Ayla’s POV There was no ridiculously loud singing on the way home from school this afternoon. I had agreed to drive the triplet Gods home with me. They refused to go with Mason, and I didn’t think he would have waited for them either, to be honest. Whatever had happened had sent them all into weird head space. I could feel it. The Packhouse was full again when we got back. Michael was talking to Tristan about the Sun Valley pack. Tristan went silent when I walked in; he just stared. I Know Michael noticed too. “Hi,” I timidly said “How old are you,” Tristan asked “I’ll be eighteen on Wednesday; why?” I answered; what an odd question, I thought. “You’re not originally from this pack, are you?” he added “No, Michael adopted me!” I state feeling uneasy “Do you know who your original pack is?” he carried on “Umm, no, I don’t; I’m sorry. Is there a reason for al
Tristan’s POV Something didn’t feel right here; it didn’t add up. Ayla fit the description of one of our girls perfectly, but she was the wrong age. The elders and our Alpha made sure of that. I have known my whole life there was a reason why there were no girls of a certain age in our Pack. Only recently, when I turned twenty-one, I learned what that reason was. According to legend, there is a prophecy meant to come to pass that could change everything. The Sun Valley Pack is in charge now; we have the power. It’s due to switch to the Winter Moon Pack this summer. If the legend is to be believed, then it says A girl of Auburn hair shall rise And reign above us all, on her Eighteenth year upon this earth she Will be the one true ruler, with ………….. There will be no more leading pack, no pack above another. All will be restored; all will Become one once more. The middle part was missing, though, so we don’t know who with. But we know if
Aiden’s POV Goddess, she’s beautiful; Axel is such a dickhead! I think she might have kissed me if we hadn’t been splashed! But chasing her now was just as fun, nothing better than a good chase. The sound of her laugh is addictive; mix that with her scent, and damn, anyone would be knocked for six. This place was amazing, though; I can see why she loves it so much. I could spend hours here. If I’m honest, I could spend hours anywhere with this girl. Watching her run before me, the way she kept squealing and looking over her shoulder, I just wanted to grab her and hold on to her forever; that might come across as a bit too strong, though. I could feel Blaze getting excited; he wanted to play chase instead of me, but now wasn’t the time to wolf out. Ayla hasn’t had a shift yet, and she’s so close to her first one it’s best to let her go through the change before bombarding her with Blaze. I could feel my brothers watching us and laughing; their
Aiden’s POV The sun had begun to set when we returned to the house. Ayla wanted a shower but didn’t feel comfortable with Mason around. So, I said I would stand to watch outside her door. She was happy to do this; I felt better about it too. I just had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. All the other visitors from the other Packs would be arriving this evening. It was meant to be an opportunity for us to meet and mingle. We were the next generation of our packs. When in truth, each pack usually kept to itself. Every ten years, we would make this show of trying to come together for the good of our kind. My brothers and I are part of the Shadow Forge pack. Meaning we had an affinity for shadow magic. Each Pack is named after their clan’s magic ability. So, ours being shadow means we can do a few nice little tricks involving the shadows. I was very good at blending into the darkness in both wolf and human forms. I can also draw the shad
Ayla’s POV Wearing heels was weird! It wasn’t something I made a habit of doing. I preferred to be able to run and get about in comfort. I thought I would make an effort tonight, not just because I had three stupidly sexy men to impress. I tugged at the hem of my dress for what was probably the hundredth time. The smell of Axel and Archer next to me was making me twitchy. They didn’t bother trying to hide their stares. I couldn’t hide my laugh when I caught them, leading them to laugh with me. We didn’t have to wait long before the scent of Aiden wafted down the corridor. I lifted my head, and there he was. Aiden strode up to me in black jeans and a black shirt. Rolled at the sleeve and buttoned up all the way bar the top two buttons. He looked mouth-wateringly good. A light kiss was placed upon my cheek. It was so soft as if a feather had just floated past; I shivered with the pleasure. These men did something crazy to me.
Axel’s POV Parties are great, but there are just too many people in one space. Everyone wants to talk to you, get to know you when all I want to do is get to know her more. She’s letting us be around her with ease now, which is excellent, but she is still holding back from us. It might be because she hasn’t had her first shift yet; she can’t feel her wolf. Hopefully, once she does, she will feel the pull to us like we feel to her. It’s crazy but amazing, yet infuriating, as I can’t just do and say the things I want. What’s worse, that sleaze Mason keeps getting in the way. He does shit to her; I know he does; I just don’t know what yet. Watching him push my brother out the way to get as close to her as he could, I wanted to rip his head off. I could as well if I allowed Ace out. Right now, we have to do everything we can to control Titan; Ace knows how angry he gets and how out of control he will be if he gets his wish. So thankfully, Ace is behaving. Titan is usually t
Ayla’s POV “I got to get out of here! I’m burning up. It’s just so hot” I start to panic. Sweat trickled down my back, and my skin felt like it was vibrating. Aiden and Axel keep staring at me like I’m about to break. I can’t do this right now. I need to be alone. Getting up, I head towards the forest, just needing to run, to be away from here. I don’t know what is happening; I just know I can’t be here right now. Aiden turned his back to me, and Axel was off getting water. Now was my chance to go unnoticed. Alone time was needed. I was moving as quickly and quietly as I could. I start towards the forest. Kicking my heels off as I went, I knew they were the wrong choice the moment I picked them. The whole time my temperature was rising, and my head was pounding. It felt like it was going to split right open; the pressure was unreal. I was running, no idea where I was going, just running. Tree’s whizzed past me as I picked up speed. M
Aiden’s POV Walking back towards the packhouse took longer than I wanted it to. Ayla was unconscious, and her breathing was shallow. She needed help quickly; the patches of her skin that weren’t bruised and covered in blood were so pale. Finally, the lights from the house could be seen between the branches of the surrounding trees. At first, no one noticed me carrying a semi-naked, unconscious girl in my arms across the lawn. I had sent a message to my brothers as soon as I could see the house. It was them that came running towards us first. “What the fuck happened” Axel shouted as he ran towards us. “We need to get her inside, find a doctor, hurry,” I say through gritted teeth. More of the guests had noticed something was going on now. Loads of people were gasping and muttering as I drew closer. Luna Laura came running out quickly; the news must have reached her ears. “Oh my goddess, Ayla”, she cov
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.