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Lucas

Watching Kaylee as she sleeps in my arms, my mark permanently etched on her neck, I wonder if this is true peace. A mate in my arms, pregnant with my pup, and a pack that actually respects me—not because of a birthright, but because of the work I have done to help the pack grow stronger. If I’d stayed in Oak Fur and married Marilyn, I would have never had this.

“Lucas?” Kaylee says quietly, her eyes blinking sleepily as she looks at me.

“Yes, baby?” I ask, caressing her face gently.

“Why are you still awake?” She yawned midway through the question, her voice sounding innocent—unlike the woman who’d moaned so lewdly that I am sure the whole pack heard us complete the mate bond.

“Because I’m doing my job and protecting you.”

She shifts closer against me, falling asleep just as quickly as she’d woken up. I chuckle, recalling when we were pups and I would stay at her house.

This was when my mother was still alive and would send me to Kaylee’s house after Marilyn came to live in the pack. I remember wondering why my mother would send me away from the packhouse every week when I should be spending time with Marilyn. But those thoughts would disappear when Kaylee opened the door, her blond hair braided down her back, smiling at me.

The two of us would curl up on an air mattress in the middle of the living room, watching movies and devouring junk food. I was so happy during those times. I wasn’t Alpha Lucas to her then—just her friend Lucas. And just like clockwork, Kaylee would fall asleep first and manage to curl up in my arms the way she is now, fast asleep with her head on my chest.

My mother had always known Kaylee and I were Goddess-given mates and sent me there every weekend to build our bond. I’m grateful for that. She looked out for Kaylee and me without us knowing, and if it weren’t for that, I don’t think I would be here now with the love of my life.

[Lucas?]

Suppressing a groan as my aunt’s voice pops into the link, I curl around my sleeping mate and breathe in her cinnamon-sugar scent.

[Go away, Aunt Amelia,] I reply, getting a chuckle in response.

[I just wanted to say congratulations,] she teases.

[You know about the pup?] I ask incredulously, wondering if Kaylee told her.

[Not that, you idiot. I knew about that a few weeks ago,] she replies quickly, the link filled with her laughter. [The familial bond had a shift in it about an hour ago. Kaylee isn’t replying to me, so I figure she is asleep, but I know you two marked each other. I can feel it.]

This time, I groan in frustration. I forgot about that damned familial bond. Kaylee had told me that it had formed with my aunt and her family when she was accepted into the pack, but seeing as I’d been disowned, I never felt it. Not until now. Closing my eyes and searching inside me, I find a familial bond repaired and stronger than ever. I can feel my aunt, uncle, and little cousins, and the joy beaming from all of them. Not only that, but I can feel two more. Kaylee’s and a small blip of light connected to her—our pup.

[You figured she was pregnant from the familial bond, didn’t you?] I ask, getting another chuckle from my aunt.

[I did. That blip of light grows stronger every day,] Aunt Amelia says proudly. Great.

[Well, I’m going to sleep. I’ll see you at the meeting tomorrow.]

I shut off the link and buried my face in Kaylee’s hair. The mate and familial bonds hum together inside me, feeling warm and welcoming. The last time I felt this warmth was when my mother was alive. After that, everything became cold and hard. I became cold and hard, just like Ramos.

But now I have the warmth back—a warmth I never realized I craved until this moment. I will give my life to protect it. Kaylee will never again have to feel the cold, hard world I once lived in, and our pup, Aspen, will live with warmth and love in their little life.