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Chapter 71
Last Updated:
2023-09-10 23:14:56
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Mike Mason’s POV— Flashback —“Look, Bronx, this is your baby sister, Lenora.” I stroke his dark hair out of his eyes and sit next to Sandy. “What do you think?”I observe him to see what his reaction is to our precious new pup. Bronx does what he always does. He takes his time to assess the situation, then looks at his mother for reassurance. They have the same green eyes, Sandy and Bronx. He always has something deeper in them, like his mind is always churning. He just turned four, but his eyes are so serious. Smiling doesn’t seem to come naturally to him. It took a while for us to get used to it.“Baby?” Bronx looks into the blanket and frowns. “How?”“How?” Sandy chuckles and leans back on the pillows. “The Moon Goddess sent her to us so we could be her Mommy and Daddy and so tou could be her big brother. Remember we told you she was in my belly? That’s why it was so big. The doctor helped me get her out when there was no more room in there for her.”“Baby eat my sammich?”“No,
Last Updated : 2023-09-13A Time for Strength Chapter 73
Lenora’s POVHana points to a light growing brighter in the distance. It must be Sin’s portal. The smell of ozone is heavy in the air. We just need confirmation it was him and not another creature.“Luna, Sin is inside pack territory. He can’t portal out.” Dad’s voice fills my mind. “Be on the lookout. We’re going to press forward. If we don’t cross paths, we’ll meet you at the packhouse.”“Thanks, Dad. We see the light from his exit point. Be safe.”“You too, sweetie.” He quickly cuts the link.Hana motions to Scorch so he will move toward the portal, then drops out of the tree. I watch while she does a quick sweep. She silently signals me it’s safe, giving me the permission to drop as well. Justice stays close to the front of my mind, but remains silent.It’s dark in the cover of the trees, but it doesn’t matter. Justice’s wolf senses are all heightened. We stalk forward following Scorch’s scent deep into the woods, ducking under branches instead of touching them, and trying to step
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“Surrender?” His posture relaxes. “Why on Gaia’s green Earth would I do that? Silly child. Between this conquest and the army I’ve already amassed, no one will stop me. The Council has no war to fight after tonight.”“You won’t take Blood River.” I snarl, feeling the hairs on my arms stand on end.“Who’s going to stop me? You?” He holds his hands out to the side and shrugs. “I’ve already taken out your brother and your parents are about to die along with their little band of hopeful hearts. And you’re next.”“Do you understand how many of our kind have died because of your insane cause?” I plant my feet into the ground ready to swing at him. I imagine Bronx’s voice barking in my head to have patience. Reaper should be here any moment. “Exposing ourselves to humans? That would cause mass extinctions.”“The Council is wrong. They’ve brainwashed you, Lenora. We can live in the sunlight. Shifters can dominate over humans.” There’s a dangerous glint in his eye. “We are apex predators. We c
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I grip my fingers into Reaper’s fur with one hand and pull myself onto his back. Pain sears through my shoulder, making me groan. He whimpers at the sound, worried about his Luna, then lets out three quick howls to let others know where we are.“I’ll be okay, Reaper.” I grimace. “Justice will have it healed by the time we get to the packhouse.”The sound of paws surrounds us as guards and warriors find our location. Mace steps forward and nuzzles my cheek while Mom shifts back to human form. His silent whine is a foreign sound. Mace doesn’t whine about anything.“Leni!” Mom runs over and places her hands on me gingerly. “Look at me, Honey.”When I look at her, I see double. Behind her, other guards and warriors have shifted into human form. They are standing over Sin’s body, confused about his appearance.“It was all a glamor.” I feel my words slur. “Just a fucking disguise.”“Luna Lenora killed Sin!” Someone cheers. “We’ve won!” “We need to get you back to the packhouse for medical
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“We killed so many werewolves, Bronx.” I cry into his shirt. “It’s not supposed to be like this. You should never have to kill your own kind.”“Lenora,” he puts a finger under my chin and lifts my head, “nothing about war is easy, but it’s over now. You ended it. Sin’s creatures are scattering. Rats jumping ship. Most of them probably never wanted to be there in the first place.”“Do you think any of the witches that Mom and Dad’s unit killed were the one who attacked you?” I let him wipe away my tears.“No clue. That’s for me to worry about.” He clears his throat. “I’m sorry, but I need you to change the subject before Saint loses his shit. I understand why you can’t control your emotions right now, but he’s real mad that you’re this upset, and there’s no one here for him to take it out on.”“Um, okay. What do you want to talk about?” I wipe my tears and take a deep breath.“I have to wait for the Council’s nod before I can say I’m acting Alpha. Regardless, you’re still our Luna unti
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Milo’s POV“Has anyone seen Lenora?” Luna Sandy comes into the room and drops a duffle bag. “Oh Bronx!” Bronx jumps up and picks her up into a crushing hug. My mom smiles and elbows me. “See. Even Bronx needs his mom sometimes.”I grin at her. “I’m so glad you guys came, Mom. Like, for real. We couldn’t have pulled this off without you.”“Well, we’re only here until the Council meeting is finished. Maybe they will let us stay longer, but it’s not likely.” She frowns and takes Dad’s hand. “Trust me, we would much rather stay.”“Luna Sandy, last I heard, Lenora took Rin and Elle to the lounge. I guess to talk to them.” I shrug. “That was like two hours ago. I figured she was checking on warriors getting medical treatment after that.”“Why don’t we find her?” Sandy picks up her bag. “We need you kids to give a talk to the pack. Knowing my daughter, she’s going to need a break from the spotlight after all this, Milo.”“Yes, Ma’am.” I bow to her. “If she said she was going to the lounge,
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“Alpha, I have an update for you.” Tyree comes into Bronx’s suite.“Tyree, you don’t need to call me Alpha.” Bronx rolls his eye at him.“Have you met my Momma?” Tyree tilts his head, making Bronx pause.“Fair enough.” Bronx pouts his lip. “What’s up? We have to meet with the Council in half an hour.”“Yeah, exactly.” He pulls out his phone. “After… after what happened to Maris, Misty helped me in Elder Randall’s room.”“Great.” I hop up and look at the phone screen. “What did you find? The more evidence, the better.”“That’s just it. He threw his papers like he won the lottery. Annoying, but not a problem until every one we touched disintegrated.” Tyree drops his shoulders. “They were all enchanted or cursed or something. Misty picked up a few wearing cotton gloves. Same thing. They all evaporated. We tried using tongs. No dice. Same thing.”“Shit.” I look at the photos of piles of ash. “So there’s nothing.”“Well, we tried something else, and it kinda worked.” He smiles. “We took ph
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Lenora’s POV“Oh, Lenora, it’s perfect!” Ashley squeals when I come out of the bedroom in the white lace romper. “I will do your makeup while the stylist does your hair.”It was Mom’s garden party dress until three hours ago. Everyone hated how it looked. The head seamstress, Wanda, agreed it didn’t suit me. She tried pinning it at several lengths, but it still didn’t look right. Mom growled when I asked if I could just wear shorts, but it gave Wanda an idea. Now it’s a strapless white lace romper with a green satin bow around the waist. It fits perfectly.“I can’t believe we’re getting married in BLOOMERS, child.” Justice sounds appalled at the thought of not wearing a dress. “Go find a dress!”“Justice, don’t be such a stick in the mud.” I look in the mirror. “Look how cute we look.”“This is what you wear under a dress. This isn’t what you should wear for a wedding.” She huffs and goes to the back of my mind to sulk.“Wanda, you’re a genius.” Mom gushes when she sees me. “And you’r
Last Updated : 2023-09-20
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Lenora’s POV“You see?” Musu puts her hands on her knees and pants. “A few hard workouts every week are all you need. No?”I lower myself to the floor with a groan and roll onto my back. “I don’t know about that, but I’m definitely too tired to worry anymore. I guess now that my back doesn’t hurt, I have to make up for lost time.”It’s been over a month since I tried to explain to Milo why Randall criticizing me was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Between Justice trying to stop me and Ghost… Well, I don’t know if Ghost was trying to protect our secret from Milo or if he truly doesn’t understand the gravity of the continuation of my life, but I failed miserably at trying to explain. Justice has even resorted to ignoring me unless she absolutely has to engage with me.When I got back from checking on Musu, Milo began to treat me differently. It’s like he was actually noticing me for the first time in a long time. He has been extra sweet and thoughtful. More than usual, I mean. He
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Milo’s POV“I expect better from you, Bronx.” I let Ghost snarl at him. “Fuck off.” He murmurs with glazed eyes from the gurney.I don’t care that we had to drag him down to the hospital wing to be sedated. He’s gonna get an earful from me. He hasn’t been taking care of himself. He’s gotten angry with MasonCo employees for no reason and handing down unnecessary write ups to directors for various departments in the pack. The past few weeks, he has been more and more irritable. I know for a fact he’s been making excuses and dodging his therapy appointments. I bet he hasn’t been taking his medications either.He even left Codi’s birthday party early when his mom mentioned she was looking forward to Bronx and Kas giving Codi cousins to be best friends with. Kas laughed it off about it not being the right time for them to start a family because Bronx is so busy he couldn’t even stay for the entire party, but you could see how much it upset her that he walked out. I’ve also seen him brush
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“As you know, the Goddess Project is funded with Council historical research funds and a MasonCo private client project. From a business aspect, what we have found so far, we consider a success. From a personal aspect, I cannot begin to express my disappointment in what we have found.” Bronx lowers his chin and looks around the room.“Disappointment?” Elder Karthik picks up his folder. “What do you mean?”“When you see the footage, you’ll understand.” I make eye contact with as many Elders that will look at me. I make a mental note that the ones who won’t make eye contact also happen to be on one of Randall’s ledgers.“We’ve included dossiers on the women we have confirmed in your folders. The details that we cannot confirm are from new individuals or the women we have found already are on a separate punch list. We are working on either matching them up to one of our suspects or identifying a new one.” Bronx looks around the room at the Council and motions to Elder Henri. “My Betas an
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Lenora’s POV“Milo, get the camera!” I gasp. “Hurry! Come on, Codi. You can do it, my big girl!”“Mamamama mmmama!” She squeals and lets go of the side of the sofa.I want to reach out and grab her before she falls, but her pediatrician says to let her try to do things on her own.Doctor Berra told me she understands why it’s so hard to let our children become independent, but I don’t think she understands at all. She says bumps and bruises are a part of our pups growing up. I thought I wouldn’t be around to kiss every one of them.Ghost, Justice, and I are the only ones who know that I shouldn’t even be here to watch my baby girl wobbling next to the coffee table. He doesn’t seem to understand the significance of my presence after her birth, though. He’s just grateful that I didn’t die. I’m not supposed to be alive to watch her gripping onto the tiger rattle and flailing her arms with a huge smile while her daddy cheers her on as she takes her first step… and her next… and her next…
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Musu’s POV“If you have photos or videos-” I tap my fingers on the keyboard.His muffled voice sounds like he’s speaking to someone else.“Ilya, I will hang up and remove you from my call list if you don’t take this seriously.”“My apologies, Miss Goba.” His gruff voice is thick with phlegm. The sound of it makes my stomach churn. “I just got another tip for you.”I roll my eyes in frustration. I hate this part of my job. Greedy, underhanded, low life creatures. That’s who I have to work with to get what I need. I suppose it could be because he’s part warthog, but I believe it is more because he’s a chauvinist pig. If Marco ever found out the things Ilya had proposed to me, he would find himself squealing, not me. That much I am certain of.“This man is a fraud, Musu.” My wolf Mercy is ready to hang up. “Move on.”“I need to know you are good for the money.” Ilya snorts.“I’m done with these games, Ilya. You already know my employer has deep pockets for useful information.” I let my a
A Time for Strength Chapter 157
Kas turns on the nightstand lights in my bedroom and turns off the overhead light while I wait impatiently for her to be ready. Her movements remind me of a bird who can’t decide which branch to sit on. When the lighting is just right, she looks around the room and breathes a sigh of relief.“Okay, Lenora. I’m just going to place one hand by your tailbone and the other on the middle of your back. All you need to do is close your eyes and clear your mind.” She smiles at me with shining violet eyes as she mimics the placement of her hands in the air. “It won’t take long. Fifteen minutes tops.”I take a deep breath and shake my hands out. “Okay. So, just sit cross-legged on the floor?”“If that’s the most comfortable position for you. I just need to put my hands on your back.” Kas gently pulls me down. “This won’t be like when I helped you and Codi. It should feel… relaxing. Some people say they feel a warmth spread out from my hands, so that’s not unusual, but if you feel any pain say s
A Time for Strength Chapter 156
“Oh! That must be my mom. She’s bringing snacks.” Carly hops up to open the door.I roll my eyes, but deep down I appreciate the effort she’s put into making me feel comfortable while Milo is out of town. I groan as I stand up, feeling the strain on my lower back. Justice slipped when we were conducting perimeter inspections earlier in the day. Even with as fast as she can heal me, aggravating the old injury takes longer for the pain to subside.“Sorry, child.” Justice frowns. “I should have been more careful.”“It’s alright, Justice. Neither of us could have known how easily that bit of river bank would give way.” I secure Codi in her bouncy chair and let her kick her legs happily so I can greet people.“Hello Beta!” Mrs. Miller comes in with one of her employees, carrying several giant platters covered with lids. “I put a little of everything for you ladies. Hot wings, salami, cheese, crackers, fruit and dip, chips, salsa, guacamole… Oh, popcorn. Extra butter, salt, and garlic. Just
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“I think I cracked it, Sugar!” Milo bursts into my office with his arms raised in victory.Musu turns to look at him and tilts her head. “Good morning, Beta.”“Oh. Sorry.” He drops his arms. “I didn’t realize you ladies were meeting right now.”“It’s alright, Milo. We were just talking about Paars. Musu is going to look through Bronx’s library and see if she can find anything helpful.”“Look for Paars in the history books?” He stops short and tilts his head. “You think she has something to do with the Menae?”“I think a female wolf who makes people sick just by being around them is something to consider. Oh, Alpha Lowe left me a voicemail. She skipped town like she said she would. Gone with the wind.” I sit back in my seat and fold my arms over myself. Having to keep everything Justice has told me a secret is so frustrating. “Musu, I think we’re done for the day. If you come up with anything, please let me know.”“Of course, Beta.” She stands and bows. “Beta Milo, it was good to see y
A Time for Strength Chapter 154
“Hi Alpha Lowe!” I wave to him from under the beach umbrella.“Beta Lenora!” He waves and makes his way across the pebble beach.“Please sit with us.” I motion to the spot next to me in the shade.He lowers himself to the ground with a groan and props his arms on his knees. “Beta Milo is at my sister-in-law’s house looking around Brianna’s room now. It was making me too nervous. I had to show myself out.”“Yeah. A lot of our clients feel that way. It’s a necessary intrusion, unfortunately.” I frown. “We’re going to do everything we can to find her. I can’t think of better trackers than Milo and our Gamma Reggie. We’ll find her. We’ll bring her home to you.”“Thank you.” He looks out into the calm ocean. “She has the most beautiful blue eyes. They’re so full of hope and innocence and her smile lights up the room. It’s been so hard on everyone to not know what happened to her.”I nod silently and look out into the distance with him. “Alpha, are you aware of my past with Elder Randall?”
