PRESENT DAY***"Matthew Catii's squadron has departed. They mean to make it to the southern portion of the outer territory within the next fifteen minutes, then work their way outward in a zig-zag pattern. The snow is falling harder now so they believe that's for the best, using it to their advantage instead of trying to take a straight path out, and they'll launch small ambushes on any rogue stragglers they find. Message delivered, Alpha Elizabeth!"The lieutenant saluted her, and she accepted it with a firm nod. It almost felt natural now to have a few of her subordinates call her by that title. The rest still refused even if they respected her authority, but that didn't matter. What was important that she had their obedience and cooperation, not vain address and pomp."Good work, thank you for your diligence.""Should I relay any message to the others, Alpha?""No. I trust them to be holding their positions as instructed. You should rest and prepare while you can, at least until t
Beth! came the distant shout in that voice she knew so well, that voice she had been dreaming about for days and weeks. I'm coming to you!I'm here, Daniel! I'm here! Beth shouted back, mind-linking with the man she had never expected to see. They caught each other's gaze somehow through the madness for a fraction of a second, but that was all they needed. All she wanted. With this, she could fly to the sky if she so felt like it. She could do anything at all. And she would, because after all of this was over, she knew she would be in his arms again.Daniel. He had come for her. He had promised, hadn't he? That he would make sure she was safe.And she too, had fulfilled her side of their shared promise. She had stayed alive until they found each other again.There was no other reason Beth needed to fight harder, with strength ten times more than she had ever summoned before. If she had been fighting like a demon until a moment ago, then after she saw Daniel in the midst of the chaos,
"Daniel." Beth stared back at him, gazes locked. "Don't overthink it. It doesn't matter what his intentions are when mine are what's important, right? Daniel?"She pressed her hands to either side of his jaw and ran her thumbs over the slight stubble that had formed, relishing the feel of him against her fingertips as much as she sought to comfort him back. He was tired, just like she was. They were both Alphas with Alpha constitutions, but he must have fought so much more fiercely in his determination to cut through the entirety of the rogue forces to get to her. And his mind, too, had taken a beating. Matt had always gotten under his skin even when the man didn't try."Daniel, answer me," she insisted. "Are you really worried I'm looking at anyone but you?""I know you're not. But I don't want him looking at you.""What'll that do? He'll never have what we have." She rubbed her thumbs over his cheeks again with a smile. "But if it's any consolation, I don't think he came for me bec
Daniel was waking up again. It had certainly taken him long enough, Beth thought with tears in her eyes, and she wiped at the cold sweat that had gathered above his brow."... Beth?""I'm here. You idiot, you scared me! I thought..." Impulsively, she slipped between the covers and curled into his side, shaking more than he was. If anything, he was fine again, and she was the one exhibiting strange symptoms, but the doctor had warned her about that before he left. The symptoms would come on and off, sometimes making him seem fine and then abruptly attacking him out of nowhere. "You've been poisoned," she said, words muffled against his shoulder. "The rogues must have had someone sneak up on you and try some last-ditch way to get rid of you.""Poison?""The doctor thinks it's some chemical plant toxins with silver. Potent. Really potent. To the point where he doubts the one who poisoned you is healthy, either."He must have heard all she didn't say. "I wonder what the other guy looks l
"You should be glad I waited for you," Beth quipped as they settled in a cave to dodge the heavy snowfall that had dumped upon them with the unpredictable weather. "I was going to leave you here by yourself, in case you forgot.""I would have chased you down until I caught you.""I'm no rabbit, Daniel. I would have outpaced you so fast I'd be back before you managed to wander in a circle fifty times looking for me.""I've caught you now." He wrapped his hand around her bare elbow before she could slip her thick tunic on. "You're not getting away from me again.""Don't even think about it," she warned. "You know what the doctor said. Any unnecessary exertion will worsen your condition and make the toxin spread faster. When you're in your wolf form, at least it's manageable enough that you can run and not worsen it, but this is not going to happen." She peeled his fingers off of her arm, holding the stare steady. "If you need that simplified, we are not having sex until we get you the
"There isn't much hope," said the doctor. "I did give Elizabeth Rokley a possible solution, but the chances are little to none. I shouldn't have led her astray with such expectations but I was swept along by her desperation, I think."Daniel bowed his head, understanding. Beth could do that. "So what's my actual prognosis?""I have no idea how long it will take, since if you were anyone else, I would have thought you'd be dead within five days, and half-dead in two. But you're barely showing any symptoms other than the surface evidence of purified silver poisoning, and it's already been a day and a half.""Your best guess.""A week and a half, maybe two. You're quite strong."Of course he was. "The solution you told Beth about?""Well... the outlands are dangerous enough I'd expect her to choose to turn back, except that the intense snowstorms in the winter ironically make it safer to travel through those parts than any other time of the year. This is the best possible chance to cross
They spent more time gawking at the passersby and the unbelievable architecture than they did actually investigating for the whereabouts of the cure, but in all fairness, they had to start somewhere, and keeping a close eye on their surroundings was the best lead they could exercise until they stumbled upon something more substantial than that. So until they overheard anyone talking about an antidote, their best bet was to peek around corners, searching for knowledgeable if shady types who looked receptive to questions. And in the meantime, if they could sightsee and absorb all of the outrageous things here, then what was the harm?It was midnight again by the time they gave up, according to the grand clock that rose up from one of the great stone towers with decorative embellishments constructed all around it. By then, Beth and Daniel were both exhausted and had made no headway at all except to deduce that the tenth of the city they had scoured was devoid of the information they nee
"I can explain," said the stranger. "I'm a Bronze Nation emigrant, now an outlander technically by your terms. I recognized you from afar when I saw you questioning the locals, but I didn't know if you were friend or foe. There's been no word yet about the situation on the border so I was being cautious."A Bronze Nation emigrant? That was usually the polite designation for a spy, especially since Bronze Nation's Catii pack exercised their power through business and intel, but this could be a trap, too. Beth never lowered her guard as she glared at the man, waiting for him to continue speaking.He took her silence as a signal to continue. "I was sent here with my family almost fifteen years ago when I was just a boy. The Catii pack installed us in these parts to keep a steady flow of information coming from past this point, since this is a hub of information across a lot of the other nations. And I know the Heether pack has been collaborating with the Catii pack for weeks now, we got
The rogues won.Andrew smiled as he placed the tattered letter inside his stylish jacket for safekeeping. It would make for a good memento once he did the deed and ended the war for good, branding Daniel as a power-mad despot who had tried to rally the greedy Alpha Kings against the honorable Gold Nation.The rogue leader Karthen had even mentioned it might be possible to frame it as Daniel attacking the combined forces of Iron and Bronze, with Gold Nation coming to the rescue. After all, Alpha Matthew Catii was the only survivor, and he was so weak it would be no trouble bending him to his will.Now all Andrew had to do was meet with Karthen, collect the heads, and this stupid pretend war would be over."I think I'll go in ceremony," he announced to his Beta. "Gather the troops just in case since we might be stabbed in the back by the rogues... Well, either way we would have turned on them next. It's almost over, friend. You've served me well.""It's an honor to be with you at the mo
This was never going to go to Union Court. It was going to go straight to war, and Beth was ready to fight. Andrew Troy had manipulated his way to victory every time but now, he would get what was coming to him.No one knew where his father was so he was all but Alpha King of Gold Nation now, which made him the most influential party in Union Court. Like hell Beth was going to bother bringing up a grievance against the most powerful member there. That was going to be open and shut and he was just going to find a way to punish everyone involved, and with legal backing.Better to just take the fight to his face and show him what was what. Beth already had her sleeves up and claws out.... Except Daniel and everyone else forbid her from leaving the Heether pack house. Completely."I am not an invalid!" she shouted. "I can still fight!""Beth... Please. You're going to stress out the baby.""The baby is stressed out because you're leaving me behind!"Daniel held her tight, stifling her st
Daniel wasted no time in telling his mother the truth that day. That is, that he and Beth had secretly been in a relationship for weeks now, technically months since they had definitely been tip-toeing around each other in poor, secret denial long before they truly pledged themselves to each other.Beth was not ready. She was still adjusting to being back in the Heether territory, still adjusting to the relief and anger and determination to take Andrew down even though she was undoubtedly pregnant. She had only just confessed to Anna about that, and Luna Margaretta already knew? Before Beth had had a chance to ready herself?"It'll be all right. She'll come around." Daniel placed his hands on her belly, which had not yet begun to grow but would soon swell with the life of their growing baby. "It's important that everyone's on alert, keeping them in the dark will only make things more dangerous."She swallowed hard. Daniel was right, but that didn't mean it make it any easier. Anna had
As an Alpha, Beth could throw off sedatives without lasting damage. Whatever Andrew had drugged her with, it wasn't doing permanent physical harm, and the effects were reversing already. Her regenerative ability had only improved over the last year with the constant strain she had put her body through, and she thanked it now as they rolled through the streets past the growing chaos of soldiers searching the streets for their missing prisoner. With any luck, within a few days of having untainted food and drink, she and the baby would be right as rain.Andrew had discovered her absence far sooner than she had hoped, but it couldn't be helped. Someone must have checked in with breakfast earlier than usual. But for the bad luck to strand them all in the city and get them caught up in the manhunt...Matt had prepared everything, at least. She still had misgivings about him that would never go away for as long as she lived -- sounds wounds ran far too deep to ever forgive -- but he had done
The first thing Beth saw when she came to was Daniel's blurred face. Even though her head pounded so fiercely she could hardly breathe, the sight of his face swimming in her swirling vision sent such sheer joy and pleasure through her that tears sprang to her eyes."Daniel...""Shhh, Beth, don't try to get up. Rest. I just brought you to the place where I'm staying, and it's a decent place to hide for now, but we don't have a doctor here yet. You need to be seen, something's wrong." He lifted his head, looked at someone over his shoulder. "Go! Find a--""Wait!" She grasped at his shirt, fingers digging weakly into the fabric. "Wait, don't. Andrew doesn't know I've escaped. When he finds out, he'll start a search and hunt me down, and anyone would figure out that it was me if they see me like this. I'm a mess."Daniel leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Maybe, but I'll get you out of here anyway. But something's not right and we have to fix that first. Did Andrew hurt you? What did h
The Troy pack house ran on routine. Everyone had been careful to keep their mouths shut about even potentially important information around Beth, which made sense since everyone knew she was a prisoner, not a mere guest. But what Andrew Troy had so carelessly forgotten was that she had already stayed here before her imprisonment.When he had entertained her as an actual guest in the span of time she had spent waiting for Daniel to arrive here, back before Andrew requested she go to Tahoe Village to help with the fake 'espionage' mission, she had already been housed here for quite a while. Long enough to learn several important details, and details that she couldn't imagine would have changed since then.Andrew's political wheeling and dealing were unpredictable, but his home life was anything but. That enormous cart of food she always saw wheeled in every morning at four in the dark of night came in every day without fail, and she was willing to stake her escape on the guess that that
They were still talking, but they had moved off the stone path and deeper into the shadows. They were on the other side of the stone half-wall, so close that it took another five steps this way, they would find Beth and she would be discovered. She placed a hand over her mouth and nose to stifle what little sound she might betray, but there was nothing else she could do. Her only choice was to wait and hope they didn't notice her, and as soon as they left, she could make a break for it.But to her chagrin, Andrew's voice became louder -- closer. Oh, Moon Goddess. They were now standing almost on top of her, just on the other side of the wall, and if they leaned over, they would see the top of her head no matter how she tried to squash herself against the stone. Was this it? Had she been too hasty?How could her luck be like this! If she had waited only one more night, Andrew Troy might not be walking the grounds. She could deal with avoiding a measly patrol; most of the time, walkabo
The shift change came every day at nine o' clock in the morning and nine o' clock at night. Morning escape was impossible, because even if she slipped past the changing guard, it would be daylight outside and everyone from here to the outlands would see her running across the estate's grounds. She had to make it a night getaway.The good news was with the frigid weather and the frequent sleet and rough snowfall, her tracks would be covered easily, and her scent hard to follow. She was used to traveling in harsh conditions from the life before, and hadn't she managed that journey to Pandemonium City and back? It had been grueling, but she had done it. And, she thought grimly, she had already conceived by then.Proof her child was already strong. Took after its father, and its mother, too. Beth smiled at the mirror, but it was razor-sharp and vindictive, not sweet.She had no more sweetness left for the enemy. She and her child would get out of here no matter what.***One week of obser
The days were short yet passed in slow misery. Trapped in the Troy pack manor on the third floor with guards posted everywhere to keep her from escaping, Beth was a canary imprisoned in a gilded cage, never allowed a moment alone even to bathe. Andrew Troy pretended it was to pamper her by assigning her female attendants to attend to her every need, but she knew better. Much better.He even had the gal to visit her as if she were just some guest being entertained in his home. How dare he have the fucking nerve? She was a prisoner, and yet when he knocked on her door and let himself in, he was all charming smiles and gentlemanly manners. Except how he never explicitly waited until she gave him permission to enter, but maybe that was because she flatly refused to give it. After five seconds of waiting, he came in, ready or not, and it made her want to punch him in the gut for it all the more.She was fed and well-taken care of, granted, like a captured exotic animal kept for private vie