When Beth awoke in the morning, she had no hangover and had instead a newfound certainty that the two warriors from last night were exactly who they said they were. Thank the Moon Goddess. With some luck, maybe she could get them released so they could fight alongside her. Being Silver Nation warriors, even if they weren't strictly Heether pack, they would be far better trained than the half-hearted troops she had on hand. Better yet if they were from one of the close sister packs, whose trained warriors were almost as good as the Heether themselves.But she had to hope that the message by falcon would return in time to vouch for them. Her word alone wasn't good enough. Moon Goddess help them, Beth found herself praying. If the rogues would hold off on the attack long enough for a reply to come back, then things would be so much easier. Winter-weather trained falcons could brave the storm and make the trip in record time, but whether the snow would slow down the rogues was in quest
Noah White. This Beta who had been so proud of his Gold Nation heritage and authority. Beth hadn't thought of cousin James since the night of that birthday celebration for Noah's father, but now she recalled afresh that in the other life, Jim had died in the middle of a massacre while supporting Noah in a failed battle. Back then, all she had known was a name, and only vaguely at that. But with the knowledge she possessed now in conjunction with what she remembered from before, there could be no mistake.Was this what had happened then too? Or was Noah just infinitely more of a coward in this life than the one before? She couldn't stand to think that this was what must have happened in the first life, that this man's sheer cowardice had claimed Jim's life while everyone else sympathized with him, grateful for how at least the Beta could have so narrowly escaped death while heroically fighting in the doomed battle with his comrades.This man. Noah White. If what she suspected was tru
This couldn't be happening. Anna buried her face in her hands, still struggling to absorb everything Noah had said straight to her face without even a hint of shame. A strategic retreat, he had said. Cutting their losses. And then when it was all over, reporting to Gold Nation and the Union Court that the battle had been bravely fought but lost anyway.He was supposed to be her new life. He was vain sometimes and reminded her a little too closely of how she had been before Beth had snapped sense into her at the birthday party at long last, but he was her husband, her mate. He was gentle and encouraging and never looked down on her even when she discovered there was so much in domestic life she was unskilled at, and it was because of him, too, that she had been able to grow.She was different now. She had changed. For over sixteen years she had only thought about herself and everything had always gone her way, so she had never thought to become better. But then, Beth had changed over
Anna was certainly not who she had been before. Beth didn't know what exactly had been the catalyst for her transformation, but the Annalise who had orchestrated immaculate tea parties and always gasped when even a fleck of mud dotted her dresses, the Annalise who had refused to even touch sticks on the ground because they had dirt or grass blades on them was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she had also come back and was living a second life, Beth thought dryly, but there was no chance of that no matter how amusing the notion. No, the way things seemed, Annalise had simply changed the good old fashioned way, through inner transformation after what must have been hardship and painful lessons.But one thing was for sure. She really did care for Noah. She might even love him. Whatever had happened in the past year, Anna had become someone who didn't turn her nose up at being mated to a Beta and had even deigned to come to the front where she would certainly meet with more than flecks of mud a
"You must be kidding, Anna. What are you saying?"She held her ground and stared Noah in the eyes, unblinking. He was half-smiling in disbelief as he sat on the other side of the table with his maps strewn about on the surface, hands still on the paper. "You heard me," she said. "I'm challenging you to a one on one fight tomorrow morning, in front of the soldiers. All of them. And I want you to stake your command on it. If I win, I take it from you, and I'll be the one leading the soldiers when the attacks begin.""Anna...What's gotten into you? If you're trying to make me laugh, I suppose it's working, but this is a bit of an unbelievable stretch even for you. Come on, I'm hungry. Get something to eat for both of us and we can cuddle in bed, I'm tired and want to settle down for the night anyway." He extended his arm sideways, inviting her to come to him around the table and climb into his embrace, but Anna stood in the doorway without moving.Beth had told her this was the only wa
Beth could see now with dispassionate eyes that she, too, had changed, more than she realized. Of course Beth was nothing like the weak, manipulable, gullible woman she had been in her first life, and of course she still had her doubts about Anna's miraculous change of heart over the last year. But it wasn't just vengeance and bitterness that stopped her from leaping to Anna's aid when Noah left that horrid wound on her leg. It was cold logic, the calm reasoning that told her if she interfered now, it would only be to Anna's detriment later no matter how one sliced it. So holding back and leaving her sister to her own devices was for Anna's benefit, not just a result of Beth's lingering hatred.Or maybe there was both mixed in. But either way, the fight was decided and there was only one victor, Annalise. Now was Beth's moment to back her up and solidify her sister's authority over Noah's share of the troops, and then after that, they could get down to the real business since Noah w
A week passed, and the snowstorm raged on and off. But there was no assault, not even more scouts sighted than seven days prior. Beth would have almost preferred that the rogue wolves attacked right away. The apprehension of the troops had grown so much with each sunrise that the already-hacked morale was at an all time low. It would have been better if the assault had taken them all by surprise six days ago when everyone was still too confused by the sudden power shift in the commanders' ranks to worry about and fear the impending battle.But too late for that now. The soldiers had begrudgingly accepted that both of their leaders were women - funny how Gold Nation soldiers accepted this far more easily than Iron Nation ever would - and now they turned their attention to not only the enemy, but to the dangerous storm that threatened to freeze the fingers and toes of those who couldn't shift into their warmer wolf forms. Still, this tension couldn't last forever. It had to snap somet
The skirmishes began first. It was nasty work, with eight units dispatched in every direction to deal with the threat. They weren't the main problem though, just probing tests to see how strong Tahoe Village's defenses were. So be it. It gave Anna a chance to slip away undetected with the handful of discreet werewolves who would be going with her to gather the needed reinforcements and spread the word that the village was finally under attack. Every unit thought Annalise was with another, and no one would be any the wiser.Which was good timing. If Anna hadn't been able to leave until the main assault began, Beth would never have been able to release Noah so easily. For the last week, he had been detained in the village jail, which was crude and weak and would likely never have held the man if he weren't fuming and so bitterly envious of his wife's success. He hadn't resisted captivity yet because he wanted to see Annalise fail, and then for everyone to come crawling on their knees