occasions, I miss him.”
Rafe frowned. “Royce?”
She nodded. “I miss who he was before he became an asshole.”
Rafe rolled to his back, taking her with him so she laid across his chest and their legs tangled together. If her sons walked up on them, they’d be scarred for life, seeing their naked tangled bodies together. So hopefully, they knew better and stayed away for a little longer.
“Me too.” Rafe’s words were soft, and she swore she heard the sadness in them. “He was the right fit for you and would have been a great Alpha.”
“He was a great Alpha before…” She let the words drift. One thing she never understood was why someone like Royce Raines had gone rogue. He and Rafe had a great childhood with loving parents.
“Before he turned into a psycho.” Rafe traced circles along her hip. “I thought it was the death of my parents that triggered it, but the more I think about it, the more I believe that he’s always been bad. Royce hid it well, but I always sensed something dark hidden inside him. With you, he was better. That’s another reason why I didn’t pursue you. I had hope that you could keep the darkness away. Plus, you were happy.”
At first. It took her about a year after their mating to see the darkness. Things went downhill from there.
“Does it make me demented to miss a crazy rogue?”
Rafe hugged her tight. “No because I miss who he was too.”
She laughed, but it didn’t help to chase away her mood. “It took Sasha months to heal my mental state after I killed him. For a while, I thought I’d go rogue myself. My sons wouldn’t give up on me. They told Keegan, who came to see me at my worse.”
“His telepathy helped heal you.”
Lifting her head and propping it on her hands, she watched his features. Royce had always been jealous of her friendship with the leopard Alpha, who was now the Ashwood Elder. Rafe wasn’t jealous. He respected Keegan.
“He didn’t give me a choice to accept his help. We formed an alliance between the Packs, and he bound us together as co-rulers.” A howl sounded close by, but it was a playful sound. Bryce. His sister answered him back.
Rafe tilted his head to listen for a few before asking Luna, “I thought it was years after Royce died that the two-packs merged.”
“Officially merged. I needed to heal and make sure my wolves were stable and were okay with the merger. During that time, Keegan and I mixed the packs with events and training to see how they’d take to the merger. I was surprised that, for the most part, they were okay with it.” Still, Luna hesitated. She wanted to be strong on her own and didn’t need rumors floating around that she was too weak to be an Alpha.
“You did the right thing.”
“I know.” She grinned at him, her sprints lifting a little. “But if it weren’t for the psychic link to Keegan, I wouldn’t be here. I’d gone rogue for sure. I was too broken.”
Rafe framed her face and kissed her. “You are the strongest person I know. And everyone loves you.”
She kissed him back and said, “One thing I learned from killing Royce and taking his Alpha power was that it hurt and almost killed me. I will not do that with the stone. Brenna says the power can be pulled from the stone a little at a time. Bryce suggested that he, Bren, and Rhea could act as buffers. The four of us could pull on the power and balance it between us.”
Rafe pursed his lips, and he looked like he was about to argue. After a moment, he relaxed. “I could see that, but I want you to test it first. If it is too much for the four of you, then it’s a no go.”
There he went again, being the supportive Alpha’s mate. “Agreed.”
One side of his sensual mouth lifted in a wicked satisfaction. “Good. Let’s go back to the cabin so I can fuck you until you scream my name.”
Chapter Nine
They shifted back to their wolves and raced back to the cabin. When they reached it, Luna scratched on the door. Moments later, Nyla opened the door. Her features brightened, and Luna realized it was the first time Nyla had seen her wolf.
Rafe moved in beside Luna, nudging her to go inside. Luna nipped at him playfully then ran to the bedroom. Once inside, Rafe shifted