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  “Right now, most of the family is here,” I laughed and finished the last of my brandy.

  “I hate to kick you out, but if I ask you to stay for dinner it’ll change up Kimi’s routine. Zoey’s already here and that’s a big change for her.”

  “Is that why she didn’t eat lunch with us?” I asked.

  “Yeah, she asked to stay home and eat alone,” Ross nodded.

  “I’ll leave you to make dinner,” I stood up.

  “Nah, we’re ordering Thai. With three kids in the house I don’t foresee that much cooking in my future until things settle down.”

  “Enjoy,” I chuckled.

  “Listen, give him some time, but not too much time. Too much time will make him think you don’t want him or that he’s put you off by having too many issues.”

  “So, basically, I have to be a mind reader,” I sighed.

  “Nope, you have to be a heart reader.”

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  The guard house wasn’t as shabby as I expected. The kitchen and shared living areas were large and roomy enough that six Alphas could live without getting on each other’s nerves too much. Each bedroom had a private bathroom and a back door of its own. So, we could come and go unnoticed if we really wanted too.

  I didn’t have much to unpack. I didn’t know how long I’d be at the academy when Darian called me down to work security. Sooner or later, I’d be out in the field tracking this bastard down. Trackers always travel light. Not that I collected much in the way of belongings anyhow preferring to live off the land as much as I could like our wolven ancestors.

  The bed was comfortable enough, but I couldn’t sleep. The streets of the academy were a ghost town due to the omega curfew. Parties weren’t as fun without them. Hemlock Mountain was never quiet. Creatures of the night crept and scurried through the woods. Nocturnal birds of prey screeched in hunter’s triumphant and bonfire parties could be seen across the mountain.

  Hemlock Academy was too quiet. Mage Street was a ghost town. Neither of these things kept me awake.

  It was him.

  Logan.

  He was two minutes away by car. Less by a wolf’s run. But given that he didn’t want me there tonight my omega might as well have been studying penguin shifters in the south pole or searching for fairies in the Other World.

  Eight hours before I had to be at work. I tracked on less before. Four was my average. Most Alphas need about six a night but learning to track taught me to preserve energy. I didn’t have the sort of magical abilities like Darian in practical magic or any of the other abilities my siblings possessed, but many of my old teachers believed I possessed a different ability. One much more useful to trackers.

  Everyone has a store of energy and can replenish it from nature when they have to. Most people never learn to tap into this and thus they need more sleep. Half of the trackers I met do it naturally like I do. Others work their balls off to learn the skill. The Hemlock lore claims Frost himself held the ability, but then maybe dragons just need less sleep. Who knows?

  Logan.

  My mind circled back to him like a thousand stars colliding into a black hole. Every thought led back to him until I couldn’t stay in bed wondering what he was doing. Was he asleep? Awake? Thinking about me? Wishing I was there? Staring at his phone wondering if he should call me?

  As the sedation of the brandy wore off, my wolf paced my chest impatient with me. Maybe a run would help.

  A run helped.

  Helped me end up on Logan’s front porch uninvited and unwilling to leave. I leaned my forehead on the door trying to catch a whiff of his sweet scent that haunted my thoughts every second we were apart.

  The door opened under my weight. Why wasn’t it locked? Hemlock Academy was usually a safe place, but with the new curfew in effect nowhere was safe until we got the bastard kidnapping omegas and forcing them to carry his spawn.

  “Logan?” I called out.

  My wolf’s ears perked up alert and straining to hear the steady sound of my omega’s sleeping heartbeat. My tracking experience told me the house was empty. A surge of panic made my wolf howl, but I shoved him down. I was a tracker. I’d find him no matter where he went as long as I didn’t let my base nature get the better of me.

  I shut the door and locked it behind me. On the porch, I inhaled taking in the scent of the night. A slight breeze blew in my favor carrying the slightest scent of my mate hidden behind pheromone blocker.

  Of course, he’s an alchemist. He’s using a pheromone blocker. Not that any potion will stop the best trackers from finding a target.

  I followed the scent and found tiny signs of his path. A partial shoeprint here. A broken twig there. Disturbed grass and foliage as he cut through lawns and backyards to avoid detection. Most omegas weren’t this good at sneaking around.

  Who the hell taught you to sneak around like this?

  The smell of jasmine and honeysuckle filled the air as I followed my omega’s trail into Hemlock Gardens. Logan sat bathed in light in a huge patch of moon blossoms carefully picking each petal and laying it in his basket as if it were the tiniest pup.

  “Mine,” my wolf howled inside my chest.

  Chapter Seven

  Logan

  “Alpha!”

  My wolf registered Jessie’s scent a nanosecond before I did. My hands trembled around the near translucent moon blossom as I fought the urge to throw myself into his arms. His business card was still tucked into my back pocket to keep a piece of him close even while we were apart.

  My wolf’s tail wagged, and it was hard to keep his happiness suppressed so it didn’t shake my ass too. I spent an hour pacing with my phone but couldn’t bring myself to dial the digits. If I gave in too soon, he’d just get bored sooner, right? We had the rest of our very long lives to spend together. No need to jump in head first and hit the bottom before I was ready.

  “Are you going to rat me out to Darian?” I asked when he didn’t say anything.

  “Why are you out here all alone?” He stepped close enough to touch.

  His scent wrapped around me like a warm blanket pulling me in and making it hard to think. My fingers trembled against the silky petals bringing me back to reality. If I lost concentration I’d rip a petal rendering the whole flower useless for the rest of the growing season.

  “Because tomorrow my advanced class is brewing moonlight potions. You know, a flashlight in a bottle. These petals need picked during the full moon at night. Darian didn’t think about that when he set this stupid curfew,” I sighed.

  My wolf growled in my chest annoyed at the arbitrary rules the dean set in place.

  “You should have called me. I would’ve walked over with you,” Jessie touched my shoulder.

  It was a simple touch, but it burned through my body. My wolf leaned trying to guide me toward my Alpha, but I didn’t budge. The flowers were too precious to risk.

  “I walk to this garden at least two nights a week, and no kidnapping blood sucker is going to take that away from me,” I growled. “He’s not going to take away the education my students came here to receive.”

  “You’re not technically alone anymore,” Jessie sat down next to me. “So, no rule broken.”

  “Ha. Ha.” I sighed. “Why did you follow me here?”

  “Because I couldn’t sleep.”

  “Me neither,” I said placing another petal into my basket. “But that’s a good thing. Otherwise, I’d be too tired to pick the petals correctly. I’ve always been more of a night owl anyway.”

  “Can I help?” Jessie asked.

  “Have you ever gathered moon blossom petals before?” I finally looked at him. His eyes were softer in the moonlight and his lips more kissable than ever.

  “No,” he admitted.

  “I’m almost done anyway,” I smiled at him.

  Walking home hand-in-hand with Jessie made me feel like I was back in high school. Warm, fuzzy, confused, and horny as hell. I didn’t like feeling that out of sor
ts as a teenager and my adult brain wasn’t much better at processing it.

  “You alright?” Jessie asked feeling my distress.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Well, alright as I can be.”

  He stopped and pulled me into his arms. I nuzzled into his chest reveling in his warmth careful not to disturb the petals in my little wicker basket.

  “It’s hard for me not to pull you close when your scent goes like that,” Jessie kissed the top of my head. “I get that it’s a lot to take in, but my wolf, he’s not having any of this stressed out and scared mate stuff. He’s determined to hold you forever and I’m not averse to the idea.”

  “It’s not the cuddling I’m abstaining from,” I blushed.

  I was crazy. I knew I was crazy. I stood there all pressed against the strong muscled body of my true-mate, my Alpha, and I wanted to run and hide. It was all backwards and overwhelming.

  “I’m just overwhelmed,” I said when Jessie didn’t answer. “And when you don’t say anything it makes it worse, because then I’m trying to figure out what you’re thinking and if you think I’m crazy. And. . .”

  When his lips claimed mine, I lost track of the last thought. I surrendered to the call between our wolves and sank into the kiss, wrapped my arms around his neck and rose up on my toes to taste more of the Alpha I spent so long imagining. For a split second the world was perfect.

  “I’m staying the night,” Jessie said when the kiss broke, and it wasn’t a question.

  My face flushed.

  He has some nerve! Already following me and trying to boss me around. Crap. Maybe I’m the crazy one, because it’s sorta sweet and sexy.

  “Either I’m coming in or I’m spending the night on your porch until you feel bad enough for me to let me in,” Jessie smirked. “Either way, I’m not spending another night away from my omega now that I found you.”

  “Fine, but no funny business!” I laughed and slapped his chest before turning away to hide my crimson cheeks.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  “I mean it. No, fooling around,” I said as I unlocked the door.

  “And no more leaving the door unlocked,” Jessie said.

  “I left it unlocked? Strange, I usually always lock it. I think you’ve addled my brains.”

  “And we’ve only kissed,” Jessie shut and locked the door after we were inside.

  “Do you want something to drink? I keep brandy around from. . .” I didn’t want to finish that sentence. So, I turned away from him and started into the kitchen.

  From my dating days.

  “Nah, I’m alright,” he wrapped his arms around me from behind stopping me in my tracks. “I don’t need anything. I just want to know why you keep running away from me.”

  “I don’t mean too,” I squeaked and willed my pulse to slow down. “I just. . . It’s . . . Being around you makes it hard to think clearly.”

  “That’s only going to get worse until we let our wolves have their way,” Jessie caressed my chest and stomach as he spoke.

  “Well, they’re just going to have to learn patience. It’s a virtue after all.”

  “We’re true-mates. Everything from here on out is virtuous,” he kissed up and down my neck. His warm breath tickled me sending small waves of longing into my belly.

  “Can we just go to sleep? I have an early class tomorrow?” I squeaked not knowing what else to say.

  “Alright,” he said and placed one more line of kisses down my throat. “Lead the way.”

  Normally, I didn’t bother with overhead lights unless I was reading. I inherited twenty-twenty nocturnal vision from my father, but I turned on every light we passed. Being alone in the dark with Jessie was too much. The dark only made every touch and movement more erotic. It only made me wetter and harder and if I wanted him anymore my brain would explode.

  Jessie turned off each light I turned on.

  “Quit that!”

  “Don’t waste electricity,” he laughed.

  “Maybe I don’t see well in the dark,” I squared my shoulders.

  “You walked all the way to the garden cutting through dark backyards without a flashlight.”

  “Well, I don’t care! Leave them on!” I protested as we came to the bedroom door and he turned out the hallway light.

  “Are you afraid of the dark?” He asked as I opened the bedroom door.

  “No, I’m afraid of the things I want you to do to me in the dark,” I blushed and flipped on the overhead light. I flipped it right back off, but not before Jessie caught a glimpse of the big pink vibrator on my nightstand. These days, no one saw my bedroom and I liked having it nearby if I woke up ready for a romp.

  I froze like a deer in a wake of a pack. I stood still hoping if I didn’t move the next second wouldn’t arrive. The next second where he laughed or made a raunchy comment.

  “I thought you were abstaining,” Jessie flipped the light back on and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

  “I am. There’s no Alpha attached to that,” I managed to say without my voice going too high-pitched.

  “We could play with that if it makes you more comfortable,” he whispered in my ear, “because I don’t think either of us are getting any sleep until we give our wolves something.”

  “Maybe,” I bit my lip. “I don’t know. Wouldn’t that just upset your wolf more?”

  “You think I’m jealous of that thing?” Jessie laughed.

  The throaty sound wrapped around me.

  “I put it to shame.”

  “Prove it!” My wolf barked inside my chest, but I refused to let the words bubble over my mouth. I definitely wanted him to prove it, but it’d been so long since I been with an Alpha I didn’t even know what to say.

  “I’m going to take a shower and put the petals away. We can talk about it afterwards, okay?”

  “Waiting won’t be easy,” Jessie turned me around to face him, “but we can. I want you. It’s almost a literal need, but we’ll wait if you really need to.”

  “I don’t know! I need to ask Wrynn what to do!” I said and immediately regretted saying it. “Not that I always take his advice. I was the one who talked him down after he true-responded to Darian. It’s just. . .”

  “It’s okay. Do what you need to do. I’ll be here,” he gave me a soft kiss that I didn’t want to pull away from.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  I started the water and called Wrynn. I hung up as soon as I realized how late it was. He called back two seconds later.

  “Hey, sorry, I didn’t realize how late it was,” I cringed.

  “Yes, you should call him,” Wrynn yawned. “That’s your question, right?”

  “No, actually he’s here and he wants. . .”

  “To mate?”

  “Yes, and I don’t know what to do,” I bit my lip.

  “Umm. . . I think you know what to do,” Wrynn laughed. “It’s like riding a bicycle. The rules haven’t changed since you dated.”

  “I know that, but. . .”

  “Do you want to?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then hang up the phone and strip naked and just go to him,” Wrynn said. “I’m surprised you waited this long. He’s your true-mate. It’ll be the best sex of your life. At least, until the second time. He’s the one you can let your walls down around. You don’t have to tread lightly like you’ve done in the past. Jessie’s a Hemlock and they don’t abandon their true-mates.”

  Chapter Eight

  Jessie

  Listening to Logan’s phone call didn’t make me feel any better. It wouldn’t take me long to put together a list of every Alpha who ever touched my omega and put them out of my misery. Even thinking about it, was an overreaction, but I was prepared to do whatever it took to comfort my mate and make him feel secure in our bond. This was it. This is what most wolves never found, and others spent their whole lives waiting for. Sure, shifters had long lives, but I didn’t want Logan to spend one more minute feeling anything less than perfect and loved.
/>   I listened to the running water and tried not to think about the hot soapy water sliding across his slick wet body. The body I wanted to kiss every inch of until he couldn’t remember his own name much less the names of those who hurt him.

  I sat down next to the bathroom door and waited. The water didn’t mask his scent, but with my mind reeling about how to fix the problems of his past my cock didn’t stay hard for long. I was almost convinced the initial wave of desire had passed until Logan opened the door wrapped in a white fluffy towel from the waist down.

  Water dripped from his soaked hair onto his lean chest and rolled down his stomach. My tongue flicked over my lips wanting to lick it away.

  “Here’s how I think we should do this,” Logan said not leaving the doorway. “I’m going to sit down and tell you what I’m afraid of. That should calm down our wolves enough, so we can think straight. Then, maybe, just maybe, we can go into the bedroom and mess around a little bit.”

  “Alright,” I nodded and reached my hand out for him. He went to sit next to me, but I pulled him into my lap. “But I like you closer than next to me.”

  “I’ve dated a lot of Alphas,” Logan blushed getting straight to the point.

  “That doesn’t matter. You’re mine now,” I smirked at him as he turned on my lap to face me. My dick twitched threatening to harden to its full size, and I willed it to settle down, because I didn’t want him to spook and run off again.

  “Already trying to prove you put my toy to shame?” He laughed as his face turned crimson. “I believed you!”

  “It has a mind of its own,” I chuckled and wrapped my arms more tightly around him and rested my chin on his shoulder.

  “Don’t they always,” he said looking down at the floor. “Anyway, it always ended the same. Well, sort of. Either they got bored and moved on or ran around on me or found their true-mate. I know it’s my fault. They weren’t my true-mate and I probably shouldn’t have messed around with them at all, but I did, and I can’t change that. I mean, even one of your younger brothers,” Logan bit his lip. “He was one of the worse playboys out of the bunch.”