Enzo’s POVI scrubbed a hand through my hair and sighed. My back ached and my chest felt tight, like a man was sitting on it – and not in a fun way. I ran my dry tongue over the back of my teeth. My leg bounced beneath the table. We’d been sat in the meeting room all morning. I’d stared at every inch of every wall over the last few hours, watching them grow steadily lighter as the sun had risen, going from a deep, burnished gold to the washed-out white-grey it was now. Floor to ceiling windows faced out to the forest, painted a rich green under a cover of cloud and fog; the dismal outdoors contrasted with the warm tones of the room, with its crackling log fire in the wide, stone hearth and the burgundy and terracotta throws covering the back of the worn sofa in the corner. Beside it was a small coffee table that held two mugs of coffee, which had long since gone cold, and a vase full of wilting flowers on it. I wished I’d set up this particular meeting on the sofa rather than at this
Scarlett’s POVMy shoulder throbbed. My chest pulsed. Oh, screw it – all of me hurt. My body, my soul. Even my thoughts were tinged red with pain. What did a little bit of death matter when I felt like that?I waited for the blow to come. I waited – and I kept waiting. I opened one eye, peering up at Naomi. She in turn was looking at Ryker, her wolfish face somehow managing to look confused. I couldn’t place why, exactly, and I didn’t spare the brain power to try to work it out. I scrambled backwards, no longer caring about whatever pride I’d stupidly thought I’d had for less than half a second. “Not so fast,” said Ryker. His hand snapped out, pinning me to the wall.“What?” I squirmed. “You said it yourself. I’m just here for your amusement.”“No.” Jaw clenching, his grip tightened. I cried out as his fingertips pressed against the hole in my chest. “I – no.” Ryker shook his head. “I don’t have to answer to you.”Well, I thought, consider my curiosity well and truly piqued. Naomi s
Enzo’s POVScarlett was in danger. I don’t know how I knew; I just did. It was her agony searing my skin; her agony pooling in my chest; her agony setting my shoulder alight. Her agony, not mine.And it didn’t fade. In fact, it only grew worse – my throat tightened as if squeezed, and my lungs burned desperately for air they already held. Whoever had kidnapped her was hurting her. Not just hurting her. It felt like they were trying to kill her.Something snapped in me at that realisation. I grunted, doubling over, bracing my hands on my knees as the back of my head hit a wall that was not there. “I won’t let you die,” I ground out, my vision blurring. “I swear it, Scar. I’ll find you, whatever it takes, and I’ll bring you home.”Home. Chest heaving, I pulled myself upright. The pain dissipated slowly, like waves being pulled back from the shore. As the tide went out, I thought through every meeting I’d been in, every pack member I’d spoken to. I had nothing definitive to go on. But I
Scarlett’s POV For two days, I didn’t see Ryker. It was a blessing – and a curse, because it stalled my plan. Granted, my body needed time to heal between each provocation, but I ached to find out what he wanted me here for. I had to find out, because I had to get home. Imagining that was all that kept me going. On the third day, I managed to pick the lock on his bedroom door. I bit my lip to hold back an excited gasp, wary of anyone lurking in the hallway outside. The central bed, walk-in wardrobe, and view of the outback had been my only company, save for the Omegas charged with keeping me locked up and the Warrior Wolves charged with serving my punishment. I preferred the inanimate objects. Fingers trembling on the two bent bobby pins, I sat back on my heels and held my breath. Shifting slowly, so as not to make any noise, I crouched and slid my cheek to the door, pressing my ear to it. I was on Ryker’s floor, within which only he and his most faithful Omega servant resided. The
Enzo’s POVI scoffed at Davin. “A prophecy? Yeah, all right.”He had the audacity to look hurt. “Hear me out. You just said it yourself – Scarlett can’t shift, even though she was definitely born with the right genetics. She heals fast. Too fast to be human.” He shook his head, green eyes wide and downturned with sadness. “There have been mentions of such a conundrum in the ancient texts, from the time of the last Lycan Kings.”Marla rolled her eyes. “Really, Dav? There hasn’t been a Lycan King in centuries. The four monarchies were abolished way too long ago for anything of that time to talk about our Scarlett.”My heart clenched at that. Our Scarlett. To know that my Beta and Gamma had accepted her, no matter what, made my insides tighten, half with grief and half with love. It was an acute sort of pain, the kind that was hard to ignore. Squirming, I shared a look with Marla, raising one eyebrow.Davin sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s why it’s called a prophecy. Y
Scarlett’s POV“I know where he’s gone,” she said again, quieter, gentler. It only raised my proverbial hackles all the more.“I don’t care,” I lied. Of course I cared – but I couldn’t let her know that. I couldn’t let her even have that most basic of things to hold over my head. She’d not spoken to me in years, not like this, anyway, and I wasn’t about to let her change that. “Yes, you do,” she sighed. “Look at me, Scar.”I bit out a single syllable: “No.” Then, fuming both internally and externally, I stomped off further into the grove. I wouldn’t let her ruin this for me, too.“I made a mistake!” she called after me. I bit my lip and vowed to ignore her. I was in Shady Grove to feel closer to my parents, not to engage in some stupid bitch-war over every nasty thing my supposed best friend had done to me. “Scarlett, please.”I hung my head, torn between slamming around and shouting at her and the crippling, ever-present fear that kept me submissive. There was not one person in th
Enzo’s POVRain fogged the windows, beating down relentlessly on the grey expanse of mountains and the craggy shadows of the pines. The library was a warm pool of lamplight, gold against the grey, but even the heat of the blanket Marla had tucked around my shoulders struggled to reach my frozen bones.She stared at me unabashedly from across the table. Davin had seated us away from the alcove he and Scarlett had taken to sitting in, a strange look crossing his face as we’d passed it. This nook was just as cosy, but I missed the memory of Scar’s presence that filled the alcove. It was as close I’d come to touching her in days. I scratched the stubble growing along my jaw, long enough now that it was bordering on becoming a beard. “You need to shave,” said Marla.“Yes.” I turned to look out of the window, cursing the storm that was holding me hostage here. “I do.”She said nothing more, and I made no effort to break the silence either. My thoughts dragged me into misery, and it was som
Scarlett’s POVI burst out laughing. I couldn’t help it; with the flood of fear that was crashing through my veins swelling to a crescendo, I came alight at the ridiculousness of such a statement. “Magic powers?” I bent double, hacking up a cough and a laugh in one. “Amber, don’t be so fucking stupid.”She flushed bright red – well, from what I could tell through my squinted, water-logged eyes, anyway. “I’m not being stupid!” she snapped, swiping at me. The laughter stopped. I gulped in a shaky breath, my chest constricting, my lungs too tight to let the air in. Stumbling back, I stared across at her with wide eyes. The dappled sunlight played across her taut face, shadowing her brow and making her appear all the more sinister. I shook my head, taking another, more measured, step backwards. “It’s second nature to you now, isn’t it?” I asked quietly.“What is?”“Hurting me. You don’t get your way, so you lash out.” I laughed again, humourlessly this time. Curling my fingers up again
Bennett’s POVThings had taken a while to fall back into place after the battle. With the pack house left in ruins, Scarlett and Enzo had worked with his parents to rehome everyone that lived inside it while it was rebuilt. His mother and father had stayed close, lending their expertise as they got to grips with navigating life post-Ryker.They hadn’t been the only ones to stay, though. I’d asked to remain in Moose Creek. Enzo had accepted my cagey reasoning with narrowed eyes, but he would’ve said yes to just about anything with his mate’s hand on his arm. In truth, I didn’t know where else to go now. Everything in my life had been building up to this. Crafting prophecies for people to find, leaving breadcrumb trails, making messages, telling everyone just the right thing at exactly the right time – I’d never known a moment to myself. Now that was all I had. And I couldn’t See my way forward. Not anymore. I’d told nobody that Scarlett hadn’t been the only one to lose her powers t
Scarlett’s POVI opened my eyes.Sunlight blinded me. No – not sunlight. My own light, golden and magical, surrounded me. Held limp in its grip, it lifted me into the air.But I – I’d been dead. Hadn’t I?I remembered the feel of my life leaving me. I remembered losing my energy, my strength, feeling my body wilt beneath the weight of the magic tearing through my veins and rushing out through my palms. But now the wind was here, holding me, healing me, and I felt it dance across my skin, through my hair, as it pulled my arms out and pointed my legs down towards the ground. I remembered dying.But that wasn’t all I remembered. Vague, fuzzy shapes filtered into my mind, taking form as the light raised me higher and higher. I saw humans, knew their names, saw Adelaide, saw a city and a death and a chase, saw Bennett and a library and Enzo – My beautiful Enzo. How could I ever have forgotten all that we had shared?The memories poured in as my brain healed, the light coming from within
Bennett’s POVI was dying. Such a fact was two things: simple and irrefutable. To fight it was futile; to ignore it was idiocy. But I had done as I had been bid by the visions that had plagued me since birth. I had fought the prophecy and, I hoped, saved the world from the tyranny breeding at its wolven heart.It was hard, seeing the world in pathways and possibilities. Even now, as I lay upon the gleaming white floor of Moose Creek’s medical centre, sedative spilling through my veins and blood streaming from my chest, photos of the futures forking from this moment blinded me. I saw Scarlett stood amidst the dead, the only survivor in a war she’d never asked for. I saw her bent over her mate’s body, sobs wracking through her. Then I saw her fumble for the outstretched claws of a fallen werewolf and use them to slit her own throat.I squeezed my eyes shut at that one. It did nothing to halt the visions, of course, but it always made me feel as if I had some semblance of control over
Enzo’s POV I blinked into a sudden burst of gossamer sunlight. “Scarlett,” I rasped, choking up blood. All of me hurt, save for my heart. That was lighter than it had ever been. She was okay. She was a vision in the dying light, her auburn hair with its blonde ends glimmering softly, like the shimmering surface of a ruffled lake; her beautiful blue-green eyes wide, shining with unshed tears; her stance strong and proud and powerful, even as she fell apart at the sorry sight of me. “Fuck,” she whispered, her eyes filling. “Enzo. Oh, God…” “I’m okay,” I grunted. It was a lie. A dying man’s lie to make the love of his life feel better. Blood streamed from my neck; my body felt numb from my face down. The pain was gone, but my feeling was gone with it too. I was outside now, and I’d definitely been inside the last time I’d been conscious. Had my body been trampled beneath the paws of hundreds of Ryker’s wolves? In the heat of battle, it was just as likely that my own pack had buried m
Scarlett’s POVI stared numbly at the doorway. Emila stood at its centre, hands on hips, her expression all furrowed brows and wide eyes. “Scarlett!” she gasped. “What are you doing?”I met her gaze unflinchingly. “He doesn’t need to be in an induced coma,” I said boldly. I’d never felt so damned bold in all my life. “Does he, Medic?” I spat.She held her hands up and walked towards me slowly. “I’m not sure what’s got into you, or why you’re doing this, but please, Scarlett, step away from my patient. He needs to rest to heal.”Doubt started to creep in. I clutched the sedation tube, letting it dangle from my fingers. I’d been so sure…What if I was wrong? Had I just signed Bennett’s death certificate?Gritting my teeth, I held still. He’d woken up before when I’d used my magic to keep the sedation at bay. And he’d told me to stop her – had he meant Emila all along? He had to know what she planned to do to him. My resolve firm once more, I looked back up at her.She smiled weakly, app
Enzo’s POVWe were pushed back further and further. I was the last one standing in the doorway, using my huge wolven body to block out the attacking army. Though we were fighting a losing battle, I was proud of my wolves. We’d kept Ryker’s pets at bay far longer than I’d thought we’d ever had any hope of doing. The sun was dipping lower in the sky, brushing the tips of the massacred pine trees, burnishing their bottle-green needles a deep, glittering gold.It also shone on the pools of blood. The ground was soaked in it, rivulets running down the slight hillock upon which the pack house stood. Bodies of wolves broke its streams; my wolves, Ryker’s wolves. They were clawed and bitten, missing limbs, missing chunks of fur and flesh. Such violence would stain the land here forever.But worse still than the gore and the sightless eyes of my fallen warriors was the gnawing worry about my mate. I hadn’t seen Scar since she’d run into the crowd. Unable to mindlink her, I was left drowning in
Scarlett’s POVI ducked through the wolves, narrowly avoiding the swiping, slashing claws. Nobody seemed to notice me as I ran – they were focused on the other wolves with teeth bared and blood soaked into their muzzles. I brushed under the bellies of those in Enzo’s pack, using them to protect me from the enemy wolves.Then I was pushed forward by a surge of movement from behind. Arms wheeling, I stumbled through the front line of our warriors and fell, head first, into the tangle of Ryker’s wolves.“Fuck,” I gasped, smacking into warm, bloodied fur. I bounced off its firm, muscled body, and rolled until I hit paws. Then I scrambled to my feet – Only to be clawed down my face. I bit back a scream, pressing my palms to the wound. Blood streamed between my fingers, pouring over my eye. I squeezed it shut. My head throbbed; each pulse shook me, the cut burning and stinging. Barely able to see, I ran, my back bowed, zig-zagging through the writhing mass of wolven bodies.Running through
Enzo’s POVI shoved down my terror as the wolves swelled around us, a writhing, unforgiving tide. Like a stone upon the shore I stood firm, knowing I must withstand its force. My terror was not for me, and neither was my determination. It was for her – my mate, the beautiful woman sat upon my wolven back – and for my pack members. They had not chosen this fate, no more than Scar or I had. This was our only chance to make it right.Scarlett knotted her fingers in my fur. She leant forward and whispered, “I’ve got you.”Then the enemy was upon us.I surged forward, meeting them rather than allowing them to breach our front line. My Beta and Gamma lunged with me, our movements so well practised we barely had to think of them. I had to adjust my balance more with Scar on my back, but it was instinct, raw and as natural as breathing, to keep her secure atop me.My jaw locked around a grey wolf’s neck. I clamped down, pulled back, tore flesh from bone. The wolf fell to the ground, dead. Blo
Scarlett’s POV“Pretty much,” said Isaak, his gaze downcast. He shuffled his weight from foot to foot. “I’m sorry.”“Why did they target your sister?” I asked, leaning closer to the cell bars. He shrugged. “She’s the only family I have left. They knew I’d do anything for her, I guess. Even…”I nodded. “Even this.” But then my eyes narrowed. “How did they know you well enough to target her?”Isaak’s cheeks flushed. He started picking at his cuticles and refused to meet my eyes. “They have scouts too,” he said. I felt convinced it was a lie. Before I could push the matter, though, Enzo grabbed my arm.“Hey,” I said, trying to pry his fingers off. They were white knuckled. My belly hollowed out. “What is it?”“Marla just mindlinked me,” he whispered, glancing furtively at Isaak. Understanding immediately, I towed him out of the cells and up into a nook at the top of the stairs. My back was pressed flat against the wall; Enzo huddled close, biting his lip as he looked around anxiously.O