Chapter 10

T he gentle breathing of someone sleeping is the first thing I notice as I wake. There's the comforting weight of an arm around my waist and the warmth of a male body pressed against my back. Even if I didn't remember who was sharing my bed with me, the warmth within me tells me that the person cocooned around me is Killian. He makes a sound in his sleep and buries his face into my hair, inhaling my scent.

I glance at the clock on my bedside table, but I'm in no rush to get up today. A sense of trepidation fills me. I'm not sure I'm ready to face the consequences of the last few days.

After I accidentally claimed Killian and he had returned the claim, sealing us together and affirming our true pair bond, a kind of frenzy had descended upon us. We couldn't get enough of each other, the thought of even leaving the room and seeing other people had set off a jealousy in us both so strongly that we had been confined to my bedroom. We had fucked pretty much throughout the first day, and that's exactly what it was—fucking. Making love came later, that first day was wild and animalistic, scratching and biting, our wolves trying to assert their dominance. As we settled down, we took the time to get to know each other's bodies better.

I roll over in the bed and run my eyes over the man I'm now bonded to. I've had a lot of time over the last few days to think over it, and my feelings are mixed. A slither of sunlight creeps in through a parting in the curtains and falls on Killian, lighting up his features. A feeling of contentment warms me as I watch him sleeping. I pull a face. Urgh, have I really turned into one of those people? Soppy has never been a word in my vocabulary.

"Stop staring at me." Killian's voice is deep from sleep, making me smile and roll my eyes in the process.

"I can't help it, you're pretty," I tease, and I mean it as I reach forward and play with a strand of his pale hair. He looks serene when he sleeps, all the stress and tension that he carries around with him falls away, and he just looks peaceful. He snorts at my comment and opens one eye, scowling at me.

"I think the bond has addled your senses, mate." My insides clench at his used of the term mate. He's been using it at every opportunity, as if he relishes being able to call me it. His words were teasing, but a frown mars my face as I remember that we're going to have to face the reactions of the others regarding our actions soon enough. The others must have realised what was going on since we haven't been bothered, and little food packages have been arriving outside my door so we haven't had to leave my room.

Killian sits up as he sees my frown, although he would've been able to feel my turbulent emotions through our newly formed bond anyway. He reaches for me and pulls me into his arms, pressing his forehead to mine as a sigh leaves his lips.

"Look, I know this isn't what we planned, but what's done is done, we need to make the best of this. The others will understand." I bite my lips as he finds the root of my worries. I can deal with the uncomfortable fact that I'm tied to Killian for life at a later date, what I'm most worried about is how the guys are going to take it. I think Alex and Seb thought this was inevitable. They're wolf shifters, they understand how the pull of the true mate bond is difficult to resist. Garett is the one I am most worried about. How is this going to work between us, between all of us? Is Killian going to feel more entitled than the others? I don't love him more than the others, hell, I don't even know if what I'm feeling is love. Is what I'm feeling for him just fate taking away my choices and deciding for me? No. Fuck fate. I acknowledge that what I have with Killian is intense and different, but I will not let that affect my relationship with the others.

Trying not to focus on that, I press a kiss to his full lips, paying particular attention to where his scar crosses his lip. I had spent one of the nights we shared together kissing along every scar on his body. He doesn't say as much, but I know his appearance bothers him. He hides behind it, this hard exterior, and I think he believes he deserves it because of his failings to his pack. I've been trying to convince him that his scars do not define him. Hell, I'm covered in scars, and they don't stop me. The look on Killian's face when he realised that the marks were scars inflicted from my old pack was murderous, and it had taken me a long time to calm him down, as the protective instinct from the bond was riding him hard.

He rumbles in satisfaction as my kisses become firmer, and I crawl into his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. Damn, this bond is going to make it difficult to get anything done.

"We need to go speak to everyone," I say, but the bond is screaming out to me to stay here with my mate. Urgh. Mate.

We eventually manage to leave the room and make our way over to the main house where the alpha lives. Killian had grabbed hold of my hand as we walked over, and his eyes kept flicking to me. As we reached the main house, as if they knew we would need to see them, Alex and Seb appear in the doorway, Alpha Mortlock pushing past the two of them to walk towards us. I feel Killian tense up, and we come to a stop a few meters away from the house. I glance over at him and give his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Ari, Killian. Congratulations on your mating. It came as a bit of a surprise to us." Alpha Mortlock strolls towards us slowly, and while he's smiling and his words are genuine, he's carefully eyeing up Killian, trying to judge his reaction.

"Yes, it came as a surprise to us too," I joke and shrug my shoulders as if it was no big deal. I can feel Alex's eyes on me, and when I look his way, he looks concerned, like he wants to say something but thinks better of it. I just smile and shake my head, hoping my gesture reassures him for now, we can talk properly later.

Killian looks at me as I speak, and he visibly relaxes and even goes so far as dropping my hand and going forward to greet the alpha, shaking his hand and accepting his congratulations.

"Thank you, Alpha, your acceptance of our mating means a lot to us."

Movement from within the house brings my attention back up as I see a figure making his way to the door.

"Hey, Ari," Garett calls out softly, his expression wary, but I notice his despair as he sees Killian and I together.

"Garett!" I cry out. My happiness at seeing him must light my face, as his expression turns bright and he takes a step towards me. I start to hurry towards him when I feel an iron band clamp down around my wrist, halting me in my tracks. I look down at the hand wrapped around my arm and frown up at Killian, who's holding me in place. His face is set in a scowl, and his lips pull back over his teeth as he snarls, but he isn't looking at me. Garrett's expression darkens as he takes a menacing step towards us, his bear coming to the surface as his power floats through the air.

"Let go of her." His already deep voice deepens as he fights for control against his bear.

"She's mine," Killian growls out. Oh no, not this nonsense again. I rip my hand out of his grip and glare at him, smacking him on the chest until he pulls his glare from Garett to look at me.

"Oi, Mr. She's Mine. She belongs to herself, we've spoken about this before. Get your possessive mate addled head out of your ass."

"Ari…" Alpha Mortlock warns, ready to pull me out of the way if Killian shifts, but I see his pupils start to return to normal at my insults. Huh, guess that works then. He nods curtly at me and takes a step away. Alpha Mortlock goes over and starts talking to him quietly, Killian nodding at whatever he's saying. I wait for a few moments to check that he's calm before turning back to Garett. He's staring at Killian, his arms crossed, until he feels my attention on him. He smiles at me and opens his arms wide. I hurry over and wrap my arms around him, breathing in his scent as he drops a kiss on the top of my head. Reaching down, he places a finger on my chin and brings my face up to look at him. His expression is serious, and I know what he's going to say.

"You have a mate now, huh?" I let out a sigh. I had hoped to enjoy a bit of time with my guys before all this got brought up, but there is no point putting off the inevitable.

"Yeah. We didn't mean to accept the bond. I'm sorry, Garett." I start to look away, not wanting to see the hurt on his face, but he stops me with his finger on my chin again.

"Don't be sorry, Ari, I'm not mad at you." He sighs and gives me a rueful smile. "I'm jealous. I wish it were me you bonded with. I always knew I was going to have to share you, but I always thought that we had a special bond. Instead, it's with that dickhead."

I can't help but laugh at his words and the annoyance in his tone.

"Garett, we don't need fate to tell us what can and can't be. You know I love you." Garett wraps his arms around me even tighter, holding me close to him as I say this quietly.

A loud snarl has me spinning around, and I see Killian being held back by Alpha Mortlock, who is frantically talking to him.

"How's that bond treating you, Kill?" Alex chimes in, snapping what little control Killian had left. In a flash of claws and fur, Killian shifts into his wolf form, snarling and growling at Garett, who happens to be behind me. Garett starts to lose control and pushes me behind him as he falls to his knees and shifts into his bear form. I'm always taken aback at how large he is in his animal form. I shouldn't be because of how large he is as a human, but he's even bigger as a bear.

"Thanks, Alex, that was real helpful," I drawl at Alex, who just winks at me.

"Will you three just fuck already? This is getting repetitive," Seb jokes, pushing his way towards me, wrapping his arm around me. I half-heartedly return his hug, but my attention is on the two shifters who are battling it out. I wince as Garett gets bitten on the forearm and start forward to step between them.

"Not a good idea, Ari," Alex says as he pulls me back. "They won't be able to stop themselves if you get between them, and then think how badly they will feel."

"They're going to kill each other!" I practically shout, as I wave a hand at the fight in front of us.

"They won't, and Alpha Mortlock will keep an eye on them. The last thing we need is a dead bear on our property," Alex jokes, but I just look at him horrified. "Okay, that was in bad taste."

"Ari, let's go inside, your presence is just making things worse," Seb suggests gently before slipping his hand in mine and pulling me away from the two shifters who have a piece of my heart.

You better not kill him, Kill. I will shred this bond if you injure him , I threaten down the newly formed bond. I'm not sure if he can hear my words or if he just gets a hint of my feelings, but I mean every word. I know Garett wouldn't kill Killian, he isn't the type of person. Fiercely protective of me? Yes. But he wouldn't kill him out of spite. Killian, on the other hand, is a wild card.

The two of them lead me inside the house and into the kitchen, where I find Eric at the coffee pot, with cups and a plate of doughnuts spread out before him. He smiles at me as we enter, passes me a steaming cup, and gestures to the plate.

"I thought you could use some caffeine." He grins when I sigh in appreciation as I inhale the smell of the coffee and reach forward for a doughnut .

"Oh, man, I love you," I joke before stuffing half of the heavenly doughnut in my mouth. Pausing, I realise what I just said before frowning at him. "I mean…" I try to explain around the doughnut, looking as ladylike as ever. Eric just laughs, his blue eyes creasing at the sides as he smiles, his eyes running over me.

"I know what you mean, Ari." He takes a sip of his own coffee before leaning back against the kitchen counter. "I haven't seen you in a while. I hear you've had an interesting couple of days." I run my eyes over him as I realise he's right, I haven't seen him in a couple of days. He doesn't seem to be too affected by being away from me. He obviously sees my inspections of him and smiles slightly. "Just being on the compound is close enough to you to sustain me." What is that supposed to mean? My raised eyebrow has him chuckling. "There is a lot of…sexual energy around you, and I absorb it without realising it. I still can't feed properly, but I'm not starving," he reassures me.

"How have you been?" I ask him, unsure how to move our friendship-slash-relationship any further. He must be lonely here, I haven't exactly been keeping him company, and being around all of my men in a strange pack can't exactly be easy.

"I'm fine, Ari. I've been keeping busy. The pack has been letting me work here as their doctor for the last few days, it seems they have an opening." He smiles at me, and I can see he is truly happy he can help out. I'm surprised that Mortlock is allowing him to help though, when it took so much convincing to get help from other packs when we needed a second nurse. I would have to speak to Alpha Mortlock later, but I know that Eric would never hurt any of the wolves here, and he is brilliant at his job. It's just his morals when it comes to feeding that I have a problem with. I smile at his comments, happy he has found purpose here, at least until we figure out what's going on between us.

There is a tension in the room that's building, and I look around between the three guys .

"Okay, what aren't you telling me?" I demand, placing my coffee down to cross my arms and glare.

"Perhaps it's best if we wait for the others to come back?" Seb suggests, trying to placate me, but I shake my head. I have a bad feeling inside, and I have a suspicion that it has to do with the disappearances.

"No, tell me now. Please." I look around at them and hear Alex groan before he pulls his phone out of his pocket.

"Killian isn't going to be pleased that we started without him," he warns, pressing something on his phone before he places it on the kitchen counter between us.

"I'll deal with Killian," I mutter as the phone rings and the loudspeaker fills the room with the tone.

"Hello?" Tori's voice saturates the room, and a part of me relaxes. I know they would have said something if Tori was in trouble, but now I can be sure she is safe.

"Tori, it's Alex. I've got Ari, Seb, and Eric here," he explains, and we all call out our hellos.

"Hey, girl! Ari, you have a lot of explaining to do." Her tone is jokey, but I know she means business, there is no getting out of telling her every last detail . "You always seem to miss all the action!" she comments, and I narrow my eyes at the guys in the room.

"Why? What's been happening?" I glance at Eric, whose expression is dark, but he doesn't give anything away. Seb is staring at Alex, so I turn my gaze to him, a questioning look on my face.

"There have been more disappearances. Two vampires, a fae traveller, a dwarf, and a troll." My eyes widen, five disappearances in three days. They're getting worse.

"How the hell did they take a troll without anyone noticing?" I demand, those guys are big and don't go down without a fight. I think over the disappearances again and frown. "No shifters this time?"

The mood in the room goes darker, but the tight knot in my chest loosens as I hear footsteps heading towards the building. Killian and Garett are in human form as they walk in, a few cuts and bruises mar their faces and arms, but they don't look too badly damaged.

"What was that about the disappearances?" Killian asks, his voice rough from the recent shift. Alex fills him in on what they just told me as I run my eyes over the two of them. They seem calmer now, both of them keep shooting me little glances, and I keep seeing Killian's hands clench into fists as if he's stopping himself from reaching out for me. I appreciate him trying, since the bond is also urging me to be closer to him, touch him. It's taking a lot for me to resist, but we have a more urgent matter at hand.

"Shifters have also been taken, but like before, their bodies are showing up. At least some of them are. Over the last three days, ten shifters have disappeared the same way as before, and traces of magic and runes show they were taken by force, but only seven bodies have shown up. We don't know why only the bodies of shifters are coming back, nor do we know why supernaturals are being taken," Alpha Mortlock explains as he walks into the kitchen, catching the end of our conversation and gratefully receiving a mug of coffee from Eric.

"It's a message. It has to be. Are the bodies still mutilated?" I probe, grimacing as Mortlock, Garett, and Alex nod.

"A bear was taken from our pack, and I was asked to go look at the body. I found this carved into the base of his neck." Garett passes me his phone and shows me a photo. My coffee turns to lead in my stomach as I recognise the symbol, the same symbol as the tattoo on my back.

"Shadow Pack."

"We thought they were involved, we just didn't have any proof until now," Tori chimes in from the speakerphone. "We just don't know why they've started marking the bodies until now. I've been looking into the disappearance sites, and other than proving magic has been used, I'm struggling to track down the users. They have a very strong magic user, and they're blocking me," Tori explains, and I hear the frustration in her voice. She isn't used to being out powered.

"It's a message to me. Just like the human that was carved up and sent to my hospital. They want me." I sigh in frustration and rub my hands across my face. I feel multiple hands reach for me, and I'm grateful for the support without them fighting amongst themselves. "What about ASP? What do they have to say about this?" As our supernatural police force, they should be out there dealing with this. The faces in the room turn even darker, and Tori makes a rude noise down the phone.

"They aren't doing anything. They are trying to keep the shifter disappearances quiet, although they're looking into the other ones. It's causing unrest. There's talk of the alphas meeting up to discuss what we should do, since ASP clearly doesn't care about us," Alex spits out, and I look over to Mortlock for confirmation. His expression is heavy, but he nods in agreement.

"We must be careful not to rush into things we may regret in the future," he tells the room, but he seems to be aiming his words at Alex.

A sense of dread settles over me as I come to a realisation. ASP aren't going to help us, we are going to have to look after ourselves. Which means I have to be able to protect myself. Shadow Pack clearly isn't going to give up, and they're still after me. I have to embrace the part of me that I hate, the part they want me for, if I have a hope of surviving this. I sigh and clear my throat, getting the attention of the room, uttering words I never thought I would say.

"I need to go back to the Shadow Realm."