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103 | HOURGLASS
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Alpha Ares 104 | NIGHT-BLOOMING WILDRUSH
Mist swirled around my ankles. My brain felt heavy and slow as I looked down, tracing the way it coiled, snake-like, up my legs. There was something ominous about it. Something I didn’t like.I tried to kick it away. It didn’t move; it just kept coiling, around and around, up and up, until it reached my thighs.Huffing out a sigh, I pushed myself onwards. Forcing my legs to march, darting through the undergrowth in the dense patch of woodland we’d set up camp in – if it weren’t too rudimentary to be called a camp, with nothing more than a couple of cloaks scattered across the ground to keep the damp and the frosty winter’s chill from settling into our bones – I curved away from the tree line and the clearing, where I’d be too exposed, and ducked under strands of ivy as I began my hunt.Dawn light painted the horizon in sweeping brush strokes. I squinted at it through the thick foliage; it took on an unreal quality the longer I tried to watch the colours shift with the sunrise. Shaking
Alpha Ares 105 | REDWOOD
We stayed in the woods for two nights. Part of me was glad for the respite from the horrors we had faced, and those I knew we were still yet to face, but a larger part of me just felt on edge. Like we were wasting time. Like we’d been here too long. Like… Like we were being watched.But I needed Ares to heal, so I tried to tell myself that it was okay to wait. That we’d come back stronger after two nights of good rest. And I tried to tell him that, too – but he was even more restless than I was.He cracked his knuckles on the second evening. Dad had taken Nana Baspy out to hunt with him, and Grandpa Attie was curled up a few feet away, sleeping in his wolf form.Leant with his back against the broad trunk of a redwood tree, a cloak draped over his shoulders, and a beard starting to grow in past the point of stubble for the first time since I’d known him, Ares looked rugged and handsome and utterly, entirely fearsome. My stomach did a flip. With only Medic Flora for company, I shuffled
Alpha Ares 106 | THE HERBIARY
My mouth flapped uselessly, my numb tongue and lips unable to make any real sound. Ares didn’t seem to be in a much better state than me, though he’d curled his hands into fists where they lay, as uselessly as my tongue against the roof of my mouth, upon the ground.Wolfsbane. It cut a werewolf off from their wolf-side - along with a slew of other side effects. In short, we were screwed.I tried to mindlink Ares, Dad, Nana, Grandpa, even damned Flora, but it felt like I’d been cut off from that ability. I stared helplessly up at her, this pretty young girl with a bright sunshine smile, and I felt hatred like I’d never felt before.“You betrayed us all, Haile,” she said, saccharine sweet and clearly loving hearing the sound of her own voice. I sagged against the tree trunk, unable to do anything but listen as the wolfsbane held me hostage in my own body. “You chose him over us.”Not you too, I thought. And stars, Ares was going to be so damn smug about the fact that he’d been right –
Alpha Ares 107 | HEMLOCK AND WOLFSBANE
“Haile!” Dad’s voice burst through the darkness. I couldn’t see him, but I could see the colours of his voice – all warm tones, terracotta and brown and burgundy. It felt warm and safe, and I wanted to stay there.“You did this to her,” he snarled, and though the words were not directed at me the colour changed, no longer warm and safe but as bright as lighting and as hot as flame. “You nearly killed my daughter!”“I did it for your own good,” said another voice, sickly-sweet and painted in shades of lilac and rose pink. Flora. “For the good of the pack.”Was that… Was that how I’d once sounded? Was my duty nothing more than delusion?“She’ll be all right, Xander,” murmured Nana Baspy. Like Dad’s, her voice was warm and bright – fire and passion and endless, burning love. “She’s the strongest wolf I know.”I wanted to get out of here. I needed to help Ares. We had to stop Mum and Etta and Johnea. I needed to tell them everything Flora had said – Blearily, I opened my eyes. The sunlig
Alpha Ares 108 | STAND WITH US
The wolves were upon us.My heart still felt slow, still felt sluggish, but I had to try to stand. Grandpa Attie helped me up, and I felt so useless as my legs shook beneath my weight. Wolves filled the clearing; we had only a smattering of trees and vines to keep them at bay. Our last defence, and it all seemed hopeless.Because how could we survive this? Other than Dad, Ares and I were our two strongest fighters. And we both could barely stand.If I were being honest with myself, even if I’d been at my peak physical form, I wouldn’t have been able to lay a claw against any one member of the Blue Moon Pack. Duty or delusion, I couldn’t stop seeing them as my family.I didn’t know what to do. Panic set in. Not for me – but for everyone else. I still couldn’t mindlink, but I tried and tried and tried, over and over and over, my thoughts rattling around in time with my unsteady heartbeat. We needed a plan. And we needed one fast.“We need to be your prisoners,” I said again, my voice h
Alpha Ares 109 | CIVIL WAR
I didn’t lose consciousness. And, in a way, I wished that I had.Because then I wouldn’t have seen the fight break out. Laying upon the ground, my cheek pressed to the dirt, Ares’s arms tugging weakly at my limp shoulders, I could just about see the moment when Flora ripped free of her bonds and charged towards us.Dad was only a half-second behind her, but it was enough. The (somewhat) peaceful exchange of words had been broken, and Dad had lost all authority as Alpha. Then Ares and Dad were hauling me up. My legs buckled again but, somehow, I managed to get them under me just enough to support my swaying weight. “You two need to get out of here,” Dad hissed, clapping Ares on the shoulder. “We can distract them in the fight, but they will notice you’re gone if you don’t move fast.”“I’m not leaving you,” I ground out through gritted teeth.“You don’t have a choice, sweetheart. You can’t fight like this.”I clenched my hands into fists. I felt useless. “I don’t want to go.”“Haile,
Alpha Ares 110 | FIGHT OR FLIGHT
Ares and I took cover in the edge of the woods, backing away from the battle until we were well hidden but still able to watch. Everything in me told me I should be out there, shoulder to shoulder with my Blue Moon wolves, but the poison in my system insisted I remain hidden.I ducked under a curtain of ivy, shrouding us further from view as I stared out in horror at the carnage unfolding in the clearing. Wolves snarled and snapped; chunks of flesh were ripped clean and flung through the air. It was gory and it was vicious, and there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t even mindlink, couldn’t even keep watch for my friends and family. “Do you feel as helpless as I do?” murmured Ares. His fingers stroked down my cheek, but the steadying movement was making me more on edge if anything. Still, it seemed to be soothing him, so I let him continue.“Yes.” My tone was clipped, abrupt, so I pulled an apologetic face at him. “Sorry.”“No, I get it. This is driving me mad.”“It has to be Greyhi
Alpha Ares 111 | ONLY THE START
“Haile,” Ares hissed through clenched teeth, “it’s a trap. It has to be. Don’t listen to her.”I knew he was probably right. I knew it, and yet…“You believe me?” I repeated, my heart pounding, still slow, still sluggish, but painfully hard against my chest.Ares squeezed my hand. Hard. “Be careful,” he murmured, gripping me tight. I squeezed back, praying he would understand why I had hope. It was foolish – childish, even – but she was my mum. No matter what, I loved her. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Mum said, stepping closer and holding her hands up. My whole body tensed as she came nearer; every hurtful thing she’d done to my mate and I flashed through my mind’s eye as she took that one single step, from sending Flora to poison Ares to turning on me after I’d revealed that Ares was alive. Dad could swear black and blue that she’d done it all out of love, with misplaced intentions, but that didn’t change how much what she’d done had hurt.And still I loved her. I loved her even
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Alpha Ares 141 | EPILOGUE
One year later I smoothed my hands down over my thick cloak. Nerves swarmed in my belly: not the dizzying kind that made me feel faint, but the sort that cast a hazy glow over everything as I walked along the winding woodland pathway. Torches flickered every few feet; orange roses of light bloomed across the mossy, dew-damp earth beneath my boots. “Nervous?” asked Dad. “A little.” I worried my bottom lip between my teeth. “It’s silly, I know. There’s nothing to be nervous about. I’ve been his Luna for the last year – longer, really – but this feels…” I trailed off, unsure how to word exactly how it felt. Official? Real? “It’s been such a long time coming, sweetheart.” “Yeah. Part of me wishes we’d done this straight after the battle, but it made sense to wait until the pack was remade.” Unable to help myself, a grin pushed hard at my cheeks. Everything looked beautiful today, I thought, the pine trees bottle-green beneath the golden setting sun. Everything was glazed with the
Alpha Ares 140 | COME TOGETHER
As everyone took their seats, Ares and I remained standing. I clutched at his hand: it was a physical reminder to everyone there that we were joined, that Winterpaw Warrior and Blue Moon were enemies no longer.I glanced at Ares, letting him take the lead. He swallowed, straightened his shoulders, and then smiled hesitantly around at everyone. The expression looked strange, uncertain, and it took me a moment to realise why. Ares never smiled at people when he addressed them. He led through fear and control. Not anymore, it seemed. My heart swelled.“Thank you all for coming,” he said, projecting his voice clearly and confidently across the room. “Luna Sienna and Alpha Rodriguez, of the Firepaw Pack.” He inclined his head at the dark-skinned woman my dad had been talking to before, and the bald-headed, well-muscled man sat beside her. They were both older than us by about fifteen years.The Alpha and Luna of the Storm Guardian Pack were older still, well into their fifties, their face
Alpha Ares 139 | KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE
Ares had given Dad the nicest of the Warrior Wolves’ cabins to stay in. When we arrived, Ares’s arm still latched securely around my waist as it had been every single step of the way, I saw two other familiar faces peering out at us through the window, their creased faces crinkling with smiles so wide I half feared their tissue paper skin might tear.The wind whipped between the cabins, making my eyes and cheeks sting. Dawn had long since settled across the horizon, pale pink fading into the usual white-grey cloud cover. Everything looked strange out here, unreal in a way I couldn’t quite process. I clutched at Ares, suddenly apprehensive as dad moved to let us in.My nerves dissolved as soon as set foot inside. We were both pulled into an embrace on all sides, many arms winding around us and holding us close.“You did it,” Nana Baspy whispered.I scoffed and, after another long moment, I pulled away. “I don’t think I can take any of the credit, Nana. I wasn’t even conscious for half
Alpha Ares 138 | SURRENDER AND SACRIFICE
The world shattered. For a time, it was nothing more than a series of fragmented images and distant, distorted sounds. I heard screaming, felt the tell-tale burning in my throat, but I couldn’t connect the noise to me. I was weightless, without a body, and then there was nothing but silent darkness.Words I couldn’t understand split apart the quiet. “It’s the other packs,” someone said excitedly. I recognised the voice, familiar enough but not someone I was close to. A hazy, half-formed image of a missing hand and foot beneath determined eyes and wispy blonde hair floated just out of reach, and I gave up trying to identify the mystery voice as they spoke. “Firepaw and Storm Guardian. They made it just in time. We did it! We survived.”No, we didn’t, I thought bitterly. Not all of us.“It’s not over yet.” That growl, gravel and honey – that was Ares. Something in me settled. But why had he shifted into his human body? That thought, along with all my others, drifted away, becoming nothi
Alpha Ares 137 | BATTLE OF THE MOUNTAIN
We were all so focused on Aliana that none of us heard the quiet tap-tap-tap of claws pacing the stone hallways of the Pack House behind us.And then Scillian smiled. Behind him, the Sable Stalker Alpha and Luna smirked, too, a cruel hook of their lips that made my blood boil; off to the side slightly, Bloodpelt Prowler’s Alpha grinned toothily. They were all so smug, so sure of themselves. So sure that they’d won.“What is this?” Dad asked flatly.“Oh, this?” Scillian brightened impossibly further as he gestured to Aliana. “A game.”“You wouldn’t hurt your own daughter.” Dad sounded less convinced about that than he had a minute ago. “Let her go, and let the battle recommence.”“My daughter is a traitor. And, worse than that: she was running from a fight.” Scillian scoffed. I watched his face closely as he walked, every stride slow and purposeful, towards Aliana. He caressed her cheek, but I looked beyond that. I searched out his eyes through the snowfall, and I found only adoration
Alpha Ares 136 | THE END OF US
I knew, deep down, that this was my last hurrah. I knew, deep down, that if it were not, I would’ve let the pain and the shock hold me back from fighting one last time. My body was weak, but I would not succumb to its needs. This was no ordinary battle, and I had never been one to give up.I felt the pain and let it make me stronger. Adrenaline surged through my veins. I would fight by my mate’s side, and I would try to make it mean something. That was all I could do, now.We neared the Pack House. The tension surrounding it was thick with foreboding; the stillness of the battlefield was somehow worse than when the air had been metallic with spilled blood and the snow melting from the heat of the felled bodies upon it. Now, fresh snow dusted the blood soaked fur of the dead, masking the worst of the atrocities that had been marked upon the land in stark pools of red.Everything was calm. Everything was quiet. Some dark premonition made the back of my neck crawl with the sense that, at
Alpha Ares 135 | BE AMONGST THE STARS
I was numb, inside and out, as I watched. My mind struggled to break free of the overwhelming melancholy, the agony so strong that the only way I could deal with it was to feel nothing at all.The cold helped. A bitter wind whipped between the boulders, sending snowflakes into a flurry. They turned my vision blurry: everything was black and white and grey again, as it had been in the time before Ares. Everything, that was, except for the blood.And there was so much blood.It was start against the pale backdrop of the mist and snow. A physical mark of violence, marring the purity of the white beneath. And, atop its own puddle of red, sat my ear. I shuddered every time my gaze drifted over it; it was the sort of thing I didn’t want to look at but also couldn’t look away from. It was grotesque, torn at a ragged angle, the flesh pink within – My lip curled. It looked so alien to me now, that missing piece of me. I couldn’t imagine how I looked, bloodied and battered, one ear gone. A sn
Alpha Ares 134 | HAUNTED
Claws ripped into me on both sides. I flung Elena off easily enough; she was so small that, even exhausted as I was from hours of adrenaline-fuelled fighting, it didn’t take much effort on my part to dislodge her. Distantly, I heard her pull herself to her paws again. But in this fight, both physically and in the heart of it, she didn’t matter. This was between Etta and I.I winced as Etta’s claws ripped free of my fur and flesh. Blood spat from the wound, hitting the snow and melting the ice surrounding it. I wrenched myself backwards, darting behind the nearest boulder and peering out around it. ‘Why are you doing this?’ I asked – no, I begged.‘I promised myself.’ Her mental voice was nothing like the one I remembered. Etta was often sarcastic and teasing, but there had been a warmth beneath even her cruellest of jokes that had dissipated after Damon’s death. ‘After you left, and after the attacks began. I had to do something for him.’‘Damon and I were friends.’ I edged backwards
Alpha Ares 133 | ON THE WINGS OF FATE
I’d made my choice when Ares mindlinked me. He sounded weak and weary, but very much alive. My heart leapt at the familiar sound of his voice, of gravel and honey, loosening the knot that had been pulling my chest taut ever since the battle had begun.‘I had to run, beautiful. There were too many of them, but I managed to get away.’That was all I needed to hear. I turned and shifted into my wolf form, preparing to race across the empty stretch of battlefield that had been left behind the attacking armies as they approached.‘Are you okay?’ I asked. There was one other thing I needed to hear, it turned out.‘I’m fine.’ I was pretty sure he was lying, but if he was well enough to lie then I didn’t have to worry about my mate too much. ‘Are you? What happened with Nazte?’‘Nothing. It was weird.’ I fell forwards, landing on paws and snapping my jaws. ‘He wanted to know how Cendres was. We just… Talked.’The cabin’s front door banged open behind me. I twisted around, catching sight of Na
