I stare at Alpha Damon in disbelief. “Alpha! I wanted to question her! We could have found out who was behind the attack!” He growls and fixes his gaze on me. “There would have been no need to question anyone if you had done your job properly,” he snarls, his hot breath hitting my face as he stands over me. I hold my ground, straightening my back and returning the Alpha’s stare. I can feel his Alpha aura radiating from his body, and a small growl escapes my throat as he tries to make me back down with it. His eyes widen slightly when he realizes it’s not working, and that’s when I see it. A glimpse of fear. “Damon, this isn’t Athena’s fault. She protected me. They all did,” Luna Cassia tries to calm Alpha Damon by placing her hand on his shoulder. He takes a step back and places his arm around Luna Cassias’ waist. “Come, my love.” he turns his attention to the Luna. “Let’s get you back to the pack house.” He turns to Uncle Alex. “Get this shit cleaned up. We don’t need the humans f
Content Warning–Torture. “WHO IS YOUR ALPHA?!” the hunter yells. “I TOLD YOU! MY ALPHA IS ALPHA LEWIS OF THE SHALLOW RIVER PACK!” the man screams at his captor. The hunter turns and takes something from the table behind him. “YOU’RE LYING!” The hunter yells, and a scream fills the room as the hunter pierces the man’s skin with a blade covered in wolfsbane. “Please! Please! No more!” The man begs, his breathing quick and shallow. “My pack is the Shallow River pack. I was born there. My father was a warrior for the pack. We’ve never belonged to any other pack. I have no other Alpha but Alpha Lewis,” he whimpers. The hunter spits in his face and looks at him with disgust. “One of you knows who your Alpha is, and I’m going to get it from you one way or another,” the hunter says as he walks past the cages in the room. The hunter smirks as different colored eyes glare back at him. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” His evil laughter fills the room. “Now, now, Roy. You know they
‘Did Noah, Rich, and John make it out safely?’ I mind-link Uncle Alex as we sit in my newly appointed office. ‘I got them out at three this morning. They’re driving to St. Paul, then flying to Georgia from there.’ ‘Was this office swept for listening devices?’ Uncle Alex gives a nod. ‘There are two bugs. One is in the penholder, and the other is in the fake plant above the fireplace.’ I nod. “Thank you for meeting me so early, Uncle Alex. I thought we could go over the guard schedule for the Luna,” I say, acting naturally. “Of course, Athena. Who would you like to assign to your team?” He grins, already knowing the answer. “I’d like senior warriors only. I was looking at Leah, Luca, and James as a reward for their good work yesterday.” “Of course. I will advise them at training and have someone cover their patrol duties.” “I’d also like to take Tony on as a trainee. Do you know when he will be accepted as a full pack member?” “I believe that’s supposed to happen next week.” T
Andreas P.O.V “You…” I gasp in disbelief. “Hello again, Andreas.” The man who has been hunting me for the last five years stands and walks over to where I am handcuffed to a chair. “You’re behind all of this?” I ask, looking around the room and at the six large steel dog cages lined up along one wall. “I’ve been looking for you for a long time, Andreas,” he says, ignoring my question. “What made you come out of hiding?” I glare at him, refusing to talk. “It was Athena, right? She somehow found you, and you two were working together?” A small growl escapes my throat at the mention of Athena. ‘Keep it together, Andy. They can’t know she’s our mate,’ Ares warns, and I take a deep breath to try to calm myself. “You’re mistaken if you think she’ll save you. She isn’t even looking for you. As far as she knows, you’re dead.” His icy grin sends chills down my spine, and my stomach drops, as I think back to the day that feels like forever ago. “You’re little show… The camera…” The ma
Content warning: hints of r@pe and abuse. I softly knock on the door of the Lunas’ room, and I hear her say, “Come in.” I enter and close the door, lowering my head in submission to her, then sit in the chair beside her bed. “How are you feeling, Luna?” “Oh, I’m fine, thank you, Athena,” she says, but her cheeks flush and her hands nervously play with the blanket that covers her. I take a chance and reach out to place my hand on top of hers. Her hands stop fidgeting as she looks at me, her eyes welling up with tears. “You can trust me, Luna. I promised I would protect you,” I say, trying to comfort her with my touch. She takes the hand that isn’t holding mine and covers her eyes as she sobs. I get out of the chair and sit beside her on the bed. Jeopardizing my position by doing this without her permission, I lean in and hug her tightly. She gasps softly in surprise, but then hugs me and sobs into my shoulder. My heart breaks for her. ‘We can’t just use her for information, Athe
‘Delta, Alpha Damon is heading this way, and he looks pissed,’ Tony mind-links me. ‘Doc, I need you to run interference with the Alpha for a minute,’ I mind-link the Doc as I stand from where I was sitting on the bed. I take a washcloth from the supply cart in the room, go into the bathroom and run it under cold water. I turn back to Luna Cassia, who gives me a confused look as I give her the washcloth. “Alpha Damon is on the way. Clean your face so he hopefully won’t notice you’ve been crying,” I tell her, and she quickly wipes the cloth over her face, her hands shaking as she does it. I squeeze her shoulder reassuringly, and she takes a deep breath, trying to compose herself. “Move out of my way, Doctor! NOW!” I hear Alpha Damon yell, and I dash to the corner of the room and stand at attention, my eyes finding a spot on the wall to focus on. The door slams open, and Alpha Damon enters, his gaze fixed on his Luna. “You weak, pathetic…” He stops speaking when I growl unintentionall
The Following Week “How long until they get here?” Ryna asks. “Uncle Alex said they were about ten minutes away,” I say, eager to see Jason and Jess. ‘Have you spoken to Noah recently?’ I ask through mind-link. ‘Yeah, I spoke to him yesterday. They thought they were being followed just outside Minot, but he said that Rich managed to lose them. They’ve been changing cars every two days and taking as many back roads as possible. They’re flying out of St. Paul’s today.’ ‘Great. Make sure you call him later to make sure they got to John’s grandmother’s house safely.’ ‘Will do.’ I stand up from behind my desk and walk towards the door. “Come on, let’s wait for them outside,” I say, and Ryna and I go outside to wait on the porch for Uncle Alex, Jason, and Jess. ‘Who has eyes on Damon?’ I mind-link the Crescent Warriors. ‘He’s in town. We have two warriors following him. He’s meeting with Alpha Costas again,’ Leah lets me know. ‘And the Luna?’ ‘In her office, I’m standing guard with
Cassia stares at me with her mouth open. Kneeling next to her, Jess asks, “Cass? Are you okay?” “I… I don’t believe you,” she says as she breaks down. “That would mean I’m mated to a monster!” “Look at her aura, Cass. She’s not lying,” Jess says softly, rubbing Cassias’ back. Cassia’s eyes meet mine, and she studies me for a moment. “Oh Goddess,” she sobs. “What if you’re wrong? What if he didn’t tell anyone about the warehouse? What if it’s all a coincidence?” “No one else knew, Cass. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that Damon is involved in my mate’s death. That he’s responsible for a lot of what’s happened to this pack,” I say sadly. “Do you know anything that could prove any of it, Cass?” Jess asks. Cassia shakes her head. “No. He never tells me anything. I’m surprised he even let me help organize the mate’s ball. He thinks Lunas should be seen and not heard…” she hiccups as she tries to hold back more tears. “What about his visits with other packs?” I ask. “What can you