’t be long now.

A familiar squeeze to my left hand brings me back to the present. I look over to him and smile, he catches it in one of his quick glances between me and the road and smiles back. Neither of us say anything, we don’t have to. Our closeness has only expanded and grown, it feels like we can hear each other’s thoughts even though we can’t yet. Most of the time we’re on the same wavelength and as dull as I always thought it would be to have this kind of relationship, it isn’t. We have such a great time together even just being in the same space as each other. Even in times where we don’t agree or understand we always find a way through it, we always have and I hope we always will.

“We’re here Rose,” Dean says, his voice is calm and it annoys me. I’m a nervous wreck. I’m angry and scared and here he is being calm.

Stepping out of the car I slam the door a little harder than I intended and walk around to the open trunk. Dean looks up at me and shakes his head before reaching for our bags. I smack his hand and reach for my own luggage causing him to look at me again.

“I can carry my own shit Karter my hands aren’t broken,” I snap, folding my arms over my chest.

He sighs and drops the handles of the suitcases and takes a small step to the side. As soon as I move in to grab my stuff he snatches me by the waist, spinning me around, and sits me on the edge of the open trunk.

My hands find his shoulders for balance and my eyes find his to glare at him. “What the hell Karter?”

He pulls me to him and slants his lips over my own instantly melting any irritation I tried to hold onto. My hands glide up his neck and into his hair pulling slightly at the roots, forcing a growl from his throat.

“Feel better?” he asks, ignoring any response I might’ve had, “I know you’re conflicted about how to react to your mom but don’t take it out on me. I’m your mate, not your punching bag.”

With that he leaves me sitting on the edge of the trunk while he pulls our bags out and starts toward the front door. I sigh, realizing he’s right and hop down, closing the trunk behind me. Rushing to catch up I slip my hand in his and give it a slight squeeze. He looks down at me and I smile, too embarrassed to apologize. I know he accepts when he winks and nudges me softly with his shoulder.

We step onto the white oak of the porch and I knock on the door. I can hear my mother’s footsteps as she heads to the door and the thought runs through my mind to run back to the car and leave. My plans are foiled when the door swings open, thoroughly blowing my hair back with the force.

“Baby girl,” she breathes with a smile that slowly falls when she sees my face.

I’m a blank slate as I stare at her trying to decipher which, in the tornado of emotions I feel I’ll display to her first. As I attempt to get myself together, Dean jumps into action, leaning in front of me, extending a hand to my mother.

“Hello Ms. Trevino, I’m Karter Jarreau. It’s lovely to finally meet you,” he says before kissing the back of her hand.

“Alpha Jarreau of the Cynwulf Wood Pack?” she asks, her eyebrows shooting up.

He nods politely, “Yes ma’am.”

She takes in a deep breath and steps to the side, “Excuse my lack of manners, it’s been a long time since I’ve had an Alpha in my home.”

Dean waits for me to enter first then follows in behind me.

“There’s no need to be so formal Ms. Trevino, I’d rather you call me Karter than Alpha any day. All of that gets a bit tiring after a while but I’m sure you remember.”

She blushes at that and offers to take our bags to our room, however Dean declines and takes them himself. He gives me a look before he leaves the message in it loud and clear. Talk to her.

“So,” she states awkwardly, “your mate is an Alpha. That’s a lot of responsibility.”

When I don’t reply she continues, “If you ever need any tips on being a Luna or anything all you have to do is call.”

At that my eyes snap up to hers. How dare she offer fucking tips to me after twenty-three years of ignoring the fact that this world even exists? I’m about to lay into her when Dean walks into the room, his scent calming me slightly.

“You have a lovely house Ms. Trevino,” he states and I look at the perfectly wrapped present in his hand, “we hope this will fit in with your décor.”

My mother’s eyes go from the striped wrapping paper covered present in his hands to his eyes and she smiles.

“Call me Farrah, please and thank you for the gesture,” she reaches out and takes the gift from him, a surprised look on her face.

“We hope you like it,” Dean says, emphasizing the word ‘we’ a little too much for my liking as his arm slips around my shoulders.

She looks to us again and unwraps the present greeting it with a big smile. I try to get a good look at the gift I knew nothing about in her hands. Seeing the dark wood book ends I smile, my first since being here. The wood will fit in effortlessly with the tan older styled home décor and matches the wood of the floor almost exactly. Seeing the beautifully carved and painted full moon on the ends makes me give Dean a kiss on the cheek. He did a fabulous job picking out the perfect gift for my bookworm of a mother; it’s where I get it from.

“Thank you so much,” she says, an emotion in her voice that’s unfamiliar.

“It was our pleasure,” Dean answers, not giving me a chance to say anything snarky even though I wasn’t going to.

I see the sadness in her eyes and I know she can see right through his ruse. The recognition in her eyes is clear, she knows I didn’t get her anything this year and she’s hurt.

Dinner was filled with conversation from Dean and my mom. She almost knows as much about him as I do now. He always talks about how when I get nervous I speed talk. Well for him it’s when he’s in awkward situations. My mom, however didn’t mind and loved every second of their conversation. Asking him questions about pack life and if different things have changed. After dinner she gave Dean and I our gifts. He unwrapped his right then and pulled her into a surprising hug to thank her for the black and red striped tie and Visa gift card, I on the other hand decided not to open mine.

I’m ready to talk and the last thing I need is some type of sentimental gift changing my mind like her look of sadness almost did earlier. Dean hugs and thanks my mom one last time before giving us some privacy. He kisses me quickly and gives me a glare that speaks volumes. Be nice.

We both watch his retreating figure until he turns the corner into my old room.

“He’s very sweet. The Moon Goddess was good to you,” my mother says, standing up to start putting away leftovers.

I follow behind her into the kitchen after a few seconds and hop up onto the counter across from her like I used to.

“Why didn’t you…just…why?” I ask, my voice is light but firm. I swallow hard to wet my unused vocal cords.

She sighs before grabbing a Tupperware container, “I wanted to keep you safe Dylan. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, my heart racing.

“Your grandfather, my father was the Alpha of the smallest pack in Seattle, The Wrightman Lake Pack. I was an only child and my mother, his mate, had died during my birth so he watched me like a hawk. When I turned sixteen and got my wolf was the only time I ever felt, free. A few months after I had gotten my wolf I was on a run and accidentally ran into another territory. Back in my day that was an offence punishable by death if the Alpha saw fit so when the fighters from that pack arrived they brought their Alpha with them. The second our eyes connected we knew we were mates,” she smiles at the memory.

“Daddy,” I breathe and I can feel my nose start to burn.

She lets out a deep breath, “Right. Your father was Alpha Samuel Trevino of The Redwood Pack. We got married a few weeks later and our packs merged together. Even with our combined numbers there weren’t many of us, maybe eighty, but we were fierce fighters. None however were fiercer than your father’s best friend and Beta, Troy Collins. He was tougher than your father, although he’d never admit it, but it was only because of his lack of conscience when it came to an enemy. It was that same lack of empathy that began to drive a wedge between your father and Troy. I remember walking in on an argument between the two of them, Troy wanted to destroy a coven of vampires close to us but your father so no reason to disturb them, I’ve never seen someone so angry when Samuel used his Alpha influence to order Troy to stand down.”

A sick feeling crawls up my spine the more she talks about Troy. The face of a man, with dead ice blue eyes and white blonde hair pops into my head.

“Uncle T?” I mumble, tasting the name, trying to figure out why it sounds so familiar.

My mother’s eyes connect with mine. “That’s what you would call him, you couldn’t say Troy. He’s your Godfather. And much to everyone’s dismay he was right about those fucking bloodsuckers,” the disdain in her voice makes my chest hurt, “They attacked and your father was killed, Troy barely made it out with his life fighting at your father’s side. Samuel ordered him to run and get us to safety, it was the last order he gave. Because our numbers were so small we couldn’t hold them off until help from California arrived. By the time they got to Washington only a few members were still alive and you and I were long gone and in Colorado. We were supposed to wait there until I heard from Troy that it was safe to come back but I never did.”

I hear a noise in the back room and want so badly to laugh at Dean’s eavesdropping ass. Instead I turn my attention back to the woman with eyes that match my own.

“By the time you were seven I knew why Troy never contacted me,” my mom continues and my ears perk up, “You began having the dreams and your gift of ‘foresight’ was revealed.”

“The dream about the pale people,” I interject quickly, my mind is racing.

“Vampires. I had the wolves from the area that helped us go by and check on that house the next week, nothing but ruins stood there. I have no doubt that the leeches were the ones who did it.”

Silence spreads thick between the two of us. I’m not out of questions or curiosity but I’ve heard of what it did to the cat. The last thing I want to do is ask any questions that may stir the pot. I just found my mate who is already in a mess within his own pack. I don’t want to prove the superstition right and bring bad luck to his already crowded doorstep.

I swallow audibly. It’s hard to even force noise from my throat. “So…does that mean that they are still after us?”

My mother smiles sadly closing the refrigerator, I hadn’t even noticed she finished packing the food.

“I want so badly to say no but now that you’ve gotten your wolf I can’t really answer that question.”

My breath catches, “M-my wolf? Are you saying that they only want me?”

She nods sadly and my heart rate shoots through the roof. I can feel myself hyperventilating but I keep my breathing as quiet as possible, I don’t want her to stop telling me all of the things she should’ve told me years ago.

“Your foresight is a gift from the Goddess but it is still located in your brain. In human terms you can use a larger percentage of your brain than most of the rest of the population. It’s basically a muscle, it’ll never really go away but if you work it, it will get stronger. Foresight is extremely useful especially when the person who has it hones in on the skill. The vampires could use you and your gift to see into the future, they’d be unstoppable then,” she explains rubbing the back of her neck with her hand, “I knew that if you ever shifted you would always have to run so a human life was the only way I could see you really getting to live.”

I sift through the plethora of feelings I have spinning around inside of me and grab on to the easiest to decipher, anger.

“So all of my life you didn’t think once that maybe, just maybe, you should’ve told me about this?” I snap, waiting expectantly for an answer that I know will only piss me off further.

“I didn’t think you would meet your mate Dylan. It was rare enough back in my day and I was deep into werewolf society! Wolves hardly associate with the human population so I figured you would be fine,” she responds, raising her voice slightly. I smile sadistically, I’m glad she’s finally fighting back. It gets saddening arguing with someone who doesn’t come back at you.

“Well I didn’t go on findmymate.com mother! It just happened, by fate like it’s supposed to! I feel so fucking unprepared for this. I’m basically a sitting duck for a pack of vicious animals that tore my own damn father apart!”

“Watch your mouth in my home Dylan Rose Trevino! I’m still your mother!” she screams back, placing her hand on her hip.

“Then act like it! You’ve let me wander around for twenty-three years with a bull’s-eye on my back and didn’t even have the decency to tell me! You stopped Andrea from telling me and threatened her into silence! How dare you? What kind of a mother does that?” I yell, getting in her face. I want to stop but I can’t. My heart is racing wildly and my wolf is on the verge of coming out to defend me.

“Rose, calm down,” I hear Dean order from the archway. He’s still standing in the living room but I can see his eyes through the archway clearly, he’s upset. Join the club.

“I will once we get the hell out of here. Get our stuff,” I say walking past him and around the corner to the steps of the sunken living room.

I grab the car keys from the end table and head towards the front door. My mother’s voice stops me in my tracks.

“I’m sorry Dylan but if I had it to do again I wouldn’t change a thing.”

I shake my head and walk out the door.

*

This Holiday Inn isn’t the nicest place I’ve ever been to but it’s doing it’s job. I was forced to listen to the sounds of the road passing beneath the car for the hour drive it took to get here since Dean gave me the silent treatment for how I spoke to my mom. He finally talked to me once we got here and that was only to tell us we were stopping for the night and he’d drive the last hour home in the morning.

Neither of us are tired when we walk into our room but we shower separately and get into bed anyway. While he showered I laid down thinking of how to start a conversation with him once he got out but when he stepped into the room dripping wet with only a towel casually slung around his hips my mouth went dry. I watched the droplets of water race each other down his back as he dried off and changed into his sweatpants. It made me tingle all over knowing neither of us have on any underwear. The yoga pants and camisole I have on made me feel overdressed when he eased into bed beside me.

Lying on my side, turned away from him I can hear his breathing and heart rate are both normal, they change and slow slightly when he’s asleep. I turn slowly to my other side and he wiggles his thick body over, moving away from me. I squint my eyes at him and slightly scoot towards him to which he responds buy scooting away from me. We continue this little charade until I hear him yell.

“Fuck!” he screams just before the noise of a huge bump fills the room.

I can’t help the laughter that escapes passed my lips but truthfully I don’t even try. He sits up and rests his chin and arms on the side of the bed glaring at me until he can’t hold his own laughter in anymore. Shaking his head, he gets up and sits at the end of the bed facing me.

“Are you alright?” I manage to ask, sitting up with my back against the headboard so that I’m in front of him.

He blushes but nods his head. “My ego’s a little hurt but other than that,” he cuts himself off giving me the universal sign for ‘okay’.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt, getting serious as silence starts to consume us. I won’t allow the night to end filled with tension. “I just got so upset. I didn’t mean to talk to her that way but I couldn’t stop myself. I could feel my hear racing and my wolf taking over. I’m scared you know? But at the same time I’m so fucking angry. I just…I feel like I’m losing my mind Karter.”

He slides forward and grabs my hands from my face, holding and caressing them. “Getting your wolf can cause you to be a little off emotionally Angel, you aren’t crazy, just…high-strung.”

I nod, feeling the calming energy he’s passing into me take effect. I love it when he does this. It’s like blowing out a raging fire. I feel like the smoke that slowly rises from what’s left.

“I can teach you some ways to calm down if you’d like. It took me a long time to get it right but I’m pretty unshakeable in most everyday situations. I will admit it’s a little easier for me because I’m an Alpha but being my Luna you should catch on quick.”

Smiling I nod, partially because I’m still enjoying the effects of his calming aura but mostly because I’ll do anything to not feel so unstable mentally.

For hours we practice meditation and other calming exercises like counting backwards and focusing on things that make me happy. At first I felt silly closing my eyes and breathing deeply but once I saw how into it Dean was I took it more seriously. Although I still catch myself slipping into thoughts instead of clearing my mind like I should, I still think I’ll have meditation down in no time.

Sliding his arms around me, Dean pulls me in closer and gives me a kiss, brief but sweet, and tells me goodnight.

“Wait don’t go to sleep yet,” I poke his chest and he groans as he opens his eyes.

“What is it Energizer Bunny?” he groans.

I roll my eyes and ask my question anyway, “Will I have to turn on the next full moon?” It’s yet another cause of my anxiety. My muscles ache from just thinking about turning again.

He sighs but answers, “No Angel you won’t. You aren’t forced to shift on any full moon, aside from the first, unless you haven’t in a long time or your wolf finds some reason to come out on her own. But it might help with your conflicted feelings if you would. Your wolf and you need to become one so that there is peace within your mind.”

I sigh and hold onto him tighter, placing my head on his chest. “I don’t want to, it hurts,” I whine, feeling like as big of a kid as I sound.

He laughs lightly and rubs my back softly, “I know it does but that’s only for now Angel. After a handful of times it’ll be as easy as putting your shoes on.”

My breath catches at the thought of shifting that many times before it gets easier. What if it finally gets easy but I get pregnant? I assume I can’t shift during that time so after I have the baby will it hurt again? Christ I just casually thought of having kids with Dean like it’s second nature. Does he even want kids?

“Hey,” I whisper. When he doesn’t respond I bite his nipple.

“Damn it to hell Dylan! What was that for?” he asks rubbing his nipple.

I roll my eyes, “Stop being a baby. You wouldn’t answer me. Do you want kids?”

He scrunches his eyebrows and laughs before pulling my head back down and onto his chest, returning us to our previous position.

“Yes, you damned cannibal,” he laughs, stroking my back again.

Tiny electricity shocks run down my spine and I smile at the thought of being pregnant with our child. It’s a thought that surprises me since I’ve never put too much thought into kids.

“We have to complete the mating first though.”

My ears perk at that and I sit my chin on his chest to look at him.

“Basically you have to mark me back,” he replies to my inquisitive stare and lightly touches his mark on my neck.

The touch translates straight to my sex and I squeeze my thighs together tightly.

“Well maybe I’ll just do it…now!” I say jumping forward to playfully nibble on his neck.

His skin tastes of salt and his natural sweetness and I enjoy the teasing a little more than I should, rocking my body against his.

Dean’s laughs turn to groans as he grabs my hips to slow my grinding. He lifts my chin and covers my lips with his as he rocks into me with just as much vigor.

My yoga pants feel too thick, the friction we’re creating is suddenly not enough. I grab his hand from behind my back and slip it into the pants before doing the same to him. His mouth opens in surprise and I slip my tongue inside as he plays with my folds and I pull on his rod.

Both of our cold hands quickly heat up from our focused movements, our breathing heavy. His fingers slip all over with my wetness and the precỏme dripping from his head is making my hand slick.

My other hand finds my nịpple and he kisses down to his mark on my neck, sucking and kissing it gently. I come undone, my eyes closed tight and my lip firmly between my teeth, and grind against his fingers as he explodes in my hand. With heavy breathing and racing hearts we slowly kiss until we’re down from our own individual highs.

Walking to the bathroom to rinse off I can only imagine the day when we finally reach our peaks intertwined together.

Karter

Last night was amazing. It was my first time ever touching Rose’s womanhood and fuck if I didn’t want to push my fingers inside. I was able to stop myself but I refused to let her juices go to waste and licked her off of my fingers the second I could. She tasted like the perfect mix of sweet and savory, just like I knew she would.

I hate to wake her up as I pull into the driveway so instead I grab her from the seat and walk her up to my room. As soon as I lie her down she gravitates towards my pillow taking a huge whiff before falling all the way asleep again. I smile at her desire to be near me as I run downstairs to get our bags.

I hate that things didn’t work out well with her mother although it was nice meeting her. Seeing Dylan’s eyes on someone else tripped me out but I guess it’s how she feels when she sees my mom. Farrah is sweet though and I know she only tried to do what she felt was right for Dylan, even if she was misguided at times. I was eavesdropping and almost blew my cover when I tripped but it was irrelevant because I had to blow it anyway to stop Rose from snapping out on her mom.

Hearing about what her mother went through and what she got away from gave me a new respect for her. Sure she didn’t do everything ‘right’ but who does? No one is perfect. I want so badly for them to make up. I could see the hurt in her eyes when I walked passed her with our bags.

“Take care of my baby girl Karter,” she said once I got to the door.

When I looked back at her to tell her I would I saw the amount of pain she was feeling. Her eyes are so much like Dylan’s I had to look away. I prayed then to the Moon Goddess that I never saw that look in my Angel’s eyes, ever.

“I’ve got great news,” Grey says as I walk downstairs from dropping off the luggage.

I raise an eyebrow, “Is that so?”

He nods and beckons me to my office. My father, Connor, Owen, and Jason are all present and greet me with a nod.

“Alright,” I begin and rub my hands together, “what’s the big news?”

They look around to each other as if trying to figure out who will spill the beans.

“We’ve found the general area that the Dark Wood Tribe rouges are in,” Grey beams.

A thrill of excitement runs through me and I walk closer to the map they’re all surrounding.

“How’d you find that?” I ask, staring at the many of circled areas with x’s through them and finally the one circled what looks like a million times.

“We have had the humans in town who know about us on the lookout for any newcomers who seem suspicious. You know how we’ve been saying they would have to restock supplies? Well it just so happens they went to the general store downtown to do it,” Owen interjects.

“The owner there, Joe, had his nephew watch the store while he followed the woman to this,” Grey stops to point at the circled section of the map, “part of the woods. He said he couldn’t follow her all the way through, the roads get too rough for his Prius plus she would’ve noticed him tailing her, but this is more than we’ve ever gotten.”

I sit down in my chair, my mind racing through possible methods of recon.

“So,” my dad finally speaks, “what do you think son?”

A cruel smile spreads across my cheeks, “I think it’s about time we go hunting.”

*****************************

Hello my good people!!!

I hope yall enjoyed this chapter!! I didn’t have the book done by the start of 2015 but oh well! I still hope you all had a very happy new year and I pray this year goes great for everyone!!

On to business….

The amount of support is as amazeballs as always like what in the hell?! I cease to even!

3,166 reads, 157 votes on Awake, Literally WTF!! Almost TWO THOUSAND reads (1,751 to be exact) since last update!! Like what planet is this?! I LOVE every single one of you that reads past the Prologue!

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Thanks to you guys I’ve reached one of my milestones here which was to get 50 followers :) As a gift I’m going to update for a second time before this month is over!!!!

Thanks so much for following and I hope I don’t disappoint!

I dedicated this chapter to TheOddOne219 because they let me know that Awake inspired them to write their story Run.

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Until Next Time,

WBN