Ava watched how the students at the front started to inch back, aware that her beast was now in control. The stench of their fear aggravated Nyx. Ava didn’t understand that for a moment until she realised that Nyx would not get any joy from attacking defenceless people. Her fear that she would shift and attack everyone at the academy had been unwarranted. Nyx was like her in that aspect; there was no need to fight unless her life was in danger.But the councillors and Head of the Council behind her were a different story. A threat that Nyx wanted to eliminate. A challenge. And her beast apparently lived for these challenges. She could feel her rage build up at these people who had put her in this position.She had refused to submit to anyone all her life, and she’d fought with those who had still tried to force her. It was now clear that Nyx’s ego had been wounded then, and she’d sought revenge. It had been Nyx who had wanted to see those people on their knees, submitting to her. It w
Ava’s scream split Zeke’s heart in two.Her pain, her guilt, overwhelmed him. Zeke dropped his bag and tried to go to his mate, only to find himself bound by that bastard’s magic. He was held in his place while Ava was lifted into the air. Just to torment her, to show her that he could do this and there was nothing Ava could do about it.Then, the body was thrown into the woods. He sensed those vile creatures moving around like they were in a frenzy as they closed in on the kid’s body. Ava whimpered. He knew she could feel them, too, but her guilt was shutting her down. She had already given up. “Now, who’s next,” Mr Hansson said. As if he was serving crumpets at a tea party. What the hell was wrong with this guy?Shadow fought to take control, to shift and rip the man to shreds, but the magic bound him, too. Ava was released and fell to her knees on the stage, but her gaze remained on the spot where the kid’s body had been thrown. There was nothing but grief radiating from her. Be
“Let’s play a little game.”Ava couldn’t move her head, so she was stuck looking at the faces of the people who would die today if she didn’t pick five of them to sacrifice. They had all been forced back from the top of the road to witness the next murder. She sensed desperation. Terror. They were all looking above her at Jared, waiting for his life to be taken like Dexter’s. Even the teachers stood helplessly by. She had never seen the dean looking so scared.Nobody should have to live with this kind of fear hanging over them. Fear that one wrong move and someone stronger than them would swoop in and end them.Dexter had been innocent, and now his parents would have to come to collect his body as Emily’s parents had done.Innocent. Gone all because of her. ‘It’s not your fault. It’s Hansson’s fault.’Zeke’s voice was so clear in her head as if he had been listening to all her thoughts, but she couldn’t get anything from him except what he wanted her to hear. “How many of these will
Nyx took a bite of Hansson’s shoulder before he realised what had happened. She tasted his blood on her tongue, and it was putrid. Vile like the man himself.Before she could sink her teeth in further, Hansson disappeared into thin air and appeared on the other side of the stage. The men he had been holding hostage fell to the stage, released in that moment of confusion. But she knew it wouldn’t be for long. Hansson would get his bearings and take his anger out on all of them. She stood in front of them to protect them and ignored the panic and commotion she felt and heard from the imprisoned students.Nothing filled her mind now except the rage. The need for revenge.Nyx lowered her snout to the ground, ready to attack again, when she saw the beast standing beside her. It was Shadow, but... Something was different. He seemed bigger. His head was lowered, and his hackles raised as he snarled at the councillors, frothing at the lips as if rabid. And his eyes were purple. “What is th
There was a shift in the air.Zeke guessed it was because Iulia was not focusing her magic as she wept over her lover. Was he dead? It felt like it, but he didn’t give a shit. What caught his attention was that the councillors’ strength was noticeably reduced. ‘We can take them now,’ Shadow growled. But there was another scream, and this one hit him in the heart again.He shifted and was by Ava’s side in seconds, taking her into his arms as he tried to figure out what happened. Mr Patrick was struggling to sit up with Jared’s help. But Alpha Roland was gone. He knew what had happened, but they had to be still at the academy. Hansson was a sadistic asshole; he would make sure Ava witnessed whatever he had in mind for Alpha Roland before he killed them all.“We’ll find him,” he whispered, tightening his hold on his mate. They had to go before Iulia and Diego calmed down and did as they were told. He looked back at the trio and saw Alpha Diego was still standing over the other two. W
Ava’s frustration boiled over, and she told Samantha to get Julie and stay close to Myles and Derek. Then she shifted and lowered her head. All she wanted was to get to her father, but the guards were in her way. Nyx growled. She hadn’t known Nyx long enough to know if it was a standard growl, but it felt different. It felt right. She could feel it in her whole body as Nyx took over again. And when Shadow came to stand beside her, and the growl came from deep within him, she felt the strength of their bond. One by one, the people in front of them stopped and lowered their gazes, soldiers and students alike. It was not something she usually liked, but she understood her wolf now, and this was the only way they would get to her father. They had to show their dominance.She felt something else. It was more than the darkness she felt in Nyx’s soul; it was all around them. She felt it the same way she felt the evil in the forest both times that she had gone in. It was the same darkness s
Of course, they would hide something so important in plain sight. Zeke felt the change immediately the moment nothing was left of the fountain. It was like a bond had been broken. He remembered the morning he had come out to look for the councillors after their first visit, and Iulia had been messing with the fountain. He’d sensed something then; he should have put it together sooner. The beasts sniffed around the smashed fountain, at the water gushing freely from the pipes before they walked away from the rubble and started circling them. “You fools!” Hansson screamed as he picked up a piece of the sculpture. Shadow walked over to their mate and Diego, and they stood together, watching the man meltdown. They were not out of the woods yet. Though Hansson felt considerably weaker, he was still Fae and could hurt them and Alpha Roland.He looked up to see Ava’s father breathing better and his eyes glowing. The hold on him was weakening.‘We need to keep him busy to give your dad tim
Nyx finally stopped attacking when the screams stopped. When there was no heartbeat. When the light faded from those evil purple eyes that she would remember for the rest of her life.The eyes she would see every time in her wolf’s and Shadow’s eyes.Everyone stood as still as she did, taking in the destruction. Was this the end? Could she finally have the life she had hoped for with her mate by her side?Nyx retreated and allowed her to shift back. Her body was sore and bruised, and she could still feel the effects of almost being hit by the lightning. She limped over to Shadow, put her arms as far around him as she could, and closed her eyes. They were okay. They had done it.When she let go, Shadow shifted, and the man she loved took his place. Zeke engulfed her in his embrace, lifting her off her feet before he crashed his lips into hers. He could feel his relief and his hope. They were free. They could be themselves. Zeke finally put her down, and they looked back at the damage
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