“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
Milo’s POV“Oh, wow!” Leni’s eyes go big when she looks out onto the expansive crystal blue ocean. “First time at the beach, Sugar?” I chuckle and open the door to our private balcony.“I mean, at the lake, but I’ve only ever seen the ocean from an airplane before.” She sniffs the fresh salty ocean air. “Have you been here before?”“Not here specifically, but we would vacation at the beach every now and then growing up.” “We mostly went camping or tagged along on business trips with Dad.” Her eyes gleam in the afternoon sun. “Can we go swimming?”“Of course, Sugar. We have two weeks to relax and enjoy the sound of the waves and swim to our hearts' content. No pack business. There are only a few things Ashley planned out for us. A snorkeling tour and a food tour in town.” I wrap my arms around her from behind. “There’s plenty of room to let Justice and Ghost run about ten miles inland and the drinking age is eighteen, so we can hit up a few nightclubs. Whatever you want to do or not d
There are shadows in my dream. They make my heart race and all my senses heighten as they creep just out of view in the long grasses. They’re whispering about Leni, but I can’t hear what they’re saying. It doesn’t matter. Ghost bristles and backs away. He pulls on my consciousness and howls to wake me up, just like we practiced with Doctor Stanton.I blink my eyes open and take a sharp breath in. The moon is already up, shining into the bedroom. I reach out to pull my mate close. Her scent always helps me fall back asleep quickly, but she’s not in bed. I sit up and look around. The light in the bathroom is on. I hear her moving around in there, so I lay back on my side to wait for her. Oh yeah, I forgot to call Ashley. I take my phone off the nightstand and see two messages.Ashley: Tracked your phone. No need to call.Ashley: Have fun. NO NOISE COMPLAINTS! Milo: No promises.I add a devil emoji face just to mess with her and toss my phone down, chuckling to myself. As I settle bac
Bronx’s POV1 Year Later“Bronx Mason speaking.” I don’t recognize the phone number, but these days, I get so many fucking calls from private or restricted numbers that I have to answer everything. Carly tries to catch most of the calls, but I think she’s off today. She didn’t bring my coffee for me, so she must be off. I look at the clock. It’s seven in the morning. I think she doesn’t get to work until eight a.m. Maybe I could convince her to change her hours if I give her a raise? I’ll ask Ashley if I’m allowed to do that.“Alpha Bronx, hello. It’s Randall Smith. I hope this is a good time.” His voice still grates my ears after all these years.“Elder Randall.” I roll my eye and lean back in my chair. “To what do I owe the displeasure of this call?”“I want to make amends with Lenora, Bronx. I was hoping you could facilitate that.” He whines. “It aches my heart every day that the Blood River pack still considers me a traitor.”“Are you sure you aren’t just having a fucking heart a
Lenora’s POV“Thank you for seeing me, Mister Saad.” I take a sip of the potent smelling tea. “Your wife has been so kind to entertain me until you finished your business call. I read the dossier about your daughter. Why don’t you tell me a little more about her?”“It’s an honor to meet you, Luna Stone. I’ve been told you prefer anonymity, but your reputation precedes you. My family is blessed to have you assigned to this matter.” He smiles with a wistful expression. “Rita is the jewel of my eye. I can’t imagine not having her in my life.”“I understand, Sir and we are going to do everything in our power to reunite you with her. It says here she was adopted. Is there any possibility that her birth parents could be involved with her disappearance?”“No, no. They abandoned her when she was very young.” He waves his hands dismissively, then his demeanor changes. It looks like he’s sad, but trying to fight off a surge of anger. “I believe she was pupnapped by a jealous competitor of mine.