Untouchable by Marii Solaria

Chapter 1 – Protect Her Peace

“He wished he could find a way back to believing, even though he knew better, that she was his to protect.” Cassandra Clare

Neron

“Move it, soldiers!”

It’s been three weeks since the insanity. Three weeks since Zircon Moon territory was nearly burned to ash. Thankfully, Mother Nature is a healer and since then, has blessed our lands with lush green once more. The earth trembled as thunderous footsteps of warrior men and women encircled the land under the early morning sky. Golden and blessed light from the barely peeked over the horizon to dissipate the cerulean blue.

I led the charge of the morning run, adding it to the warrior’s regime before their day. The cool morning breeze whipped against my bare skin, taking strands of my hair along for the ride. It felt good. It’s freeing. Like a dip in a cold pool right before the heat of summer.

It’s July and so much has happened within these past weeks. Beefed up border security, new members trickling

into our community, and pregnancies. Lorelai, Kwame’s mate, is carrying his pup and celebrations were in

order.

I still remember the tear–stained face of Amani and Omar Dubois at the announcement. They’re going to be grandparents! Praises to our beloved Moon Goddess echoed throughout the night from the Gamma family, including a few excited yells here and there.

Whenever a ranked wolf or their mate announces their pregnancies, we throw them a celebration to bless them with a healthy pregnancy and pray to our Moon Goddess for their safety throughout it all. We dance deep into the night accompanied by food, drinks, and booming music to broadcast the future member of our

family.

Carrying pups isn’t easy, I imagine. Witnessing my little sister’s birth was enough for me.

Good news aside, one thing weighed heavily on my mind as the soldiers and I turned a corner. The impending punitive reality that awaits in August. Kiya will leave and I’ll never see her again. It will separate my mate and me for good, and my strong heart pounds harder. Not at the exercise, but the future separation.

I can’t bear it. I can’t bear the thought of my beloved leaving, not after all we’ve been through. It’s unjust to force her to stay at my side when she doesn’t want to, but goddamnit, I love her so much it hurts!

With every passing day, the pain in my heart grows. The time constraint is a bastard thing, taunting me at how I cannot earn the heart and trust of my soulmate. I loathed it. I wanted nothing more than to burn it under the fiery inferno of hell. Fate is telling me to give up, but I refuse.

I gave up on Kiya before. Five years ago. Now, I refuse to stop fighting. I’ll continue to fight until her last day on my land.

I moved faster. I pump my legs harder. My stomps grew in volume and the world faded around me in a blur of color. It’s hard to tell if it’s my determination or Onyx that’s pushing me. He can’t bear to lose our beloved either. He’s been alone for too long and it’s my fault.

If I only accepted Kiya from the beginning. If only I treated Kiya with love and respect. If I wasn’t blinded by

Chapter 1 – Protect Her Peace

grief and anger, Onyx and I wouldn’t be in this precarious situation where we’d lose our other half for good.

I can’t give up.

Not on her. Not on Kiya. She’s all that matters to me.

I’d give anything to see her smile at me, just like on our date at the amusement park.

After the run, I walked into the silent pack house. I expect no one to rise this early unless they’re training to defend our lands. Not even the Omegas. However, the sound of cups against countertops and the smell of coffee ignited my curiosity.

Huh. Who’s up this early?

As I walked closer to the kitchen, my favorite scent in the world wafted up to my nose. A deep, satisfying growl rumbled in my chest and sharp pleasure slices through my nerve endings. Honeyed strawberries and vanilla are an intoxicating mixture that I can’t get enough of. It bathes my sweaty body in comfort and warmth, lulling into a deep sense of security. If I could bottle it up as a perfume, I’d keep it by my side forever.

I spend a couple of seconds longer sniffing the air like a madman before walking into the kitchenette to spot my mate stirring her coffee in a large mug labeled “Feeling Kinda Stabby‘.

She’s wearing pajamas, Pajamas that cast a halo around her melanin. Kiya looks so good in pastels. Her shorts revealed her legs, scarred and beautiful. Her tank top also revealed her arms and back, striking pain in my mind at the scar on her shoulder blade barely curtained by her beautiful curls. Her tired sigh echoed in the kitchen’s quiet atmosphere.

“What do you need, Neron?” Her sweet voice asked, her body turning to face me with her hands cradling her mug. I took a moment to soak up her appearance, and it didn’t bring my heart joy.

of her curls are pointing in every direction. My mate’s on the verge of collapsing in

urges me to

Kiya?” I ask softly, taking steps into the kitchen.

She says. Like hell she is. The heavy tone in

bothering you. You look like

mean for me to hear because I watched her tired expression turn into one of embarrassment. “Ugh. Forget

her, I rest my elbow on the kitchen’s island. “Kiya. Tell me

has every reason not to, and yet, I can’t

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1 – Protect Her Peace

have to carry it all. So much has happened to

not letting this go, Kiya,” I said firmly, “You look like you need someone to talk to. You need to get whatever this is

should I

person to talk to, but I’m the only person you can talk to for now. I’m here and…” I huffed in a deep

in defeat, she runs a hand through her mane of curls before gesturing at the door. “Let’s go into the common room

“Okay.”

you also put on

an eyebrow. “Why?”

She

ego got its daily stroke, raising a smirk on my

roll. However, I don’t miss the sight of mellow red in her cheeks and the crinkle in her nose.

fucking

I tossed on a black shirt before we sat in the common room. Quietly, my mate faces me on the couch. Despite the distance between us, to have her this

e speaks.

having nightmares.” That caught

“Nightmares? About what?”

their hold. “Every nightmare has a different scenario, but they share several things in common. I always die in the end. Either by my hand or if someone forces it.

where you killed yourself before?”

nods solemnly, sending my heart plummeting in a sea of despair. The desire to hold her and kiss her forehead has never been stronger. My hand ached to reach into her heart and remove all the burdens, so she didn’t have to feel them. Is it bad to want to carry her pain? Is it bad that I wish I had her pain, and she can be

my arm on the spine of the couch. My fingers were inches away from Kiya’s shoulder, and they’re itching for the smallest touch of my mate. “They typically tell us something about what’s happening in our waking life, or they can be a clue to something else.

to give up. To surrender.” I know she’s

bothering

ask softly. “What

watched?” She asks me, moving closer to me. Her bare upper arm brushes against my fingers, sending forth rockets of destined sparks through my body. She didn’t react. “Every time I wake in the middle of the night, I feel a presence in my room. Stalking me. It’s watching my every move but

shakes her head, laughing softly. “I sound like a madwoman.”

my lap. “You’ve been through a lot. Maybe it’s just that catching up to you.”

sadly. I resisted the urge to touch her face. “I don’t know what to think of it, and it’s been fucking with

been since you got

slightly. I smiled as my mind made

Without warning, I scooped my mate up

the hell?! Put me

floors of the pack

because I don’t know where you’re

couldn’t keep a straight face when she scowled at me. If looks can kill, I’d be dead. “I’m

now wiggling like a worm. “And why, the hell, are you taking me to your

room?”

going on in your room, that’s bothering you,

“But-!”

want to wake anyone else up, do

the fourth floor before kicking open my door. Feeling giddy over the fact I’m bringing

1–Protect Her

excited; maybe from when Mom would return from trips

my face. Kiya’s head swished from side to side, curls swinging as she soaked in the interior of my humble quarters. There’s isn’t much to look at; only that it’s the biggest room in the pack house with mahogany settee couches, a flat–screen television, and other accessories akin to a bachelor pad. I watched as brown eyes widened and

your room to

the urge to know more. Why does her opinion matter so much to me? It’s been my room for years and never once