Ch. 11..20

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 11-| leave the club and head back to the packhouse. The entire way home, | try to think of a way to fix this. It never occurred to me that Cara Nelson was my mystery girl. In my mind, Cara was a shy, reclusive girl that spent all her time. looking after her father. Why hadn’t | put two and two together and realized that as a Guardian and a daughter of not one but two Guardians she would be one hell of a badass?!

4 And how had | never noticed her before? She and | are the same age. We must have been in the same class our entire life and I'd only just noticed her a few days ago. Of course, she wasn’t one of the flock that was constantly surrounding me, seeking my favor, trying to get in my bed. No, she’d obviously saved her favors for Liam. And he’d happily accepted what she was willing to give him.

Kai snarled in my head. ‘She ours, not his.‘ | was in total agreement.

When we reached the packhouse, | didn’t even go inside. Instead | ran to the tree line and without waiting to strip, shifted into my wolf form. | let Kai take over and we headed to the Nelson’s home. | opened my mind-link and listened to my patrols. They only patrolled the periphery around Cara’s home, so | was clear. No one would see me.

Their house was about 5 miles from the packhouse. | slow as | approach. | can smell her scent around the house. It looks like they have their own obstacle course, weird jungle gym looking thing and weight training area set up in the back of their house. There was another structure not far from the house and | wondered if that was an indoor training area. Well, this would explain why I’d never seen her at training. Her father was apparently training her.

Kai stayed on the edge of the forest as | looked at the dark house. | listened in and only heard one heartbeat in the house. Cara wasn’t home yet.

Kai began pacing, a low growl erupting from him periodically. ‘Kai, let’s not alert her father to our presence. Keep quiet or I’m going to shift back.‘ He grumbled at me, but kept quiet and laid down to wait.

After a couple hours passed and she hadn't returned, | began to wonder if she’d stayed the night with Liam at his pack. Would Mr. Nelson allow his underage daughter to stay with the Alpha of a neighboring pack?

I started to settle in, ready to wait it out. | needed to see her. | needed to confirm that | had made the biggest mistake of my life, and then start planning how to fix it. Up ahead, we saw lights flash through the woods, coming down their long | watched as Liam’s truck pulled up in front of the house. Liam gets out of the car and walks around to open the passenger door. As soon as the door opens, | catch her scent, vanilla with a hint of lavender. It’s mouth watering and Kai stands up, growling softly.

Liam's head snaps in our direction and | force Kai to cut it off. ‘Dammit Kai, you almost gave us away.’ He’s snarling in my head, much louder than usual because we are in our wolf form and he has more control in this form.

| watch as Liam wraps his arms around her and tells her he meant every word he said to her. What did he tell her? That he loved her? He had to know she wasn’t 18 yet. He would know that she can’t identify her mate. Does he plan to have her commit to him as soon as she turns 18, rather than giving her time to find her mate? Does he only want her because she’s a Guardian?

It would be a strategic move on Liam’s part. He already has the largest pack in the country. He is a very strong alpha and ensures that his warriors are well trained, making his pack also one of the strongest. If he were to take Cara as his mate and Luna, it could tip the scales for the Shadow Falls pack making them the strongest pack in the country as well.

All of this is going through my mind until | see him kiss her. She is responding to his advances, and when he pulls back, | realize it's not just her, but also both of their wolves. They have a bond. There is something more here than just strategy in order for their wolves to be taking part. There are feelings there as well. On both sides.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 12-Kai is almost uncontrollable as he snarls, ‘I don’t care. | will kill him! She is ours! | will have her even if | have to kill Cyran to do it.‘ It's all | can do to maintain control of Kai before he acts on his statement. The last thing we need is a war between our packs.

| force the shift and take over in my human form, running back to the packhouse. Kai is fighting me and snarling in my head. ‘Kail” | yell at my wolf and stop running to focus on him. ‘We are not starting a war because you have suddenly decided you want her. If you think she’s our mate, then we need to be smart about this. He has a head start in gaining her affection, but if the mate bond is there, it will pull her to us. If we anger her, or worse, hurt her, it could drive her away from us forever.’ That finally gets through to him and he calms down.

The packhouse comes into view and | find one of the many trees with hidden clothes, grabbing a pair of shorts before walking in through the back door.

The packhouse is never locked because people come and go at all hours. Those on patrol come in during breaks to eat or get something to drink, warriors train at all hours of the day and omegas work around everyone else’s schedule. When | walk into the kitchen to get a bottle of water, | run into my mother. She’s in one of my dad’s shirts with a robe over it and | don’t want to think about why her hair is messy or why she’s making two sandwiches.

“Hey mom.’ | state, hoping this awkward moment won't last too long. “Hey honey! Did you have a good night?” | lied, “It was great and then Kai and | went for a run, so I’m heading to bed.

“Okay sweetheart. Oh, by the way, | forgot to mention to you when we were at the memorial Thursday night and you asked about Cara. | invited her to your party next weekend. | know we invite all of the pack members, but you mentioned that you’ve never met her and | realized that she doesn’t really attend pack events, you wouldn't have ever really had the chance to unless you knew her at school. | made sure your father told her that it was a bit more than a request so she'll definitely be there. And your father also made sure to invite her father with a strong emphasis on the request versus invite.” She smiled at me.

so An idea began forming in my mind about how | could start making an impression on my girl. “Thanks Mom!” | replied enthusiastically. “I really appreciate it. | don’t like not knowing our pack members. Dad has made sure to drill the importance of knowing all our pack members into my head. And with her being her.

We said goodnight and | walked up the stairs to my room thinking about my plan. | have one week until my birthday party. When | get to the third floor, Chase is kissing his red—head goodnight. As | walk by, | mind—link him to find me tomorrow so we can talk. He pulls away from the girl and looks at me, Everything okay Alpha?” I smile at him. “It will be, just come find me when you're up, no rush.” The next day after breakfast in the packhouse, | find my father in his office. | confirm that Cara has been in his training classes every morning, even on the weekends, and that he gave permission for her to be trained in the afternoons by her father rather than attending my training classes.

Afterward, | find my mother and give her my request for my party. She’s so excited that I’m showing an interest in not only my party but also possibly finding my mate that she’s willing to do anything | ask, although this is an easy request to complete.

Finally, | meet up with Chase and give him my plan for the week leading up to my party including the request of my mother. “Dude, are you sure? You will basically be staking a claim once everyone figures. it out.” | look at my friend. “I’m absolutely sure. So let's figure out the logistics.” “You got it. You know I’m always here for you, no matter what you need.” | do. That’s why he’s my best friend and future Beta. He will always have my back.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 13-After | said goodbye to Liam, | was definitely needing a release. The man is sex on wheels. Thankfully my dad was asleep already. | went to my room and undressed, deciding to sleep naked since | planned to give myself a much needed release before bed and | only had a few hours to sleep before training anyway.

| laid in bed my hand sliding over my breasts, pinching my nipples, thinking of how they had tightened when Liam growled earlier. I slid one hand between my legs, rubbing my clit, thinking of how hard he had been while we were dancing. A soft moan escaped my lips before thinking of how Liam had dominated my mouth with his. | started thinking of how that mouth would feel between my legs. | started to move my hand faster, thinking of what it would be like to look down and see Rik looking up at me from between my legs.

Wait! WHAT? Rik?? How the hell did he end up in this fantasy? No, no, no! This is all about Liam. | gave my head a slight shake, refocused on the kiss with Liam. Yes, that’s it, that’s the tongue that could bring me to the brink.

| slide a finger inside, still thinking about how it would feel if Rik had his fingers inside of me and his mouth bringing me pleasure.

My eyes flew open again! What the hell??!! Why is Rik featuring in my fantasies? | try to refocus on Liam’s green eyes but all | can see are those ice blue eyes of Rik’s, the thick black hair that he wears long. Watching those eyes looking up at me as he uses one hand to hold my thigh down as | begin to push against his face. The minute | think about him growling against my pussy, my body erupts in the strongest orgasm I’ve ever had. | have to press my free hand to my mouth to keep from waking my father. My body is jolting with the aftershocks of my orgasm. What the fuck just happened?

| wake to my alarm a few hours later, utterly exhausted. | drag myself to warrior training and make it through. Thankfully most of the warriors were out last night too, so none of us is at the top of our game.

Weekends with my dad mean endurance training and toxic plant education. Learning the components of plants that are deadly to werewolves, vampires, and other supernaturals is key to knowing how to save yourself or defeat your enemy. Witches are real too and can be helpful if you find the right one. However, there aren’t too many Glenda, the Good Witches out there. Mostly they are all Wicked Witches of whatever direction they decide to live. So it’s better to know plant composition and understand it on my own.

To say I’m already exhausted would be an understatement, but | know saying are tired Cara. They will take any advantage they can get.” So, | jump in the pool that is in our indoor training area. Dad throws me the 250 pound dummy that | must keep afloat while | tread water. If | let the dummy go, he sinks to the bottom. It is meant to represent an unconscious person, specifically an Alpha. | used to wonder why I had to train this way, but over time, | realize that it's good to be prepared for any possibility. Also, the different styles of training that my dad has me do ensure that every muscle in my body is strong. So, | relax my mind, begin my tread and hold the dummy ensuring that his head remains above water.novelbin For the next two hours, | tread water while dad asks me questions about plant biology, toxic elements of different plants, giving me symptoms and asking what plant was ingested. When we’re done, I’m totally wiped out. We go inside and. have lunch and then I’m free for the rest of the afternoon and | take a long soaking bath to relieve my aching muscles.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 14-Sunday is much the same as Saturday, only instead of treading water, it’s running Sunday is ‘marathon’ day, so | run my 26.2 miles in two and a half hours. | finish my homework Sunday night and get ready for another week at school.

Monday starts like any other day. It’s my turn to drive so | pick Jason up on my way. We go our separate ways for our first class. | see Rik from the corner of my eye. He’s watching me but | don’t make eye contact and he doesn’t try to follow me today. I’m relieved because | don’t think | could look him in the eye after my Saturday early morning orgasm, courtesy of him. | can feel my blush just thinking about it. Ugh!

My day goes well, and | meet up with Jason and Lacey for lunch. We grab a table and Jason heads to the line to get food. | always bring leftovers on Mondays, so | begin eating. The room around me starts to go quiet and | look up to see at delivery man carrying what looks like a dozen white roses. Nice! Wonder who the lucky girl is.

The delivery guy is looking around and stops to ask someone for help in finding the person he’s looking for. | see the student looking around and then makes eye contact with me and stops. What the fuck? He points the delivery guy in my direction and he heads my way.

“Cara Nelson?” He asks, looking at me. | look at the flowers with a frown on my face. Is this a joke? “Yes?” It comes out as more of a question than a statement.

“These are for you.” “Who are they from?” “There’s a card. Enjoy.” I stare at the flowers for a minute before Jason nudges me. “Well, read the card.” | open the card:

Cara, Roses are white.

Guardians are true.

Can you guess who | am?

Or will | have to tell you?

Jason is reading over my shoulder. “Whoa! You have a secret admirer?” | look from the card back to the flowers, as if they have the answer to Jason’s question. “| guess so.” I’m still frowning when Lacey “ahhhhs’” from her seat. “That is so sweet! | wonder who it is.” “| have no idea. | mean, seriously, who could it be?” | look at both of them.

“Don’t look at us. Not a clue.” Jason states, holding his hands up in surrender. | look at Lacey and she is shaking her head, she has no idea either.

Now what? | have to carry these flowers around for my last two classes of the day. As if | hadn't attracted enough attention already. Everyone is already looking at me and whispering about my flowers. This type of attention will spread like wildfire through both packs. If this wasn’t sent by Liam, he'll hear about it.

Could it be Liam? He had basically professed his love for me on Friday night. Is this his way of showing he meant what he said? But it just didn’t seem like something he would do. The flowers, yes, but not the secret admirer note. So that left…..everyone.

| glance around the room and see all eyes are on me. As | scan the room, hoping to see someone looking sheepish, | lock eyes with the blue glaciers that haunted my fantasies over the weekend. He’s wearing a smirk, of course. | refrain from rolling my eyes and grab my books and flowers and head out to my next class.

As I'm about to walk out of the cafeteria, | shout over my shoulder, “If you’re here, thank you, and I'll figure it out.” As the door closed behind me, | swear | heard a deep chuckle.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 15-All day Sunday | spent planning. Chase is all in and even found a way to get some information for me. I’m feeling pretty good about the coming week. It will all culminate on my birthday and I can only hope it’s enough time to give me an in with Cara. L Monday morning | wake up early. I've never seen Cara train and I’m really interested now that I've put a name to a face. At the risk of seeming like a stalker, | find a spot on the second floor of the pack house that overlooks the back where my father trains the warriors. | leave the light in this guest room off and quietly open the window. | see warriors slowly coming out and starting to warm up. She's not here yet and just as I’m about to sit back and wait, | see movement from the forest line. As | watch, | see a large, gorgeous brown wolf running along the tree line with a bag in her mouth. It must be Cara’s wolf. She must run here from her home every morning. It makes sense, she'll be more warmed up than anyone after a 5—mile run.

| watch as she goes behind a tree to change and comes out with leggings, an oversized sweatshirt and sneakers on. Her hair is up in a cute ponytail. It’s short and her curls are twisting in every direction. My breath catches. She is so beautiful. | catch her scent as she walks over and joins the warriors that have already arrived and | immediately feel more relaxed.

She walks up and fist bumps each of them as | hear, “Hey Little Badass.” from Trevor.

Yup. If |

“Trevor, if you don’t want to this morning, knock it off.” see your 200 first t my little badass replies. All of the warriors chuckle and continue warming hadn't figured it out on Friday when several of my warriors were ready to take me on because of her, it would be obvious now. They have the utmost respect for her. She's one of them, and I’m anxious to see how good she really is.

Over the next two hours, | watch as my girl takes down every warrior in training, like bowling pins. Rack ‘em up and she knocks “em back down again.

| can’t help the smile that feels permanently etched on my face. She’s incredible! She’s fast, agile, and a smart fighter. Her biggest opponent is Trevor. He’s a really good fighter. He’s smart and doesn’t rely on his brawn to win. He’s calculating and constantly looking for ways to extort his opponent’s weaknesses, only he doesn’t seem to be able to find any in Cara.

| watch as they taunt each other. This must be their thing, smack talking. | know it is with Trevor, but | didn’t see Cara bantering with many other warriors. In 1/2 learn ways to improve and then she had them try again.

When training ends, | wait to see if she'll shift back so Kai and | can see her wolf again. What | didn’t expect was for my father to walk with her over to the edge of the forest. He has his arm around her, as if she were his daughter, and maybe that is how he sees her. It’s odd as the only other person my father shows affection to is my mother. They finish their conversation and my father kisses the top of her head before heading back to the packhouse while she changes. When her wolf leaves the tree line, | hear her woof at my dad. He turns and waves before heading inside and she takes off in a loping run in the direction of her house.

I'm running late now and | rush to shower and get ready for school. | run down the stairs, into the kitchen to grab something to eat quickly, pulling my phone out as | go. | nearly run Chase over as | round the corner at the bottom of the stairs.

“Whoa Rik! Slow down. | saw you weren't down here yet so | grabbed you a couple of breakfast sandwiches to go.” “You're the best friend a guy could ask for Chase!” “| know. So, everything set for today?” he asks, as we head out.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 16-“Calling now to double check and confirm delivery will be during lunch.” | smile as | pull the phone up to my ear. “I'll drive and you can make sure all the arrangements are made.”novelbin note.

1 confirm my flowers will be delivered during lunch today along with my I’m hoping the secret admirer thing isn’t too cliche, but | also want to make sure that she knows it’s not from Alpha Liam.

The day goes by slowly approaching lunch time. When the bell rings for lunch, | bolt to the lunchroom. | want a front row seat. | need to know how she reacts in order to make sure the plans | have for the rest of the week will work. Otherwise, Ill have to rethink thi week. | don’t currently have any back up plans, so I’d have to rework and come up with something new if she hates this and throws my flowers away.

Chase goes to grab lunch for both of us as | sit at my usual spot. | watch as she comes in and sits with Lacey and Jason. My stomach has gone queasy waiting to see how this will go. I’ve never done anything like this before and | really want it to work. I’m barely paying attention to the conversation around me and thankfully, Chase is carrying the conversation for both of us, when a hush falls in the cafeteria. | look up to see the delivery guy looking around at the large number of individuals in the cafeteria. | gave a description of her, but there must be 200 shifters in this room right now.

| look back at Cara and see a soft smile grace her face. BINGO!

| watch as the delivery guy approaches her and after ensuring she is Cara Nelson, he hands her the vase filled with flowers. | watch as her smile turns to a frown of confusion. She asks the guy who it’s from and he says exactly what | told him to say, that there’s a card. | paid extra to make sure everything was exactly as | requested. I’ll call the florist, who is a friend of my mom’s, and let her know it was perfect.

| see Jason nudge her to open the card. As she does, the confusion on her face remains, and | can’t help the smile that starts pulling at my face.

Completely unexpected? Check Making your girl feel special? Check.

Letting everyone in the room know that someone is actively and intently pursuing her? Double check!

Lacey gives the expected female swoon. | see her asking if they know who it is. Of course they don’t. Only Chase and | know that | sent them. Chase nudges me with his elbow discreetly and gives me a thumbs up under the table so no one else can see.

| watch as she looks around the cafeteria trying to figure out who it is until her eyes meet mine. ‘Oh baby, you ain’t seen nothin‘ yet‘ | think as | watch a slight pink tinge rise on her cheeks. It sends a direct line of fire to my cock which goes rock hard. | wonder what other ways | could make her cheeks go pink.

| shift in my seat uncomfortably, trying to ease the ache in my jeans which suddenly feel much too tight.

| follow her as she gathers her belongings, including the flowers and heads to the door. I’m about to go back to eating, when | hear her parting comment. Game on baby!

After school, | head over to the finest restaurant in three towns where | meet with the owner and set up my next request. When all those arrangements are made. and | have ensured that it will be done exactly as | have requested, | head home.

Chase is picking up the slack this week for training, but | run upstairs to my room and change quickly before joining in the last hour. I'll need to increase my workouts since I'll be missing training a lot this week, but I'll figure it out. | only have one week to make my intentions known so I’m going to take full advantage.

After checking in with mom that she will fulfill her part tomorrow, | head to bed. | fall asleep late at night, thinking of the smile | put on my girl's face today.

Cooper Author | would love to know if your impression of Rik is changing or if it's staying the same. Leave a comment and let me know!

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 17-After school, | drop Jason off and finally arrive at home after lugging my flowers around the rest of the afternoon. | have to admit they made me smile often. No one has ever done something like that for me. I’ve been wracking my brain to figure out who it could be, but honestly, the opportunities are nearly endless. | just have no idea, but | haven’t given up, not by a long shot..

As | walk in the door, | hear dad from the other room, “Welcome home sweetheart, how was your….well, well, well, what have we here?” He asks, eyeing my flowers.

“Oh? This ol’ thing?” | give him my best fake surprised look, then smile. “They are flowers. Apparently, | have a secret admirer.” | look at the flowers again.

“White, huh?” He asks. “You know what white roses mean, don’t you?” | look at him confused. “The color of the rose means something?” “Yep and white means something like loyalty and purity.” “Well, my admirer knows I’m a Guardian, so the loyalty fits. Not sure how many people know I'm ‘pure‘ but maybe this person is hoping?” | wiggle my eyebrows at my dad and we both laugh.

“Go get dressed for training, Car. I'll meet you outside.” That night, | looked at my beautiful roses, wondering who my mystery man could 1. be. My phone beeps and | see a text from Liam. Liam: So, | hear | have some competition. Me: If by competition you mean that you owe me flowers, then sure. Liam: Mmhmm. You realize this is someone staking a claim, right Cara? Me: It was flowers, not a romantic dinner. And did you know the color of flowers means something? Liam: The color of roses means something. White meaning purity and innocence. Me: Dad said it means loyalty and purity. And the person obviously knows I’m a Guardian, so the loyalty definitely fits. Liam: If you need some help removing the purity, you know where to find me. Damn, the thought of Liam removing my purity has me getting wet. I’m going to Me: Believe me, if you’re my mate, my purity, innocence and virginity are all yours. It's a few minutes before | get a response. Liam: Now | need a cold shower. Go to bed Cara. Talk soon. Sleep well. Dream of 1.me. Me: Goodnight Liam | take quite a ribbing at training the next morning. All the guys are asking who gave me flowers and offering to run them off if need be. | eliminated most of the guys from training after these conversations. These guys are more like my brothers, or brother’s—in—arms when we have to fight. The only one that | can’t scratch off the list is Trevor.

At school, I’m on a mission. I’m watching everyone. | don’t see anyone that stands out and I’m frustrated when | get to the cafeteria for lunch. Jason walks in with me and we're walking up to get food when a woman dressed in a three piece suit and heels steps up to me.

“Cara Nelson?” | frown at her. What is this?

“Yes.” “Excellent.” She turns and grabs a rolling cart with a plate covered with a silver dome and some other paraphernalia. “Go ahead, I'll follow you to your table.” She says as she stops to wait for me. Erm, what is this?” | ask because, seriously, what IS this?

“Your lunch.” She states as if it’s obvious.

“| didn’t order a special lunch.” “It was ordered for you.” She smiles at me again.

“By whom?” “There’s a card, but | was instructed not to give it to you until with your food.” Uh-huh. Okay. you were seated | turn and head to my usual table. Jason is looking at me wide-eyed. Lacey sidles up to me and hooks her arm through mine. “What's going on?” | look at the waitress over my shoulder. “Apparently, | had lunch ordered for me.

She raises an eyebrow at me, “By whom?” I give her a fake smile, “I don’t know. | apparently don’t get my card until after | have my meal in front of me.” We Ito the table and | turn to the waitress. “What's your name?” “Tamara.” “Tamara, this is the table | usually sit at.” | point to the table and pull my bag off my shoulder and begin to set it on the table. “Just one moment.” She says and | pull my bag back.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 18-She takes out a black tablecloth that looks like something out of a fine dining restaurant and spreads it on the table. Then she sets the table for one with a linen. napkin and utensils. | sit and she puts the plate with the dome covering it in front of me. “You have your choice of coffee, tea or soda to drink.” “Uh, soda, please Tamara.” She smiles, pours a glass of soda for me and then sets another, smaller plate on the table. Pointing to the smaller plate, she says, “This is dessert*.

“Is there anything else | can get you?” “Was there a card?” She reaches into her pocket and hands me the card. “When you are done, just leave it all here and I'll come back and collect it.” She nods at me and heads out of the cafeteria.

“Thank you.” | realize that no one is saying anything. The entire cafeteria is quiet, watching me. No one is even going through the line to get their food for lunch. From somewhere in the back, someone hollers, “Well, let’s see what you got for lunch.” | pull the cover off the plate and my mouth instantly starts to water. It’s filet. mignon and lobster tail, mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. My mouth drops open and every shifter in the room groans, almost simultaneously as they catch the scent of my delicious lunch. There’s a small dish inside with melted butter and a separate pat of butter for the potato or asparagus, not sure.

What's | hear Jason’s voice, much more airy and distracted than normal, asking the card say?” while Lacey, never taking her eyes off my food, uses her finger to close my gaping mouth.

I snap my mouth closed and open the card.

Cara, One day soon | hope you will let me take you on a real date, To wine and dine you to your stomach and heart's content.

It is the way of wolves to provide for the ones we care about.

Therefore, | present you with this offering, | read the note several times. Artemis has come forward as this is a powerful. message not just to me, but to her as well. The most important thing to a male wolf is to show his mate that he can protect and care for her. This message means that my admirer wants Artemis and | to know that he is willing and capable of taking care for us.

Holy shit, Liam was right. This man, whoever he is, is staking his claim.

Jason whistles softly, reading over my shoulder. “Damn.” He lengths the word, making it extend for a few seconds as | continue to stare at the card.

“Girl, if you aren't going to eat that, | definitely will! And if you are, for all that’s good and holy, please eat it before it gets cold.” Lacey is drooling over my food. a “You can’t eat it, Lace,” Jason says quietly, still looking at the card in my hand.

“What? Why?” She asks as she snatches the card out of my hand. Her eyes go wide as she reads the card. “Damn girl! That's so hot. Even DeeDee is purring right now.” DeeDee is Lacey's wolf. | look up at her. “I know right?” She cocks an eyebrow, “Artemis, what do you think?” I can tell she’s still forward so my eyes must be glowing. Artemis smirks, “I’m going to eat my offering and enjoy every moment of it.” | pick up my fork and knife and dive in. My eyes close involuntarily and | moan. “Rub it in, why don’t you!” | hear from across the cafeteria.

“Sorry, but it’s too damn good to stay quiet about, so get over it” | shout back. “You gonna share?” | hear from somewhere else.

“Not a chance and before any one of you thinks to take me on to get MY delicious lunch,” Artemis pushes forward and my voice deepens a bit, “remember I’m a Guardian.” There’s a lot of grumbling and lots of shifters come closer to my table than is necessary to get a whiff of my food. “Oh my goddess, is that from Ethereal? It looks like it's from Ethereal.” | look at the girl staring at my food. “I honestly don’t know, I’ve never been there, but | can tell you this. The food is delicious.” Therefore, | present you with this offering, So you will know that my intentions are honest and honorable.

| read the note several times. Artemis has come forward as this is a powerful message not just to me, but to her as well. The most important thing to a male wolf is to show his mate that he can protect and care for her. This message means that my admirer wants Artemis and | to know that he is willing and capable of taking care for us.

Holy shit, Liam was right. This man, whoever he is, is staking his claim.

Jason whistles softly, reading over my shoulder. “Damn.” He lengths the word, making it extend for a few seconds as | continue to stare at the card.

“Girl, if you aren't going to eat that, | definitely will! And if you are, for all that’s good and holy, please eat it before it gets cold.” Lacey is drooling over my food.

“You can’t eat it, Lace,” Jason says quietly, still looking at the card in my hand.

“What? Why?” She asks as she snatches the card out of my hand. Her eyes go wide as she reads the card. “Damn girl! That's so hot. Even DeeDee is purring right now.” DeeDee is Lacey's wolf. | look up at her. “I know right?” She cocks an eyebrow, “Artemis, what do you think?” I can tell she’s still forward so my eyes must be glowing. Artemis smirks, “I’m going to eat my offering and enjoy every moment of it.” | pick-up my fork and knife and dive in. My eyes close involuntarily and | moan. “Rub it in, why don’t you!” | hear from across the cafeteria.

“Sorry, but it’s too damn good to stay quiet about, so get over it” | shout back. “You gonna share?” | hear from somewhere else.

“Not a chance and before any one of you thinks to take me on to get MY delicious lunch,” Artemis pushes forward and my voice deepens a bit, “remember I’m a Guardian.” There’s a lot of grumbling and lots of shifters come closer to my table than is necessary to get a whiff of my food. “Oh my goddess, is that from Ethereal? It looks like it's from Ethereal.” | look at the girl staring at my food. “I honestly don’t know, I’ve never been there, but | can tell you this. The food is delicious.” Aguy | don’t know comes to stand next to her, “Definitely Ethereal. Damn, whoever bought you lunch, spent a lot of money to impress you. And if I’m not mistaken, the woman who served you was the owner.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 19-| don’t even know what to say. The OWNER?? Who can pull that off? While I’m amazed, it does begin to narrow down the possible options. Someone of rank, someone related to the owner, or someone owed a favor. Ok, the last one opens up the playing field again, since | would have no way of knowing who the owner would owe a favor to.

| finish my food and reach for the smaller plate. | lift the cover and my nose is immediately bombarded with the scent of chocolate. And not just any chocolate, it’s Luna Calista’s renowned brownies my very favorite dessert on the planet! This person either got lucky or they know me and my weakness for our Luna’s brownies.

| eat every bite and I’m stuffed to a level of being uncomfortable. The bell announcing lunch is over sounds and | collect my things, trying to decide what to do with everything sitting on the table. I’ve put it in as much of an order as | can, but | don’t know where to put it. Right then, Tamara steps in to start cleaning up.

I smile at her. “Thank you Tamara, my compliments to the chef. | hear you are the owner, is that correct?” She turns to me and smiles, “That's correct Ms. Nelson, my mate and | own Ethereal.” My heart rate kicks up. “So, you know who ordered this for me?” She gives me another smile, “I most certainly do. And before you ask, the answer is no. | won't tell you.” My smile fades, but | push through. “What if | ask you something other than at name?” “Like what?” “Could you tell me if it's a family member?” “It was not a person that I’m related to.” “Was it someone that you owed a favor to?

“Nope. | did it because | appreciate romance.” “Can you tell me which pack the person belongs to?” Sorry, | was told | could not provide you any pack information, rank or status or anything else that would give you any indication of who bought your lunch.

13 | sighed, “Well, thank you for the information you did share and again, the food was amazing. Truly, please give my compliments to the chef.” “I'll tell my mate you like his cooking.” She chuckled as she finished collecting everything.

| walked out of the cafeteria and straight into a brick wall. Or what felt like a brick wall. Turns out it was just Rik’s hard chest. | took a step back and looked up into those distracting eyes.

“Ethereal, huh? To what do you owe the pleasure?” Ugh! | was not in the mood for my alpha today. “Not that it’s any of your business, but someone thought it would be nice to order me lunch.” “Flowers yesterday, Ethereal today. One might think someone was staking a claim one of my pack members.” “Your future pack.” | clarify as | push past him and start to walk away, but he keeps pace beside me easily. “So, who is the lucky guy?” “No idea.” “No idea? Come on, you must have some idea?” “None.” “And you're ok with that?

you're ok not knowing who it. Buy is making a very public claim on you and I shrug. “I'll figure it out eventually. It’s not like he’s going to keep it a secret for years or even months. But | plan to figure it out long before he tells me who he is.” “Maybe it’s Alpha Liam. | saw you two at the club the other night.” “Nope, not him.” “How do you know? It could be.” | stopped and looked at him. “First, he wouldn’t say he’s my secret admirer. Second, he texted me last night after hearing about the flowers and asked me about it. So, no, it’s not him.” “Hmmm, it’s like we have our very own mystery here at high school.” | arrive at my class and turn to him once more. “I will figure out who he is.” | turn and walk into my class just as the bell rings. | swear | hear ‘Good luck with that.” as the door closes.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 20-The next morning I’m up early again. I’m not ready to join in the morning. training sessions just yet, but | still want to take whatever opportunity | can to watch my girl.

I sneak back into the guest room and open the window just as | see her wolf running along the tree line. | watch as she goes behind the trees and a few minutes later emerges in her work out clothes. She heads over to the training ground and immediately the guys start to give her crap for the flowers. She handles their ribbing well and brushes them off when they ask about getting rid of me. Kai growls in my head over that one. ‘As if any of those pups could take us.

Today is similar to yesterday as | watch her take down every warrior, this time in wolf form. Her wolf is smaller than mine but she’s as fast and agile in her wolf form as she is in her human form. Her wolf is beautiful and graceful and Kai is purring in my head, wanting desperately to meet her.

After training, | watch her wolf head back home and then | rush to get ready for school again. | meet Chase downstairs and he again has my breakfast to go.

“Thanks man. | really owe you for helping me out this week.” He punches my shoulder. “No problem. Yesterday was fun. I’m hoping today goes just as well. Are you nervous? It’s a big move.” Yeah, I’m fucking nervous. I’m clearly staking my claim and it can go one of two ways. She and her wolf can accept it, or they can reject it, in essence, rejecting us. Kai howls in my head at the thought of them rejecting us.novelbin “They won't. Her wolf will feel honored by our offering. It’s the most precious gift that we can give her to show her what she means to us.’ ‘And you're sure about this Kai? We don’t want to give her false hope if you just like her. This is a big deal, you can’t back out once it’s done.’ ‘| want her. She’s mine. They are ours. | will do whatever it takes to make sure she knows that.’ ‘Ok big guy. Let’s see how today goes then.‘ on | make it through the morning, feeling progressively more nauseous as the day goes on. By the time the bell rings for lunch, | feel like ’'m ready to hurl. Kai is unusually quiet as | walk into the lunchroom. I’m early again, making sure that Tamara can see me. | have given her Cara’s description, but after yesterday, |

She gives the barest nod of her head to acknowledge me as | look in her direction, letting me know she sees me. Then her eyes are back to the doors. | watch for Cara’s entrance and as soon as | see her, | make eye contact with Tamara and she’s ready.

| watch as Tamara confirms that she’s here for Cara and follows her to her table. Cara seems shocked again at how it’s all set up. | would feel stalkerish, but the entire cafeteria has stopped again to watch what is happening. She doesn’t even seem to notice as she’s totally engrossed in the set up for her lunch.

When Tamara asks her if she needs anything and Cara only asks for the card, my hands start sweating. This is it. I'll know soon enough if it’s a go or if it's a no.

| watch her shock as she uncovers the food. The entire room groans and even my stomach growls loudly at the smell coming from her plate. Chase comes to stand next to me, giving me his moral support. He doesn’t say a word, just stands beside me.

Then she reads the card. At first, nothing happens and she just stares at it. Then, it’s like the sun begins to shine behind her emerald eyes and | know that her wolf has come forward. It’s the Guardian’s golden glow. Only their wolves have eyes that shine like that. This is it, she'll either love it or hate it.

I see them talking quietly to each other. Jason seems to understand the weight of the words in the card. | watch Lacey grab it from Cara and then her eyes darken ast her wolf comes forward reading my words as well. | hear DeeDee as she asks Artemis what she thinks. Artemis. Now, | finally know Cara’s wolf’s name.

| hold my breath as | wait. Then Kai howls in triumph in my head at her response. She accepted our offering!