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,
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
“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
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
“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
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,
“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
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