Angel Blackwood (43 page)

I look to Phoenix and say,
“I’ll message you.” I’m not sure whether Fabian knows about Phoenix
helping me and I don’t wanna cause anymore drama between these two.
I wink at her and she nods.

Then I look up to Fabian and
give him my sweetest smile, “I think you two need to chat…” I
gently push him into the room and close the door.

I chuckle to myself when I hear
him sheepishly mumble, “You told her, didn’t you?”

I make my way to the kitchen to
find Noelle and my mother laughing hysterically over something. The
image of these former best friends giggling brings a smile to my
face.

“Okay, party time is up.
Fabian’s home.” I look to Noelle.

“Who’s Fabian?” My mom slurs a
little. I look her over, noticing her empty glass and the empty
wine bottle between them.

“Fabian’s my boy,” Noelle says
before downing the rest of her wine.

My mother’s face is blank as
she stares at Noelle. “Mom, we don’t have time for this. We need to
get outta here before he comes out and finds you here. Come on,
let’s go.”

“Don’t be a stranger anymore!”
Noelle calls out as I pull Alex out of the back door. I have to
basically push her clumsy ass over the wall when we get to it. I
strap her into the passenger seat then run over to the driver’s
side. I’m surprised Fabian hasn’t already caught us out.

I giggle as I help a sleepy
Alex up the porch stairs and into the house. “No more wine for
you,” I grunt, holding her weight up.

“It always makes me sleepy.”
she says on a yawn. The house is dark and there’s no one lingering
around the cars in front of the main house. I hush Alex when she
starts mumbling about Noelle having a son. We make a move to pass
the lounge, but the floorboards beneath my feet creak. “Shit.”

“Need some help there?” I gasp
when I hear Talon’s voice in the dark.

“Jesus, Talon. Give a girl some
warning next time.” I rub my chest over my heart that’s beating so
fast.

He chuckles, helping me hold up
Alex as we head for the staircase that leads to my parents room.
“You love my little girl don’t you, Talon?” Alex starts slurring
again.

“Mom, please. shhh,” I
tell her quietly. I don’t want to do this right now.

“Luna, I love Angel more than
anything in this world,” Talon says genuinely as we walk down the
quiet hallway.

“You make sure you treat her
right, you hear me? I hear any nonsense about you hurting my baby,
I’ll personally make sure you’ll never see the light of day again,”
she says in a tone I’ve never heard come out of her mouth before. I
look up to see Talon’s troubled face, then Alex starts her giggling
again.

“Where’s my father?” I ask
Talon.

“Right here.” We stop dead in
our tracks and see Johnny standing on top of the staircase with his
arms folded over his chest.

“Mom had a little too
much wine,” I say as he takes her from our arms, lifting her up and
holding her to his chest. She wraps her arms around his neck. He
looks down at her smiling, then looks up to me and whispers, “How
did it go with Noelle?”

“I think it went good. They
were laughing and happy when I left. I’m sure they resolved
whatever issues they had between them,” I say.

My father looks down at Alex
now fast asleep in his arms and smiles nodding his head, “Good. I’m
glad.”

I lean into Talon’s side. He
wraps an arm over my shoulders and I tilt my head into his chest,
breathing him in.

Jesus… I love
the way he smells
.

Talon’s hand squeezes my
shoulder and I quickly look up to find my father staring at us with
an odd expression. “You two good?” He asks, directing the question
at Talon.

“Yes, sir. I’m going to
walk Angel to her room then I’m going to go complete my night duty
and check the perimeter,” Talon says, sounding a little too
rehearsed.

My father nods his head.

“Night, dad.”

“Goodnight,
sweetie.”

I turn and walk away before he
decides to ask any more questions.

I shower and change then climb
into bed happy with the outcome of the night.

****

I wake up sometime during the
night. The pillow I was clutching to my chest has been removed and
in its place is a warm hard body. An arm wraps around me pulling me
closer. I rest my head on his chest as I fall back to sleep with
his hands running through my hair.

The weird thing about the
situation is… I can already feel a warm body close behind me, his
hand still resting on my hip.

****

I wake up the next morning
breathing a sweet scent, but when I reach out all I feel is
emptiness and warmth where a body should have been.

Was I dreaming? Did Tyler climb
into bed with me last night? Did he hold me to him and gently
scratch my hair as I fell back to sleep?

When the hand that rests
possessively over my breast gives me a little squeeze, all other
thoughts evaporate. His hand is under my shirt, on my bare
skin.

He pulls me tighter against him
and I feel his erection against my ass; his very… large erection.
My nerves cause me to leap out of the bed.

Talon’s shirtless form lets out
a stretch. His hair is all crumpled. All I wanna do is climb back
in bed with him right now, but I don’t think I’ll be able to stop
myself if things start heating up.

“What’s going on? Why’d you
jump up like that?” he mumbles as he lies on his chest pulling the
pillows under his chin. His eyes are still blinking from just being
woken up by my rash behaviour.

What do I say? I can’t lie to
him.

“Just tell
him the truth.” Faith’s voice filters through. “His wolf thinks you
don’t want them.”

“Of course I want them! I want
them so bad it hurts.”

“But it doesn’t feel right
without Tyler?” She asks. She doesn’t even need an answer from me.
She knows he’s the reason I keep backing away.

“Angel?” Talon blinks a few
more times, then looks my nervous state over before sitting up and
moving closer to me.

He reaches out and grabs my
wrist, pulling me gently to stand in between his legs. He runs his
hands up and down my upper thighs staring into my eyes.

“Talk to me,” he says
softly.

“I’m not ready for that
yet.”

“For what?” He seems
confused.

“Sex, Talon. I’m not ready to
have sex.”

“I know, baby. I wasn’t
going to try and have sex with you. I want to…don’t get me wrong. I
want to be inside you so bad. My wolf wants to claim you too, but
only when you’re ready, baby.” His words only cause the tremble in
my body to worsen. His words are seriously not working because now
I’m all mushy and love struck.

“Baby, you’re making this hard
for me.” He looks down at my stomach and clears his throat. When he
looks up I can see his eyes darkening with hunger written all over
his face, “I can smell your arousal, Angel.”

My eyes widen and I immediately
feel the heat on my cheeks. I step away from him quickly.

“I’m jumping in the shower
quick.” I don’t wait for a response as I quickly head for the
bathroom.

I take my time in the shower,
luckily Talon is no longer sitting in my bed when I enter my room
in search of clothing. I make my way downstairs to find the house
empty.

“Where is everybody?” I mumble
out loud as I head for my father’s office on the other side of the
house. I’m suddenly met by chaos and people rushing all over the
place.

“Jacob, any word on Caspian?
Are his men on route?” My father calls out over the noise. I look
around the office, but can’t see Alex.

“He sent a few of his best
guards as soon as word of the attack reached him. He’s busy
organising another team as we speak,” Jacob replies.

“Angel!” I turn around when I
hear Alex’s frantic voice. She rushes up to me.

“What’s going on? What attack
is Jacob talking about?” I’m so confused and the chaos in the
office is getting louder and louder.

She grabs my hand and pulls me
through the crowd and away from the office. We head to her bedroom
and she pulls me inside, closing the door behind me before heading
towards her bed where a suitcase sits half packed with
clothing.

“There was an attack on one of
our neighbouring packs, many were injured and a few were killed.
The South Plains Pack’s Alpha is Seth, your father’s cousin. He’s
only just turned eighteen and the Alpha position was recently
handed down to him. We believe that the rogues took this as an
opportunity to overthrow him and his pack and take their land.
Seth’s pack held them off and the rogues retreated, but we don’t
think the fight is over. They’ve already hit three territories in
the east, we didn’t think they’d be brave enough to hit your
father’s allies, but apparently they are. Your father and I are
setting up a team, we don’t know how long we’ll be away - maybe
just a few days - but you need to stay here, Angel. Jacob will be
here and Caspian will be sending men too. We have to work together,
it’s the only way to force these rogues away.” She hastily digs
through drawers as she packs the suitcase.

“Why doesn’t Johnny just send
men? Why do you both have to go? Surely it is in the best interests
of this pack that their Alpha and Luna stay and protect us?” The
panic in my voice has Alex pausing, she turns and looks at me with
a sad expression.

She rubs her soft hands
against my cheek affectionately, “I know you’re worried, sweetie,
but there isn’t anywhere safer for you than right here. The reason
your father is Alpha of one of the strongest pack in the South is
because of the way he works. His pack mates respect him and would
give their life for his, and he himself will give his life for any
of his men. Not many possess such loyalty, Angel. When our pack
goes to war, your father wants to be right there leading his pack.
I’m his mate, Angel. I need and want to be right by his side.” She
gives me a small smile and I nod my head. I don’t want them to go,
I don’t even want to think about them being in danger.

One of the pack members
collects the bags from Alex and takes it to the car. My father
stands on the patio issuing out orders to members who are going
with him and to the ones who will be staying behind.He stands
stiffly, his tone leaving no doubt about the authority he holds as
Alpha. He turns towards me and his shoulders drop. The movement is
so small but I notice it, when he opens his arms for a hug, I don’t
delay. I rush forward and wrap my arms around his waist, holding
onto him tightly.

“Everything’s
going to be okay, baby girl
.”
His voice breaks through my connection as he links with
me.

“I don’t want
you guys to go
,” I link back.
Hating myself for sounding so weak.

I feel his body shake as he
chuckles, then he wraps his arms a little tighter around me.

“We’ve fought
far worse battles, Angel. A few rogues thinking they can destroy
our allies won’t stand a chance against us. You ever want to talk,
just call out for one of us. Our connection will always be open for
you, Angel
.” He speaks out
loud this time, placing both hands on my shoulders and forcing me
to look up into his eyes. “You don’t realise how hard it is for me
to leave you behind, but I know you will be safer on our territory.
You have to promise me that you’ll keep our pack link open. I need
to make sure you are okay 24/7, there’s no more reasons or secrets
for you to feel the need to block us from linking with you. Please
do this for me, Angel,” he pleads with heavy eyes, I can’t help but
nod. He kisses my cheek and hugs me again.

“Be safe, okay? Look after Mom
too. I love you, Dad,” I whisper, before moving away from the
embrace.

“Love you too, baby
girl.” He smiles and then turns, continuing to shout out orders to
a few nearby men.

Turning away, I search for
Talon. I check the bottom floor and come up empty handed. I then
head to my room first, since he’s more than likely to be there than
in his own, but there’s sign of him there though either. I head to
the bathroom and hear shuffling in his room. I open the door
linking to the twins bedroom and find him looking in his
closet.

“I’ve been looking for you,” I
say, entering his room.

“You could have just linked to
me, I would have told you I was here,” he says, with his back to
me.

“I forget.” I shrug.

He turns around holding some
folded clothes in his hands. I look to the bed and see an empty
suitcase.

“Oh no. Please don’t tell me
you’re going aswell?” I say breathlessly. I’m not even sure why I’m
asking, I already know the answer. I sit down on his bed next to
the suitcase.

“I have to help. I can’t just
sit here,” he says, placing the clothes neatly into the
suitcase.

“Did my father ask you to go?
You don’t have to go. I can speak to him, Talon.” I ramble on until
he grabs my face, forcing me to look at him as he sternly says, “I
volunteered, Angel. I have to help out where I can. I love you, but
you can’t change my mind. I need to do this for the pack.” He
releases his hold on me then turns and zips up his bag.

“If this is about earning your
place in this pack-” he doesn’t allow me to finish, his dark eyes
find mine and his firm voice shuts me up.

“It’s not that at all, Angel. I
want to fucking do it, okay? Now drop it.” He swiftly kisses me on
the cheek, mutters an “I love you”, then leaves with his bag in
tow.

I lean my head against one of
the columns on their bed, closing my eyes as I listen to the cars
start driving away. The window is a few feet away, but I can’t bear
to see him climb in a car and drive away.