Chapter 3

A s Killian's car pulls up outside Moon River Pack's medical building, he turns off the engine, and silence fills the space between us. I look up at the building I now call home, and a slight smile crosses my lips as the sound of people inside reaches us, particularly Seb's laughter. I'm not exactly sure when this place became my home, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the guys all claiming a piece of my heart.

I turn to look at one of those guys, only to see that Killian's eyes are already on me. Garett stayed behind with Max and the twins, and although it pains me that he won't be here with us tonight, I understand he's needed there. Killian looks relaxed as he leans against the driver's seat, but his stare is heavy.

"You scared me today." His voice is low and steady. "Seeing you in there against that bear made me want to tear that fucking door down." I wait for him to admonish me, my hackles beginning to rise at the thought of him not believing or trusting that I can take care of myself, but it doesn't come. I lean back and watch him, my eyes assessing for signs of anger, since he's been quiet the whole drive back.

"But you didn't." My words are careful, more of a question than a statement .

"No, I didn't," he replies, leaning across the centre console of the car so he's only inches from my face. "Because I knew you could handle yourself. Besides, I was there, so if you were ever truly in danger, I would've stepped in." I'm about to protest that I can, and did, handle it, but he stops me with a predatory kiss. I yield under his firm lips, kissing him back just as fiercely. If I'm truthful with myself, I find the thought of him watching, waiting in the wings, and ready to protect me if I needed him a huge turn-on. He growls into my mouth as I bite down on his lower lip, pulling his face away from me so I can see his eyes glowing with the power of his wolf.

"It was one of the hottest and fucking scariest things I've ever seen. My mate facing off against a shifter three times her size and coming away without a single scratch. I didn't know whether to storm in there and shout at you or fuck you." His lips meet mine again, and I practically crawl onto his lap, his words igniting something inside me. He pulls me close, so I'm straddling his lap. I thread my fingers through his hair, enjoying his moan as I tug on it and pull his head back. His hands move to my back, holding me in place as his erection presses against me through our clothes.

"You're magnificent." His words are breathless as he moves his hands up and down my back. I press kisses against his neck, gently nipping at his pulse point. His erection twitches against me, and with a smile, I nip at him again, enjoying being in control. He so rarely lets go. "Although, I can't guarantee that I won't tear that bear apart the next time I see him for daring to attack my mate," he growls out, cupping my face in his hands. He brings his lips down on mine, leading me in a powerful kiss before pulling back once again. "You're mine."

I'm trying to decide whether or not to kick his possessive ass or give in to him, when a knock on the car window startles us. We're so caught up in each other that we didn't notice someone coming up to the car. Pulling away from Killian, I look up to see a smiling Seb waving at us with a smug look in his eyes. He obviously enjoyed having the opportunity to sneak up on us.

"Fucking pup," Killian mutters under his breath, and I can't help but laugh at how happy Seb is to see us.

Pulling open the door, he offers me his hand and helps me out of the car, wrapping his arms around me as soon as I'm standing.

"I heard the car pull up and I wanted to see you." His words are innocent, but the little gleam in his eye lets me know he knew exactly what was going on in the car. As if the fogged up windows weren't already a huge giveaway. Seb seems to get a kick out of doing things to piss Killian off, and surprisingly, Killian lets him get away with it. He'll act like he's angry, but I've felt a little surge of something down the bond on more than one occasion, something akin to belonging. Their relationship is more like a bond siblings would have, not that Killian would ever admit it.

Killian glares at Seb as he gets out of the car and adjusts his trousers, which does nothing to hide his erection pressing against the fabric. It's begging to be freed, and I can't decide whether to laugh or drag him into the nearest bedroom.

"Seems you got yourself a bit of a problem there," Seb comments with a raised eyebrow.

"It wouldn't be a problem if you hadn't interrupted us," Killian growls out, and although I know he isn't truly mad, he pushes a bit of his alpha power into the words anyway. Seb stiffens in my arms, and I feel that strange power start to build up in him.

Pushing back, I glance at Killian, who's watching Seb warily, darting his eyes between the two of us. The way he's looking at Seb, it's as if he's a threat, but Seb would never hurt me, right? Turning my attention back to Seb, I see his eyes are glowing slightly and fixed on Killian. But his eyes aren't the most surprising thing, no, it's the unearthly pulsing waves of power coming off of him. We know this shouldn't be possible. A werewolf is born with a level of power. Some have alpha power, which is stronger and makes the shifter capable of becoming an alpha, but this level of power is unchangeable. Somehow, Seb is changing. It shouldn't be possible, and it's worrying.

"Seb." Although my voice is quiet, it seems to jolt him out of whatever trance he was in, and his blinking, confused eyes meet mine. Killian gently takes my hand and tries to pull me away. Seb immediately releases me, backing up as hurt flashes over his features when he realizes Killian's trying to protect me from him.

"Kill, it's fine, Seb won't hurt me," I tell him firmly, confidently, but I have to admit that these little ‘power surges' concern me.

"I-I'll see you inside," Seb mumbles, the light going out of his eyes as he turns and hurries inside.

"Seb, wait!" I call out, taking a step to follow after him, when I feel a hand tighten around my own.

"Leave him, give him some space," Killian advises before he pulls me into his arms. The benefit of our bond is that he gets glimpses of my feelings, and right now, I'm scared for Seb. Killian knows I'd never ask him to comfort me, but he also knows that's exactly what I need right now. With a sigh, I bury my face in his chest, inhaling his calming scent.

A few moments later, I hear a set of footsteps and move out of Killian's arms. When I turn to face the medical building, I see Eric approaching. Greeting me with a little smile, he leans against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his broad chest. Eric is the newest edition to our strange little family, and we're all still learning how he fits in with our group. We were friends for years, working together at the hospital, and sure, there was always chemistry there, but I thought he was human, so refused to take our relationship any further. Not long ago, he admitted what he really was, a type of incubus, and that I was his fated mate.

Seems that fate has a weird sense of humour.

Incubi discover their mates through visions triggered by some form of extreme event, and in our case, that ‘extreme event' was me being stuck in the Shadow Realm. Once they discover their fated mates, incubi can't feed properly until the bond is accepted. Something we have yet to do. Since he's told me what he really is, he doesn't hide his presence from me anymore. I run my eyes over him, feeling his otherworldly power. Even half-starved, his power is phenomenal. I shudder to think how powerful he'll be if we complete the bond.

His white button-down shirt looks tight across his chest, and his smart, dark denim jeans hide muscular legs. When I bring my gaze back up, his blue eyes are twinkling slightly. He knows I was just checking him out.

Busted.

"I felt something out here, is everything okay?" He's still smiling, but I can hear the note of concern in his voice. Sighing, I walk up the steps to the porch and shrug my shoulders.

"Seb," is all I say. I frown when he nods, as if he was expecting that answer.

"I was going to ask you about his little…" He pauses to gather his words, a wrinkle appearing between his brows. "Power episodes," he finishes. I can tell he wanted to say something else, but he's holding back, which worries me. Taking a step closer, I put my hand on his arm, ignoring when his pupils dilate at my touch and the way his body seems to hum with energy.

"Do you know what's happening to him?" I try to keep my voice calm, quiet, since I don't want Seb knowing we're talking about him, but I can't help the feeling of urgency that fills my tone.

"Not really, but they feel a little like the bursts of power new demons go through," Eric explains gently, his eyes roving over my face. "The power doesn't feel like yours, or like any shifter, really. It feels more like raw energy."

Shaking my head, I look between him and Killian, my chest tightening at the unknown. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know, but I know some people I can ask," he offers, but I instantly don't like the idea. After the attack, we don't know who we can trust anymore. I go to speak when Eric steps closer, raising his hand to gently cup my face. "Don't worry, Ari, I'll be discreet." His voice is soothing as he rubs small circles into my cheek with a featherlight touch. "I promise."

A warm feeling of wholeness builds within me at our touch. I've started to feel it growing stronger between us as we've gotten closer. I don't know if this is a result of the mate bond that's waiting to be completed, or if I'm genuinely developing feelings for him. Either way, being close to him feels right, much like the feeling I have with my other guys.

Nodding at his suggestion, I turn to Killian and take his hand. "Let's go inside," I suggest and walk past Eric to enter the house, ignoring the part of me that mourns the loss of his touch. If losing Tori has taught me anything, it's that I need to keep those I love close to me. I've spent so long pushing people away, but it's too late for that now. These guys, this pack, are family, and I'm not sure I would survive losing anyone else. My heart thumps painfully in my chest as the grief threatens to swallow me whole.

Feeling my distress through the bond, Killian squeezes my hand, pulling my gaze to his knowing eyes, which bore into me. I know he wants to talk about what happened, they all do, but I'm not ready. Instead, I train by day, work on getting stronger, and spend time with my guys at night. We've all grown closer in these last two weeks. I don't like them being too far away, and they help keep the nightmares at bay. I haven't been back to the Shadow Realm since Em's big reveal that he worked for ASP. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it, as I know there must be more to the situation, but I can't help feeling the sting of betrayal.

Laughter comes from the kitchen, which causes a little smile to touch my lips as we walk into the open plan room, seeing Seb and Alex behind the counters cooking dinner. Alex has turned out to be a surprisingly good cook, and the six of us have shared many meals together these last few weeks in this kitchen. Family dinners are quickly becoming a tradition.

"Hey, gorgeous," Alex calls out with a wink as he sees Killian and I in the doorway. Handing the spoon over to Seb, he walks over to me, places his hand on my waist, and presses a kiss to my lips. I'm not the only one who's decided to embrace our relationship, and Alex has been particularly forward recently. It's been a welcome change, as Alex's hot and cold yo-yoing had been giving me whiplash. The only downside is that Alex's more dominating attitude was rubbing against Killian's alpha side.

Killian stiffens next to me, his hand tightening around mine. Through the bond, I can feel he wants to keep Alex away from me, his wolf fighting to challenge Alex for dominance. I'm worried I might have to step in and say something, but a rumble through the bond stops me.

Stepping up next to me, Killian taps Alex on the shoulder. Body tense, Alex pulls away from me and looks at the alpha wolf with his eyebrow raised. He's expecting a fight.

"Don't I get a kiss too?" Killian's voice grinds out. I can't help the laugh that spills from my lips, and Eric and Seb join in. Alex rolls his eyes but cracks a smile, patting the other shifter on the back as he moves away.

"Sorry, man, I don't do alphas," Alex jokes before Seb bounds over to us and throws his arms around Killian.

"It's okay, Kill, I'll give you a kiss!" He clings on to the larger shifter like a baby monkey, laying noisy kisses on his face as Killian tries to dislodge him. He may look pissed off as he snarls and swipes at Seb, but he can't hide the little surge of feeling that shoots down the bond. Fun. Belonging. Family.

Smiling, I walk over to the dining table, where Eric is nursing a mug of coffee, watching the antics of the other guys. Alex has joined in, and him and Seb are now chasing Killian around the kitchen, making kissy noises at him.

"Ari, we need to talk." My gut clenches, not so much at Eric's words, but his soft tone. It's his doctor voice that he uses when he has to deliver bad news to patients. "It's about Tori's body."

I school my face into a careful, blank mask before facing him. The guys don't need to see how damaged I am or how difficult I'm finding everything. Everything I see or do reminds me of her . There's a tight, dark ball of rage inside that wants to consume me, urging me to find those who hurt her and destroy them.

Taking a deep breath, I meet his eyes and hate the sympathy I see there. It only lasts for a second before his expression changes into something else, an anger I rarely see from Eric taking over.

After the fight, we took Tori's body back to Moon River to prepare for the funeral. I'd been dreading it, not sure I could face it, but that day never came. Overnight, while I'd been in the Shadow Realm, her body had been stolen, and the only thing left behind was a circle of runes. Eric had gone silent when he saw them and told me he needed to do some investigating. Given the attacks and shifter disappearances, we assumed it was Shadow Pack that was behind stealing Tori's body.

The attacks on shifters have continued, but other races have started to disappear too. ASP made a big statement about how they were looking into it, and that we should leave the investigations up to them. But we still don't know how involved ASPis in everything. They lost the trust of the shifters when they attacked us in the warehouse. There have been rumblings of a rebellion, but Alpha Mortlock has been trying to work with the other city alphas to stop this. The last thing we need is an all-out war.

The noise of the others dims in the background, and I can feel as they draw closer, their hands touching my shoulder in comfort. Nodding for Eric to go ahead, I take a seat next to him.

"I'm not experienced with magic, but some of the runes left behind looked odd. So I did a little research, and then I realised what was bothering me about them. I recognised a few of them." I frown at his statement, trying to draw conclusions in my mind, but only coming up with more questions.

"I don't understand. You can't use magic, so how would you recognise them?" I ask, getting frustrated. I run my hands through my hair, turning to look at the others to see if they have any more insight. Feeling Eric's hand on mine, I face him again, startled by his intense expression.

"Because some of them weren't magic runes. They were demon marks." Silence meets his declaration before I choke out a startled laugh, throwing my hands up into the air in despair.

"So now I have fucking demons to worry about too? Shadow Pack is using demons now?" Fucking great. First magic, and now demons? I know nothing about demons other than what Eric has taught me of his people. How can I fight something I know nothing about?

"I don't know, Ari. It shouldn't be possible to mix magic and demon marks. They're completely separate magics and shouldn't work together," Eric explains, also sounding frustrated by this mystery we face. A dense sadness fills me as I realise that this means I'll probably never get Tori's body back, never put her to rest properly. I know she wouldn't care, but it feels important that we bury her. Silence fills the room as we all ingest the new information, the atmosphere heavy.

"What does this mean?" Killian questions Eric, and I feel his determination to keep me safe, to keep us safe, down the bond.

"If the demons are truly involved in this, it means we need to watch our backs."