The trip to Lealla’s seems to go by faster each time I come up here. Rion and I talked the entire drive but kept the conversation light. No speaking of impending doom, vampires, or anything of the sort. We talked about my high school, classes, and what Rion does to occupy his time during the day.

Aries is the resident handywolf around Lealla’s local mansion. He repairs anything that needs it. Rion explained how every wolf in the pack has a job. Well, not the kids, but those eighteen and older. I asked what he did to help out and he said, “Sit around and look handsome.” I laughed. He explained that for now he’s a model and will be getting pictures taken soon for his book cover—our book cover. I dropped the conversation after that. Thinking of my life in a book makes my stomach churn with uneasiness.

Reaching the gates of the mansion, Rion hits a button in the car and the gates open. There’s no creepy man waiting in the shadows. Or maybe there is, and I can’t see him. Either way, I’m glad I don’t lay eyes on him.

“Does the fence go around the whole property?” I ask.

“No. It’s only across the front and more for show. The property is always patrolled by members of the pack. If someone is stupid enough to try to breach the house, they’d be met with a massive wall of wolves.”

“I feel sorry for anyone stupid enough to try that.” I can only imagine what kind of fury they’d find if they try to get into a home full of wolves, their mates, and children.

“If they’re human, we redirect them with a stiff warning never to come again. If they’re paranormal, they don’t make it out alive.”

I have so many questions. Like, how does a vampire fight a wolf? If the vampire keeps teleporting, the wolf is no match for him, right? What about the fae? They play tricks and are very cunning. Then there are mages, and yeah, so many questions.

Rion stops in front of the mansion. The same man from the other night is there to take his keys. The man doesn’t open my door for me, though. Rion does. I remember reading how the males always take care of their females. No one else is allowed to unless the male is incapable of doing so. Then, other members of the pack fill the void as needed.

The inside of the house is just as I remembered it, absolutely gorgeous. Until a red wolf skids across the floor in front of us on his side. He snarls and quickly stands up, charging back the way he came. Growling and shouts are heard from my right. I’m frozen in place. What’s going on?

Rion stays by my side, an arm protectively behind my back. Not in a way that means he’s alarmed. He’s not trying to push me out of the way or anything to keep me out of the melee. His arm is more like he’s staking a claim on me. Telling others I’m his.

“What’s happening?” I ask. I realize I’m asking this a lot lately.

“They’re fighting again.”

“Who?”

“Carter and Cash. They do this all the time. I think they were born too close together, so everything is a competition.” I remember their stories in the series. Carter, Cash, and Cace are all blood brothers. Their father abandoned them when they were young, leaving their human mother to care for them. She got sick not long after he disappeared, leaving the boys on their own. Aries found them and brought them into his pack.

“You got blood on the floor!” Cace yells when he comes into the room. At this moment, I’m so glad I recognize him from the cover of his book. It doesn’t leave me guessing as to who he is. I know his whole story.

Cace stops when he sees us and smiles. “Sorry about that. My brothers don’t know how to behave, let alone welcome guests.”

I stand still for a moment to marvel at Cace in all his shirtless glory. Muscles are bulging on his biceps as he bends to wipe the blood off the floor; his stomach flexing with each movement. Rion growls beside me, causing Cace’s head to snap up and me to glance over at him.

Cace chuckles. “You’ll need to control that a little better, brother. No one is after your mate.” My cheeks redden with embarrassment. Nothing like being caught gawking at the hot man cleaning the floor. I think my whole body is about to go up in flames.

Cace nods toward me. “Nice to see you again, Ari. Excuse my brothers. Even mated, they know not what they do.”

“I knew exactly what I was doing,” Carter says as he enters the room. These men look so much better in person than on their covers. “Cash won’t get off my back about patrol. I’m sick of it. You need to talk to him,” he says to Cace.

“If the two of you can’t get along, how are we to set an example for the other pack members who patrol with us? You’re older, wiser. Stop behaving like a pup. Both of you!” he shouts over his shoulder as Cash enters, while wiping blood off his neck.

“Honestly, Carter, did you need to go for my neck?” Cash asks.

“You had your teeth sunk into my leg! That’s going to take all night to heal. I’m going to have to shift multiple times.” I notice blood seeping from Carter’s calf.

Rion leans down to whisper in my ear. “This isn’t the way I wanted to introduce you to the pack.” Three heads swivel in our direction. They smile in unison as their eyes find me. Three shifters. All sexy. All shirtless. All smiling at me. If this is a dream, I never want to wake up.

Cace speaks first as he stands. “This is Ariane. She’s Rion’s mate. Ari, these are my blood brothers, Carter and Cash.” They step forward, each taking a turn to shake my hand. For big, strong shifters, they are very gentle.

“I’m sorry about the scene we put on. Had we known we’d have a guest,” Cash levels Rion with a glare, “we’d have been on better behavior.”

Carter snorts. “No, we wouldn’t have. We fight like this every day. You always do something to rile me up.”

“Gentlemen, I think that’s enough commotion for one day,” Lealla says as she enters. “Our guest doesn’t need to see any more fighting.” Her chestnut hair is pulled back into a ponytail. She’s wearing a pair of tight jeans that show off her slender legs and a black V-neck tank. Her feet are bare as she walks across the marble floor, toenails painted a light pink.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind,” I reply.

She takes my hands in hers. “You’re coming along quickly. Some of the other mates took quite a while to get used to being around a pack of wolves.” The three brothers smile as they leave the room.

“Once I realized I wasn’t going insane, I started going through everything in my head. It’s like pieces of a puzzle slowly clicking into place. It doesn’t happen all at once, but with the bigger picture in mind, it makes it easier to see.”

“I’m happy to hear it. Come, let’s eat.” She releases my hands as Rion reaches for one.

I never thought I’d be the kind of girl who would want her boyfriend always touching her. But with Rion, it’s subtle, not pushy. He seems to do it as much for his benefit as mine. Every time he touches my skin, those familiar jolts are there. They quiet to a hum much quicker now, as if my body is getting familiar with his.

Lealla leads us to a small dining room off the main entryway. There is a table and chairs for six in a rich cherrywood. Rion closes the door behind us. There is a matching hutch and ivory walls. The same marble floor from the entryway is throughout the room. No way is this where the entire pack eats. Maybe it’s more for entertaining small groups.

Lealla sits at the head of the table with Rion on one side. I try to walk to the other side, but he pulls out the chair beside him.

“Your mate will always want you by his side, Ari. No matter the circumstances, you are safer with him than you are with anyone else.”

“Is someone attacking us here?” I ask, joking. “I thought we were just having dinner.”

“No,” she grins. “It’s instinctual.”

Ford suddenly appears on the other side of the table. His jeans are tucked into black boots, and he’s wearing the same leather trench he wore last night.

“What’s for dinner?” he asks as he takes the seat opposite Rion and rubs his hands together. The room is silent. He glances up. “What? I was invited. Don’t give me that look, princess. Consider me a second protector, if you will.” He winks. Freaking vampire reading my mind, hearing the conversation we just had.

“Over my dead body,” Rion growls and stands up. The chair he was seated in crashes to the marble floor behind him. Here we go. They’re going to fight in this nice room. At least it won’t be the first blood to be spilled tonight.

“But it could be the last,” Ford replies while taking his cloth napkin from the table and placing it on his lap.

“It’s never a dull moment,” Lealla mutters. “Orion fix your chair and take your seat. Ari has enough to deal with without you two fighting. And Ford is right. You are both crucial to her life now.”

“Can we rewind for a second?” I ask. “I need a manual or something.”

Two women enter from a door across the room, each carrying a large tray filled with food: steaks, mashed potatoes, sauces, cooked vegetables, and salads. That’s a lot of food for four people. Ford drops a large filet on his plate. Maybe not. I forgot who I’m dining with.

“You eat this and drink blood?” I ask.

“Yup. While blood gives us nourishment, I love the taste of food. Plus, it gives my body an extra boost of energy from the protein, which is always a positive.”

“I really do need a manual,” I mutter.

“You’ll get it all straight in time,” Lealla says kindly.

“And these are just the vampires and wolves.”

Lealla laughs. “There is much to learn about the paranormal world. That’s for sure.”

“While I want to know everything, I’d like to get straight to the point on a few things. First, how much of my life will be in the book you’re writing about Rion?”

Lealla puts her fork down to give me her full attention. “With every mated couple I’ve written, I’ve left it completely up to them. They are the ones who drive the plot and everything going on with the book. They are the ones who tell me what to, and not to, put in the book. I wouldn’t put anything in the book they didn’t want in there. Also, the book isn’t written until they get their happily ever after. With each new story, there’s a new problem—something that has to be solved. Something that continues from one book into the next. As an author, I need to keep the reader hooked and invested. I want them to look forward to the next book in the series. As much as these books—all my series—are my livelihood, they are my passion as well. But again, I wouldn’t put anything in the books that those involved don’t want in there. That’s where my imagination comes into play, especially if the couple decides they don’t want any of their real story told.” At least I know that’s an option.

“Okay, so after everything happens with Rion and me, then we sit down with you and retell our story?” This is all assuming Rion and I get our happily ever after. Who knows what’s going to happen, or if we’re still going to be together after all is said and done?

“Yes. You can tell me what to change, what to leave out, everything. I will fill in any gaps with fiction, and you’ll have the final say over the book. You and Orion will both read it before I publish it.”

“What about our names? If I’m to be part of this book, I wouldn’t want my family or friends to know it’s me in it. They know Rion is a model, so it wouldn’t be too hard to say you used his real first name in the book. But me, they’ll think it’s odd that it’s my name in there.” Then again, maybe they wouldn’t. Maybe others would think it’s cool to have my name in the book. I think this might be one of those wait and decide when I need to things.

“We can certainly change your name. I can either use a middle name or a name you’ve always liked. As I said, you drive the story.” So far so good. I like where she’s going with this and that Rion and I control it. We have the last say. It’s up to us what we want in it. And if we want a lot to stay between us, then she can fill it in with pure fiction. I have to wonder what happens if we don’t have a dream ending. I push that thought aside, because if I’m honest with myself, I don’t want this relationship to end.

“Is there a deadline?” I ask. “A date when we need to sit down and talk to you?”

“No. Your story concludes, at least in the book sense, when you say so. You come to me when you’re ready. Readers don’t know whose book is next in this series. They only know there will be more. In the meantime, I have plenty of other books to write to keep them happy. It’s one of the perks of having multiple series.”

“And your other packs, they’re okay with this? They come to you to tell their stories?”

She smiles warmly. “Yes. I’ve never pressured them, though. And like you and Orion, they are given the option to have as much of their real story included or none at all. I don’t force any of them to tell me what happened, but they all come to me and want to, because in the end, they want readers to know their amazing love story. The love mates share is something wonderful and rare. If it can give others hope that the kind of love they read about actually exists, then those in my packs want to give it. You don’t have to be of our world to find that kind of love. It happens every day to people all over the world.”