The music flows through the air around us, the bass thumping into the ground with such violence that it vibrates through the logs where we sit. It makes my ass all kinds of tingly, and not in the good kind of way. Wade and Zane carried out the speakers only an hour ago, and I got the fire pit started while Dylan and Marco left to get enough food to feed fourteen packs…Thank God for our connections with the butcher.

Everyone needed a chance to get used to all these sudden changes, and the best way to do that, it seems, is with a party. I huddle in closer to Sophie, Annabelle, and Becca, trying clue back into the conversation I missed while I stared at the flickering ire, lost in thought.

“How long have you and Josh been mated, Becca?” Sophie’s timid voice inquires with her eyes fixed on the ground, her shyness back in full force.

“We were mated about four years ago now,” The poised brunette replies, a soft smiling pulling at her face as she looks across the fire to where her mate lounges, talking with his brothers.

“How did you two meet?” Annabelle asks, her body shifting closer to Becca with her curiosity.

“He held the beta position of Imperial Forest when I met him. I worked as a bartender in California, towards the end of a shift at work one night, in walks josh. Apparently, he was just passing through, but something about the bar pulled at him. So, in he came. When he saw me, he grabbed hold of me, and we just left the bar. He carted me across the country, where we mated, and then when his Alpha stepped down, we took up the role. Pretty much sums it up,” A brief, cheeky smile flashes before a blush starts to work its way across her face. I am about ninety-eight percent sure she left off a hell of a lot to that story. I chuckle to myself, wondering just how many traits Wade and his family share.

“How does everything feel out here, Soph?” Anabelle questions quietly, her watchful eyes darting around the hesitant crowd making attempts at mingling across the various Packs.

“At the moment? Pretty friendly. Everyone knows this is all serious, they feel safer with all these other wolves, but a lot of caution remains. I don’t think anyone knows how to interact with this many foreign wolves around,” Sophie replies, her voice becoming almost monotonal as she searches through the feelings of hundreds of wolves.

“Well, that’s better than what I expected of them, so all signs point to the positive,” Rebecca replies as she takes a big gulp from her beer.

“Uh oh,” the ominous sound slipping from Sophie’s lips before the voices of two young men begin to sound over the pulsing music. Their aggressive shouts and angry faces only meters away from us, caring little about mess they are making of our night. I watch the two tall men for a moment, cataloguing their appearance, brown hair, one with blue eyes, one with brown, the one on the left slightly taller but with less muscle than the one on the right. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before.

Their words are completely muffled over the growing crowds’ murmurs and the music. I don’t recognise the wolves, and I can’t feel Pack bonds to either of them, it’s stupid of me to even consider attempting to intervene in a fight between two foreign wolves, yet, I find myself moving towards them before I even finish the thought. This is supposed to be a friendly get together, but nooo, all this fucking testosterone just can’t help but to make a mess of all my good feelings.

“That’s enough. Now is not the time, nor is this the place to hash out whatever bullshit started this argument between you two,” I growl as I come to stand between the young men, neither older than twenty-two. Their anger floods the air around us, their bodies so close to touching one could almost mistake them for kissing if not for the clenched fists and death glares aimed at each other. I can tell the second they decide I’m not worthy of their attention, that I’m not the bigger threat in their little circle.

“Baby, careful,” Wade’s hesitant voice echoes through my mind.

“Always,” I assure him back down our bond, then I return my focus to on the beefcakes.

“Step back and walk away. Now,” my wolf comes forward with the command. I hope they won’t do as I expect, and instead actually decide to listen. To my utter surprise, the taller one does. He rolls his eyes, glares at beefcake number two, and starts to walk away, until beefcake number two open his mouth again.

“I bet she didn’t scream your name like she screamed mine,” comes the idiot’s taunt. Urgh, of course this interruption to my night functions as some fucking pissing contest over a female. Sensible beefcake spins around, and his eyes lock on number two with murderous intent, his body contorting as he resists the change. I tense up, my fist clenching as I hear several variations of ‘You’re fucked now,’ spreading through the growing crowd behind me. Beefcake two glances around, his eyes flashing to mine as he realises just how much he fucked up. No-one messes with the peace we’re working so hard to build, I won’t allow it. I let my wolf shine through more, my eyes becoming hers.

“Enough. Fucking. bullshit,” I snarl before hooking my foot into his knee cap and pull, making beefcake two stumble forward and right into the full force of the uppercut I have waiting for him. He drops to the ground, knocked out almost instantly. I whirl around as I hear paws running towards me, my right hook swinging into the head of a leaping wolf and down he goes. K.O. number two of the night. Unclenching my fists, I wiggle all my fingers, stretching out the joints.

“If anyone would like to fight the winner, be my guest. But I’m telling you, the next person to cause any fucking drama between packs will end up exactly, if not worse than these two idiots. Do you all understand me?” I call out to the crowd, the thumping of the music the only sound around us. No responses, no whispers, nothing.

“Good, let’s go back to enjoying our evening,” I smile, marching myself back to my log where the girls still sit. Sophie and Annabelle smile, but Becca only stares at me, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Ah, she must not know about the fights.

“How? I mean, I know you’re strong, but I mean that, huh? Just? What?” She stutters, her confusion almost hilarious.

“I fought in the underground ring, and I’m also a black belt in Jiu Jitsu and Karate,” I explain with a shrug snagging the drink hanging limply in her hand and taking a long drink from it.

Tattooed arms and jean clad legs wrap around me, the addictive scent of Zane enveloping me.

“Nice uppercut, angel,” he says, nuzzling his nose into my neck as his arms hug me tighter into his body.

“I think I broke Becca,” I laugh, his chest rumbling against my back, sending all kinds of delicious sensations through my body. Becca sits still, looking kind of stunned until Josh plops down beside her, his arm draping around her shoulders and pulling her to him, kissing her on the side of the head.

“Shit. Babe, did I not tell you she was a trained fighter?” Josh winces as he gets pinned with a glare.

“No. You didn’t, and now I feel silly for trying to figure out how I was going to teach her to fight,” she huffs, her glare softening as her Mate rubs circles over her back, snuggling her in closer.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers as he moves in closer to pepper kisses all over her now smiling face.

“Oh my God, Bec, you should have seen her when she fought, she totally kicked ass!” I hear Annabelle squeal as she recounts some of my fights to Becca and Josh, both of who stare with wide eyes unable to choose between watching me or Annabelle telling the story. Listening to their laughter, snuggled in Zane’s arms, I only faintly register the rest of my Mates coming to sit around us. Our bonds throb harder the closer we all sit, making me squirm in Zane’s lap. I can’t sit still anymore. I need to move, otherwise all these wolves will get a whole lot more than they bargained for.

I grab Sophie’s and Annabelle’s hands, who in turn grabs Becca, and we charge towards the already dancing, drunk crowd of wolves on the other side of the huge fire pit. Sauntering past the stereo, I crank up the volume and spin around the other girls who already started swaying their hips in time to the beat. I let my mind go, just feeling the music, my hips and arms moving as the music pumps harder, waiting for the final drop. My eyes open as the bass line drops and lock onto my Mates, all of whom target me with their hungry gazes.

Why not give them a show? I slide my hands over my waist, my hips moving in small circles with the beat. I drag my hands down my body achingly slow, and begin to drop down to the floor, my body still twisting to the music. Who said the slut drop isn’t sexy? I put my palms on the floor, not breaking eye contact with the four men who mean the world to me. When start to stand back up, I make sure stretch my legs out and push my ass further into the air, a cool breeze brushing over my now very exposed cleavage. The music is like a drug, the pulsing beat too strong to just stand still. I turn my back to them and draw my hands back from my hips, over my waist to brush against my breasts and over my head. Imagining one of my Mates behind me, I grind my ass in time to the music, my hands continuing to wander all over my body. My head rolls back and my eyes close as I revel in the excitement of teasing my Mates. Strong hands grab hold of my hips and jerk me back into a hard erection, I curl my arms around the neck of the person who smells like mint chocolate, Marco. His hips move in sync with mine, while he pulls me further back against him. It’s not long before I feel another large body press against my front, and Dylan’s bond pulses louder the closer he gets. I blindly reach one hand out to his chest, wanting to ignore everything but us. His strong hands cup the back of my neck and pull me off Marco’s strong chest. The light brush of his lips against mine causes my eyelids to flutter in anticipation. Marco’s hands start a slow, sensual glide up my body as Dylan continues to graze his lips over mine, always pulling away when I try to close the gap. Marco continues to trail his hand across my body, grazing over my breasts before working his way up towards my throat. His hand closes around my throat, applying the slightest amount of pressure as a warning to stay still. No words are spoken, but I do as Marco commanded. I stop, stilling everything except my hips that I continue to grind against the two bodies around me who also sway to the beat. Dylan’s lips finally meet mine, and waste no time in leaving me defenceless, the kiss is so full of love, passion, and hunger that I can do nothing but return it with equal intensity. I pull my lips back from Dylan and press myself back into the chest of the man currently with his hand around my neck.

“Grab Wade and Zane, time to go home,” I whisper breathlessly, watching Dylan look over my shoulder and nod his head towards our house. They must have sat watching the show.

We start to slip through the group…well I slip, Mac and Dylan move the crowd out of the way. Wade and Zane meet us at the edge of the group and each take hold of one of my hands, shortening their long strides to match mine.

Our home comes into view, I’m overcome with the sudden urge to play cat and mouse, and I take a quick glance at all my mates. When Mac catches me staring, I wink at him, and without any other indication, I break my Mates’ hold on me and sprint towards our front door. I can hear them chasing after me, their chuckles making the smile on my face grow wider. I reach for the front door, but realise it’s cracked open. I pull up short, holding my hand out to the guys to tell them to stop.

“The front door is open. Did any of you forget to lock up?” I ask down our bond. Concern, wariness and anger flooding through to me.

“No,” the uniform reply from all four of them has me on edge. That meant someone entered in our home without invitation. Someone had some serious fucking things to answer for.

Zane moves past me and towards the door, silent on his feet, and Wade takes the position right behind him. We all cast out our senses, I can feel the net leaving us and spreading out across our home, our sanctuary. Finding nothing, two of my Mates make their way inside while Dylan and Marco stand guard around me. Our eyes dart between the house and the surrounding forest, waiting for anything to move.

“House is clear with no clue to the identity of the intruder. In fact, it doesn’t smell like anything, not even us. Someone knows a witch, and they’ve gotten a cleansing spell off them,” Zane’s deep voice grumbles, his gorgeous eyes starting to reveal bits of his wolf coming to the surface.

“We will know soon enough. We’ll install some cameras tomorrow, for now, let’s just go inside,” I shiver at the idea of someone in our home, invading our private space. More than likely the intruder is someone from the packs we just invited onto our land, or worst-case scenario, one of our own Pack mates. I share the thoughts down our bond and the reality of it kills any lingering desire, snuffed out by our resounding anger. Will we ever get time to just enjoy being young and in love? Probably not.

We all walk into our big bedroom, strip off our clothes, though we redress in our pyjamas, and get ready for bed. I climb in-between Wade and Dylan, who already staked their claim on the middle, and I snuggle myself down to lie between their two large chests. I feel lips touch mine, and whispers of love and tenderness float through my subconscious, making me murmur similar sentiments in response before sleep drags me under.