“Saint, you have to let her go for the doctor to examine her.” I hover my hand over his arm, afraid to actually touch him. “I can’t, Lenora. I-I can’t.” He snarls and holds her closer to his chest. Her limp body is tiny in his powerful arms. Losing blood has exacerbated her pale complexion. “Saint, I understand how difficult it is. Trust me, bro.” Milo stands next to me, trying to convince his Alpha wolf to put the girl on the examining bed. “We’re going to stand right outside the room and wait, but the longer it takes for you to put her down, the lower the chance of her surviving. Can’t you hear how weak her heartbeat is?”“Saint, Marco and Arnie are in the next room giving blood just for her. Milo is going to go give blood when they’re done. You and I can too if you can step away for half an hour. I know it’s hard, but she’s going to die if you don’t.” I drop my shoulders. “We’re doing everything we can. We just need you to put her down. Please. Don’t let your mate die!”“Alpha, w
I sit on a milk crate near the head of Kas’s bed and watch her sleep. She’s covered up to her neck with a clean sheet Diane brought. The exposed lightbulb in the ceiling is too bright. It creates morbid shadows on her exposed skin where the deep lacerations mar her skin. The stinging scent of wolfsbane lingers in the air. I think about the Council upstairs deciding the fates of the Silver Moon pack members. They made Bronx and me leave the room because Randall was there. Milo is our representative until they decide about what to do with the Silver Moon pack.I’m grateful that Bronx’s former lieutenant, Henri Fortier, was elected to the Council three months ago. I heard rumors that if I had not denounced my participation in murdering Sin, they would have nominated me. I would have been the first female on the Council. Honestly, I would much rather be sitting in a dungeon, praying for the life of one wolf than deciding the fate of hundreds. It’s not my place. I’m not a god after all.I
“Kas? Can you hear me?” I take her hands and squeeze them. “It’s Beta Lenora.”She peeks out from the green and gray quilt, but her purple eyes aren’t vibrant like they were before the Silver Moon doctor sedated her. There is a dullness there. It reminds me of Milo when he first came home from the war. She hasn’t spoken a word yet. Her eyes dart around the room at all unfamiliar faces. I can hear her heartbeat growing faster.“She may be in shock, Lu…uh, Beta.” Doctor Nolan stands behind me. “Let’s ease into this with a few basic questions about her medical history.”“Kas, this is Doctor Nolan. He’s our pack doctor.” I sit on a chair in front of her. “He just wants to ask you some questions. Is that okay?”A drawer shutting practically makes her jump out of her skin. The lights in the room flicker the way they did in the dungeon, but they don’t break. The nurses gasp and duck at the unnerving phenomenon.“You’re certain she isn’t a hybrid?” Doctor Nolan watches the lights overhead.“
“Here.” I hand Bronx the green and gray quilt.“What is this?” He takes it with a confused look.“The quilt we brought Kas home in. I had housekeeping wash it.” I’m not sure what to do with my hands, so I put them in my pockets. Why do I feel so self conscious? “Now that it’s clean, I figured we could let her sleep with it. You know? I… I mean, everything is so different here for her. Maybe when she’s awake, she’ll say she doesn’t want it, but she literally has nothing else. She brought nothing with her. Imagine not having anything, Bronx. No good memories to look back on. Nothing to go back to. That blanket is all she has left.”Bronx holds the blanket to his chest and gives me a complicated look.“Um, sorry. Maybe it’s a bad idea. I’ll just have facilities put it in storage. If… If she asks for it, I’ll have them get it.”“I think it’s a great idea. It just reminded me-”His voice trails off. I wait to see if he’ll pick up again, but he looks lost for words.“Reminds you of what?”
“Kas? Are you okay?” I lay flat on the floor and look under the bed.Her fear washes over me. It’s potent. I hadn’t been so used to controlling my own emotions for so long it could overtake me. I take a controlled breath and let Justice use her wolf vision to look under the bed. Kas’s eyes are glowing purple so brightly in the small space that the glow practically encompasses her body. I still don’t understand how she isn’t a hybrid, but it doesn’t matter now.“I won’t let him kill me.” Her little growl would be menacing if it wasn’t so damn adorable.“No one is trying to kill you, Kas. Look, I have a couple of guys here who are friends of mine. They are pack warriors and I asked them to help me. They’re going to lift the bed up so we can get you out from under there.” I speak in a calm, controlled tone. “When you’re out, I’ll kick them out of here. There’s a nurse here too. She’s going to make sure you’re not hurt and then we’ll get you back in bed… instead of under it. I’ll stay wit
Milo’s POVLeni never needs to ask twice. As soon as she walks in the door, I’m waiting for her. I close the door behind her and pull her down to the carpet, rolling on top of her. She wraps her arms around my waist, pulling my shorts down, then lets her razor-sharp claws graze over my back. I fight the shiver when I feel the trickles of blood on my skin before Ghost quickly heals me.It took a while for Leni and I to figure out how intense we want to get when we’re messing around. It changes from day to day, but I’ve learned to take her lead. She always tells me what she wants.“That was more than two minutes.” I lean forward, caging her below me, and tug on her ear with my teeth.She giggles with a happy hum when I nip a little harder. I apply pressure until I hear that little gasp that drives Ghost wild before I let her earlobe slide out of my mouth. He moves forward in my mind, happy that she’s up for his kind of good time.“Sorry, Babe. I had to speak to the nurses on duty. That
Lenora’s POVThe sun rising shines bright in my eyes, forcing me awake with a groan. I’m sore between my legs and my back aches from being twisted into uncomfortable positions, but I don’t care. Some sleepless nights are worth it. Milo’s leg is heavy on my waist. It makes having to pee worse. I carefully slide it off without waking him and tiptoe to the bathroom. Even after all these years, it’s not a good idea to wake Milo up suddenly. He doesn’t freak out like he used to, it just leaves him unsettled for most of the day. He’s able to hide it from people pretty well, but I see it and I hate seeing him like that.I think about Ghost’s reaction to Kas’s scent while I freshen up. He’s never used a tone like that with me. Why did he get so mad so quickly?“You should ask, child.” Justice yawns, slowly waking up. “Why are you awake? Aren’t you exhausted?”“Yeah, I’m tired. The sun was trying to burn a hole in my face.” Her yawn makes me yawn. “I’ll go back to bed when I’m done here. Do y
The look of awe on Kas’s face when we get inside the mall is priceless. Ashley nudges me and nods her head for me to watch her. Her moves are a bit like a scared rabbit. She holds her hands near her chest and leans close to clothing racks as if she sees things she likes, but doesn’t touch anything. We were hoping she would point out some things she liked so we could get an idea of her style, but she only seems overwhelmed at how much is going on with the hustle and bustle of back to school shoppers.“Dark cloaks.” Justice watches Kas with curiosity.“Dark cloaks?” I turn inward while Ashley points out a pair of ballet flats to Kas.“That’s all I’ve ever known her spirit to wear. Dark cloaks.”“Okay, well, I’m pretty sure the dark cloak store went out of business like… two hundred years ago.” I roll my eyes at her. “You said you want things to be different for her spirit now. So, let’s help her instead of pigeonholing her into how she’s always been.”“You’re right.” Justice concedes. “