Arla woke from her nap several hours later, feeling much better. She checked her side in the mirror and it was as though nothing had ever happened. Her stomach rumbled loudly, informing her that she’d missed lunch, and she decided to head downstairs to the kitchen to see what she could rustle up. With any luck, Betty would have kept a plate in the warmer for her.
As she approached her bedroom door, Maeve growled a warning in her mind.
“There’s someone out there,” she cautioned. Arla took a deep breath in through her nose, trying to recognise the potent scent, but couldn’t place it. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it wasn’t a wolf, that much she knew. She stilled and listened for movement, but whoever it was did not move an inch.
She threw open the door, surprising the behemoth of a man standing in the hallway, wh
When Lewis had been approached to take on this assignment, they had made it sound like a babysitting job. The thought of shadowing a sixteen-year-old she-wolf was not a very enticing prospect for a twenty-one-year-old werebear who was used to being a hired killer, not a protector. He had only agreed because it had piqued his interest when they mentioned she was a witch hybrid. He owed a debt, and handing over a hybrid would certainly pay that off and free him. On top of that, once he’d accepted the job he learned she was also a white wolf. She’d be worth enough to set him up for life. But now that he’d met her, he’d all too quickly learned that she definitely wasn’t the tiny, weak wolf that these men had painted her to be. “Are all bears this talkative, or just you?” she asked, looking at him from the
Alpha Lorenzo leaned back in his office chair, stretching his arms above his head and tilting his neck from side to side. He’d spent all day cooped up and it was making him antsy. Add to that, Marcel had been bugging him for the last hour to see Arla, and he could no longer ignore it. It was Arla’s seventeenth birthday, and Lorenzo had been so caught up in work and meetings, he hadn’t had a chance to see her yet. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out the gift he’d asked his mum to wrap for him. Running a pack was one thing, wrapping a gift was a whole different ball game, one he was out of his depth with. He strolled out to the garden; it was always the first place he looked for her and he loved to try to sneak up quietly and watch her in her element. She usually sensed him quickly though, and today was no exception. She stopped working to greet him
They left their clothes in the greenhouse and shifted, allowing Maeve and Marcel to bound into the forest line. They teased and chased one another playfully, jumping over rocks and ducking beneath branches as though they had no cares in the world. Lorenzo could feel the stress that had been weighing on him disappear further and further, the longer he spent in Arla’s presence, and Arla felt more content than she had been all week. Maeve screeched to a stop, sniffing the air. Marcel slowed down and circled back to her, taking in a deep breath also, but not picking up anything out of the ordinary. “What is it, Maeve?” asked Marcel. “Rogues.” “I can’t smell any rogues. Which direction?”
“How? What the fuck?” “Wait, her wolf can do magic too?” “Stop gawking, let’s go,” commanded Beta Drew. His team fell into line behind him, charging in the direction the rogues had been flung. Drew opened a mind-link to Lorenzo and Arla. “That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, little lady. Now get her out of here, Alpha, we’ve got this.” “Keep one to interrogate,” Lorenzo ordered, before closing the link to Drew. “Come on, you’ve had your fun. Let’s go home,” he said to Arla, his voice gruff. They trotted back towards the packhouse in silence. Maeve was practically prancing. She was on a high and enjoyed every minute of showing off her strength and ability to
“She absolutely is not,” Alpha Lorenzo snarled at him. “How would you know?” Lewis spat back. “Bears can only mind-link with their mates. She linked me. She’s my mate.” “Uh, oops, that’s my bad,” Arla interjected guiltily. “One of my wolf’s special abilities is being able to mind-link anyone, wolf or not. I can even mind-link Felix and he’s human. It’s a bit freaky at first though, sorry, I should have warned you.” “You’ve never mind-linked him before?” Alpha Lorenzo asked her, perplexed. “I’ve never needed to,” she replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders. The tension in the room dissipated slightly, and Arla suddenly became aware that there were two extremely good-looking shirtless men in her room. One in low-waist
“The witch. We came for the witch,” the rogue finally confessed, as he turned his head and spat the blood that was pooling in his mouth onto the ground at Drew’s feet. “Why?” growled Alpha Lorenzo, grasping the man’s long, scraggly, brown hair, and yanking his head back painfully. “Why do you want the witch?” “How should I know?” he answered through gritted teeth, two of which had already been knocked out by Lewis. “I don’t ask questions, I just do as I’m told.” “Who are you working for?” demanded Drew. “I’m not telling you shit,” he said, laughing maniacally despite the pain. Alpha Lorenzo tightened his grip on the man’s filthy hair and slammed his face down violently onto the cold metal table in front of him. The
“It’s been months, and the situation is only getting worse,” stated Alpha Lorenzo. “Why don’t the northern packs want to work with us?” “They’re clearly being told to keep quiet, but we’re not sure who’s pulling the strings,” answered a middle-aged Alpha Dominic via video link. “Have you considered the Alpha King proposal any further?” The rogue attacks had continued to increase across most packs, and the Alphas had decided to hold their annual Alpha’s Alliance conference via video-link. In past years, they would all congregate on the host pack’s territory and meet in person, but with the current uncertainty, none wanted to leave their packs weakened while they travelled to attend. “It’s always a consideration, but as I’ve said previously, I don’t feel it’s a role I can take on without a mate.”
Violet woke on the morning of her eighteenth birthday feeling determined and ready. Today is the day, she thought. The day she would finally be Luna of the Southern Mountains Pack. She had tried and failed many times over the last few months to get Alpha Lorenzo’s attention, but he hadn’t responded to her the way she desperately wanted him to. Everything about him was perfect for her in every way, and today he’d finally see what Violet had known all along. He would know that she was his. She dressed in a long, off-the-shoulder, white silk dress, with long sleeves made of delicate lace, a plunging neckline, and a split at the side that reached the top of her thigh. Nude stilettos showed off her long, toned legs to perfection.
Arla, Lorenzo, Lydia and the witches had assembled in front of the pack hospital, waiting for the return of the rescue party. The witches were abuzz with a mixture of nerves and excitement. For some, it had been many long months since they’d seen their loved ones, and they still had no idea the conditions they were kept in, how they were being treated, or if they were still alive. Milo exited the first van, approaching Lorenzo and bowing his head respectfully as the rest of his team helped the passengers alight. Lorenzo held out his hand to shake Milo’s, stepping aside as one witch cried out and ran to embrace her daughter. “There were three casualties in the cells, Alpha. We’ve wrapped them and transported them with us, they’re arriving in a separate vehicle shortly. I thought their relatives would want th
Arla entered the bathroom, stripping off her borrowed clothes and running the hottest shower she could tolerate. Stepping into the stream, she lathered up her body wash, watching the dried blood and dirt slide down her body and into the drain. She became lost in her thoughts as snippets of the battle replayed in her mind - the evil look in Alpha Anton’s eyes, her fear for Lorenzo and her pack, the strength and power she felt when she used the mate-bond, Maeve’s pain as teeth sank into her neck…” She screamed as she was pulled from her thoughts by a pair of muscular arms around her waist. “Sorry, sorry, I thought you heard me come in,” Lorenzo soothed, holding her close. “Drew! Violet! Lorenzo, we need to inform her dad,” she struggled against him, her fac
Arabella stalked her prey silently, creeping further out of sight. With teeth bared, she saw her opportunity and took it. Arabella flew gracefully through the air, her attention focused squarely on the neck of the white wolf whose back was to her. Her sharp teeth pierced Maeve’s skin like needles and the white wolf yelped in both surprise and pain. Arabella’s paws had barely made contact with the ground when she felt an intense pain tear through her body. It started at her neck, causing her to open her jaw in reflex, releasing Maeve, who backed away. The pain quickly radiated throughout her whole body as she was flung forcefully to the ground. Violet felt weak, her connection to Arabella fading, and when Arabella glanced at her paws, Violet saw she was lying in a pool of dark crimson blood. 
As they forged deeper into the forest, they finally spotted Alpha Anton, standing in human form and surrounded by witches, only a handful of whom Arla recognised. Where did he find these witches, and where are Sadie and Victor? Were they punished for my escape? The thought made her stomach churn violently, and her mind raced. The sound of Marcel pulled from her thoughts as he unleashed a loud, primal, Alpha howl. Marcel shook his head in confusion, turning to see the wolves from his own pack, along with Alpha Dominic and Alpha Roman, also submitting. Arla and Alpha Anton’s army were the only wolves seemingly unphased by it. “You issued a fucking Alpha King comm
The first warning siren sounded at five o’clock in the morning. Lorenzo and Arla sprang from the bed as the first rays of sunlight peeked through the curtains. They quickly dressed in the first clothes they could find, listening to the sounds of frantic movement below them in the house. “Alpha, incoming, approaching the western border. Forest is ablaze. There are too few of them for it to be the full attack,” came the mind-link from Eli. “Probably a diversion, only send enough teams to cover it.” “Yes, Alpha. I’ll keep you updated.” Lorenzo relayed the message to Arla as he pulled the curtains open and saw the smoke rising in the distance. He could feel the adrenaline begin to flow in preparation for battle. The responsibility on his shoulders felt immense.
Violet stood in the training hall with the rest of the pack’s warriors, waiting for the meeting to start. She had presumed the gathering was to announce battle plans, but had been surprised to hear people around her mentioning that the Alpha was going to choose his mate today. Alpha Lorenzo was six years past mating age and still had not found his true mate, so it made sense that he would select a chosen mate. Violet had no doubt in her mind that he would choose her. She had rejected her mate in order to be with the Alpha and was still feeling some of the effects months later, but her single-minded focus on becoming Luna helped distract her from the pain. The pain would all end once Alpha Lorenzo called her name. The hall quietened as the head warriors arrived, and Violet’s chest constricted painfully
After breakfast, Lorenzo and Arla joined the visiting Alphas and their delegates in the conference room. Some packs had brought their Alpha and Beta along, while other packs had left their Betas to run their pack at home and had bought a head warrior in their place. Alpha Lorenzo had called his senior team into the meeting, so Drew, Eli, Andy, Milo and Jake were all in attendance. Introductions were made and Arla hoped she wouldn’t have to refer to anyone by name, as she’d immediately forgotten half of their names and packs. The men soon settled down to business. “To bring you up to speed, Luna, our borders have been reinforced, patrols are more frequent, warriors from all packs are on standby and ready to fight when the time comes,” Drew informed her, enjoying watching her squirm uncomfortably when he called her Luna, and hoping that she wouldn’t make
They were almost out the back door when Millie’s voice called out. “Good morning, Alpha, Luna,” she said, bowing her head with an excited grin. “Good morning, Millie,” replied Alpha Lorenzo. He could sense her excitement, making him smile warmly in return. “You don’t have to call me Luna,” replied Arla, feeling embarrassed that this wonderful woman who had treated her like a daughter all these years was bowing to her. “Oh, don’t spoil my fun, I want to,” she said, giddy, reaching out and pulling Arla in tightly for a hug. “Congratulations darling, you will be a wonderful Luna.” Arla was suddenly hit with a wave of guilt. She had been so overwhelmed since she arrived back home, and then caught up in her bubble of love, th
Lorenzo opened his eyes slowly. His entire body felt stiff and sore, as though he hadn’t moved a muscle in quite a while. The early morning sun was streaming through the curtains, casting an orange glow over the room. Isn’t it night time? He thought, confusion clouding his brain as he tried to recall what had happened. Arla! He turned his heavy head to see her platinum waves fanning over his chest, and wiggled his fingers, feeling her small hand in his. He sighed with contentment and smiled to himself, the delicate sparks dancing on his skin where she lay. Fuck, he suddenly thought.