I slow down as we enter the Shadow Rock territory, Enyo on high alert as we observe our surroundings, focusing her hearing on anything out of the ordinary. The smell of burning wood can still be smelt from the fire, making me nauseous as I sniff the air to see if anyone else is in the area. I slowly walk out of the thick brush, my head down low as I cautiously approach the clearing where the barn used to be, my ears back as I let out a warning growl for the figures I can see in the opposite tree line. I stop where I am, not leaving the cover of the trees, as I wait for them to make a move. Around ten people step out into the moonlight, and I see one of them is Alpha Leon. “No need to be afraid, Alpha Athena. We mean you no harm,” He calls out. Ryna shifts behind me and comes to stand by my side. “Show us that you’re unarmed,” he yells back. Alpha Leon lifts his suit jacket and turns to show he has no weapons hidden. “And your people, too,” Ryna calls out. Alpha Leon motions for
“Athena!” Andreas shouts, grabbing my arm. “I’m okay,” I tell him as he inspects my arm, but I start to hear growls from behind me as my pack starts to rise from the ground, snarls filling the air as Alpha Leon laughs. “That was just a warning shot. The next one won’t miss.” Andreas’s head snaps up, and he lets out a murderous roar. Cassia roars as well, and they both surprise me by shifting and running toward Alpha Leon. The rest of us roar and shift, and we run toward Alpha Leon and his pack as they shift and run toward us. We clash in the middle of the field. The sickening sounds of bodies colliding, and the tearing of flesh fill the air as both sides attack each other. I finish subduing one of Leon’s wolves, and I look around for Ares and Ellie, and I realize they ran past Alpha Leon’s men and are trying to get the shooter out of the tree. I watch as Ellie and Ares pull the shooter down from the tree by his ankle, and his screams fill the air as they kill him. But I notice on
“How long is this bloody tunnel?” I ask, my breathing shallow as I try to fight the claustrophobia I’m feeling. “I think I see a light up ahead,” Cassia says. “We’ve been down here for nearly thirty minutes. Where do you think it leads to?” Elder Andino asks. “I have no idea, but we need to be quiet and prepare for what’s on the other side,” Athena says, the glow of her blue eyes helping light the way through the pitch-black tunnel. ‘Is Enyo in control?’ I ask her. ‘No, why?’ ‘How are your eyes blue if you’re in control?’ I ask her, confused. ‘I don’t know. It just happens sometimes. It’s like I can draw on a power from within me, and when I do, it’s Enyo’s eyes, but I’m fully in control,’ she explains. I nod, not really understanding. “Maybe you should shift,” I whisper. “Just in case there’s more of Alpha Leon’s men or the rogue pack waiting for us.” “I agree,” Elder Laskaris whispers back. Athena stops, quickly undresses, gives me her clothes, and then shifts. Enyo shakes
“WHAT DID YOU DO?” Alpha Leon screams from the back of the pickup as Harry brings it to a stop near the cellar doors. “We didn’t do this,” I tell him as Harry pulls him down from the back of the pickup. “LIAR!” He screams, dropping to his knees as he looks over the bodies on the ground. “WHERE’S MY MATE AND SON?” “Alpha, you need to listen to me and hear the words I am saying. We. Did. Not. Do this,” I tell him slowly. “We found everyone like this.” He looks up at me with a broken look in his eyes, then turns to look behind him at the trucks. “Where’s Roy?” I motion to Harry to get Roy out of the truck. “Alpha, why didn’t you feel this happening?” Elder Andino Asks. “You should have felt the pain of losing the connections to your pack as they died.” “We hadn’t performed my ceremony yet,” he explains sadly. “So, you’re not even this pack’s Alpha? You held the meeting with us tonight under false pretenses?” I growl angrily. “I was going to be!” He yells. “So you say,” Ryna says
Near the cabin, looking over the pack’s land, I place a bouquet of white calla lilies at the base of the wooden cross that now marks the final resting place of Dad and his mate, Teresa. Tears stream down my face as I think back to the ceremony we held for them this morning, and I kiss my hand and place it on the cross.“Love you, Dad. I hope you’ve found peace with your mate. Tell Daddy I love him,” I cry.I wipe the tears from my face as I stand and turn to look out over the Blood-Moon territory. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to keep warm from the cold and take a deep breath as I try to calm down. So much has happened in the last few months, and I haven’t had time to sit back and process any of it properly.I’m Alpha, and this is my territory to protect now. It still feels surreal.Flashbacks of the last few days fill my mind, and I close my eyes and try to block everything out, especially the horrors of last night. The memory of us all silently sobbing as we watched an entire
Andreas P.O.V“Okay?” I whisper, unable to stop my heart from suddenly racing.Athena closes her eyes and nods slightly.“I need you to say it, Angel. I need to know you’re ready,” I say, my voice suddenly husky and laced with lust.Athena opens her eyes again, her eyes switching between green and blue as she looks up at me through her lashes.She takes another shaky breath and says, “I’m ready, Andreas. I want the world to know we belong to each other.”I smash my lips to hers, unable to hold back anymore. She gasps, giving me the opening I need to kiss her deeply, our tongues fighting for dominance as I place both hands on her ass and lift her up. She wraps her legs around my waist as she wraps her arms around my neck tightly, and I’m enveloped in her citrusy scent.I pull back for a moment, both of us breathing heavily as I place my forehead to hers.“We can’t do this in the snow, Angel, but I can’t wait to get back to the house,” I tell her gruffly as I turn and head towards the c
TW/CW: Torture.I hear myself groan as I begin to wake up, but when I open my eyes, I’m shrouded in darkness.‘What the fuck?’ I think to myself. I try to move my hands to rub my eyes, but I can’t, and I can feel myself start to panic as I realize my hands are bound.‘Andy, it’s okay. You’re just blindfolded,’ I hear Ares say in my head.Andy? And how can I hear Ares in my head, like I hear Enyo?“Ah, he’s awake,” I hear a voice say from somewhere in front of me.“He? What the fuck are you talking about?” I try to say, but nothing comes out.‘Why did they blindfold us?’ I hear Andy’s voice in my head, talking to Ares.‘I don’t know. They’ve been quiet since you were knocked out in the cage,’ Ares responds.‘Ares? Andreas? What the hell is happening?’ I try to ask them, but I get no response. I try to move my head to see if I can hear anything about where we are, but I don’t seem to have any control over my body. ‘Enyo? Are you there?’ I ask, trying to feel for her, but I get nothing.
“Alpha,” Doc says as he lowers his head in respect, then hugs me. He pulls back suddenly, sniffing the air, then looks at me. He moves my hair from my neck and grins. “I’m so happy for you,” he says with a wink.I blush and brush my hair back over my mark. “Thanks,” I mumble.“Covering it will not hide anything,” he says with a chuckle. “And there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”“I’m not ashamed,” I tell him. “I just don’t think it needs to be announced to everyone.”“The entire pack will know by the end of the day, Alpha. Your scent has changed, and everyone is going to be thrilled.”“I didn’t notice,” I say, sniffing myself.“Where is Alpha Andreas? I should check on him to see if there have been any changes to his condition.”“He’ll be here in a moment,” I tell him. “How are the chosen doing?” I ask, changing the subject.“Two are still under the close eye of Doctor Andrews. That would be Jack Ryan and Philip Gray,” he says, looking over the paperwork on his clipboard. “The other two,
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