Zane’s POVIt took me a moment before the words really settled in.Callista? Was she for real?I didn’t respond at first. She continued to stroke my chest. To my left, the witches were engaged in what could only be described as a full-on sexual fever pitch.Five werewolves had been eaten clean to the bone. The fire crackled. Men sobbed. Flesh tore. And witches groaned and moaned in ecstasy.I saw the Brotherhood of Breeders step forward. In the firelight, the witches snapped their heads towards the men. Almost in unison, they began tiptoeing towards the men, their hands outstretched.The men, in anticipation, began tearing off their tunics.“I’d be careful if I were them,” Lucinda said. “The witches can be rough.”Right on cue, four witches pounced onto one of the men, slamming him backwards into the ground. They slithered onto him, groping and clawing at his chest.I had no sympathy for them. They had come here of their own free will. They had hunted down this coven. They
Zane’s POVLucinda cackles wildlyI can’t believe what I just agreed to. But it’s the only way. I can’t just sit by and watch them devour Alpha Miles alive. I don’t want to sleep with Callista. She’s Eden’s mom for crying out loud! And I already slept with Eden’s aunt, Lucinda.But what choice do I have?“I knew you would make the right choice,” Lucinda said slyly. Then she turned to a witch beside her. “Bring me Calista,” she said.All around us, witches were in a frenzy. The sounds of rabid sex reverberating through the air. The fire crackled loudly, angrily. Werewolf meat was torn clean from the bone. The only saving grace was that the werewolves being eaten were paralyzed, so they couldn’t scream as the witches tore their flesh. I don’t think I could have withstood that.The sound of their agony.Moments later, Calista was brought in. She was still in one of those cages, with wooden bars. It looked like an oversized bird cage, rounded at the top. It was on wheels and they dragged
Zane’s POVAlpha Miles’ eyes flew open in shock. The other men in line gasped. The witches eating the freshest werewolf paused momentarily, looking up to see what all the commotion was about. When they saw that it was just some man being stunned, they went back to eating.“NO!” Calista screamed from her cage. “Stop it! Please, Lucinda! Don’t do this!”Lucinda’s eyes were locked on Alpha Miles. She held out her hand and made a squeezing motion with her fist.Alpha Miles gurgled, then he clutched for his chest.I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like Lucinda was squeezing his heart with magic.I acted.I didn’t think first. I just instinctively acted.I lunged forward, knocking Lucinda clear off the ground. This broke the spell. Alpha Miles started coughing.Lucinda glared at me from the ground on her hands and knees.“You’re a fucking idiot,” she snapped at me.“If you kill him, I won’t sleep with Callie,” I told her. It was true. Alpha Miles was the bargaining chip. If he was dead, the
Zane’s POVCalista put on a good show. I had to give her that. She acted exactly like all the other witches who had eaten the meat.Even though she hadn’t.While Lucinda’s back was turned, Calista had spat out the meat and tucked it away, into her pocket. It must have taken extraordinary strength, to have that meat in her mouth but not eat it. Of course, Lucinda was none the wiser. Only Alpha Miles and I saw this.Lucinda turned back to Calista. Calista began moaning and groaning. She tossed her head from side to side.“Feels good, doesn’t it, sister?” Lucinda smiled devilishly.“Mmm,” Calista moaned. She lifted off her shirt then, exposing her breasts. Alpha Miles looked away. She began rubbing them, kneading them while she gyrated her hips.I suppressed a smile. She was highly, highly convincing. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear she’d eaten the meat, just like all the others.“Now tell me, darling,” Lucinda cooed in her ear. “What do you want?”Calista locked her eyes onto min
Zane’s POVI didn’t understand what was happening. The crow circled above us, a body in its grasp. Lucinda tapped her foot impatiently.“Get down here at once,” Lucinda ordered. “What have I said about shapeshifting, Brinsle.”It took me a moment to put two and two together.The bird was Brinsle. Apparently, Brinsle could shapeshift too, like Lucinda. But while Lucinda’s shapeshift form was an elegant, regal falcon, Brinsle’s was a horrifically ugly crow.The bird came down then. It released the body it was holding, letting it fall a few feet to the ground.Thud.Then the crow landed. It immediately changed, shapeshifting back, and Brinsle stood up. “Please, Lucinda. He’s hurt. He’s…”Brinsle was frantic. She was clawing at her hair, her eyes wild. She ran to the body on the ground. I couldn’t see clearly from where I was.“This is a fucking werewolf,” Lucinda said, looming over the body. “And a dead one at that. Why did you bring him here?”“It’s my brother,” Brinsle told her. She
Zane’s POVCalista was pulling me backwards. The cage was engulfed in flames. I only then noticed the heat. She was right, we had to get out of there. The entire cage would be on fire soon!I went with her. We took a deep breath and leapt through the flames. Her robe caught on fire on the way through though. I tackled her to the ground and rolled on top of her, putting out the fire.Everything was happening so fast. I didn’t have time to think. She stood up. Her cheek was badly burned but she didn’t seem to notice.“Come on,” she said.“I’m not asking you again,” Brinsle cried. “Do as I say. Save him. Or else…”“Or else what, Brinsle?” Lucinda asked. They were still in a stand off. All the other witches were still backing away. There was no more feasting. No more sex.Just fear.The witches were afraid.The Brotherhood of Breeders were backing away, too.On the ground, a werewolf lay beside the pile of bones. His stomach was half-devoured, one of hind legs picked clean. His bone shone
Zane’s POVThe trees had fallen. They blocked our way.Someone was behind us. We’d been caught. She’d brought down the trees. There was no point in trying to run around them.Callie and I looked at each other.“What do we do?” I whispered.Callie flashed me a defeated look.“Where do you think you’re going?” the voice asked.Callie shrugged, then she slowly turned around. I did the same. What choice did I have?We turned around and came face to face with Sullivan.Sullivan Black. The powerful witch, Lucinda’s grandmother. She hadn’t been at the feast of wolves. At least, not as far as I knew.But she was here now.“Come.” She held out her hand and crooked her finger. We were pulled towards her. We had no choice.“Follow,” she sighed.She turned and headed back for the fire. We followed, clearly under a spell of some sort.My heart sunk. We’d been so close. But now?She was leading us right back into the heart of this fucking coven. I tried to catch Callie’s eyes, but she was avoiding
Eden’s POVZara ran.She ran fast through the forest, in full force. I felt her padded paws hit the ground as she propelled herself through the myriad of trees. She had only one thing on her mind as she ran…Slade.I had no idea where the Falcon Crest Coven was. Somewhere far beyond the territory of the werewolves. Zara ran on instinct. She weaved through the trees expertly. I realized in that moment that I’d never let her out to run. Not like this. I could only imagine what she looked like, a mass of pure white, a blur in the trees.I felt her muscles, strong and sinewy. Her eyes were sharp and her sense of smell was acute. The forest looked differently, felt differently, as I hovered inside her.So this is what it was to a wolf, I thought. The adrenaline. The sheer velocity. The pump and pull of her muscles.It was exhilarating.I knew we shouldn’t be going. Not yet. We should have waited, gathered some resources, made a plan. Witches were a force to be reckoned with, and it was rec