“You got me a birthday present?” I whisper, looking at the box in my hands. His scent fills my nose and I’m suddenly lightheaded as my heart beats faster. I want him to never stop touching me.
“Of course, I did. You’re the only thing that’s been on my mind lately.” He wraps his arms around me and places his chin on my shoulder. “Open it. I had it made for you.” I open the box to find a gold necklace attached to a charm that reads Kate.
“I love it, Ian.” I gasp, “it’s perfect.”
“Would you like me to put it on you?” Ian kisses my shoulder.
“After I wake up. I’m mentally and physically exhausted.” I look between him and the necklace.
“Let’s go to bed and get some rest, angel.” Ian presses his lips into mine. Our kiss is sweet and gentle. He breaks our kiss and leads me to the bedroom.
Chapter seventeen
We’re Done
**March 2004**
Ian
‘That’sthelastofthem.’Zane’s voice floods everyone’s mindlinks,‘We are victorious!”Victory howls spread from the destroyed rogue encampment in Crimson Tide’s territory.
‘Your father will be very pleased, Zane. You’re becoming an excellent leader.’My father says through our open mindlink. Both my father and Gamma Earnest joined us for this mission, while Alpha Nathaniel stayed in our territory. Originally, it was supposed to be Zane, Kelsey, and myself with one hundred warriors, but with some last-minute intel coming in, Alpha thought it best to send his Beta and Gamma as well. My father doesn’t hand out compliments, so him complimenting Zane is huge.
‘Thank you, Beta Charlie, but this was a team effort.’Zane mindlinks. I watch as Zane shifts his weight from one foot to another. He’s uncomfortable with the praise he is receiving. To Zane, this is just another lifesaving mission, just like the others we’ve been on over the last year.
Our first mission was while we were training at the royal palace. We assisted the palace with removing a blood hungry and abusive Alpha. Unfortunately, about half of the pack sided with the Alpha and took up arms against the palace. It was our first war… and it was a bloodbath. The pack never stood a chance against the royal guard and the young Alphas and Betas training at the palace. The pack was half starved and grossly undernourished. We begged and pleaded for them to surrender to us and promised no harm would come to them, that we were just there for the Alpha. However, they stayed loyal to their abuser and met us head on. It was forty-eight hours of intense fighting. They used weapons against us and used women and pups as shields.
Until that point, I had never seen so much blood or experienced my first kill. I will never forget his eyes as the life drained from his body. It was my life or his. That was the only choice I had. The only reason I’m not haunted by what I saw and experienced is what came after. Seeing the innocent lives come out of hiding once we had made it safe for them and watching their eyes light up with hope for their future was pure joy. The oppression the pack members lived under was far worse than what the palace was told. They praised us as heroes, which lit a fire inside the three of us. We made a promise to ourselves to make it our mission to help as many werewolves as we can. It’s a promise that our fathers stand behind and was the first time that my father offered me any kind of praise.
“Look at you, receiving praise from Cesar.” I tease Zane.
“Shut up!” Zane throws a bottle of water at me. “Kelsey, what are our injuries and fatalities?”
“All our warriors survived with a few minor injuries,” Kelsey proudly says, taking a swig of water.
The three of us train hard, pushing ourselves to be a cut above the rest. Zane and I train to fight side by side together. We have since we were about ten. And with each passing year, we become more of a force to be reckoned with. Kelsey trains and works directly with the warriors. Once he is officially the gamma, all the warriors will report to him and will be his sole responsibility. He currently leads training alongside his father, and you can see the pride in his face for his warriors.
“That’s fucking awesome, bro. We need to get back to Crimson Tide territory and check in with our Beta and Gamma. Kelsey, leave twenty-five warriors here to help Crimson Tide clean this mess up. Just have them make one big disgraceful pile of rogue remains and their camp and burn it.”
When we arrived here, the fighting in Crimson Tide’s village was raging. The rogues were minutes from capturing the packhouse. Once we eliminated the threat in the village, we attacked the rogue encampment. We decimated the rogue camp, taking no prisoners. Unfortunately, the rogue king and some of his followers escaped us. We’ll deal with him another day. Zane’s take no prisoner and burn everything to the ground approach is giving him a ruthless reputation. He is following in his great grandfather’s footsteps and werewolves everywhere are taking notice.
“Got it. I’ll catch up with you two.” Kelsey nods and walks away.
It’s almost one in the morning when our SUVs pull away from Crimson Tide’s territory. All of us are exhausted and filthy; we smell like rotten flesh just like the nasty rogues we’ve been dealing with. We’ve been away for thirty-six hours. None of us have showered and have only had an hour or two of sleep. Crimson Tide offered us a place to stay and rest, but all of us are eager to get home to our mates.Mate.I never thought I’d be able to say that word while referring to Kate. I’m excited to get back into her arms. I absolutely hated leaving her the way I did, but I plan on making it up to her. It’s mere hours before Kelsey and Sonia’s wedding, and we know from Alpha Nathaniel that the women are in the common area celebrating Sonia’s last night as a single woman. So, we decide to surprise them by not letting them know we are headed home. I can’t wait to see the look on Kate’s face. Hopefully, she’ll forgive the way I smell.
It’s three-thirty in the morning when we pull up in front of the packhouse. I’m full of excitement as I make my way into the packhouse. At first, the women are shocked to see us walk through the door, and rightfully so, we’re filthy and stinky. Then Sonia spots Kelsey and screams with delight as she rushes into his arms. As more couples reunite, I continue to search for my Kate. I follow her scent into the kitchen. Then I see her standing by the refrigerator, looking at the floor with her back to me.
“Kate… I’m home.” I can hardly contain my excitement. She flinches at the sound of my voice, then stands still for several moments. “Kate?” She slowly turns towards me; her body is stiff and shaking. Kate’s face is red and the veins on the side of her neck are protruding out, while her fists are in balls at her side. Her chest rises and falls as she scrunches her face, fighting back tears.What the hell is going on?
“How was the boys’ trip? Hmmm? How was Vegas?” She shouts, pointing her finger at me.
“What?” I’m shocked, “Vegas? What does that mean?”
“Don’t lie to me, Ian! I’m sick to death of your bullshit lies!” She picks up a coffee mug from the counter and hurls it at my head. I duck and the mug narrowly misses my head before crashing into the wall behind me.
“What are you talking about? I wasn’t in Vegas.” I look at the wall behind me, then back at Kate. “What’s gotten into you?”
“You can’t even tell me the truth when you’re caught. At least tell me the truth!” She shouts. The tone in her voice is cold and harsh. This is not my sweet Kate.