Ch. 81..90

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 81-Thank you to everyone who is reading my book. A fan let me know that chapter 44 loaded twice and the Rik perspective did not load as I meant for it to. I apologize for the inconvenience and I'm working with my editor to get it fixed.

Once it is fixed, I will upload a bonus chapter. Thank you for your patience! I really appreciate everyone who is reading my book and following Rik and Cara's story.

This book should wrap up in the next couple of weeks and the second book, Alpha's Guardian Angel, will start soon after this one ends.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 82-After Mr. Nelson leaves, | grab breakfast and head upstairs to get ready for I school. I’ve missed a week, so | know that | will have a lot to catch up on. But that gives me an idea.

When | get to school, 1 head straight to the office. One of the benefits of being an Alpha at an all-werewolf school is that | can pretty much get anything that | need. | don’t pull rank often, but today | will if | need to.

“Mrs. Connors.” | greet the woman who may be the oldest wolf I’ve ever met. My father said she worked at the school when he was here decades ago. “I’m here on behalf of one of my pack members, Cara Nelson. She missed school last week and I’d like to get her schoolwork for her so she can get caught up while she recuperates.” “Of course, Alpha.” She taps on her keyboard and pulls up Cara’s schedule. “I will get with her teachers today and get her missed assignments. | can have everything for you by the end of the day. Just stop by before you leave and I'll make sure you have everything she needs.” | smile at Mrs. Connors and thank her before heading out to class.

| get through the day thinking about the possibility of seeing Cara this afternoon. | know Mr. Nelson has forbidden me from seeing her until he agrees, but he can’t disagree with me bringing her homework to her. At least, | hope so.

As Chase and | are heading to the pack house afterschool, | get a mind link from Lacey. Cara is being released tonight. That is great news, but it means that | won’t be seeing her. She'll have to get home, get settled and probably go to bed. early.

As | unload both of our schoolwork, | realize | can see her today, | just can’t talk to her. | grab Chase before he can head to his room.

“Do you mind starting training without me? Cara is getting released and | want to see her.”novelbin “Yeah, go see your girl. We'll be in training when you're done.” | run upstairs to drop off my things and change quickly. | get the mind link from Jason that he’s heading to training because Cara is getting released.

| head downstairs and walk outside. They will have to pass the pack house on their way back home. | find a place in the sun. | want to stand out so she will see me as they pass.

| see their van heading my way. I’m watching her in the passenger seat when she looks up and locks eyes with me. She waves and | can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. It’s like everything that has been wrong just righted itself, and the heavy weight I’ve been feeling for the last couple of days lifts. | lift my hand and wave back. a Once they pass, | head out back to join training. My heart is lighter than it has been in over a week.

After training, | decide to eat dinner in my room. | have a lot of schoolwork | missed and | need to get caught up if | have any chance of spending time with Cara this weekend. | don’t care if she is doing work while I’m sitting in the room with her, as long as | get to be close to her.

I'm in the middle of some difficult math problems when my phone pings. At this point, | don’t care who it is, | couldn’t be happier for the interruption.

I'm a little shocked and a lot excited to see that it’s Cara and she’s initiating a conversation with me, even if it is to say thanks for rescuing her. | tell her how | was surprised that she was released from the hospital and ask her how she’s feeling.

I'm not surprised that she picks up that there is more information on Eli, but | don’t want to ruin our first text chat by discussing him. | decide to try to be flirty by asking her to go head-to-head with me. But it’s also my way of letting her know that I’m keeping tabs on my little guardian.

I'm thrilled when she starts joking back, talking about how she’s going to show me my ass. Oh, my Little Guardian, you have no idea how much | cannot WAIT for that. But of course, | want her healthy. | want our first sparring match to be fair so | can see just how amazing she really is.

As much as | want to talk to her all night, | know she needs her rest. | end our conversation with a heart emoji. Just my little way of showing my love. It’s too early for her to feel the mate bond, but Kai and | are all in.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 83-The next morning, | show up for training at the Nelson’s home with all the other warriors. The scent of vanilla is stronger now and it calms both Kai and | to know that she is so close and that she’s safe.

Mr. Nelson puts us through a rigorous training again this morning before sparring. He’s like a military drill sergeant, barking orders at us and calling us pansies. | distract myself from the pain by wondering if he calls his daughter a pansy when she works out and if she ever complained about these difficult training sessions. I’m guessing she didn’t. Not my little guardian.

| work to help my warriors through the obstacles that we have to get through for the first hour then | get to my ‘Cara Nelson sparring training’ and take down all of my warriors. I’m getting better at it. | really can’t wait to go one on one with my girl.

At the end of training, we are all getting feedback from Mr. Nelson before he sends us off. Right before | head out, | feel eyes on me. | look up and see Cara sitting in a window on the second floor. Even from here | can see her blush at being caught. | wink at her before heading home. | like knowing she was watching me and wonder what she thinks of me taking a page from her book and taking down all of our, yes | think I'll start calling them our, warriors.

All day at school, I’m distracted by the thought of being able to finally talk to her in person this afternoon. | have all her schoolwork and books in my car ready to take to her. When school is done, | drop Chase off at home then drive to her house. | collect her course work and books that | picked up yesterday and head to her door. | knock and wait.

Nothing.

| knock again, and tune into the house. | don’t hear a sound. They aren’t home. My mind immediately starts going down every possibility of where they could be and why they wouldn’t be home. Did Cara relapse? Did Eli Gunnar somehow get onto our pack lands and kidnap her again?

Before | let myself get too crazed with ideas of her being held hostage again, | mind link my father. “Dad, do you know where the Nelsons are? I'm at their home and neither of them are here.” He must have picked up on the panic in my tone because he reassures me before answering. “Cara had to have some blood work tests again today. The doctor +16 BONOS wants to make sure she continues to heal. | think they decided to give her another bag of IV fluids and vitamins while she was there waiting for her test results. | don’t know how long they’ve been gone, but the appointment was supposed to last a couple of hours.” I sigh in relief. At least she is safe. “Will you let me know what the results are when you find out?*, | ask him. As the Alpha, he is always informed of every pack member’s medical condition and any impact it may have on the pack. My father tends to find out when a she-wolf is expecting before the pup’s father finds out. “Of course, son, but | don’t expect to hear any bad news. Clint said that she rested today and is looking better. She’s strong and will recover.” | nod my head before realizing that he can’t see me. “Thanks Dad.”novelbin | put her schoolwork on the porch and run back out to my car. | was hoping to see her, but I’ll leave her a note instead. It’s kind of become my thing for her. The thought makes me smile.

| grab a piece of paper from my notebook and a pen.

My Dearest Cara, | was hoping to see you today, even if it was only a brief visit However, | understand that you are at the hospital getting checked | don’t know how much energy you will have to complete your schoolwork But | didn’t want you getting bored and having nothing to do.

| also know how important your studies are to you So | hope it makes you smile to know that | was thinking of you | miss your beautiful smile and of course, your smart mouth. Until | see you again, Yours, Rik Minking of her | miss her.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 84-| slept well Tuesday night. It was nice being back in my own bed after so much time.

When | wake up in the morning, | hear the sounds of training outside. | head over to my window seat and sit. Rik had said that dad was training the warriors now, but | didn’t realize he meant here in our personal training facilities.

My eyes are immediately drawn to Rik. He is strong and fast. As | watch, | see him helping his warriors, assisting them when they might give up. I’ve never trained with him and | didn’t realize how much of a leader he is. He leads by example. He doesn’t complain about anything that my dad throws at them and he’s throwing a lot. He’s yelling at them, calling them pansies and basically acting like he’s a drill sergeant.

After they finish with the obstacles, | watch as Rik begins sparring with each of his warriors. His technique is different than mine, as it should be. As a warrior, you play to your strengths. Rik’s are muscle strength, height and speed. Mine are agility, speed and endurance. Although, based on how easily he seems to be putting his warriors down, endurance isn’t a weakness of his either.

| guess I’m cheating a bit, watching his technique before we spar, but | can’t look away. For all his size and strength, he is grace in motion. There’s an elegance in his movements that you don’t normally see in warriors who expect to use their strength to defeat their enemy. As | watch, | see him pulling his punches with his weaker warriors. | do the same. You want them to learn and get better, not feel defeated by being beaten every day. However, he goes all out with his stronger warriors. Trevor gives him the toughest battle, but he still wins.

Artemis begins purring in my head.

‘Really? Are you wasting your strength on watching Rik sparring? Shouldn’t you be resting or doing something to get your strength back?’ | ask my wolf, although I’m secretly happy to have her active in my head, even if it’s because she’s drooling over an Alpha.

‘Watching Alpha Rik makes me feel stronger. Maybe we should ask him to give us personal lessons, I’m sure I'd be feeling much better very quickly.” | shake my head in disbelief. “Artemis, are you kidding me? You're crushing on our Alpha? And I’m not asking him to give you special sessions so you can “feel better“. Forget it.” She huffs at me. ‘If you loved me, you'd do it.’ +IS BONO “Wrong! | do love you but I’m not making a fool of myself to Rik.’ She sits back in my head but continues to watch, purring softly. As we've been having our conversation, I'd lost track of time and realized belatedly that the training had ended.

| watch as Rik listens to dad’s feedback for every warrior. Just as he was about to turn to leave, he looked up into my window and right at me. His mouth tipped up at the edges in a small smile and he winked at me before turning and heading back toward the pack house.

After the warriors leave, | head downstairs to make breakfast. Dad comes in and sees me in the kitchen. “Sweetheart, are you sure you should be doing that?” “Dad, I’m not an invalid. Yes, | know I’m still healing. I’m still sore, but | can make breakfast. | promise I'll take it easy today.” “Ok, I’m going to shower and I'll come join you. Did you happen to see any of the training?” “| did. And | have to know, what did those poor warriors ever do to you?”novelbin He gives me a wicked smile. “Oh, | haven’t even started yet.” And he rubs hist hands together like some evil villain in an animated movie.

| laugh. “I pity those poor unfortunate souls,” singing in Ursula’s voice. Dad flashes me a grin as he wheels himself into his room. My appointment is at 3pm. When we arrive at the pack hospital, | find out Dr. Harris not only wants to check my blood, but he wants to give me an IV while we wait for the results. He has a nurse draw my blood and hook up the IV, and Dad and | sit and wait.

| decide to ask the question that Rik didn’t want to discuss last night. “Dad, what don’t | know about Eli Gunnar?” Dad looks at me intently. “What makes you think there is something you don’t know?” “I'm not stupid Dad, something is going on, what is it?” Dad sighs and leans his head back, looking up at the ceiling. “I’m not sure | should be the one telling you, but | do think you should know.” He looks back down at me. “When you were taken and we realized that it was Eli that took you, Liam gave us some surprising information.”

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 85-“What kind of information?” Dad looks me straight in the eye when he answers. “Eli is the one that killed Liam’s mother.” My hand flew to my mouth and I gasped. “What? How does he know that? And how is Eli still alive?” “Apparently, Eli was found with Luna Estella in his arms and he was covered in her blood. When he was found, he ran and escaped. Apparently, he is good at that, as he escaped our warriors and Liam when they found you.”novelbin He paused before continuing. “He’s been hunting Eli most of his life. Now he’s close and I’m afraid that this will consume him. Anders is talking to him daily, making sure he doesn’t lose himself while he searches for Eli. He may need a friend during this time Cara.” “Of course. Liam is a good friend and a great Alpha. | will do anything | can to help him.” Dad nods just as Dr. Harris enters. The news is good. The amount of venom in my body continues to decrease, Artemis will continue to get stronger and | should recover with no lasting effects from the Beta’s venom.

When we return home, there’s a stack of books on our porch. | realize they are books from my school and there’s a note. | pause. Could this be from Rik? He’s the one that has been my secret admirer writing notes to me.

I smile as | read, and | laugh outright when | get to the part where it references that he doesn’t want me to get bored with nothing to do. The smiley face lets me know he’s referencing me watching him this morning.

My heart flutters when he says he misses my smile and my smart mouth. And then he had to go and sign it Yours, Rik. Is that intentional? | have to think that it is. He’s been very clear about his claim on Artemis and me. He wants me, and while I’m not sure exactly what it is that he wants from me, he has surprised me. Not only has he always known who | am, but his respect for me and my family warms my heart. He appreciates and values everything that my parents have done for him.

An idea begins forming in my mind as | pick up my books and take them inside. | think through my plan of action before looking at my list of assignments that | have to catch up on. Ugh, I'll be studying all weekend.

| crawl into bed early. I’m about to turn off my lamp when | see the flowers from Rik sitting on my desk. The flowers that started it all. They are dead now, but | can’t make myself throw them away.

| get back out of bed and head downstairs. | find some card stock paper in a funk drawer in the kitchen. | take it back upstairs and write out my note.

When | sleep, my nightmare returns to me. I’m trapped, handcuffed, Eli is coming toward me with his canines elongated to mark me. Out of nowhere, Kai jumps on him, taking him down and ripping his head off. He then jumps on the bed and lays on top of me, protecting me.

When my alarm goes off, | find myself tangled in my bed linens. | must have been tossing and turning when | was dreaming of Eli. | get up and go to my window. | want to watch Rik again. | want to see if he’ll look for me, if he’s missing me as he said.

He doesn’t disappoint. As soon as he arrives, he looks up into my window. When he sees me, he smiles and nods his head in acknowledgement. | smile back at him and then watch him in training again. He really is good. A natural leader, a natural fighter.

When training is done, he waits while the other warriors leave ahead of him. He stays, watching me before pointing at me then making a fist with his hand and thumping it over his heart. The message is clear. | have his heart.

He walks backward, keeping his eyes on mine, his fist remains over his heart until he reaches the forest line. He stands still for a moment just looking at me before turning and running into the woods headed home.

I rush to get ready for school. | know my father wanted me to take this week off, but | have no intention of sitting around the house for days. | need to get back into my routine, get back to my normal life.

As expected, Dad argues with me, but he’s always taught me to push through, to fight whatever is making me weak so | come out stronger on the other side. That’s what | intend to do. After he finally concedes that going to school shouldn’t cause any regression to my recovery, and | promise that if | start to feel bad at all, I'll call him, | grab my things and head to school.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 86-| have to stop at the front office first to let them know I’ve returned. The school is aware of my situation, and happy to have me back. | get a note for my first class, since it’s already started.

It's mid-morning before | see Rik. He’s in his usual position of being surrounded by every female on the planet. A twinge of jealously tries to rear its ugly head. It’s Artemis that tamps it down. ‘He’s shown us and everyone here that we are important to him. He is an Alpha. Wolves, both male and female, will always be drawn to powerful wolves. It’s not his fault that they want to be around him and what kind of Alpha would he be if he pushed his pack members away. Look closely, he’s not giving any of them special attention. He almost looks bored.‘ | look again and realize she’s right. | take a deep breath and strengthen my resolve. | start to walk toward him when his head whips up and he makes eye contact with me. He immediately pushes through the throng of females and hurries over to me.

his “Cara! What are you doing here? Are you ok? How are you feeling? Shouldn't you be at home resting?” His hands are going up and down my arms, eyes tracking over my body as if checking for bumps, bruises or breaks.

| laugh at his barrage of questions. “I’m here going to class, yes I’m ok, I’m feeling better everyday and if | have to stay home and rest another day, it won’t be good for anyone, least of all me.*

He smiles down at me. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today. This is a really nice surprise.” | hand him the card | wrote up for him last night. “What is this?” He asks, taking the card in one hand but leaving the other on my arm.

“It's an invitation.” “An invitation?” He asks and looks down at the card then back at me, his brows pulling together.novelbin I'm second guessing myself and this whole idea. Maybe it was stupid. ‘Just ask him.” Artemis pushes me.

He’s watching me intently, waiting for me to answer.

“Well,” I'm squirming under his gaze. “You mentioned that you’ve always wanted to have dinner with our fathers but your father would never let you. So, that’s an invitation for tonight if…” He didn’t let me finish. “Yes! A thousand times yes.” His smile lights up his face. He looks down at the card, his frown returning. “Will your father let me in?” I smirk at him. “Are you afraid of my father Alpha?” | ask him teasingly.

“Fuck yeah. Your father’s a beast! I’m not stupid enough to take him on.” “Then, lucky for you, I’m YOUR Guardian. I'll protect you from my father.” The smile remains on his face, but the look in his eyes becomes hungry, intense. ” Yes, I’m a very lucky man.” | feel the blush spreading across my cheeks. “Well, | have to get to class…” | point my thumb over my shoulder in the general direction of my class, but I’m locked in his gaze, unable to look away.

He skims his fingers across my cheek, gently pushing my hair behind my ear. His voice is low and deep, “I'll walk you to your class Cara.” Him saying my name in that voice sends shivers up and down my spine.

| lick my lips and | see his eyes darken as they move to my mouth. He leans in and whispers in my ear. “Unless you want me kissing you senseless in front of everyone in this school, I’d suggest you stop licking your lips.” He pulls away but makes sure to graze his nose across my cheek. When he stands up, he smirks at me. Oh, how the tables have turned.

He slides my bag off my shoulder and pulls it over his own. “Let's go. | don’t want you to be late my Little Guardian.” He puts his hand on the small of my back as | lead him to my class.

| realize I’m no better than my wolf. I've become a puddle of desire for my Alpha.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 87-The next morning, I’m up early, adrenaline pumping through my veins. | expect to see Cera this morning. It is my only time to see her today and | can’t wait.

As soon as | arrive at her home, | look up at her window and see her. She was waiting for me. | smile up at her and nod my head, letting her know I’ve seen her. Maybe | work extra hard in training to show off a bit for my girl. She’s watching and | want her to see me as a strong and powerful leader.

When training is done, | wait for everyone to head out. I’m enjoying the view, just watching her in her window. When Mr. Nelson quietly tells me to ‘move along Alpha‘ | point up at her, without ever losing eye contact then bring my fist to my chest. She has my heart. That will never change.

| walk backward toward the forest line, never breaking eye contact or moving my fist from my heart. I’m thrilled that she doesn’t look away. She sits by her window and watches me until | know | have to leave. | don’t want to, but if | don’t right now, | may just skip school altogether and stay the day with her.

When | get back to the pack house, | eat breakfast with my pack members before getting ready for school. All morning, I’m trying to think of ways that I can see her, or at least, let her know I’m thinking of her.

It's mid-morning and we're in between classes. Chase and | are surrounded by a group of females again. I’m not really paying attention. I’m still trying to figure out how to see Cara this afternoon, when my favorite scent in the world hits my nose, vanilla and honey with a hint of lavender.

My head whips up and there she is. For a moment, | can’t believe it. What is she doing here? | push through the people around me to get to her.

When | do, | look over her body, making sure that she doesn’t have any residual injuries. | can’t help but notice that the puncture wounds around her neck are gone. Jason and Lacey told me they were, but it makes both Kai and | feel better actually seeing it.

When she laughs at my litany of questions, | can’t help but smile back. She’s here. | was just wondering how | could see her today and she’s here, right in front of me. My whole day just got so much better.

When she gives me an invitation to dinner, there is only one response. Yes! | love her teasing me about being afraid of her father. But I’m pretty sure his threat was a serious one and I'd be stupid to ever underestimate him.

12 | love how she says that I’m lucky that she’s MY Guardian. I’m much more serious when | agree, because I’m not joking. | feel like the luckiest man in the world with the way she’s looking at me.

As soon as she licks her lips, I’m done. All of my thoughts of spending time with her turn to having her in my arms, tasting her, touching her, finding ways to make the mate bond sparks travel over both of our bodies. | lean in so | can smell her delicious scent while | give her fair warning. If she doesn’t stop licking her lips, | won’t be able to control myself and | don’t care who sees, I'll kiss her senseless. | slide my nose across her cheek, breathing in her scent before standing up and smirking at her. Her eyes have gone a little glassy and dazed. Perfect!

When we arrive at her classroom, it takes everything in me to not kiss her before | walk away to get to my class.

The rest of the day, | make a point to meet her after class and walk her to her next class. After the second time, she is looking for me and smiles when she sees me walking up to her. “You know, you don’t have to carry my bag to every class.” She says to me as we walk.

“What if | want to?” | look at her. | want to look and act like her mate. | want to take care of her, treasure her, treat her like my queen. So, yeah, | want to carry her bag for her.novelbin At lunch, | follow her to her table. Jason and Lacey look mildly surprised, but don’t say anything. Chase joins us and our usual table of girls looks like they could spit nails. Don’t care. My life is changed now that | have found my mate. Conversation over lunch is easy.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 88-Chase tries his luck flirting with Lacey. “So, Lacey, got any plans for tomorrow night” “Yep, the usual, headed to Dark Moon.” “Want some company?” Chase asks her.

She gives him a fake smile and shuts him down. “I have some already, but thanks.” She’s giving him the barest of answers when she responds, bordering on being rude. | can see Chase’s intrigue with her increasing. Chase is true to his name, and he loves the chase. Lacey doesn’t realize it, but she’s only making him more intent on getting close to her.

| focus my attention back on Cara. “Do you need a ride home today?” She smiles at me. “No, I’m good, but thank you.” The last few classes are the same. | walk her to her class, carrying her books. When the day is finally done, | walk her to her car. She unlocks it and with her hand on the door, turns to me. I’ve moved in close, desperately wanting to kiss her, but knowing she won't want that here in such a public place. So, instead, | step into her space, forcing her to lean back against her car and | lean down to whisper in her ear. “Thank you for my invitation. | can’t wait to see you later my little guardian.” | blow on her neck and gently nip her ear lobe as | listen to her heart rate increase. She swallows hard before answering, her voice a bit squeaky, “Well, it’s just dinner, nothing fancy.” | lean my forehead against hers. “It’s more than just dinner. It’s time with you. love.” | kiss her nose before stepping back and walking away. When | get to my car, | turn and see that she hasn’t moved. | wink before getting into the car with Chase.

After | get home, | rush to my room to shower and get ready. I’m not going to tell my father that I’m joining them. | don’t want him to tell me to not come. | put on a pair of jeans, a black sweater and pair it with work boots.

| walk out of my room and nearly run into my mother. “Hey mom.” | greet her and start to walk past her. “Rik, are you coming with me to Lily’s memorial tonight?” | stop short. | was so excited about dinner with Cara that | didn’t even remember that it would mean | wouldn’t go with my mother. | turn and take her hands in mine. “Mom, | can’t tonight, | have a date.” | smile waiting for her to be excited for me.

I'm surprised when | see her frown. “A date?” Ok, that was an unexpected reaction. “Yes, | have a date, I’m heading out now.” “But sweetheart…” she stops, looking upset.

“Mom? Why do you look like that? | can go to Lily’s memorial another day.” “It's not that honey. | just….! thought that you were serious about Cara Nelson. You made such a statement at your birthday with that dance and then you were so distraught when she was missing. | guess | just thought that maybe you’d found your mate in her.novelbin I smile and hug my mom, before leaning back and looking at her. “Mom, my date is with Cara. She invited me to dinner with her, Dad and Mr. Nelson.” My mom’s eyes go wide and her mouth opens in a “O” before her smile spreads across her face. “So she is your mate, isn’t she?” z “Yes mom, she is. Only she doesn’t know it yet, but | think she’s feeling the beginnings of the bond, even now.” She puts her hands on either side of my face. “I’m SO happy for you. I'll make sure to tell Lily when | go see her tonight that her daughter and my son are mates. She’d be so pleased!” “Thanks mom. Oh, and don’t tell dad. He doesn’t know and I’m not letting him ruin this for me.” “Only if you promise to tell me all about it tomorrow.” She bargains.

“Deal.” With that, | head out. Before, going to Cara’s, | stop at a florist and pick up another dozen roses. This time, | get her red, for love.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 89-uch attention Rik is giving me the rest of the day. He is there after every class and insists on carrying my bag for me, walking me to my next class. | don’t know if he realizes how many people are watching us, but | do, Maybe it’s because everyone has figured out that he was my mystery man. It was a very public claim.

It's very flattering that his attention, when he’s with me, is solely on me. The arrogant Alpha that I’ve seen all my life is gone. This man is something | never expected. He’s all in, and he’s making sure | know it.

“Well, he’s not all in, but he could be.‘ Artemis purrs seductively. ‘ARTEMIS! | thought we agreed we were saving ourselves for our mate!! ‘We are.‘ She says but she sounds like she’s rethinking her decision.

‘Is that a question? Because it sounds like a question, not a statement. ‘| like him. | like Kai. | like how they treat us, respect us.” | honestly don’t know what to say. While she always liked Liam and Cyran, she never considered doing anything to risk our mate bond. Her interest in having a physical relationship with Rik and Kai is shocking.

‘Well, I’m sticking to my guns on this one. We are NOT going to risk offending our mate by having a physical relationship with Rik. Not when our birthday is so close.’novelbin Artemis sighs in my head. ‘I agree. But you have to admit, he is a fine specimen. When we can shift again, | wonder if Kai would want to go for a run with me.

‘lm sure he would. The question is, can you behave?” ‘Maybe? She snickers.

| push her out and refocus on the conversation at lunch. Chase seems to be hitting on Lacey and she’s not biting. In truth, she and | have always been in agreement when it comes to men. We have no interest in being anyone’s bed warmer or a notch ona bedpost. Chase doesn’t exactly have a good reputation when it comes to being with women. If | had to guess, I'd say he has notches on all four of his bedposts and is probably running out of room for more. He’s barking up the wrong tree with Lacey.

When Rik walks me to my car at the end of the day, | turn to him intending to tell him how much | appreciate his attention today. Instead, | realize that he has moved so close that my brain stops functioning. | lean back and look up at him. He leans down to whisper in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. When he blows on my neck, heat slides down my core, and when he nips my ear, it’s like little shock waves going through my system. | try to get my voice under control, but it doesn’t work when | tell him that it’s only dinner. And when he leans his forehead against mine and tells me that it's so much more, | feel like a piece of my heart just got branded with his name.

No one and nothing will ever be able to take that bit of my heart away from him. No matter who my mate may be. | realize that I'm falling in love with Rik Forte and the thought has me so stunned that | just stand there, watching him walk to his car. He turns and winks at me before getting in his car and driving away.

Well shit, my wolf and | are totally screwed. We're falling in love with our Alpha The one that we are sworn to protect with our lives and we don’t even know if he’s our mate.

The Broken Warriors Daughter Chapter 90-Since | don’t have training when | get home, | decide to take some extra time and get ready for tonight. | take a long soak in my tub, using the scents that Rik got me as one of my gifts. | light the candles and when I’m done, | rub the vanilla lotion into my skin. | take some time blow drying my hair into big thick curls and | put a bit of make up on. Not too much, | don’t want it to be too obvious that I’m making an effort.

| put on an olive colored long-sleeve sweater dress with a cowl next and black leggings before adding brown knee-high faux suede boots.

Last night when | had my idea to invite Rik for dinner, | had planned out my side dishes to go with our steaks. Since dad always grills steaks on Thursday, | decided to add some truffle butter to melt on top when they first come off the grill. Dad had gone to the store today and gotten everything on my list, which included what | needed to make lobster mac and cheese and a wedge salad. It's not still decadent.

Ethereal but by my home cooked standards, it’ When dad rolls into the kitchen, he stops in his tracks. “Cara?” | turn to look at him, ignoring his questioning stare. “Thanks for getting the lobster and truffle butter dad.” “Cara? Why are you so dressed up?” | could pretend | didn’t know what he’s talking about, but I’m still a terrible liar. ” | invited Alpha Rik to join us for dinner tonight. Apparently, he has been asking his father to join him at these dinners for years but Anders would never let him come. Supposedly this is ‘your time*.” | make air quotes when | say your time.

“Is that why we're having a fancy dinner tonight?” He asks.

“Well, it's his first time eating dinner here.” Dad interrupts me. “And you're first time inviting a man to come over for dinner.” z “He saved my life dad.” “Uh-huh. Is that the story you're going with Cara?” “Don’t you have some steaks to be prepping or something?” | try to change the subject. Aknock came at the door. | sucked in a breath and looked at my dad. “I'll get it.” +15 RONDS | walked to the door and brushed my hands down my dress. Why am | so nervous? | opened the door, a smile plastered on my face.

“Oh, Anders. Hi. Come in.” He raises a brow at my welcome. “You were expecting someone else?” | just smile and point to the kitchen. “Dad's just getting the steaks out. If you hurry, you might be able to help with something.” He laughs and moves toward the kitchen. | close the door and lean against it. | feel like my nerves are already shot.novelbin | walk back toward the kitchen, and | hear Anders asking dad about our lobster mac and cheese. “Did | do something amazing to deserve such treatment?” He asks, just as | hear another knock at the door.

Anders head whips up and his brows furrow. He must be able to smell Rik’s scent at the door. “I'll get it.” | say and turn on my heel heading back to the door.

When | open the door, Rik is standing there, holding a bouquet of roses, a smile on his face. “Hey beautiful. These are for you.” He says, and hands me the flowers.

| take the flowers and step out of the way. “Red this time.” | say.

He walks up to me, kissing my cheek, “Mmhmm, red has a different meaning than white.” He looks at me and for a moment and | forget how to breathe. “Son? What are you doing here?”