***POV:Amara***I hear faint music, beautiful music. I feel weightless. Am I dead? I creep towards consciousness, the music bringing me forward. What a beautiful melody. There is a voice singing along to the music, deep and husky. It’s like it is calling to me. I open my eyes and I look around. I have no idea where I am, but everything hurts. I become aware of the IV attached to me. I sit up a little and look down at myself. My foot injuries from the trap have been cleaned and stitched. I see a few other stitches on my right arm, lots of bruising. My hands immediately trail down to my stomach. The baby, what about the baby? It all comes rushing back to me at once. Trent and Heather, the horrible men, and a vague memory of the man who saved me, and something about his smell. Tears start falling, I am overcome with the emotions of all that has happened. I dry my face as best I can. I need to get up, I feel stiff and want to see more of where it is that I am. I am wearing a light, loose
***POV:Trent***It has been weeks being out here in the aftermath, looking for survivors. We have covered a lot of ground and are finally cleared by my father to head back. Heather stayed with us this whole last week, no matter how much I tried to send her back. All I want is to get back to Amara and figure our shit out. I don’t know if I can convince my father, but maybe if I come at it from a different angle, and I can get him on my side. The South Coastal Pack and all that Alpha Carlos reigns over will become Amara’s when he steps down. I am sure that with as much as Amara loves me, she will submit to being my Luna, allowing me to run both packs. That is no small acquisition, being that Alpha Carlos’ pack is bigger, stronger, and wealthier than ours.Amara is far more beautiful than Heather, so add to that all that she brings with her, it really was a no brainer for me. She is good, kind, intelligent, pure, all the things that Heather isn’t. And yet, Heather is right, I do always f
***POV:Cole***I had to get out of that room, I felt like I was suffocating. What is it about this perfect stranger that has me feeling such a pull towards her? Sure she was beautiful, even with all her bruises, anyone could see that. But I’m not usually a sucker for just a pretty face. I did feel a responsibility towards her though. I have to do something about the Parker brothers. God only knows what they were planning to do to her if I hadn’t shown up. I go outside and stare at the sun setting on the water to calm my thoughts just as my mother shouts out that dinner is ready. All I hear now is footsteps everywhere rushing to wash hands and claim seats, these kids are always starving after a full day of fun on the farm.I walk in and take a seat, my mother placing the extra chair for Amara next to me. I give her a questioning look.She shrugs and says, “You were her rescuer darling, I figure she may feel most at ease next to you.”I roll my eyes and my sister Imogen lets out a loud
***POV:Violet***I can’t believe Amara is gone. It has been 5 days and we have no clue where she went or why. Well, I guess, we can sort of figure out the why, she must have left looking for Trent. Man, I can’t stand that guy. I supported Amara because she is my best friend, and he does make her happy, but at the same time he can make her incredibly sad, all without seeming to care. I just don’t feel like he is ultimately the right guy for her. My girl deserves the world, and Trent always seems like he is halfway in, with one foot out the door.I’m in the refugee depot, quietly observing all the commotion, waiting for my moment. I finally see Cyrus walking towards the locker room/shower area. He’s been working all morning, helping load out supplies, overseeing preparations. His clothes are sticking to his perfect body.I want to speak to him alone, and he has been surrounded by people all day. I make my way towards the shower area discreetly. By the time I get in there, he’s not in t
***POV:Cyrus*** I can’t stop thinking about Violet after our exchange this morning. I have always been attracted to her, but somehow felt she was too far out of reach. I never dreamed that she might be attracted to me as well. I always see her hanging around Alpha Tobias, but I guess not really in a romantic way. I’ve been around her enough to know she is kind, loyal, intelligent, the whole package any man could dream of. Whenever we are together, it’s usually Trent that gets the female attention with his smarmy charm. I’m used to hanging in the background, being on my own. Maybe, just maybe this could turn into something. The girl is smoking hot, all legs, straight long black hair, slim waist, and the most mesmerizing violet eyes. My dick twitches at the thought of how close her body was to mine, at how her perfect breasts looked when I was standing over here. Yeah, this can definitely turn into something. I can feel my wolf Dex panting for her too. It has been a lonely few years.
***POV:Cole*** Amara… I can’t stop thinking about her. She is the most stunning woman I have ever seen. I won’t go there, I just can’t. This world we are living in, I have to focus on my family and keeping them safe, no more distractions. Early on I was counting Ashlyn in my family, but apparently a long-term girlfriend had no place here. I gave her all of me, and in the end, she left me shattered. Ash was not who I thought she was, that’s for sure. Amara may be different, but I am not willing to put my heart out there to find out. Besides, with everything she has just gone through, that makes her pretty much untouchable. I am busy all day, tending to the animals, checking our traps, just doing our daily chores. Something got through some of our fencing where we keep our cows, so now I have to patch that up. I am finding it hard to stay focused on my task though. Part of me wants Amara gone and out of my life, and part of me wants her to stay. She has some strange pull over me, but I
***POV:Amara***I have to get a control of my emotions and this damn mate pull. I went from trying to do something nice for Clara and Mike to salivating over Cole through the window and being caught in the act by Imogen. I wish I could just shut down all my emotions. It’s like I am volleying back and forth between overwhelming heartbreak to inexplicable desire. As wolves, we are supposed to have full trust in Moon Goddess and who she chooses our fated mates, but why did it have to be a human, and why did it have to be now? I just can’t wrap my head around Trent and Heather, and the long-term betrayal. I can’t shake the feeling of loss of a child that will never be born. And yet still, the pull to Cole is there, getting stronger every day. It doesn’t help that he is ridiculously delicious to look at. He is a serious man, but seemingly a kind and loving one when it comes to his family. I just have to stop thinking about him. If I am being honest with myself, it’s not even just about Co
***POV:Amara***I wake up in the morning feeling more rested and at peace than I have in a while. I’m so warm and comfortable, and then it dawns on me that there is someone in bed with me. I turn around and come face to face with Cole, laying there in all his perfection. He seems to still be asleep, his chiseled face perfect, his light brown hair tousled so sexily as if he meant to make it look that way. I put my hand near his face and just lightly trace his lips with my fingers, his full soft perfect lips. The same blasted sparks make their way through my body and Cole stirs. I immediately pull my hand away.That’s enough indulgence, time to go back to keeping my distance. I start slowly scooting away from him to get out of the bed when suddenly he puts his arm around my waist and pulls me toward him. Kaylah is intolerable at this point. My wolf is wild with desire for her mate. If I let my guard down for one second, I have no doubt she will take over and jump his bones. Cole nuzzles
***POV: Imogen***After a lengthy brainstorming session, we split up and Violet took me to see the kids. I wanted to check in on them, but wanted to give them a chance to get reacquainted with their parents after being apart for so long. It was good to see them and they are definitely settling in.So now we are getting ready to go out as a group for the night. The big buzz is the ball that will be happening in a few days. Apparently they have already had a few off colony guests portal in, and it’s apparently a big deal.
***POV: Trent***That didn’t go the way that I wanted it too, but lately nothing has. Amara saying I don’t love her, that I’m not capable of loving her… how dare she? She doesn’t know what my feelings are, what I am thinking. At least she has the capacity to understand. Heather is not even capable.Being around Heather makes me feel like I am actually losing brain cells. She is not an Alpha, she is just not capable of understanding me. And now I am stuck with her, thanks to my pup growing inside her.
***POV: Cole**The next day we are all assembled at Tobias’ packhouse bright and early. Of course, ‘we’ are missing Amara, but Tobias, Imogen, Violet, and Cyrus are all here. Tobias gathered us to share all of the things he has uncovered about Imogen and I.We sit around the large table in his dining area, and one of the wolves from his pack is busy putting out a nice breakfast spread around us.“Tobias, I appreciate the hospitality but I am dying here man, when can we just find out what is going on?” I ask, trying to not be rude, but most likely failing at this point.He looks at me knowingly. “I get that you are anxious for more information, but we are still waiting on one more person to join us before we get started.”My heart skips a beat, Amara must be coming. While I hate where we are with things, I would never turn away an opportunity to see her.
POV: TrentAmara opens the door and I barge in past her. The look on her face tells me I am completely unwelcome, but I don’t care. This woman is mine whether she wants to accept it or not. I stride in to the living room and sit down on the bigger couch. She is still standing by the open door, looking at me, assessing me, obviously trying to figure out what to do next. She closes the door and pauses there for a minute, finally turning and walking over to where I am. She sits down on the loveseat across from me.
***POV: Amara***Back at my packhouse and I can’t stop thinking about Cole. I am in a loop of replaying what just happened. I don’t know how I am supposed to do this, walk away from this feeling, abandon this gift of my fated mate. I leave my room in search of, well anyone really. I don’t see Violet, of course Imogen is now at Tobias’, my mother isn’t anywhere either. My last stop is my father’s study, and sure enough he is there. I watch him for a moment before knocking on the partially open door. He is poring over a large volume. From here it looks like our wolf directory for the other colonies, he’s probably working on finding me a match.I lightly tap on the door and go in as he looks up and smiles at me. “Where is everyone?”“Not sure, but I know your mother went out to do some “errands” on the other side of the colony, whatever that means.” He said distractedly, going back to his research.“What are you up to Papi?”“Well, I’ve spoken with some of the Council members, and it loo
***POV: Tobias***All day I have felt this incredible pull to get back to Imogen. I walk into my packhouse and I am hit with some ridiculously good smell coming from the kitchen. Imogen is perched at the stove stirring what looks like pasta sauce. She is surrounded by a handful of pack wolves, who all appear to be thoroughly enjoying her company. It throws me off a little, but not in a bad way.She says something and everyone in the room erupts into raucous laughter. I watch her, throw her head back and laugh unashamedly and it does something to me. After they settle, I am finally noticed by one of my wolves, Peter.“Hey boss.” He says, smiling at me a very relaxed and at home smile. “We were just hanging with Imogen here, she offered to make us dinner so we wouldn’t be hungry enough to eat her.” They all laugh and he wiggles his eyebrows at his own joke. They obviously don’t know she is my fated mate and their future Luna or he would have never dared make a joke like that. Imogen loo
***POV: Tobias***Luna Claudia rakes her eyes over me, as if she is trying to read my mind. I get it, it is odd for me to have requested we meet alone. We are sitting outside of her packhouse, within the walls of their private garden. In a spot like this it’s easy to forget all of the strife brewing within our colony, and even more so the strife that the rest of the world is buried in. It’s beautiful and full of blooming tropical plant life.We sit across each other, with a small table between us. She looks at me, her piercing gaze starting to turn impatient.“I’m sorry to be taking up your time Luna, I know it was a strange request.”She nods and softens her face a bit. She has always been kind to me, motherly even. “So tell me Tobias, what brings you here under these odd circumstances?”I launch into my retelling of all the things that Alpha Thomas told me. She listens quietly and thoughtfully. When I am done, I notice she is wringing her hands in her lap.“So Imogen is your mate, a
***POV: Imogen***It feels like this day has taken forever to come to an end. I really enjoyed hanging out with Amara and Violet, and getting to see all of the colony, but I am exhausted. I think it’s just an overload of new information and feelings for me to process, and it’s just taken it out of me.Violet walks me back to Tobias’ packhouse. While I am excited at the thought of seeing him, and reveling in the anticipation of getting to know him better, the fact that we are going back there and not back to Amara’s makes me sad for Cole.“Violet, you think there is any way that Amara will come to her senses about Cole?”Violet stops and turns to me. “That is such a complicated topic Imogen. I know where you are coming from, they are perfect for each other, quite literally. It’s just a lot of complication.” She sighs, looks away for a moment and then turns back to me again. “How many female Alphas have you seen?”“I guess so far I have only met Amara.” I shrug.“And that is all you wil
***POV: Tobias***My visit with Alpha Thomas was the right move. He has listened to me carefully as he always does, and put some pieces together for me that I would have never put together otherwise.“Tobias, there is a prophecy that is older than we know about two human siblings that are destined to save the werewolf race. It really isn’t talked about much, especially since the collapse, because what wolf wants to admit that their future depends on humans?”“Not talked about much? I haven’t even heard this and I am an Alpha.”“I know son, but losing your parents so early on really robbed you of years of knowledge and training that you should have gone through before becoming an Alpha. Don’t get me wrong, you have done a great job without it, but still would have been nice for you to benefit from that as others have.”I nod, momentarily losing myself in thoughts of my parents. Snapping out of it, the questions come flooding in. “So who knows about this prophecy? Where did it come from