Page 39 of Claimed By the Alpha Pack

We have her sandwiched between us, running our hands over her body slowly. I’m not sure who we are trying to soothe. Are we soothing her because we both bit her or are we soothing ourselves, reminding ourselves she’s really alive.

Reluctantly we pull apart, and Barrett takes Grace into the ensuite shower to help her clean up. I watch them leave and sit here, stunned. Sliding off the bed, I head to the dresser with the mirror on it and look at my mate bite. Part of me can’t believe it’s real. The other part is in awe of how deep my connection to her is.

My mind drifts to our eldest brother yet to be marked by our mate. Griffin is a maelstrom of emotions, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. After about thirty or so minutes, and apparently another round of sex in the shower, they return. Barrett looks worse for wear and she looks electrified.

Grace heads to the door naked. “Sweetness? Do you want a tee-shirt to walk through the house in?” I reach into the closest drawer and pull out a Motionless in White band tee and offer it to her.

Her eyes drop to the tee-shirt in my hand and she smirks. “I’m just going to have to take it off when I find Griffin.” Her eyes burn a brilliant yellow as her wolf eclipses her human blue.

“Oh? We do have the announcement and ceremony in less than four hours.” Glancing at the clock, I double check my math to make sure I’m correct.

“I know.” She closes her eyes and I feel a wave of energy wash over me. Her eyes dart back and forth under her eyelids, then she smiles. “I’ll be on time, don’t worry.” She winks her eye at me, then turns and walks out of the room.

My suspicion is that she is going to hunt down Griffin since he’s the last man standing yet to be bitten by her. I can’t even warn him through the bond when I hear the claws hit the wood floor. She’s in full predator mode and on a mission. Big brother will definitely have his hands full with the new Grace.

Chapter 26

Griffin

-Wolf Totem- The Hu and Jacoby Shaddix-

Everything has to be perfect for today. Mom is stepping down as Luna and my mate is stepping up. For the sake of the humans in town, I need to talk to Grace about publicly getting engaged to one of us and then getting married. I’m not sure how that conversation is going to go over.

I can feel the moment the bond solidifies with Conrad and Barrett. It was almost like a pulsing of power that moved through me. Ethan stops and stares at me, knowing that I am still unmarked by our mate.

“You okay Griff?” He finishes hammering in the last nail on the stage we are building.

“I’m fine … Natural order of things and all.” I’m not fine, not even close.

Arching a brow, Ethan studies me and then sets his hammer down. “I call bullshit.”

“What do you mean?” Crossing my arms over my chest, I glare at him.

He huffs out a laugh and shakes his head. “You’ve always gotten everything first, and now you’re last. I know better than the bullshit you’re spewing. You’re not fine.” Fucking asshole can read me like a book. Damn twin thing.

“Whatever.” Throwing my hands up in the air, I stalk off away from my twin.

“Hey Gracie.” Ethan greeting our mate stops me in my tracks.

Turning around, I see her silver white wolf standing next to Ethan as he runs his fingers through her thick coat. She reminds me of those pictures of the arctic wolves that live on the tundra in Canada and Alaska. Dozens of our pack mates arrive, wanting to see and meet Gracie. She stands tall and proud next to Ethan until she sees me.

With a quick lick of his hand, she trots over to me and sits wagging her tail. “Hello baby girl. I’m glad to see you out and about.” The crowd doesn’t dare approach while she’s next to me. It’s an interesting turn of events.

“I’m feeling pretty good, Griff. You and I need to talk. Is there somewhere private we can go?” Her wolf flicks its ears several times, listening to the others. Her eyes never leave mine as she waits for an answer.

“Ethan, you good finishing up here? Our girl wants to talk to me in private.” A sly grin crosses his lips as he tilts his head.

“Yeah, I’ve got this.” He turns the crowd’s attention back to him and I’m free to walk off with our mate.

“Let’s go baby girl, I have just the spot for our talk.” Forcing a smile, I lead the way into the woods. Historically, the we need to talk thing has never gone well. Usually, it was a breakup of some sort.

“You know I can hear you, right?” Grace’s wolf rubs against my leg as we walk.

“Sorry, forgot about that. Just having a moment.” Shrugging my shoulders, I try to quell my feelings of inadequacy.

“I can feel that. The big bad Alpha is having a moment. We all have moments we don’t feel like we’re enough. I spent most of my life like that. Truth be told, if I had known about all of this, I would have come back sooner. Dating sucked, especially when it came to faking emotions.” Her wolf lowers its head and its tail. Pulses of emotional hurt radiate from her, and I understand that feeling all too well.

Before the others get the idea to barge in on our talk, I let them know we are just talking about some heavy shit and she’s okay. Turning my attention back to Grace. “I know that all too well. I didn’t want to believe what Con and Barrett had told me.” As we walk, I kick several rocks on the trail, sending them flying. “It made sense when no female meant anything to me, no matter how much I wanted her to.”

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