‘Alpha, can you please meet us in the conference room?’ Leah mind-links.‘I’ll be right there,’ I respond, leaving the bunker with Uncle Alex, Ryna, and Tony.As we get outside, most of the crowd has dispersed, and things seem to have calmed down. At least I thought it had until we reach the conference room and hear arguing inside.“Tony, take Leah and update the Luna Guard and Crescent Warriors on what’s happening. We will meet shortly to go over the plan for tonight,” I tell him.“Yes, Alpha,” he says, and he and Leah leave.I open the door and find Beta Castor yelling at the Elders.“How do we know that you’re not one of the Elders involved in this? You’re probably just covering your ass!”Before Elder Laskaris can respond, I answer for him. “I can assure you, Beta, that Elder Laskaris is on our side. He was the one that told me there was a prophecy.”“We vouch for him too,” Luna Rachel says.“With all due respect. Luna, but I don’t know you,” Beta Castor says, earning him a growl
‘We’re almost to the river. Felix should be here somewhere,’ Dad mind-links.I slow down as we come to the river, and I see Felix step out from behind a tree and bow his head to me. “Everything is clear. The pack house is two miles northeast from here,” he says, then shifts.I nod my head and motion for everyone to follow.‘Is Catherine behaving?’ I ask Harry, who is guarding her in case she tries anything.‘She seems nervous.’‘Keep her close.’‘Yes, Alpha.’Felix slows down, and we take position behind trees and bushes as the secret pack house comes into view. There are men patrolling outside, and I can see they’re carrying guns.I shift back and turn to the group, who all shift back as well. “They’re carrying rifles,” I whisper. “We all need to be extremely careful. Those bullets are probably laced with wolfsbane that can stop us from shifting and healing.” I explain. “Felix, were they carrying weapons last night?”“No, they were unarmed.”“Something doesn’t feel right,” I say. “I
“Alpha! We have to go!” someone yells as they grab my arms and pull me to my feet. “They’re coming back!” They yell, and I look around absently as my body shuts down from the shock.“Athena!” someone else yells and then slaps me across the face.I shake my head, and my eyes focus on Ryna as he shakes my shoulders. “He’s gone,” I croak out.“I know, honey,” he says softly. “But we have to go. We have to get everybody to safety,” he says, and I look back at our group as they help the chosen into the woods.I see Andreas unconscious on the ground, and I’m brought back to reality. “Let’s go,” I say, taking one last look at the blazing fire.As I turn to run to Andreas, I see movement in the tree line behind the barn, making me stop. “Enyo, is that…?”She stops howling and focuses on what I’m looking at and then growls. ‘DEREK!’“RYNA!” I yell, and he runs back to my side, and I point to Derek in the distance. “IT’S FUCKING DEREK!”“THAT FUCKER!” He yells and shifts.“TONY! GET EVERYBODY T
I push Andreas through the front doors, and we find the Crescent Warriors waiting for us. They all kneel before me, and then Mitch and Noah stand.“Alpha, we’re here to escort you and your mate to the ceremony,” Mitch says.Noah comes and stands beside me, and says, “Let me, Alpha.” And takes the handles of the wheelchair.I nod and stand next to Andreas and hold his hand as we all walk towards the pack hall.When I try to go towards the pack hall doors, Tony says, “We’re not going to the pack hall,” and they lead us past it, to the field behind it.I gasp as I look around. There are fairy lights everywhere, providing a peaceful glow over the field, with the pack surrounding a makeshift stage in the middle of the field. The warriors lead us toward the pack, and everyone moves to the side, making a pathway and kneeling as we pass. When we get closer, the warriors stand to the side and surround the stage as Mitch and Noah lead us up a ramp, where Elder Laskaris and the remaining Elders
“Let me help you get him up the stairs,” Tony says when we get to Mom’s house.“Thanks, Tony, I appreciate it,” I tell him.We both help Andreas out of the wheelchair and slowly help him up the stairs to my room. We help him sit on my bed, and Tony walks out of the room without saying anything.“I’ll be back in a minute,” I tell Andreas, and he gives me a smile and nods.“Tony, wait up,” I call out as I get to the hallway.“What’s up, Alpha?” He says shortly.“Are you okay?” I ask, placing my hand on his arm.“It’s been a long week,” he sighs. He then looks past me at Andreas and asks, “Will you be okay?”“I’ll be fine.” I smile. But Tony just nods, looking extremely unhappy. “Are you sure you’re okay?”He looks at me and gives me a weak smile as he places his hand on my cheek and caresses it with his thumb. “As long as you’re happy, then I’m happy,” he whispers, then walks downstairs and outside.I sigh and go back into the room, closing the door behind me.“He cares for you,” Andrea
I sit up with a start when I roll over and realize the bed is empty. “Andreas?” I call out.“I’m here, Athena,” he says, and I look over to find him standing in the bathroom doorway.“Are you okay?” I ask as I push the blankets off and rush over to him.“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I needed the bathroom, but I didn’t have the energy to get back to bed.”“You should have woken me,” I say, worried, as I take his hand and help him back to bed.“I should be taking care of you, not the other way around,” he says as he lies back down in bed.“That’s so last century,” I say, rolling my eyes as I climb back into bed as well.“I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, I know you’re hurting, and I wish I could do something to take your pain away,” he says as I snuggle into his chest again. “You were calling out for Alex in your sleep,” he says sadly.“Oh,” I whisper.“You started calling him dad?”“Yeah, just yesterday,” I say sadly. “I wish I’d started calling him dad sooner.”“You had a speci
Once everyone who can be is seated around the conference room table, I start the meeting.“Thank you all for coming. Is there anything anyone wishes to bring up before we discuss things?”Alpha Pollux clears his throat. “Beta Castor and I will be leaving soon, but I just wanted to thank you, Alpha Athena. We wouldn’t have gotten out last night if it wasn’t for your mind-link.”“What do you mean?” I ask.“We all got out in time because you mind-linked us to get out of the pack house,” he explains.“I’m sorry, I’m confused. Are you talking about the mind-link I sent out to the warriors?” I ask.“Alpha, we heard it too. You mind-linked everyone in the house,” Beta Castor says.“That’s not possible,” I say. “We can only mind-link with our own pack.”“I heard it too, Alpha,” Lauren says.I look at Andreas with a shocked expression. “Maybe you can mind-link the chosen,” he says.“I heard it too,” Noah says, and everyone in the room gasps.“Try me, Alpha,” Elder Laskaris says.I close my eye
Jess and Jason catch up to me outside the conference room, and Jess hugs me. “Thank you for protecting my sister.” “She sacrificed herself for this pack. It’s the least I could do,” I say, pulling back. “Are you guys leaving today with Alpha Peter and Luna Rachael?” I ask as we walk down the hallway of the pack house. “Yeah. We’re leaving in about half an hour,” Jason says. “Make sure you guys find me before you go, okay?” I say as we walk outside. “Of course, we wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye,” Jess says. “We’ll find Alpha Peter for you.” “Thanks,” I say, and they walk away. I hear a crash come from inside, so I run back into the pack house and hear yelling from the kitchen. “Did you seriously think you could leave our pack without repercussions?” I hear a male growl. As I run into the kitchen, I find Beta Stephan holding Lauren by the throat against the kitchen wall. “Get your hands off her,” I growl. “This is none of your concern, Alpha,” he growls back, keeping h