Zeke sensed his father and a few surprising allies approaching the house. And if he wasn’t mistaken, others were also coming from the woods.His father knew Shadow could rip them all apart if he wanted to. So what had given him the balls to come after him now?“Who was he talking to about Ava?” he asked Myles.“He went over to the witch residences,” Myles said. So maybe Alpha Ezra had something he could use against him. He turned to Alpha Morgan, who didn’t look the least bit panicked that his child was going to be put in the middle of all of this bullshit. Alpha Ezra knew he was weaker than Shadow, but he was still an Alpha and had an ego the size of the continent. Things could get ugly.It would ruin his escape plan. He was going to use the rogue problem at home as a reason to be allowed access through the forest, but if his father took a stand against him now and things went sideways, then that excuse would be worthless. The academy would know if he was no longer part of the pack.
Blood. Screams. Crunching sounds. Blood. Screams. Crunching sounds. Claws. Claire. Her friends. So much blood. Ava woke up with a jolt and immediately felt her stomach churning. With her heart still pounding, she pushed the bedding off her body and rushed to the adjoining bathroom. The moment her stomach was empty, the overwhelming guilt took her over again. She had to make amends. Those poor families were grieving because of her. If it was true that she had a wolf, what sort of wolf did that? What kind of monster would cause that horror she saw every night in her nightmares?It was the sort of wolf that the Council put down. She'd heard the stories. Wolves that were uncontrollable just disappeared. It was for the best for the people around them. And now she was one of those uncontrollable wolves. From wolfless to a monster in one afternoon. The Council could have her. It was probably why they wanted her in the first place. They had seen it somehow. They had seen all that darkne
Zeke watched Mr Patrick with narrowed eyes. The professor looked at Ava like she was some sort of science experiment while she sat cross-legged on the rug with her eyes closed. He didn't like it.He'd always assumed Mr Patrick was a witch, but after that little stunt, he knew that was not true. There was magic around him, but it definitely wasn't witchy. What the fuck was he?And why was he so openly fascinated with his mate?Honestly, he looked like he was even salivating. "It's not working," Ava sighed, opening her eyes again. "We've been at this for hours already today. It didn't work last night, and it won't work now. Let's just try something else.""It won't work if you don't take this seriously," Mr Patrick said. "Empty your mind, Ava.""I'm trying.""Then stop thinking about why you don't want this to work and feel your wolf, Ava," Mr. Patrick said firmly. "There is no other plan that will work, and even if there was, you need your wolf. It's a part of you that you have to a
"You can't hand yourself over, Ava," Mr Patrick said quietly. Ava opened her eyes and looked at the professor who'd sat in front of her on the floor the moment her father had gone to help Zeke clear his head. "You really need to stop doing that," she sighed. "I can't help you if you remain so closed off. I have to do it.""That's what this is about, isn't it?" She frowned in irritation. "This isn't about meditating; it's about you having free access to my thoughts.""Something is blocking you from your wolf, probably something to do with the trauma of your first shift. If you don't let me do this, you'll need a lot longer than this week to figure it out," Mr Patrick said, without even an ounce of remorse. "You don't have time to mess around, Ava."He had no right to look into her head! She couldn't hide her anger as she stood and walked out of the living room. She didn't know how she was feeling, and Mr. Patrick was sorting through that mess in her head anyway. Without another tho
"Who is it?" Ava whispered as she peeked through the window. She still couldn't see anything, but there was someone there. "Stay back from the window. And I don't know why you're whispering; they can hear you."Mr Patrick was calm as he sat on the floor, his eyes closed, meditating. But he had been scared when he'd called her back in. She'd felt it—a moment of sheer panic that had made her realise what a dangerous situation she was in. "I wasn't scared."That was a lie. She could feel that, too.Mr Patrick opened his eyes and looked at her with open fascination."What else can you feel?" he asked."What?"Why was he thinking about that and not that they could be attacked at any minute, but Zeke and her father were not there to protect them? "If you close your eyes and focus, can you sense them in the woods?" he asked. Her heart hammered. "Them? What do you mean by 'them'? How many are there?" she asked.It wasn't getting attacked that was terrifying her. What if it happened agai
Jared was an Alpha! Did she really command him to stop?No, that was impossible. She couldn't feel anything different inside her, though she had no idea what her wolf was supposed to feel like. Maybe he'd heard the panic in her voice, and as an Alpha, he'd been able to pull himself back. She knew that she was grasping at straws because she could see how weak Jared was. He wasn't like Zeke or her father. She'd never needed a wolf to know they were stronger than most; it was quite evident in how they held themselves and their auras.Jared was still a future Alpha of his pack, though, so for the Alpha of another pack to use his Alpha command on him was an insult. His pack would never respect him if they heard about this. Jared had already suffered enough after being attacked by Zeke; why did this have to happen to him, too?"I said kill her!"This time, Jared remained in control. She could see it in his eyes even as he took another step forward, and she took one back. "Make it bloody
"Ah... Yes, Ava has done very well so far," Coach Baxter stuttered. "She..." His voice trailed off as he watched Alpha Morgan pick up two daggers from the wall of weapons proudly displayed at the side of the room. The very same daggers that his daughter had been drawn to.He did a few moves, showcasing where Ava had got her skills before he carefully put them back in their place. Zeke watched a drop of sweat roll down the coach's face before he wiped it and pretended to shuffle through the paperwork in front of him. So far, Ava's dad hadn't said a word. It had become clear in the very first minute that he was watching a master of mind games at work. He'd never seen the coach so riled up. He leaned back in his seat in the bleachers where he'd been watching the show. "She showed so much improvement in each training session," the coach continued. Alpha Morgan picked up a small axe and inspected the sharp edge. He heard the coach swallow before shuffling the papers again. "She... U
Zeke watched Ava go back into the house and then shifted into his human form. These people were part of his pack. The people he had protected since his father had put him in that position. And they had come here to kill his mate? Even after he had shown them who their true Alpha was?Shadow tried to force another shift so he could teach them all a lesson and end the bastard still unconscious on the driveway. But killing an Alpha in cold blood would bring the Council there much sooner than expected, and they weren't ready for that. He was disappointed. Not every member of his pack had come, but there were enough to make him wonder how many of these he would have to get rid of if he finally took his rightful place. Myles, Derek and their fathers were not among them, which meant his father had only gone to those he knew would agree to this act of treason. Or those he could manipulate with his lies. He took note of all of them. The crowd parted for him and the white wolf behind him as
Human blood still scented the air hours after the fight. It was everywhere. On the narrow path up the mountain. On the cold, unyielding side of the mountain. Over the trees, bushes and dead leaves on the ground. Silver bullet casings and broken silver weapons were scattered on the forest floor. Sharp lengths of twine were tied between tree trunks like traps, and blood dripped from them. There was something else on it besides that metallic scent, something spicy and woodsy, and very faint.Putting her nose closer to the twine, she started to inhale. A second later, strong arms circled her chest and wrenched her away.“Don’t touch that. Wolfsbane,” Zeke said.Of course. She had never been around it, but she was sure the other wolves in the pack were taught how to detect it from the moment they shifted. It was deadly to wolves, poisoning their systems as quickly as silver. A chill rushed down her spine at how close she’d come to making a rookie mistake.Stepping out of Zeke’s arms, she l
‘Let’s at least find out what happened to the Moonvalley Alpha first,’ Zeke mindlinked Ava. ‘There are too many humans here.’Ava’s apprehension was obvious through their bond, but so were her rage and fear. Tension coiled up in his stomach. Whenever he got like this, he always pulled the silver chains out for Derek and Myles to restrain him. But now, they were freely running near humans. Even if it was a small town, people would notice if half of them got wiped out by raging beasts.‘I’ve only been this far from our territory once, and Dad didn’t even let me get out of the car. I don’t even know where this diner is, so we need to speak to Nate.’It was clear from her tone that she didn’t like that, but some of the tension uncoiled because she wasn’t about to burrow through innocent people in town without a plan.The sun was setting when they stopped near the forest’s edge. Zeke followed Ava to a small wooden cabin, where she shifted without much regard to the humans he sensed close to
The Silver Daggers. A bunch of fucking neanderthals who’d dwindled their numbers even before the Council had formed to take them down. Probably the only good thing the Council had done.Psychopaths on the same level as Hansson, with their well-documented kills and torture methods. And they had somehow dug up enough information on his mate to have a recent photo of her and also know which orphanage she’d been at before being adopted. In which world was that the kind of information someone kept to themselves?Shadow growled in his head, pissed off with Ava’s family for the first time since meeting Roland. ‘Let’s go hunt them down,’ he ordered. Oh, that was a given. The only question was how to make Ava go back home. Dealing with Hansson together was one thing. They had been trapped at the academy and had no other options. But he would not willingly let Ava face another asshole like Hansson. He would not risk her life. “Answer me,” Ava said, stepping closer to Nate.“No, I don’t thin
Ava glared at her brothers after she pulled a T-shirt over her head. The boys had accepted shorts and were already eating the bowls of a meat and vegetable stew that they had been offered. How could they even eat at a time like this? She took her place beside Zeke, and the older woman who’d given her the clothes gave her a bowl, too. She recognised her as the Luna immediately. Audrey had come forward before Nate could tell her anything about the secret they were keeping.When her father first brought her to visit the Moonvalley Pack, she was impressed that the pack's protection fell on all their shoulders equally despite being so traditional in other roles. Her father said Luna Audrey could kick ass as hard as Alpha Barrett.“I’m sorry, Luna. I don’t think I can eat right now,” she said, smiling at the woman.“Your wolf needs to eat,” Luna Audrey said, pushing the bowl towards her. “It’s true, isn’t it? You shifted?”Her reputation as the only human in the Mystic River territory had sp
The air was sharper, and his eyes picked up the smallest grain of soil—as impossible as that seemed. He could hear the smallest critters scurrying under the decomposing matter on the forest floor. His hind legs launched him easily over shrubs and fallen trees while the wind rushed past his face with an almost overwhelming force.His heart pumped with the surge of adrenaline, and below that, the strange, unfamiliar energy. What the hell was this? Nyx hadn’t stopped running since they shifted when they reached the forest. Keeping close behind her, Shadow followed the almost non-existent trail. Even with his stronger senses, Alpha Morgan’s scent wasn’t there at all. And the warriors he’d taken with him must have been some of his best men because they’d hardly left a trail.He’d expected Nyx to flounder a few times because she was still new, but the other half of him hadn’t lost the trail even once. Not that he expected anything different. Even without the strange boost they seemed to h
No. No, no, no.Her fault. Why the hell hadn’t she trusted herself?Ava was out of the door before anyone could stop her. The guards had already gathered in the front yard, discussing what was happening. “...they’ve brought the bodies to the morgue. Can’t recognise them...”“...might be the same rogues that attacked the Moonvalley pack...”“...they didn’t make it there, so we still don’t know what’s going on over there...”Her fault.It was Emily and Dexter all over again.She shouldn’t have stayed in the background when she knew she was strong enough to help.“Ava,” Caleb called out as he followed her down the front steps. “I’ve already organised the search party. The trackers are already out there, and I’m going to join them. Stay here and—”“Even now, you’re trying to stop me?” she asked, facing her brothers.“It’s not safe—”“Then tell me why the hell you’ve kept me inside when you know I can help?” she growled.Caleb didn’t look away from her, but Nate, Alex, and Nick glanced a
Ava opened the back door again and glared at the wolf leaning against a tree at the edge of the forest. It was long past noon, and there hadn’t been any word from her father or the people he’d left with. Nyx growled, growing restless. She should have listened to her wolf from the start.Nyx was not very vocal, but she understood her wolf’s emotions perfectly. And it wasn’t helping that something else was simmering just under her skin, ready to burst. It had worried her when she woke, but there were bigger things to worry about now. Anxiety made the wait unbearable.Her father had always taught her to stand up for herself, so whatever rumours were going around about Zeke shouldn’t have made him go to such extremes. It was easy to prove that he was innocent. Why did it feel like she was missing something?That was the only thing stopping her from going after him. The fact that she didn’t know what was really going on. Her brothers were protective but always let her make her own choices.
It was strange to see all four mini Morgans looking at him directly without an ounce of fear. He and Ava sat on one couch while the brothers sat on the massive leather one that ran along two walls of the lounge. They had the same ash-blond hair in different styles and the same piercing blue eyes. Alpha Roland’s genes were clearly superior because he couldn’t see a trace of their mother. Even the judgy expressions were the same as their father’s.“Is this what they teach you in your pack? To disrespect a girl in her own home?” Caleb growled.They’d remained quiet until they herded him and Ava into the house. The rest of the pack had remained at the school, but he could sense some of them coming closer.“I meant no disrespect—”“She’s my little sister,” Caleb interrupted. “Don’t give me that bullshit.”As the oldest and the one who would take charge after his father, Caleb would have been given the same lessons as he had. At least the basics. Did he not understand what a true mate was?
Okay, now that was messed up. Nyx went on alert when all the attention focussed on Zeke, and Ava’s blood started to simmer. “Why are you looking at him?” she asked, finally lifting her head to look around the room.She’d anticipated some backlash once everyone heard the whole story about Hansson but assumed it would die as quickly as it usually did when she caused her father some trouble. It was why she’d not wanted to cause any waves for minor things. But for them to call Zeke a demon and blatantly suspect him of such a heinous crime?“He’s walking around with you, so something is obviously wrong with him,” Riley muttered from somewhere behind her.“As opposed to a wolf who can barely shift and can’t be admitted to an academy where a mere human was accepted?” she growled, not ashamed to hit below the belt.Several gasps brought her back to her senses, and she breathed deeply to calm the storm brewing inside her.The last time anyone had been a threat to Zeke, she’d levelled him in