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,
Andreas P.O.VAthena and I leave Connor and Will with Doctor Andrews and walk hand in hand back to the front of the hospital.“Alpha Andreas,” Doc calls out as he catches up to us.“Please Doc, call me Andreas.”“With all due respect, Alpha, I’d rather not,” the Doc says with a smile. “I’d like to examine you because of your marking to see if it’s had any effect on yourself or your wolf.”“We have somewhere we need to be, Doc,” I say, looking at my watch.“This is important, Andreas,” Athena says. “I’ll mind-link Noah and have him and Rich transfer Leon to a conference room while you get looked at.”“A conference room? Are you sure?” I ask her.She nods. “He’s the only link we have to the Rogue pack. I’m going to try to work with him diplomatically. If that fails, he goes back to the cells,” she explains.I nod in agreement and turn to the Doc. “Lead the way.”The Doc leads us down to an examination room and closes the door behind us.“The usual?” I ask.“Yes, Alpha. I’ll examine your
A moment later, there’s a knock on the door, and Noah enters with Leon’s mate, Karla, and his son, Mitchell. Ryna, Tony, and Rich come in behind them, closing the door.“Daddy!” Mitchell squeals and runs into his father’s arms.Leon kneels on the ground and hugs his son tightly. After a moment, he pulls back and smiles at his son. “Have you been a good boy?” He asks.“Yes, Daddy. But I don’t like it here. When can we go home?” He says sadly.“Why don’t you like it here? Has someone been mean to you?”“No,” Mitchell pouts. “But I miss my toys.”“I will make sure that one of my men will go and collect all of your toys for you,” I say softly, and it’s as if he hadn’t noticed me in the excitement to see his father, because he freezes, and turns to look at me with fearful eyes.“This is Alpha Athena,” Leon explains to his son as he looks up at me. “You have nothing to fear from her, isn’t that right, Alpha?”“Of course not,” I say with a soft smile. “You and your parents are safe here in m
Andreas P.O.VI watch as Athena’s demeanor changes in front of me. A sharp look passes over her face, and her eyes turn blue.“You,” she says, pointing to Cassia. “Take the boy and his mother to their room,” she says coldly, not sounding like herself.“Alpha, what’s happening?” Cassia tries to ask, but Athena growls at her.“Leave! Now!” Athena yells, her Alpha aura almost unbearable as it radiates through the room.Karla takes Mitchell out of Leon’s arms and runs out of the room, with Cassia close behind her.Athena’s glare turns to Leon. She stalks towards him, and he backs up towards the wall, baring his neck in submission under her intense aura.“Athena, what’s wrong with you?!” I yell at her, but she ignores me. I try to mind-link her, but it’s like there’s an invisible barrier around her that’s stopping me. I can’t sense her emotions; I can’t even feel our mate bond.She grabs Leon by the throat, bringing his face close to hers and growling. “Do you think baring your neck to me
Andreas P.O.V“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?” I roar when I enter Athena’s room a few hours later and see her restrained in silver bracelets that are attached to the bed railing.“Alpha, it was necessary to...” Doc begins to say.“IT WAS NECESSARY TO SHACKLE YOUR ALPHA IN SILVER?” I shout, cutting him off.The Doc says nothing. He just grabs Ryna’s arm and pulls him in front of me. It’s then that I notice the bruising on Ryna’s neck.“She attacked him,” Gino says angrily as he comes over and takes his mate’s hand.I gently take Ryna by the chin and move his head to the side, examining his neck. “Are you okay?” I ask softly. Ryna nods, but I can see the tears in his eyes. I sigh and rub my face. “I apologize for screaming at you all,” I tell them, turning my attention to Athena. “Tell me what happened,” I say, moving to Athena’s side and taking her hand in mine.I look over my beautiful mates’ face as I listen to the Doc tell me how she attacked her best friend and Beta.“We need to f
Enyo P.O.VEarlier in the conference roomAs Athena looks down at Mitchell, I can’t help but feel overly protective of this amazing little boy.Athena looks up to Leon to signal his time with his family is over for now, and he turns to his wife.‘Athena, maybe we can question him tomorrow. I don’t believe he’s a threat to us anymore,’ I say, but it’s like she doesn’t hear me. ‘Athena?’ I say, but again, I get no response or recognition from her.“Can’t my daddy come with me, Alpha Athena?” I hear Mitchell ask, and as Athena responds, a wave of nausea washes over us, followed by a coldness I’ve never experienced before.‘Athena!’ I try to yell, but it feels like I’ve been bound. Like there’s an invisible rope around my snout. “Why are you blocking me?” I hear Andreas ask.‘Oh no...’ I gasp. “I can’t feel your emotions anymore,” he says. The look of concern on his face makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.I feel dizzy as I hear concerned voices around us. I can hear Mitchel
Gino and I race through the halls of the hospital, running past dazed staff and pack members, to get to Athena’s room. As we reach the door, we can hear shouting, and my stomach drops thinking about what she’s done. I barge through the door and skid to a stop when I see a pissed-off Enyo standing on the hospital bed. It buckles under her weight as she turns towards me, and her demeanor instantly changes as she dives on top of me. I try to brace my fall, but I land with a thud as Enyo starts licking my face.“Enyo!” I say with a laugh as I try to stop her onslaught, my face wet from her licks. She stops licking me finally and barks happily at me, and Ares howls with happiness in my mind.‘I can feel her!’ He says happily as he prances around in my mind, and I have to hold him back before he takes over.“Enyo, what happened?” I ask. I feel her body stiffen as she looks at me with sadness in her eyes. She lifts her head and sniffs the air, and her head turns to Ryna.It’s then that I s
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