We arrive back at the compound with no issues at 4pm and find Alpha Peter waiting for us out the front of the pack house.
“Let’s go into my office,” he says as we get out of the SUV, so we follow him inside.
Alpha Peter closes the door behind us when we enter his office and then walks around his desk and sits in his chair, and Jason and I sit across from him.
“So, what exactly happened today, Jason?” Alpha Peter asks.
“I told you most of it over the phone, Alpha. I noticed the car pull onto the highway shortly after we did, but I didn’t think anything of it at first. It wasn’t until they sped up and started tailgating us, that I felt something was off. Then, when they managed to run us off the road, Athena chased after the one that shot at us,” he says, looking at me.
“Yes, it looked like it was the private investigator, Derek, that I told you about,” I tell Alpha Peter. “It would seem that he wants me dead. Which would explain why he disappeared after sending me to meet with a hunter. I’m guessing he thought that meeting would have a different outcome.”
“I see. Well, there were only five people in the doctor’s office who knew you were leaving the compound. And I know four of us wouldn’t have told anyone,” he trails off, looking at Jason.
“You think someone in that room is involved in all of this?” I ask.
“The only person it could have been was Doctor Shields,” Jason says. “Do you think he’s finally making his move?” He asks Alpha Peter.
“What are you talking about?” I ask in disbelief.
“We’ve suspected him for a while but had no proof,” Jason explains to me. “He was away the day that we were attacked, so we think he knew the attack was coming. Plus, he knew all the lycans we were working with and what packs they were with… He knew everything. And now there’s been an attack on you after being at our compound and meeting with him,” he trails off.
“Wait. He knew all the chosen lycans. He knew about me.”
“So?” Jason asks.
“So, no one outside of my pack knew about me until my father told Alpha Peter.”
“Oh, Goddess…” Alpha Peter gasps. “I made a file on you and gave it to Doctor Shields,” Alpha Peter says, connecting the pieces together.
“I’m going to rip his throat out,” Enyo pushes her way forward and says to Alpha Peter.
“You’ll have to beat me to it,” Jason scowls.
“I’m so sorry, Athena. I never meant for any of this to happen,” Alpha Peter says sadly.
“What are you going to do about this, Alpha?” Enyo asks angrily.
“Watch your tone with me, Enyo. I’ve let your behaviour go once. I won’t let it go again,” he says bluntly.
‘Enyo!’ I scold her.
‘We should kill him! He is the reason why Dad is dead!’ She says, glaring at Alpha Peter.
‘No. Doctor Shields is. Alpha Peter was just trying to help. Give him a chance to make it right.’
‘Fine.’ Enyo nods and lowers her eyes in submission.
“We need to keep a closer eye on the Doctor, especially with Nicholas Teresi coming to the compound. It could be a trap for him. So, Jason, I need you to get in contact with Nick. Give him a heads up and try to get him here tonight with no one knowing.”
Jason nods and stands. “I’ll be in my office,” he says and leaves, closing the office door behind him.
“Is there anything we can do?” Enyo asks.
“I think you should stay out of sight. Maybe spend time in your room,” Alpha Peter suggests.
Enyo tries to argue, but I answer instead. “Yes, Alpha. I’ll go over the folders the Doctor gave me. Maybe there’s something in there.”
“Good idea. I’ll send Jason to come and get you when Nicholas gets here.” He stands and walks me to the door of his office and says, “I believe Carol has taken your things upstairs.”
“Thank you, Alpha,” I say, and I head upstairs to my room.
#
“There’s nothing here,” I say with a sigh and fling papers across my bed in frustration. I get up from the bed and look at the clock on the bedside table. It’s 1am. It’s been such a long day, and I’m exhausted. I walk over to the open window as I rub my temples, trying to soothe the headache that won’t go away.
‘Why don’t we go for a run?’ Enyo asks.
‘Alpha Peter wants us to stay in our room,’ I say, looking out the window over the dark backyard of the pack house.
‘He isn’t our Alpha,’ Enyo says, stretching out with a yawn.
‘We still need to follow his rules on his territory, Enyo. You know that,’ I say as there’s a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I call out, and Jason comes into the room.
“Hey, you okay?” He asks as he comes and stands behind me, placing his hands on my waist.
“Just feeling a little claustrophobic,” I say as he kisses my neck.
“Nick should be here soon with some warriors from the Red-River pack. It’s safest for you to stay up here until then.”
“I know. We’re just frustrated. We could do with a run,” I say with a groan as Jason massages my shoulders.
“We can go in the morning if you like,” he says before kissing my neck again.
“That would be great,” I say, turning to look at him and placing my hands on his chest. I hear cars pulling into the pack house driveway and then the opening and closing of car doors. A wind picks up, and as the cool breeze creeps over my back from the window, Jason stiffens under my touch.
“Nick is here. We should go downstairs,” he says in a weird tone, and he abruptly walks out of the room in a rush, not even waiting for me.
I follow him out of the room and downstairs, where I see him almost knock Alpha Peter out of the way to get outside.
‘What’s his problem?’ Enyo asks as we reach the front door.
“MATE!” We hear him yell.
I freeze. “Did he just say mate?” I ask Alpha Peter, who comes to stand next to me.
Jason runs towards a woman standing by one of the SUVs and almost knocks her over. They look at each other excitedly, and both say, “mate!”
“Well, would you look at that,” Alpha Peter says with a big smile. He walks over to Jason and the woman and whispers something to them, then they take each other’s hand and start walking down the street together.
‘Well, this is awkward,’ Enyo says. ‘Aren’t you glad you didn’t sleep with him?’ She asks in a mocking tone.
‘Shut it,’ I say, and Enyo laughs.
“Well, looks like I’m about to lose one of my best warriors to you, Alpha,” a man in his late twenties, with shoulder-length blonde hair and brown eyes, says as he walks towards us.
“It’s good to see you, Nick,” Alpha Peter says as the two men shake hands.
“Nick, I’d like you to meet Athena from the Blood-Moon Pack,” Alpha Peter introduces us.
“It’s nice to meet you, Athena.” Nick offers his hand for me to shake.
“You too, “ I say and shake his hand. “Considering the circumstances.”
“Yes, indeed. I believe there are a few things for us to discuss,” he says, turning to Alpha Peter.
“Why don’t we head into my office, and we can fill you in.” Alpha Peter extends his hand to lead us inside. “Carol will organize your warriors and their rooms while we discuss things.”
Nick nods his head and calls one of the other men over. “This is Lucas, my most trusted warrior. I’d like for him to join us,” Nick says.
“Of course,” Alpha Peter says and leads us inside to his office.
#
We get settled in Alpha Peters’ office, as one of the Omegas organizes coffees for us.
“So why the cloak and dagger to get me here earlier, Alpha? Your Beta wasn’t exactly clear over the phone,” Nick says, settling into one of the couches in the office, with Lucas standing cross-armed behind him.
“First, we need to ask why Doctor Shields rang you and invited you to come here,” Alpha Peter says and sits across from him.
“He called me three days ago to let me know you had a wolf coming to visit your pack that I would be interested in meeting,” Nick explains.
“He called you three days ago?” Alpha Peter asks in disbelief. “He told me he only called you this morning.”
Nick leans forward and takes the coffee that the Omega places on the coffee table for him. “I assure you, Alpha. He contacted me three days ago. He led me to believe that the wolf coming here was like me,” he says as he turns to me. His eyes change colour as his wolf comes forward, but instead of the usual yellow, they’re a bright grey.
Enyo gasps excitedly, and before I can stop her, she pushes herself forward and shows Nick her eyes.
“Beautiful,” he whispers.
I take control back, my eyes changing back to green. ‘I swear you can’t control yourself, Enyo.’
‘He’s like us! Who cares about control?’ She says excitedly.
“Three days ago, was before I had even met Athena. Before I confirmed she was like you,” Alpha Peter explains to Nick, giving me a cautious look.
“It seems your suspicions are true then, Alpha,” I say to him.
“What are you talking about?” Nick asks.
“We asked you to come here earlier so that Doctor Shields didn’t know when you would arrive,” Alpha Peter explains. “There was an attempt on Athena’s life today, and we believe he was behind it. As well as other things,” he says solemnly.
“And you think that asking me here was a trap?” Nick asks.
“I do. It seems that Athena coming here has set things in motion, and I’d like to see if he makes another move,” Alpha Peter says.
There’s a knock on the door, and Jason walks in.
“Jason, I want you to organize for some of our warriors to impersonate Nick and his pack. I’d like for them to head out to the airport and leave from there at the time Nick was supposed to. Let’s see if anything happens,” Alpha Peter instructs Jason. He nods and leaves the office again.
“What do you think is going to happen?” Nick asks.
“Doctor Shields seems to be getting bolder. I’m wondering if he’s bold enough to have someone attack your convoy,” Alpha Peter explains.
A small yawn escapes and I blush. “I’m sorry, but I’m exhausted,” I say. “Would you mind if I went to bed? Alpha Peter can fill you in more about the details, Nick.”
“Of course, Athena.” Nick says as he stands, holding his hand out to shake mine.
“It was nice meeting you,” I say, shaking his hand.
“You too, Athena. I’d like to talk to you tomorrow if that’s alright with you.”
“Of course,” I say with a smile. I say goodnight to everyone and head upstairs to bed.
I’m woken the next morning by someone knocking on the door. “Athena? Are you awake?” I groan when I realize it’s Jason. I turn over, look at the time on my phone, and groan again. It’s 4:30am. “It’s too early,” I yell out and roll back over, hiding my head under the blankets. “I’m coming in,” he says, and I hear the door open. I sit up in a huff and rub my eyes. “Jason, I’ve barely slept. What’s so important that it couldn’t wait until later?“ I ask. “I wanted to make sure we were okay,” he says, blushing, and gives me an awkward smile as he sits at the end of the bed. “Why wouldn’t we be?” I ask as I pull my hair back into a ponytail. “Well, because we almost… And then I found Jess, my mate…,” he trails off. “Oh, I see. Did you tell her about yesterday?“ I ask, not able to hide my embarrassment. Jason blushes again and says, “I did, but she understands it didn’t get far.” “Well, she has absolutely nothing to worry about. Yesterday was a crazy day, and I’m thrilled for you
Alpha Peter stands in front of his Gamma. “Stand down, Richard!” He yells, his alpha aura radiating from his body. “Athena is not a threat!” Gamma Richard bows his head, submitting to the Alpha, but he growls in my direction. “Listen to your Alpha, Gamma. You don’t want this fight,” Enyo says cooly. “Enyo, you’re not helping,” Jason says. Enyo shrugs and looks back to the Gamma with a smirk. “Shift back now!” Alpha Peter orders him. Gamma Richard shifts back and kneels in front of Alpha Peter. “I’m sorry, Alpha,” he says and bows his head. “You need to tell me exactly what Doctor Shields has been telling you, Richard,” Alpha Peter tells him. “He approached me about a month ago and said that things were happening that could impact our pack and that it would be up to me to protect us. He said that outsiders would come to the pack that would endanger all of us, and they couldn’t be trusted,” he says. “Has this been told to anyone else in this room?” Alpha Peter asks, looking
‘We need to find an Alpha and a pack, Andreas. I can’t continue to be a rogue. We’re pack animals. This is killing me,’ Ares says dejectedly, as we run through the trees at the back of the Moonstone pack territory. ‘I know, buddy. But it’s not safe. We can’t return home, and joining a pack puts them in danger. So instead, we need to concentrate on finding out who attacked our pack and why. And we need to find the other lycans that are like us.’ ‘I know,’ he sighs. ‘Do you think Athena is still here?’ ‘Noah said that she left the motel with the pack Beta, so I assume they came back here. Hopefully, the old man at reception gave her our number.’ ‘Do you think she’ll call?’ ‘I probably wouldn’t with what’s been happening.’ Ares stops suddenly, his hackles raised. ‘Someone is coming. If their warriors see us coming this way, they will attack,’ Ares warns. ‘We need to get off their territory. Over there, up the hill a bit,’ I instruct Ares. He turns in that direction, running back
Enyo goes back to where she can still smell the scent and says, ‘I’m telling you, Athena! It’s our mate!’ ‘I’ve told you before, Enyo! We don’t have time for a mate!’ ‘You don’t get to decide that! Just because you’re having issues with the Moon Goddess doesn’t mean I am!’ she growls, still sniffing around, trying to find the scent again. Donny whimpers and shifts, and Nick walks over to us. “What’s happening? Why did you take off like that?” He asks with worry in his voice. I force the shift and look around the area to see if anyone else is around, but it’s definitely just the two of us. “Enyo thinks we caught the scent of our mate,” I explain. “All the way out here? I think we’re close to the edge of the packs’ territory,” he says, looking around. Enyo whimpers. ‘I’m sure it was our mate, Athena. You can’t deny us our mate. You know what that does to a wolf,’ she says sadly. “She’s sure,” I say, a pang of guilt washing over me. “This concerns me, Athena. Why would someon
Three days later “Wake up, bitch,” a voice whispers in my ear. My eyes flutter open, and I feel something sharp at my neck. “What the fu…,” I start to say, but a hand covers my mouth. “Say another word, and you’re dead. Got it?” the voice warns. I nod as my eyes adjust in the dark, and I realize Catherine’s face is only inches away from mine. “My dad is being banished because of you,” she spits, the anger in her voice like venom. ‘Shift, Athena,’ Enyo growls. ‘Not yet,’ I tell her. “I’m going to kill you for what you’ve done to my family,” she whispers as she trails a knife down my throat. I try not to make a sound as wolfsbane burns my skin anywhere the blade touches. “But first, I’m going to make you suffer.” A sick smile forms on her face as she cuts my arm, and I gasp from the pain as the wolfsbane enters my system, the burning feeling excruciating. She cuts me again, but this time on my stomach. I try not to scream as tears fill my eyes. “Look at you writhe in pain
“Athena…? Athena, wake up, honey.” I groan as I open my eyes and see my mom standing over me. “Mom? What’s wrong?” “Nothing, sweetheart. The doctor just needs to look at your eye,” she tells me as the door to the room opens and Doctor Connors comes in. “Where am I?” I ask Doctor Connors. “You’re in the pack hospital, Miss Argos,” she explains as she leans over me. “I just need to remove the bandages to check how your eye is healing,” she explains. I nod and slowly sit up, and she removes the bandages wrapped around my head, covering my right eye. As the last bit comes off, she removes the gauze, and the light above me burns my eye. “Argh!” I yell, covering my eye with my hand. “Try not to touch it, Miss Argos. Is the light hurting it?” Doctor Connors asks. “Yeah, it stings like a bitch,” I say, refusing to move my hand. “This is good. It means your vision may not have been affected. Remove your hand, slowly open your eye, and tell me if you can see anything,” the doctor ins
Andreas P.O.V I pace the small area of the cave, raking my hand through my hair every two minutes. ‘We’d know if she was dead, wouldn’t we?’ I ask Ares, the tremor in my voice giving away how worried I am. ‘We haven’t marked her. So we won’t know anything,’ Ares says, just as worried. ‘FUCK! I need to know if she’s okay.’ I squat down, rubbing my hands roughly over my face. Then I stand up, walk over to the cave’s opening, and look over the Moonstone territory. The moon is shining brightly, and it’s a clear night. ‘Maybe we should see if we can get to the hospital and find her.’ ‘They’ve had extra patrols out looking for us. It isn’t safe,’ Ares warns. ‘I don’t care! I need to know that she’s okay!’ ‘I’m just as worried as you are, Andreas. But we’re no good to her if we’re dead,’ he tries to calm me. As I look over to the pack house, I sigh and lean against the cave’s entrance. Except for someone boarding up the window I broke, there has been no movement in Athena’s bedroom si
Athena P.O.V My hands tremble as I place my phone on the side table after speaking with Andreas. His voice was deep and silky smooth, like melted chocolate, and the thought of seeing him tomorrow is giving me butterflies. ‘I thought we didn’t have time for a mate,’ Enyo says smugly. ‘I can’t help it. Even his voice draws me to him,’ I say, a blush creeping up my cheeks. ‘Dumb-dumb, that’s the mate bond. And things are only going to get worse,’ she says as she sighs contentedly. ‘At least having a mate might calm you down a bit,’ I say cheekily. ‘Don’t count on it.’ A knock on the door brings me back to reality. “Come in,” I call out. The door opens, and I see Ryna’s smiling face as he comes in. Then Gino, Rynas’ mate, comes in behind him. “Well, well. If it isn’t my two favorite men.” I smile from ear to ear, their presence making me feel instantly better. “For now,” Ry grins as he walks over to the bed. “I hear there’s a mate in the picture,” he chuckles as he envelops me in
The early morning sun peaks over the surrounding mountains, spreading its warmth over our territory, but I don’t feel it. My breath is ragged as I run hard through the forest. Low-lying branches smack my face as I go past them, but I feel nothing. My only focus is to get to the lake. The lake will calm me before this rage swallows me whole.I finally see it in the distance, the lake that Enyo and I used to soak in after practice. Back when everything was right in the world. Before Daddy was murdered. Before I knew anything about the chosen.I don’t slow as I get closer. Instead, I brace for impact as I dive towards the ice covering the body of water. Enyo’s large, heavy body breaks through, and the iced water takes my breath away as I slowly sink to the bottom. I let the freezing water cool my heated body; the rage releasing from my body and my mind slowly clearing.I can hear shouts from above the water, but I ignore them. As the rage fuelled fogginess leaves my mind, I’m hit with a
“Alpha! Alpha, can you hear me?”I groggily open my eyes and see Leah hovering over me.“Alpha, thank the Goddess,” Leah says with a heavy sigh. “Don’t move, Doc Apollo is on his way.”I grab the back of my head, and I feel that my hair is wet. I look at my hand, and it’s covered in blood.“What happened?” I ask, lifting my head slightly and looking around.“You fell down the cliff side after the rogue charged you,” she explains.I look to my left and up the cliff side. “I’ve been saying for years there needs to be a railing put up there,” I say with a groan and try to sit up.“Please don’t move, Alpha. You fell a long way.”“I see that. But I’ll be okay,” I tell her, sitting up. Then I remember the reason I was in the forest. “Where’s Catherine?” I ask, panicked.“Gamma Michael and Gamma Cole have her in custody,” she explains.“And the other rogue?”She says nothing but looks behind me. I turn and see a young boy, his neck clearly broken from the fall. “Shit,” I grumble. “How did you
“Everything looks wonderful, Melanie,” I compliment her as I look over all the decorated tables outside of the pack hall.“Thank you, Alpha,” she says happily. “I hope you like everything inside, as well.”“I know I will,” I tell her with a big smile.She smiles back and bows before heading off to attend to her duties. Andreas comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, nestling his nose into the crook of my neck. “I can’t believe we pulled this off.”“The pack has worked hard. I’m so proud of everyone.”I see Rich and Noah in the distance, with the Cresent Warriors, and Michael and Beta Castor behind them. I take Andreas’s hand and walk over to them, wanting to keep the conversation away from others. “Still nothing?” I ask, disappointed.“I lost their scent on the other side of the mountain,” Beta Castor says with a frown.“Leah stayed at the Cabin in case she’s stupid enough to go back there,” Tony says.I nod. “We’ll pick up the search again in the morning,” I tell them.
“How is the feast coming along?” I ask Melanie, the pack’s head cook.“Everything is coming along nicely, Alpha. I’ve ensured there’s plenty of food for both packs, with extras.” She says with a proud smile.“You’ve done amazingly, Melanie. If there’s anything you need help with, please speak with Gino,” I tell her.“The Omegas are all taking care of everything, Alpha. They’ve been very helpful, as always.”“I’m proud of all of you,” I tell the rest of the Omegas and they all smile and bow their heads.“Alpha, I need a word with you,” Leah says from the kitchen door.“Of course,” I tell Leah. “Please excuse me, Melanie,” I smile at her.She bows her head and returns to her work, and I follow Leah into the dining room, where I find Rich and Noah waiting.“What can I do for our Epsilons today?” I ask with a smile.“We have a report from our border patrol, Alpha,” Rich says.“There’s been a sighting of a couple of rogues hanging around our borders,” Noah explains.I stiffen. “From the pa
Three hours laterWe watch as fight after fight ends, and the defeated warriors fill the sidelines of the training field, joining the rest of the pack in cheering and enjoying the spectacle.We watch Michael closely as he defeats opponent after opponent.“He hasn’t lost any of his strength,” Cassia says, and I think I see something flash in her eyes, but whatever she was feeling quickly disappears when she notices me staring at her.“Or his viciousness,” Ryna adds.“Nothing wrong with some viscousness in your Gamma, Beta,” Harry says.“As long as it’s towards our enemies...” Gino mumbles.I focus back on Michael as he defeats another warrior, trying to ignore the guilt I feel from Gino’s comment.“Maybe you should have just named him Gamma, Alpha,” Tony says. “He has the advantage of being a born Beta. I don’t think anyone will beat him.”“It is looking that way. But maybe that will earn him back some of the respect he lost.”“Doubtful. But we’ll see,” Ryna says.“Cole could give him
As I walk towards Ryna’s house with Andreas, I can’t help the pounding of my heart as I think of my best friend never forgiving me.I feel Andreas squeeze my hand tightly, and I give him a small smile as we climb the steps of Ryna’s small cottage. I take a breath as we approach the door and knock.Gino answers the door a few moments later, and I’m engulfed with the anger he feels as it radiates from his body.“He needs time, Alpha.” He says shortly.“I understand, Gino. But there are pack matters that need to be attended to,” Andreas says when I don’t say anything.“I will make sure that all pack matters are dealt with,” Gino responds, his glaring eyes never leaving mine.I swallow the lump in my throat and finally find the words I want to say. “I’m not here about pack business,” I say, my voice coming out as a squeak. “I came to apologize for everything that happened yesterday.”“It’s going to take more than apologies, Alpha,” Gino says angrily.“I know, but I can only start there.”
The Next DayAthena P.O.VI try to roll over, but I’m being held in place by Andreas. I kiss his arm and say, “Time to wake up, my love.”He groans and hugs me tighter. “No, thanks.”I laugh and try to roll over again. “If you squeeze me any harder, Andreas, I’m going to pee.”“Fiiiiiine.” He releases me with another groan before rolling onto his back and rubbing his eyes. “We can’t stay in bed,” I say as I get up and go into the bathroom. “We have way too much to do in the next few days. We still haven’t questioned the others we captured with Leon the other night. We have to get the pack house sorted out…”“I knooooow,” he says with another groan, cutting me off before I repeat the seemingly never-ending list of things we need to do.I giggle as I finish up and wash my hands before turning the shower on. I hear Andreas come up behind me, so I turn around and wrap my arms around his neck with a kiss.He smiles into my lips before kissing down my neck to my mark. He leaves a chaste kis
Somewhere nearby…I’m flung across the room as my connection to the Alpha is broken.“Master! Are you okay?” Alyria asks, running over and taking my arm.I look down at her bony hand on my arm, then at her. I glare at her and slap her hard across the face.“HOW DARE YOU TOUCH ME!” I bellow at her.“I’m sorry, Master.” She whimpers, holding her cheek.“GET ME THE WITCH! NOW!” I yell at her, and she gets up from the ground and scurries from the room.“What happened, Master?” Wren asks from the corner of the room.“Her wolf broke the connection,” I explain angrily, standing and brushing off my clothes.“How? I thought the witch said she’d be locked away in the Alpha’s mind?”“I don’t know!” I yell at him, and he shrinks back in fear.“You called for me, Sir?” the witch, Elizabeth asks as she enters my office.I stalk toward her angrily. “You told me the wolf would be locked away in the Alpha’s mind. So would you care to explain to me how the wolf was able to break my connection to the Al
“MURDERER!” someone screams, and everyone falls silent, turning to where the scream came from. “Karla,” I whisper, my body suddenly shaking. She looks weak and sickly, her eyes red from crying. “WHY DID YOU KILL HIM?” she screams again, and I see Cassia running towards her. “Karla, why don’t we go back inside?” Cassia says softly, taking her arm. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” Karla shouts, pulling her arm out of Cassia’s grasp. “I WANT TO KNOW WHY SHE KILLED MY MATE!” The pack members begin whispering and pulling their kids behind them. “Karla, please, why don’t we go inside so we can discuss this,” Andreas says, taking a step towards her. He takes my hand to walk with him, but my feet won’t move. I’m frozen in place. No words are forming in my mind as I stare at the woman whose mate I killed with my bare hands. “Athena?” He says, looking back at me. “I… I…” I stutter out, but nothing else comes. “ANSWER ME, YOU FILTH!” Karla spits out, and Enyo growls. There are gasps and more whispers