The Crucial Shift (The Ariane Trilogy Book 3) Read online

  When we first started training, Rion burst through the door to the room in a murderous rage. As soon as his eyes landed on Carter, he shifted. Rion must have heard my thoughts and felt the burning pain of the wolf bite. It wasn’t even deep, but enough that it drew blood. Rion wasn’t having any part of his mate being hurt. I had to use my super strength to hold him back and then my soft words in his head to calm him down. After that, he stayed with Tessa, even though I knew from his thoughts that he wanted back in the room I was in. I kept telling him no and to stay away.

  Rion and I decided to eat dinner in our room after we each took a shower. I was sweaty with dried blood on me, but it was great to have a better understanding of how wolves fight, and what I can do to fight back.

  Now, we’re lying on the bed, Rion completely passed out, while I can’t seem to get my mind to quiet down. Tonight, we move the humans from the house and teleport them north to Pennsylvania. With each trip up, we’re bringing back Quivakond pack members. There are four of us who can teleport, so hopefully it won’t take long.

  Wake had another premonition last night. Travis was there and they fought. When Wake arrived back at the mansion, he needed to shift repeatedly to heal. I wasn’t there to see it, but Ford filled me in. Luckily, he’s been keeping watch on Wake’s dreams and teleported in to get him out. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened? Had it been a premonition with no conflict, Wake would have just woken up in his bed. But with the fight, he’s lucky Ford was there to help.

  At least Wake’s okay now and made it out of the dream alive. He said he got a lot of good hits in as well. Wake has been training nonstop since he returned to the pack. After what Travis and his pack did to him, he has his own revenge he wants to get on them. As far as the rest of the premonition, we’re not sure when the war is going to start. Could be tomorrow or a couple of days from now. I wonder if it’s even called a premonition when the only ones in it are dream watchers.

  Whenever the war is going to happen, we’ll be prepared. The most important thing is getting the humans out of the house. They are the most vulnerable. They may be up in Pennsylvania for a while, so Merrick is going to make sure they have everything they need, that way they won’t have to leave the safety of the pack land once they’re there.

  As for me, something doesn’t feel right. I sense it down in my bones, but I’m not sure what to do about it since I don’t know what it is exactly. It’s making me uneasy.

  Rion rolls toward me, stirring from sleep. “You should try to sleep,” he says groggily, having heard my thoughts.

  “I can’t. It’s like there’s a weight on me.” I absently rub my hand over my chest while trying to figure out what’s eating at me.

  “I feel it too but think it’s only the impending war. You need rest, Ari. You have a lot of work to do tonight.” He’s right. There are a lot of people who need to be teleported.

  He reaches for me, pulling me close to his chest. His body heats me in ways only he can. I trace my fingers over his back as we lie side by side and inch myself closer until there’s no space separating us. Every part of him aligning with me. Gently, I place kisses along his nose, either sides of his lips and chin, before making my way down his throat.

  He growls low as his hand tightens on my hip. “This is a dangerous game you’re playing.”

  “It’s not a game. It’s me wanting to be with you. If something happens tomorrow and one of us...” I inhale a deep, shaky breath. “I want to know I had this time with you.”

  Rion rolls me to my back, hovering over me in the darkened room. “I love you, Ariane, but I need to know you’re sure. Once we do this, the mate bond will be sealed. There’s no going back. We’ll be as good as married in your world.”

  Lifting up, I kiss him, pouring all of my love and affection for him into it. I thought I was going to lose him at one point, and then I didn’t think I was making the right decision by being with him. I’ve done a lot of soul-searching, and this is what I want—him. If tomorrow or the next day, we fight and one of us dies, I need to have this memory whether it be my last thought or mourning him. There should be no regrets between us. I will never love someone like I do him.

  His thoughts float to me. Ones of him not wanting to complete our bond here in the middle of the mansion. He wanted to do it at his house with no one around. Here, there are very strong ears everywhere. But I’m above caring. The where doesn’t matter. Only him and me at this moment.

  My eyes hold his. “Please, Rion. Make me yours.”

  He doesn’t ask again. He knows what I’m saying is the truth. He hears what I’m thinking, feels what I am. It’s all there, laid bare for him to sift through and realize the truth of my love for him.

  Rion’s mouth descends on mine as the length of his body presses to me. The second our tongues touch, my body ignites in a blaze I have no hope of controlling. There’s only one thing that will douse these flames, and that’s the man above me giving me all of him.

  Lifting his shirt from his body and tossing it to the floor, my fingers dance across every hard plane on his stomach and chest. His arms flex as he holds most of his weight off me, and his breath skates across my cheek when he kisses the sensitive spot below my ear.

  Slowly, I work off the rest of his clothes as he rids me of mine as well. The first touch of our bare bodies has me sucking in a breath as warmth and love like I’ve never known flood me. Every day since I’ve met Orion has been leading us to this point. To the moment our souls will join as one.

  Rion cares for me as if this moment in our lives will never end. He’s gentle and generous. Everything about this is about us and no one else. We’re becoming what we were always meant to be.

  When we finally become one, my soul rejoices in the rightness of it all. I’m whole for the first time in my life. This man has shown me what it means to love someone with their entire being. To put that person first and do everything to keep them safe, letting them know they are cherished.

  Our bond solidifies, and all of his memories throughout his entire life pour into me as if they’re my own. They play through my mind like a movie in very rapid succession. I see all of him. From the love he had for his parents, his uncle taking him in, and as the years went on, the earth-shattering grief at losing them. He was too young when they died to fully understand it. But as he grew, the pain was there, reminding him of all he lost.

  Then there are memories of when he and Wake became inseparable. The pain of Wake being ripped from the pack, which almost destroyed Rion, but then he found me and nothing else mattered. His love for me pushes him to be a better man every day.

  And his wolf—he’s a part of me now. He stirs in Rion, rejoicing at our connection, finally having his mate complete the bond.

  My wrist begins to glow brightly and burn as if a thousand tiny needles rake across it. Gripping Rion’s shoulders, I clench my jaw and squeeze my eyes shut at the pain. Something bright flashes in front of my eyelids, causing my eyes to open. A light is emanating from Rion’s chest as my name appears across his skin.

  Then everything meshes together in a beautiful symphony of love, trust, and devotion. He calls out my name as our souls truly become one. The final step in our bond complete. There’s no pain left. Only us and the inferno in my veins that reaches the point of combustion.

  Our fast breaths mingle as Rion rests his forehead on mine. Emotion whirls within me. Joy at knowing this man will always be mine. Love I will fight every day for the rest of my life to keep. Rion’s relief that no other shifter or paranormal can ever lay claim on me. All this comes to a peak inside me as tears well in my eyes.

  Rion rests his forehead on mine as something wet lands on my cheek below my left eye. I’m not sure if it’s coming from him or me at this point. Our thoughts and souls are one.

  Reaching up, I brush my thumb along his cheek and realize it’s his tear I felt.

  “I love you, Ariane,” he whispers, his voice catching at the end. “I love you so m
uch.” With his arms around me, he rolls us to his back so I’m on top of him.

  Brushing away my tears, I reply, “I love you, too. Never leave me. I’d die without you.” It’s the truth. The pain at losing him would be unimaginable. Nothing I want to ever live through.

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  More tears fall at the thought of what could happen in the upcoming days. What if I lose him?

  “You can’t think like that,” he says softly, reading my thoughts. “Together, we’re stronger. We’ll work as a team against them. But I need you to make me a promise, Ari. If you get hurt, I want you to call for me. I need to be at your side to defend you while you heal.”

  “Only if you promise to do the same. I need us both coming out of this alive.”

  “Deal.”

  Rion reaches up and turns on the lamp on his nightstand. The brightness has me squeezing my eyes shut.

  “What did you do that for?” I ask.

  “I want to see my mark on you.”

  Blinking, my eyes slowly get used to the light. I peer down at his chest as he looks at my wrist. There, my name is written on his skin in black script with a beautiful flourish on the A. Lightly, I trace it with my fingers. His skin already healing.

  “Why don’t you shift? You’ll heal faster.”

  “It doesn’t hurt. It burned at first but quickly faded.”

  He lifts my wrist and gently rubs his thumb over the paw print. The pain is gone. Nothing left but little jolts of electricity, thanks to Rion’s skin on mine. His paw print on my wrist is also done in black and has tiny breaks in it where there’s no black at all, making it Rion’s unique print. Glancing down at him, I notice his eyes flash green as his wolf appreciates what he sees on me.

  “I can’t believe we’re mated,” I say in awe.

  “Do you regret it?”

  I cock an eyebrow at him. “You know better than to ask that. Everything I’ve thought and felt, you have, too. You know me as well as I know myself now.” He watches me as I realize he still needs to hear the words. “I don’t regret this, Rion. Tonight has been the most amazing night of my life. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

  Lifting his head from where it rests on the pillow, he presses his lips to mine. This time it’s a slow, loving kiss, with promises of a future where we’ll spend years in each other’s arms as we watch the sun rise and set, knowing each day is spent with the person we’re always meant to be with.

  6

  We finally emerge from bed and get dressed. There’s still work to be done. Leaving the bedroom, hand in hand, there’s no concealing the enormous grin on my face nor Rion’s. We’re completely elated.

  As we descend the stairs, Ford, Solomon, Kiara, Cash, Carter, Dante, and Aries are waiting for us. Ford refuses to look me in the eyes, instead focusing on the floor. I try to read his mind, but he has a wall up. It would be easy for me to break it down. I don’t want to hear his hurt on the other side of it, however. He’s told me before he can feel me when I have a strong surge of emotion. If that’s still true, then he had to feel something when Rion and I completed our bond. To what extent, I’m not sure.

  I blush and duck my head. What if he felt everything I did? I mean, everything. How embarrassing would that be?

  Rion grips my hand tighter, his wolf stirring angrily at the thought of another person knowing intimate details about our mating.

  “I didn’t feel all that,” Ford says quietly. “But I know.” That answers those questions and confirms what I thought. “Can we get this moving?” he asks.

  “So it’s true, then?” Aries inquires with a beaming smile, able to interpret Ford’s sullen mood. Also, I’m sure the paranormals in the mansion heard us. Yup, keeping my head down.

  “Ari and I are mated,” Rion replies, his chest swelling with pride.

  “Congratulations!” Aries exclaims and comes forward to embrace his nephew and me. Dante, Cash, and Carter all do the same. I swear if the floor could swallow me up, I’d want it to at this moment. Everyone in the room now knows what Rion and I did, and the wolves are congratulating us for it. Not embarrassing at all.

  “You’re going to have to get used to our culture,” Rion states in my mind.

  “Can we not talk about what we just did in front of the pack?”

  “It’s the equivalent of getting married, little mouse. We celebrate these things.”

  I internally cringe at the rest of the pack finding out. And my mom. Oh. My. Ugh. How am I going to tell her that? ‘Hey, Mom. Rion and I just completed the mate bond. I’m basically married. Sorry for not inviting you. It wasn’t that kind of wedding. It was the intimate kind where only the two of us attended.’

  “She’ll be fine. She’s known about shifters for a long time.”

  “But, but... It’s me confessing that I’m no longer a... And that we had... And now we’re...”

  Rion laughs out loud and dips his head to kiss me. “I love you.”

  I clear my throat, needing to focus on the task at hand. “I agree with Ford. Can we get going with this?”

  Aries rests his hand on my shoulder. “You’re not the first, nor will you be the last to get embarrassed when the pack finds out you’re mated.”

  I groan and bury my face in my hands. “That’s so not helping.”

  Aries chuckles. “Okay, enough embarrassing Ariane. Let’s start moving people.”

  Ford, Solomon, Kiara, and I will be teleporting one person each up north and return with one of the Quivakond Pack. This leaves their other hand free to carry any belongings they’re taking with them. I texted Merrick earlier, and he said they’ll be ready when we are. Quickly, I shoot off another text to let him know we’re about to start.

  I shared my memory of the pack property and the house with the vampires so they know where we’re headed. Well, not Solomon since he seems to know exactly where Merrick’s pack is. We’re going to appear on the lawn rather than inside. The last thing I want to do is startle a bunch of people by showing up with three vampires. No matter how much preparation there is, it could still be intimidating to some, especially the children.

  Dante’s mate, Mira, Carter’s mate, Fairyn, my mom, and Lealla are the first ones who will go with us. The hope is that by these four going first, they can welcome the others into the new environment. They’ll feel more at ease with them there.

  They enter the room, and I take my mom’s hand in mine. Her other holds a small suitcase. There is a vault in the mansion, which holds all the valuables of the pack. Even if Travis manages to take over the property, the vault is impenetrable. All of the items my mom holds dearest are in there for safekeeping. If something happens, we’ll find a way to get back here and retrieve everything for everyone.

  “Are you ready?” I ask.

  “Are you? I’m the one who will be safe while you fight.” Her voices trembles. “If anything happens to you...”

  I try my best to offer her a reassuring smile. “I’m a paranormal now, Mom. I have super strength and heal fast. Don’t worry about me.” I leave off the fact that I’m newly mated. We don’t need to discuss that here in front of the pack. Besides, I need her to focus on being safe.

  She squeezes my hand. “You’re my daughter. I’ll always worry about you.” We hug quickly.

  Dante and Carter both hug their mates and kiss them. It can’t be easy separating from them. Knowing all I do now about the bond, I don’t want to be away from Rion for one second.

  Lealla has her arm slung over Ford’s shoulders as she whispers to him. She’s so relaxed it amazes me. Maybe it’s because she’s seen more than she’s told us. Or maybe it’s because she doesn’t want anyone seeing how stressed and worried she really is.

  I’m trying not to eavesdrop on their conversation but do take note of the smile tugging at the corner of Ford’s lips. Whatever she’s saying is working and making him happy, which in turn eases my mind a little. He’s going to be okay. After this is all over, I need to find hi
m a woman.

  “All right, let’s get this show on the road,” Solomon states loudly as he takes Mira’s hand in his.

  “If you so much as harm a hair on her head,” Dante growls. “I will end your life.”

  “Please. That’s not even the first threat I got today. I won’t hurt your mate, wolf. She’ll be fine. Besides,” he glances my way, “I don’t want to be on the receiving end of Ari’s wrath again. That means I do as I’m told. Well, at least up until this war happens. Then I’m tearing into some paranormals on the other side.” His fangs descend to punctuate his words.

  It took some smoothing over with Merrick to let Solomon back onto his pack’s land. But it meant we’d get everyone transported faster. In the end, he agreed to let him enter again.

  “And we’re off,” I say, a second before I snap my fingers.

  We’re in the mansion one second and on the front lawn of Merrick’s the next. The sky is dark, but there are lights on the exterior of the home, illuminating everything just enough so we can see. I close my eyes, letting the warm air wash over me. There’s no snow or rain. It’s the perfect temperature.

  Then something slams into me from behind, tossing me in the air for a brief moment until I land hard on my back, the wind knocked out of me. I don’t move right away while I try and catch my bearings. A growl has me bolting upright to a seated position. A white wolf is standing before me with its lips curled back and its teeth showing.

  I cock my head. “Did you do that to me, mutt?” Slowly, I stand. I have no clue who this wolf is, but I was minding my business until I was attacked. “You’re going to regret touching me.”

  “Ari, go back to the mansion!” Ford yells, interrupting my fun. What’s he talking about? I’m not leaving while whoever this is sees me as a threat. Screw that.