Ayla’s POV We made it home just in time to get changed for Laura’s planned meal. Unlike the other night, it was only for the visiting packs and their hosts. I knew Laura would kill me if I didn’t attend, especially as I had spent the whole day up and about. Archer drove us back while I slept the whole way on Aiden’s shoulder. Hopefully, it will be just enough to get me through this evening. Then I can finally sleep in my bed. Right now, I didn’t have time to dream of sleep; I had to throw something on that looked like I gave a damn and made at least a small effort to look presentable. Aiden had insisted; one of his brothers ran to their rooms and grabbed their clothes. He was making them change in my room. He didn’t want me to be alone for even a second. It was kind of sweet. This time though, I will not be looking at them change and getting dirty thoughts; I just don’t have the time! Less than fifteen minutes later, we were stood at
Austin’s POV Three days ago, our daughter should have turned eighteen. It was one of the most challenging days for us yet. My wife Amy refused to come out of the bedroom. This year was the reason we had to lose our daughter in the first place. Five other couples like us had to lose their daughters that night as well; none of us spoke about it; we actively tried to avoid each other if we could, but no one wanted to talk about it. That night had been hard enough, and it never got any easier every year. I worked in the same office as Stephanie Bryden, mother to Tristan, the Alpha’s nephew. He was currently away on pack business, representing the pack in the Winter Moon packs territory. Every day was the same; I’d say goodbye to my almost silent wife, kiss her on the cheek and drive to the office. But yesterday morning wasn’t the same as it always was. Sitting at my desk, I could hear Stephanie having a very heated conversation with her son; the door to her office was not fully closed
Aleena’s POV Something changed, something I have never felt before, and I don’t know what it means. My world is different to that of the shifters—all shifters, not just the werewolves. Most races live ignorant lives. Unaware of anything around them that doesn’t directly impact their lives. This is why I am seen as a myth or a legend if you prefer. Magic is an everyday thing to me; it’s as natural as breathing. Sadly, most want to exploit it, so my race is much smaller now than it once was. We never used to hide away. We were once one of the most respected and dominant races this earth had ever seen. Then some became greedy and wanted our power for themselves. They soon learnt it’s not something that can just be taken. It is our whole being, our life source. Take our power; you take our life, meaning the power dies too! When the world shook earlier today, I knew something big had happened; I just didn’t know what. So, I wasn’t overly surprised whe
Stacy’s POV My luck had finally turned around. I thought Mason would unleash hell on me earlier, but instead, he invited me to his room. I can’t wait for this meal to be over. It’s going to be perfect to be with him before my birthday, and then when I shift, and he’s right there already, we can be bonded then and there. Everything will be perfect. “Can we talk” Jacob asked “We have nothing to talk about, so what’s the point” I state, much to Jacobs’s displeasure. “Fine, I see you have moved on already anyway. I don’t know why I even bothered coming over here” he shot at me, then walked away. He headed to the dining room; everyone was starting to filter in. Mason was seated in the far corner, so naturally, I headed in that direction. He pats the seat next to him. Ecstatic, I have to control myself to not skip over to him. Ayla and those super-hot brothers occupied the other end of the table. I do not understand their fascination with her; it’s
Austin’s POV Being this close to possibly seeing our daughter again was driving us both insane, yes, we know there is a chance this girl may not be our daughter, but there is also a massive chance it might be. The need for her to be our little girl is so overpowering that I feel I can’t drag enough oxygen into my lungs with each breath. Never have I ever wanted something so badly. One thing I didn’t like, though, was the fact a lot of our fate hangs in the hands of Tristan! He was a useless excuse for a wolf at times. He used his position in the pack to his advantage way too often. If he weren’t the Alphas nephew, he wouldn’t be granted the measure of respect he gets, and that was begrudgingly by most. “Over there, my love, see the two rocks that tower over and almost touch in the middle,” Amy pointed out. We tried to follow Tristan’s instructions to find this so-called neutral ground. We needed somewhere to stay tonight; we couldn’t turn up on a
Ayla’s POV Waking up in my own bed with my three mates around me was the best feeling in the world. It almost made me forget about the shit storm that was my life right now. If I could stay in this little bubble, I would, but I can’t. “Awake already, Beautiful”, Archer’s voice reached me. I looked over at him, lounging in one of my armchairs. His top had been discarded on the floor somewhere in the night, and he was left in just his trousers. He was looking nothing less than God-like as always. “I guess so; how did you sleep? Sorry, it was in a chair” I yawned. Gently I untangled myself from Aiden only to make my way over to Archer to tangle myself up with him. “Hello to you too,” he said as he held his arms open for me to fall into. Instantly he knew how to wrap them around me and kiss me at the same time. “I love my life right now,” I thought; he laughed and agreed with me. Honestly, though, who could blame me? I had th
Ayla’s POV Two weeks had passed since the Sun Valley pack tried to attack us; emphasis on the tried there! Of course, they had no idea what they were walking into; honestly, I think they thought I would be some helpless little girl, one that they could stroll in and wipe out without too much trouble; oh, how wrong they were. Lives were lost that day that hadn’t needed to be. All out of fear of something they did not understand, a better way to put it would be that they didn’t want to understand. All the representatives from the other packs are still here. They all witnessed what the Sun Valley Wolves tried to do and failed. Life has become a mixture of nervous anticipation, anger and a whole lot of confusion. Everyone keeps staring at me like I’m going to explode at any minute, like something different. “I’m still me, for fuck sake; no one cared before, so why should that change now” I mutter, getting annoyed at the millionth person gawking at me already this morning. Or maybe it w
Aiden’s POV Nothing is worse than having to watch the one you would die for struggle and not be able to help. Watching Ayla fight her internal battle alone has been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Surely there must be something I could do to help? But whenever I asked, she would smile and say she was okay. She hasn’t learnt yet that we are mates, and I can feel when she is fine and when she is not. For once, it seems like Axel has a better grasp on the situation than I do. He seems to know exactly what she needs and when she needs it. At the same time, I feel like I’m just annoying her! “What is the point in being this big strong protector if I can’t even protect her from tormenting herself over this?” Archer had been out cold since he took the hit for Michael two weeks ago. Never will I forget the pain we all felt when Archer went down. I swear we all felt it with him; Ayla took it badly but channelled the pain into rag
Laura’s POVIn an already clean house, one can only do so much cleaning. My world was all over the place. My mother might have been pleased with me for once, but I couldn’t find my husband. I hadn’t seen him since that morning. I had only just been able to wangle him back under my control this time; there was no guarantee I’ll be able to do it again. He is so strong-willed; it was kind of scary. If he found out I lied, that I had spelled him into loving me, being with me and protecting me, I don’t even want to think what he would consider doing.No one had approached me all day, not since Mason earlier this morning. He had left in such a mood, but that was nothing new. I had to focus on gaining control of Michael and Mason. When he struck me, it only proved I was slipping majorly. If I didn’t gather my family back in and get back to the level of control I had before, I would surely lose it all.Frantically pacing the kitchen, trying to keep my mind busy, was when my phone rang, and it
Stacy’s POV“Mason keeps ringing; what do I do,” I asked wide-eyed, cross-legged on Jacob’s bed; I hadn’t left yet; I had been with him all day and all last night. He was the same Jacob I knew but, at the same time, different. He was strong, confident and possessive; I loved it.“Next time, let me answer; I’ll sort this out”, He answered. Storm stared at me from behind his eyes.“It will only infuriate him, Jake; you know it will, he will go nuts; I don’t want you to get hurt”, I admitted, but Jacob just laughed, a full belly laugh.“Babe, please, have you seen me?” he laughed again “Do you honestly think he could hurt me.”“He is the Alpha’s son though” I was quiet as I didn’t know what to do.“Pfft, who cares? No one hurts my girl and gets away with it,” he declared, reaching over and kissing my jawline, sending tingles all over my body.“Look, don’t worry about Mason; I’ll handle him. It would be best if you worked out what to say to your crazy mother and her friends,” he said poin
Archer’s POVAxel spoke with Ayla; I sat silently, doing nothing. I didn’t begrudge him that; it’s just that I missed her too, and it’s my fault she is in the state she is in. I lost my wolf and my mate both at the same time. I felt less than useless right now. I couldn’t shift or mind link, I couldn’t shadow walk, and I had lost part of my strength; I was no longer a werewolf until Titan was found.“Arch, stop it; you’re not useless; I can hear you, you know”, Axel grumbled from across the room.“Great, at least you can hear me; it makes me feel so much better”, I moaned back.“I didn’t mean it like that; you know I didn’t. We will sort this; it just won’t happen overnight” he tried his best to reassure me, but he failed miserably.Ignoring my brother as I didn’t have anything to say in response, I decided to flick through my phone, looking at crap on social media from my old life. I felt so disconnected from the person I used to be. It was like looking through someone else’s memorie
Aleena’s POVThe wind howled outside as I waited for Aiden to return. He said he would track Michael down, just in case my presence still hurt him. I was a bag of nerves. I was actually going to do this; I was going to claim the man destined for me. That and saving everyone else in such a small space of time, but who’s counting?Dressed in my Michael hoody, I waited. Minutes felt like hours, which led to the discovery of me not being a patient person. I needed to distract myself so I didn’t go crazy, so braiding my floor-length hair seemed like a good idea until it wasn’t. I was so anxious that I couldn’t make my fingers do the work I needed them to do. I swear I looked like a child who had never braided before.“You need to calm the heck down, don’t be so stupid,”, I told myself sternly; I had never imagined I would find love, seeing as I no longer lived with my people. But I guess the goddess has other plans for me after all.Taking a few deep, calming breaths, I started again. I ha
Aleena’s POVThe morning had arrived by the time I found the Chase brothers. All three were in Aiden’s room, and he looked like shit. I wasn’t surprised after all he had been through. But I didn’t have time to stand here feeling sorry for him. I had to see if I could siphon the Shadows out of his body, so he could function when we needed him. Being unpredictable was not what we needed right now.“There you are, Aiden. You look like hell, but I think I can help if you let me,” I spoke quickly, hoping to get in there before they all tried speaking at once.“Oh, hey Aleena, yeah, thanks for that. I feel like hell, too,” he smiled at me, which I was shocked at. I thought he would be a massive pile of brooding mess by now.“Well, I can help get some of the darkness, if not all, out of your system, which will help in the long run if you want” I shrugged like it was nothing but knew how massive it was. I was doing everything I could to keep my mind on task and not on Michael.“Sure, let’s do
Stacy’s POVI was having the best dream, something I hadn’t been able to do lately. I was with Jacob; it was safe and warm, and I missed him. I wouldn’t admit that out loud, however. I could smell him around me and feel the comfiness of his bed. If I could stay asleep forever, I think I would.I felt something next to me, an arm snaking around my waist and warmth on my back. I froze, had I stayed at Mason’s last night? I couldn’t remember, and then it came rushing back; my eyes flew open, yet I stayed dead still.I was in Jacob’s room, in his bed. I remember coming over now and snuggling into his hoodie like an idiot. I must have fallen asleep before he had gotten out of the shower, but how did I end up in his bed?“Dear goddess, please say we didn’t do anything; Mason would kill me”, I frantically thought.I had only come here to talk; I planned to make Mason want me more, but also, partly because I missed Jacob, and he was so sweet to me. But now I’m in his bed, and I don’t know wha
Aleena’s POVWaiting to hear anything from Michael or the chase brothers was killing me. When did I suddenly become a man-obsessed person? Never before had I been this way about anyone, and not about the Alpha. I knew the Werewolf rules; I knew that once they found their mate, they were done, they wouldn’t even look in the direction of another woman, and Michael had his mate. So why was he constantly looking at me like he felt the same way I did?“What do I feel for him” I questioned myself; I wasn’t ready to face that mountain yet, but deep down, I knew; I didn’t want to say it out loud. But, of course, it’s not unheard of for different races to end up together. But a mated one, now that was unheard of.I had walked in circles around my room. I returned here once I had set Aiden on his task. There was no way I would risk being around Laura; she hated me near her man, and I don’t blame her. Even though Michael would deny that she hates me, I could feel it, and we elves had a knack for
Aiden’s POVI was sure I was dead. I had no energy to force myself up off the floor where I had landed, running from the Luna and her unsavoury friend. My body hurt, my legs felt like they were made of led, and I had been thrown into the sea and sinking fast. I was sure I’d never wake up again if I just gave in.Shadows constantly sang to me, trying to drag me back under, calling me back to their dark embrace.“No, I’m needed here; she needs me”, I mumbled in my sleepy haze. Then, finally, I had to force myself up. I don’t know how long I had lain here in the dark, my back pressed against the cold wooden door. But I didn’t care.“Aiden, where are you” Ayla’s voice tickles my mind. But could it really be her, now that Alune had control of her body? Could she still reach me if she wanted to?“Ayla, babe, is that you” I call out desperately to her, needing to know if she was there, if she was okay and how I could help.“Aiden, she’s sleeping; it’s the only time I can reach you,” she told
Stacy’s POVWalking out of Mason’s room and leaving the pack house like I did, felt fantastic, liberating in a way. My car was parked around the corner, and I couldn’t get to it fast enough.“Get the fuck off of me”, a rough voice roared across the grounds. Turning my head, I saw the three overly sexy Chase brothers in some scrap. Usually, I would stop to watch, what with all the sex appeal they have going on, and right now, they were practically bursting out of their clothes. Goddess knows why Ayla; the attention-grabbing whore was able to bag all three of them. They were the kind of guys you would get wet over just looking at them for too long, and she was nothing.“Maybe I will make them mine once I rule this place”, I muttered as I turned towards my car. Jacob was waiting for me; frankly, I couldn’t wait to get over there.Nerves were kicking in as I rounded the corner to Jacob’s street. I had been here so many times before, but this time felt like the first time all over again.