Page 56 of Hybrid Moon Rising

Flora was slung across him,her head against his chest with her blonde curls splayed in every direction. Her scent tangled with his own, and Draven couldn’t deny she felt like home. His wolf nuzzled in his chest where she lay, almost like a cat would purr, content to be there with Flora in his arms.

By the fucking Goddess, what had come over him?

He hadn’t planned to do something so savage. Something he couldn’t take back. Not that he wanted to.

Flora affected him in ways he didn’t understand.

His whole life, he’d been the prince of wolves, but still on the outside looking in, knowing he would never quite fit the mold despite his title and efforts. He had gotten used to the hole in his chest that never seemed to be filled completely no matter how hard he tried.

But with her, it was easy.

Everything about their night together filled him with hope, and he wanted to hang onto it for as long as he could.

Flora surprised him with her vulnerability and consideration of who she would become if she was turned. And then knocked him off his feet when she grabbed his hand and told him to stay.

He stared at the slope of her shoulder and the fragile line of her neck. His gums ached to pierce it again and hear his name on her lips as his venom flooded her system. He hadn’t lied when he told her she came beautifully for him. She was everything he’d ever dreamed of in a woman, even if he hadn’t known it before she arrived.

Fuck.

How selfish he’d been. It didn’t matter that she’d asked for him to fuck her. He’d done more than that. He’d claimed her out loud.

It wasn’t something he expected or even something he needed, considering all the other shit going on in his life at that moment. Still, he couldn’t deny that a part of him wanted to hold on tight to the woman who had started to fill the emptiness in his soul.

His wolf huffed in agreement.

A buzzing noise pulled him from his thoughts, and he regretfully untangled himself from Flora and rolled over to where his cell sat on the nightstand. An image of his father flashed on the screen and Draven was surprised to see it wasn’t exactly early. It seemed their late night activities had led to them sleeping half the day away.

Every part of him wanted to ignore the call and wrap himself back up in Flora, but he knew if it was important, his father would just call back. Or he’d call Kade and his second would be barging into his room within minutes.

He answered the phone softly, “Give me a minute.” He tugged on his jeans and padded into Flora’s adjoining room so as not to wake her. He smiled when he found Kade and Mateo had done an amazing job righting the room.

“What’s up, Dad?”

“Were you with the vampire girl?” The lilt in his voice said his question was more a personal query than business.

“She’s not a vampire, but yes.” There was no point in lying. “There was a situation, but we handled it.”

“A situation?” His father’s voice deepened, switching from playful father to Alpha. “Do I need to send reinforcements?”

“No. It’s handled.” Draven peeked around the doorjamb to make sure Flora was still sleeping. “Today we are heading out to the site where the stone is supposedly hidden.”

“That’s great. It will be a big help to have the stone in our possession.”

His father’s voice trailed off like he wanted to say more, and Draven wished he would just get on with it.

“That’s not why you are calling though. You’ve never called when I’m on a mission unless you have news.”

The Alpha let out a sigh, the long low tone was a clear sign that the news wasn’t great. “I spoke with Fernando this morning. He isn’t going to back down with the tribe inquisition of your legitimacy.”

“Fuck.” Draven had to bite back the growl that bubbled in his throat so as not to wake Flora. He wasn’t surprised, but he’d hoped Mateo’s uncle, the Alpha of the Ambersy pack, wouldn’t push the issue. Draven should have known better. The bastard stole the pack from Mateo’s father and then gave Mateo the choice to defect or die. Aside from that one choice, there wasn’t a decent bone in his body.

Draven ran a hand through his already-tousled hair. “What does he want?”

His father hesitated. Any time his father hesitated, it was not a good sign.

“For you to secure the moonstone and marry his daughter, uniting our packs.”

No.

---