We got back to Mordecai’s estate quickly. He’d updated it more than I had realized the last time I’d been there to include a pool as well as a view of the coast. Renda had remained sleeping for the entire ride. The bruises on her face looked to be healing more quickly than I thought they would. I supposed her wolf was much stronger now than it had been before. I lifted her out of the car and into my arms, following Mordecai into the house.“You can stay in your old room,” he said with a glint of humor in his eyes. “I think all the action figures are still there too.”My face heated and I scowled at him, “How kind of you.”He laughed and shrugged out of his jacket as a butler I vaguely remembered showed up and led me down the hall to my old room at Mordecai’s house.True to his words, it looked just as it had when I’d last stayed in it. It seemed like it had been a lifetime ago. I carried her to the bathroom to clean her up as much as possible and change her into something more comfort
Glenda’s POVThe scent of blood and gunpowder pulled me out of my sleep. Jay’s shriek of fear and his accusations rattled around in my head. Andrew’s cold dead eyes looked at me in shock as if he had some right to blame me for his death.I killed him, but he was only going to kill me or worse.I felt no guilt about how he and his father had died, but I was troubled. Would my parents approve of this? Maybe they would have found it in them to forgive Jay and Andrew and everyone else who was a part of the attack.Who else was out there that might know who I am?My mind wandered to Matt.What time was it?I didn’t know where my phone was and there were no clocks in the room I’d woken up in. The covers were dark and across the room on a shelf was a collection of small figurines of wolves engaged in battle at the base of a tall mountain.Was it supposed to be Looming Height? Aside from the lovers who climbed to the peak, there were other myths about the mountain, pointing back to centuries
Emoni’s POVI woke up just a few hours after I had gone to sleep. From the darkness outside the window, it was sometime around midnight. I got out of bed and walked out of the room. Matt had been kind enough to move my father and Grayson to another room and establish Warhammer Guard around us.I was grateful for the security but troubled by the company.Demi growled. I could feel her pacing and upset in the back of my mind.Males are so fickle. He should be proud that we are his mate. We are strong, capable… How dare he not take the hint given!I almost laughed at her indignation. To be fair, the hint I had given him could have been taken any number of ways and the night had been too wild for any of us to have our full faculties.Telling a man we should talk more when we had a chance, in private, preferably away from my father was probably a bit too subtle.I didn’t know what Grayson had been through while serving Teagan and her daughter. I didn’t even know if it had been willing or s
Glenda’s POVI woke up on the lounger beside the pool curled up to Matt. I stiffened for a moment. I had never willingly woken up beside a man before, but my fear eased. I wasn’t aching anywhere I shouldn’t.I groaned as the pain in my face made itself known.Matt turned towards me, looking down at me with a half-asleep but fierce stare.“… you didn’t take the pills?”I shook my head. I didn’t even know there were pills left out for me.“Morning.”I turned towards Mordecai’s voice and found him walking around the pool towards us, with a towel around his shoulders. A man in a black suit pushed a cart of food towards us and parked it beside the lounger as Mordecai tossed his towel on a lounger across the way and pulled on his goggles.“Don’t mind me, little love birds.”I wasn’t sure what to make of the wolfish grin on his face before he dove into the pool with a soft splash. Matt looked up at the man in the suit.“Thank you, Stephen.”“Of course, sir.”Matt sat up and reached over to g
Matt’s POVShe looked up at me. Her jaw dropped open at the frustration in his voice.“Until then, let’s hope we don’t continue like this,” I sighed, “I swear, the next thing we know, we’ll be walking in on Mordecai.”She grimaced, “I don’t think I would enjoy that.”I lifted an eyebrow and her face reddened. She looked away, “Well, I meant…”“You said what you meant,” I smirked. “I’ll be sure to… arrange more voyeuristic opportunities for us in the future.”She went to the door, “I’m going to change clothes.”“Let me know if you need help.”She looked back at me, “Help?”“Your shoulder. Isn’t it still tense?”Her eyes widened. She had likely forgotten about it. She nodded.“I’ll… try to find something easy to put on.”It wasn’t warm out, but there might be a button-up sweater somewhere in her closet. As soon as I changed, I went to find her.I knocked on the door and she opened it, grimacing up at me."Too much?"She nodded and stepped aside and I realized she hadn't even been able t
Glenda's POVI tried to fight, but the man who snatched me was fast and much stronger than me. I don’t know how far away he took me, but I couldn’t get a sound out around the hand he’d pressed against my mouth. Finally, he set me down."Glenda, what are you doing here?"I recognized the voice and looked at him. It was Frank, my mother's brother. He looked no different than he had years ago. My eyes burned with relief and hope. He was alive? Were there other members of my family alive too then?Alyssa growled and seemed wary. Something’s wrong."Uncle Frank!" I hugged him, crying into his shoulder, "I thought you were dead… How did you get here?""That's not important. What are you doing here?"His words struck me as off. Why wouldn’t that be important? Didn’t he know what had happened to Fluorite?Alyssa growled, We should go back to Matt."I–""Glenda!" Matt called from nearby. “Glenda, where are you?”I pulled Frank’s arm toward Matt’s voice, "Come on. I–"Something cold pressed aga
I reached the end of the corridor where a heavy locked door stood.“I need keys!” I cried back down the hallway.The guards came up behind me as Matt pulled me back. One of them shot the lock on the door and the door swung open. The damp scent of the basement gushed out along with Angelia’s scent and I ran in.My stomach roiled, memories I didn’t want to think about surfaced, but I ignored them.I smelled old water and molded bread. The stench of unwashed bodies, but I couldn’t focus on that.Angelia was here.I’d found her.Across the room, she lay on a dirty mattress on the ground, unmoving and unspeaking. I ran towards her as Alyssa tried to reach out to her and lifted her into my arms. She didn’t move. Her eyes stared out into nothing as if she would never speak again. She’d grown frail and thin since the last time I saw her. Her cheeks were drawn into her face and her eyes were a bit sunken. Her hair seemed dull and lifeless, but there was no mistaking her.“Angelia, say somethin
Matt’s POVI followed the guard out of the house to where another group was leaning together looking over a laptop. The screen showed drone footage of a large group of vehicles driving across the snowy tundra. They were heavily armed and unmarked for the most part, but the“What is it?”“There’s a force heading up from the south. They’ll be in Skyfall in a matter of minutes,” the leader of the group said. “We think they’re rogues, but they’re a bit too organized for that.”“It’s Ben,” Mordecai said.I looked at him, narrowing my eyes as he stared out into the distance as if he could see the coming forces.“You know, every man has a tipping point,” Mordecai said. “I think we’ve found his.”“What do you mean by that?”“Ben’s a sore loser,” Mordecai said. “We took Skyfall and Frost Melt from him and he’s pissed. He either planned to raid the place so there was nothing left or kill us here.”He smirked as something exploded in the distance and the guards started shouting orders through th
My legs felt shaky and everything was bigger. I realized quickly that I had shifted. I stretched and twisted. The shiny saber coat of fur lifted my heart.I didn’t think I’d ever be able to shift. I felt Alyssa fully settled and solid in my mind as I turned to look at Matt. His eyes were wide as I went up to him and rubbed my face against his leg.“You’re beautiful,” he said, kneeling and stroking my head. “Can you shift back, so we can talk?”I whined. Alyssa panicked and he chuckled, hushing me. He cupped my jaw and rubbed at the spots of tension there. It felt so good. I didn’t know what else to do but practically purr at him.“Take it easy. You don’t have to turn back right now,” he said. “I know it can take some getting used to.”He shifted and Alyssa sat up in alarm as we looked at Lucas and Matt through her eyes. He was so much bigger than us, stronger. His eyes glowed with red light. He could break my neck with such ease. I should have been scared, but I knew he would never hu
Glenda’s POVMatt was different. His eyes were clear and his jaw was set, but he hadn’t said much of anything to me other than I needed to dress nicely.I got in the car in a nice dress and heels. He was in a three-piece suit. His hair was styled, and he looked as though he needed some space, yet he didn’t release my hand.“I’m giving a press conference,” he said. “About… everything.”He turned to look at me, “Do you want to speak about Fluorite?”I looked away and shook my head. I didn’t think I’d ever be ready to speak in such a public way about what happened.“Do you want me to talk about it?”I nodded.He squeezed my hand, “Will you stand with me?”I looked at him and squeezed his hand back, “Yes.”Some of the tension bled out of him and he pulled me close, “I have to tell you the basics before we get there so you aren’t surprised. I’m sorry I couldn’t talk about it. I just…”“It’s okay,” I said, turning into his arms. “I know it’s… been a lot. He’s dead.”“Mordecai was my real fa
My ears were ringing.My mother’s video had answered a lot of questions, but not enough. My mother and Mordecai were mates. Due to some political issues on the west coast and Ben’s military force around Warhammer territory, Sharon had to make a decision: the people of Warhammer or her mate.Sharon hadn’t rejected Mordecai, but the distance and the ruse of pretending to be Ben’s mate wore on them both. Mordecai had been dying long before Sharon died, and if Ben had waited just a few more years, he wouldn’t have had to have her killed.Sharon and Mordecai had shared one night together after Sharon and Ben were married. That was the night she conceived Joel and I. She had me and Joel registered in Midnight when we were three, just after Ben came home with Sonia to protect us because she figured that Ben would realize they were mates and start to suspect that we weren’t his sons. That was the same time that Mordecai found out that we were his sons.Soon after, Ben sent her to the mental h
Matt shifted and pulled the door open. Ben was just on the other side, kicking Mordecai’s body aside. He was still breathing. I could hear his breath rattling out of him as I fumbled for my phone to call the paramedics.Matt said that Warhammer Guard was no more than five minutes away.Mordecai had to have five minutes.Matt looked like he didn’t know what to do as ben approached him. He was staring at Mordecai, shocked pale as Ben pointed a gun at him.“You’ve caused me nothing but trouble your entire fucking life,” Ben said.“You…” Matt breathed. “He… You… can’t… I…”Ben laughed again, “I didn’t think you were Mordecai’s type.”Matt turned, his eyes flashing brilliant red and I heard Lucas in his voice, “Shut your mouth, you sick fuck.”Ben stumbled back and his gun lowered just enough not to be aimed at Matt any longer. Alyssa pushed to the forefront of my mind. I felt her reaching for the dagger beneath my shirt. I heard Tzipporah’s voice in the back of my hand and knew what was a
Matt’s POV The restaurant Ben chose was an upscale little place away from a main city. The entire building had been emptied out. Uriel warned us that Ben had armed people waiting around the area, but just outside their area of operation, I had stationed Warhammer Guard. If anyone wasn’t making it out of this alive it was Ben, Sonia, and Wade. “Matt, it’s so nice to see you,” Sonia said. “You should really come see your stepmother more.” I didn’t respond to her, “Odd that you’d bring her.” “I wanted it to be clear.” It was a ruse. He was hoping to keep the gunfire down from our side because she was here. “I figure the women can stay here and get acquainted,” Ben nodded upstairs, “I’ve had our table set up upstairs.” I turned to Glenda and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Don’t eat anything,” I whispered, drawing back. I ushered her to her seat and pushed her up to the table before following Mordecai and Ben who were putting on airs about how close they were. Wade glared at me wit
Matt’s POVI collapsed into my seat and listened to Mordecai pour us drinks as the captain got ready to take off. If I didn’t have to stand in front of a news reporter again in life it would be too soon, but I was glad for it.Mordecai sputtered and laughed, “What a fucking dumbass!”I looked at him, “What’s going on?”He offered his phone, “Ben’s a dumber son of a bitch than I thought! Oh, moon. I didn’t think it was possible.”I sat up and took the
Ben’s POVSonia whimpered, clutching at my leg and rubbing her face against my leg, trying to restrain and convince me to spare the ungrateful little whelp on the ground. I should have listened to Mordecai years ago about Matt. While he was headstrong, had I kept a hold on him he would have never crossed me like this.At the least, he wouldn’t have been caught and cost me so much. Wade’s ambition overrode his sense.“Have you anything to say for yourself, you little shit? Huh?”He choked and curled up. His injuries from
He shrieked in agony and rolled off me. The sticky heat of his blood coated my hand. The metallic stench of it filled the air and I turned, screaming, driving my knife into whatever part of him I could reach. He choked and cried out. The scent of the dungeon filled my nose. Blood and more blood came spurting out and I remembered the sight of my blood pooled beneath me, spreading across the ground.Two, three, four, five…He choked and thrashed. His body wiggled and jiggled, but I kept going, counting each thrust of my dagger as I heard his voice in my memories offering me candy, taunting me, ordering me to serve him. I heard Armina screaming in pain and fear. I heard Angelia whimpering. I heard the last breath rattling out of a young girl whose face I could no longer remembe