HarleyA few days laterHealing had gone well for me, but slower for Anders. He was hoping the doctor would release him to regular activity today. I was adamant that nothing was going to take place between us until the doctor said he was better. Anders tried to run the pack border just yesterday, but was faced with a good bit of pain, and didn’t even make it halfway around the border. That didn’t mean that I didn’t want to do something with Anders. Senna had been driving me crazy with the images she kept sending me. I definitely knew that the need to bond with the mate after the mating ceremony was very, very strong after the last few days. If Anders wasn’t healed soon, I might not be able to keep shutting Anders down. We had a meeting scheduled with the Council today, which was taking place at the Red Wolf Compound. The Council had determined that it was safer to keep the prisoners at our prison, rather than trying to relocate them. Apparently, Alpha Lorenzo had more reach than we r
One Year Ago “Are you sure this is the best idea?” Coral asked me as we made our way towards a small cabin in the woods. A cool autumn breeze blew, causing the leaves in the trees to rustle and it tossed Coral’s hair. Coral’s striking red hair was nearly glowing in the bright sunshine as it danced in the wind. The red in the leaves falling from the trees matched Coral’s hair. Despite walking through trees, the sun seemed to be shining directly on us. It accentuated my sister’s beauty, and she was beautiful inside and out. My sister was a gentle soul. She always thought of others and was concerned about how others felt. She spent time overthinking things and worried often. I attributed most of this to her red wolf. She had been left without good guidance after she first shifted, but had been working hard to better understand her abilities with the little help she did get before we left our pack. Although she had just turned 16 six months ago, she had ma
We had spent the last four days waiting for Sarah to return. After retrieving a few of our items from the small cabin we had been staying in about a mile away, we had come back to this cabin and had been waiting ever since. Coral and I expected Sarah and the group of wolves to return for us by tomorrow. To say that Coral and I were both anxious was an understatement.I went to the bathroom, checking to ensure that the elixir was in the medicine cabinet for probably the twentieth time since arriving. It was nervous habit. Although I wasn’t typically a nervous person, I found myself nervous in this situation. I just wanted to get Coral someplace safe.I stopped and looked in the mirror. My eyes always held my feelings. I had perfected the art of keeping a straight face, but my eyes always gave me away. Since my wolf was hidden, I noticed something different in my eyes. My wolf was not present in my eyes. It was strange to say that. Senna was a part of w
Present Day“Harlow! Get your ass back up here and finish cleaning up this room!” A voice that I had grown to despise bellowed from the bottom of the stairs. While being forced to clean was much better than I had previously been forced to do, I still hated it. I hated that I had to be here. I hated that I didn’t have my wolf. I hated that my sister was lost somewhere, and I couldn’t even guarantee if she was safe or not. That part got me the most.I sighed, grabbing a few cleaning supplies and headed back up to the Alpha guest suite to clean it. When I had come through cleaning earlier today, the suite was still occupied by the visiting Alpha and his mate. He seemed like he was a decent guy, which made me wonder why he was visiting this hell hole.I guess on the surface, my life didn’t appear that bad. Honestly, I could handle being forced to clean. If I had my wolf, I would have been long gone, but that didn’t mean t
I sat in my small bedroom, looking at the photos that the Delta had given me. I still couldn’t believe that Jeremy had provided me with that information about leaving here. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit leery about the information. While he was the only one here that I trusted, it didn’t mean that I was going to blindly trust him and not sit without some doubt. He was staying in this pack and was the Delta for an Alpha who ran an antiquated and abusive pack. This, of course, made me question the motives of the Delta. I didn’t want to be set up. I knew the consequences if I got caught running away, and I could only imagine how much worse they would be if I got caught trying to run a third time.One of the photos in the folder caught my eye. It was a photo of the entire family, shortly after Coral’s third birthday. She already had long, red hair that stood out in the photo. At that age, my own hair was cut short. I smiled as I remembere
After cleaning up from lunch and completing some additional chores, I headed to my room and waited. Since dinner was not being served at the packhouse tonight, I wasn’t sure when the best time to leave would be. I contemplated what I knew about patrols, checkpoints, and what I thought the warriors would be doing with the Alpha, Luna, and Beta gone. The one thing I wasn’t sure of was when to expect the patrols passing by the creek. I would need to leave shortly after they left the area around the creek. All of this was risky. A good, well-organized pack would not be so easy to escape, and I had already been unsuccessful. I paced around the room. It was well after dark at this point, and I knew I had to leave soon. I checked my backpack, the nervous energy of leaving running through me. I needed to get out of here. A knock on the door startled me, causing me to jump, nearly stumbling over my own feet. I pushed the backpack off the bed, hiding it on the other side
Alpha AndersI sat in my office, looking out over the back of the packhouse. Training was currently taking place. My head trainer, Mark, was training our youngest warriors. Over the years, our pack had grown tremendously. The compound for the red wolves had brought in several new families to our pack. Having the red wolf compound also brought those who were just interested in living this close to werewolf history.When my mom, Raina, shifted into a red wolf for the first time over 20 years ago, she was the first red wolf to shift in over 200 years. The red wolf was profoundly significant for all werewolves. In addition to having special abilities related to the manipulation of emotions and behaviors in others, the red wolf also serves as a beacon of peace. Just having a red wolf alive was enough to bring a period of peace to all werewolves.But the power of the red wolves also has brought up significant threats. If a person could force the red wolf to m
I sat in my office, fuming at the news that Beta Jefferson was somehow involved in the rogue attack. What I was even more curious about was the fact that they were looking for a red wolf that was not even at the compound. It confirmed our thoughts that there was another red wolf out there and that she could potentially be in harm’s way. Just the idea that someone was looking for her and she wasn’t under our security, safely in the compound, was causing Grey to see red. I honestly had never seen him this angry before.‘That red wolf is ours to guard. We have to find her.’ Grey seethed. Saying that he was pissed would be an understatement. I was fighting to keep him at bay. He was ready to tear off through every pack to find her.Callan entered, taking a seat on the couch in the office. The anger was rolling off of my dad in nearly visible waves. His eyes were the darkest shade of blue, indicating that his wolf, Rollo, was just beneath the surface
HarleyA few days laterHealing had gone well for me, but slower for Anders. He was hoping the doctor would release him to regular activity today. I was adamant that nothing was going to take place between us until the doctor said he was better. Anders tried to run the pack border just yesterday, but was faced with a good bit of pain, and didn’t even make it halfway around the border. That didn’t mean that I didn’t want to do something with Anders. Senna had been driving me crazy with the images she kept sending me. I definitely knew that the need to bond with the mate after the mating ceremony was very, very strong after the last few days. If Anders wasn’t healed soon, I might not be able to keep shutting Anders down. We had a meeting scheduled with the Council today, which was taking place at the Red Wolf Compound. The Council had determined that it was safer to keep the prisoners at our prison, rather than trying to relocate them. Apparently, Alpha Lorenzo had more reach than we r
HarleyCoral stood next to me as I approached the small group of wolves surrounding Anders. Callan, following the touch from Raina, had moved to the side, allowing me access to Anders. Senna told me that he was healing well, and the fact that he was conscious as I approached put my mind at ease and my heart relaxed. “Harley, are you okay? Were you shot?” Anders asked, pushing up off the ground. I smiled weakly at him, placing my hand on his chest. I could feel the concern through the mate bond. And, even though it sounded stupidly cliche, it almost felt as if I could feel the warmth in my own heart from the mate bond. “I am okay, Anders, I promise. But I have something that I must take care of.” I stood back up, turning towards Alpha Carlson and Alpha Lorenzo. The field was eerily quiet. There was not even a breeze noted and the trees stood, unmoving. It was as if Coral’s command had made everything stand still. I am not sure what exactly Coral had done, but slowly our wolves were b
Harley My heart was pounding so loudly and deeply that I could feel it in my head. The pain that I could feel was almost too much and I knew that Anders was hurt badly. As much as I wanted to run to him and check that he was safe, I knew that I needed to get back inside. I turned around, Coral still behind me. “What is going on?” She asked as I made my way back towards the compound. Her voice held fear and uncertainty, and not just because she was a red wolf and could pick up on emotions. She was my sister and she knew me better than anyone. She knew that something was not right. The tears started running down my face as I spoke. “Anders is hurt, very badly, but there is a threat in the compound.” My voice caught in my throat, Anders pain becoming my own. “There are two new she-wolves who are a threat. We need to find them.” I approached the closest guardian wolf, diverting from entering the compound. “I need to know that every red wolf is accounted for. Also, I need a report on t
AndersMy thoughts were split, broken almost, as I thought about Harley, my mom, my uncle, Brett, and the fighting that was going on around me. There was also the nagging of thought of my need to protect the red wolf. It was also too much as I tried to concentrate on what was going on around me. This fighting was not well organized and the use of weapons added an additional layer of danger. I had not doubt in the abilities of my fighters. Over the years, my dad had focused on not just training the guardian wolves, but our warriors as well. We always knew that there would be a greater threat to the Red Moon Pack because we housed the red wolves, and now, we were faced with that threat. “There is a group of rogues attacking from the west,” Neil broke through my thoughts as he communicated via mindlink. I dodged an attack, swiping one of my extended claws across the neck of a rogue who had lunged at me. He crumbled to the ground, the vile creature falling dead next to me as I looked ar
Harley For as quickly as Raina stopped the attack and Brett and the scouts took out the rogues, time now seemed to standstill. All the previous events had happened in less than a minute, but now it felt as if each second was like minutes ticking by. Time seemed to completely stop as Raina collapsed next to her brother, Brett. I rushed to Raina’s side, the realization hitting me that, as the Luna, I would know if we had lost a pack member, and I did not feel that. Although my thoughts were all running through my head at a million miles an hour, I needed to steady myself. I needed to remain calm. Raina’s sobbing and grief and uncertainty rolling off of her told me that I had to be there for her. I placed my hand on Raina’s shoulder as I kneeled down next to her. I wasn’t sure if it would help or not, but I tried to exude a calmness, hoping that it would help wash over Raina. As I did, I took in Brett’s prone before me. There was a gunshot wound to the right side of
Harley The rain had started falling a few minutes ago and provided a nice reprieve from the silence in the car. After hearing from Anders and confirming that he was shot, my mind had gone into overdrive. Despite confirmation that he was okay, as well as reassurance from Raina that Alpha Callan had seen Anders and his wound, it still made me uneasy. ‘He will be okay,’ Senna broke me from my thoughts. ‘Grey is healing him and he will be fine.’ I sighed, leaning my head against the window. ‘I know. But guns? Weapons are rarely used in our fighting. Who the fuck decides that we need to use weapons? It is almost taboo.’ Senna retreated back, and I could sense that she was communicating with Grey. I took comfort in knowing that Senna and Grey had a
Chapter 30AndersDid I really tell her that I loved her? And did she really say it back? I could not believe that I had said it already, but I couldn’t stop myself from saying it. Knowing that we were getting ready for a battle that only a few days ago was not even a second thought, I felt like I needed to say it. While we had already mated, the first mating after the mating ceremony was powerful and erotic. If a couple had mated before the mating ceremony, it was said to be an even more pleasurable experience.Battle always led to unknowns, and while I did not doubt my ability to protect my pack and those around me, you could not be cocky. You could not assume that you would take the threat easily. It was those cases that led to injury and, in some cases, death. The ever looming threat of death was wha
Harley“Everything okay?” Raina asked after we had been driving for several minutes. I had not spoken since entering the car, aside from asking Talia how she was feeling. While I knew that, deep down, Anders was simply looking out for my wellbeing, the fact that he even thought of using an Alpha tone on me was beyond insulting. I know that Alphas do use it. Hell, I knew that Anders used it when Caroline was in his office and wouldn’t leave. That didn’t mean, however, that he had any right to use it with me.Senna was seething. We were Anders’ mate. His partner. His Luna. All of this made us equals. I shook my head as Senna continued to go on and on about how pissed off she was and how pissed off I should be. I was pissed off, but Senna continually going on and on about it was nearly maddening. I just wanted to sit and t
Harley“I think I can hear you. I am just east of where you are. If you keep moving,” I was cut off from Anders as I was hit from the side.‘Jefferson,’ Senna seethed. I rolled from the hit, finding my footing about ten feet away from where I was hit. I looked over at the Beta, a feeling of disdain running through me. When I was forced to be an omega, I hated the pack and I hated the Beta, but now that Senna was present, the feeling was magnified one hundred fold. I did not doubt that I would do anything that I needed to protect myself.“Harlow. Nice to see you again. Although I will say, I wish that it was different circumstances.” Jefferson took a step towards me and a deep growl escaped my lips, Senna hanging just below the surface.